House Majority Leader and Leyte Rep. Martin Romualdez on Sunday called on all allies and foes to unite, set aside politics, and be heroes for the nation as the country held its 124th commemoration of Independence Day.
“In the coming days, we are being called again to action and service. Not to bear arms against a foreign invader, but to heed the call of unity by the incoming administration of President Ferdinand ‘Bongbong’ Marcos Jr.”
“We are asked to reach out to our fellow Filipinos, friends and foes alike, and appeal to them to link arms for nation-building,” Romualdez said in a speech yesterday morning as guest of honor during an Independence Day celebration in Kawit, Cavite.
“The challenge to all of us is too difficult. We have been polarized as a nation due to political differences. Even families were torn apart by loyalties to opposing candidates in the last elections. The ‘cancel culture’ has reached our shores and wrought havoc on relationships among friends,” he said.
The lawmaker led the wreath-laying ceremony at the tomb of General Emilio Aguinaldo.
Romualdez, Lakas-CMD president who also served as one of incoming Vice President Sara Duterte’s campaign managers, said now is the time to set aside politics and work together toward building a strong nation founded on freedom, justice, and democracy.
“My countrymen, let us face the challenge of heroism. Let us face these challenges with heads up high and with strong conviction to secure our victory. Be heroes in our own little way. Each one of us has a great role to play in making this nation great again,” he added.
The Leyte representative is a lawyer from University of the Philippines and president of the Philippine Constitution Association.
He cited the enormous blows of the COVID-19 pandemic, especially on the small and medium-scale enterprises and the Philippine economy in general.
On June 12, 1898, Aguinaldo, head of the Philippine Revolutionary Government, declared the country’s independence from Spanish rule.
On the same day, the country’s national anthem was played and the flag unfurled at Aguinaldo’s ancestral house in Kawit
The country’s ninth President Diosdado Macapagal proclaimed June 12 a public holiday in 1962.