DAVAO City — Instead of the photos of Davao City Mayor Sara Duterte-Carpio, Vice Mayor Paolo Duterte and President Rodrigo Duterte, four photos of national heroes hang inside the session hall of the Davao City Council now. Sara and Paolo are the children of former Davao City Mayor who is now the Philippine president. The Duterte family has been in power for decades. The photos of Marcelo Del Pilar, Jose Rizal, Andres Bonifacio and Antonio Luna were placed at the center below the emblem of the City Council. The Office of the City Mayor released a memorandum, encouraging departments and offices to display or exhibit photographs, paintings and other forms of visual representation of Philippine heroes “instead of photographs, paintings or other forms of visual representations of elected or appointed government officials.” The memorandum of the city government was in compliance with a Memorandum Circular issued by Malacañang on Sept. 15. Memorandum Circular No. 25 directed all government agencies including government-owned or controlled corporations, state universities and colleges and public schools at all levels to display or exhibit photographs, paintings, or other forms of visual representation of Philippine heroes. “The state shall provide the means to strengthen the people’s nationalism, love of country, and respect for its heroes by emphasizing the importance of Philippine national and local history in the daily life of the Filipinos with the objective of raising social consciousness and patriotism,” it stated. (davaotoday.com)