Solon wants Jan. 23 declared First Philippine Republic Day

A lawmaker from Bulacan wants January 23 of every year declared a special working holiday in the Philippines to commemorate the declaration of the the first Philippine Republic at the Barasoain Church.

Rep. Ma. Victoria Sy-Alvarado formalized the proposal by filing House Bill 5156.

In the measure’s explanatory note, Sy-Alvarado said that while June 12, 1898 marks the date when the country achieved independence from Spain, it was on January 23, 1899 that the first Philippine Republic came into being “as the sovereign choice of the Filipino people.”

“It is a conscious choice to reject dictatorial and revolutionary government and establish for all the future Filipino generations the groundwork for democracy,” she said.

The lawmaker said the creation of the first Philippine Republic, the first in Asia, should be a source of pride for Filipinos as this represents “our strong democratic and republican ideals as a nation.

“It is therefore of much importance that we need to commemorate January 23rd every year. As the beginning of Filipino democracy and self-government, indigenously concluded, it magnified the political maturity and readiness of our forefathers at the turn of that century,” Sy-Alvarado said.

Jan. 23 is a special non-working holiday in Bulacan by law. —Xianne Arcangel/KBK, GMA News