Vice President Sara Z. Duterte on Sunday said that this year's Higantes Festival reminds of how art unites Filipinos in a common pursuit for a stronger nation, as she joined Rizaleños rejoicing in the festival anew two years into the Covid-19 pandemic.

Duterte, in her remarks, commended the residents of Angono for their continued noble efforts to preserve the festival's historical value.

"Through these colorful and gigantic paper-mâché puppets, our forebears expressed their deep-seated yearning for freedom that planted the seeds and the call for change," she said.

Furthermore, the Vice President lauded the town of Angono for using the Higantes festival to promote art as a "powerful tool that could help the growth and development of our children."

Citing countless published articles, Duterte said art benefits children's growth and development, including its impact on early childhood education and the development of their creativity, skills and talents, among others.

Also the concurrent DepEd Secretary, she stressed during her speech the importance of education as a development tool, investing in children's futures, and keeping them out of the hands of groups like the New People's Army and their front organizations, as well as away from the allure of illegal drugs.

The VP, on the other hand, also took the chance to recognize Angono's recent accomplishments, including being named the most competitive municipality in terms of infrastructure during the recently concluded 10th Cities, Municipalities Competitive Summit, and ranking sixth out of more than 1,400 municipalities across the country.

Angono is known as the Art Capital of the Philippines.