Today in History : March 5th

On this date in...

1872: Thirteen Spanish vessels attack Jolo, killing three men and one woman and losing two officers and 100 soldiers. Jolo is a volcanic island in the southwest Philippines. It is located in the Sulu Archipelago, between Mindanao and Borneo, and has a population of approximately 300,000 people. Jolo is also the name of the town on the island which serves as the capital of the province of Sulu, within the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao.

1899: A band of Filipino fire on some crew members of the U.S.S. Bennington, giving the impression to washington that the Americans are getting nervous and restless under the harassment of the Filipinos.

1901: The American Circulating Library is established in Manila. As the Philippine-American War died down and peace gradually returned to the Philippines, Americans who had come to settle in the islands saw the need for a wholesome recreational outlet. Recognizing this need, Charles Greenleaf and several other American women organized the American Circulating Library (ACL), dedicated in memory of American soldiers who died in the Philippine-American War.

1952: Because the Philippine colony is generally prosperous, trade is flourishing, the religious orders are at peace, the cathedral is completed, a seminary for girls established, Pope Clement VIII sends a letter of congratulations to the bishop, clergy and people of the Philippines.

1986: Jose Maria Sison is released from his 8 years and three months detention in Fort Bonifacio. Also released are Bernabe Buscayno, Ruben Alegre, the identified head of the NPA Sparrow Unit, and Alex Buendo, the head of the armed citizen's partisans in Metro Manila.

Today in History : February 14th

On this date in...

1935: Upsilon Phi Sigma (YΦΣ, commonly known as UPS) is Founded at the University of the Philippines Los Baños. UPS is a National Inter-University and Collegiate Fraternity and Sorority with 164 active chapters. It is one of the oldest fraternities and sororities in the Philippines.

1939: Philippine president Manuel L. Quezon proclaimed his social justice program before a gathering of farmers in front of the Municipal Government building of San Fernando.

1946: PAL resumed operations after a five-year hiatus with service to 15 domestic points with five Douglas DC-3s and a payroll of 108 names. Philippine Airlines returned to its original home, the Nielson Airport in Makati. The airport, heavily damaged during the war, was refurbished and modernized by PAL at a hefty cost of over one million pesos, quickly becoming the official port of entry for air
passengers into the Philippines.

The airport was operated by Manila International Air Terminal, Inc., a wholly-owned PAL subsidiary.

1952: Filipino revolutionary leader from Albay, Simeon A. Ola, dies at a ripe old age of 86; Ola was a fervent revolutionary leader who persisted in fighting despite the imperialists' superior firepower and combat training--thus inspiring more patriots to join his army during the Filipino-American War for several years

1970: John Carlos G. De los Reyes, better known as JC De los Reyes was born. JC is a councilor in Olongapo City, Philippines and standard-bearer of the Ang Kapatiran Party (AKP) in the 2010 Philippine presidential elections.

1986: Parties of the opposition, the UNIDO and LABAN, begin protest rallies against the election results as they are convinced that massive fraud has been committed. Corazon Aquino calls for a boycott of all establishments closely associated with the administration.

1998: President Fidel Ramos signed Republic Act No. 8526, converting the Municipality of Valenzuela under the administration of Mayor Bobbit L. Carlos into a highly urbanized city, making Valenzuela the 12th city in Metro Manila and the 83rd in the Philippines.