CALOOCAN CITY, (PIA) – President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. will lead the flag raising and wreath-laying ceremony commemorating the 126th anniversary of the Martyrdom of Jose Rizal on 30 December 2022 at 7:00 a.m. at the Rizal National Monument, Rizal Park, Manila with the theme, “Rizal: Alaalang Iningatan, Yaman Ngayon ng Bayan.”

President Marcos will be joined by National Historical Commission of the Philippines (NHCP) Chair Dr. Rene R. Escalante with the Rizal Day Technical Working Committee members, members of the diplomatic corps, national and local government offices, representatives, non-government organizations, and descendants of Jose Rizal.

Flag-raising and wreath-laying rites will also be simultaneously conducted at the Museo ni Jose Rizal, Calamba Laguna; Museo ni Jose Rizal, Dapitan, Zamboanga del Norte; and all local government units.

In 1898, the first president of the Philippines, Emilio Aguinaldo, commemorated the first Rizal Day as a national day of mourning for Rizal and all the casualties of the Spanish colonial rule of the Philippines.

In 1901, following America’s victory against the Spaniards in the Spanish–American War, the Americans took control of the Philippines. Demonstrating that they were more pro-Filipino than the Spaniards, the American Governor-General William Howard Taft named Rizal a Philippine national hero. A year later, on February 1, 1902, the Philippine Commission enacted Act No. 345, which officially declared December 30 as Rizal Day.

On June 9, 1948, President Elpidio Quirino signed Republic Act No. 229 into law to ensure the solemnity of the event. The law prohibits cockfighting, horse racing, and jai-alai every December 30 and requires that flags across the country remain at half-mast throughout the day.

The centenary of Rizal’s death on December 30, 1996, included retracing Rizal’s last steps from his cell at Fort Santiago to the execution site, followed by a reenactment of his death and the flag-raising ceremony. (nhcp/pia-ncr)