by Robbie Pangilinan
The province of Leyte joined the nation as it commemorated on June 12 its 120th year of liberation from Spain, honoring our Filipino forefathers’ bravery and sacrifices.

Leyte First District Representative Yedda Romualdez emphasized that Filipinos today can live in freedom because of those who sacrificed their lives. She called on the people to re-commit “to the common task of nation-building.”

“What can I do, what must I do, what must we do to make a positive difference?” the lady solon posed this challenge.

In Tacloban’s Rizal Plaza, a commemorative program was held where Tacloban City Mayor Cristina Gonzales-Romualdez said in a prepared speech read by executive assistant Pinky Brosas that Filipinos might celebrate this day of liberty differently, but are equal in the pride we feel.

Simultaneously, newly elected barangay officials and Sangguniang Kabataan Federation Officers of Tacloban took their oath at the Tacloban City Convention Center.

Ormoc City Mayor Richard and Representative Lucy Torres-Gomez attended the annual rites. The Mayor expressed pride in his speech when he said that this year’s Independence Day celebration is more meaningful after Ormoc was declared the first “drug-cleared” city in the Eastern Visayas region, and the “safest city in the country for 2017 and the first quarter of 2018.

The city also opened its festivities in honor of its patron saints Saint Peter and Saint Paul.

Meanwhile, Leyte Governor Leopoldo Dominico Petilla told the provincial government officials and employees in his speech that we are still fighting for and preserving our independence from threats such as poverty, malnutrition, illegal drugs, and criminality.

“The road is long for the struggle to achieve freedom from poverty and other social ills. It will not happen overnight,” he said.

First nominee of party-list group Tingog Sinirangan Philip Jude Acidre said the preservation of the country’s independence is not the duty only of leaders, but of each Filipino.

“Our nation’s freedom can only be truly meaningful when we have achieved for our people a quality of life that befits their dignity, and when every option and opportunity for a better future is well within their reach," he said.