MANILA — President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. on Monday led the commemoration of the Fall of Bataan, saying that even though the Filipinos lost the battle, it “marked the beginning of the Filipinos’ resurgence as a fighting force.”
He issued the remark during the 81st Anniversary of the “Araw ng Kagitingan” or Day of Valor, at the Mt. Samat National Shrine in Pilar, Bataan.
“Many dismiss the commemoration of the Bataan Siege as ill-advised simply because it had ended in the most agonizing defeat. We lost great men and women during that time, ending with the Death March,” Marcos said in his speech.
“Our most important triumph, though, was that we kept on fighting and that we never lost hope. For although we lost the battle, the Fall of Bataan marked the beginning of the Filipinos’ resurgence as a fighting force to defend and to take back the land of their forefathers,” he added.
Marcos said that even though the world has changed since the Fall of Bataan, the same heroism shown by the soldiers then can still be seen up to this day.
“We see it in our veterans. They have passed onto us this shining legacy, this treasure, for us to burnish. We see it in the eyes of every child, who looks to the future with hope and eager anticipation,” he said.
“The answer lies in every Filipino who toils and sacrifices to feed their families, help their communities, and serve their country,” Marcos added.
The President then called on Filipinos to celebrate deeds “that uphold the spirit of patriotism” and “individual acts of valor and of sacrifice.”
He added that Filipinos also showed heroism during the COVID-19 pandemic, where the frontliners “showed the world our purity of spirit and of compassion by willingly putting themselves in peril in service of others.”
“So have faith. We can look to the future with confidence, girded with the knowledge that the most noble Filipino quality of heroism is aflame and burns brightly in every true Filipino,” Marcos said. (Daphne Galvez © Philippine Daily Inquirer)
