Belmonte leads Independence Day rites in QC

MANILA, Philippines - Quezon City Vice Mayor Joy Belmonte yesterday led local officials during the celebration of the 115th Philippine Independence Day at the city hall.

Belmonte took over the role of Mayor Herbert Bautista who is currently out of the country.

She urged local government officials and employees to continue working together and take full advantage of the country’s freedom.

“Our city’s progress is part of the blessing we get for striving to gain independence,” she said.

The vice mayor led the flag-raising ceremony and the wreath-laying activity at the monuments of Jose Rizal and Andres Bonifacio at the city hall.

Joining the ceremony were members of the city council and other local government officials, city hall employees, members of the city fire and police forces, and representatives from various Quezon City schools.

The city is expected to participate later this year in the nationwide commemoration of the 150th birth anniversary of Bonifacio, who led the uprising in 1896 against Spanish rule.

Bonifacio and his men first gathered in a house in Balintawak before proceeding to the house of Melchora Aquino’s son in Pugad Lawin, where the “tearing of cedulas” was believed to have happened.

Both Balintawak and Pugad Lawin, which were initially part of Caloocan, are now in the boundaries of Quezon City.

The house of Aquino in Barangay Banlat, which is now the location of the Tandang Sora shrine, is in Quezon City.