Outgoing Vice President Leni Robredo encouraged the public to continue striving as a united nation amid the challenges the country has to face as she wished Filipinos a meaningful Independence Day celebration.
Robredo said this as the country commemorated its 124th Independence Day on Sunday, June 12.
In a recorded message, the Vice President encouraged Filipinos to stand together and continue their forefathers' fight for freedom.
"Tinatawag tayong magpatuloy, mulat sa lahat ng ating pinagdaanan bilang nagkakaisang bansa (We are called to forge on, aware of all that we have had to go through as a unified nation)," she said.
According to the Vice President, even ordinary citizens can do so much to uphold the liberties they enjoy, such as asserting the truth of the country's history.
"Maging bukas at mapagmahal; tumulong sa nangangailangan. Idiin ang tama at makatarungan, at laging igiit ang katotohanan ng kasaysayan. Humugot ng inspirasyon sa isa’t isa, lalo na sa mga nauna (Be open and loving; help those in need. Affirm what is right and true, and assert the truths of our history. Find inspiration in one another, and from those who came before)," Robredo said.
"Manindigan sa iisang kuwentong hindi kailanman mababago, maaagaw, o mabubura– kuwentong binibigkis tayo ayon sa kolektibo nating nakaraan, at nagbibigay-lakas para tumungo sa kolektibo ring kinabukasan (Stand firm on a story that can never be changed, stolen, erased— a story that binds us according to a collective past, and allows us the strength to march towards a collective future)," she added.
Robredo said that the country's history, "a thread that can never be broken," holds Filipinos together regardless of stature or wherever in the world they may be.
"Tandaan: Hindi nakakamtan ang tagumpay sa iisang iglap lamang. Binubuo ito ng sari-saring yugto ng pagod at takot, ng tapang at kadakilaan, ng pagsisikap at pakikibaka (It reminds us: Victory is not achieved overnight. It is comprised of many chapters of exhaustion and fear, of courage and greatness, of perseverance and combat)," she said.
"Anumang kalayaan ang nakamtan ng ating mga ninuno ay isang hakbang lamang sa mahabang landas tungo sa pambansang kaganapan– isang landas na tinatahak pa rin natin hanggang ngayon (Any freedom that our ancestors might have achieved is but one step in the long path towards national fruition— a journey that we continue to tread until today)," she added.