FORMER MAYOR ROQUE TO DONATE CITYHOOD DOCUMENTS

Former Malolos Mayor Restituto Roque has committed to donate to the Center for Bulacan Studies his collections of documents on the Malolos cityhood. He was guest at the Center last February 4, 2003. The plebiscite that decided on the cityhood of Malolos was marred by election irregularities. During the initial counting, pro-cityhood lost by 2,000 votes only to gain double that number at the COMELEC recount. Only 25% of the registered voters participated in the exercise.
The politics and history of cityhood will be one of the research projects of the Center. The donation of the documents by Ex-Mayor Roque is a big boost to an understanding of the deep, political currents that almost thwarted the transformation of the town of Malolos into City.

In line with its mission of improving governance, a series of round table discussions on the theme " Malolos Cityhood, Then What?" Former Mayor Roque and current Mayor Danilo Domingo will be invited as resource speakers together with municipal development officials, faculty members from the BSU College of Architecture, UP School of Urban Planning and the NGO sector. The seminar will be BSB's contribution towards defining the kind of City that we want. Once our vision is defined, then the various steps can be agreed upon such that the overall plan can be implemented irrespective of what political party or politician rules the City Hall.

MALOLOS CONSTITUTION ANALYZED BY BSU LAW PROFS

In commemoration of the 104th Anniversary of the First Philippine Republic, BSU Law Professors led by the College of Law dean, CA Justice Jose C. dela Rama (ret.) and CA Justice Nicolas P. Lapena, Jr (ret.) tackled the salient features of the Malolos Constitution of 1899. The lectures were Justice dela Rama spoke on "The Men Behind the Drafting of the Malolos Constitution." He analyzed the relevance of the Constitution to Philippine jurisprudence. Justice Lapena, Jr. on the other hand analyzed the various provisions of the Malolos Constitution particularly those aspects that may become relevant to the planned reforms initiated in the Congress and the Senate. For example, it would be relevant to study again the unitary system that gave much power to the Legislature as well as the provisions that allowed for a federal structure.

"Lolo Kong Beterano" Project Launched

After a two-day seminar-workshop on historiography on February 4 and 5, 2003 at the Center for Bulacan Studies, the 14 participants composed of faculty and students, decided to work on a "Lolo Kong Beterano" Project.

The training was conducted by Dr. Jaime B. Veneracion, with Prof. Benjamin Mangubat of UP Manila and Mr. Virgilio K. Crisostomo of the Veterans Association as resource persons. Mr. Mangubat is assisting the Center in preparing an interactive CD-ROM documentation of the Second World War in Bulacan. Mr. Crisostomo is looking for funds that may support a contest where the participants of the workshop will conduct interviews and write monographs on unknown guerillas during the Japanese Occupation. The questionnaire has been prepared by Jun Joson, one of the participants.. A follow-up seminar-workshop with living guerilla personalities will be conducted n April 6, 2003, at the Pamanang Bahay ng De Jesus, in Plaridel, Bulacan. The ancestral house of the De Jesus family was one of the headquarters of the Japanese Army in Bulacan during the Japanese Occupation.