On This Day - July 12, 1980, President Ferdinand Marcos, Sr. signed Executive Order No. 603, s. 1980 to create the Light Rail Transit Authority (LRTA). The EO empowered the Authority to acquire foreign loans not exceeding USD 300 million (equivalent to PHP 2.33 billion in 1980 rates), exclusive of interest, to pursue its purposes.
Initial assistance to start the LRT project was provided for by the Belgian government (PHP 300 million) and a Belgian consortium (PHP 700 million) composed of ACEC (Ateliers de Constructions Electriques de Charleroi), BN (Constructions Ferroviaires et Metalliques, formerly Brugeoise et Nivelles), TEI (Tractionnel Engineering International) and TC (Transurb Consult). Construction began by October 1981, with the first half of what is now LRT Line 1 opening on December 1, 1984. This first half ran between Central and Baclaran. By the time the Marcos administration ended in 1986, the line operated between Monumento in the north and Baclaran in the south. The architectural design of the LRT Line 1 stations, which resembled the Filipino bahay kubo (nipa hut), was attributed to the National Artist Francisco "Bobby" Mañosa.
Of the five proposed light rail lines outlined in the 1977 World Bank-sponsored Metro Manila Transport and Land Use Plan (MMETROPLAN), only the LRT Line 1 had been realized, and was the only operating light rail system in the Philippines until the Metro Rail Transit (MRT) Line 3 was opened in 1999, during the administration of President Joseph Estrada.
This would be followed by the Light Rail Transit (LRT) Line 2, which was opened in 2003, during the administration of President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo. When the eastern extension of LRT Line 2 to Rizal began operations in July 2021, it became the first light rail system to serve passengers outside Metro Manila.
Meanwhile, there would be no extension to LRT Line 1 until the Balintawak and Roosevelt stations further north were completed in 2010. The LRT Line 1 southern extension to Cavite remains unfinished. The Cavite extension is expected to be fully operational by 2027.
In September 2015, the maintenance and operations of LRT Line 1 were transferred from the Light Rail Transit Authority - LRT2 to the Light Rail Manila Corporation (LRMC). Since starting rail operations in 1984, the LRTA has claimed to have served over 5.6 billion passengers during its lifetime as of 2022.
Today in Philippine history, July 11, 1860, Pío del Pilar, a revolutionary general was born in Culi-culi, San Pedro de Macati
On July 11, 1860, Pío del Pilar was born Pío Isidro y Castañeda
in Barrio Culi-culi (present day Pio del Pilar), San Pedro de Macati
(now Makati City) to Isaac del Pilar, a farmer from Pasay, and Antonia
Castaňeda, an embroider from Mandaluyong.
(General Pio del Pilar)
As a child, his parents had him study for two years in the school of
Pascual Rodriguez, and for four months under Ramon Renaldo, until he was
forced to stop to work in the family farm. Typical of other Filipinos
at the time, del Pilar knew little or no Spanish, but was fluent in
Tagalog.
Pio married his childhood friend, Juliana Valeriano, at the age of 17,
the same year he was forcibly conscripted into the Spanish army. He was
assigned in Mindanao for a year but was cut to four months by the
intervention of a family friend. To avoid further grief from the
Spaniards, his father changed the family name to del Pilar, an unwise
choice since that name would soon sow trouble from the famous dissident Marcelo H. del Pilar and General Gregorio del Pilar.
In 1890, del Pilar was appointed cabeza de barangay and later on, became
teniente del barrio in Makati. During this time, he had a chance
meeting with Jose Rizal, and was inspired to distribute copies of his
novel, Noli Me Tangere.
In May 1896, he joined the Katipunan and formed a chapter called
Matagumpay, taking the symbolic name Pang-una. His chapter also adopted a
flag, a white triangle with a K at each corner, at the hoist of a red
field, in the center of which was a mountain with a rising sun on it.
This flag was known as the Bandila ng Matagumpay (Flag of the
Triumphant) and was del Pilar's personal standard during the revolution.
At the outbreak of the Philippine Revolution, del Pilar was arrested by
Spanish authorities for suspected membership in the Katipunan. Although
tortured, he did not reveal any secrets about the Katipunan until he was
released.
Del Pilar participated in his first battle in Mandaluyong on August 29,
1896. He also led a group of rebels in the Battle of Binakayan on
November 9, 1896, capturing the town from Spanish authorities.
On February 16, 1897, bearing the rank of colonel, del Pilar defended
Bacoor and Las Piñas. Subsequently, he was promoted to
brigadier-general.
