Manila, Philippines, June 12, 2014 - THE 116TH year of the Philippine Republic will today unleash nationwide celebrations which range from parades around key city streets to cooking contests.
In Mindanao, organizers of Centennial celebrations have prepared a variety of shows.
Some of them:
l Cagayan de Oro City. The city government has appropriated P300,000 for the Centennial celebration today.
At 4 a.m. the 4th Infantry Division Band will play Filipino music followed by a thanksgiving Mass in the different churches here.
At 6 a.m. the people will assemble at the City Bandstand and five minutes later, bells will toll in the different churches.
Mayor-elect Vicente Emano will read the declaration of Philippine Independence at 6:09 a.m. and six minutes later, a Huey helicopter courtesy of the 4th ID will drop the ''flowers of Independence.''
Various groups will also offer flowers to all the national heroes at the Rizal monument.
Senator and former Cagayan de Oro city mayor Aquilino Pimentel will deliver a message to the Cagayanons in the afternoon.
A parade will follow toward the Vicente de Lara park (formerly MacArthur park) and at exactly 5:15 p.m., 100 balloons will be released simultaneous with the tolling of bells.
This will be followed by a 10-minute noise barrage and firing of flares from a 105mm Howitzer.
The Department of Agrarian Reform Employees Cooperative will perform a musical dance drama ''Siglo: Ang Gatusang Agraryong Pakigbisog'' on June 15 and 16.
The Department of Tourism and the National Tourism Council will hold the ''Alay kay Rizal Caravan,'' a Centennial trek to Dapitan City in time for Rizal's birthday on the 19th.
Participating regions from Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao will arrive in Cagayan de Oro City on June 17 for the caravan's start on the 18th.
The caravan will be launched at the Gardens of Malasag Ecotourism Village on June 17.
The caravan will traverse five provinces starting from Misamis Oriental, Lanao del Sur, Lanao del Norte, Misamis Occidental and Zamboanga del Norte.
Tourism regional director Dorothy Jean Pabayo said ''Alay kay Rizal Caravan'' aims to raise public awareness of different historical sites and attractions accessible by motor vehicles, instill a better understanding of history, and appreciation of nature and Filipino cultural heritage.
Zamboanga City. Vicente Alvarez will be the centerpiece of the Centennial celebration. A statue of him has been commissioned for a street park near the City Hall, and his contribution to Filipino nationhood will be extolled during the Independence Day program on June 12.
The city government has scheduled a day-long bash for June 12 starting with the pealing of church bells at 6 a.m. to announce religious services in all places of worship, to be followed at 6:50 a.m. by a reenactment of the reading of the proclamation of Philippine Independence by the outgoing Mayor Efren Arañez.
Mayor Arañez and Congressman-elect Celso Lobregat will preside over a flag-raising ceremony at 8 a.m.
At noon will be a Salo-Salong Bayan, a public lunch at the Museum Park in Fort Pilar to be led by the mayor.
City Hall spokesperson Milabel Velasquez said no less than 25,000 marchers are expected at a civic and military parade that will start at 2 p.m.
The parade will end in a Centennial program at the City Hall stage. Mayor-elect Maria Clara Lobregat will deliver the Centennial speech.
Cultural and variety shows and a public dance in front of City Hall will cap the day.
By evening, a Centennial torch will be passed by a relay of runners to Mayor Arañez at City Hall.
Davao del Sur. Each of the 15 towns in Davao del Sur will have its own float during the parade which will start from the provincial capitol in Matti up to Digos poblacion.
An ecumenical prayer by all 17 churches in the province will be held, followed by a floral offering to the Centennial Monument at the Capitol compound and a reenactment of the flag-raising to be led by Gov. Rogelio Llanos.
Dr. Rodolfo Labajo, secretary of the Philippine Centennial Movement Davao del Sur chapter said they expect at least 10 more floats from the academic institutions in the province.
The provincial government has earmarked P600,000 for the Centennial celebration which was drawn from the funds of the provincial school board.
Cotabato City. Choir and band groups will entertain the people at the city plaza until the clock strikes 12 midnight for a Mass and simultaneous ringing of church bells, agongs, horns and fireworks display.
Firing of guns is strictly prohibited.
''People are free to stay till dawn,'' Mayor Virgilio Leyretana said.
Davao City. As officials unveil Davao's "Centennial Monument" at 4:15 p.m. on Friday, 100 balloons with flaglets tied to them will be released.
Other major events are a noise barrage, lumads performing musical instruments, fireworks display at Magsaysay Park and two parades--civic military parade and Centennial parade.
