Quezon City Mayor Herbert Bautista and Vice Mayor Joy Belmonte will lead city officials in the observance of National Flag Day on Monday in fitting ceremonies during the regular flag-raising ceremony at the City Hall Plaza at 7:30 am.
The city’s celebration will be five days earlier than the date of commemoration provided for under Proclamation 374 which declared May 28th of each year as Flag Day to commemorate the first unfurling of the national flag at Alapan, Imus, Cavite .
Belmonte has enjoined residents, business establishment owners and government and private offices, agencies and institutions in QC to prominently display the Philippine flag in their respective places in celebration of the National Flag Day.
The acting mayor also ordered the display of the Philippine flag along city thoroughfares and at the city hall compound, and the replacement of worn-out and tattered flags as a manifestation of love for the country.
To commemorate the first unfurling of the national flag at Alapan, Imus, Cavite, May 28th of each year has been declared as Flag Day under Proclamation No. 374. In line with this, Malacanang issued Executive Order No. 179 S-94, which requires the “Prominent display of the National Flag in all buildings, establishments and homes from May 28 to June and every year thereafter.
The idea of coming up with a new flag was reached during the preparation of the second phase of the Philippine Revolution. It was personally conceived by Emilio Aguinaldo and sewn at 535 Morisson Hill Road , Hongkong by Marcela Mariño Agoncillo, wife of Felipe Agoncillo, the first Filipino diplomat.
The flag was made within five days and was handed over by Agoncillo to Aguinaldo before he boarded the American dispatch boat, McCulloch on May 17, 1898 for his return trip to the Philippines. Aguinaldo hoisted the flag as a sign of victory against Spain on May 28 at Barrio Alapan, Imus, Cavite. -30- Precy/ Ej/ Maureen Quinones, PAISO
