If we are to aspire for a genuine change, Senator Richard "Dick" Gordon said Filipinos must work diligently as our nation's heroes did during their time.

Gordon, one of the presidential aspirants in May 2010 polls, made the statement to coincide with the nation's celebration of the National Heroes day Monday.

He said that rather than just performing ceremonies to commemorate the event, what is more important is to instill in every Filipino’s character the values and principles that have enabled the nation’s heroes to make a difference.

“We must look at our history and learn from our heroes because they are the ones who had the confidenceto break the walls in their minds. We have to recognize the contributions of our martyrs and see why they chose to defend the national interest. We must be able to look at our past with pride so that we can be able to conquer the future with a lot of confidence, hope and with conviction,” he said.

“Our heroes may have lived in different periods of time in our history but they all fought against a system that curtails democracy, stood up against people who have no sense of the common good, and opened the minds of Filipinos to think of the national interest above their personal interests,” he added.

Gordon said that the nation has a lot of challenges to face today such as poverty, corruption, and the lack of good governance.

He said that the people must learn to assert what is good not only for them but for the whole nation to win over these obstacles.

Education is the key to eradicating poverty because poverty is an absence of choice and a populace that is uneducated will not be able to make good choices for themselves and for the country, he said.

Gordon said that improving the country’s learning system should be a priority of the government and stressed that everyone should have access to quality education.

On corruption, the senator said the public must continue to condemn it, the media should faithfully and do their part in exposing wrongdoings and informing the public, and the Ombudsman must go after government officials who abuse the power given to them by the people.