Senator Loren Legarda on 4 March sponsored Senate Bill No. 1719, declaring April of every year as Philippine Veterans Month while establishing a permanent national framework to honor Filipino veterans and ensure sustained access to services and education.

In her sponsorship speech during the plenary session, Legarda emphasized the urgency of institutionalizing veterans’ recognition and shifting from ceremonial observances to concrete services. She said the bill is designed to embed veterans’ legacy into law, classrooms, and public service.

“Scarcity changes perspective: when time is limited, gratitude can no longer be postponed. The proposed Philippine Veterans’ Month Act affords us the rare privilege of honoring our veterans not only in portraits and pages of history, but in person, while their stories can still be told in their own voices,” Legarda said.

She cited official records showing 464 living veterans of World War II, 41 surviving members of the Philippine Civic Action Group who served in Vietnam, and 29 veterans of the Philippine Expeditionary Forces to Korea, highlighting the urgency of the measure.

The bill mandates coordinated nationwide activities, stronger integration of veterans’ stories in basic education with Department of Education (DepEd) guidance, youth volunteer programs, improved access to benefits and health services, and clear inter-agency coordination led by the Philippine Veterans Affairs Office (PVAO) and Department of National Defense (DND), with the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG), Department of Health (DOH), and DepEd.

“By this, we link commemoration and recognition. Every Araw ng Kagitingan we remember the spirit that never surrendered. With the Philippine Veterans’ Month Act, we extend this remembrance throughout the month,” Legarda added.

She further tied the measure to present-day challenges, noting that national unity must be grounded in remembrance and service.

“The tensions we see abroad—and the continued aggression in the West Philippine Sea—remind us that peace and security are fragile, and that love of country must be grounded in historical consciousness. This is why Philippine Veterans’ Month matters: it keeps the lessons of courage, duty, and sacrifice alive for the next generation,” Legarda said.

By designating April as a month of focused action, the bill shifts veterans’ observances from ceremonial remembrance to operational commitments, ensuring gratitude is expressed through education, healthcare, and public service.

“I respectfully urge the immediate passage of this bill, so our gratitude is expressed both in law and in action,” she concluded.