DID YOU KNOW: Today is 94th birth anniversary of Alejandro Roces

Today, July 13, is the 94th birth anniversary of National Artist for Literature Alejandro Roces. Born in 1924, Roces was a fictionist, essayist, and one of the country’s best writers of comic short stories. He led the campaign to change the country’s Independence Day from July 4 to June 12, and make Filipino, not English, the language used in the country’s stamps, currency and passports. Roces also helped in the recovery of Jose Rizal’s manuscripts when these were stolen from the National Archives. He was named National Artist in 2003. He died on May 23, 2011. —Marielle Medina