THIS WEEK’S MILESTONES

May 16 to May 22

May 17, 1956

The agricultural town of Longos in Laguna province was renamed Kalayaan by virtue of Republic Act No. 1417. The old town of Longos had its seat of government in the district of the same name, until an executive order signed by then President Manuel Roxas in March 1948 transferred it to the barrio of San Juan. Kalayaan, with a population of 23,269 in 2015, is composed of three barangays: Longos, San Juan and San Antonio.

May 17, 2000

The National Historical Commission of the Philippines (NHCP) declared the town center of Pila in Laguna province a national historical landmark. Formerly the National Historical Institute, the NHCP, in a board resolution, cited the preservation of Pila’s historical town center that follows a Spanish colonial town planning system, where the plaza becomes the community center and a space for activities. Found in Pila’s town plaza are dozens of centuries-old houses, an elementary school and the more than 400-year-old San Antonio de Padua Church, which was named a national shrine in 2019.

May 19, 2016

The San Pedro Bell of the centuries-old Saints Peter and Paul Church in Bauang town, La Union province, arrived on a commercial flight at Ninoy Aquino International Airport. The 378-kilogram bell, which was taken as a war trophy by American troops in 1901, was brought back to Bauang four days later and was rung for the first time in 115 years. It was shipped back to the Philippines at the request of a Bauang parish priest and with the help of an American war veteran. It had been kept at the Most Holy Trinity chapel of the United States Military Academy in West Point, New York, for years and was known as the “Barry Bell,” named after the American general who brought it to the United States.

May 20, 1945

American forces and Filipino guerrillas liberated Malaybalay, then a town in Bukidnon province, from Japanese invaders. In 1942, Japanese troops occupied Malaybalay and established a camp in Barangay Casisang. Filipino guerrillas repeatedly attacked the Japanese camp, hindering them to defend as an effective unit and slowing them down in their retreat to Agusan Valley. The guerrillas eventually linked up with the Allied Forces, and when the latter reached the Japanese base on May 20, 1945, the final battle to liberate Malaybalay was fought.

Canceled events: Due to the national public health emergency in relation to the new coronavirus disease (COVID-19), the Lapyahan Festival in San Remigio, Cebu; and the Layag Festival in Rapu-Rapu, Albay, scheduled between May 16 and May 22, have been canceled by the local governments concerned. Meanwhile, most of the activities for the Fertility Dance in Obando, Bulacan; and the Manggahan Festival in Guimaras province, will be held online. Compiled by Kathleen de Villa, Inquirer Research Sources: Inquirer Archives, officialgazette.gov.ph, coa.gov.ph, pvao.gov.ph, psa.gov.ph, chanrobles.com, nhcp.gov.ph, bauangtgis.gov.ph, malaybalaycity.gov.ph