President Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr. cited the need for an efficient system for the distribution of World War II veterans' pension as he paid tribute to them during the celebration of the 81st Araw ng Kagitingan on Monday, April 10.

President Ferdinand 'Bongbong' Marcos Jr. (Ali Vicoy)

In an interview with reporters in Bataan, the President said that before the government can look into additional incentives for the veterans, there must first be a better system to address issues surrounding the distribution of their pension.

"Ang aming tinitingnan ay kung paano natin patibayin ang sistema ng pagbigay ng pensyon sa ating beterano dahil sa kasalukuyan, pagka hindi natin inayos ang sistema, hindi tatagal (What we're studying is how we could improve the system of giving the veterans' pension because if we don't fix it, it won't last long)," he said.

"Kapag naayos natin ito, tsaka na natin tingnan kung ano pa ang pwede nating ibigay lalo na sa World War II veterans dahil, kung maalala ninyo, it was only a few years ago na kinilala ang ating mga beterano at ibinigay ang kanilang backpay (Once we do, then we'll look into what else we can give the World War II veterans because, if you recall, it was only a few years ago when they were recognized and they received their backpay)," he added.

According to the President, some of the problems that needed to be addressed were soldiers who retire earlier than the retirement age.

Despite this, Marcos said there was a need to recognize the country's war veterans, noting how among the 500,000 frontline fighters that survived the war, only around 1,000 are still alive.

"Kaya kailangan talaga natin kupkupin natin at tulungan natin at alagaan natin sila dahil sila ang nagbigay nitong napakagandang biyaya ng kalayaan natin sa Pilipinas (That's why we need to take care of them because they were the ones who gifted us our country's freedom)," he said.

Meanwhile, in his speech during the celebration of the Day of Valor, Marcos asked Filipinos to have faith and look to the future with confidence as they face everyday challenges.

One challenge the President referred to was the Covid-19 pandemic, wherein the Filipino nobility of spirit was once again demonstrated.

"Once again, Filipinos showed the world our purity of spirit and of compassion by willingly putting themselves in peril in the service of others," he said.

"So have faith. We can look to the future with confidence, guided with the knowledge that the most noble Filipino quality of heroism is aflame and burns brightly in every true Filipino," he added.

As every Filipino toils and sacrifices to feed their families, help their communities and serve their country, the President called on the nation to celebrate these golden deeds that uphold the spirit of patriotism.

"We celebrate all the individual acts of valor and of sacrifice. We celebrate the Filipino spirit. We celebrate our countrymen's deep, abiding love of every Filipino: love for our land, love for our people, and love for our freedom," the President said.

"We have been called upon to stay true to that tradition, that tradition that Filipinos have demonstrated throughout our history. And so it is today that the spirit of heroism is once again asked of us by our country," the chief executive stressed.

Under Proclamation No. 466, s. 1989, the country celebrates Philippine Veterans Week from April 5 to 11 of every year to promote, preserve, and memorialize the principles, ideas, and deeds of the war veterans to enhance patriotism and love of the country, especially among the Filipino youth.

Executive Order (EO) No. 203, s. 1987 designated April 9 of every year as Araw ng Kagitingan.

President Marcos signed Proclamation No. 90, s. 2022, moving the celebration of the Araw ng Kagitingan to April 10.