“National Heroes Day should not just be a holiday of remembrance but a call to action”
On Monday, Aug 25, as we commemorate National Heroes Day, we pause to remember the men and women whose courage carved the backbone of our freedom.
They are the patriots who fought for independence when it was a dream too far to reach, the soldiers who faced impossible odds so we might inherit a land unshackled, and the quiet heroes whose selflessness shaped our communities without ever asking for recognition.
In my many years as a writer and publisher, I have been privileged to tell the stories of some of these remarkable Filipinos.
One of my recently published work, Twilight Glory: Tribute to Filipino Heroes and Veterans, is a humble offering to preserve their memory — to ensure that their sacrifices are not merely lines in a history book, but living testaments to the resilience of the Filipino spirit.
Published in August 2021 in time for National Heroes Day, Twilight Glory was dedicated in honor of the late President Fidel V. Ramos, soldier, statesman, and one of the enduring figures of modern Philippine history.
As a West Point graduate, a decorated military officer, and the 12th President of the Philippines, FVR embodied discipline, unity, and a tireless devotion to nation-building.
His leadership was rooted in the same heroism that has defined our bravest — calm under pressure, steadfast in service, and always forward-looking. The book was launched while he was still with us, and I am grateful he saw it before his passing on July 31, 2022.
The project was enriched through the collaboration of two men who, like FVR, devoted their lives to serving the nation:
Gen. Ernesto Carolina, then Administrator of the Philippine Veterans Affairs Office, and Gen. Leopoldo Bataoil, who, as Chairman of the House Committee on Veterans Affairs and Welfare, championed legislation to protect and uplift the lives of our veterans.
Their insights, leadership, and passion for preserving the stories of our heroes made Twilight Glory a collective labor of love.
But heroism is not confined to the pages of history. In our own lifetime, we have witnessed a different kind of battlefield during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Our frontliners — doctors, nurses, hospital staff, police officers, soldiers, delivery riders, public transport drivers, grocery workers, and countless volunteers — stood on the frontlines of an invisible war.
They risked their lives daily, some never returning home to their families, so that the rest of us could be safe. Like our veterans, they displayed bravery not for medals or recognition, but out of duty and compassion.
Equally worth remembering are the Filipino taipans and business leaders — the likes of SMC Chairman Ramon S. Ang, MVP Group of Companies Chairman Manuel V. Pangilinan, Bloomberry and ICTSI Chairnan Enrique Razon, among others — who quietly but decisively stepped forward when the nation’s needs were dire.
From funding field hospitals and vaccine procurement, to donating PPEs, test kits, and food packs for communities in lockdown, they showed that heroism also comes in the form of resources swiftly mobilized for the common good.
Their generosity kept hospitals supplied, frontliners protected, and struggling families nourished during the darkest days of the pandemic.
The book gathers personal accounts, historical narratives, and rare photographs that remind us of the price of liberty and service.
These are not just tales of battles fought on foreign and local soil; they are stories of faith, perseverance, and love of country, whether in the trenches of Bataan or the emergency wards of our hospitals during the height of the pandemic.
Sadly, too many of our heroes have been forgotten.
Many veterans live their twilight years far from the public eye, some still waiting for long-promised benefits.
Likewise, many pandemic frontliners — and even those generous business leaders who carried much of the relief effort — are no longer spoken of, their contributions fading from public memory.
Honoring them is more than ceremonial wreath-laying — it is ensuring that their well-being, dignity, and legacy are upheld while they are still with us.
National Heroes Day should not just be a holiday of remembrance but a call to action.
Let us teach our children that heroism is not the absence of fear, but the choice to act despite it.
Let us care for our veterans, support our modern-day frontliners, document their stories, and pass them on to the next generation.
In celebrating our heroes — past and present — we remind ourselves that the story of the Philippines is not only written by those in positions of power, but by every Filipino who chooses country over self.
Twilight Glory is my small tribute to them, but the real tribute is in how we live our lives: with courage, with integrity, and with love for our nation.
Because every generation is called to be heroic — and the time for ours is now
(The author, president/chief executive officer of Media Touchstone Ventures, Inc. and president/executive director of the Million Trees Foundation Inc., a non-government outfit advocating tree-planting and environmental protection, is the official biographer of President Fidel V. Ramos.)
