Palace declares June 20 a holiday for Jose Rizal's 150th birthday

Malacañang has declared June 20 a special non-working holiday to commemorate the 150th birthday of the country's national hero, Dr. Jose Rizal.

"(This is) 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," President Benigno Simeon Aquino III said in Proclamation No.154 issued on April 26.

Aquino said the declaration was made at the request of the National Historical Commission of the Philippines that the country commemorate the hero's birthday on June 20, instead of June 19, Rizal's real birthday which falls on a Sunday.

Rizal was born on June 19, 1861 in Calamba, Laguna. He was executed by firing squad on December 30, 1896 after he was accused of rebellion, sedition, and forming an illegal association.

BY KIMBERLY JANE TAN