1 month ago
40
Upgrade to High-Speed Internet for only ₱1499/month!
Enjoy up to 100 Mbps fiber broadband, perfect for browsing, streaming, and gaming.
Visit Suniway.ph to learn
Cristina Chi - Philstar.com
December 30, 2025 | 10:28am
President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. leads the commemoration of the 128th anniversary of Dr. Jose Rizal's heroism at Rizal Park, Manila, Dec. 30, 2024.
Presidential Communications Office
MANILA, Philippines — President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. and Vice President Sara Duterte touted the legacy of national hero Jose Rizal in separate Rizal Day messages on Tuesday, December 30, urging Filipinos — and public officials — to uphold integrity amid repeated calls for accountability from leaders.
Marcos said Rizal’s life and martyrdom offered guidance at a time when Filipinos are pressing their leaders for “integrity and accountability,” saying the commemoration is a reminder of the standards expected of those in power.
“Today, as Filipinos demand integrity and accountability from its leaders, we look up to his life to provide us with guidance and strength,” Marcos said.
He called on Filipinos to live by values he attributed to Rizal, including “respect for truth,” the pursuit of “just reform,” and the courage to speak and act for what is right. Marcos added that Rizal’s principles should guide choices in both public and private life, urging citizens to put “country over personal interests.”
Marcos also appealed to young Filipinos, saying Rizal, through his writings, placed hope in the youth to combine patriotism with responsible citizenship. He again linked Rizal’s ideals to his administration’s “Bagong Pilipinas” slogan, saying the hero’s vision should be reflected in everyday acts of integrity.
Duterte, in her own Rizal Day message, framed Rizal’s legacy as a broader struggle for freedom that goes beyond colonial rule, calling it a fight against abuse, division and moral decay.
“The true lesson of Rizal is clear,” Duterte said in Filipino. “Freedom is not only liberation from foreign powers, but also the liberation of our minds and hearts from abuse, disunity and evil.”
She urged Filipinos to stand for truth and justice and warned against allowing the “the spirit of wisdom and unity" to fade.
Rizal Day, observed every December 30, marks the 1896 execution of Jose Rizal by Spanish colonial authorities, an event that helped galvanize the Philippine revolution.
Rizal’s body of work became mandatory reading in schools under Republic Act 1425, or the Rizal Law, passed in 1956. The law requires the study of his life, works and writings at the tertiary level.
