After two years of suspending commemorative celebrations due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Apolinario Mabini was once again given a sublime tribute on his 158th birth anniversary held recently at his hometown in Tanauan City, Batangas.
Leading the simple but meaningful observance were the City Government of Tanauan, the National Historical Commission of the Philippines (NHCP), and the Provincial Government of Batangas.
The event was held at the Mabini Shrine, an NHCP historical complex which features a replica of the humble nipa hut where the hero was born in 1864, the tomb where he was reinterred in 1956, and several interactive museum galleries on his personal memorabilia and the Filipino-American War where he figured prominently.
Situated at Barrio Talaga by the shores of the Taal Lake, the Shrine is one of Tanauan’s top historic tourist destinations.
Taking a special part in the celebration is the Department of Tourism (DOT)-Calabarzon Region which brought members of the Republica Filipina Reenactment Group, an association of professionals which seeks to rekindle public awareness and patriotism through portrayal of the Philippine Revolution’s historic personalities and events.
The regional office’s participation in the historic event is in line with the thrust of DOT Secretary Christina Garcia-Frasco to promote museums as part of local tourism circuits.
According DOT Calabarzon officer-in-charge Marites Castro, the regional office has been showcasing museums, national shrines, ancestral homes, old churches and other heritage structures in their itineraries, particularly in the newly formulated Center for Fun circuits for Cavite, Laguna, Batangas, Rizal and Quezon.
Also taking part are Microtel by Wyndham and SanTomas Suites, the hotel properties of the Phinma Group of Companies at the First Philippine Industrial Park in Sto. Tomas City, which seeks to pursue a corporate social responsibility program oriented towards historical appreciation and heritage preservation.
Mabini, regarded as the Sublime Paralytic and Brains of the Revolution, was born to humble beginnings, studied law and authored writings on the guiding principles for freedom fighters, most notably the El Verdadero Decalogo (The True Decalogue).
He rose to become the legal and constitutional adviser to the Philippine Revolutionary Government, and later as Prime Minister and Foreign Affairs Secretary of the First Philippine Republic headed by President Emilio Aguinaldo.
He died in 1903 at age 38, and was buried at the Chinese Cemetery and later transferred to the Manila North Cemetery’s Maosuleo delos Veteranos dela Revolucion.
