Few words were spoken when wreaths were offered at the shrine of Gat. Marcelo H. Del Pilar here on Sunday, Aug. 30, to mark the hero’s 176th birth anniversary amid stormy weather.
The annual commemorative program was cancelled because of the strong monsoon rains on Saturday (August 29) that flooded many streets in this town and other partst of Bulacan province.
Flowers were laid down at the shrine at Sitio Cupang in barangay San Nicolas on behalf of the intended guest of honor Commission on Elections chairman George Erwin Garcia, Bulakan Mayor Vergel Meneses, the National Press Club of the Philippines, the Central Luzon Media Association (CLMA) and the Philippine Masonry.
Marcelo Day is an annual non-working holiday in Bulacan. In 2023, Marcelo Day was also declared as National Press Freedom Day.
Del Pilar, who is historically known for his numerous pseudonyms like the textbook familiar Plaridel. But to Bulacan he is simply remembered as ‘Tata Celo, ‘ the Father of Philippine Journalism.
He was born in San Nicolas on Aug. 30, 1850. He died on July 4, 1896 in Barcelona, Spain while pursuing Filipino enlightenment through the publication of La Solidaridad.