DOT Sec Jimenez to
grace 110th Balangiga Encounter Commemoration
By NINFA B QUIRANTE, PIA Borongan
September
22, 2011
BORONGAN CITY, Eastern
Samar – As Balangiga marks its 110th Balangiga Encounter, this town
expects newly appointed Department of Tourism (DOT) Secretary Ramon
Jimenez to grace the event on September 28, 2011.
Jimenez will attend a
program in Balangiga’s covered court which stands adjacent to the
Balangiga Encounter Monument, an artwork by National Artist Napoleon
Abueva.
As always the case,
Balangiga’s local talents will perform a re-enactment of the Balangiga
Encounter.
Meanwhile, the
provincial government of Eastern Samar will sponsor a cultural and
literary night on September 27, 2011 in Borongan, to honor the heroes
of the Balangiga Encounter. Competitions for students from elementary
and high schools from all over the province include oratorical
contest, extemporaneous speaking contest, on-the-spot essay writing
contest, and a quiz bee – all with the Balangiga Encounter as its
central theme.
On September 28,
Eastern Samar Governor Conrado B. Nicart Jr will lead employees of the
local government, national government agencies, and the police in a
wreath-laying activity in Borongan City.
A hundred and ten
years ago, the men of Balangiga and nearby towns, commanded by the
town’s police chief Valeriano Abanador fought against the American
forces’ rifles with their bolos.
The encounter,
considered one of the bloodiest in the Philippine-American War is also
described as the United States Military’s “worst single defeat” in the
country.