A Birthday Reminder from the First Filipino

Today, we proclaim our deepest greetings for Dr. Jose Rizal, a flame bearer of national heroism, who was once a single ember among countless others. It was June 19, 1861, when you first felt the temperate weather of a country, intensely holding out for something to set ablaze. 

Thirty-five years later, you did. On December 30, 1896, amidst smoke, dust and blood, you posthumously set ablaze a fury within our people. The First Filipino died, but countless more were born ever since. 

Hence the reason why your death is more honored than your birth. It was the epic martyrdom of your life’s work. The date, forever etched in history, is your living proof of a life spent in service, wisdom turned into action, and privilege given up for the greater good. 

But your birthday, much like ours, began ordinarily. A normal date, among countless others. You, like every single Filipino, was just like any other. 

What makes it brighter than it is, is what you did with every minute between that day and your last. You were born that day not as the First Filipino, but time and time again, you became one. From your unseen hours, you taught us how poison hides in sweet speeches, how power warps even the kindest hearts, or how truth must be spoken, even in whispers. 

In a way, we the youth parallel you: unmarked sufferings amidst sun and rain, late nights bent over books or bills, and small acts of service and sacrifice with no one to bear witness. All to add fuel to the fire; to something greater than your own. Just like your often uncelebrated misery, the Filipino trudges through strife time and time again with the hope of a bright and better future. 

And in the recent 2025 elections, we did unleash the brightness that had been brewing inside of us all along. While the same old faces secured their seats, the youth defied survey upon survey and delivered our own showing of force: we elected a few politicians that would have made you proud. 

In a present dipped in darkness and uncertainty, your embers have made its way to rage within us, the youth that you have faithfully claimed as our future’s hope. That fiery movement being a small but necessary triumph, like how a single match could scorch down mansions of corruption in our nation. 

So happy birthday, Dr. Jose Rizal. I hope you rest well. We, your hopes for the future, must not. We must never rest while hope is constantly seared along the corridors of our furious hearts. Never rest, while evil lurks in every disgusting corner of shadows we used to turn a blind eye to. 

Never rest, do NOT burn for just a day; burn an everlasting flame, because one day alone does not make the hero nor the movement as brilliant as it is. They take time and time...

And time itself, like embers among countless others, only matters when made to set ablaze.