Rama: Cebu City to push through with quincentennial activities
The National Quincentennial Committe (NQC) announced on Friday, September 13, that it will focus its celebration on the heroism of Lapulapu instead of the 500th year of Christianity in the Philippines. | Photo Courtesy of Rudy Alix
CEBU CITY, Philippines — If the national government would not push through with its celebration of the 500th anniversary of Christianity in the country, the Cebu City should at least organize local activities to commemorate the historic event.
Vice Mayor Michael Rama, chairperson of the Cultural and Historical Affairs Commission (CHAC), said that he plans to seek an audience with the National Historical Commission of the Philippines (NHCP) to discuss how City Hall should go about its activities.
“We pray that the celebration of Christianity and faith will still be interwoven with the celebration of Lapulapu’s heroism,” said Rama.
National Quincentennial Committee (NQC) announced on Friday, September 13, that the national government will not be celebrating the 500th anniversary of Christianity in the country. Instead, they will focus on the 500th year commemoration of Raja Lapulapu’s heroism in 1521.
Rama said NQC’s announcement came as a surprise.
During the NQC meeting which he attended in Lapu-Lapu City on Friday, September 13, Rama said he raised a concern “that focusing only on Lapulapu’s heroism ignores the fact that his heroism sprung from the arrival of the Spaniards, which planted the seed for Catholicism in the country, a religion that is still heavily embedded in the culture of majority of the Filipinos.”
Still, Rama said that he would not want to be confrontational with the national government.
He wanted to seek an audience with NHCP to seek clarification on how the Cebu City government should go about activities planned for the celebration.
Rama said that the city will continue to host the CBCP’s celebration and will gladly welcome the Pope and the King of Spain should they decide come here for a visit.
The vice mayor expressed confidence that Mayor Edgardo Labella will support his plan “because the mayor is a firm believer of God first before country.”
Rama said that Philippine history and culture has become what it is now because a cross was planted on the shores of Mactan Island in 1521. | dcb
Disclaimer: The comments uploaded on this site do not necessarily represent or reflect the views of management and owner of Cebudailynews. We reserve the right to exclude comments that we deem to be inconsistent with our editorial standards.