The June 12 activities will conclude with a Salo-salo and Bayle sa Katawhan hosted by Mayor Benjamin de Guzman.
Aside from the major activities, an ecumenical prayer will be conducted at the Rizal Park followed by the reading of the proclamation of the Philippine Independence, flag raising ceremony, floral offering at the Rizal monument.
The city government has allocated P1 million for the celebration. The Philippine Centennial Commission has also given its Davao Chapter a separate budget.
But the city Centennial committee has only spent about P500,000 for its various activities since June 1.
In the North, leftists are seeking to steal the show from government organizers with rallies of their own.
Some of the activities in Northern Luzon:
Baguio City. At least 500 members of militant groups will hold an ''alternative Centennial celebration'' today by parading not the Philippine flag but their own organizational flags to protest the government's development projects.
Rosita Bargaso, chair of the Itogon-Inter Barangay Alliance, said at least 13 militant groups will display their flags during their parade starting at the Aguinaldo museum in downtown Baguio to Ucab in Itogon, Benguet.
Bargaso said they will hold the ''alternative Centennial celebration'' in Ucab because of its significance to the long struggle of tribe folk there against mining development and explorations.
The groups will also launch the inter-alliance campaign to defend their ancestral lands and land rights against mining companies.
Regional police officials in Camp Dangwa in La Trinidad, Benguet, said the police are ready to provide security for the observance of the Centennial celebrations.
The provincial governments of Pampanga and Isabela and the city government of Baguio will hold a search for ''Centennial babies.''
La Union. Ten Ilocano martyrs will be honored during the Centennial parade today. Mayor-elect Mary Jane Ortega, chair of the La Union Centennial Commission, said the martyrs, all natives of Balaoan town, were killed by the Spaniards after they organized the local chapter of the Katipunan.
Pangasinan. Street dancing and singing will highlight the celebrations in Pangasinan. A parade of floats depicting various episodes in Philippine history will be held in the afternoon.
There will also be a reenactment of the Declaration of Philippine Independence at the provincial capitol in Lingayen town.
Nueva Ecija. In Cabanatuan City, at least 35 floats will participate in the Kasaysayan ng Lahi parade. The floats will showcase the province's history and culture and its role in the Philippine Revolution.
Cagayan. The ringing of bells in all Catholic churches will usher in the Centennial celebration to be highlighted by a parade in Tuguegarao, the capital town.
Some 100 balloons, 100 doves and confetti will also be released after the parade.
Students of different schools will reenact the capture of Gen. Emilio Aguinaldo in Palanan, Isabela, during a program to mark the Centennial festivities.
Governor-elect Florencio Vargas will present awards to the Centenarians of Cagayan.
A fireworks display at the Cagayan Sports Complex in Tuguegarao will cap the celebrations.
Zambales. In Olongapo City, a dampened Centennial celebration awaits the city as residents are preoccupied with the campaign to retain embattled Richard Gordon as Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority chair.
Streamers expressing support for Gordon reportedly outnumbered the flags and flaglets displayed by Olongapo residents.
The Visayas will celebrate the Centennial honoring dozens of men who played key roles in the Philippine Revolution.
Some of the activities.
Cebu. The Centennial parade will rival the fanfare and revelry normally reserved during the Sinulog festival, the feast of the Señor Sto. Niño, with a showdown of dancing contingents and floats.
This time, however, the dancers will come not in the Sinulog colors of red and green but in typical Filipino attire. Around 40,000 are expected in the parade that will start at 1 p.m.
Floats depicting the various stages of the Filipinos' bid for independence will also highlight the parades across the Visayas--from Ormoc and Tacloban cities in the east to Roxas, Iloilo and Bacolod cities in the west.
Except for Cebu, the parades in the key cities and towns in the Visayas will start in the morning. The activities in the three regions will however all end with fireworks.
Leyte. Among the more significant floats in the Leyte celebration is the depiction of the First Mass in Limasawa; and the rebellion led by two local heroes--Bankaw in Leyte and Sumoroy in Samar.
In Albuera, Leyte, a display of antiques timed with the Centennial celebration is aimed at awakening the cultural tastes of the residents.
On show are the collection of Dr. Geronimo Zaldivar, a former mayor of the town, which includes several rare pieces of shell and images of saints handcrafted from hardwood, some of which date as far back to the 17th century.
Some residents also put on display old phonographs, a vintage sewing machine, an antique barometer and even charcoal irons, the first kind that ever came out in the market.
