Four years, four months and thirteen days after I was born -- someone died. It would have been any ordinary day. That person would have any ordinary person. He could have lived any ordinary life. He could have died for any ordinary reason.

But no.

August 21, 1983 is no ordinary day. Benigno "Ninoy" S. Aquino is no ordinary man. He did not live an ordinary life. He did not die for an ordinary reason. And that is precisely why he is a hero. He is our modern-day hero -- our modern-day Jose Rizal. Elected youngest Mayor and Vice-Governor at 22 and 27, respectively. Governor 2 years later. And youngest Senator at 34. His life and death inspired a country to revolt in a bloodless way -- that brought a perceived infallible dictator regime to its knees and ultimately gain us back our democracy.Can any man of our generation be more extraordinary than that?

He was dubbed as the "greatest President we never had". And at a time like this, how we wish we could raise him back from the dead and lead us to victory from the turmoil of demoralized politics and unstable economy. How we wish he lived longer to inspire us with his policies and reforms. How I wish he lived longer to occupy the highest seat in the land -- the seat he deserved the most. How I wish he lived longer for me to hear his voice at a time when I can digest to the very fiber the words he uttered. How I wish that I was older then so I wouldn't busy myself playing with toys -- so that when I watched the television then or heard the news, I'd find more delight and pleasure from listening to his wise counsel on politics and good governance. But no. I was younger then. So young to even care if we were under Martial Law or if the President was a dictator or if human rights violation was commonplace on a daily basis. So young to realize that during that time, a man walked among us who stood up for something higher than the frivolities of life or of the Filipino's usual undertakings. So young to realize that within my lifetime, I have the rarest chance of sharing life on earth with a hero.

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I don't even remember exactly when PGMA started out this so-called "holiday economics". All I can remember is that I sneered at it the first time I heard of it. I bet even Saint Valentine would refuse to have the well-celebrated Valentine's Day be moved to the closest weekend each year.

And if Valentine's Day -- which is technically not even considered a regular holiday is not worthy of being "moved", moreso on our regular holidays. As you may know, our regular holidays are mainly those that have significant, historical and sentimental value to us as a country. That said, it is only proper that we hold on to that tradition. While it may be true that long weekends make people go on out-of-town vacations and thereby spend more -- which in turn help our economy, i don't think that's enough reason for us to do this at the expense of our long-held reverence for our holidays and the people/event these holidays represent. Continue reading →

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