A party-list congressman on Wednesday filed a bill that provides for the erection of a monument commemorate the heroism of fallen frontline workers and the declaration of a National Day of Mourning and Remembrance for them.
Rep. Ron Salo of the Kabayan party-list group filed the bill to honor the sacrifices of frontline workers, both medical and non-medical amid the still-raging Coronavirus Disease-19 pandemic.
House Bill 7109 or the Frontliner’s Commemoration Act provides for the construction of a national monument to be known as the “Bantayog ng mga Bayaning Frontliners” and the annual observance of a “National Day of Mourning and Remembrance,” which will be a special working holiday.
“The Covid-19 pandemic is an unprecedented crisis that awakened the hero within every Filipino,” Salo, chairman of the House committee on public information, said.
The measure recognizes the invaluable contribution of the frontliners who responded to the call of duty during the pandemic. It aims to inspire Filipinos on the heroism of ordinary men and women who rose to the occasion and willingly and valiantly performed their duties in the service of their countrymen despite the clear and imminent danger to their own health and safety.
“We need to give appropriate recognition, both tangible and intangible, to yjr frontline workers’ acts of heroism,” Salo added.
Under the bill, a Certificate of Heroism shall be issued by the National Commission on the Culture and the Arts (NCAA) to the family of fallen heroes. A scholarship grant and financial assistance shall be extended to their children to enable them complete their baccalaureate degrees.
It also mandates the Department of Education and the Commission on Higher Education to commemorate the event through programs and activities in schools, and the preparation of literatures on the heroism of frontliners. All government offices are also mandated to undertake commemorative programs during the National Day of Mourning and Remembrance.
The bill creates a Selection Committee composed of 9 members from both the public and private sectors to be chaired by the Chairman of the NCCA. It shall select the list of frontline heroes whose names shall be engraved in the Bantayog ng mga Bayaning Frontliners.