December 18 2014 declared a holiday in Iloilo – Graciano Lopez Jaena Day

December 18 2014 declared a holiday in Iloilo –  Graciano Lopez Jaena Day

The 158th birth anniversary of Filipino writer and revolutionary propagandist Graciano Lopez-Jaena will be commemorated this December 18, Thursday.

The day is a special non-working holiday in Iloilo province and its capital Iloilo City. This is in accordance to Republic Act (RA) 6155. This law came into effect during the presidency of Ferdinand Marcos. The full text of RA 6155 can be read here.

Three decades later in 2001, the House of Representatives and the Senate passed a bill proclaiming Lopez-Jaena’s birth anniversary as a special public working holiday  throughout the country.

Graciano_lopez_jaena
Iloilo province will be celebrating its annual Graciano Lopez Jaena day this December 18

This bill eventually became RA 9070, and was signed into law by then-President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo in 2001. Read the final version of RA 9070 in this link.

Born in 1856 in Jaro, Iloilo, Lopez-Jaena is part of the triumvirate that initiated the Propaganda Movement, alongside national hero Jose Rizal and journalist Marcelo H. Del Pilar.

Also known for his unmatched rhetorical skill, Lopez-Jaena served as the first editor-in-chief of La Solidaridad, which is the official newspaper of the reform movement.

Lopez-Jaena’s most famous work is Fray Botod, a story about an obese Spanish friar who lived in power and luxury despite coming to the Philippines as a poor man. The Ilonggo propagandist succumbed to tuberculosis in 1896, the same year Del Pilar and Rizal also died.

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Mark Pere Madrona

The Filipino Scribe (TFS) is managed by Mark Pere Madrona, a multi-awarded writer and licensed professional teacher from the Philippines. Mr. Madrona earned his master’s degree in history from the University of the Philippines-Diliman last 2020. He obtained his bachelor’s degree in journalism cum laude from the same university back in 2010. His area of interests includes Philippine journalism, history, and politics as well as social media. Know more about him here: https://www.filipinoscribe.com/about/.

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