June 12, 1998

Maligayang Sentenaryo sa ating lahat. Nagbunyi ang buong Pilipinas sa ika-100 taong selebrasyon ng kalayaan ng Pilipinas.

Para sa mga kababayang wala dito upang saksihan ang mga kaganapan, nagsimula ang lahat sa asalto na ginanap sa Luneta hatinggabi ng Hunyo 11. Nagkaroon ng kasiyahan sa Luneta at karamihan ay nagsipag-tulog na rin doon. Nagmistulang pyesta ang buong Luneta. Mga bandang ala-syete ng Hunyo 12 ay nagkaroon ng sabay-sabay na pagtaas ng bandila sa buong bansa. Pagkatapos nito ay nagkaroon ng mga konsyerto o palabas pang-kultura sa iba't ibang lugar sa Pilipinas.

Mga bandang alas-tres ay nagkaroon ng parada ng mga karosa sa harap ng Quirino grandstand sa Luneta. Ipinakita ang kasaysayan ng Pilipinas mula sa panahon bago dumating ang Kastila, kay Lapu-Lapu, sina Jose Rizal, si Andres Bonifacio at ang mga katipunero, si Emilio Aguinaldo, mga Amerikano, mga Hapon, pagunlad ng Pilipinas, at ang EDSA "people power". Umabot ng apat na oras ang naturang parada. Bukod dito ay nagkaroon din ng kanya-kanyang parada ng karosa ang ibang
mga lalawigan kasabay ng parada sa Maynila.

Ang pang-huling pangyayari ay ang "fireworks display" na binansagang "one of the greatest". Ito ay nagkakahalaga ng limang milyong piso (ang pagkaka-alam ko ay may mga sponsors ito) at ginawa ng kumpanyang pinamumunuan ng isang Pilipino na siya ring gumawa ng "fireworks display" para sa Atlanta Olympics Opening at sa HongKong handover. Umabot ng mahigit sa treinta minutos ang palabas at nakasaliw ito sa iba't ibang musika na mas lalong nagbigay ng kahulugan. Bagama't hindi ko ito nakita ng personal ay napanood ko sa telebisyon. Tunay na nakakataba ng puso.

Hanggang sa pagsulat ko nito ay hindi pa tapos ang selebrasyon. Katatapos lamang ng isang konsyertong musikal sa Quirino grandstand. Kasalukuyan ding may "Disko ng Bayan" sa harap ng Folk Arts Theater at sa Rajah Sulayman Park sa Malate.

Muli, isang pagbati ng maligayang sentenaryo sa ating lahat. Mabuhay ang kalayaan !!! Mabuhay ang Pilipino !!!

The following are excerpts from two emails received from Lowen Fortun of Batch 79. This is his sharing of experiencing the light show I mentioned above.

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Anyway, just over an hour ago, I witnessed what has been touted in
today's newspapers as probably "One of The Greatest Fireworks Spectacles" in
the world. This fireworks show in honor of our 100th Independence Day
Anniversary was held in Manila Bay (the rockets were launched from four
barges parked behind the Philippine Plaza Hotel). It started at 8:00 PM and
lasted for at least 30 minutes! I brought my family over to the beach in
Kawit, Cavite where we had a good view of the whole Manila coastline from
the South Harbor all the way to the Coastal Road in Las Pinas City. Ang
ganda even from afar! I can just imagine how wonderful it must have felt if
we were lucky enough to be watching the show from the Cultural Center of the
Philippines grounds or from the Luneta itself. I was able to see the
fireworks show during the Atlanta Olympics and the HongKong Handover, but I
personally think this Philippine Independence Day Centennial Show was the
best! Oh by the way, this fireworks show cost us 5 million pesos (all
sponsored of course), was aided by computers, and was prepared by the same
Filipino corporation that did the Atlanta Olympics and HongKong Handover
lightshows. Iba talaga ang Pinoy kapag nagpa-siklab! Happy 100th
Independence Day to you guys! Wish you were all here to witness it with us.
============
My friend who is a resident resort manager in a beach club in Orion,
Bataan told me that they too saw last night's Philippine Centennial
fireworks show from their side of the Manila Bay. Wow! Her place is
practically across the bay from where we were in Kawit, Cavite. She said
that the barrio folk were all gathered at the beaches and were clapping
their hands and cheering whenever those simultaneous red, white, blue,
green, and purple plumes would light up the sky. Seems like El Nino or La
Nina didn't bother to mess up the weather over the whole of Manila Bay just
so as many people could see the lightshow.

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June 1, 1998

The LSQC batch 81 thru this website offers its deepest condolences to the family of Jeff Manulid (webmaster of LSQC 82 website) on the demise of his mother last June 1, 1998 at 2:15 am. Her remains was interred on June 7, 1998.