By Catherine Teves/Philippine News Agency
MANILA – The Komisyon sa Wikang Filipino (KWF) will commemorate Philippine hero and writer Emilio Jacinto’s 120th death anniversary
this month.
KWF will spearhead on Monday (April 15) its annual Peregrinasyong Jacinto literary pilgrimage to Laguna province’s Magdalena town, where the hero died, to conduct a program honoring him.
“It’s an opportunity to reflect on what he did for the country and what we can learn from his life,” said KWF senior language specialist
Roy Rene Cagalingan.
He said Jacinto’s writings advocated love of the country and inspired thousands of Filipinos to join the Katipunan, expanding the
revolutionary society’s membership to about 30,000 by the time the 1896 Philippine revolution against Spain commenced.
Jacinto was among the officers of the revolution and is still known to this day as the Brains of the Katipunan.
Available information showed that he joined the Katipunan at the age of 19, and helped develop the society’s guidebook and wrote for its paper.
For the 2019 Peregrinasyong Jacinto, KWF said the program in Magdalena town will feature messages from their chairperson and National Artist Virgilio Almario as well as Mayor David Aventurado Jr.
The program will also feature Prof. Michael Chua’s lecture on Jacinto, aside from a performance by the group Teatro Pingkian.
Available information further showed that Jacinto was born in Tondo, Manila on Dec. 15, 1875.
He attended San Juan de Letran College then University of Sto. Tomas to study law but was unable to complete his studies.
Jacinto joined the armed struggle against Spain but contracted malaria and died in Magdalena on April 16, 1899 at the age of 23.
Magdalena was a barrio in Laguna’s Majayjay municipality before becoming a town in 1820.
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