VP Sara: Lessons of the past should be used to awaken heroes in youth’s hearts

In commemorating this year’s National Heroes’ Day, Vice President Sara Duterte on Monday said the lessons of the past should be used to awaken the greatest heroes inside the hearts of the Filipinos, especially the youth.

Duterte, who is also the concurrent Education Secretary, looked back on the country’s history, which she said was marked by the blood of the forebears who offered their lives for the liberation of the Philippines and the Filipino people.

“As we honor our National Heroes today, may we not only look back with admiration at their profound sense of patriotism but also look at the future of our country and its unrelenting longing for the same profound sense of patriotism from us,” she said in a statement.

“The blood of our National Heroes is the same blood of bravery, selflessness, and love of country and fellowmen that continues to flow across the nation today — now permeating into the minds and hearts of many Filipinos who have committed to the cause of rebuilding the nation from the rubbles caused by disunity, hatred, misunderstanding, and acts of hostilities perpetuated by anti-people, anti-government, and local terror groups that hostaged the progress of the country for a long time.”

Duterte also called on the public to honor the national heroes with a promise that their sacrifices will serve as inspiration to protect the integrity of the Filipinos’ independence and the interest of our nation. 

Present day Filipinos

Speaker Martin Romualdez, for his part, said present day Filipinos are just as capable of being heroes.

“Before Jose Rizal, Andres Bonifacio, Gregorio del Pilar and the others became heroes, they were ordinary Filipinos who were deeply moved by their love of the motherland. They were bound by a single dream: freedom for their country and a future for all Filipinos,” Romualdez said.

“Today, we remember their lives and their sacrifice for the country. But we should not stop with just remembering and honoring their contributions. We should also emulate their virtues," Romualdez said.

Romualdez added that patriotism and idealism for nation-building and continued economic recovery amid the coronavirus disease-19 (COVID-19) pandemic can be done in a lot of ways.

“The blood of our heroes flows in all of our veins. We are all capable of extraordinary courage in rising up to the challenges of these extraordinary times. Our heroes set aside their personal benefit for the good of the country,” Romualdez said.

“Patriotism comes in many forms. Each and every one of us can serve our country in our own personal capacity, like our health frontliners during the height of the pandemic, our law enforcers who kept us safe, or the delivery rider who took care of our needs. We are all heroes-in-waiting, given the right motivation," he added. — Giselle Ombay and Llanesca T. Panti/RSJ, GMA News