MANILA – President Rodrigo Duterte is skipping the ceremonies honoring national hero Jose Rizal today.
Instead, he will pay tribute to Gregorio del Pilar, the “boy general” of the Philippine-American War, according to Presidential Spokesperson Salvador Panelo.
“He will not be attending the Rizal Day rites. I think he mentioned that he will go to a place where General Del Pilar hailed from. I think he wants to give the same treatment to Del Pilar,” Panelo said.
President Duterte’s move, according to Panelo, should not be misinterpreted as a slight on Rizal’s memory with the President and Malacañang issuing statements to honor the national hero.
The Palace spokesman explained that President Duterte just wanted to pay tribute to the country’s other heroes as well.
“He said he always goes to Luneta. So he wanted something different. We have many other heroes. The other heroes are not being honored and we seem to be forgetting them. It’s not just Jose Rizal (that we should pay tribute to),” he added.
This will be the second straight year that the Chief Executive is skipping the traditional Rizal Day rites at Rizal Park after also being absent last year./PN
