On November 30, 2025, Bonifacio Day, while the rest of the country was celebrating the hero, Victorias City was just busy trimming its Christmas tree at the public plaza, ignoring to honor Andres Bonifacio, whose statue, standing a few meters from the tree, was sadly ignored, bereft of any semblance of any celebration of his heroism.
Then came today, December 30, 2025, Rizal Day.
Again, while the rest of the country was celebrating the most famous and the most honored hero of them all, Lolo Jose's statue in the Victorias City public plaza stood somber and alone even with the festive Christmas atmosphere around the city.
This is how the local government of Victorias City leads in honoring the country's national heroes - with a poor memory.
Just two weeks ago, the local government spent taxpayers' money on the Kalamayan Festival which included performances, DJs, and games. And yet, it could not even remember to spend for a bunch of flowers for the national heroes.
Over the years, I observed that the public servants of the City have worshipped the wrong heroes: themselves.
They have put up a monument that was bigger and more expensive than those of Jose Rizal and Andres Bonifacio, and even creating a 'day' for a fake hero with parties and expensive wreaths just to push their agenda of using a dead man for their political propaganda. Unfortunately for them, I was able to prove their so-called history to be fake after all. (Read blog here).
And while I understand that the emcees who have hosted the programs at the public plaza are either hired or city hall employees themselves, they always feel the need to kiss up to their 'bosses' because they have to enumerate the names of the city officials on every other sentence. Although I thought they might have been ignorant of the fact that those programs and festivities are funded by the people's money because they always neglect to thank us, the Victoriahanon, for paying for the sound system, the lights, the decorations, the cash prizes, and of course, for their catered dinner after, which may involve some 'balutin mo ako take-out' for all we know.
The real character of a people is manifested on how it honors its past and its present. Sadly, the leadership of Victorias City these past years has failed to do just that.
It failed to honor our national heroes who have been standing gallantly in the Victorias public plaza for decades as a reminder of who we are as a people. Au contraire, the city government conjured up a fake hero whom they use for their political propaganda.
These elected public servants also neglect to honor the heroes of the present, the ones who keep the City afloat, the ones who contribute to the economy adn those who have put Victorias City on the map: the business owners, the tricycle drivers, the delivery people, the sales clerks and cashiers, the so-called 'riders', the restaurant and cafe owners, the fish, meat, vegetable and fruit vendors, the workers in teh fields, the fisherfolks, the students and athletes, the elderly, and the rest of the Victoriahanon who quietly contribute to the economy but are ignored by the City anyway. And if you are saying that the local government has some welfare programs for some of them, think again.
You can always see that they are just being used for politics: the upload photographs in the social media for their so-called distribution of scholarships, medicines, rice, and noodles that were bought by taxpayers' money. On top of that, the local government imposes the closure of the streets to give the tricycle drivers, students, business owners and the commuting public a hard time roaming around the City.
The National Historical Commission of the Philippines's theme for Rizal Day is "Rizal: As Our People Rise, Your Teachings and Wisdom Guide Our Way."
How I really wish that Rizal's teachings and wisdom trickle down to our local government.
But it seems that we may have to wait for another Bonifacio Day or Rizal Day for that to happen.ðŸ˜
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