Marcos vows to fight threats to freedom

MANILA, Philippines — President Marcos has vowed to continue the fight against threats to freedom and repel those who trample the country’s “sacred shores.”

In a speech during the 125th anniversary of the First Philippine Republic in Malolos, Bulacan yesterday, Marcos urged Filipinos to be modern-day heroes and help the country prosper.

He honored Filipinos who fought for freedom, saying the beneficiaries of their heroism will continue to pay their dues.

He said that stewards of the heroes’ legacy are expected to pay rent by making the economy sound, the democracy stable, the future secured and the nation strong.

“For that is the only way that we can honor those who founded this Republic, those who fought for its ideals and those who fell in the war. The fight continues up to this day, because while the great cause of freedom endures, it still faces threats, some shocking, some subtle, but all met with the same resolve,” Marcos said.

He warned that those who trample the country’s “sacred shores” would face resistance.

“The spirit of Malolos commands us to resist you, for the territory our forefathers fought for is unconquerable,” he said.

Marcos did not provide specifics, although the speech was delivered amid reports about fresh incidents of harassment of Filipino fishermen by Chinese coast guard in the West Philippine Sea.

The Philippine Coast Guard reported that Filipino fishermen were forced by the Chinese coast guard to return the shells they collected from Panatag Shoal.

Marcos talked about modern-day problems, saying Filipinos are now fighting wars that involve no armies to be crushed or trenches to be overwhelmed, and do not require bloodshed or rushing of barricades.

“They are harder to vanquish and they exact a toll of poverty, hunger and disease that claim more lives than any armed conflict,” Marcos said.

He said Filipinos have been waging a war against hunger, with farms as battlefields, because a republic that does not feed its people will be consumed by their anger.

“The administration has been working for higher income and better jobs to emancipate people from the bondage of poverty,” he said, noting that a republic is impoverished if only a few people are rich.

Marcos said the government has been unrelenting in securing peace from all quarters as freedom cannot thrive in chaos and exist with those who preach intolerance or seek tyranny.

“Most importantly, we have been working to forge national unity based on ideals larger than ourselves, for a cause higher than we are,” he said, noting a divided republic can never prosper.

“When fractured into tribes, cliques and factions, its attention is divided by the petty and its energy is distracted away from the grand dreams we have for our nation.”

Marcos said such cracks were present when the Malolos Republic was born, but the fissures did not prevent the Philippines from becoming a republic.

He said Filipinos are keeping the heroism, sacrifices and patriotism of their forebears alive, despite threats from diseases, poverty, calamities and other risks.

He assured the people that the government would accompany them as they face these trials.

“The new face of the government under the new Philippines has eyes that are open to problems, ears that listen to the concerns of the people, voice that is ready to defend the oppressed and, most importantly, a heart that serves to achieve a comfortable life for Filipinos,” Marcos said.

The First Philippine Republic was inaugurated at the Barasoain Church on Jan. 23, 1899.

According to the Official Gazette, the Malolos Republic was the culmination of the Philippine Revolution, which began with the Katipunan and led to the creation of the first Constitution and republican government in Asia.

Marcos said Philippine history continues to inspire Filipinos to overcome the obstacles that slow down the nation’s march to progress. — Ramon Efren Lazaro