Tearful XIX Martyrs Commemorative Program

by TERENCE T. TORIANO

Tears clouded the eyes of the audience during a commemorative program, Monday, March 23, when members of the Kalibo Council for Culture and the Arts (KCCA) performers dramatized the events leading to the deaths of the only Katipunan group members outside Luzon, the XIX Martyrs of Aklan.

Calixto Iban, a descendant of Candido and Benito Iban, thanked Kalibo Mayor Raymar Rebaldo through a text message for giving importance to the descendants. He lauded him for a great comme-morative program.

Calixto Iban said, he found Mayor Rebaldo approachable and down-to-earth while exchanging stories about their ancestors during a luncheon at San Lorenzo College hosted by the Municipality of Kalibo after the comme-morative program.

Rebaldo acknow-ledged that the event would not have been successful without the support of all facets of the community from the government to the private sector.

Noel de la Cruz, supervising administrative officer, Office of the Mayor, congratulated the various committees that handled the commemorative program as new innovations are introduced such as Honor Guards composed of Navy ROTC Cadets from Aklan Polytechnic College, and Army ROTC Cadets from Northwestern Visayan Colleges which assisted and made the 112th XIX Martyrs Commemorative celebration comparable to any national historical event affairs./MP