"For freedom and self-determination
over agonies of injustice and repression"
Warm patriotic greetings.
At first, this note is in one with the Filipino people in commemorating Araw ng Kagitingan, the "Day of Valor". In this event showed more than just commemorating courage and sacrifice, but also an affirmation of one's struggle for freedom and self-determination over the agonies of war.
However, in this occasion this also meant a continuous fight against imperialist intervention. Especially in a time countries like China and the United States trying to upheld their interests in the country, it is unsurprising that the present political order continues to act vassal-like especially in exchange for loans our current and future generations be forced to pay upon, if not entrenched entities trying to repress us economically. And today, as being tested by a global health crisis, frontliners, despite being praised as "present-day heroes" and working amidst great personal risk in hospitals to that of logistics, are still given scant support by those who "promised sufficient assistance."
It is not surprising that entrenched interests through the Duterte administration has continue to repress and fool us. In his message the president described the battlefields of Bataan as "testing the character of our forebears" and "produced heroes that defined their generation." Indeed but way far from his vassal-like actions as Duterte himself chose to submit to the whims of both China and the United States. But, like our valorous predecessors our struggle for social justice and self-determination as a nation will always be continuous. Valor is when the workers continue to fight for a just wage decent assistance and farmers for their right to till. Valor is also when our indigenous folks resist against militarization and developmental aggression and for their defence of their way of life. And valor also means standing up against the policies dictated by imperialists and its puppets, what more entities like the NTFELCAC, and its bloodied policies and actions.
Again, this note joins the Filipino people not just in honouring our brave heroes who fought courageously during the Second World War, especially those who died with courage in the hearts during the Death March or those who languished in prison camps. We also honor those who escaped and chose to fight in the mountains as guerillas, trying to continue the struggle despite in tatters and facing risks of being captured. From their examples would say that this note also honours those who chose to take stand in the face of challenges brought by the Duterte administration, driven by social justice and self-determination as a nation.