The National Historical Commission of the Philippines (NHCP) has held a program commemorating Lt. Col. Simon Tecson at the Simon Tecson house in San Vicente, San Miguel Bulacan.
Held as part of the celebration for the 22nd Philippine-Spanish Friendship Day and the126th Anniversary of the Start of the Siege in Baler, the event was led by NHCP executive director Carminda R. Arevalo with the first secretary Alvaro Garcia of the Spanish Embassy.
Also in attendance to the ceremony were the Philippine National Police-San Miguel, the descendants of Simon Tecson, as well as Crispin de Luna and Ferdinand Tiongson who serve as representatives for Bulacan Governor Daniel Fernando and San Miguel Mayor Roderick Tiongson, respectively.
The commemorative program was part of the various activities by the NHCP in celebration of the 22nd Philippine-Spanish Friendship Day.
Observed every June 30, the Philippine-Spanish Friendship day commemorates the decree by President Emilio Aguinaldo which ordered the survivors of the Siege of Baler to be treated as friends instead of prisoners of war. Tecson and several soldiers from Bulacan were notably sent by Aguinaldo to end the siege following the proclamation of the country’s independence.