While President Benigno Aquino III offered the international community a toast to the future of a free Philippines in Malacañang on Sunday, militant groups marched in Manila to protest the continued woes of Filipinos.
Members of several militant groups snarled traffic on Taft Avenue in Manila as they held a protest march, radio dzBB's Glen Juego reported.
But the militants led by Bagong Alyansang Makabayan (Bayan) failed to reach its ultimate destination – the United States Embassy along Roxas Boulevard – as police blocked their path along T.M. Kalaw Street.
The report said the militants lamented the Philippine government has not done enough for Filipinos in terms of social services such as health.
In Malacañang, meanwhile, Aquino offered a toast to the Diplomatic Corps at the Vin d'honneur for the 113th anniversary of the Declaration of Philippine Independence.
"So today I would also like for all of us to look toward the future. The best way to pay our respects to the heroes who sacrificed for us is to put in the same amount of effort they did to making our country a better place, to building a nation truly free and committed to inclusive and equitable progress, borne of compassion and integrity," Aquino said in his toast.
He recalled his late father, the late Sen. Benigno "Ninoy" Aquino Jr., who was assassinated in 1983, as once saying "the Filipino is worth dying for."
On the other hand, he said his late mother Cory – who was president from 1986 to 1992 – articulated again the famous proclamation.
"I have now committed my life to showing the world the truth that both my parents proclaimed," he said.
"Allow me then to raise my glass to freedom, to our heroes, and, most of all, to the heroes we hope will continue to be etched in our national memory, there for the coming generations of Filipinos to honor: To what our soldiers fought for; To what our martyrs died for; And to what we, as a nation, aspire to perfect—the fulfillment of the greatest promises of democracy," he said. — LBG
