VICE-PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE

Warmest greetings to all my fellow Filipinos abroad as we commemorate our nation’s 117th Day of Independence.

More than a century after we have gained our freedom as a people, there still remain other fronts that we need to conquer if we are to call ourselves truly free.

This year’s theme for the Independence Day Celebrations, “Independence 2015: Triumphs through Reforms, within Nation’s reach” highlights the heights we can aspire to as a nation as we sustain the gains that have been achieved under the present administration.

As the country writes another page in its Grand Narrative, it is crucial that we translate our rosy economic numbers into tangible programmes and projects that will benefit the people. Better roads and public transport, food and energy security, well-equipped schools and hospitals, and decent jobs for the people — these are all possible if, like our ancestors, we work hand in hand to achieve our shared dreams.

Ultimately it is not only reforms in government that will break the chains of poverty that bind many of our people. We must also reform ourselves and our mindset so that each one of us works not only for our own welfare, but also for others.

Happy Independence Day, and though you are in other shores, may you always uphold the values that mark your noble heritage.