prysh𐙚 :
I truly respect and honor Rene Baterbonia. His courage to try saving a life, and the sacrifice he made, is something we should all recognize and be proud of. But we have to be fair and honest about what each of them means for our whole country.
José Rizal did not just help one person—his writings, his wisdom, and his sacrifice awakened the entire Philippines. He gave us our identity as a nation, guided the Katipunan, and laid the foundation for our freedom that every single Filipino enjoys today. His work changed our whole history, and benefited millions of people, generation after generation.
Rene Baterbonia’s heroism is personal and brave, but it cannot be compared to the national legacy of Rizal that binds us all together. Replacing Rizal’s monument with his sends a worrying message: that the one who gave us our whole country is equal to someone who did one brave act, or even less. It is not right to erase the one who helped build our entire nation, just to give space to another.
We can celebrate Rene, we can put up his own statue in a proper place to honor his bravery—but we should never take down Rizal for it. We do not need to choose one over the other, but we must never forget who gave us the freedom and country we have today. Honoring one should never mean removing the one who gave everything for all of us.
2026-07-23 14:31:10