ANGELES CITY– From the Emilio Aguinaldo Shrine in Kawit, Cavite last year, Pres. Aquino will shift to the historic Barasoain Church in Malolos, Bulacan in leading the flag raising ceremony for the 114th commemoration of Philippine Independence on June 12.
In a statement yesterday, the regional office of the Philippine Information Agency (PIA) said the Barasoain Church would be two of Central Luzon’s historic places chosen to be among the main venues for the simultaneous flag raising rites during this year’s Independence Day celebration.
The other site is the Pamintuan Mansion here, where Tourism Secretary Ramon Jimenez will spearhead the Independence Day rites.
During Independence Day last year, the President was in the Emilio Aguinaldo Shrine in Kawit, Cavite for the flag raising ceremonies. The shrine was where Aguinaldo first unfurled the Philippine flag proclaiming Philippine independence from Spanish colonizers on June 12, 1898.
The PIA said that this year, Aquino “will personally lead the flag-raising and wreath-laying at the Barasoain Church in Malolos City, Bulacan.”
“Founded by Augustinian missionaries in 1859, the Barasoain Church was where the country’s first constitution was drafted in 1898 – the first free Asian nation to do so. The Philippines’ premiere constitution took effect January of the following year,” the PIA noted.
The PIA also said that Barasoain’s convent, the Universidad Cientifico-Literaria de Filipinas, became the country’s first state university. “This tertiary institution paved the way for the establishment of the present day University of the Philippines in 1908,” it added.
On the other hand, the Pamintuan mansion was built in 1890 by Don Mariano Pamintuan as a wedding gift to his son Florentino, the PIA said.
“General Antonio Luna moved his army’s headquarters in the mansion on March, 1899 after the Americans occupied Malolos, Bulacan.
Three months later, then President Emilio Aguinaldo transferred the seat of his government there and led the first and only public Independence Day celebration under his administration,” the PIA noted.
It also noted historical documents indicating that after the Americans captured Angeles in 1901, General Arthur MacArthur used the Pamintuan residence as his headquarters.
During World War II, the Japanese forces also used the house as a base when they conquered the area, the PIA added.
