October 15 a holiday in Bohol

SOLID FAITH This is how the historic Loboc town church looks now, a year after a powerful earthquake struck Bohol province and heavily damaged or destroyed hundreds of houses and dozens of churches. MARIANNE BERMUDEZ

MANILA, Philippines—In observance of the first anniversary of the 7.2 earthquake that brought Bohol to its knees, President Benigno Aquino III has declared Wednesday, October 15, a special non-working day in the province.

Aquino, through Proclamation No. 887, said the tourist island “wishes to commemorate” the tragic day “as a day of prayer and thanksgiving.”

Across the Central Visayas region, a total of 222 people died while over 670,000 families were affected by the quake that struck below the island of Bohols.

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