MANILA, July 28 (PNA) — The Filipino is worth fighting for!
President Benigno S. Aquino III added this line to the slogan of his father, the late Senator Benigno “Ninoy” Aquino Jr., when he delivered his fifth State of the Nation Address (SONA) at the Batasang Pambansa in Quezon City on Monday.
The President made the remark towards the end of his speech when he was thanking the Filipino people for giving him the chance to lead them.
“Ang transpormasyong tinatamasa natin ngayon, ay magagawa nating permanente sa gabay ng Panginoon. Hangga’t buo ang ating pananalig at tiwala, at hangga’t nagsisilbi tayong lakas ng isa’t isa, patuloy nating mapapatunayan na the Filipino is worth dying for, the Filipino is worth living for, at idadagdag ko naman po: The Filipino is definitely worth fighting for,” he said.
Ninoy Aquino uttered his famous last words, “The Filipino is worth dying for,” before he was gunned down in 1983 during the regime of former president Ferdinand Marcos.
President Aquino said that now, he knows the reason why he survived the ambush during the presidency of his mother, the late Corazon C. Aquino.
“Alam po ni Vice President na noong 1987, nagkasama kami, may kudeta, na-ambush po tayo doon, at tapos noon ay pangalawang buhay ko na po ito… Kuntento na po ako dahil panatag ang kalooban ko na kung ako po’y mawala na dito, marami po ang magpapatuloy ng ating tinahak; baka iyon lang po talaga ang papel ko, na umpisahan ito,” said President Aquino.
He then expressed his gratitude to the members of his Cabinet and religious leaders.
In an interview after the SONA, Presidential Communications Operations Office (PCOO) Secretary Herminio Coloma Jr. confirmed that during the last part of the address, the President spoke impromptu.
“He was talking to me, he was talking to every Filipino,” said Coloma. (PNA)