TOP 37 SIGNIFICANT EVENTS IN FEBRUARY IN PHILIPPINE HISTORY
Toronto-Canada
February 20, 2020
Feb. 1, 1898 : The first Filipino to obtain a doctoral degree in linguistics, Cecilio F. Lopez, a scientific linguist and academician, was born in Marikina City and known in Philippine history as the "Father of Philippine Linguistics."
Feb. 2, 1899: The National Citizen's Army , the forerunner of the Armed Forces of The Philippines(AFP) was founded under the Malolos Republic
Feb. 3, 1945 : The American forces liberated nearly 4,000 prisoners of war in the University of Santo Tomas (UST) internment camp in Manila, which signalled the full American control and victory over the Japanese invaders in the Philippines.
Feb. 4, 1899: The day marked the start of the Filipino-American War when an American sentry shot a Filipino soldier in Barrio Santol, Sampaloc, Manila.
Feb. 5, 1842: The Wilkes treaty, the first written understanding between the government of the United States of America and the Philippines through the Sultanate of Sulu, was signed at Soloo, Island of Sulu between the son of the Sultan of Sulu and Charles Wilkes, commander of the American expedition. The treaty encouraged trade with people of the U.S.A.
Feb. 6, 1964: General Emilio Aguinaldo, first President of the Philippine Republic, at the age of 95 died at 3:05 in the morning at the Veterans Memorial Hospital where he had been confined for over a year.
Feb. 7, 1986: The Commission on Elections (Comelec ) conducted the presidential and vice-presidential "snap" elections with incumbent President Ferdinand E. Marcos and former Senate President and Foreign Affairs Minister Arturo M. Tolentino running against the tandem of Mrs. Corazon C. Aquino and former Senator Salvador H. Laurel.
Feb. 8, 1890: Claro Mayo Recto, a noted lawyer, Congressman, Senator, nationalist statesman and regarded as the "Father of the 1935 Constitution", was born in Tiaong, Tayabas (now Quezon province) to Don Claro Recto, Sr. of Rosario Batangas and Doña Micaela Mayo of Lipa. A major Manila street, Azcarraga Street was renamed Recto Avenue.
Feb. 8, 1935: The Philippine Constitution was adopted and signed by the 202 convention delegates after having deliberated for several months since July 30, 1934, under the Presidency of Senator Claro M. Recto.
Feb. 9, 1837: Father Jose Apolonio Burgos , one of the three Filipino Martyr Priests collectively called GOMBURZA, was born in the town of Vigan, Ilocos Sur. His father was Jose Burgos, a Spanish lieutenant in the Spanish militia of the Ilocos, and his mother was Florencia Garcia, a native of Vigan. He was baptized on the 12th of the same month.
Feb.10, 2003: Dr. Josette Biyo, a teacher at the Philippine Science High School-Western Visayas Campus, was honoured by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology's Lincoln Laboratory in Lexington, Massachusetts by naming a minor planet or planetoid (13241) after her. Planet Biyo is nine kilometres in diameter and is located at the belt between Mars and Jupiter. Dr. Biyo won in 2002 the grand prize in the Intel International and Engineering Fair in Louisville, Kentucky.
Feb. 11, 1860: General Vicente R. Lukban, a freedom fighter who joined the forces of General Emilio Aguinaldo, was born in Labo, Camarines Norte to Agustin Lukban and Andrea Rilles. During the Philippine -American War He turned down the offer of General Arthur MacArthur to surrender. General Lukban became governor of Samar and died on November 16, 1916; aged 56.
Feb. 11, 1861: Severino Reyes , nicknamed Don Binoy, noted playwright, writer, dramatist and director, was born in Sta.Cruz, Manila. He was popularly known by his pen name as "Lola Basyang" and acclaimed as one of the giants of Tagalog and Filipino Literature in the early 20th century,
Feb. 12, 1915: Lamberto Vera Avellana , a movie and stage director and the first Filipino National Artist in Theater and Film, was born in Bontoc, Mountain Province. Considered as the "boy wonder of Philippine movies", he directed the internationally-acclaimed "Anak Dalita" and "Badjao" movies.
Feb. 13, 1565: Spanish explorer Miguel López de Legazpi and his troops arrived in the Philippines and landed on the shores of Cibabao (present-day Samar island). Known as El Adelantado and El Viejo, he was a Spanish conquistador and governor who established the first Spanish settlement in the Philippines.
Feb. 14, 1975: The Philippine Heart Center for Asia in Quezon City was inaugurated. It was established through a Presidential Decree issued by President Ferdinand E. Marcos as a hospital specializing in the treatment of heart ailments. It has rooms for pay patients and charity patients and admits more than 14,000 patients every year, including 3,300 that undergo heart surgery.
Feb. 14, 1912: Maria Kalaw Katigbak, a Senator, beauty titlist, writer, and civic leader, was born in Manila to Teodoro M. Kalaw, journalist-scholar, and Pura Villanueva, pioneer civic leader and champion of women’s rights in the Philippines.
Feb. 15, 1895: Jovita Fuentes, dubbed the "First Lady of Philippine Music", was born in the capital town of Capiz (now Roxas City) in Capiz province. One of the greatest Filipino vocal talents, National Artist for Music Jovita Fuentes was also the first Filipino international star in the world of opera.
Feb. 16, 1899: Apolinario Mabini, the "Sublime Paralytic" and chief adviser to General Emilio Aguinaldo, on this day, wrote a letter to Galicano Apacible in Hong Kong, informing him of the outbreak of the Filipino-American war on February 4 and blamed the Americans for starting the hostilities.
