Sunday, December 31, 2006 Leaders praise ‘little Rizals’ By Rene H. Martel Sun.Star Staff Reporter
GOVERNMENT officials and employees, Masonic Lodge members, the police, war veterans and academe representatives braved the rain and the cold wind early yesterday morning to honor Dr. Jose Rizal’s martyrdom.
They talked of “little Rizals,” and how our national hero’s legacy of fighting for and serving our country lives on in every public servant and in every Filipino who strives to bring glory and honor to the country.
“How many Jose Rizals are alive today? How many are still willing to offer their lives for the nation?” wondered Cebu City Councilor Arsenio Pacaña in closing the short rite.
Those present offered flowers in front of the newly renovated Rizal Memorial Library and Museum. A portion of Osmeña Blvd. was closed from 6 a.m. to 9 a.m. for the ceremony, which started with a mass, followed by a floral offering.
Masons were present to celebrate the life of Rizal, a fellow Mason.
City Councilor Edgardo Labella spoke of how an “exponent of peaceful revolution died a violent death.”
Yet, Labella said, Rizal proved that the pen is indeed mightier than the sword because his books, Noli Me Tangere and El Filibusterismo, spurred the nation to aspire for freedom.
Threatened by Rizal’s ideals, Spanish authorities executed him through a firing squad 110 years ago at the Bagumbayan (now Luneta Park).
His act of defiance by turning around and facing the volley from the executioners’ muskets has been etched in popular memory.
Pacaña said many have also sacrificed for our country, like the overseas Filipino workers and athletes who endure all ordeals to bring glory to family and homeland.
The police and the war veterans, too, are “little Rizals” who have and are willing to shed blood to fight for freedom.
Pacaña said even garbage collectors, who religiously do their tasks, are embodiments of what Rizal died for.
“Really, in every corner of our country, buhi pa gihapon si Rizal (the spirit of Rizal lives),” he said.
