On National Heroes Day and the late Secretary Robredo
August 27, 2012 | Monday
Today was declared a holiday in commemoration of National Heroes Day. For most of us, this would just be another extension to our weekend. But as I was about to go to bed, I had this weird urge to contemplate maybe because I didn't want the day to completely go to waste.
So why do we have to allot a day in a year to celebrate our national heroes?
Since grade school, we have been introduced to our notable Filipino Heroes in Sibika at Kultura. There are the more prominent ones like our national hero, Dr. Jose Rizal, the brain of the Katipunan, Andres Bonifacio, Gregorio Del Pilar, Apolinario Mabini, Melchora Aquino, the GOMBURZA, Graciano Lopez-Jaena, Gabriela Silang, Lapu-lapu, Francisco Dagohoy and the list goes on. We all know what each has contributed to especially in regaining the country's freedom.
But there are the also the less prominent ones, the so-called unsung and present-day heroes. They are those who have made simple but significant acts to help and save their fellowmen. They are the balut vendor, the traffic enforcer, the jeepney driver, the public servant, the teacher, the student, the corporate employee, the artist, the doctor, the volunteer. They are you and me.
Last Saturday, August 18, we received the most tragic news on the ill fate of DILG Secretary Robredo's Piper Seneca plane. And it was not until the Monday after, on August 21, that Sec. Robredo's body was retrieved from the wreckage. Incidentally, it was also the day of commemorating Ninoy Aquino's death.
Secretary Robredo was on his way to Naga City to be with his family that day when the plane encountered engine problems, and had intended to make an emergency landing at Masbate Airport, but missed it by some 150 meters. His aide survived with a broken arm and a guilt that he would probably carry for the rest of his life.
Sec. Robredo was known for his honest and outstanding leadership as Mayor of Naga City for 3 consecutive terms, and was later on was assigned to the post of DILG Secretary in 2010 (but even until his death was not officially appointed by the Commission).
I however already came across the late Secretary's name when I was still with the Civil Service Commission (CSC). The CSC Honor Awards Program (HAP) was mandated to recognize our public servants who have shown exemplary performance. Sec. Robredo was among the first recipients of the Dangal ng Bayan Award in 1998.
A lot of people believed that he had gone too soon, that he could have done a lot more for our country and could have inspired many more. He was one of the good guys, so they say, one of the few public servants who showed that "public service" means putting the "public" first before "service" (of self).
It's because of people like the HAP awardees and Secretary Robredo, our modern-day heroes, that make me want to believe that our country has not lost all hope.
Having been a state scholar from high school to college, I owe my education to my country and my countrymen, as taxpayers' money was used to subsidize for my education. And since then, it has been ingrained in my system that whether I like it or not, I have to serve my people. Until now, I still think about running for public office, albeit the dirty politics that surrounds it. Because I believe that the only way to change the system is to fight it.
And so it's 12:49am. It means it's going to be the start of another workweek. So before I sign off, I want to leave with these striking words I found on Facebook at the height of the Habagat operations.
Today was declared a holiday in commemoration of National Heroes Day. For most of us, this would just be another extension to our weekend. But as I was about to go to bed, I had this weird urge to contemplate maybe because I didn't want the day to completely go to waste.
So why do we have to allot a day in a year to celebrate our national heroes?
Since grade school, we have been introduced to our notable Filipino Heroes in Sibika at Kultura. There are the more prominent ones like our national hero, Dr. Jose Rizal, the brain of the Katipunan, Andres Bonifacio, Gregorio Del Pilar, Apolinario Mabini, Melchora Aquino, the GOMBURZA, Graciano Lopez-Jaena, Gabriela Silang, Lapu-lapu, Francisco Dagohoy and the list goes on. We all know what each has contributed to especially in regaining the country's freedom.
But there are the also the less prominent ones, the so-called unsung and present-day heroes. They are those who have made simple but significant acts to help and save their fellowmen. They are the balut vendor, the traffic enforcer, the jeepney driver, the public servant, the teacher, the student, the corporate employee, the artist, the doctor, the volunteer. They are you and me.
Last Saturday, August 18, we received the most tragic news on the ill fate of DILG Secretary Robredo's Piper Seneca plane. And it was not until the Monday after, on August 21, that Sec. Robredo's body was retrieved from the wreckage. Incidentally, it was also the day of commemorating Ninoy Aquino's death.
Secretary Robredo was on his way to Naga City to be with his family that day when the plane encountered engine problems, and had intended to make an emergency landing at Masbate Airport, but missed it by some 150 meters. His aide survived with a broken arm and a guilt that he would probably carry for the rest of his life.
Sec. Robredo was known for his honest and outstanding leadership as Mayor of Naga City for 3 consecutive terms, and was later on was assigned to the post of DILG Secretary in 2010 (but even until his death was not officially appointed by the Commission).
I however already came across the late Secretary's name when I was still with the Civil Service Commission (CSC). The CSC Honor Awards Program (HAP) was mandated to recognize our public servants who have shown exemplary performance. Sec. Robredo was among the first recipients of the Dangal ng Bayan Award in 1998.
A lot of people believed that he had gone too soon, that he could have done a lot more for our country and could have inspired many more. He was one of the good guys, so they say, one of the few public servants who showed that "public service" means putting the "public" first before "service" (of self).
It's because of people like the HAP awardees and Secretary Robredo, our modern-day heroes, that make me want to believe that our country has not lost all hope.
Having been a state scholar from high school to college, I owe my education to my country and my countrymen, as taxpayers' money was used to subsidize for my education. And since then, it has been ingrained in my system that whether I like it or not, I have to serve my people. Until now, I still think about running for public office, albeit the dirty politics that surrounds it. Because I believe that the only way to change the system is to fight it.
And so it's 12:49am. It means it's going to be the start of another workweek. So before I sign off, I want to leave with these striking words I found on Facebook at the height of the Habagat operations.
I believe that if we want change, we should be that change. And if we want it to happen, then we should and we could make it happen.
Until my last breath, taas noo kong ipagmamalaki na Pilipino ako.
Mabuhay ang Pilipinas!
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