Mayor Alfredo Lim will lead the nation in celebrating the 157th birth anniversary of Marcelo del Pilar on Thursday, August 30. Historical awareness and respect for our revolutionary heroes is an important part of the Manila Mayor’s 11-point agenda.
Mayor Lim will be at the Paraiso ng Batang Maynila at 9 am on August 30, to lay a floral wreath at the statue of Marcelo del Pilar and deliver a speech extolling the hero’s contribution to nation-building. The Paraiso ng Batang Maynila is a public park and playground located at the corner of Quirino Avenue and Roxas Boulevard in Malate.
Mayor Lim will be accompanied the Samahang Plaridel, Inc. an association of journalists and writers headed by Mr. Neal Cruz. Vice Mayor Francisco Domagoso who is also vice-chairman of the manila Historical and Heritage Commission will be present together with councilors of Manila’s six districts.
After the wreath-laying ceremonies, Mayor Lim will distribute books about Marcelo del Pilar to students of the Plaridel Elementary School, “…so the younger generation will continue emulating patriotic Filipinos like del Pilar…” the Mayor affirmed.
A Bulakeño, Marcelo del Pilar was born in 1850. He was the moving spirit of the “Propaganda Movement,” (1880-1895), a nationalistic undertaking established in Spain by Jose Rizal, Graciano Lopez Jaena, the brothers Luna and other Filipino expatriates. He used the pen name Plaridel and was editor of the movement’s political quarterly “La Solidaridad.” Plaridel believed that the unmitigated power of the Spanish friars was the root of oppression and corruption in colonial Philippines. He exposed these abuses in “La Soberania Monacal en Filipinas” and “La Frailocracia en Filipinas.” Plaridel’s “Dasalan at Tocsohan” (a spoof of the catechism), “Amain Namin” at “Aba Ginoong Barya” were popular among the masses. He died penniless in Barcelona, in 1896.
For more information about Mayor Lim’s 11-point agenda and historical programs, please contact the Manila Historical and Heritage Commission (Gemma C. Araneta, (0917) 8668853) and/or Manila’s Tourism and Cultural Office (Ofelia Co (0917) 8051229)