NEWSFLASH

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CANSECO COMPOSES CAVITE CENTENNIAL HYMN

Trece Martires, Cavite, Oct. 25, 1997 - Cavite Governor Epimaco Velasco has formed a committee to undertake projects for the Centennial celebration in the province.

The move is in response to the clamor for more focus on the province, which residents feel has a very special place in the history of the country, being the seat of the proclamation of our independence against Spain in 1898.

Among the identified projects of the committee are giant billboard that will remind everyone of the centennial and of Cavite's role in the revolt against Spain. The evolution of the Philippine flag will be depicted in the Capitol building.

Governor Velasco has commissioned famous songwriter/composer George Canseco to compose the Cavite Centennial Hymn, which will be performed next year at the national celebration of the centennial.

In 1872, three Filipino priests -- Jose Burgos, Mariano Gomez and Jacinto Zamora -- who were implicated in the rebel movement were executed. Hundreds of Filipinos launched an offensive against a Spanish garrison in protest. Four years later, the Philippine Revolution broke out, transforming Cavite into a bloody theater of war.

Emilio Aguinaldo led the Cavitenos in surprise attacks on Spanish headquarters. He eventually liberated much of the province from Spanish forces and declared independence at the balcony of his home in Kawit, Cavite, on June 12, 1898.

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