Bato leads rites for 121st anniversary of First Philippine Republic Day in Malolos

Sen. Ronald “Bato” Dela Rosa and local officials of Bulacan led by Gov. Daniel Fernando mark the 121st anniversary of the First Philippine Republic Day at the historic Barasoain Church in City of Malolos. CONTRIBUTED PHOTO

CITY OF MALOLOS–Sen. Ronald “Bato” Dela Rosa on Thursday (Jan. 23) led the celebration of the 121st anniversary of the First Philippine Republic Day at the historic Barasoain Church here.

The site of the rites was the same place where it was done on Jan. 23, 1899 or 120 years ago.

In 2018, President Rodrigo Duterte signed Republic Act No. 11014, a law declaring every Jan. 23 as the First Philippine Republic Day and a special working holiday nationwide.

For so long, only Bulacan had been commemorating the occasion.

Dela Rosa said it is the duty of every Filipino “to contribute to the continuous fight for democracy and peace for the benefit of our country.”

Gov. Daniel Fernando led local officials in paying tribute to the events that transpired more than a century ago..

Fernando said the legacy of it “still exists in this present generation and it challenges the Filipinos to be worthy of all the good things they are enjoying now.”

Edited by TSB