This speech was given by King Juan Carlos II at the International Assembly of the Knights of Rizal in Manila, Philippines on February 11, 1998 upon receiving the Grand Cross from the Knights of Rizal.

Supreme Commander:

I receive this distinction with deep emotion.  And, I accept it as an honor, which makes me very proud.

As I thank you for the Grand Cross which you have just conferred on me, I assume with conviction the commitment to peace and progress that this Decoration implies and, I hope that the name whose fate led us to part in the past, be today and in the future, the foundation for harmony and the sign of better times for our two nations.

This is the objective that Rizal had wished and did not achieve.  Thus, this is the best tribute we can pay to his memory a century after.

Dr. Rizal is today the prominent symbol of our shared values that should bring us, Filipinos and Spaniards, to face each other "without frown, without wrinkles and of shame without stain," quoting the verses he wrote in "Mi Último Adiós."

In the course of time, we have learned from the lesson of the past.  We assume them with courage and without mutual distrust, to build over it the history of the present which is again ours.

This is not the time to dwell on the pains of the past, which we cannot change, but, however, we can build together the future that belongs to us.

To be able to achieve this, I bring to you the affection of all Spanish people whom you wanted to honor through me, together with the conviction that the ties that for so long had united us, has not been broken, but, on the contrary, has been reinforced and matured.

I sincerely wish that the sentiments that we are renewing today  - which I have had the pleasure of expressing in numerous occasions - bears the fruits which in reality is what we desire and deserve.

 
Thank you very much.