'Carry on the fight of nation's heroes' says Koko

By Jose Rafael Cesar Atencio

Thursday 14th of June 2012

SAN JUAN CITY, June 14 (PIA) -- Filipinos should carry on the struggles of the nation's heroes by devoting collective energies to fight poverty and injustice.

This was the message of Senator Aquilino Martin “Koko” D. Pimentel III during the 114th Independence Day, as he laid a wreath at the Pinaglabanan Shrine in San Juan City, Metro Manila.

"The heroism of our freedom fighters who shed their blood at the Battle of Pinaglabanan should continue to inspire us to fight for a strong and modern Filipino nation,” Pimentel added in his speech.

The Battle of Pinaglabanan, also known as the Battle of San Juan del Monte, was the very first battle of the Katipunan against the Spanish government during the Philippine Revolution.

The battle took place on August 30, 1896, when Katipuneros led by Andres Bonifacio attacked a military depot in San Juan, and fought 100 well-armed Spanish soldiers. While this resulted in the death of 153 and capture of 200 Katipuneros, the battle inspired Filipinos to rise in arms. Hence, the revolution quickly spread to Manila, Cavite, and other parts of Luzon.

“More than a century has passed since the historic battle, and our circumstances now are different from the circumstances then, but the challenge remains the same – to continue working together and never waver from the straight and righteous path to establish a future of peace, progress and development for all the people of our beloved republic, most especially for the poor, the oppressed and the marginalized,” Pimentel said.

“As the living descendants of our heroes, it is our obligation to persist and stay the course. If you are right, never give up,” Pimentel added.

He called on the Filipino people “to unite as one to overcome the forces of division and strife and tightly embrace peace - peace that should lead our country towards progress, development and stability based on justice.”

Others who attended the ceremony were San Juan City Rep. Jose Victor “JV” Ejercito, San Juan City Mayor Guia Gomez, and San Juan City Vice Mayor Francisco Javier Zamora.(SGDL/JRCA/PIA-NCR/RJB/JRCP)