"The United States conquered the moon but the Philippines has conquered the Universe."
Ms. Gloria Diaz won Miss Universe pageant on July 19, 1969, held in
Miami Beach, Florida, the same day the first man, astronaut Neil
Armstrong, landed on the moon.
Díaz was 18 when she was crowned Miss Universe after outshining and
outsmarting other candidates on the question on how to welcome the first
men that had just landed on the moon, Neil Armstrong, Edwin Aldrin and
Michael Collins, as soon as they return to planet Earth.
The final question was:
"If the man from the moon should come down to earth and visit your hometown, what would you do to entertain him?"
Gloria’s winning answer was:
"Why, I guess I would do for him what I always do. Since he has been on the moon for so long, he would want a change."
Today in Philippine history, July 18, 1886, Federico
B. Sarabia, the first optometrist in the country, was born in Kalibo,
Aklan
On July 18, 1886, Federico B. Sarabia was born to Benigno Sarabia
and Inocenta Jimenez in Kalibo, Aklan. He was the first optometrist in
the country being the holder of Professional Regulatory Commission of
Optometry Certificate No. 1 issued in 1905.
(Dr. Federico B. Sarabia)
After graduating in Doctor of Optometry in 1905 from the University of
Northern Illinois College of Optometry, he had a brief practice of
optometry at Eye Infirmary in New York City. Then he returned to the
Philippines and established a clinic in Iloilo. He would later move to
Escolta and establish his clinic there, marking the first Sarabia
Optical in Manila.
This became the first of his chain of 38 clinics now dotting the
different cities in the entire country among them Metro Manila, Iloilo,
Bacolod, Davao, Cebu, Dumaguete,Roxas and Iligan.
Sarabia Optical is the biggest and most modern optical firm in the country today.
Among his early prominent clients at the Escolta clinic were Presidents
Manuel L. Quezon, Sergio Osmeña, Manuel Roxas, and Elpidio Quirino and Doña Trinidad Rizal
- sister of Dr. Jose Rizal. Doña Trinidad's glasses can be found in
Fort Santiago as part of the Rizal Memorabilia, and are labeled
"anteojos de Federico Sarabia."
(The Sabaria Opitical in Escolta Manila)
In 1928, President Quezon appointed Dr. Sarabia as Chairman of the Board
of Examiners in Optometry. Dr. Sarabia also became the first President
of the Philippine College of Optometry.
Aside from Sarabia Optical, Dr. Sarabia also founded Aklan Academy in
Kalibo, Aklan and had organized the First National Congress of Coconut
Planters in the 1930's.
Today, Sarabia Optical has grown into a trusted and recognized retail
clinic operation. Although Dr. Federico Sarabia passed away on September
14, 1954, his legacy lives on. Five of his children have followed his
path as eye care professionals. Four of them are optometrists and one is
an ophthalmologist.
Source:
Dr. Federico B. Sarabia, Atty. Rex S. Salvilla, News Today, July 24, 2006
Today in Philippine History, July 17, 1948,
President Quirino signed RA No. 333 making Quezon City the capital of
the Philippines
On July 17, 1948, President Elpidio Quirino signed Republic Act No. 333
making Quezon City the capital of the Philippines. RA 333 also
redefined the Caloocan-Quezon City boundary and specified the city's
area to be 156.60 square kilometers.
(President Elpidio Quirino delivers his 2nd State of the Nation Address
from his hospital bed in Baltimore, Maryland, USA, January 23, 1950.)
Baesa, Talipapa, San Bartolome, Pasong Tamo, Novaliches Poblacion,
Banlat, Kabuyao, Pugad Lawin, Bagbag, Pasong Putik which formerly
belonged to Novaliches and had an area of about 8,100 hectares, were
taken from Caloocan and ceded to Quezon City.
On June 16, 1950, the Quezon City Charter was revised by Republic Act No. 537, changing the city's boundaries to an area of 153.59 square kilometers.
Exactly six years after on June 16, 1956, more revisions to the city's
land area were made by Republic Act No. 1575, which defined its area as
151.06 km2 (58 sq mi).
On November 7, 1975 the promulgation of Presidential Decree No. 824 of President Ferdinand Marcos established Metro Manila.
Quezon City became one of Metro Manila's 17 cities and municipalities.
On February 23, 1998, Republic Act. No. 8535 was signed by President
Fidel V. Ramos. The Act provided for the creation of the City of
Novaliches comprising the 15 northernmost barangays of Quezon city.
However, in the succeeding plebiscite on October 23, 1999, an
overwhelming majority of Quezon City residents rejected the secession of
Novaliches.
Quezon City is the first local government in the Philippines with a computerized real estate assessment and payment system.
Cosmic cliffs & a sea of stars. The James Webb Space Telescope reveals baby stars in the Carina Nebula, where ultraviolet radiation and stellar winds shape colossal walls of dust and gas.
