MALACAÑANG

MANILA

BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE PHILIPPINES

PROCLAMATION NO. 941

DECLARING 1997 AS THE DEATH CENTENARY OF GAT ANDRES BONIFACIO AND DESIGNATING THE NATIONAL CENTENNIAL COMMISSION TO TAKE CHARGE OF THE CELEBRATIONS THEREFOR

WHEREAS

, Andres Bonifacio is one of our greatest Filipino Heroes revered for his courage in starting and leading the outbreak of the 1898 Philippine Revolution which inevitably led to the declaration of independence;

WHEREAS

, Andres Bonifacio co-founded the Katipunan in 1892, a secret revolutionary society whose principal aim was to win Philippine Independence by means of revolution;

WHEREAS

, through his writings and poems on liberty, democracy and human rights, Andres Bonifacio aroused the patriotic spirit of the Filipino people;

WHEREAS

, Andres Bonifacio’s life and heroism has until today provided the inspiration for our freedom and justice-loving people, particularly the youth who emulate him, in the continuing struggle for our nationalistic aspirations;

WHEREAS

, May 10, 1997 will mark the death centenary of this great plebian hero;

NOW, THEREFORE, I, FIDEL V. RAMOS

, President of the Philippines, by virtue of the powers vested in me by law, do hereby declare the year 1997 as the death centenary of Gat Andres Bonifacio.

The National Centennial Commission shall formulate plans and devise ways and means for the effective execution of appropriate activities, programs and projects for the commemoration of the centennial of the death of Gat Andres Bonifacio. For this purpose, the National Centennial Commission is empowered to call on any department, bureau, officer or agency of the government, including government-owned or controlled corporations, for such assistance as it may need in the discharge of its functions relative to the celebration.

IN WITNESS WHEREOF

, I have hereunto set my hand and caused the seal of the Republic of the Philippines to be affixed.

DONE

in the City of Manila, this 16

^th

day of December in the year of Our Lord, Nineteen Hundred and Ninety-Six.

(Sgd.)

FIDEL V. RAMOS

By the President:

(Sgd.)

RUBEN D. TORRES