Feb. 17, 1872: Fathers Mariano Gomez , Jose Apolonio Burgos, and Jacinto Zamora, better known for the acronym GOMBURZA, were executed by garrote by the Spaniards in Bagumbayan in connection with the 1872 Cavite Mutiny. The three martyred priests incurred the hatred of the Spanish authorities for leading the campaign against the abusive Spanish friars and fighting for equal rights among priests.
Feb. 18, 1946: The US Congress enacted a law , the Rescission Act of 1946, which rescinded benefits of Filipino World War II veterans.The U.S. law retroactively annulled benefits that would have been payable to Filipino troops on account of their military service under the auspices of the United States during the time that the Philippines was a U.S. territory and Filipinos were U.S. nationals.
Feb. 18, 1958: The University of the Philippines' the Board of Regents elected Dean Vicente G. Sinco of the College of Law, to the Presidency of the University. He was born in Negros Oriental , and rose to become an influential figure who helped to write the Philippine Constitution. and was a trusted adviser to several Philippine Presidents,
Feb. 18, 1981: Lorenzo Ruiz , a former altar boy from Binondo, Manila, was beatified by Pope John Paul II during his Papal visit to the Philippines. A Chinese-Filipino, he became the Philippines's protomartyr after his execution in Nagasaki, Japan on September 29, 1637.by the Tokugawa Shogunate during its persecution of Japanese Christians in the 17th century. St. Lorenzo Ruiz was canonized on October 18, 1987, by Pope John Paul II.
Feb. 19, 1886: Jose Abad Santos , 5th Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of the Philippines, was born in San Fernando, Pampanga to Vicente Abad Santos and Toribia Basco. He was executed on May 7, 1942, for refusing to swear allegiance to the Japanese Government.
Feb. 19, 1888: Dona Aurora Aragon Quezon, wife of Commonwealth President Manuel L. Quezon, was born in Baler, Tayabas (now Aurora province.)
Feb. 20, 1862: On this date, Francisco Baltazar, a.k.a. Francisco Balagtas died in Orion, Bataan. The so-called "Prince of Tagalog Poets" was born on April 2,1788 in Panginay, Bulacan and has been recognized the equivalent of William Shakespeare, for his impact on Filipino Literature, having written the epic romance "Florante at Laura".
Feb. 21, 1853: Felix Resurreccion Hidalgo , one of the greatest Filipino painters along with fellow painter Juan Luna in the 19th century, was born in Binondo, Manila. His significance in Philippine history was for having been an acquaintance and inspiration for members of the Philippine reform movement which included José Rizal, Marcelo del Pilar, Mariano Ponce and Graciano López Jaena,
Feb. 22, 1889: National hero Dr. Jose Rizal wrote a letter to a group of young women of Malolos supporting their plan of putting up a night school.
Feb. 23, 1918: A law, Act 2760, was passed to build a national monument for Andres Bonifacio, known "Father of Philippine Revolution" for his role in fighting for Philippine independence against the Spanish colonizers. It was designed by Guillermo Tolentino and unveiled on November 30, 1933.
Feb. 24, 1888: General Vicente Lim , Bataan hero and the first Filipino to graduate from the United States Military Academy at West Point (class of 1914), was born in Calamba, Laguna.
Feb. 24, 1937: Cebu became a chartered city , finally, from a sleepy fishing village to a fledgeling trading port in 1521; from the first Spanish settlement named Villa del Santisimo Nombre de Jesus in 1575 to a municipality in 1901
Feb. 25, 1986: Corazon C. Aquino and Ferdinand E. Marcos were sworn in as Presidents of the Philippines, almost simultaneously.
President Corazon C. Aquino was sworn in as President of the Philippines by Chief Justice Claudio Teehankee during ceremonies held at Club Filipino in Greenhills, San Juan, Metro Manila. , about An hour later, President Ferdinand E. Marcos was also sworn in before Chief Justice Ramon C. Aquino in the Ceremonial Hall of the Malacañang Palace in Manila and fled the Philippines to Hawaii, USA during the People Power Revolution.
Feb. 26, 1937: Zamboanga, previously often called "Jambangan" or land of flowers, was declared a city by virtue of Commonwealth Act No. 39.
Feb. 27, 1858: Pedro Alejandro Paterno , the so-called "peacemaker of the Revolution", was born in Sta. Cruz, Manila. He was a Filipino politician, poet and novelist. His intervention on behalf of the Spanish led to the signing of the Pact of Biak-na-Bato on December 14, 1897, an account of which he published in 1910.
Feb. 27, 1945: General Douglas MacArthur, solemnly declared that in behalf of the Government of the United States, "the full powers and responsibilities under the Constitution restored to the Commonwealth of the Philippines whose seat is here re-established as provided by law".
Feb. 29, 1956 (a leap year): Elpidio Rivera Quirino ,6th President of the Philippines, died of a heart attack in Novaliches, Quezon City. He was born in Vigan, Ilocos Sur on November 16, 1889, and retired from politics after his unsuccessful run for re-election in 1953 against his former defence secretary, Ramon Magsaysay.
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Source References: Teodoro A. Agoncillo. History of the Filipino People. 8th edition. Garotech Publishing, Q.C.1990; Horacio de la Costa, SJ. Readings In Philippine History. Bookmark, Inc., Makati City, 1992; Sonia M. Zaide. Philippine History and Government. Third edition. All-Nations Publishing Co., Quezon City,1994; Sonia M. Zaide. The Philippines: A Unique Nation. Second edition. All-Nations Publishing Co., Quezon City,1999.