#WalangPasok – August 28 2017 Philippine National Heroes Day holiday
Filipinos all over the country will be enjoying a three-day weekend later this August as the nation celebrates the annual National Heroes Day (Pambansang Araw ng mga Bayani). This year, the day falls on August 28, Monday.
It is a regular holiday as listed in Proclamation 50, which President Rodrigo Duterte signed August of last year. Read The Filipino Scribe‘s report about Proclamation 50 in this link.
This year’s Araw ng mga Bayani comes exactly a week after the nation marks the 34th anniversary of the assassination of the late Senator Benigno Aquino Jr., which for its part is a special non-working holiday.
The last week of August is significant in Philippine history because it was during this time period when Andres Bonifacio and members of the Katipunan, the revolutionary group that he founded, began the armed struggle for liberation against the Spanish colonial government in 1896.
One prominent Philippine historian, Milagros Guerrero, for her part argued that the Katipunan can actually be considered the first Filipino-led national government.
“Filipinos should recognize Bonifacio not only as the founder of the Katipunan and leader of the revolution of 1896, but as the first Filipino president: the father of the nation and founder of our democracy,” she wrote back in 2003.
PS: August is also the National History Month. The official theme for this year is “Kasaysayan: Susi sa Nasyonalismo’t Pambansang Kamalayan.”
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