This landscape of “mountains” and “valleys” speckled with glittering stars is actually the edge of a nearby, young, star-forming region called NGC 3324 in the Carina Nebula. Captured in infrared light by NASA’s new James Webb Space Telescope, this image reveals for the first time previously invisible areas of star birth.
Called the Cosmic Cliffs, Webb’s seemingly three-dimensional picture looks like craggy mountains on a moonlit evening. In reality, it is the edge of the giant, gaseous cavity within NGC 3324, and the tallest “peaks” in this image are about 7 light-years high. The cavernous area has been carved from the nebula by the intense ultraviolet radiation and stellar winds from extremely massive, hot, young stars located in the center of the bubble, above the area shown in this image.
On This Day - July 16, 1844 - Narciso Claveria y Zaldua, a native of Gerona of Biscayan origin, became Governor-general of the Philippines
On July 16, 1844 Narciso
Claveria y Zaldua, a native of Gerona of Biscayan
origin, became Governor-general. His term was marked
with several reforms and accomplishments.
He corrected the calendar of the Philippine in 1844, established
military library in February 15, 1846, the first steam war vessels was
brought to the Philippines from London in 1848. It was also during his
term when the Manila paper La Esperanza ( December 1, 1846) and Diario de Manila (1848) were printed. Claveria also founded a casino called Sociedad de Recreo in October 31, 1844.
Regular clergy were forbidden to alienate property on November 11, 1849.
Most notably, surnames were given to native Filipinos on November 21,
1849 (some accounts say November 11, 1849) during his term.
Claveria returned to Spain and was succeeded by Antonio Maria Blanco who served on a temporary capacity.
Reference:
The Philippine Islands, 1493-1803, Volume 1, number 17, Blair, Emma Helen, ed. d.1911.
On
July 15, 1903, Simeon Ola surprise the 31st Philippine Scout Garrison
under the command of Sergeant Nicolas Napoli in Joveliar, Albay.
The
persistent effort of the peace panel and his battle weary men made Ola
realized that he could never win the war. He became open to the
agreement set by Colonel Harry H. Bandholtz, the Assistant Commander of
the Constabulary in Lucena, Tayabas, for his surrender. The agreement
included general amnesty, fair treatment and justice to his comrades in
arms. On September 25, 1903, the negotiating panel composed of Ramon
Santos, Eligio Arboleda, Epifanio Orozco, Frank L. Pyle, John Paegelow,
J.B. Allison and Joseph Rogers went to his camp in Malagnaton, Mapaco,
Guinobatan. Eventually, Ola surrendered to Governor Bette and Colonel
Bandholtz.
Charged
with sedition, Judges Adam Carson and James Blount presided over his
case. He was sentenced of 30 years imprisonment on November 10. 1903.
Fortunately, he was granted executive clemency so he was released from
prison on October 8, 1904.
In
1910, he entered politics and won as town mayor of Guinobatan, which he
served until 1913. He was again elected to the same position in 1916.
He served the term until 1919.
Simeon Ola died on February 14, 1952 and was interred at the Roman Catholic Cemetery of Guinobatan.
References: (All via the National Historical Commission of the Philippines)
Agoncillo, Teodoro A. History of the Filipino People. 8th ed. Quezon City: Garotech, 1990.
Eminent Filipinos. Manila: National Historical Commission, 1970.
Quirino, Carlos. Who’s who in Philippine History. Manila: Tahanan Books, 1995.
On July 15, 1903, Simeon Ola surprise the 31st Philippine Scout Garrison under the command of Sergeant Nicolas Napoli in Joveliar, Albay.
The persistent effort of the peace panel and his battle weary men made Ola realized that he could never win the war. He became open to the agreement set by Colonel Harry H. Bandholtz, the Assistant Commander of the Constabulary in Lucena, Tayabas, for his surrender. The agreement included general amnesty, fair treatment and justice to his comrades in arms. On September 25, 1903, the negotiating panel composed of Ramon Santos, Eligio Arboleda, Epifanio Orozco, Frank L. Pyle, John Paegelow, J.B. Allison and Joseph Rogers went to his camp in Malagnaton, Mapaco, Guinobatan. Eventually, Ola surrendered to Governor Bette and Colonel Bandholtz.
Charged with sedition, Judges Adam Carson and James Blount presided over his case. He was sentenced of 30 years imprisonment on November 10. 1903. Fortunately, he was granted executive clemency so he was released from prison on October 8, 1904.
In 1910, he entered politics and won as town mayor of Guinobatan, which he served until 1913. He was again elected to the same position in 1916. He served the term until 1919.
Simeon Ola died on February 14, 1952 and was interred at the Roman Catholic Cemetery of Guinobatan.
References: (All via the National Historical Commission of the Philippines)
Agoncillo, Teodoro A. History of the Filipino People. 8th ed. Quezon City: Garotech, 1990.
Eminent Filipinos. Manila: National Historical Commission, 1970.
Quirino, Carlos. Who’s who in Philippine History. Manila: Tahanan Books, 1995.
