Five days apart in this month of August, Filipinos gave tributes to heroes.
Republic Act No. 9492 designated the last Monday of August as National Heroes Day to give the nation opportunity for the nation to honor the sacrifices and contributions of all Filipino heroes and the bravery they exemplified for our people.
But who are our heroes? The National Historical Commission of the Philippines has a long list led by Jose Rizal, Andres Bonifacio, Apolinario Mabini and many more.
Our hardworking Overseas Filipino Workers, whose remittances from foreign countries where they are working at great sacrifices are helping sustain the country’s economy, have been declared our “modern day heroes.”
Also, Benigno “Ninoy” Aquino, Jr, whose assassination on August 21, 1983 upon arrival from a self-imposed exile in the United States sparked nationwide outrage that led to the ouster of Ferdinand Marcos, father of the current president, Ferdinand Marcos Jr., in February 1986.
Before his exile in the U.S, Ninoy was imprisoned together with other political leaders, who are also considered heroes like Jose W. Diokno, when Marcos Sr. declared martial law on September 21, 1972.
To keep alive the principles and values that Ninoy Aquino fought for 42 years after his death, family members, friends and freedom fighters laid a wreath at Ninoy Aquino International Airport marker and held a mass at the Manila Memorial Park where he was laid to rest. His widow, Corazon Aquino and his son, Benigno “Noynoy” Aquino III, who both became presidents, 1986 and 2010, respectively are also buried next to his tomb.
The struggle for more meaningful democracy for Filipinos continues as new threats emerge. Activists on Aug. 25 staged a rally in front of the Chinese Consulate in Makati to protest Chinese intrusion into Philippine waters. They pelted tomatoes and stomped on mock models of a Chinese Coast Guard ship and a Chinese destroyer which recently figured in a collision while attempting to block a Philippine Coast Guard vessel in the vicinity of Bajo de Masinloc (Scarborough shoal) in Zambales, very much well within the country’s exclusive economic zone.
Photos and videos by Bullit Marquez for VERA Files.
