P15 M Lopez-Jaena Memorial Shrine to rise in Jaro
Graciano Lopez-Jaena, one of the country's heroes, an Ilonggo, a great writer and orator will be feted with a P15 million Memorial Shrine to be built in his birth place in Jaro, Iloilo City.
Mr. Demy Sonza, president of the Graciano Lopez-Jaena Foundation said that the fund raising campaign for the shrine kicked-off August 18, 2006 and it is expected that the groundbreaking will be done on the 150th birth anniversary celebration of the hero on December 18, 2006.
Sonza said that President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo had already issued Administrative Order No. 153 directing the National Historical Institute and the Department of Education to lead the 150th birth anniversary celebration of Graciano Lopez-Jaena.
He also said that the Graciano Lopez-Jaena Foundation passed a resolution requesting the Regional Development Council and the Western Visayas Historical and Cultural Council (WVHCC) to adopt the 150th celebration and the construction of the Lopez-Jaena shrine as the first project of the WVHCC, likewise requesting Antique Governor, RDC Chairman and WVCC Chairman Sally Z. Perez to spearhead the fund raising campaign for the memorial shrine.
The president of the Graciano Lopez-Jaena Foundation said that significant activities will be undertaken now up to December 18. He lamented that many of the younger generation may have heard of Lopez-Jaena but they do not know much about his heroic deeds during the Spanish regime.
“There will be production of modules on Lopez-Jaena and the DepED will handle this,” Sonza said stressing that they will hire specialists in preparing modules for the subjects in English, Social Studies, Pilipino and MAPE.
“These will be teaching modules that will be distributed throughout the country, so the legacy of Lopez-Jaena will be taught to our young people and they will know more about our hero,” Sonza further said.
The memorial shrine will be built on a 500-meter-square-meter-lot in Fajardo Street, Jaro, Iloilo City, where the house in which Graciano Lopez-Jaena was born, was once located. (T.Villavert/PIA)