Joining the Tacloban parade are four contingents of ''Pintados'' (painted people), one of which will be dancing the kuracha, the popular courtship dance of the Warays.
l Capiz. In Roxas City, Capiceños bring into the celebration its unique brand of celebrating a festival by holding a reading of the Kartilya (Hiligaynon poetry) and dances in Binayle sang Banwa.
Capiceños also had a pre-Centennial celebration when they celebrated the Battle of Balisong when it was reenacted in where took place, in Pilar town, on June 7.
l Aklan. In Kalibo, the festivity will include the honoring of at least two septuagenarians by the Aklan provincial government: Martha Romero vda. de Andrade, 102, a native of Kinabuan, Sur, Banga, Aklan; and Incarnacion David, 103, of Barangay Puis, New Washington.
l Negros Occidental. The Negros Recreational Divers also organized a full video documentary of artifacts, and still picture exhibit on the first World War II casualty ship, the SS Panay in Bacolod City at the Robinson's third floor area. It opened June 10 and will run up to June 16.
SS Panay now lays 135 feet down in the waters of Maricalum Bay in Negros Occidental. The war ship to deliver war armaments to guerrillas in Mindanao when intercepted by Japanese warplanes in Sipalay and sunked by Japanese warplanes.
In Ormoc City, the festivity will be capped with a cultural show at Ormoc City Superdome starting 7 p.m. It will feature dances that has evolved in our long history of several influences. The tickets for the show are being sold for very popular prices ranging from P150 to P10.
l Iloilo. The Iloilo celebration will also include the honoring of Col. Pedro Serran, a living Second Word War hero, by his townmates in Zarraga. Serran, 84, now resides in the United States. Serran's son with whom he lives with, Tony, said his father would have come with them to attend the affair but was advised against taking the travel by his doctors. Fayette C. Riñen, Nereo C. Lujan, Raj Padilla, Vicente S. Labro, Gerry T. Pagharion, Carla P. Gomez, Lalaine M. Jimenea, Recto I. Vidal, Odette M. Gatasaya, PDI Visayas Bureau; Vincent Isleta, Imelda Visaya, Peter La. Julian, Gabriel Cardinoza, PDI Northern Luzon Bureau, and Anselmo Roque, Patrick Roxas, PDI Central Luzon Desk; Grace Albasin, E. Rene Fernandez, Allan Nawal, Edwin Fernandez and Ayan Mellejor, PDI Mindanao Bureau
In Mindanao, organizers of Centennial celebrations have prepared a variety of shows.
Some of them:
l Cagayan de Oro City. The city government has appropriated P300,000 for the Centennial celebration today.
At 4 a.m. the 4th Infantry Division Band will play Filipino music followed by a thanksgiving Mass in the different churches here.
At 6 a.m. the people will assemble at the City Bandstand and five minutes later, bells will toll in the different churches.
Mayor-elect Vicente Emano will read the declaration of Philippine Independence at 6:09 a.m. and six minutes later, a Huey helicopter courtesy of the 4th ID will drop the ''flowers of Independence.''
Various groups will also offer flowers to all the national heroes at the Rizal monument.
Senator and former Cagayan de Oro city mayor Aquilino Pimentel will deliver a message to the Cagayanons in the afternoon.
A parade will follow toward the Vicente de Lara park (formerly MacArthur park) and at exactly 5:15 p.m., 100 balloons will be released simultaneous with the tolling of bells.
This will be followed by a 10-minute noise barrage and firing of flares from a 105mm Howitzer.
The Department of Agrarian Reform Employees Cooperative will perform a musical dance drama ''Siglo: Ang Gatusang Agraryong Pakigbisog'' on June 15 and 16.
The Department of Tourism and the National Tourism Council will hold the ''Alay kay Rizal Caravan,'' a Centennial trek to Dapitan City in time for Rizal's birthday on the 19th.
Participating regions from Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao will arrive in Cagayan de Oro City on June 17 for the caravan's start on the 18th.
The caravan will be launched at the Gardens of Malasag Ecotourism Village on June 17.
The caravan will traverse five provinces starting from Misamis Oriental, Lanao del Sur, Lanao del Norte, Misamis Occidental and Zamboanga del Norte.
Tourism regional director Dorothy Jean Pabayo said ''Alay kay Rizal Caravan'' aims to raise public awareness of different historical sites and attractions accessible by motor vehicles, instill a better understanding of history, and appreciation of nature and Filipino cultural heritage.
Zamboanga City. Vicente Alvarez will be the centerpiece of the Centennial celebration. A statue of him has been commissioned for a street park near the City Hall, and his contribution to Filipino nationhood will be extolled during the Independence Day program on June 12.
