BALANGA CITY — President Duterte has declared April 2, the 158th birthday of national poet and orator Francisco Balagtas Baltazar, as special non-working day in Bataan.
The declaration was under Proclamation No. 936signed on March 24, 2020 by Executive Secretary Salvador Medialdea by authority of the President.
The proclamation said that it is but fitting and proper that the people of Bataan be given full opportunity to celebrate and participate in the occasion with appropriate ceremonies.
It took notice that Baltazar was a prominent Filipino poet and orator who resided in Orion, Bataan, married a lass from the area, and died in the same town on February 20, 1862.
Baltazar, author of famous novel Florante at Laura and many literary pieces , has a monument in Wawa, a seaside village in Orion, known as Hardin ni Balagtas. He was born in Bulacan on April 2, 1788 but worked and stayed in Orion.
Gov. Albert Garcia said no ceremony marking the occasion will be made because of the enhanced community quarantine but that it was a chance for the people of the province to remember the contribution and influence of the great poet.
He said that during this time of danger caused by the coronavirus disease, one does not need to write undying literary pieces like what Baltazar did to show love for country.
“To show our love for our country in this period of crisis, we must obey rules, show cooperation and concern for others and have faith in God that will lead us the way to surpass this trying times and be free fromCovid–19,” Garcia said.
Bataan as of latest report has 14 confirmed cases ofCovid-19 with one death and three recoveries.
