JUNE 20, 2011- A SPECIAL NON-WORKING HOLIDAY

Pagmulat ko ng mata ngayong umaga, naalala ko na ngayon ay special non-working holiday dahil ilang linggo na ang nakakaraan ay idineklara ni Pangulong Benigno “Noynoy” Aquino III ang June 20, 2011 bilang special non-working holiday in celebration of national hero Jose Rizal's 150th birthday.

Ipinanganak si Jose Protasio Rizal Mercado y Alonso Realonsa noon June 19, 1861 at binaril sa Luneta noon December 30, 1896. 

Sabi ng WIKIPEDIA si lolo Jose daw ay isang Filipino polymath, patriot at pinaka prominente na advocate for reform in the Philippines during the Spanish colonial era. 

He is regarded as the foremost Filipino patriot and is listed as one of the national heroes of the Philippines by National Heroes Committee.

His execution by the Spanish in 1896, a date marked annually as Rizal Day, a Philippine national holiday, was one of the causes of the Philippine Revolution.

Rizal was born to a rich family in Calamba, Laguna and was the seventh of eleven children. 

He attended the Ateneo Municipal de Manila, earning a Bachelor of Arts, and enrolled in medicine at the University of Santo Tomas. He continued his studies at the Universidad Central de Madrid in Madrid, Spain, earning the degree of Licentiate in Medicine. He also attended the University of Paris and earned a second doctorate at the University of Heidelberg.

Rizal was a polyglot conversant in twenty two languages. He was a prolific poet, essayist, diarist, correspondent, and novelist whose most famous works were his two novels, Noli me Tangere and El filibusterismo. These social commentaries on Spanish rule formed the nucleus of literature that inspired peaceful reformists and armed revolutionaries alike.

I-re-republish ko ng buo ang Proclamation Number 154 ni Pangulong Aquino.

MALACAÑANG PALACE
Manila
BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE PHILIPPINES
PROCLAMATION NO. 154
DECLARING MONDAY, JUNE 20, 2011, AS SPECIAL (NON-WORKING) DAY THROUGHOUT THE COUNTRY

WHEREAS, Sunday, June 19, 2011, marks the 150th birth anniversary of Dr. Jose P. Rizal, our national hero;

WHEREAS, to give all Filipinos the opportunity to commemorate Rizal’s patriotic deeds and sacrifices for the country, rekindle their admiration and respect for him, and to celebrate this milestone with appropriate ceremonies, the National Historical Commission of the Philippines (NHCP) requested that Monday, June 20, 2011, be declared as special non-working holiday instead of June 19, 2011, which falls on a Sunday.

NOW, THEREFORE, I, BENIGNO S. AQUINO III, President of the Philippines, by virtue of the powers vested in me by law, do hereby declare Monday, June 20, 2011, as special (non-working) day throughout the country.

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand and caused the seal of the Republic of the Philippines to be affixed.

Done in the City of Manila, this 26th day of April, in the year of Our Lord, Two Thousand and Eleven.

(Sgd.) BENIGNO S. AQUINO III
By the President:

(Sgd.) PAQUITO N. OCHOA JR.
Executive Secretary

Source: Gov.ph

RIZAL @ 150 YEARS OLD

The only photo of Jose Rizal smiling.

Jose Rizal the original traveler on a shoestring will be celebrating his 150th birth year on June 19, 2011. Pres. Noynoy Aquino declared June 20, 2011 as a special non-working day as requested by the National Historical Commission of the Philippines.

"To give all Filipinos the opportunity to commemorate Rizal’s patriotic deeds and sacrifices for the country, rekindle their admiration and respect for him, and to celebrate this milestone with appropriate ceremonies."

Who could forget that during his travels all over the world that he had a can of biscuits which he budgeted to last for a month. 

Rizal was a penny-pincher! Lol!  A real traveler on a shoestring!

As chronicled in Ambeth Ocampo's Rizal Without the Overcoat. Rizal was once invited to a New Year's potluck party where he was assigned to bring champagne. He did not like the idea, and throughout the merrymaking, he lectured everybody and advised against drinking, gambling and womanizing—the key points of the night. Then, Rizal stood up, announced that "inabonohan niya lang" and requested everybody to pay their share of the champagne bill. Stunned, the partygoers thought it was a joke—until pre-national hero Rizal passed his hat around.

Before checking into a hotel, Rizal would also ask the front desk how much the rate was with and without breakfast. He usually opted for the latter and used the money saved to buy alcohol, tea or biscuits.

Another "kuripot" story made its way to the pages of Leon Ma. Guerrero's First Filipino. Rizal supposedly survived on P50 a month in Europe, and he once wrote his sister Maria in December saying that he had not taken a bath since August, because it was "really expensive." That's four (4) long months! Whew!

Stingy as he seemed to be, however, he set aside funds for photographs. Ocampo published a list of Rizal's monthly expenses and there was an allocated amount for photographs.

   For more details regarding this photo contest pls visit this.

As a Filipino you must know our National Hero lolo Jose! Get your Rizal passport @ DOTand retrace his footsteps, now na, go!

                   You can have your passport cum brochure stamp in all 27 places that Lolo Jose had been to.

Backpacking to retrace Lolo Jose’s footprints may be a better and pleasurable way of knowing the national hero than simply reading history books.
 
The Department of Tourism is encouraging Filipinos to travel around the country, with a “Rizal passport” in hand, and explore designated age-old churches, train stations, parks and little-known beaches, among others, seen through Rizal’s eyes.

The first 100 tourists to visit all 27 designated destinations connected to Rizal’s childhood and journey to martyrdom may present their passports with the appropriate stamps to the National Historical Commission of the Philippines to win an official “Kalakbay ni Gat Jose Rizal” certificate and other tokens.

TAGAYTAY HIGHLANDS

I've been so busy with so many things that I never wrote about my Tagaytay Highlands experience back in December 2009.

It was my first time to visit Tagaytay Highlands. And I was with my college friend Brends and her whole family. We went to the condo unit of their family friend @ Woodridge Place inside Tagaytay Highlands.

One of the log cabin being built inside Tagaytay Highlands. Don't ask how much, 'coz they told me that it is worth P10M up. lol! I almost fainted right there and then! Ha ha ha! I don't have that kind of money. I think I have to be a lotto winner in order to afford one. Me and my wildest dreams.

 A view from the veranda of the condo! I love the simple Japanese garden they have. It is so cool.

 One of the buildings that houses the condo units in Tagaytay Highlands.

                                            The view from the elevator at the top

 Tagaytay Highlands view from the veranda of the condo unit of our friend.

Many more housing projects are under way. What are you waiting for? Buy one for yourself now na!

I really enjoyed the weather at Tagaytay Highlands and did I mention the food???