PRESIDENT Rodrigo Roa Duterte on Wednesday said Filipinos should remember Philippine culture and history, noting that honoring historical figures will encourage the people to honor modern-day heroes.
“May these efforts to memorialize Lapulapu lead us to appreciate the nation’s heroes of today. Even in the smallest of ways, we can show our love for our country and our fellow Filipinos,” President Duterte said during the 501st anniversary of the Victory at Mactan and the closing of the 2021 Quincentennial Commemoration in the Philippines at the Liberty Shrine in Lapu-Lapu City, Cebu.
In his address, the President emphasized the need for Filipinos to remember the country’s “long and rich history correctly” regardless of the current circumstances or whether it happened a long time ago.
For example, the government’s efforts to memorialize Lapulapu’s heroism allows the nation to “preserve the roots” of Filipino culture, he explained.
“Although the Philippines was under foreign occupation for more than three centuries, we are fortunate enough to preserve the roots of our culture in the legendary figure of Lapulapu, as documented by our very colonizers,” he said.
The President praised Lapulapu’s strong leadership, saying the victory led by the Philippine hero in Mactan signifies Filipinos’ “bravery and determination to protect Philippine sovereignty against foreign forces”.
“It is only fitting that he will be immortalized with a new monument and museum at the Lapulapu Shrine. It is my hope that its construction shall proceed at the soonest possible time,” he noted.
Meanwhile, President Duterte also lauded the National Quincentennial Committee and its partners for successfully leading events commemorating the milestones of Philippine history despite the challenges faced by the nation.
The 2021 Quincentennial Commemoration in the Philippines is a series of events that recognizes milestones and historic events that happened in the country from 1519 to 1522.
It was organized to mark the 500th anniversary of the arrival of Ferdinand Magellan in the Philippines, the victory of Lapulapu in the Battle of Mactan, and the celebration of the first mass in the Philippines, among others.
