A month of history

August is indeed an august name for a month that is filled with significant events in Philippine history.

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That is the reason why the eighth month of the year, in addition to being named as Buwan ng Wika, is also celebrated as History Month. It was the late President Benigno S. Aquino III who proclaimed August as History Month by issuing Proclamation No. 339 in 2012.

There used to be a History Week celebration from Sept. 15 to 21 but the Proclamation correctly argued that “a week of observance is not enough to undertake various activities given the richness and diversity of our nation’s history”. It further changed the date of celebration to the month of August because “major events in the nation’s history occurred in the month of August which concludes with National Heroes Day.”

This year, the National Historical Commission of the Philippines (NHCP) is leading our nation’s celebration of History Month with the theme “Diwa ng Kasaysayan, Kabilin sa Kabataan” (Spirit of History, Heritage for the Youth). According to its website, among the key 2025 observances are the 127th anniversary of the Bacoor Assembly held Aug. 1, the birth anniversaries of Manuel L. Quezon (Aug. 19), Marcelo H. del Pilar (Aug. 30), and Ramon Magsaysay (Aug. 31), and the death anniversary of Ninoy Aquino (Aug. 21).