Today in History : January 9th

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1945: The United States Army begins landing on Lingayen Gulf, 107 miles from Manila, in Luzon island under Operation Mike 1 in the bid to retake the Philippines from Japan during World War II. The Japanese fought desperately, street by street, to hold the city.

1973: The Supreme Court ordained the integration of the Philippine Bar. The IBP Constitution and By-Laws shortly followed. Then recently-retired Supreme Court Associate Justice J.B.L. Reyes was named as the first Chairman of the IBP in 1973. He served in that capacity until 1975, and was the Chairman emeritus for the remainder of his life. Reyes had been a longtime proponent of bar integration in the Philippines.

2006: Gulong ng Palad, Philippine 50's radio drama series and 1980s soap opera hit, came back in television under the direction of Eric Salud and Jerome Pobocan.

2008: Gov. Amado Espino, Jr. and Vice Gov. Marlyn Primicias-Agabas institutionalized the commemoration to honor the war veterans. The resolution named January 9 as Pangasinan Veterans’ Day. In the 63rd anniversary commemoration of the Lingayen Gulf Landing, President Fidel Ramos appealed to US President George W. Bush for 24,000 surviving war veterans, to pass two legislative bills pending since 1968 at the US House of Representatives – the Filipino Veterans’ Equity Act of 2006 and the Filipino Veterans’ Equity of 2005 sponsored by former Senator Daniel Inouye.

Today in History : January 8th

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1847: Filipino revolutionary Severino Lapidario is born; he will become a prison warden and one of the “Thirteen Martyrs of Cavite" to be executed by Spanish colonial military authorities during the 1896 Revolution in the Philippines. 

1901: General McArthur, the American commander in the Philippines, has sent General Del Pilar, four other insurgent leaders, and 13 others subbordinate officers to Mabini. Civilian prisoners has been sent to Guam.

Today in History : January 7th

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1942: Japanese forces started the siege of the peninsula shortly after the Japanese Army invaded the country in December 1941 and the combined forces of Filipino and US forces were being gradually overrun and General Douglas MacArthur decided to make Bataan the site of a last stand.

1964: President Sukarno of Indonesia arrived in Manila with a strong Indonesian delegation for important talks on Malaysia with President Macapagal of the Philippines. The Indonesian President was welcomed my President Macapagal, Vice-President Pelaez and senior officials saying "Am I late, or are you too early?"

1973: Steaming via the Panama Canal and Pearl Harbor in Hawaii, Blakely arrived at Subic Bay in the Philippines. Five days later, the warship departed Subic Bay for the Vietnamese combat zone. Her tour of duty in the Far East came at the very end of American participation in the Vietnamese conflict; and, as a consequence, she served only once in the combat zone.

1975: Presidential Decree No. 633 provides for the creation of the National Commission on the Role of Filipino Women (NCRFW). The Commission shall act as an advisory body to the President in formulating policies and implementing programs to ensure the full integration of women for economic, social, and cultural development at the national, regional and international levels, and to ensure further equality between men and women.

Today in History : January 6th

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Today in History : January 5th

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1896: Written by Emilio Jacinto, a meeting of the By. Makabuhay (a Katipunan Balangay in Mandaluyong), for its promotion to the status of a Sangguniang Bayan or “Sb.” Seven Katipunan Supreme Council members were present with Andres Bonifacio presiding over the meeting. Election of officers and members for the newly formed Sb. Makabuhay were held, while the remaining members of the former balangay not elected to the Sanggunian became members of a newly formed By. Tala. Election of officers for this new balangay were held likewise. After the elections had been held and oaths-of-office had been duly sworn, Bonifacio spoke about the need for all members of the Katipunan, especially the leaders, to act with diligence, perseverance and intelligence.

1899: Gen. Emilio Aguinaldo, President of the fledgling Philippine Republic, issues a counter-manifesto to (a softened version) of United States President William McKinley's imperialistic "Benevolent Assimilation" Proclamation; Aguinaldo warns of his government being “disposed to open hostilities if the American troops attempt to take forcible possession of the Visayan islands.”

Today in History : January 4th

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1897: The 15 martyrs of Bicol are executed by Spanish colonial authorities in Bagumbayan five days after Philippine national hero Jose Rizal met the same fate by firing squad.

1976: The spokesman of the New Peoples Army and a prominent pre-martial law journalist, Satur Ocampo, is arrested in Olongapo City.

1987: During the peace talks with the Philippine government in Jeddah, the MNLF through Nur Misuari, agrees to autonomy rather than independence for parts of Mindanao.

Today in History : January 3rd

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1922: Manuel Artigas y Cuerva, a Filipino-Spanish biographer, bibliographer, historian, and journalist, is reappointed as acting director of the Philippine Public Library; he published a number of works that proved to have documentary/historical value.

1945: Gen. MacArthur is placed in command of all U.S. ground forces and Adm. Nimitz in command of all naval forces in preparation for planned assaults against Iwo Jima, Okinawa and Japan itself.

1949: The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) is the central bank of the Republic of the Philippines was established. It was rechartered on July 3, 1993, pursuant to the provisions of the 1987 Philippine Constitution and the New Central Bank Act of 1993. BSP is the country’s central monetary authority.