The Filipino people honored their heroes even in pre-colonial times. They preserved their heroes’ great deeds in their lore and in their epics. Lam-ang, Princess Urduja, Handiong, and Bantugan are some of these folk heroes who survived in the collective memory of the Filipino people.

President Emilio F. Aguinaldo officially started the annual observance of paying homage to our country’s heroes. On December 30, 1898, he declared December 30 of every year as “Memorial Day” to honor Dr. Jose P. Rizal and all Filipinos who suffered martyrdom for the sake of Philippine freedom. Daet, Camarines Norte, erected the first Rizal Monument and inaugurated it on December 30, 1898.

In early 1901, Don Pascual H. Poblete, another hero of the 1896 Revolution, initiated the project to erect a monument in honor of our National Hero Dr. Jose P. Rizal. The Philippine Commission, headed by William H. Taft, supported the project and enacted a law allowing a fund-raising campaign and setting aside a piece of land at the Luneta (now Rizal Park) where the monument was to be erected. This monument was inaugurated on December 30, 1912. In April 23, 1901, friends and relatives of Andres D. Bonifacio, Katipunan Supremo, celebrated the latter’s death anniversary, organized the Samahang May-Pagasa, and launched a fund-raising campaign to erect a monument for the hero. The Andres Bonifacio Monument, now popularly called “Monumento,” was inaugurated in 1935.

Similar efforts were undertaken by patriotic organizations. The nationalistic newspaper El Renacimiento/Muling Pagsilang led a fund-raising campaign for a monument in honor of the many men and women who sacrificed their lives for the sake of Philippine freedom. They called this monument “Monumento a los Heroes del ‘96” and inaugurated it on September 3, 1911.

“Mapalad ang bayang linitawan ng mga bayani,” Andres Bonifacio declared, “sapagka’t ang bayang iya’y walang kamatayan” (Fortunate is the country where heroes emerge because that country will live on).

Our heroes wrote the history of our country. They were the ones who defined our identity as a people. They are our country’s immortal monuments.

Let us celebrate National Heroes Day with passion and fervor and bring to the awareness of our youth that our country’s heroes are the best models for them to emulate.