Significant Events in April in Filipino History

Maningning Miclat was a Filipina poet, painter, and trilingual whose brief but brilliant life left an indelible mark on the Philippine arts scene. Born on April 15, 1972, in Beijing, China, to Filipino parents Mario Miclat and Alma Miclat, her story is one of extraordinary talent shaped by a unique upbringing, a relentless creative spirit, and a tragic end that continues to resonate with those who admire her work. Her legacy endures through her art, poetry, and the foundation established in her name, which nurtures young artists and poets.

On April 15, 1975, the Pambansang Katipunan ng Kabataang Barangay ng Pilipinas (KB) was established by virtue of Presidential Decree 684 by President Ferdinand E. Marcos.

On April 15, 1962, Mayor Arsenio H. Lacson, Manila's first elected mayor died of heart attack at around 6:00 in the evening in his suite at the Hotel Filipinas where he had been going over his radio-television broadcast that should have been aired at 7:30 that evening. He was 49 years old.

On April 15, 1948, President Manuel Roxas died of heart attack after delivering a speech in the Kelly Theater of Clark Air Force Base in Pampanga. The President who was on a long standing invitation from Major General E. L. Eubank, went to Pampanga on official visit accompanied by Senate President Jose Avelino, Speaker Eugenio Perez and General Rafael Jalandoni.

On April 15, 1947, the Philippine National Red Cross (PNRC) was established by virtue of Republic Act No. 95. Doña Aurora Aragon Quezon, wife of Commonwealth President Manuel L. Quezon, became its first president.

Engracia "Aling Asiang" Cruz-Reyes was a Filipino chef and entrepreneur who played a significant role in promoting Filipino cuisine, especially through the restaurant chain she founded, The Aristocrat.

On April 16, 1902, General Miguel Malvar surrendered to General Franklin Bell in Tanauan, Batangas, after having been surrounded by forces of Bell, General Mariano Trias, and General Juan Cailles. In the words of Felipe Buencamino, Trias and Cailles "cooperated a good deal" with Bell to effect the surrender of Malvar.

On April 17, 1898, General Francisco Makabulos, leader of the Katipunan revolutionary forces in Tarlac, established the Makabulos Republic with the promulgation of the Makabulos Constitution.

Juan Bautista Gorordo was a significant figure in the history of the Philippine Catholic Church. He was the first Cebuano and the second Filipino to be appointed as a bishop, serving as the Bishop of Cebu from 1910 until his retirement in 1931.

(Justice Claudio Teehankee (Credit: Supreme Court of the Philippines))

On April 18, 1918, Claudio Teehankee Sr., Chief Justice of the Supreme Court from 1986-1988, was born in Manila to Jose Teehankee and Julia Ong Sangroniz.

Teehankee studied at the Ateneo de Manila, where he obtained in 1938 his Bachelor of Arts degree, summa cum laude. He proceeded to take up law in the same school, graduating also summa cum laude in 1940. In the bar examinations that year, he brought further honor to Ateneo by gaining first place with all-time-high average of 94.35 percent.