Uncle Ho bust unveiled in Manila

UNCLE HO IN MANILA Manila Mayor Alfredo Lim (left) and Vietnamese President Truong Tan Sang unveil the bust of Vietnamese revolutionary hero Ho Chi Minh in Intramuros, Manila, on Thursday. NIÑO JESUS ORBETA

“Uncle Ho” has found a home among Manileños.

Manila Mayor Alfredo Lim and Vietnam President Truong Tan Sang unveiled a bust of Ho Chi Minh, a towering 20th-century figure and considered the father of Vietnamese independence and unification, in simple ceremonies at the Asean (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) Garden in Intramuros on Thursday morning.

Having a monument to a communist icon almost 40 years ago would have been unthinkable in the Philippines, a staunch American ally in the Vietnam War.

The rites were part of Sang’s three-day state visit to the country that began on Wednesday marking the 35th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between Vietnam and the Philippines.

In a speech, Lim paid tribute to Ho, the goateed revolutionary and nationalist who led his country’s struggle against French colonial rule and later against American forces for the unification of South and North Vietnam into a communist state.

The Manila mayor drew parallelisms between Ho’s Vietminh forces and Filipino freedom fighters of yesteryears, mainly the Hukbalahap guerrillas who challenged Japanese invaders in World War II.

“When Japan surrendered in August 1945, the Vietminh proclaimed the Democratic Republic of Vietnam (North) in Hanoi with Ho Chi Minh as president. Sadly though, he passed away in 1969 before enjoying the triumphant fruits of his sacrifices. He loved his country to perdition, and that is his precious legacy to the Vietnamese people,” Lim said.

The Vietnamese minister of culture, sports and tourism, Hoang Tuan Anh, thanked the government for the bust, saying it marked “the elevation of the friendship between our two peoples.”

“Thanks to this significant event, from now on the Filipino people as well as international travellers could have the opportunity to visit the Ho Chi Minh monument to pay tribute to a preeminent hero of national liberation and a man of culture,” Anh said.