ILOILO – Santa Barbara town is set to host one of the country’s most significant Independence Day commemorations this Friday, June 12, highlighted by the raising of the largest Philippine flag permanently hoisted outside Luzon at the historic Santa Barbara Public Plaza.
The annual celebration will honor the town’s pivotal role in Philippine history as the site where the national flag was first raised outside Luzon on Nov. 17, 1898, an event now recognized as the “Cry of Santa Barbara” and the birth of the Revolutionary Government of the Visayas.
Santa Barbara’s Mayor Dennis Superficial said the local government unit is fully prepared for the 128th Independence Day celebration, which is expected to draw national and local officials, government agency heads, and residents from across Iloilo Province.
Expected guests include Department of Tourism regional director Crisanta Marlene Rodriguez, Gov. Arthur Defensor Jr., 2nd District’s Cong. Kathy Gorriceta, and heads of various national government agencies.
The program will begin at 8 a.m. with the raising of a giant 30-foot by 60-foot Philippine flag atop a 120-foot flagpole, followed by military honors, a 21-gun salute, and a wreath-laying ceremony at the monument of General Martin Delgado.
Delgado, a native of Santa Barbara, led the liberation of Iloilo from Spanish rule and served as general-in-chief of the Visayan revolutionary forces.
From Santa Barbara, he launched the campaign that eventually freed Iloilo from Spanish control.
The National Historical Commission of the Philippines recognized the historical significance of the town when it included the Santa Barbara Public Plaza in 2015 among the select places nationwide where a giant Philippine flag is permanently hoisted.
Superficial urged residents of Santa Barbara and the rest of Iloilo Province to participate in the celebration as an expression of patriotism.
“Gina-imbitar ko ang aton mga pumoluyo diri sa Santa Barbara kag sa probinsya sang Iloilo nga mag-attend sang flag raising ceremony sa Santa Barbara,” said Superficial.
The Nov. 17, 1898 flag-raising at the Santa Barbara plaza occurred five months after Philippine independence was declared in Kawit, Cavite, underscoring Iloilo’s vital contribution to the country’s struggle for freedom./PN
