Father’s Day is a continuing controversy - ROSES AND THORNS by Alejandro R. Roces

In 1980, President Ferdinand Marcos proclaimed every first Sunday of December as Father’s Day with the following Tuesday as Mother’s Day. Then on June 8, 1988, President Corazon Aquino issued Proclamation No. 266 that changed the dates of the celebration to every second Sunday of May for Mother’s Day and every third Sunday of June for Father’s Day. To confuse matters even more, President Joseph Estrada also changed both dates by signing Proclamation No. 58 on June 11, 1998, stipulating that both occasions should be commemorated jointly on every first Monday of December. So Father’s and Mother’s Day in the Philippines traditionally changes dates with a change in administration.

We did not celebrate either day during the Spanish regime. Actually, the annual tribute to mothers started in Ilocos Norte in 1921. That was when the Ilocos Norte Women’s Club petitioned for a date for an annual observance of Mother’s Day. Acting Governor-General Charles Yeater responded by designating the first Monday of December of each year as Mother’s Day. The then Bureau of Education was assigned to organize the annual commemoration. In 1987, the bureau that had grown to be the Department of Education in Memorandum 223 again altered the dates of the celebrations to December 6 for Father’s Day and December 7 for Mother’s Day. So if no one truly observes Father’s or Mother’s Day in the Philippines, it is because the authorities cannot agree on the dates for their celebration.

If you read the Ten Commandments, the first three involve man’s relations with his Maker. The fourth says, "Honor thy father and thy mother." The United States seems to have the distinction of having been the very first nation to commemorate Father’s Day on a specific day. Before that, the closest thing to a Father’s Day celebration was the ancient Roman Parentalia which took place from February 13th to the 22nd. But the commemoration was not for living fathers. It was in memory of departed parents. It was only in June of 1910 that Washington officially recognized July 5 as Father’s Day. And it was in 1972 that President Richard Nixon changed the date to the third Sunday of June.

Father’s Day is a 20th century development. So, tomorrow, the United States officially celebrates Father’s Day. Since we are confused about the date of our own Father’s Day celebration, why don’t we just celebrate it on the same day? One father takes better care of nine children than nine children take care of one father. How lucky we all are that our fathers were born before us.