PH needs 'modern-day' heroes like Rizal, says Palace

MALACAÑANG on Saturday, December 29, prodded Filipinos to emulate the traits of the country's national hero, Dr. Jose Rizal, in an effort to overcome “challenging and crucial times.”

The call was made by Presidential Spokesperson Salvador Panelo as the nation is set to commemorate on Sunday, December 30, the 122nd anniversary of the martydom of Rizal.

Panelo acknowledged that Rizal's ultimate sacrifice “awakened the entire Filipino race from its peonage to a colonial master for more than thirty decades.”

“In these challenging and crucial times, we need equally courageous and principled Filipinos, stripped of apathy and selfishness, to become modern-day heroes to sustain our fight for freedom from all the ills of society,” Panelo said in a statement issued on the eve of Rizal Day.

“Jose Rizal’s martyrdom should propel us to rise to the challenge of the times and unchain ourselves from our stupor of indifference and race to the finish line of genuine change and prosperity,” he added.

In honoring the memory of the Philippines's national hero, Panelo asked the Filipino people, particularly the youth, to take inspiration from Rizal's life story.

Panelo expressed hope that Filipinos would aim to be “modern-day heroes” like Rizal, whose principles “made him the country’s greatest hero.”

“More than one century has passed since his execution in Bagumbayan, but his influence on our nation’s evolution remains relevant today as it was 122 years ago,” he said.

“The legacy of Rizal’s life and death is a walking testament to a person’s magnificent and consuming love for his country that sparked a leap for freedom and an assertion of national dignity,” Panelo added.