A TIME FOR TRIBUTE
Today we pay tribute to our forebears whose singular commitment to courage and nationalism is a legacy from which we draw inspiration.

It is a time to show our gratitude for their legacy that has allowed the molding of a society with the minds and hearts of free and courageous men and women.

We remember those who struggled hard, shed blood and gave up their lives to free us and make us a sovereign nation.
A TIME FOR REFLECTION
The nation is into the fourth year, this year, in the celebration of three historic centennials — that of nationalism, nationhood and the Philippine revolutionary movement.

Likewise, between 1992 and 1998, our nation will be commemorating other centennials related to our quest for sovereignty and nationhood: the culmination at the period of propaganda and reform, the founding of Katipunan, the launching and triumph of the first phase of the Philippine Revolution, the Cry of Pugad Lawin, the Battle of Pinaglabanan, the martyrdom of Rizal.

By the end of my term in 1998, we will be observing the centennial of our declaration of independence from foreign colonization. Also, we will memorialize the sixth year of our victory at EDSA.

With these in mind, today’s celebration assumes many levels of meaning. Surely, it is more than a time paying tribute. As this is the first of my six-years sojourn with the Filipino people into the centennial of our independence, I see today as the best time for taking stock of where we are and how far our nation has gone in its journey towards nationhood and self-reliance.

OUR COMMON VISION: FREEDOM WITH EMPOWERMENT
Dr. Jose Rizal was one of the first to imbue us and our national tradition with the ideals of a freedom through peace, reason and reconciliation. He believed that freedom is won not through the sword but through the people making themselves worthy of it.

Dr. Rizal would have been proud of EDSA as it unveiled the realization of his dream, and even prouder as the Filipino of today begins to fulfill his dream of a self-willed self-determining society — a society propelled only by the vision of the common good.

Indeed, freedom has meaning only if it empowers the people.

And to empower is to expand the life-choices of our people, specially of the poorest among us. To empower is to bring dignity to the life of every Filipino, enabling him to take control over his life, livelihood and future.

The hero of today is one who gives himself to working and committing to attain this vision.

It is he who fights for the people’s rights and opportunities by enlarging their contact with government, so that one supports the initiatives of the other.

It is he who fights to maintain stability, so that liberty can flourish for every Filipino to enjoy.

It is he who contributes to sustain economic growth, so the economy can generate jobs that mean the people’s social usefulness and self-respect.

It is he who moves to create a responsible and responsive bureaucracy, historic in its success to lead.

It is he who protects the environment from those who abuse our natural resources, to preserve it for its rightful claimants — our children and our children’s children.

It is he who recognizes his weaknesses, yet endeavors to reaffirm his values and virtues and carries on with high spirits.
THE CHALLENGE OF HEROISM
And so I call on the heroes of today. Let us be proud of our tried and united heritage. But let it not end there. Together, let us summon our collective strength.

Let us prepare ourselves for the celebration of our 100th year of independence.

Let us work for the real meaning of our independence.

Let us fight to optimize the talent, capacity, resiliency and self-reliance of the Filipino.

Let us fight to empower that basic social, political, cultural and economic unit of our nation — the individual Filipino and his family.

This is the real meaning of the freedom our national heroes fought to win. It is the only way to win, for us and our posterity, the desired Filipino nation.

Mabuhay ang ating lahi! Mabuhay ang Bayaning Pilipino!