PBBM PAYS TRIBUTE TO FM, VOWS TO FOLLOW FATHER’S CREDO

PRESIDENT Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. on Wednesday paid tribute to his father.

The Chief Executive attended the Thanksgiving Mass for the 107th Birth Anniversary of former president Ferdinand E. Marcos Sr. at the Immaculate Conception Parish-Batac in Batac City, Ilocos Norte.

“He (Marcos Sr.) is…from on high, he has continued to bless us all and he has continued to guide us all. And that I think is the greatest legacy that any man, any public servant, any Filipino can do for his countrymen,” the President said in his brief remarks after the mass.

He expressed gratitude to those who officiated and joined the mass.

“Thank you for joining us here in this celebratory mass to celebrate my father’s what would have been his 107th birthday,” the President said.

“And for us, the Marcos family, that’s always a significant number dahil nandiyan na naman ‘yung siete na lucky number ng aking ama,” the President added.

The Chief Executive said a day of festivities had been prepared to honor the memory of his father.

“We have a day of festivities prepared and I hope that it will be a proper celebration for Ferdinand Edralin Marcos Sr., whose birthday we are celebrating today and whose memory, and whose lessons, and whose guidance we continue to keep close to our heart,” he said.

September 11 was declared a special non-working day in the Province of Ilocos Norte to commemorate the birth anniversary of the late president.

Meanwhile, Marcos Jr.  also on Wednesday vowed to follow the guidance of his late father, former president Ferdinand E. Marcos Sr..

“And that is very simple but not easy to achieve. But it is simple: be a Filipino, serve the Filipino, protect Filipinos and the Philippines,” the Chief Executive added.

The President said he has followed his father’s guidance from the very beginning of his term “and I will continue to follow that credo.”

“Be a good Filipino. Be a Filipino that loves your countrymen. Be a Filipino that loves your country and do everything and sacrifice everything to achieve that purpose, to achieve that goal that you become a good Filipino and you leave the Philippines a better place than you found it,” he said.

“That is my continuing guide. That is the credo that we should live by. And for that, I will be eternally grateful to my dad for the lessons that he taught us, for the values that imbued in our very souls. And that has served us all well,” the President added.