MACABEBE, Pampanga- Malacanang has declared June 3 as a special non-working holiday in this town in observance of Macabebe Day marking the death of the country’s first warrior-hero named Tarik Sulayman.
By authority of the President, Executive Secretary Salvador Medialdea issued Proclamation 275 on the holiday, a Monday, saying “it is but fitting and proper that the people of the Municipality of Macabebe be given full opportunity to celebrate and participate in the occasion with appropriate ceremonies.”
“Now, therefore, I Salvador Medialdea, Executive Secretary, by authority of President Rodrigo Roa Duterte, do hereby declare, Monday, 02 June 2019, a special (non-working) day in the Muunicipality of Macabebe, Province of Pampanga,” the proclamation said.
The proclamation would be effective only this year.
June 3 is not Macabebe’s fiesta. Rather, it marks the heroism of Tarik Sulayman, a native who led local folk against the Spanish forces of Miguel López de Legazpi during the Battle of Bangkusay Channel on June 3, 1571. Historians also refer to him as Bambalito who was killed during the battle.
Sulayman is at times referred to by historians as “nameless hero,” but he first appeared as “Toric Soleiman” in Pedro Paterno’s Historia de Filipinos and has since been used, though with different spellings, to prevent people from confusing him with Manila’s Rajah Soliman.
