ANGELES CITY-- The centennial anniversary celebration of the birth of Diosdado Macapagal, the first Kapampangan President of the Philippines, is set on the eve of his death anniversary on April 20, 2010.
It will start with a Holy Mass in Lubao and wreath-laying ceremonies on Capitol grounds in the City of San Fernando.
Historian Lord Francis Musni, consultant for the Holy Angel University Center for Kapampangan Studies, said the Mass at the St. Augustine Parish Church in Lubao will start at 2:30 p.m., while the wreath-laying ceremonies at the Capitol will follow at 4:00 p.m.
He said the ceremonies will serve as the kick-off activity for the centennial celebration, which will include lectures, essay writing and song competitions, publication of his biography, a zarzuela production and exhibits.
These will be sponsored by the different schools, organizations and local government units in Pampanga, he said.
Born 100 years ago on September 28, Macapagal was the son of a laundrywoman and the most popular playwright during his time, Urbano Macapagal.
He finished high school at the Pampanga High and was studying preparatory law at the University of the Philippines when poor health sent him back to Lubao, where started acting in his father’s zarzuelas, along with friend and town mate Rogelio de la Rosa.
A scholarship from Bacolor philanthropist Don Honorio Ventura enabled Macapagal to finish his law studies. He topped the bar in 1936, after which he earned doctorates in economics and civil law.
Macapagal was elected representative of Pampanga’s First District in 1949, Vice President in 1957 and President in 1961, defeating re-electionist Carlos P. Garcia.
Historian Erlita Mendoza, also a member of the centennial committee, said it was President Macapagal who enacted land reform and other laws that made the Philippines gallop to economic prosperity never before achieved and never again after.
After serving one term as President of the Republic, Macapagal was elected President of the 1971-72 Constitutional Convention. He died on April 21, 1997. His daughter Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo became the President of the Republic in 2001 to present.
His earnings, as well as a scholarship from Bacolor philanthropist Don Honorio Ventura, enabled him to return to Manila to finish his law studies at UST and earn doctorates in economics and civil law. (Robby Tantingco)