It is the month of June,
The month of leaves and roses,
When pleasant sights salute the eyes,
And pleasant scents the noses.
–N. P. Willis (1807-67)
rJUNE is named after the Roman goddess Juno, patroness of marriage and the well-being of women.
June 1, marks the start of summer in the northern hemisphere. The summer solstice actually falls on Wednesday, June 21—heralding the start of summer.
In the Philippines, June is already in the rainy season.
As an American colony for almost half a century, we have acquired not only a semblance of American democracy but also the observance of special social events that are popular in the US like father’s and mother’s days.
This year, Father’s Day which is observed on the third Sunday of the month will be on June 18. Next year it will be on June 17, and on 2018, June 16.
Wednesday, June 14 is Flag Day in the USA June 12 (Monday) is Independence Day in the Philippines. To all our readers, a belated happy independence day!
Saturday, June 24 is Midsummer Day in the USA, traditionally the midpoint of the growing season, halfway between planting and harvesting. June is also a big month for fishing there. In the Philippines, the onset of the rainy season signals the start of the planting season. For rice, it is rather unique for the Cordillera highlands. The harvest season for heirloom rice falls during the rainy months.
Reading about the historical events of June, there is one interesting story we failed to properly duplicate from the Americans.
In the late 1800s, journalist Joseph Pulitzer became well known in the field for his business skill and passion for recognizing and training budding writers and artists. He died on 29 October 1911 but established already in his 1904 will, the Pulitzer Prizes to encourage excellence in the fields of journalism, letters and drama, music, and art.
After his death, the first Pulitzer Prizes were awarded on June 4, 1917, with four award offerings. Today there are 21, including 14 in journalism, five in books, and one each in drama and music. Columbia University in New York City, which (as specified in Joseph Pulitzer’s will) presents the awards, usually at a luncheon, in spring. The award varies with the category, but currently may include $15,000 cash and a certificate, a gold medal, or a fellowship. (Wikipedia)
Since joining Philippine journalism during my college days in the early 80’s, I have known three competitive agricultural journalism awards and participated in two of them. These competitive awards include the PCARRD Professional Media Awards, Jose G. Burgos Jr. Award for Biotech Journalism, Binhi Awards, and Bright Leaf Awards. The latter two awards are sponsored by Philip Morris and San Miguel Corp, respectively. The Jose G. Burgos Award is jointly sponsored with the DA. Both, the PCARRD Professional Media Award and Jose G. Burgos Award are state supported to encourage excellence in science media reporting. I have won consecutively ( thrice) in the PCARRD Professional Media Awards, Two Binhi Awards, and the Jose Burgos Feature Story Award.
Like the Pulitzer Award, Philippine journalism awards must include a cash award, gold medal, and certificate, or a fellowship to promote, encourage and imbue a passion for excellence in the profession.
The Kahimyang Project is a website maintained and operated by a group of Filipinos, mostly from the Visayas and residing in the USA. Browsing on their published articles on Philippine history, informs me about how most of the crucial events that shaped the Philippines to what it is today were either planted, watered, born on, or occurred in the rainy month of June.
For example, Jose Rizal, the Philippine’s National Hero was born on June 19, 1861. On June 11, 1991 - Mount Pinatubo in the Philippines erupted, spewing ash into the air, and visible over 60 miles.
The impacts of Pinatubo’s eruptions may have helped the Americans to abandon their bases and leave the Philippines for good, as the members of the Philippine Senate at that time were also threatening rejection of the renewal of the bases agreement. Three months later, on September 16, while Clark Air Base was effectively abandoned, the Senate voted to reject a new treaty for the Subic Bay Naval Station and end an American military presence in the country that has lasted nearly a century. "The treaty is defeated," the Senate President then, Jovito R. Salonga, announced in a solemn tone after the vote was taken 12-11 in a show of hands.
During the eruption of Pinatubo, it was reported that a number of planes and jets flying far to the west of the Philippines encountered ash and sustained about $100 million in damage. In the two largest US bases in the Philippines – Clark Air Base and Subic Naval Station, although much equipment was successfully protected, structures were heavily damaged by ash from the volcano's climactic eruption.
Nearly 20 million tons of sulfur dioxide was injected into the stratosphere in Pinatubo's 1991 eruptions, and dispersal of this gas cloud around the world caused global temperatures to drop temporarily (1991 through 1993) by about 1°F (0.5°C), according to the Philippine Institute of Volcanology.