President Ferdinand ‘Bongbong’ Marcos, Jr. talked about ‘giving up certainty’ and ‘letting go of pride’ in his message to the nation, marking the celebration of Eid’l Adha (Feast of Sacrifice), a public holiday for the Muslim Filipino community.
“Beyond the event lies a deeper truth that what brings us closest to the Almighty is the giving up of certainty and the letting go of pride,” said President Marcos in a statement released Friday morning by the Presidential Communications Office (PCO).
“Eid’l Adha invites us to embark on a more difficult journey—not towards a place, but towards a state of heart. Indeed, when we fully lay down our temporal concerns, we leave a special place for the Divine to take root in our hearts and in our nation,” he added.
President Marcos said he hopes for the “truth” to become a “force that can shape the public good.”
He recognized the occasion as a “culmination of the journey of renewal,” or the ‘Hajj’—the fifth pillar of the Islam—letting us “reflect on what kind of offering truly strengthens a nation.”
“The measure is not in how much is given, but in what is restored: the dignity where there was dismissal, fairness where there was neglect, and compassion where there was indifference,” the Filipino leader said.
“May the spirit of this sacred remembrance inspire Filipinos of all faiths to respond to what our times ask of us, and to leave behind not only victory but renewal. In doing so, we affirm that sacrifice, at its best, does not vanish but uplifts, and leaves something stronger,” President Marcos added.
