Flagpole suffers glitch before Independence day event


ILOILO CITY—The flagpole in Sta. Barbara town in Iloilo where the Philippine flag would be raised on the 117th commemoration of Independence Day suffered a glitch Thursday morning less than a day before the ceremony.

Workers were rushing to fix the 36-meter flagpole after a portion of the rope where the flag was attached got stuck at the top of the pole around 10 a.m., according to Sta. Barbara Mayor Dennis Superficial.

Superficial said the 40 x 20 feet flag that would be used in tomorrow’s ceremony fell due to the glitch.

“We will find means to fix it. It will be ready before (tomorrow’s ceremony),” he said at the Iloilo provincial capitol where President Aquino was expected to visit.

The President would lead the flag-raising ceremonies in Sta. Barbara before hosting the traditional vin d’honneur at the restored old Iloilo provincial capitol in Iloilo City.

Superficial said two dry runs were conducted in preparation for the ceremony.

“The rope was new and it was tight when we first tested it. It became looser the second time but the hook probably gave way,” Superficial said.

He said they planned to use a boom truck, ladders and harnesses to fix the flagpole which stands in front of the municipal building and a few meters from the public plaza where Filipino revolutionaries first raised the Philippine flag outside of Luzon on Nov. 17, 1898. KS