MANILA, Philippines — Filipinos will not back down from defending the country’s territory, President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. said on Independence Day.
Addressing the public in Luneta Park, Manila, Marcos recounted the country’s history of oppression at the hands of foreign invaders.
“Ang ating mga ninuno ay hindi umurong sa digmaan kaya’t tayo ay hindi rin tatalikod sa tungkuling ipagtanggol ang ating nasasasakupan,” said Marcos.
(Our ancestors did not back down from war, so we will not abandon our duty to defend this territory.)
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For Marcos, freedom does not come for free.
“Ang kalayaan ay inaalagaan, binabantayan at ipinapaglaban. Sa sandaling mapabayaan natin ito, [maaari] itong mawala at maagaw muli sa atin,” said Marcos.
(Freedom is cared for, guarded, and fought for. The moment we neglect it, it could be lost and stolen again from us.)
Marcos reiterated this message of upholding Philippine sovereignty throughout his Independence Day activities.
Earlier in the day, Marcos leads a wreath-laying ceremony at Jose Rizal’s monument in Luneta Park.
In his official presidential message, Marcos asserted that Filipinos will never succumb to oppression.
READ: Filipinos will never bow to oppression, says Marcos on Independence Day
“We see it in the tenacity of our soldiers as they protect every inch of our territory, adamant as they are
in the certainty that Filipinos do not, and shall never, succumb to oppression,” stated Marcos.
Marcos’ repeated bold proclamations throughout the day come amid a heated territorial dispute with Beijing over the West Philippine Sea.
China has encroached upon Philippine territory for years but has seemingly doubled down on its claim since Marcos assumed the Presidency. Marcos has repeatedly reiterated that not one inch of Philippine territory will be lost to another country.