Palace: We need more Pinoys like Rizal, principled and courageous

Recalling the martyrdom of national hero Jose Rizal, Malacañang on Saturday underscored the need for “principled and courageous” Filipinos to step up amid what it described as “challenging and crucial times.”

Presidential spokesperson Salvador Panelo said the Palace “honors the martyrdom of our beloved national hero, Dr. Jose Rizal, whose ultimate sacrifice awakened the entire Filipino race from its peonage to a colonial master for more than 30 decades.”

122nd anniversary

President Duterte was expected to lead today’s rites in Davao City to commemorate the 122nd anniversary of Rizal’s execution in Bagumbayan (now the national park known as Luneta in Manila) by the Spanish colonial government for rebellion shortly after the outbreak of the Philippine Revolution.

Panelo said the legacy of Rizal’s life and death was “a walking testament to a person’s magnificent and consuming love for country that sparked a leap for freedom and an assertion of national dignity.”

‘Stripped of apathy’

He added: “More than one century has passed since his execution in Bagumbayan, but [Rizal’s] influence on our nation’s evolution remains relevant today as it was 122 years ago.”

Panelo urged the youth to be inspired by Rizal’s life and live his principles. “In these challenging and crucial times, we need equally courageous and principled Filipinos stripped of apathy and selfishness, to become modern-day heroes to sustain our fight for freedom from all the ills of society,” he said.

“Jose Rizal’s martyrdom should propel us to rise to the challenge of the times, unchain ourselves from our stupor of indifference, and race to the finish line of genuine change and prosperity,” he added. —CHRISTINE O. AVENDAÑO