Rama to government workers: Be a hero of service

CEBU, Philippines — Cebu City Vice Mayor Michael Rama has challenged all government employees to continue serving the public with “utmost dedication and undying passion” as the city commemorated the National Heroes’ Day yesterday.

Speaking before thousands of employees, Rama, who also sits as chairman of the city’s Cultural and Historical Affairs Commission (CHAC), said every day should be a hero’s day especially for public servants.

Rama praised garbage collectors, street cleaners, traffic enforcers, health service providers, disaster responders, barangay workers, policemen, firefighters, and jail employees, among others for their exemplary work and selfless dedication to public service.

“I salute you for all your hardwork and dedication,” he said.

Moreover, Rama has welcomed the plan of the national government to establish a department that would solely address the concerns of the overseas Filipino workers (OFWs).

The OFWs, he said, are “the real heroes of the present times.”

“To be a hero is actually…you just do what you’re supposed to do. Go an extra mile. That is heroism and it should come from the heart,” he said.

Dr. Clodoveo Nacorda, one of the CHAC commissioners, also challenged government workers to emulate the unsung heroes, saying that anyone does not have to go to the battlefield to be called a hero.

If people will just do their jobs well and obey all the rules and laws, Nacorda said these acts can also be called heroism.

“This holiday was mandated for the unsung heroes of the country. Those who, in their own humble way, they need not offer their lives to the country but to save the country is enough heroism,” he said.

The celebration of National Heroes’ Day began during the American colonial period, according to the Official Gazette website. The Philippine legislature, then dominated by pro-independence Filipino leaders, first enacted the holiday into law through Act No. 3827 on Oct. 28, 1931. The law declared the last Sunday of August of every year a national holiday, the government’s official website said.

In 2007, former president Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo signed Republic Act 9492, which moved the celebration to the last Monday of August.

“Our national heroes are often portrayed as a pantheon of distinct and powerful personalities who have managed to get their names published in our history books by virtue of their words or actions. But National Heroes Day specifies no hero,” the Official Gazette said.

“The law that put into practice the celebration does not name a single one. And this lack of specifics offers an opportunity to celebrate the bravery of not one, not a few, but all Filipino heroes who have braved death or persecution for home, nation, justice and freedom,” it added. (FREEMAN)