Personnel of the Special Weapons and Tactics (SWAT) team in Mandaue City honored heroes with a 21-gun salute on the 83rd anniversary of Araw ng Kagitingan (Day of Valor) on Wednesday, April 9, 2025. 

A floral offering at the City Heritage Plaza to honor war heroes and freedom fighters opened the program.

City officials, department heads, employees, heads of city offices, law enforcement agencies, among others, attended the program.

The commemoration further recognized the heroic acts of community workers and nation builders deemed modern-day heroes. 

“Every honest act of service, every effort to uplift our communities and every move to make our city stronger is a reflection of that same spirit of ‘kagitingan’,” Mandaue City Mayor Glenn Bercede said.

According to the National Commission for Culture and the Arts, commemoration rites mark the “anniversary of the Fall of Bataan when Filipino and American forces surrendered to the Japanese after resisting for months with limited weapons, ammunition, and supplies.”