This Week’s Milestones: June 14 – 20, 2020

June 14, 2016

The Pinatubo Museum was inaugurated at the Center for Kapampangan Studies in Angeles City, Pampanga province, on the eve of the 25th anniversary of the Mt. Pinatubo eruption. Built by the Holy Angel University, the museum features a mural timeline of Mt. Pinatubo, a mural sculpture titled “Lumud” (Drown) by Kapampangan artist Arnel Garcia and real ash, sand and rocks that Mt. Pinatubo spewed in the eruption. The museum serves as a memorial and shrine to all those who died and were affected by the 1991 tragedy. It sits next to the permanent museum of National Artist Vicente Manansala.

June 18, 2008

The city of Cagayan de Oro in Misamis Oriental province and the city of Norfolk in Virginia became sister cities after then Mayors Constantino Jaraula and Paul Fraim signed a twinning agreement. The resolution recognized that Cagayan de Oro and Norfolk are both major port cities with maritime and tourism-related activities and businesses. Numerous programs have been implemented since the sister city agreement has been forged. These include scholarship and student exchange programs, fundraising for calamity victims, and social and cultural events.

June 19, 2019

The first drug rehabilitation center in Central Visayas region, called New Life Center, was turned over to the Cebu provincial government. Built by a telecommunications company, the P48-million facility is located in Pinamungajan town, Cebu, and has a 106-bed capacity. It was designed to take in patients with severe manifestations of drug abuse in a six-month treatment program. The facility was supposed to begin operations by the end of 2019, but it was used as a quarantine center in February this year for the provincial government’s COVID-19 response.

June 20, 1959

The former town of Cotabato became a city through Republic Act No. 2364, signed by then President Carlos Garcia. In June 1978, Malacañang declared June 20 of every year a special public holiday in Cotabato City to mark its founding anniversary. Cotabato City was formerly the seat of the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao, now replaced by the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM). It voted for inclusion in the BARMM through a plebiscite in January last year, but the city government of Cotabato has a pending case before the Commission on Elections and the Supreme Court questioning the results of the plebiscite.

Canceled events: Due to the national public health emergency in relation to the new coronavirus disease, the Gapnod Festival in Sibulan, Negros Oriental province; Libad Festival in Calumpit, Bulacan province; and Buhayani Festival in Calamba City in Laguna province, scheduled between June 14 and June 20, have been canceled by the local governments concerned.

Compiled by: Kathleen de Villa, Inquirer Research

Sources: Inquirer Archives, officialgazette.gov.ph, cagayandeoro.gov.ph, norfolksistercities.org, cebu.gov.ph, cebudailynews.inquirer.net, pna.gov.ph