By their death, they taught us how to live

(Speech delivered in November 29, 1997)

I am honored to be here today, at the Bantayog ng mga Bayani—a monument to those Filipinos—our husbands, wives, sons, daughters, fathers and mothers who died fighting for freedom, justice and democracy.  This monument is particularly significant because it honors our more recent heroes—those men and women who shed their blood for the modern Filipino revolution, the struggle against the oppression of martial rule. Many of those whose names are carved on the wall of this monument were, once upon a time, considered by the State as insurgents—its enemies, who were menaces to society.  This was why many of them were arrested, kidnapped, tortured, salvaged or killed in action by the martial law forces.

But in truth, they were freedom fighters who fought and died on the side of the people.  No other distinction is needed.  And the Bantayog ng mga Bayani is society’s expression of pain at the loss of such talent among our people.  We also want the Bantayog ng mga Bayani to express our admiration for and gratitude to all the brave men and women who offered their lives so that the rest of us may live in freedom.

Although the people’s triumph at EDSA was peaceful, the  process that led to EDSA was not.  The price for our peaceful revolution and our restored democracy was the precious blood of these patriots, many of them young and brilliant—indeed, the fair hope of the Motherland.

They are heroes, who gave their lives with the courage and conviction that the Filipino is worth dying for.  And they were not wrong.  For we, the people they died for, have prevailed over the tyranny and injustice of martial rule, the human frailties of our democratic leaders, and the attempts by various sectors to steal our hard-won freedoms away from us.  Although there were some Filipinos who have betrayed the trust of our heroes by using our restored freedoms to attempt to enslave us once more, fortunately a great many have remained faithful to the cause.

We have stood by our democracy, steadfastly defending it against any and all threats to its annihilation.  Against the tyranny of the powerful, the destructive and costly coup attempts, and more recently, against any attempts to manipulate the Constitution or amend it to perpetuate some politicians in power.

These days, we Filipinos are challenged once more—by the economic crunch that has spread throughout the region like a particularly lethal case of Asian flu, by the drought caused by the EL NINO phenomenon and by the confusion surrounding the preparations for the important presidential elections of 1998.

The elections will continue to try our faith in those who ask us to elect them as our leaders, as the campaign intensifies into a word war and other dirty tactics.  We are asked to be discerning and fair, to choose the right person. And we are called upon to be vigilant and defend the integrity of the electoral process.

The economic crunch will require great sacrifices from our people who have, only recently, begun to enjoy the fruits of economic recovery.  And EL NINO will try our very souls as we cope in the next few months with dwindling water supply, due to a prolonged region-wide drought.

What have all these got to do with the heroes whom we honor here today, here at the Bantayog ng mga Bayani? I say, all these have much to do with the sacrifices that these men and women made in a much more troubled time.  By their death, they taught us how to live—with full commitment to the cause, with the courage of our convictions, with the strength to persevere and with the firm belief that no effort ever really goes to waste, no loss is irretrievable.  We may lose our loved ones—I lost a husband, others lost their sons, daughters, parents.  But by their ultimate sacrifice, they have given us back our dreams and our freedoms.  By their very act of selflessness, the torch was passed and the vision of a just society lives on.

The work of restoring and nurturing democracy is never done.  The challenges we face today still requires heroism that was so necessary during the dark and difficult days of martial rule.  The good news is that it is no longer as life-threatening as before.  Yet it could be if we are not vigilant.  The forces of evil continue to lurk in the shadows, ready to undo our democratic gains.  We must never again allow them to do this to our sons  and daughters, our husbands and wives, our country and our people.  We can prevent a recurrence of the past if we take up the challenge of today—to be heroes in our everyday lives, for our children, for Almighty God, for our country and for our people.