Today in History : March 8th

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1565: Felipe Salcedo takes possession of the island of Leyte. Felipe de Salcedo was a Spanish explorer who was a member of the López de Legazpi expedition to the Philippines in the 16th century. He accompanied his brother Juan de Salcedo and grandfather Miguel López de Legazpi in 1564 for their colonization of the East Indies and the Pacific. He commanded 1 ship, out of 5 fleets that sailed from Mexico to the Philippines.

1860: Birth of Antonio San Agustin, businessman, one of the “Thirteen Martyrs of Cavite,” in San Roque, Cavite. Antonio was a scion of a wealthy family. He studied at Letran College and University of Santo Tomas. He was married to Juliana Reyes. He owned the only bookstore, La Aurora, in the town which was used as a meetingplace by the Katipunan. Died on September 12, 1896.

1897: The Bishop of Vigan designates Fray J. Florentino Fernandez, a Dominican, the first Parish priest of Peñablanca, Cagayan.

1899: A citizenship certificate is made obligatory for all those holding official posts, entering into public or private contracts, registering and collecting remittances, salaries and pensions.

1901: From Palanan, President Emilio Aguinaldo instructs Apolinario Mabini to thank General Arthur MacArthur on his (Aguinaldo’s) behalf for the invitation extended to him to live in Malacañang Palace and to say that the Filipinos who have taken up arms have no other desire except Philippine independence.

1904: Artemio Ricarte y Garcia and an old friend, Aurelio Tolentino, write a long letter to Governor Wright setting forth their aspirations: the founding of a Filipino Republic.

1947: President Manuel Roxas, foremost leader of the Liberal Party, leaves for the southern provinces to campaign for the acceptance of the Parity Rights Bill.

Today in History : February 23rd

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1947: Philippine President Manuel A. Roxas and Archbishop Michael O’Doherty formally agree to the government's acquisition of eight estates owned by the Church for the price of P5,630,000, such estates to be sold later in small lots and at reasonable prices to the tenants.

1986: Shortly after lunch, Enrile and Ramos decided to consolidate their positions. Enrile crossed EDSA from Camp Aguinaldo to Camp Crame amidst cheers from the crowd. In the mid-afternoon, Radio Veritas relayed reports of Marines massing near the camps in the east and tanks approaching from the north and south. A contingent of Marines with tanks and armored vans, led by Brigadier General Artemio Tadiar, was stopped along Ortigas Avenue, about two kilometers from the camps, by tens of thousands of people. Nuns holding rosaries knelt in front of the tanks and men and women linked arms together to block the troops. Tadiar asked the crowds to make a clearing for them, but they did not budge. In the end, the troops retreated with no shots fired. By evening, the standby transmitter of Radio Veritas failed. Shortly after midnight, the staff were able to go to another station to begin broadcasting from a secret location under the moniker "Radyo Bandido" (Bandit Radio). June Keithley, with Angelo Castro, was the radio broadcaster who continued Radio Veritas' program throughout the night and in the remaining days.

1995: UPOU was established by the UP Board of Regents through a board resolution during its 1084th meeting. The Board of Regents recognized the "perennial challenge of providing quality higher education to a growing population" in the Philippines. However, because of limited resources, the residential colleges cannot accept all students who apply for admission to UP and qualify.

Today in History : January 1st

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1892: Manuel Acuña Roxas was the first president of the independent Republic of the Philippines(third republic). He served as president from the granting of independence in 1946 until his abrupt death in 1948. His term as Philippine president is also the shortest; 1 year 10 months and 18 days.

1899: Emilio Aguinaldo was declared the President of the Philippines - the only president of what would be later called the First Philippine Republic. He later organized a Congress at Malolos, Bulacan to draft a constitution.

2001: MTV Asia becomes MTV Philippines, a localized version of the all time favorite cable channel, through NBC UHF Channel 41. It was the only MTV channel being localized and aired for free in an Asian country.