ILOILO – Celebrating his final Philippine Independence Day as the province’s chief executive, Gov. Arthur Defensor Sr. urged Ilonggos to protect the freedom that Filipino heroes worked so hard to achieve.
“Our forefathers wanted to see a free country. They wanted freedom to reign in the hearts and minds of the Filipino people,” said Defensor at the historic public plaza of the municipality of Santa Barbara yesterday.
The country marked the 121st anniversary of the declaration of its independence from Spain on June 12, 1898.
“How do we give substance to this freedom that our forefathers fought for,” asked Defensor.
One is by having a clean government, the other is by conducting clean elections, he stressed.
This was what heroes like Jose Rizal, Andres Bonfiacio, General Emilio Aguinaldo, and General Martin Delgado dreamed of, said Defensor.
“Ang nagligad ta nga eleksyon hilway pero mahigku nga klasi sang eleksyon,” he lamented, citing massive vote-buying and election spending.
It’s a big challenge, said Defensor, so there’s still a long way to go.
“I am not sure this dream will come to pass in my lifetime. But I am crossing my fingers. Nali pa man mag-abot ang tiempo nga mahiwat kita sang election nga libre kag matinlu,” said Defensor.
The public plaza of Santa Barbara where yesterday’s Independence Day program was held was site of the first raising of the Philippine flag outside Luzon on Nov. 17, 1898 five months after General Aguinaldo declared Philippine independence from Spain in Kawit, Cavite.
This revolutionary act is now known as the “Cry of Santa Barbara” and also marked the inauguration of the Revolutionary Government of the Visayas.
According to Defensor, he had fond memories of Santa Barbara. Its plaza was the venue of the province’s celebration of the centennial of the country’s independence in June 1998; he was the governor then, he said.
In 2015, the plaza was also the main venue of the country’s 117th Independence Day celebration – the first such celebration to be held outside Metro Manila – with no less than then President Benigno Simeon Aquino III leading the ceremonies, said Defensor./PN
