Senate committee approves Pinatubo bill

SAN FERNANDO, Pampanga, Philippines – The Senate committee on local government headed by Sen. Ferdinand Marcos Jr. has approved House Bill 3498 seeking to declare June 15 of every year as Mt. Pinatubo Day Memorial Day and as a non-working holiday in this province.

In the hearing held last Thursday at the Senate, Marcos agreed with the position of the bill’s author, Pampanga third district Rep. Aurelio Gonzales Jr., that the holiday would serve as testament to the “indomitable spirit of the Kapampangans and their ability to rise from overwhelming adversities.”

Present during the hearing were House Deputy Speaker Arnulfo Fuentebella, former Budget secretary Benjamin Diokno, and Joyce Duldulao, executive director of the Pampanga Chamber of Commerce and Industry.

In a position paper read by Duldulao, the chamber expressed its full support to the proposed legislation, saying the declaration will forever instill in the hearts and minds of the post-Pinatubo generation the bravery and sacrifices of their predecessors as well as the triumph of the Kapampangan spirit.

The chamber, founded and headed by Kapampangan businessman Levy Laus, helped spearhead the recovery of Pampanga in a multi-sectoral effort in the aftermath of the Pinatubo eruption in 1991.

Gonzales thanked Marcos and other members of Congress for recognizing the importance of celebrating June 15 as Mt. Pinatubo Day Memorial Day.

“While we remember the tragedy, it is what followed afterwards that we are celebrating as an important event in our lives,” Gonzales said.

The young lawmaker, now on his second term, also thanked all those who helped Pampanga rise from the ashes of Pinatubo and its lahar avalanches that buried a number of communities, particularly the historic town of Bacolor.

“We are forever indebted to them, and this memorial day that we seek to legislate as a holiday is part of acknowledging our huge debt,” he said.

Gonzales, the House assistant majority floor leader, has authored two prominent laws for Pampanga, namely the Bacolor Rehabilitation Act and the Don Honorio Ventura Technological State University law.

Ramon Navarra Jr., Gonzales’ chief of staff, expressed confidence that the bill will be passed when the Senate returns from its Lenten recess on May 7.

“I believe we have enough time to have it passed in the Senate and signed by President Aquino before June 15,” he said.