Vice President Leni Robredo (JAY GANZON/OVP)
MANILA, Philippines — The Filipino people must unite and draw strength from each other amid various challenges, Vice President Leni Robredo said in her 123rd Philippine Independence Day message on Saturday.
In a statement, Robredo underscored how Filipinos faced numerous challenges and sacrifices in its journey to independence.
“Saksi ang kasaysayan sa layo ng kaya nating marating, at sa tayog ng mga pangarap na kaya nating abutin— basta sama-sama at tulong-tulong tayo, basta iisa ang direksyong tinatahak natin,” Robredo said.
(History is a witness to how far we can go, and the lofty aspirations we can reach — as long as we are together and help each other, as long as we move in the same direction.)
“At kung magbubuklod tayo, kung pagsasamahin natin ang ating lakas sa likod ng iisang layunin, masisiguro nating wala nang muling makaaagaw ng ating kalayaan,” she added.
(And if we unite, if we combine our strength behind a common goal, we can be sure that no one can take away our freedom again.)
Robredo urged Filipinos to unite to overcome the COVID-19 pandemic along with other challenges that the Philippines is facing.
Vice President Leni Robredo gets the first dose of her AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine. (Photo from Facebook/Vice President Leni Robredo)
“Paalala ang Araw ng Kalayaan: Walang Pilipinong nag-iisa,” Robredo noted.
(A reminder this Independence Day: No Filipino is alone.)
“Tayo ang lakas ng ating kapwa. Anuman ang tawag ng panahon, mukha mang imposible ang sitwasyon, kakayanin natin, magtatagumpay tayo, dahil iisang bayan tayo— humihirang sa iisang lupain, duyan ng magiting, hinding-hindi pasisiil.”
(We are our countryman’s strength. Whatever is the call of the times, no matter how impossible the situation may seem, we will succeed because we are one people — one in this land, cradle of the brave, people who will never be conquered.)
The country is marking the second Independence Day while facing the COVID-19 pandemic that left many Filipinos unemployed and businesses shuttered.
In the Philippines, COVID-19 has so far infected over a million persons and led to the death of more than 22,000.