Both President Rodrigo Duterte and Vice President Leni Robredo will be present as the country celebrates its 119th Independence Day Celebration on Monday, the first for the new administration.
National Committee on Historical Research chairman Rene Escalante confirmed that both are expected to grace the flag-raising and wreath-laying ceremony at the Rizal Park in Manila.
Aside from the flag raising event, a vin d’honneur will be held at Malacañan Palace along with a cultural show and parade. The event will be among the few occasions when the two top officials will be seen together in public following a fallout that triggered Robredo’s resignation from the Duterte Cabinet in December.
The NHCP said that there will also be other commemorative events in other historic parts of the country: Kawit, Cavite—Senator Panfilo Lacson and Tourism Secretary Wanda Teo; North Cemetery—Philippine Veterans Office administrator Ernesto Carolina; Barasoain Church, Malolos, Bulacan—Senator Loren Legarda; Bonifacio Monument, Caloocan City—Justice Mariano del Castillo, Pinaglabanan Shrine —Senator Sonny Angara, Pamintuan Mansion, Angeles City, Pampanga; Office of the Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process Assistant Secretary Rolando Asuncion, Calamba, Laguna; Budget Secretary Benjamin Diokno, Davao City; Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana, Bukidnon City; Presidential Communication Secretary Martin Andanar, Baguio City; Justice Secretary Vitaliano Aguirre, Iloilo City —Environment Secretary Roy Cimatu.
