Isko leads Manila's remembrance of Andres Bonifacio's 158th birth anniversary

Presidential aspirant and Manila Mayor Isko Moreno on Tuesday led the remembrance of Andres Bonifacio’s 158th birth anniversary.

Moreno was accompanied by Philippine Navy General Staff Corps Captain Rey Leo Pambid during the wreath-laying ceremony at Liwasang Bonifacio Tuesday morning.

Bonifacio’s descendants, Vice Mayor Honey Lacuna, Manila Representatives Yul Servo, Rolando Valeriano, Edward Maceda, Bienvenido Abante Jr., and the members of Manila City Council also attended the ceremony.

In his speech after the military honors, Moreno honored Bonifacio and his fellow heroes for paying the “ultimate price” and sacrificing their lives for the country.

“Masasabi natin isangdaan mahigit na taon na, sulit nga ba ang pagbubuwis ng buhay ng ating mga bayani tulad ni Andres Bonifacio? ‘Yan ang dapat tuntunin natin na kasagutan sa mga darating na araw,” he said.

(After more than 100 years, could we say that it was worth it for our heroes, like Andres Bonifacio, to have lost their lives? We should answer that in the following days.)

The mayor then encouraged the youth to ponder and remember the past which gives lessons in life that will help dictate the country’s future.

“The lessons of the past will be a gentle reminder to our youth today na ‘wag tayong magpapalinlang sa mga isinusubo sa ating salitaan, sa mga sinusubo sa ating kuwento 'pagkat mga kababayan, paminsan-minsan maaaring totoo rin ang sinabi ng iba — imbes na banyaga, imbes na dayuan na itinataboy nating nananakop sa atin, tayo-tayo mismong mga Pilipino ang naglalaban-laban at nagpapahirapan,” he said.

(The lessons of the past will be a gentle reminder to our youth today that we should not let ourselves be misled by information and stories being fed to us because it might be true that it is not the foreigners who conquer us. Sometimes, we Filipinos are fighting among ourselves.)

The Manila mayor called for unity and asked the public to come together as one nation despite differences in ideas, hoping that the nation won’t be divided again and the Philippines won’t be led by politicians who are not compassionate to ordinary Filipinos.

He said he will copy the victories that were made by the previous governments but he won’t repeat the mistakes made by some.

Moreno also honored the doctors and the nurses, whom he tagged as the modern-day heroes.

He lamented that these heroes also paid the price serving the Filipino people.

Moreno appealed to his fellow Filipinos to “create an extra mile” in their respective field of undertaking and go beyond their call of duty in serving the people. —KG, GMA News