President Aquino declares September 20 as
special non-working day in Ilocos Norte in celebration of 115th birth
anniversary of Girl Scouts of the Philippines founder Josefa Llanes Escoda
President Benigno S. Aquino III has declared
September 20, which falls on a Friday, as a special (non-working day) in the
province of Ilocos Norte in celebration of the 115th birth anniversary of World
War II heroine and founder of the Girl Scouts of the Philippines Josefa Llanes
Escoda.
The Chief Executive issued the declaration
through Proclamation No. 644 signed by Executive Secretary Paquito N. Ochoa Jr.
on August 22 to give the people of Ilocos Norte the full opportunity to
celebrate and participate in the occasion with appropriate ceremonies.
Born on September 20, 1898 in Dingras, Ilocos
Norte, Escoda was the eldest of the seven children of Mercedes Madamba and
Gabriel Llanes.
She graduated valedictorian from Dingras
Elementary School and salutatorian from Laoag Provincial High School. She
obtained a teaching degree from the Philippine Normal College where she
graduated with honors in 1919. While teaching, she earned her high school
teacher's certificate from the University of the Philippines in 1922. She
earned a masteral degree in Sociology from Columbia University in 1925 .
During her first trip in the US in 1925, she met
Antonio Escoda, a reporter from the Philippine Press Bureau, After their return
to Manila, they got married and were blessed with two children, Maria Teresa
and Antonio Jr.
In 1939, Escoda returned to the US to undergo an
intensified training in Girl Scouting sponsored by the Boy Scouts of the
Philippines. When she came back in 1940, she began to train some teachers of
public and private schools to become Girl Scout leaders and then proceeded to
organize Girl Scout troops.
On May 26, 1940, President Manuel L. Quezon
signed the charter of the Girl Scouts of the Philippines (Commonwealth Act. No.
542), giving the movement the recognition of its role in leadership training of
girls and women. Escoda became the first National Executive of the Girl Scouts
of the Philippines.
During the Japanese occupation of the
Philippines, Escoda and her husband helped Filipino and American prisoners in
several concentration camps. On August 27, 1944, she was arrested and
imprisoned in Fort Santiago where she and Antonio were reported to have been
interrogated and executed.
Every September 20, the Girl Scouts of the
Philippines pays homage to Escoda by celebrating her birth anniversary with
activities that would create further awareness of her martyrdom and
contribution to youth development. PND (js)
Aquino govt committed to forging final peace
pact despite ongoing Zamboanga violence
The Aquino administration said on Wednesday that
it is committed to sealing a final peace deal with Muslim separatists in
Mindanao whatever the current odds like the violence happening in Zamboanga
City since Monday.
In a media briefing in Malacanang, Presidential
adviser on the peace process Teresita Deles said that like other peace
processes, the government’s peace dialogue with the Moro Islamic Liberation
Front (MILF) has been facing challenges particularly from groups whose
interests will be affected by a final peace pact.
It Is a normal thing to see eruption of violence
in some parts of Mindanao as the government and the MILF move towards forging a
final peace agreement, Deles said, noting some groups will try to derail the
ongoing peace process.
“We should not be surprised when there are
incidents like these as we approach the end of a peace process because peace
processes come up with agreements that introduces changes and some people will
not like that,” Deles said.
“In all the peace processes it is not unusual
that there is an outbreak of violence or some violent disturbance. What is
important is not that these things happen or do not happen but how we stand up
to it. And this government’s position is that we stand by the peace process
that we are moving forward and we will complete the peace process for the
Southern Philippines.”
As to how to end the ongoing crisis in Zamboanga
City, Deles said they received messages saying it is only Nur Misuari who could
put an end to the standoff. She also said that the Organization of Islamic
Conference (OIC) could create the mechanism to understand what is going on in
Zamboanga City.
The Philippine government has also requested the
assistance of the Indonesian government, which has been facilitating the review
of the 1996 peace agreement with the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF), to
resolve the crisis, Deles noted.
Asked if the government considers using military
action to end the Zamboanga City standoff, considering the large number of
government forces sent there, Deles said the presence of a huge number of
military force is intended for containment and civilian protection.
“I think the volume of military there is to make
sure that it is contained. If the government’s position was a military position
then we would not have seen that yesterday. Our government is very conscious of
the civilians that are going to be affected,” she said.
The President’s peace adviser also said that
there are communities who want peace and development, which could only be
possible through cooperation between several factions of the MNLF.
Deles said these communities have called for
unity of their leaders because the people have suffered enough as a result of many
decades of war.
“These are the communities that we have tried to
listen to first and foremost. Even as we have difficulties dealing with the
leadership that often did not have one voice. And in the end, I think, that
what we will have to look at is the needs of our people.”
What is happening in Zamboanga City is bitter
and disappointing because the communities that are currently under threat are
poor Muslim communities and some of the casualties are Muslims, Deles said. PND
(as)
