“Let the life of hero Andres De Castro Bonifacio serve as an inspiration to all of us: someone who was born poor but became successful through hard work,” Bacolod Vice Mayor Jude Thaddeus Sayson said yesterday.

Sayson spoke in behalf of Bacolod Mayor Evelio Leonardia during the 144th Commemoration of the birth of Andres Bonifacio, the Father of the Katipunan, in a program held at Bonifacio Park beside Andres Bonifacio Elementary School I, Bacolod City .

“The celebration is also significant because of what transpired in Manila ,” Sayson said referring to the rebel group that assaulted the Manila Peninsula Hotel in Makati Thursday.

That was not the kind of revolution that we want to happen and neither was it the kind Bonifacio had dreamed of during his time, Sayson said.

The true revolution that we should focus on is the battle against poverty and to uplift the lives of the people, he said.

“Let us focus on the things that can give opportunities to our youth. This celebration is for our youth, to remind us that we have a responsibility to give them a better life in the future,” Sayson said.

The challenge is for the teachers who are in the front lines in charged with shaping the future of the younger generation. Second to parents, teachers are very important because one of the longest periods in one's life is spent in school, Sayson said.

A reenactment of the life of Andres Bonifacio dubbed as “Bonifacio: Ama ng Kalayaan, Simbolo ng Katotohanan” played by teachers and students of ABES, directed by Alma Borbon and researched by Leny Lidres was one of the highlights of the program

The ceremony also included the raising of the Revolutionary and Katipunan Flags together with the Philippine flag and the wreath-laying spearheaded by the Vice Mayor, with Councilors Celia Flor, Wilson Gamboa Jr. and Catalino Alisbo.

Also present were Dr. Milagros Gonzales – City Schools Division Superintendent, Marcial Lindayao – ABES I Principal, Senior Supt. Ronilo Quebrar – Bacolod police director, Barangay Captains Antonio Ongsingco, Bernabe Sibong, Mylene Dewara and Gloria Alisbo.*

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