Giant Philippine Flag Now Flies 24/7 in Sta. Barbara, Iloilo

Iloilo City (PNA) — The giant Philippine flag in the municipal plaza of Santa Barbara, where Philippine independence was proclaimed in 1898, will now be permanently hoisted as declared by the National Historical Commission of the Philippines (NHCP).

Santa Barbara plaza now joins a short list of places in the country where the national color is permanently hoisted 24/7 and illuminated during the night, according to NCHP Executive Director Ludovico Badoy.

Badoy, Gov. Arthur Defensor, Santa Barbara Mayor Dennis Superficial and Army Col. Eric Ochida unveiled Tuesday the marker at the base of the flag during the occasion of the 117th anniversary of the first raising of the Philippine flag in the Visayas and Mindanao.

The marker reads, “As mandated by Republic Act 8491, the Flag and Heraldic Code of the Philippines, the Philippine flag shall be permanently hoisted on this site 24/7 throughout the year and shall be illuminated at night.”

Badoy said the NHCP passed Board Resolution No. 17 last October to include Santa Barbara plaza “among the select places where the flag shall be permanently hoisted.”

These select places include the Malacañang Palace, the Senate building in Manila, the House of Representatives in Quezon City, the the Rizal Monument in Luneta, the Aguinaldo Shrine in Cavite, the Barasoain Shrine in Bulacan, the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, at the Libingan ng mga Bayani and the Mausuleo de los Beteranos dela Revolucion in Manila.

The Philippine flag is also permanently hoisted in all international ports of entry in the country and in other places as maybe designated by the NHCP, which now includes Santa Barbara plaza.

“May the flag, which now fly in this place in perpetuity, constantly remind us of our sublime duty to honor the sacrifices our heroes made,” Badoy told a crowd at the plaza where General Martin Delgado first hoisted the Philippine flag on November 17, 1898.

That event has come to be known as “The Cry of Santa Barbara” which also marked the inauguration of the Revolutionary Government of the Visayas, 20 days after the revolutionaries seized the municipal building that started the rebellion against Spain.

Santa Barbara also became the headquarters of the Revolutionary Forces and from here, Gen. Delgado launched the campaign to liberate the whole province which culminated in the surrender of Iloilo City by Governor General de los Rios on December 24, 1898.

Governor Defensor described the Philippine flag in Santa Barbara as a symbol of the heroism of General Delgado and of the Filipino people “in their search and fight for freedom and democracy.”

“Life without freedom and democracy has no essence and no substance. Santa Barbara should be proud that is has become a center of the celebration of freedom and democracy in the Visayas and Mindanao,” he stressed.

The Philippine flag in Santa Barbara measures 30 x 60 feet while the flagpole stands at 120 feet. (PNA) FPV/PGL/PR/CBF