(Flag of Pio del Pilar)
Del Pilar was present in the Tejeros Convention on March 22, 1897, which
marked the split between the Magdiwang and Magdalo factions of the
Katipunan. Because of the events of the Convention, he aligned himself
with Bonifacio, eventually signing the Naic Military Agreement declaring
the results of the convention to be null and void. In time, however,
he switched sides, aligning himself with the Magdalo faction and
becoming one of Emilio Aguinaldo's trusted generals. It was del Pilar
along with General Mariano Noriel, that advised Aguinaldo to change the
commutation (banishment) to execution of Andres and Procopio Bonifacio.
In September 1898, the Philippine Republic moved its headquarters to
Malolos, inaugurated its congress and republican government under a
Constitution. It also made General Pio del Pilar a member, the only
former farmboy among the ilustrados, scientists, scholars, land-owners.
He was the only representative of the emerging "masa."
After February 4, 1899 when the first battle of the Filipino-American
War broke out, Pio and his men were considered by the Americans as "the
most arrogant and the most hated." Pio was everywhere; skirmishes
flared at Manila, at Bulacan, Morong, Antipolo, Malapad na Bato (Fort
Bonifacio City) at Guadalupe in Makati, Pasig, Pateros, Cainta, and
Bulacan.
His last battle with the Americans was in the town of Morong. He fought bravely but he and his men were defeated and captured.
Del Pilar was exiled to Guam along with Apolinario Mabini, Artemio Ricarte, and other Filipino patriots.
He returned to the Philippines after Governor William Howard Taft extended pardons to the revolutionaries.
He continued to fight for the cause of the Filipino people by supporting
the Jones Bill for Filipinos' preparation for self governance.
He died on June 21, 1931 due to lingering illness.
Source:
Pio del Pilar, Wikipedia
Makati's hero, Arts and Culture, Carmen Guerrero Nakpil, Philstar Global, November 9, 2009
Today in Philippine History, July 10, 1934, the Filipino voters elected delegates to a constitutional convention
On July 10, 1934, the Filipino voters elected 202 delegates to a constitutional convention which drafted the Philippine Constitution of 1935.
(The opening of the Constitutional Convention in the House session hall of the Legislative Building in 1934.)
Headed by Claro M. Recto, the Constitutional Convention of 1934 was
responsible for framing the 1935 Commonwealth Constitution which was
approved by the United States on March 23, 1935.
The so-called "Seven Wise Men" -- Filemon Sotto, chairman, and Norberto
Romualdez, Manuel Roxas, Vicente Singson Encarnacion, Manuel C. Briones,
Miguel Cuaderno, and Conrado Benitez (who replaced Jose P. Laurel) --
prepared the draft of the Constitution.
The 1935 Constitution provided for unicameral National Assembly and the
President was elected to a six-year term without re-election.
The Constitution was amended in 1940 to have a bicameral Congress
composed of a Senate and House of Representatives, as well the creation
of an independent electoral commission. The amendment also granted the
President a four-year term with a maximum of two consecutive terms in
office.
Today in Philippine History, July 9, 1985, Arturo Alcaraz won the IBM Science and Technology Award
On July 9, 1985, Arturo Pineda Alcaraz, a volcanologist and acknowledged “father of geothermal energy” won the IBM Science and
Technology Award.
(Arturo Pineda Alcaraz)
Alcaraz, who earned his Masters of Science degree in Geology at the
University of Wisconsin in the United States as a government scholar,
pioneered in generating electricity by means of geothermal steam among
areas proximate to volcanoes.
With a vast and extensive knowledge on volcanoes in the Philippines,
Alcaraz explored the possibility of harnessing geothermal steam to
produce
energy. He succeeded in 1967 when the country's first geothermal plant
produced much needed electricity, ushering the era of geothermal-based
energy to power up homes and industries.
In 1951 when the Commission on Volcanology was officially created under
the National Research Council, Alcaraz was appointed Chief
Volcanologist, a post he held until 1974.
Along with his colleagues, he was able to set up a working model in
Tiwi, Albay. He was also able to prove that energy can be generated by
geothermal energy.
A steam from a one inch hole drilled 400 feet to the ground powered a
turbo generator which lighted up a light bulb. It was a milestone in the
Philippines' quest for energy self-sufficiency. Thus, Alcaraz carved his
name in the global field of Geothermal Energy and Mining.
Alcaraz was the 1982 Ramon Magsaysay Award recipient for government
service for his scientific insight and selfless perseverance in guiding
Filipinos to understand and use one of their greatest natural resources.
Reference:
Philippine News Agency archives
The Ramon Magsaysay Award Foundation
Today in Philippine history, July 8, 1929, Dwight F. Davis became the 9th American Governor-General of the Philippines
(Governor-General Dwight Filley Davis)
On July 8, 1929, Dwight Filley Davis arrived in Manila to assume
the post of Governor-General of the Philippines. He was appointed by
U.S. President Herbert Hoover to succeed Henry L. Stimson. He was
accompanied by his daughter, Alice, in the place of her mother who was
unable to accompany him for reasons of health.
