{"id":218558,"date":"2019-06-12T20:56:20","date_gmt":"2019-06-13T00:56:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/?p=218558"},"modified":"2019-06-12T20:56:20","modified_gmt":"2019-06-13T00:56:20","slug":"freedom-is-only-as-strong-as-our-resolve-to-stay-free-prrd","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/2019\/06\/12\/freedom-is-only-as-strong-as-our-resolve-to-stay-free-prrd\/","title":{"rendered":"Freedom is only as strong as our resolve to stay free: PRRD"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"\"<\/a>
FILE: DUTERTE GREETS CROWD. President Rodrigo R. Duterte interacts with supporters on the sidelines of the 121st Philippine Independence Day celebration at the 6th Infantry Battalion Grounds in Malabang, Lanao del Sur on June 12, 2019. During the Independence Day rites in Lanao del Sur, Duterte reminded the Moros of the ratification of the BOL as part of his commitment to address the historical injustices against them. (Toto Lozano\/Presidential Photo)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

MANILA<\/strong>\u00a0— President Rodrigo Duterte on Wednesday led the 121st Independence Day rites at the Lanao del Sur military camp, reminding Filipinos that freedom is only as strong as the resolve to remain free.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was here in Malabang, Lanao del Sur that then Acting President, Chief Justice Jose Abad Santos, was executed by the Japanese for refusing to cooperate with them during the invasion of the Philippines,\u201d Duterte said in his speech as he explained the significance of holding Independence Day rites at the heart of the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM).<\/p>\n

\u201cA true patriot even to the last moment, he told his son to be brave and not to cry for it is an honor to die for one’s country as not everybody has that chance. What beautiful words,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n

Duterte said he found it \u201cfitting\u201d that the Independence Day rites are held at the Headquarters of the Philippine Army\u2019s 6th Infantry Battalion, lauding soldiers for their valor.<\/p>\n

\u201cKnown as the \u2018Redskin Battalion,\u2019 this unit has been engaged in our government\u2019s fight against the Dawiah Islamiyah, the Maute Group, and other lawless elements that continue to threaten the region,\u201d Duterte said.<\/p>\n

“On behalf of a grateful nation, I thank the brave men and women of the Redskin Battalion for your bravery, selflessness service, and unconditional love of country. Your valor has indeed earned you a place among the valiant heroes who built this nation 121 years ago,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n

Duterte, meanwhile, urged Filipinos to pay tribute to past and present patriots by \u201csafeguarding the democratic institutions.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cLet us honor them by keeping in mind that the freedom that they won back then \u2013 the same freedom that we continue to enjoy today \u2013 is only as strong as our determination to [remain] free from any form of subjugation or oppression,\u201d Duterte said.<\/p>\n

While the heroes of the past faced \u201ccolonial powers\u201d, Duterte said\u00a0 the country now faces \u201cmodern problems of poverty, corruption, environmental degradation, terrorism, criminality, and illegal drugs.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThese threats, just like the threats our nation faced centuries ago, have infringed on our inalienable right to live peaceful, safe, comfortable, and meaningful lives,\u201d Duterte said.<\/p>\n

He said the importance of learning from the “lessons of the past\u201d to ensure that these current threats do not cause more harm.<\/p>\n

Duterte also asked all Filipinos to \u201cpreserve this gift of liberty\u201d for present and future generations.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

MANILA\u00a0— President Rodrigo Duterte on Wednesday led the 121st Independence Day rites at the Lanao del Sur military camp, reminding …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":33,"featured_media":218559,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1145,16,95],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-218558","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-headline","category-news","category-news-ph","mauthors-azer-parrocha","mauthors-philippine-news-agency"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/218558","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/33"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=218558"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/218558\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":218561,"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/218558\/revisions\/218561"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/218559"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=218558"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=218558"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=218558"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}