I am one with the entire Filipino people in celebrating the birth anniversary of Andres Bonifacio.

Bonifacio’s life demonstrates how an ordinary Filipino can do extraordinary things for the country. Born to working class parents in Tondo, Manila, he and his family had to work for everything they had. At age 14, he had to stop schooling to provide for himself and his family because of the death of his parents. Almost 15 years later, Bonifacio began his life of political activism. He revived the La Liga Filipina after Jose Rizal’s arrest, founded the Katipunan, and eventually led the group through the Philippine Revolution.

He showed us what it means to persevere in the midst of hardships and to sacrifice because Filipinos deserve better. He believed that we should have a government that puts the interests of the Filipino first before foreigners and that no price is too high for the freedom of our country.

Today, let us all remember everything he did for the nation and for our countrymen. May each of us embody the spirit of patriotism that Bonifacio exemplified in our everyday lives and contribute, in our own way, to the betterment of the Philippines.