Every last Sunday of August is National Heroes Day. Here's a list of national heroes, with a one-paragraph biography for each hero, but did you ever wonder how an individual becomes a national hero?
No law, executive order or proclamation has been enacted or issued officially proclaiming any Filipino historical figure as a national hero... Even Jose Rizal, considered as the greatest among the Filipino heroes, was not explicitly proclaimed as a national hero.The report quoted above adds that "no action has been taken" on the recommendations made in 1995 by the National Heroes Committee, which was formed by Fidel V. Ramos in 1993.
—Reference and Research Bureau, "Selection and Proclamation of National Heroes and Laws Honoring Filipino Historical Figures" (2003)
And so, the trivia question "Who is the national hero of the Philippines?" does not really make sense. If we have so many national heroes, who declared that Jose Rizal is the national hero?
Category: The Philippines
