Today in History : February 12th

On this date in...

1901: Apolinario Mabini, Gen. Artemio Ricarte and other defiant revolutionary leaders who have been deported from the Philippines begin their exile in Guam; refusing to swear fealty to imperialist America, they form part of the handful of proud survivors of the Philippine Revolution and the Filipino-American War who stand out against the many who have given up the cause of independence for their native country.

1903: José Palma, a poet and soldier, died in Manila. He was born in Tondo, Manila, on June 3, 1876. He was the younger brother of Dr. Rafael Palma. Palma was also a staff member of La Independencia. He wrote Filipinas, a patriotic poem in Spanish, which became the lyrics of the Lupang Hinirang, the Philippine national anthem.

1998: With the approval of Republic Act No. 8491, the eagle and lion on the lower half of the shield were not specified, and therefore removed. However, the modified arms are not in wide use, pending the ratification of the law by a national referendum called for that purpose, as mandated by the Philippine Constitution.

2006: Your Song, a weekly musical anthology program of ABS-CBN, began its airing. It is broadcast Sundays afternoon. The plot of each episode is inspired by a hit song performed by a local artist. The song title is used as the episode title, while the song itself is used throughout the episode as background music. A new cast is featured in each episode.