"What this Country needs is not a change OF men but a change IN men" March 1980

Sunday, August 31, 2008

RP woes similar to Battle of Imus in 1896


Sen. Richard Gordon on Sunday likened the woes plaguing the country today to the fight for freedom that paved the way for Battle of Imus more than a hundred years ago on September 3, 1896.

"The challenges that our country is facing today are no less overwhelming than fighting for freedom with little more than a few old rifles against the military might of a world superpower a hundred years ago -- the imperial might of what was Spain. In this century, we are fighting revolution against the worst that we see in ourselves as a nation,” Gordon said.

The senator said compared to September 1896, however, the “war” being waged today “is not against men but for change.”

“The unifying thread in all our history from our seafaring Datu forbears to our overseas Filipino workers and from our fight against imperial tyranny to our fight against the tyranny of defeatist mentalities is this: It is our search for the realization of our dream of an enabled, empowered and ennobled existence," he said.

Gordon is the great, great grandson of Col. Jose Tagle who led the Battle of Imus, which was the first victory of Filipino revolutionary forces and rallied all of Cavite and other provinces to fight the Spanish colonial government.

During last year’s 111th anniversary celebration, Gordon lamented that many Filipinos, especially the young, were familiar with fall of Bataan and Corregidor but not so much with the Battle of Imus where Filipinos had achieved victory.

During the battle, Gordon said Tagle had defeated the best of Spanish forces led by Ernesto General Aguirre.

Gordon likens RP woes to Battle of Imus
abs-cbnNEWS.com
http://www.abs-cbnnews.com/storypage.aspx?StoryId=129790