On the 160th birth anniversary of Gat Andres Bonifacio on November 30, 2023, his bust statue in Sibalom town, Antique Province marked its centenary.

The bust statue was the prize of Sibalom as the cleanest town in a “Provincial Cleanup Week Contest” in 1923.

According to Engr. Jonathan de Gracia, general manager of Sibalom Water District, and member of the Sibalom Municipal Tourism, Arts and Culture Council, the bust statue is one of the oldest statues of the hero made available as early as 1922.

“There may be several of these that were given nationwide for towns adjudged as the cleanest in their respective areas. We don’t know how many still exist today. We are blessed here in Sibalom and Antique that this historical gem still exists here and treasured as it truly deserves. A source of pride and inspiration,” Engr. de Gracia said.

“Sibalom might be the first town in the country to celebrate a centennial anniversary for a Bonifacio statue,” de Gracia added.

De Gracia mentioned that since 1901, Bonifacio's birth anniversary has been celebrated by civic organizations. By 1920, Senator Lope K. Santos filed a bill to declare November 30 a holiday. In 1921, American Governor General Francis Burton Harrison approved the bill as Act No. 2946.

The Cleanup Week was said to be a nationwide program of the Philippine government in 1922 which follows the American tradition of cleanups every spring time.

The pedestal bears the name of Andres Bonifacio in "Baybayin," a precolonial writing system used by early Filipinos; written and read from top to bottom.

Further, the location is also identified as the first route that the Katipuneros took when they stormed the Spanish forces positioned at a Roman Catholic compound in Sibalom.