IN our President Aquino’s eulogy delivered for the “Fallen 44,” he said: “Our 44 fallen heroes from our police force, the youngest at 26 and the most senior at 39 years old, pushed themselves and exerted all their effort to do what they could, not only for themselves and their families, but for our beloved country.”
Prior to that eulogy, President Aquino in issuing Proclamation 953, declaring January 30, 2015, as a “National Day of Mourning,” said that he was “greatly saddened that our policemen had to lay down their lives for this mission” and that, “without question, these people are heroes.”
So may the Fallen 44 be officially recognized as Philippine heroes?
Theoretically, there is no legal prohibition for our President or Congress to issue or enact measures to officially recognize them as such. However, up to this date, there is no republic act or law or “presidential issuance” officially proclaiming any Filipino as a “national hero.” However, there are laws enacted or proclamations issued “honoring” some Filipino historical figures or personalities. For example, Emilio Aguinaldo issued a decree declaring every “December 30 of every year a day of national mourning in honor of Rizal” (and, henceforth, December 30 has been celebrated as Rizal Day). On February 16, 1921, RA 2946 was enacted to commemorate the birth of Andres Bonifacio and, henceforth, November 30 of each year was considered a legal holiday and called Bonifacio Day. Meanwhile, on July 2007, RA 9256 was signed into law, declaring the Monday nearest August 21 as a nationwide special holiday to commemorate the death anniversary of former Sen. Benigno “Ninoy” Aquino.
Sometime in 1993, former President Fidel Ramos issued an executive order that created a “National Heroes Committee,” the objective of which is to study Filipino historical personalities and recommend who among them may be recognized for their character, contribution and achievements for our country. The committee—where our former Education Secretary and first Career Executive Service Board (CESB) ChairmanDr. Onofre D. Corpuz, Dr. Alfredo Lagmay, Ambeth Ocampo and Carmen Guerrero-Nakpil are members—subsequently adopted a “criteria” to determine who among the generally recognized great Filipinos be officially proclaimed as national heroes. In 1995 the committee submitted a report to our Department of Education (DepEd), recommending nine Filipinos be recognized as national heroes.
Nothing happened since then. Discussions among historians and “experts” suggested at that time that an official proclamation declaring some Filipinos as our national heroes might have started demands from various sectors for more proclamations to declare other “deserving” historical personalities as national heroes.
On the part of the DepEd, the lives of these important Filipino personalities are discussed in our various subjects (especially in Araling Panlipunan). Consistent with the mandate of our K to 12 law, even “local heroes” where our schools are located are discussed in our class, and their great historical contributions to the society are emphasized.
Today Education Secretary Bro. Armin A. Luistro, FSC, issued the following statement: “[O]n Monday [February 2], during our flag-raising ceremonies, let us collectively honor our 44 SAF heroes and remember all those who perished in Mamasapano, Maguindanao, by observing 44 seconds of silence plus one more second for all other casualties. We pray that the path to peace does not lead to the loss of more lives. May our schools continue to foster understanding and tolerance for the healing of our nation.”
Indeed, a legislation to officially recognize the Fallen 44 as our heroes is not necessary, as their memories and the sacrifice of their lives to be our tagapagligtas shall anyway stay in our hearts—forever.
Lawyer Toni Umali is the current assistant secretary for Legal and Legislative Affairs of the DepEd. He is licensed to practice law not only in the Philippines, but also in the state of California and some federal courts in the United States after passing the California State Bar Examinations in 2004. He has served as a legal consultant to several legislators and local chief executives. As education assistant secretary, he was instrumental in the passage of the K to 12 law and the issuance of its implementing rules and regulations. He is also the alternate spokesman of the DepEd.
1 comment
This was such a tragedy. May our children never forget the sacrifices of all our fallen heroes.