Duterte to lead Rizal rites in Davao, visit quake victims, says aide
President Rodrigo Duterte is expected to lead the 123rd anniversary of Dr. Jose Rizal’s martyrdom with a wreath-laying ceremony in Davao City and by visiting earthquake victims in Mindanao.
Assistant Secretary for Special Concerns Joseph Lawrence Garcia said the President was scheduled to lead Monday’s wreath-laying rites at Rizal Park in Davao City to honor the national hero.
The Chief Executive is also expected to visit those affected by recent earthquakes in Mindanao later in the day, particularly in M’lang, North Cotabato, and in Digos City, Davao del Sur.
Last week, presidential spokesperson Salvador Panelo said the President might spend Rizal Day by paying tribute to Gregorio del Pilar, the youngest Filipino general in the Philippine-American War.
Mr. Duterte has been in Davao City for the past week to spend the Christmas and New Year holidays with his family.
In the first two years of his term, the President led the Rizal Day wreath-laying ceremonies at Rizal Park in Manila.
Article continues after this advertisementIn 2018, the rites were to be held at Rizal Park in Davao City, but the Chief Executive skipped them to rest on the advice of his physician.
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In a statement, Panelo reminded the youth—the “modern-day Rizals”—to “remain steadfast on the challenges of the present times and to become beacons of hope for this motherland.”
“It is also during this occasion that we make Rizal’s death relevant in our day-to-day lives by, in our own small ways, being in the service of others, rooted in and strengthened by the love of the people. After all, it was Rizal who posited that life is useless if not consecrated to a great ideal,” he said.
Although Rizal Day marks a “mournful day,” Panelo said Dec. 30 “forms part of our collective imagination of our continuing revolution against those who still treat our nation as a vassal state.”
“May Rizal’s sacrifice push us to be the better versions of ourselves and be agents of genuine change,” Panelo added. —JULIE M. AURELIO