The city government has scheduled a day-long bash for June 12 starting with the pealing of church bells at 6 a.m. to announce religious services in all places of worship, to be followed at 6:50 a.m. by a reenactment of the reading of the proclamation of Philippine Independence by the outgoing Mayor Efren Arañez.
Mayor Arañez and Congressman-elect Celso Lobregat will preside over a flag-raising ceremony at 8 a.m.
At noon will be a Salo-Salong Bayan, a public lunch at the Museum Park in Fort Pilar to be led by the mayor.
City Hall spokesperson Milabel Velasquez said no less than 25,000 marchers are expected at a civic and military parade that will start at 2 p.m.
The parade will end in a Centennial program at the City Hall stage. Mayor-elect Maria Clara Lobregat will deliver the Centennial speech.
Cultural and variety shows and a public dance in front of City Hall will cap the day.
By evening, a Centennial torch will be passed by a relay of runners to Mayor Arañez at City Hall.
Davao del Sur. Each of the 15 towns in Davao del Sur will have its own float during the parade which will start from the provincial capitol in Matti up to Digos poblacion.
An ecumenical prayer by all 17 churches in the province will be held, followed by a floral offering to the Centennial Monument at the Capitol compound and a reenactment of the flag-raising to be led by Gov. Rogelio Llanos.
Dr. Rodolfo Labajo, secretary of the Philippine Centennial Movement Davao del Sur chapter said they expect at least 10 more floats from the academic institutions in the province.
The provincial government has earmarked P600,000 for the Centennial celebration which was drawn from the funds of the provincial school board.
Cotabato City. Choir and band groups will entertain the people at the city plaza until the clock strikes 12 midnight for a Mass and simultaneous ringing of church bells, agongs, horns and fireworks display.
Firing of guns is strictly prohibited.
''People are free to stay till dawn,'' Mayor Virgilio Leyretana said.
Davao City. As officials unveil Davao's "Centennial Monument" at 4:15 p.m. on Friday, 100 balloons with flaglets tied to them will be released.
Other major events are a noise barrage, lumads performing musical instruments, fireworks display at Magsaysay Park and two parades--civic military parade and Centennial parade.
The June 12 activities will conclude with a Salo-salo and Bayle sa Katawhan hosted by Mayor Benjamin de Guzman.
Aside from the major activities, an ecumenical prayer will be conducted at the Rizal Park followed by the reading of the proclamation of the Philippine Independence, flag raising ceremony, floral offering at the Rizal monument.
The city government has allocated P1 million for the celebration. The Philippine Centennial Commission has also given its Davao Chapter a separate budget.
But the city Centennial committee has only spent about P500,000 for its various activities since June 1.
In the North, leftists are seeking to steal the show from government organizers with rallies of their own.
Some of the activities in Northern Luzon:
Baguio City. At least 500 members of militant groups will hold an ''alternative Centennial celebration'' today by parading not the Philippine flag but their own organizational flags to protest the government's development projects.
Rosita Bargaso, chair of the Itogon-Inter Barangay Alliance, said at least 13 militant groups will display their flags during their parade starting at the Aguinaldo museum in downtown Baguio to Ucab in Itogon, Benguet.
Bargaso said they will hold the ''alternative Centennial celebration'' in Ucab because of its significance to the long struggle of tribe folk there against mining development and explorations.
The groups will also launch the inter-alliance campaign to defend their ancestral lands and land rights against mining companies.
Regional police officials in Camp Dangwa in La Trinidad, Benguet, said the police are ready to provide security for the observance of the Centennial celebrations.
The provincial governments of Pampanga and Isabela and the city government of Baguio will hold a search for ''Centennial babies.''
La Union. Ten Ilocano martyrs will be honored during the Centennial parade today. Mayor-elect Mary Jane Ortega, chair of the La Union Centennial Commission, said the martyrs, all natives of Balaoan town, were killed by the Spaniards after they organized the local chapter of the Katipunan.
Pangasinan. Street dancing and singing will highlight the celebrations in Pangasinan. A parade of floats depicting various episodes in Philippine history will be held in the afternoon.
There will also be a reenactment of the Declaration of Philippine Independence at the provincial capitol in Lingayen town.
Nueva Ecija. In Cabanatuan City, at least 35 floats will participate in the Kasaysayan ng Lahi parade. The floats will showcase the province's history and culture and its role in the Philippine Revolution.
Cagayan. The ringing of bells in all Catholic churches will usher in the Centennial celebration to be highlighted by a parade in Tuguegarao, the capital town.
