Three important events occurred on Aug. 23

Last Thursday, we wrote about the 19th anniversary of the assassination of Ninoy Aquino in the airport that now bears his name. There is another great tragedy that also happened on Aug. 21 and that was the bombing of the Liberal Party candidates at Plaza Miranda in 1971. Former Senator Jovito Salonga was one of the victims of that terroristic attack. Both tragedies bear something in common. To this day, the authorities have not pinpointed the masterminds of those two heinous crimes. The soldiers who escorted Ninoy down the plane are all serving a prison term. But not the individual in authority who gave them the orders.

Today, we would like to write about three great historical events that happened on August 23rd. The first took place on August 23, 1870. We are referring to the inauguration of the Carrie-do Waterworks, the first water system that supplied water to Manila. It was a Spanish philan-thropist named Francisco Carriedo who donated P10,000 for the building of a canal to carry water of neighboring towns to The Noble and Ever Loyal City. For some reason or other, the project was neglected and the water system was not built till many years after Carriedo died in Sept. 2, 1743. That is almost three decades later. A monument to him was erected in the Rotonda of Sampaloc, which was recently transferred to the front of the Sta. Cruz Church.

The second happened in August 23 of 1896. That is when Andres Bonifacio and his Katipuneros assembled at Pugad-Lawin, tore their cedulas and gave the first cry against Spain.

The third was the arrival of the US transport Thomas that had 600 trained American teachers on board. These teachers came to be known as Thomasites. Their arrival marked the start of the teaching of English. It permanently changed the image of the American colonizers from soldiers to teachers. They arrived in August 23, 1901 and in less than half a century, the Philippines became one of the foremost English-speaking nations of the world. Today, English is the closest to a world language that the world has ever known.

Last year, the Public Affairs Section of the American Embassy in Manila published a book to commemorate the Thomasites Centennial Anniversary in the Philippines entitled The Islands Far Away. It said:

"The Thomasites were more than simply unselfish educators who brought idealism, skills and a sense of adventure. They also were special people who individually and collectively contributed much to the Philippines and to US-Philippine relations. They did more than establish public schools and the forerunner institutions of today’s Philippine Department of Education. They helped foster cohesiveness and unity among the diverse Filipino people scattered across thousands of islands by promoting one medium of instruction – English – and by encouraging democracy and good citizenship among students, teachers and the wider community. The story of the Thomasites is a reminder that one of the greatest contributions which the United States has made to Philippine progress has been in the sphere of education."