25/08/2025
𝐍𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐚𝐥 𝐇𝐞𝐫𝐨𝐞𝐬 𝐃𝐚𝐲 𝟐𝟎𝟐𝟓: "𝘐𝘴𝘢𝘯𝘨 𝘋𝘪𝘸𝘢, 𝘐𝘴𝘢𝘯𝘨 𝘓𝘢𝘩𝘪, 𝘐𝘴𝘢𝘯𝘨 𝘉𝘢𝘺𝘢𝘯𝘪𝘩𝘢𝘯"
🇵🇭 WHAT DOES IT TAKE TO BE A HERO?
When I was younger, I thought a hero was someone who died in battle, who led an army, whose name was etched into our history books... like grand names such as Rizal, Bonifacio, Gabriela Silang.
But as I grew older, I realized a hero is not only found in monuments or textbooks. A hero is someone who chooses to do what is right, even when fear is louder than courage. A hero is someone who serves selflessly, who sacrifices without expecting recognition.
Heroes live closer to us than we think. They are our mothers and fathers, our grandparents, ordinary people whose extraordinary love shapes us every day.
One such hero in my life is my grandmother, 1st Lt./Dr. Mercedes Cuello Lazaro Musngi, a Filipina guerrilla medic and sharpshooter in World War II. She carried both a rifle and a Red Cross armband, saving lives while risking her own. But beyond the battlefield, she taught me something greater...
how to love God,
how to love our people,
how to love our country.
She left behind a legacy so great that I am no longer afraid to follow in her footsteps. For me and many others, she lifts up the very standard of what it means to be a hero...not just because she served a nation, but because she also served her family with the same courage and love.
And so today, I hope that one day, all the unsung heroes—parents, workers, neighbors, grandparents...will be recognized. You may not carry the title of a “national hero,” but in our hearts, you are a nation’s hero.
🇵🇭❤️ Happy National Heroes Day from the Philippines! Mabuhay ang ating mga bayani—remembered, unsung, and forever loved.
