VALOR WALL Marciano Miles, 92, walks by a wall featuring the names of soldiers and guerrillas who liberated Baguio City on April 27, 1945. Miles is a surviving member of the 66th Infantry Regiment, the so-called Igorot infantry that fought the Japanese during World War II. EV ESPIRITU/INQUIRER NORTHERN LUZON
PILAR, Bataan—In his last speech for the Araw ng Kagitingan (Day of Valor) commemoration on Saturday, President Aquino urged 500 World War II veterans at the Mount Samat Memorial Shrine here to vote for his candidates in the May 9 elections.
“If we can remember, before World War II broke [out], we were not free as a nation. Despite our limited capacity as Filipinos, we did what was right and what was good for our countrymen,” Mr. Aquino told the war veterans.
“My question to you is this: Are you going to choose a leadership that is after its own interest while guaranteeing the misery of those under them?” he said.
“You all know my position: I side with who is right, honest and well-experienced in the government. I side with the ‘Straight Path,’” he said.
But he did not refer to Liberal Party presidential candidate Mar Roxas by name in his speech.
“You all know who I’m referring to and I’m confident that we have the same dream for the next generation,” the President said.
“If we talk about recognizing your sacrifices, all the fruits of the Straight Path are certainly clear to you,” Mr. Aquino told the crowd, citing the pensioner’s validation program, which screened the list of qualified war veterans who would get benefits from the government.
“It is not right that those who are not qualified will steal the funds allotted to you,” he said.
Mr. Aquino, who was the guest of honor in the commemoration, marked the sixth and final time he would address war veterans as President and Commander in Chief.
He said the occasion served as an opportunity for Filipinos to “enrich our understanding of our history.”
“In the war that you went through, either as veterans or affected civilians, how many of those killed could have been great educators or lawyers or leaders?” Mr. Aquino said.
“We may never find the answers to these questions. What we can do is to set our sights on the future and fulfilling our dreams and making sure that we don’t forget the bitter lessons of the past,” he said.
Mr. Aquino also outlined the benefits that his administration had given to war veterans.
In the six years of his term, Mr. Aquino said, 10,600 veterans and their dependents were able to get free medical treatment not only at the Veterans Memorial Medical Center (VMMC) but also in 183 accredited public and private hospitals.
“Under this program, our citizens were able to give back to you an estimated P91 million for your sacrifices,” he said.
He said the veterans’ daily hospitalization subsidy had also increased from P1,299 to P1,500. The VMMC also underwent renovations to improve its facilities and services, he said. Allan Macatuno with a report from Greg Refraccion, Inquirer Central Luzon