MANILA, Philippines — President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. on Thursday enjoined all Filipinos to reflect on history and have a clearer understanding of each one’s civic duty.
In his message on Ninoy Aquino Day, Marcos again called for peace and unity, tagging the annual commemoration as an opportunity for “greater clarity and deeper perspective” across generations.
“Our commemoration achieves meaning when the lessons of the past are reflected in our actions and in the moral architecture of institutions. In honoring this day, the Republic signals its readiness to uphold leadership that strives towards wholeness and reconciliation,” he said.
“Through this observance, we advance the work of statecraft: disciplined, steady, and shaped by the enduring imperative to choose peace above quarrel, and dignity beyond differences,” he added.
The President reflected on how the country transformed through time “defined by broader discourse on power, memory, and citizenship.” “These transitions unfolded in moments when individuals chose to meet history with resolve. As someone raised within a political tradition formed by these moments, I have come to understand that history offers less final judgment than continuing instruction,” he said.
“It sharpens how we serve, how we listen, and how we bear the weight of an office with a greater purpose moving forward,” he added.
In honoring the legacy of martyred senator Benigno Aquino Jr., Marcos urged every citizen to not merely remember the past but also not cease in challenging present and future leaders of the country with “sobriety, conscience, and foresight.”
“History invites reflection more than reaction, and from that reflection arises a clearer understanding of civic duty,” he said.
Malacañang declared Ninoy Aquino Day a non-working holiday to commemorate the assassination of the former senator in 1983 at the the Manila International Airport. His death triggered a chain of events that led to the ouster of Marcos’ father and namesake from the presidency in 1986 via peaceful revolution that came to be known as “people power.” It was in 2004 during the administration of Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo that the holiday was created by through Republic Act 9256.