Some 100 balloons, 100 doves and confetti will also be released after the parade.
Students of different schools will reenact the capture of Gen. Emilio Aguinaldo in Palanan, Isabela, during a program to mark the Centennial festivities.
Governor-elect Florencio Vargas will present awards to the Centenarians of Cagayan.
A fireworks display at the Cagayan Sports Complex in Tuguegarao will cap the celebrations.
Zambales. In Olongapo City, a dampened Centennial celebration awaits the city as residents are preoccupied with the campaign to retain embattled Richard Gordon as Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority chair.
Streamers expressing support for Gordon reportedly outnumbered the flags and flaglets displayed by Olongapo residents.
The Visayas will celebrate the Centennial honoring dozens of men who played key roles in the Philippine Revolution.
Some of the activities.
Cebu. The Centennial parade will rival the fanfare and revelry normally reserved during the Sinulog festival, the feast of the Señor Sto. Niño, with a showdown of dancing contingents and floats.
This time, however, the dancers will come not in the Sinulog colors of red and green but in typical Filipino attire. Around 40,000 are expected in the parade that will start at 1 p.m.
Floats depicting the various stages of the Filipinos' bid for independence will also highlight the parades across the Visayas--from Ormoc and Tacloban cities in the east to Roxas, Iloilo and Bacolod cities in the west.
Except for Cebu, the parades in the key cities and towns in the Visayas will start in the morning. The activities in the three regions will however all end with fireworks.
Leyte. Among the more significant floats in the Leyte celebration is the depiction of the First Mass in Limasawa; and the rebellion led by two local heroes--Bankaw in Leyte and Sumoroy in Samar.
In Albuera, Leyte, a display of antiques timed with the Centennial celebration is aimed at awakening the cultural tastes of the residents.
On show are the collection of Dr. Geronimo Zaldivar, a former mayor of the town, which includes several rare pieces of shell and images of saints handcrafted from hardwood, some of which date as far back to the 17th century.
Some residents also put on display old phonographs, a vintage sewing machine, an antique barometer and even charcoal irons, the first kind that ever came out in the market.
Joining the Tacloban parade are four contingents of ''Pintados'' (painted people), one of which will be dancing the kuracha, the popular courtship dance of the Warays.
l Capiz. In Roxas City, Capiceños bring into the celebration its unique brand of celebrating a festival by holding a reading of the Kartilya (Hiligaynon poetry) and dances in Binayle sang Banwa.
Capiceños also had a pre-Centennial celebration when they celebrated the Battle of Balisong when it was reenacted in where took place, in Pilar town, on June 7.
l Aklan. In Kalibo, the festivity will include the honoring of at least two septuagenarians by the Aklan provincial government: Martha Romero vda. de Andrade, 102, a native of Kinabuan, Sur, Banga, Aklan; and Incarnacion David, 103, of Barangay Puis, New Washington.
l Negros Occidental. The Negros Recreational Divers also organized a full video documentary of artifacts, and still picture exhibit on the first World War II casualty ship, the SS Panay in Bacolod City at the Robinson's third floor area. It opened June 10 and will run up to June 16.
SS Panay now lays 135 feet down in the waters of Maricalum Bay in Negros Occidental. The war ship to deliver war armaments to guerrillas in Mindanao when intercepted by Japanese warplanes in Sipalay and sunked by Japanese warplanes.
In Ormoc City, the festivity will be capped with a cultural show at Ormoc City Superdome starting 7 p.m. It will feature dances that has evolved in our long history of several influences. The tickets for the show are being sold for very popular prices ranging from P150 to P10.
l Iloilo. The Iloilo celebration will also include the honoring of Col. Pedro Serran, a living Second Word War hero, by his townmates in Zarraga. Serran, 84, now resides in the United States. Serran's son with whom he lives with, Tony, said his father would have come with them to attend the affair but was advised against taking the travel by his doctors. Fayette C. Riñen, Nereo C. Lujan, Raj Padilla, Vicente S. Labro, Gerry T. Pagharion, Carla P. Gomez, Lalaine M. Jimenea, Recto I. Vidal, Odette M. Gatasaya, PDI Visayas Bureau; Vincent Isleta, Imelda Visaya, Peter La. Julian, Gabriel Cardinoza, PDI Northern Luzon Bureau, and Anselmo Roque, Patrick Roxas, PDI Central Luzon Desk; Grace Albasin, E. Rene Fernandez, Allan Nawal, Edwin Fernandez and Ayan Mellejor, PDI Mindanao Bureau
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