BY JOCELYN MONTEMAYOR and WENDELL VIGILIA
President Duterte and Vice President Leni Robredo yesterday paid tribute to health workers and other essential frontliners involved in the fight against the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic.
“As we overcome the COVID-19 pandemic, let us honor our modern-day heroes, our medical frontliners and all essential workers who sacrifice their lives, comfort and security to serve our fellow Filipinos. May we all learn from the valiant example of the past and present heroes and build on them to achieve a stronger future for all,” Duterte said in a video message during the commemoration of National Heroes’ Day (“Araw ng mga Bayani”) at the Libingan ng mga Bayani.
Executive Secretary Salvador Medialdea led the wreath-laying rites at the Libingan ng Mga Bayani in Fort Bonifacio, Taguig City.
Robredo, aside from paying tribute to the medical frontliners, also urged everyone to be a “hero” simply by getting vaccinated against COVID-19 and observing health protocols to protect other people from the deadly virus.
“It doesn’t have to extravagant; each step, however small, is a form of heroism as long as it done for others. It is heroic to serve in the medical profession, to get vaccinated, to follow health protocols, to spread truth and condemn lies, to help others as much as we can,” she said in Filipino.
Robredo said the occasion reminds every Filipino that “heroism can be found beyond the gallows or the battlefield.”
“We can see it every time we look in the mirror because the potential of heroism is within us, we inherited it from Filipinos before us who shared a good example — of being wholehearted, being honest, prioritizing others instead of personal interest, acting with dignity, and showing empathy,” she said.
The Vice President said many unknown Filipinos offered their lives for the country.
“Their names may not have been etched in history but their dreams and tribulations live with us: One country that is safer, more free, and more humane,” she said.
The President, in another message for National Heroes’ Day, said the “new breed of heroes” readily answered the call to fight a war against one of the greatest threats to the Filipinos’ way of life.
He said these unnamed heroes may not have statues erected in their honor , their faces placed on banknotes, or stories immortalized in history books, but they deserved to be acknowledged as heroes.
“We have witnessed the indomitable spirit of these nameless health workers, uniformed personnel, government employees, and frontliners in essential industries who, hiding in anonymity, bravely led our battle against the COVID-19 pandemic… for selflessly risking their lives to ensure the survival of our society, I can confidently say that they have more than earned their rightful place in the pedestal of heroes,” Duterte said.
“Let us consecrate this day not just as a memorial to their extraordinary heroism, but as an enduring testament to our inherent capacity to rise above self-interest to fight for a cause far greater than our own,” he added.
The Official Gazette said National Heroes’ Day does not specify or name any particular hero and “this lack of specifics offers an opportunity to celebrate the bravery of not one, not a few, but all Filipino heroes who have braved death or persecution for home, nation, justice, and freedom.”
The event used to be celebrated on November 30, along with the birth anniversary of Philippine hero Andres Bonifacio, until it was moved to the last Sunday of August in 1952 by President Elpidio Quirino. In 2007, President Gloria Arroyo moved it to the last Monday of August due to her holiday economics policy.
