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Manila Bulletin devider Philippines devider National devider Chief Justice Gesmundo: 'A nation that is truly free is just, a nation that is truly just is free'

Chief Justice Gesmundo: 'A nation that is truly free is just, a nation that is truly just is free'

Published Jun 12, 2026 02:25 pm
Chief Justice Alexander G. Gesmundo mobilized all Filipinos to protect the country’s freedom particularly from hunger, poverty, fear, oppression, corruption and plunder, selfishness and neglect, and from absence of justice.
The Chief Justice was guest speaker on Friday, June 12, during the Independence Day celebration organized by the National Historical Commission of the Philippines (NHCP) at the National Museum of Social History in Angeles City.
He said: “It is our duty to answer this call, because together with the rights and freedoms we enjoy today come our responsibilities as Filipino citizens.”
Among those in the Independence Day celebration in Angeles City were Rep. Carmelo G. Lazatin III, Angeles City Mayor Carmelo G. Lazatin Jr., Vice Mayor Amos D. Rivera, and Rommel R. Aquino, chief of NHCP’s material research conservation division.
The Chief Justice reiterated his usual reminder during Independence Day celebration: “Freedom is something that is alive. And because it is alive, even though more than a century has already passed, the struggle for freedom continues, in our respective fields, in our respective ways. But if the call of the times before was to attain freedom from the colonizer, now we are being called to make this freedom complete and meaningful.”
He said what is more important is the day after Independence Day. “In other words, attaining freedom is not enough: the more important question is, what shall we do with this freedom; for what shall we use it; how shall we preserve and cultivate it.”
He stressed that one clear path toward preserving and cultivating freedom is working for justice.
But he said that the work for justice is not only for justices, judges, and lawyers. “It is the work of every Filipino, especially in how we deal with one another, in how we participate in society, in our being citizens.”
Concluding his message, Gesmundo said: “Therefore, on this day, may we reflect on the truth that gave life to the Philippine Revolution and to the continuing struggle for our independence: A nation that is truly free is just. A nation that is truly just is free.”

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