President Benigno S. Aquino III leads the flag raising ceremonies for the commemoration of the 118th anniversary of the martyrdom of Dr. Jose Rizal at the Rizal National Monument in Rizal Park, Manila City on Tuesday (December 30), with the theme: “Rizal 2014: Dunong at PusongPilipino.” With the President are Vice President JejomarBinay, Manila City Mayor Joseph Estrada, Defense Secretary Voltaire Gazmin, Metropolitan Manila Development Authority chairman Francis Tolentino, National Historical Commission of the Philippines chairperson Dr. Maria Serena Diokno and NHCP executive director LudovicoBadoy. (MNS photo)
MANILA (Mabuhay) – President Benigno Aquino III on Tuesday called on Filipinos to continue Dr. Jose Rizal’s fight for a better future, as the nation commemorates the 118th anniversary of the Philippine national hero’s martyrdom.
Aquino led the flag-raising ceremony and laid a wreath at the Rizal Monument in Manila early Tuesday. He also briefly met with descendants of the Filipino hero.
In his Rizal Day message, the President said Filipinos should imbibe Rizal’s “inspiration to continue the fight for the Filipino.”
“The battles we confront may be different from our forebears’, yet the call to action and service they once heard remains resonant and clear,” Aquino said.
“Rizal served as our precedent for prodigious acts: He took it upon himself to alleviate the despair of others and cast his stake for a tomorrow of peace and liberty,” he added.
The President further called on the public to “walk the path of accountability and commit ourselves to the task of nation-building.”
“We shall compose the next chapters of our history and pass it on to coming Filipinos. United, let us strive to leave them a legacy of an empowered and proud nation,” he said. (MNS)