Rep. Velasco also made the announcement during the recent unveiling ceremonies of Bantayog-Wika for Tagalog Marindukenyo.
Marinduque Rep. Lord Allan Velasco on Wednesday welcomed the approval of his bill by the House committee on local government declaring February 21 as Araw ng Marinduque, calling it a recognition of the colorful history of the province and its people.
Under House Bill (HB) 6552, which Velasco sponsored, the
commemoration of the founding anniversary of the Province of Marinduque,
considered the “Heart of the Philippines” and home of the Moriones festival
(Moryonan) will be declared a special nonworking holiday to allow the
Marinduquenos to celebrate the occasion.
“The foundation day of a province is a reminder to the local
community about the long standing culture and tradition of the province,”
Velasco said. “The festivities that accompany the celebration are part of the
Filipino culture. They boost the morale of our people and forge a stronger bond
among the local population.”
In his proposed legislation, Velasco noted the “ambivalent
history” of Marinduque before it could finally call itself “The Province of
Marinduque”.
For decades since the 1500s during the Spanish regime,
Marinduque had been made part of Laguna, Mindoro, Batangas and Quezon.
Along with Mindoro, on the southeast portion of Laguna and
Camarines, Marinduque was made a part of Batangas when it was founded in 1581 by
the Spaniards.
It also became part of Mindoro in the early 1700s.
On April 28, 1898, Marinduque separated from Mindoro and
from Spanish rule.
It was ratified by the ruling class from different towns of
the island province.
Martin Lardizabal, the military governor of Marinduque’s
first revolutionary provincial government led the local struggle.
On May 1, 1901, Marinduque finally became a new province by
virtue of Philippine Commission Act No. 125. Its status as a province was
shortlived after it was annexed to the Province of Tayabas (now Quezon) by
virtue of Act No. 499 on November 10, 1902.
Five years later, Marinduque was declared a sub-province of
Tayabas under Act No. 1649 with Juan Nieva as lieutenant governor.
Finally, on February 21, 1920, Act No. 2880 reestablished
the Province of Marinduque as a separate and independent province from Tayabas.
This article first appeared on Journal Online
