ALIVErary

In December 2017, President Rodrigo Roa Duterte signed into law Republic Act No. 10966 declaring December 8 of every year as a special non-working holiday throughout the country in celebration of the feast of the Immaculate Conception (also known as La Purisima). Principally authored by Cebuano Senator Vicente Sotto III, the law recognizes the historicity of the Immaculate Conception as the primary patroness of the country. Pope Clement XIII declared the Immaculate Conception as the patroness of Spain and the Indies (which included the Philippines) on 10 November 1760. King Carlos III of Spain promulgated it in all the Spanish territories on 22 April 1761. It was implemented, however, in the Philippines by Governor-General Francisco de la Torre only on 25 June 1764, two months after the end of the British occupation of Manila (1762-1764). This was later reiterated by Pope Pius XII on September 12, 1942.

The first Filipino encounter with the Immaculate Conception was in 1521, as one of the three ships of Ferdinand Magellan that reached the Philippines bore her name. The ship, Concepcion, was destroyed off the waters of Bohol on 2 May 1521 due to dwindling manpower brought by the death of a number of its crewmembers--including Magellan himself--at the Battle of Mactan (27 April 1521) and the massacre in Cebu (1 May 1521), respectively.

The Cebu Cathedral heralds the Immaculate Conception as its titular patroness, along with San Vidal, the martyr. Whereas, the Manila Cathedral is dedicated to the Immaculate Conception as early as 1578. Nueva Caceres (Naga City) and Nueva Segovia (Vigan City, formerly at Lal-lo, Cagayan)--two other pioneer dioceses of the country along with Cebu in 1595--likewise were also dedicated to the Immaculate Conception. Other historic churches in the country with the Immaculate Conception as patroness are Guiuan, Eastern Samar (whose feast day coincides with the 100-day countdown to the quincentennial of Humanity at Homonhon on 18 March 2021, a major activity of the 500th anniversary of the Philippine part in the first circumnavigation of the world in 2021) and Malolos, Bulacan (the presidential palace of the Philippine Revolutionary Government and Republic, the first democracy in the whole of Asia, in 1899). The Immaculate Conception Church in Oslob, Cebu, on the other hand, was built under the supervision of Cebu Bishop Santos Gomez Marañon, the same person behind the construction of the kiosk of Magellan enshrining a cross at Cebu City (a.k.a., Magellan's Cross).

Also, several centuries-old images of the Immaculate Conception such as that of Malabon City and Santa Maria, Bulacan bear a Sun in Splendour or sun with a human face, predating similar symbol the founders of the Filipino nation employed in the seals and the flag of the Philippine Revolution of 1898 and the Philippine Republic in 1899.

📷 An 18th-century illustration of the Immaculate Conception courtesy of the Biblioteca Nacional de España.
. . . .

Seeing this post? Curious what this is about? In 2021, we will commemorate the Philippine part in the achievement of science and humankind in circumnavigating the planet for the first time. Central in this commemoration is the 500th anniversary of the Victory at Mactan on 27 April 2021. These and more are collectively known as the 2021 Quincentennial Commemorations in the Philippines by virtue of Executive Order No. 103 (2020). Know more about the event here: 👇

🖱 About us 👉[https://nqc.gov.ph/en/about]
🎞 Watch our promotional video 👍 [https://youtu.be/ptgU1ZUgFZc]
🎧 Listen to Quincentennial Soundtrack 🤟[https://open.spotify.com/playlist/5QeUjyif0IAF0bfc4yIXrp?si=D60adpTgQgyc8gcITEc3WA]
🎨 Join the Quincentennial Art Competition 👋[https://nqc.gov.ph/en/quincentennial-art-competition/]
🗿 Join the Lapulapu National Monument Design Competition 👍 [https://nqc.gov.ph/en/mon/]
📺 Watch our lectures [https://portal.nqc.gov.ph/]☝️
🕵️‍♀️ Download Quincentennial materials [https://bit.ly/3dHrnKF]

Little did we know, the internet has a number of materials on Philippine history and cultural heritage we can download for free. Like this eBook titled The Philippine Colonial Tradition of Sacred Art: Treasures of Philippine Art from the Collections of the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas and the National Museum of the Philippines by historian Fr. René B. Javellana, SJ. It was released to the public last October 2020 by the National Museum of the Philippines in celebration of its 119th anniversary. You may download it for free here [http://nationalmuseum.gov.ph/nationalmuseumbeta/img/The%20Philippine%20Colonial%20Tradition%20of%20Sacred%20Art%20(Ren%C3%A9%20B.%20Javellana,%20SJ).pdf?fbclid=IwAR2YtU_xfiKiUG4OLp4C3JAAdXbcfCVi9l7cMbFFaxphwrG_K5clrp0YbB8].
. . . .

In collaboration with Project Saysay, ALIVErary will regularly feature several eBooks on Philippine history and culture downloadable or accessible for free. This is a commitment to the Local Historical Committees Network of the National Historical Commission of the Philippines.

Last 27 June 2020, the ALIVErary team was able to conduct the Tulay sa E-Skwela project. We donated 300+ books and a unit of desktop computer that will be used by teachers and students of Brgy. Balagbag, Diffun, Province of Quirino.

