UI-PEN children honors soldiers
Major General Josue Solo Gaverza Jr. (third from left), vice commander of the Philippine Army and Major General Vicente Porto (fourth from left), commander of the 3rd Infantry Division were welcomed by Heide Foulc, Basic Education director of the University of Iloilo-PHINMA Education Network.A SOLDIER’S battle does not begin and end at the frontlines. The price of peace and freedom is high: a soldier’s life is inner struggle, battling physical and emotional scars inflicted by combat and ever-present danger. Post-traumatic stress is not an uncommon psychological problem among combatants.
Acknowledging their valorous contributions to the nation, men and women of the Philippine Army were given the highest honor the youth of Iloilo could give. Inviting generals and rank-and-file to their campus, elementary and high school students of the University of Iloilo–PHINMA Education Network presented hundreds of handmade thank-you cards and letters, expressing their deep gratitude and support for the country’s unsung heroes.
Major General Vicente Porto, commander of the 3rd Infantry Division, shakes the hand of a grade school student after she read her Christmas card to the soldiers of the Philippine Army from all over Panay Island. Also in photo is Major General Josue Solo Gaverza Jr., vice commander of the Philippine Army.“We at UI–PEN thank our Filipino soldiers, for being the heroes we can’t be,” Heide Foulc, the school’s Basic Education director, said in her welcoming speech. “We have no idea of the many great sacrifices that you undertake on a daily basis…peace, freedom and security come at a great price.”
Aiming not only for its students to achieve academic excellence but also to strengthen character and values formation, UI–PEN felt the need to bring the military’s role to the youth’s awareness, including their disaster support.
Hundreds of soldiers of the Armed Forces of the Philippines from all over Panay Island came to UI-PHINMA, led by Major General Josue Solo Gaverza Jr., vice commander of the Philippine Army, on behalf of Lt. General Delfin Bangit, commanding general of the Philippine Army, and Major General Vicente Porto, commander of the 3rd Infantry Division.
“Para sa lahat ng mga sundalo,” seven-year-old Niña Yap wrote, “salamat sa tapang at tapat na serbisyo sa taong bayan. Nawa’y patnubayan kayo ng Diyos para lalo pa ninyong magampanan ang inyong mga tungkulin.” [To all the soldiers, thank you for your bravery and honest service to your countrymen. May the Lord guide you so you may continue to carry out your duties.]
Soldiers pose with elementary and high school students of the University of Iloilo-PHINMA Education Network after lighting a 7-foot tall Christmas tree.In another letter, Rizza Subang, a Grade 3 pupil, also thanked the military for “protecting us so that we’ll be safe.” She further wrote: “We also treat all of you as heroes because you risk your lives just like what Jose Rizal and many heroes did.”
“I thought it could be good for our students to keep in touch with the world outside of the campus—the real world,” Foulc explained.
Genuinely touched by the gesture, many of the men in uniform, both high and low-ranking, were teary-eyed after the students read 10 out of 700 letters written during their English and Filipino classes.
Other letters wished the soldiers a Merry Christmas, and that they be united with their families to celebrate the holiday together.
An interpretation of the song “Welcome to the Family” by the students, lighting the 7-foot tall Christmas tree, and a film showing, also formed part of the activity. “There’s no better time but today, this most important holiday for the world, to thank our uniformed men for their patriotism, for their love of the country, for their undying loyalty, and for their unending care for the people,” Joanna Jacinth Ferrer, an English teacher, said.
For the soldiers’ part, three privates shared their experience in the military. One of them is an alumna of the university’s Criminology department. Another private whose husband is also an army soldier, told her own story about how she met her better half. Getting together only during short periods, the two have shared many years of marriage, “and we’re only getting stronger.
“Despite the fact that we spend so little time with each other and that each day we’re apart feels like a lifetime, being both in the army makes us more grateful that he is in my life and I am in his,” she added. “Our experiences bond us together in a special kind of way.”
The generals, in turn, pledged to donate three brand new computers to the school. They also announced that a magazine compiling all the letters of the students will be produced to be distributed to Filipino soldiers nationwide.
Ramon del Rosario Jr. acts as Chairman of the Board of UI–PEN and Dr. Chito Salazar as its president.
