Gazmin leads Flag Day rites in Cavite

From the Manila Bulletin (May 8): Gazmin leads Flag Day rites in Cavite  

Officials and residents are celebrating the 116th National Flag Day today with Department of National Defense (DND) Secretary Voltaire T. Gazmin as lead guest in simple ceremonies at Miguel Santo, Alapan II-A, a heritage site in this capital city.

The program at Alapan Heritage Park’s “Dambana ng Pambansang Watawat” (Shrine National Flag) will start at 8 a.m. with the “Battle of Alapan” reminiscing tableau, wreath-laying at “Inang Laya” (Mother of Freedom) Monument and hoisting of the Philippine giant flag as among highlight activities.

The “Battle of Alapan” on May 28, 1898 was one of the fierce encounters between the revolutionaries and Spanish soldiers in Cavite. History revealed that the new Philippine flag was first waved during the capture of some 270 Spaniards in the Alapan encounter.

The “Battle of Alapan” and the Flag Day commemoration is a rundown of activities to Philippine Independence Day celebration at Aguinaldo Shrine in Kawit town on June 12.

Expected today at the Alapan Shrine program proper are local officials led by Mayor Emmanuel L. Maliksi and Third District (Imus) Representative Alexander L. Advincula, Governor Juanito Victor C. Remulla Jr., Dr. Maria Serena I. Diokno, National Historical Commission of the Philippines chairperson; and former Prime Minister Cesar E.A. Virata, president of Cavite Historical Society.

Tourism Officer Corazon Z. del Mundo said that some 2,000 residents are expected to witness the Shrine event with the theme “Pagsunod sa Yapak ng mga Dakilang Pilipino, Tungo sa Malawakan at Permanenteng Pagbabago.”

The Flag Day celebration has been set for the first time at the heritage park in Alapan II-A.

Del Mundo said the new Shrine in the three-and-a-half-hectare site is part of an ongoing project of the national government, through the initiatives of the National Historical Commission, Department of Tourism (DOT), local government and other concerned agencies.

The cost of the heritage park under a five-year-development plan is estimated at R300 million, according to Del Mundo.

In an interview, Del Mundo said that with the new Shrine and 60 feet “Inang Laya” Monument in place, a new museum, flag repository and crematorium would also be built at the park site under the plan.

The added historical attraction at the Shrine is the 30-meter (98 feet and 5 inches) tall flagpole that was extracted from Luneta Park last year and placed in a huge base in the area.

The famous giant flagpole at the Rizal Monument area was turned over to Imus City government on September 16, 2013 by the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH)-South Manila District Engineering Office and Department of Tourism (DOT) National Park Development Committee after it was replaced by a new and taller one.

http://www.mb.com.ph/gazmin-leads-flag-day-rites-in-cavite/