On the 34th anniversary of the deadly Mount Pinatubo eruption, the town of Bacolor unveiled a historical marker titled “Rising from the Ashes” to honor the strength and resilience of the Kapampangan people who lived through the disaster.

The ceremony remembered the more than 20,000 residents who lost their homes and livelihoods when nine meters of lahar buried Bacolor after the volcano erupted in 1991.

“Balu tamu ngan pu ing milyari. Memakbung ya pu ing Pinatubu. Maturan tamu, me lahar tamu, mitambunan reng bale tamu. Marakal ing mewalan a bie. Kanita malungkut. Nanung gawan tamu kung etamu arapan. Whatever it is, ing importante tinalakad tamu. We bounced back more than king milabas,” Bacolor Mayor Diman Datu said during the unveiling.

The Pampanga Provincial Government led the project in partnership with the Bacolor LGU, the Provincial Tourism Office, the Parish of San Guillermo, and the Foundation for Lingap Kapampangan Inc.

Provincial Tourism Officer Michael Castañeda said preserving this memory for future generations is important.

“Bunuklat taya ining panandang kasalaysayan bang lakwas da pa pung abalu reng susunod a henerasyun, partikular pu rening kayanakan, bang abalu da nung makananu la sinagupa, linaban, at ginusal reng Kapampangan people, bang akabyusan de pin ing delanan da kening pamamakbung ning Bulkang Pinatubo,” he said.

The marker serves as a permanent reminder that even from destruction, hope and strength can rise — and that every collapse can be followed by a powerful rebuilding.