National Heroes Day ( fil, Pambansang Araw ng mga Bayani) is a holiday in the
Philippines
The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no),
* bik, Republika kan Filipinas
* ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas
* cbk, República de Filipinas
* hil, Republ ...
dedicated to Filipino
heroes
Heroes or Héroes may refer to:
* Hero, one who displays courage and self-sacrifice for the greater good
Film
* ''Heroes'' (1977 film), an American drama
* ''Heroes'' (2008 film), an Indian Hindi film
Gaming
* ''Heroes of Might and Magic'' ...
. It is a
public holiday in the Philippines.
History
The observance of National Heroes Day was already present during the
American colonial period
The Thirteen Colonies, also known as the Thirteen British Colonies, the Thirteen American Colonies, or later as the United Colonies, were a group of British colonies on the Atlantic coast of North America. Founded in the 17th and 18th centur ...
. Act No. 3827 by the
Philippine Legislature
The Philippine Legislature was the legislature of the Philippines from 1907 to 1935, during the American colonial period, and predecessor of the current Congress of the Philippines. It was bicameral and the legislative branch of the Insular G ...
enacted on October 28, 1931, designated every last Sunday of August as National Heroes Day. However,
Bonifacio Day established by virtue of Act No. 2946 of 1921 was also dedicated to anonymous Filipino heroes. In practice, National Heroes Day celebrations were observed on the same day as Bonifacio Day. This continued during the
Japanese occupation during World War II and some years after the United States
granted the Philippines independence in 1946.
President
Elpidio Quirino
Elpidio Rivera Quirino (born Elpidio Quirino y Rivera; ; November 16, 1890 – February 29, 1956) was a Filipino lawyer and politician who served as the sixth president of the Philippines from 1948 to 1953.
A lawyer by profession, Quirino ente ...
issued Administrative Order No. 190 in 1952 which reverted National Heroes Day back to the last Sunday of August. Administrative Code of 1987 of President
Corazon Aquino designated the day as a regular holiday. The date of the holiday was revised again on July 24, 2007, via Republic Act No. 9492 which was signed into law by President
Gloria Macapagal Arroyo
Maria Gloria Macaraeg Macapagal Arroyo (, born April 5, 1947), often referred to by her initials GMA, is a Filipino academic and politician serving as one of the House Deputy Speakers since 2022, and previously from 2016 to 2017. She previously ...
.
[
]
Commemoration
The law does not explicitly name any specific individual to be commemorated during National Heroes Day. Commemorations often include key figures in Philippine history who are regarded as national heroes
A hero (feminine: heroine) is a real person or a main fictional character who, in the face of danger, combats adversity through feats of ingenuity, courage, or strength. Like other formerly gender-specific terms (like ''actor''), ''hero ...
though it could also include "lesser-known" and "ordinary" Filipinos. Examples include Overseas Filipino Worker
Overseas Filipino Worker (OFW) is a term often used to refer to Filipino migrant workers, people with Filipino citizenship who reside in another country for a limited period of employment. The number of these workers was roughly 1.77 million be ...
s and frontline workers during the COVID-19 pandemic
The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identi ...
.
References
{{reflist
Public holidays in the Philippines
August observances
Heroes