We traveled 10 hours to reach our target community but we were not able to enter Quirino Province because of the strict implementation of their quarantine protocols. The whole province of Quirino is still COVID-19 free and that is because of the frontliners who are doing their jobs excellently. Hon. Roderick Campanilla, Brgy. Balagbag Chairman, just met us at the boundary of Quirino Province and Isabela Province to receive our donations.

We were not also able to conduct our small discussion about E-Skwela: Digital Parenting, but as part of our commitment, we will give reading materials to prepare them in the blended learning.

There will always be roadblocks along the way as we carry out our missions. But as long as our passion, commitment, and a strong support system fuels our advocacies, we will continue to succeed for sure.

Thank you very much to all the people who supported this initiative. We will continue to make libraries alive in every community.

Happy Father’s Day to all the Tatay, Papa, Erpat, Daddy, Ama, and whatever you call our “Haligi ng Tahanan”

The first Father’s Day was celebrated on June 19, 1910 in the state of Washington. It was Sonora Smart Dodd of Spokane, Washington who thought of having Father’s Day when she was listening to Mother’s Day sermon in 1909. Her mother had died in childbirth, and her father was a Civil War veteran. Her father raised him with her five siblings singlehandedly. At the first Father’s Day celebration, young women handed out red roses to their fathers during a church service, and large baskets full of roses were passed around, with attendees encouraged to pin on a rose in honor of their fathers – color red for the living and white in memory of the deceased. Dodd successfully encouraged the mayor of Spokane to proclaim the Father’s Day on June 19, 1910. President Lyndon Johnson issued the first presidential proclamation honoring fathers in 1966, but it wasn’t until 1972 that President Richard Nixon signed the public law that made it a permanent holiday. Since then, Father’s Day has become a time to recognize the many different father figures in our lives. (https://www.livescience.com/814-father-day-origin-facts.html)

In the Philippines, we are celebrating Father’s Day since the 1980s. President Cory Aquino set the date as the third Sunday of June in 1988 by presidential proclamation.

Filipino librarians are very fortunate to have Gabriel A. Bernardo as the father of Philippine Librarianship. He is also known as the “Doyen of Philippine Librarianship” and “Dean of Filipino Librarians.” He is a librarian, a bibliographer, a scholar, a great man, and an intellectual giant among his peers and a visionary. Retired Dean Rosa M. Vallejo of the UP *Institute of Library and Information Science shared the legacy of Gabriel A. Bernardo during the 28th Gabriel A. Bernardo Memorial Lecture Series in 2007. She mentioned some of his greatest contribution in the field of librarianship in the Philippines – the UP library building, the first library building in the Philippines named Gonzales Hall, the extensive Filipiniana collection, the national bibliographies he compiled to refute Renata’s derogatory comments about the Filipinos, the education and training of librarians to name a few.

Gabriel A. Bernardo started library work without knowing what it was. He took library science courses when he was already working in the library. He was awarded the combined Certificate in General Library Science and in Legislative Reference and Municipal Reference Library Service from the University of Wisconsin in 1920. He finished Bachelor of Science in Library Science in 1921 and the Master of Arts in English and Bibliography in 1923 from the University of the Philippines. With Dr. Trinidad H. Pardo de Tavera, then director of the National Library of the Philippines, and other 31 visionary men and women founded the Philippines Library Association.

(Vallejo, R.M.(2007). Looking back while traveling into the future: The legacy of Gabriel A. Bernardo: A man for all time. Journal of Philippine Librarianship, 27(1&2), 1-42.)

Mabuhay!

Magtatatlong taon na ang ALIVErary! Ngayon taon nais naming magbigay ng mga Computer Units sa mga Barangay Reading Centers upang matugunan kahit papaano ang magiging NEW NORMAL sa pag-aaral ng mga bata dulot ng COVID-19 Pandemic.

Nababalita na magkakaroon na tayo ng BLENDED LEARNING o magkahalong online at classroom discussion na naaayon sa mga guidelines na pinaiiral ng gobyerno upang maiwasan ang pagkalat ng sakit na COVID-19.

Ngunit hindi lahat ng mga mag-aaral ay mayroong kakayahan na magkaroon ng computer o smartphone na kailangan nila upang makapag-aral online.

Sa June 27/28, magbubukas ang ALIVErary ng Barangay Reading Center sa Brgy. Balagbag, Diffun, Province of Quirino. Sa pagbubukas, ilulunsad din ng Barangay Council ang kanilang programang pagtulong sa ating mga mag-aaral na magpatuloy ang kanilang pagkatuto sa pamamagitan ng Online Classes.

Kami po ay humihingi ng inyong tulong upang makalikom ng pondo pambili ng mga computer units na ibabahagi sa mga Barangay Reading Centers. Isa po ang Brgy. Balagbag sa ating mga partner barangays na makatatanggap ng mga computer units.

Maaari ninyong ipadala ang inyong mga donasyon sa account numbers na makikita sa poster sa ibaba.

Maraming maraming salamat po sa patuloy na pagsuporta sa adbokasiya ng ALIVErary.

Patuloy tayong maging tulay sa pag-aaral ng mga kabataang pag-asa ng bayan.