Kalendaryo ni Juan

 August 23, 1896 – Cry of Pugad Lawin

 August 13, 1898 – America Captures Manila from Spain
 August 3, 1902 – founding of the Philippine Independent Church
 August 17, 1945 – end of Japanese Occupation in the Philippines
 August 20, 1951 – mutual defence treaty is signed between America and the Philippines
 August 21, 1971 – plaza Miranda massacre
 August 21, 1983 – assassination of Senator Benigno “Ninoy” Aquino

MANILA, Philippines —
 Sinasabing nagsimula ang rebolusyon laban sa pananakop ng mga kastila noong buwan ng Agosto,
taong 1896.
 Agosto 19, 1896 nang madiskubre ng pamahalaang kastila ang lihim na samahan nila Andres
Bonifacio, ang Kataas-taasang, Kagalang-galang na Katipunan ng mga Anak ng Bayan o mas kilala
bilang Katipunan at KKK.
 Kaya naman, bilang supremo, napilitan si Bonifacio na ideklara ang himagsikan sa pamamagitan ng
pagpupunit ng sedula ng halos isang libong katipunero bilang simula ng pag-aaklas laban sa mga
kastila.
 Ngunit iba-iba ang sinasabing lugar at petsa kung kailan isinagawa ang pagpunit sa sedula ng mga
katipunero.
 Simula 1908, pinaniniwalaang noong Agosto 26 nangyari ang Cry of Balintawak o Unang Sigaw sa
Balintawak.
 Subalit ayon sa National Historical Commission of the Philippines (NHCP), taong 1963 nang iniayos
ang ating kasaysayan ay tinawag itong Sigaw sa Pugad Lawin noong Agosto 23, 1896.
 “Bali wala pong Cry of Balintawak, its Cry of Pugad Lawin, August 23 po yun dun din po nagpunit-
punit sila ng sedula. Yung mga nakaraang historian kasi may mga na-interview rin silang veteran
katipuneros pero ibat ibang historian, ibat ibang findings,” paliwanag ni NHC Supervising History
Researcher Maria Cielito Reyno.
 Sinasabing Agosto 30 sa kaparehong taon, sabay-sabay na nag-aklas ang kilusan laban sa hukbong
kastila.
 Sa araw ding ito, nagdeklara ng state of war si Gobernador Heneral Ramon Blanco sa walong
probinsya na syang sumisimbolo sa walong sinag ng araw na nasa ating pambansang watawat.
 Pinangunahan ni Bonifacio ang madugong labanan sa San Juan Del Monte o mas kilala ngayon na
‘pinaglabanan’ sa Pinaglabanan Shrine sa San Juan City.
 Sinasabing nabigo dito ang pwersa ni Bonifacio, subalit nagtagumpay naman ang hukbo ni Heneral
Emilio Aguinaldo sa Kawit, Cavite.
 Ayon kay NHCP Senior History Researcher Mona Lisa Quizon, masyadong malakas ang pwersa ng
mga kastila sa Maynila dahil nandito rin ang sentro ng kanilang lakas.
 “Masasabi nating naging mahirap po yung pangkat ni Bonifacio kasi kung titingnan natin si Bonifacio
nasa Manila at yung sentro ng lakas ng pamahalaang kastila ay nasa Maynila din. Kumpara sa ibang
mga heneral na hindi ganun kalakas ang pwersa.”
  Dahil sa mga makasaysayang pangyayari, bukod sa National Heroes Day na ipinagdiriwang sa huling
Lunes ng buwan, kinilala rin ang Agosto bilang buwan ng kasaysayan. (Pong Mercado / Ruth
Navales, UNTV News)

MANILA, Philippines (UPDATED) – Monday, August 28, marks National Heroes Day in
the Philippines.

Celebrated as early as 1931, this holiday honors and remembers all Philippine national
heroes, particulary those who don't have their own special holidays or observances.

Despite its lofty title, today’s holiday does not only commemorate prominent figures in
Philippine history, but also honors unknown Filipinos, past and present, who have given
much to the cause of freedom, justice, and Philippine independence and nationhood.

Here are a few facts related to the occasion.

Photo from Shutterstock

1. National Heroes Day was celebrated even before the country's
independence from the US

In 1931, when the Philippines was still an unincorporated territory of the United States,
the Philippine legislature enacted Legislature Act 3827. This declared the last Sunday of
August a holiday for the observance of National Heroes Day.

Despite being an American territory, the Philippines was allowed to commemorate

national heroes, as support for Philippine Independence in both the United States and in
the Philippines emerged in the 1920s and 1930s.

2. After 76 years, the observance of National Heroes Day was moved from Sunday
to Monday

Former president Gloria Macapagal Arroyo issued in 2007 Republic Act 9492, which
mandated that if the date of a regular or nationwide special holiday falls on a
Wednesday, the holiday is to be observed on the Monday of that week. In addition, if a
holiday falls on a Sunday, then the holiday shall be observed on the Monday of the
following week.

As National Heroes Day was celebrated on the last Sunday of August, the Act changed
the day of its observance to the last Monday of August.