In his inaugural address, on the day of his arrival, Davis stated that
"close, cordial, and constructive cooperation under the Jones Law" will
be the keynote of his administration. He stated that "towards the
Philippine people, the people of the United States have but one desire -
to extend to them their friendly aid in the solution of the problems of
the future."
His appointment has on the whole been well received both in the
Philippines and in the United States, although there was an
understandable regret in many quarters that the appointment did not go
to Acting Governor-General Eugene A. Gilmore, whose long, faithful, and
able service in the Philippines fairly entitled him to the position.
Davis conducted one of the most extensive reconstructions of Malacañang
Palace, essentially transforming it from a wooden Spanish-era colonial
house, to a 1930s era large concrete mansion.
He resigned on January 9, 1932 for personal and family reasons.
In connection with the Davis' resignation, U.S. President Hoover stated:
"Governor General Davis accepted the appointment to the Philippine
Islands at great personal sacrifice. His resignation is based upon
personal and family reasons, the force of which must, I feel, receive
every consideration, particularly in view of the very generous
sacrifices which he has already made in consenting to remain in the
Philippine Islands much longer than his personal interests warranted. I
have accepted his resignation with the greatest reluctance. His
administration of the affairs of the Philippine Islands has been
eminently able and successful and constitutes a fitting continuation of
the distinguished service he previously rendered as Secretary of War.
The 2 years during which he served in the Philippine Islands have been
marked by exceptionally cordial and satisfactory relations between the
American chief executive and the legislative and other local
authorities. Governor General Davis relinquishes office with the deep
regret of all concerned, and with a further claim upon the gratitude and
affection of both the American and Filipino people."
Davis was born in St. Louis, Missouri on July 5, 1879, a Baptist,
married with four children, Harvard graduate, lawyer, athlete, decorated
for heroism during World War I, and Secretary of War in the Coolidge
Cabinet.
He is best remembered as the founder of the Davis Cup international tennis competition.
He died in Washington, D.C. on November 28, 1945, and was buried in the Arlington National Cemetery.
Sources:
Philippine Magazine, Volume 26, Number 1, August 1929
Herbert Hoover - Statements on the Governor Generalship of the Philippines, (http://goo.gl/qczqXp)
Presidential Museum and Library of the Philippines
On This Day - July 7, 1892, the
deportation of Dr. Jose Rizal to Dapitan was made public; the Katipunan
was founded
On July 7, 1892, Governor-General Eulogio Despujol made
public the order of the deportation of Dr. Jose Rizal to Dapitan,
through a decree published in the Gaceta, to the remote town in
Zamboanga.
Rizal lived in exile in far-away Dapitan from 1892 to 1896. Under the
missionary jurisdiction of the Jesuits, he practiced medicine, pursued
scientific studies, continued his artistic and literary works, widened
his knowledge of languages, established a school for boys, promoted
community development projects, invented a wooden machine for making
bricks, and engaged in farming and commerce.
Meanwhile, on this day, in Tondo, Manila, a group of Filipino patriots,
led by Andres Bonifacio, Teodoro Plata, Ladislao Diwa, and Deodato
Arellano, among others, formally founded the Katipunan (Kataas-taasang, Kagalang-galangang Katipunan ng mgá Anak ng Bayan), an anti-Spanish society with the goal of gaining Philippine independence.
The Katipunan, initially a secret organzation, had three principal
aims: political, moral and civic. The political aim was to fight for the
independence of the Philippines from Spain. The moral aim was to teach
Filipinos right conduct, cleanliness, and to fight against blind
obedience to religion and to overcome weakness of character. The civic
aim was to help one's self and to defend the poor and the oppressed.
During the next four years, the organization recruited members from
various parts of Manila and nearby provinces. Its discovery in August
1896 eventually led to the outbreak of the Philippine Revolution.
Reference:
Andres Bonifacio by Epifanio delos Santos, The Philippine Review, January/February 1918, Volume 1, Number 1/2
Philippine News Agency archives
"Governor General Davis accepted the appointment to the Philippine Islands at great personal sacrifice. His resignation is based upon personal and family reasons, the force of which must, I feel, receive every consideration, particularly in view of the very generous sacrifices which he has already made in consenting to remain in the Philippine Islands much longer than his personal interests warranted. I have accepted his resignation with the greatest reluctance. His administration of the affairs of the Philippine Islands has been eminently able and successful and constitutes a fitting continuation of the distinguished service he previously rendered as Secretary of War. The 2 years during which he served in the Philippine Islands have been marked by exceptionally cordial and satisfactory relations between the American chief executive and the legislative and other local authorities. Governor General Davis relinquishes office with the deep regret of all concerned, and with a further claim upon the gratitude and affection of both the American and Filipino people."