MANILA – President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. on Saturday urged Filipinos to observe a solemn and meaningful All Saints’ Day and All Souls’ Day, calling on the public to reflect on the lives and legacies of their departed loved ones and the saints who continue to inspire the living.

In his message, President Marcos said the first two days of November are moments for prayer, reflection, and remembrance of “the many people whose deeds and presence continue to be felt long after their passing.”

“During these twin feasts, we proclaim that those who came before us do not vanish into nothingness but continue to live on in our hearts and minds,” the President said.

He added that the observance also serves as a reminder of one’s mortality and the opportunity to make a positive mark during one’s lifetime.

“Even in the transience of our own mortality, we have the capacity to make a lasting impact in our communities and those around us,” Marcos said.

The President also reflected on the meaning behind traditional acts of remembrance, saying that to pray is to commune with the saints and departed loved ones, to light a candle is to honor their legacy, and to lay flowers is to pledge to continue their mission.

“Ultimately, these occasions remind us of the paradise that awaits in the hereafter—where poverty, pain, and suffering no longer hold purchase, and where the Lord Almighty resides in splendor among His people. Until then, our duty is to fashion a foretaste of its splendor here on earth,” he said.

“Let the Philippines strive to be that lamp upon a hill where people carry the memory of the dead as strength, the witness of the saints as guide, and the hope of a permanent dwelling as purpose until time itself bows before eternity,” Marcos continued.

“I wish everyone a solemn and meaningful observance,” he added.