‘Let us keep alive Quezon’s dream’

Quezon City Mayor Feliciano Belmonte Jr. urged city officials and residents yesterday to rededicate themselves to bring to reality the dream of former President Manuel L. Quezon.

Speaking during the 125th birth anniversary of the former leader at the Quezon Memorial Shrine, Belmonte said the vision of Quezon was not only to make Quezon City a bedroom city, but to make it a showcase of the Filipino nation.

"The dream of Quezon was to make QC among the great cities in the world. Let us rededicate ourselves to carry on this dream," he said.

The mayor was the guest of honor at this year’s ceremonies at Quezon’s shrine, which was spearheaded by the National Historical Institute (NHI).

Belmonte was introduced by NHI executive director Ludivico Badoy during ceremonies that had to be transferred to the MLQ museum because of the heavy downpour yesterday morning.

Present during the affair were family members of the former leader, led by his grandson Emil Quezon Avancena. They were joined by city officials, councilors, civic groups, members of the Rotary and Lions Club, scouts and public school teachers, who came with a choral group. Also on hand for the wreath laying ceremony were the men of the Central Police District Command.

Belmonte donated and turned over three Commonwealth coins (Murphy coins) and paper bills to the NHI. The coins and bills were from the mayor’s personal collection.

In his speech, Belmonte narrated how Quezon rose from a mere clerk to become the president of the first Commonwealth government of the Philippines.

He said Quezon, who, as a lawyer, fought for the rights of the poor and disadvantaged sectors of society, laid the foundation of the government and set up the civil and military defense of the country, the rights of women to suffrage, the code of conduct of government officials and made Filipino the national language of the country.

Belmonte said when Quezon envisioned the creation of Quezon City, he patterned it after the great cities of the world, which formed part of his studies as an appointed delegate to the International Navigation Conference at St. Petersburg, Russia in 1908.

During his stay in Russia, Quezon studied the structure and organization of foreign governments in Europe.

With Quezon having set the foundation for a great city, it is now the duty of every citizen and city official to play their part in fulfilling the dream of a great leader, Belmonte said.

He said part of the vision of Quezon was to provide every man a decent home, where he can take root, and that dream is now fast becoming a reality in a city that has a population of over two million.

Belmonte said that while almost half of the people in the city are poor, they are pursuing productive and dynamic lives and contributing in making Quezon City a bustling metropolis.