Mactan Shrine one of the lead sites of 122nd Independence Day

Statue of Lapulapu in the Liberty Shrine in Barangay Mactan, Lapu-Lapu City. | file photo

CEBU CITY, Philippines — For the second straight year, the Liberty Shrine in Mactan, Lapu-Lapu City will be one of the lead sites in the celebration of the Philippine Independence Day.

The National Historical Commission of the Philippines (NHCP) has picked the Liberty Shrine to represent the Visayas region in the 122nd anniversary of the proclamation of the Independence Day next Friday, June 12, 2020.

Due to the prevailing threat of the coronavirus disease, this year’s Independence Day celebration will be another tradition that will have to carry on without the usual fanfare.

“The program will be simple: flag-raising and wreath-laying ceremonies only.  This year’s theme is “Kalayaan 2020: Tungo sa Bansang Malay, Nagbabayanihan, at Ligtas” (Towards a Free, United, and Safe Nation),” the National Quincentennial Committee of the Philippines, an attached body to the NHCP.

The main Independence Day program this year will be at the Rizal National Monument in Manila, while the Mindanao’s main celebration program will be in Rizal Park in Davao City.

Aside from the three sites, National Independence Day programs are also set in the following historical sites:

• Aguinaldo Shrine in Kawit, Cavite, the site of the proclamation of Philippine independence in 1898;
• Bonifacio National Monument in Caloocan City, in honor of the Cry of Pugad Lawin which started the Philippine Revolution in 1896;
• Pinaglabanan Memorial Shrine in San Juan City in a memorial to the initial attacks of the Katipunan in 1896;
• Barasoain Church Historical Landmark in the City of Malolos in Bulacan where the First Philippine Republic was born in 1899; and the
• Pamintuan Mansion, Angeles City which hosted the first anniversary celebration of Philippine Independence in 1899.

“Our Independence Day and National Flag Days celebration focus on building cooperation and trust as we push for a COVID-19 free country, safe and secure for all.”

READ: 121st Independence Day Celebration: There is a hero in everyone who serves the community – Briones

Last year, Mactan’s Liberty Shrine lead the 121st celebration of the Philippine Independence Day with Education Secretary Leonor Briones as the guest of honor.

Lapu-Lapu City has been in the historical limelight in the recent years as the Victory in the Battle at Mactan, the first known resistance to a foreign invader is one of the highlights of the Philippine’s part in the 500th year (quincentennial) celebration of the first circumnavigation of the world in 2021.

According to the NQC, the memory of Datu Lapulapu and the Victory at Mactan against the Spaniards headed by Portuguese Ferdinand Magellan were evoked in the reading of the proclamation of Philippine Independence from Spain on June 12, 1898. /bmjo