Marcos to Pinoys: Realize your own power to become heroes for community

President Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr. on Monday called on Filipinos to realize their own potentials to be heroes of communities.

Marcos said this as the country commemorates National Heroes' Day.

In his message, the President emphasized that each Filipino has the capacity to be a hero of our nation.

“Hence, on this year's National Heroes Day, I enjoin every Filipino across the globe to celebrate with a renewed understanding and sense of pride for the fortitude that is naturally abundant in our hearts as a people,” Marcos said.

“As we recognize our forebears whose uncelebrated legacies our society is built on, let us also realize our own power to become heroes for our families and communities,” he added.

The President expressed hope that this consciousness would ignite the public “to be dedicated in our agenda of creating a new Philippines that is strong, prosperous, resilient, and secure for present and future generations.”

Marcos said it is crucial to remember the lives and deeds of the many lesser-known and unnamed Filipinos who played pivotal roles in shaping our nation.

“From the defiance of our ancestors against the first invading forces to the diligence that our soldiers and statesmen held to see the last of them off — our unsung champions prove that heroism is not limited to the Herculean; it also includes the honest, earnest, and compassionate living that we do every day,” he said.

At Libingan ng mga Bayani

The President led the wreath laying ceremony at the Libingan ng mga Bayani in Taguig City on Monday morning.

In his separate speech, Marcos said heroism also resides in the simplest acts of kindness, of empathy, as well as in solidarity that "not only move hearts, but also influence minds and actions, and change lives for the better."

"We need the unfading memories and shining examples of our heroes not only to continually remind us of the noble causes that have led them to their heroic deeds. We also draw inspiration from them for our self-improvement, and to possibly develop our own heroic potential," Marcos said.

"So, let us always tell the tales of the heroic deeds of our kababayans, whether they are in the country or — they are in the country or outside in the rest of the world," Marcos added.

Marcos also said stories of the heroes' courage and wisdom should continue to be told and imparted to the youth to inspire them and to strengthen their identity and cohesion of our nation.

"We shall not take their heroism for granted. We will not spare ourselves of the moral duty to perpetuate the ideals that they have fought for, and to rectify the unsafe, inequitable, or exceptionally difficult conditions that necessitated their selfless deeds," Marcos said.

"Failing in our duty, their sacrifices would have been all in vain," the President added.

August 28 (National Heroes' Day) is a regular holiday in the country. —KG, GMA Integrated News