As we celebrate Buwan ng Wika and National Heroes Day, we are reminded that heroism is not confined to the past. Our heroes — from José Rizal with his pen to Andrés Bonifacio with his courage — fought not only for independence but for the vision of a nation worthy of its people’s sacrifice. Their message endures: true heroism is a sustained commitment to the common good.

Today, that vision faces a new struggle: the climate crisis. Its signs are all around us — stronger typhoons, harsher droughts, rising seas. Left unchecked, it could undo decades of progress. The World Bank warns that climate damages could cost the Philippines up to 7.6 percent of GDP by 2030 and 13.6 percent by 2040. The new battlefield is not on revolution’s frontlines but in our ecosystems and communities. And again, the times demand heroes.

But the heroes we need today are not only those who sit in high office or draft national laws. They are also the leaders and citizens who speak the language of their people — who translate science and policy into action that transforms daily lives.

At the national level, there is direction and resolve. Under President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr.’s leadership, we have launched the Philippines’ first National Adaptation Plan (2023 to 2050) — a roadmap to guide strategic, unified climate action. Senator Loren Legarda, through her pioneering work on climate, disaster, and sustainability laws, has long ensured that resilience is embedded in governance. Their leadership sets the framework.

Yet frameworks only breathe life through local action — through leaders and communities who act with courage in the language their people understand.

In Bukidnon’s Manolo Fortich, farmers are turning bamboo into resilience. At the Bamboo Farm Business School, they learn not only to cultivate to protect hills but to market bamboo — from traditional baskets to modern bahay kubo. The Silyang Pinoy Project creates bamboo chairs that double as beds in emergencies. Supported by Congressman Joeman Alba’s Bamboo Economic Enterprise Program, these projects speak directly to farmers: livelihood today, security tomorrow.

In Antique, communities are restoring mangroves to defend coastlines. Thousands of propagules have been planted in Mag-aba, Pandan, protecting homes, supporting fisherfolk, and reviving ecosystems. These echo Senator Legarda’s call to “Build with Nature,” a message that resonates with locals who depend on the sea for survival. With help from the Climate Change Commission, local government units update their climate action plans so that local wisdom is reinforced by science.

In Leyte, Representative Anna Veloso-Tuazon brought together mayors, scientists, and communities to view climate risks firsthand with integrated nature-based solutions lens — from bamboo corridors to mangrove walls and greener hillsides. Working together, communities are hard at work in updating Local Climate Change Action Plans to consider impact and solutions beyond one’s own. These dialogues, rooted in local realities, show how adaptation is not abstract policy but concrete action woven into infrastructure, tourism, and regional development.

The lesson is clear: national leadership sets the course, but local heroes steer the way. Every bamboo planted, every mangrove restored, every plan translated into practice is an act of modern heroism.

This is the language of transformative climate action — not technical jargon, but the everyday words and solutions that communities live by. It is a language that empowers, unites, and inspires action.

On this National Heroes Day and Buwan ng Wika, let us honor not only the champions of the past but also the climate defenders of today — leaders, communities and ordinary Filipinos who prove that heroism is alive.

The legacy of yesterday’s heroes is the nation they gave us. The legacy of today’s climate heroes will be a resilient and sustainable future. In this fight, heroism is our shared duty, and our common language of action.