“Holiday economics” was the Arroyo administration's rationale behind moving dates of
holidays. It was believed that with holidays extending to the weekends, the economy is
boosted by giving citizens the opportunity to engage in domestic tourism. However, the
policy has been criticized for giving frequent holidays, leading to the loss of work hours
in industrial and business sectors.

3. There are only two heroes who have their own national holidays

Part of the reason for having a National Heroes Day is to commemorate Filipino heroes
who didn't have their own national holidays. So far, only two Filipino heroes have
special holidays that are officially commemorated: Jose Rizal and Andres Bonifacio.
NATIONAL ICON. Jose Rizal's exhumed remains en route to be reburied in the Rizal Monument, 1912.
Rizal is often considered as the sole national hero of the Philippines. Photo from Wikimedia Commons.

Rizal is honored on his death anniversary, December 30, through the First Philippine
Republic’s Decree of 1898, which then president Emilio Aguinaldo decreed as a day of
national mourning. In contrast, Bonifacio is honored on his birthday, November 30,
which was made into a holiday by the Philippine Legislature Act 2946 of 1921.

4. There was a 'National Heroes Year'

This year was 1996, the centennial of the 1896 Philippine Revolution against Spain.

In remembrance of the revolution, and to project all Filipinos – whether folk, local, or
regional – as national heroes, former president Fidel Ramos issued Proclamation 510 in
1994, declaring 1996 as the Year of Filipino Heroes. It was dedicated to all Filipinos
who directly or indirectly gave meaning and contributed to freedom, justice, and
nationhood in the Philippines.

5. National Heroes Day was assigned in August due to the Cry of Pugad
Lawin/Balintawak
A Monument to the Cry of Pugad Lawin/Balintawak in Quezon City. Photo from Wikimedia Commons.

The Cry heralded the formal start of the Filipino insurrection against Spanish colonial
rule by members of the Katipunan revolutionary group, when they gathered to discuss
plans for the upcoming revolution and tore up their cedulas (tax certificates) in defiance
of Spanish authorities. The events that involved the Cry ranged from as early as August
17 to as late as August 26.

The date and location of the Cry, however, has been a longstanding dispute among
historians. Initially, from 1911 to 1962, the Philippines officially commemorated the Cry
on August 26, calling the event “The Cry of Balintawak.” Come 1963, following the
recommendations of historian Teodoro Agoncillo, the date was changed to August 23
and the location to Pugad Lawin.

Issues have been raised regarding the validity of the Cry having taken place in Pugad
Lawin, as firsthand accounts showed little evidence to support it.

As it was the general consensus that the Cry took place in the latter days of August, and
with the commemoration of the Cry slowly evolving over the years into the
commemoration of all Filipino heroes, National Heroes Day was set in the last week of
August.

6. There are no official policies or laws for nominating individuals to the

status of national hero
There have been attempts to do so, though. In March 1993, the National Heroes
Committee was created to study, evaluate and recommend historic Filipinos to become
national heroes. The committee initially worked for 3 years and eventually produced a
definition of national heroes: those who have a concept of nation and aspire and
struggle for the nation’s freedom and who define and contribute to the freedom, order,
the quality of life and destiny of a nation.

In 1995, three more criteria were added: a hero is part of the people’s expression, a
cultural icon whose life and works are internalized by the people, and one who thinks of
future generations. In addition, choosing a hero entails looking into the entire process
that makes a person a hero and not just specific events in his or her history.

Yet no action has been taken to officially proclaim certain historical figures as Philippine
national heroes, as the government feared it might raise divisive debates over the
choices, and lead to a flood of requests for more figures to become official national
heroes.

EXPERT OPINION. The National Historical Commission holds to the notion that national heroes aren't
appointed or proclaimed by legislation. Logo from Wikimedia Commons.

Today policies on proclaiming national heroes are largely abandoned. According to the
National Historical Commission, individuals become heroes via an organic process in
which the individual has enough acclamation and acknowledgment from the masses
that their life and works were indeed heroic, thus enshrining them in the cultural
consciousness of a people as a hero.
7. There is no official list of Philippine national heroes

As there are no official policies for nominating national heroes, it follows that there is
also no official list of national heroes, though there was an attempt to have such a
roster.

In 1995, after adopting criteria for the nomination of national heroes, the NHC
recommended 9 Filipino figures to be proclaimed as national heroes:

1. Jose Rizal
2. Andres Bonifacio
3. Emilio Aguinaldo
4. Apolinario Mabini
5. Marcelo H. Del Pilar
6. Sultan Dipatuan Kudarat
7. Juan Luna
8. Melchora Aquino
9. Gabriela Silang

There were also efforts to nominate just one figure to be the country’s sole national
hero, with popular candidates being Jose Rizal and Andres Bonifacio. But this has not
been acted upon. – Rappler.com

Sources: Reference And Research Bureau Legislative Research Service Selection and
Proclamation of National Heroes and Laws Honoring Filipino Historical
Figures, Malacañang: National Heroes Day, Republic act No. 9492, House Bill
4081, Balintawak: The Cry for Nationwide Revolution, Proclamation No. 510 s.
1994, Philippine Information Agency: Monday Holiday Remembers Historic Cry of
Balintawak.