President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. on Wednesday led the 83rd anniversary rites of the Araw ng Kagitingan (Day of Valor), hoping the painful lessons of World War II should be learned to attain and maintain peace.
Speaking at Mount Samat National Shrine in Pilar, Bataan, the President said the event is a celebration of the lessons that have been learned “through this very terrible hardship and very terrible experience.”
“The lessons that we learned are – that the solution to war is not more war, and that the solution to war is only peace. And honorable peace that is arrived at by the different parties involved and having a hand and a voice in achieving that peace,” he said.
“Peace cannot be attained by one person, by one country alone. And that we have to bring together all the parties that are involved. These are the lessons that we hope to have learned,” the President said.
President Marcos expressed his disappointment in seeing that in some parts of the world and many countries have yet to learn the lessons from the Second World War. He added he hopes there will be peace soon.
The President said that among the lessons learned from WWII is that not only valor, bravery, courage and sacrifice are demonstrated by those who fought in battles, but they continue to be demonstrated by all the little heroic deeds of the people during crisis.
“We continue to believe in the courage of every single Filipino, not only our servicemen, not only those who fought as a regulars, but also our civilians who made their own sacrifices. Because after all, as is has been said they too serve who sit and wait,” the President said.
He said the event is also a celebration of the heroism of all those who fought in Bataan, as well as the hard-earned peace gained through the blood and the sacrifice of all the servicemen, not just Filipinos and Americans, but also those who fought bravely for their countries.
At the same time, the commemoration is a celebration of the country’s future, keeping in mind the lessons from the past, the President said.
This year’s Araw ng Kagitingan theme is “Kabayanihan ng Beterano: Sandigan ng Kaunlaran ng Bagong Pilipinas” | PND
