BACOLOD City – Gov. Eugenio Jose Lacson urged Negrenses to preserve the freedom won by the country’s heroes.
Lacson said in his video message on Facebook during the 122nd Independence Day celebration on June 12 that it is the solemn duty of all generations to protect, to promote and to preserve the freedom which is now enjoyed by the present generation.
The governor stressed that it is a privilege for the people today to have the freedom that did not come for free.
“Today is the opportune time to be reminded that the freedom we are so privileged to have is not free, that so much was sacrificed for us to be in this free and democratic society,” said Lacson.
“As your governor, it is my ardent hope that the present generation (would) be conscious of our past to understand that history is not just some stories of the past and that our rich history was marked by sacrifices of real people just like us,” he added.
According to Lacson, the independence gained in 1898 and the battle fought to redeem freedom in 1946 proved that of all the endowments Filipinos have, independence is the most expensive and the most demanding of all.
“We are in unprecedented times,” Lacson said in view of the coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic (COVID-19) pandemic.
“The enemies we are presently fighting are not just the threats to democracy, but also the kind of enemy that threatens our very existence,” he added.
Lacson emphasized that we Filipinos need to exercise discipline to fight the unseen COVID-19. “We are facing crisis of a different magnitude than we had in the past, but we were able to prevail. So, we will, again,” he said.
This year, the provincial government did away with the traditional Independence Day program in view of the COVID-19 health crisis.(With a report from PIA/P
