Independence Day rites at the historic Barasoain Church

Senator Loren Legarda (in dark glasses, right photo) leads other officials in the flag raising ceremony commemorating the 119th Independence Day in front of the historic Barasoain Church (in left photo) in Malolos, Bulacan. The Barasoain Church was the historic site of the First Philippine Republic and served as the site where the First Philippine Congress convened, otherwise known as the Malolos Congress, which drafted the 1898 Malolos Constitution. Also in the photo (right) are Gov. Wilhelmino Sy-Alvarado, Engineer Candido H. Castro of National Historic Commission, Malolos City Mayor Christian Natividad. (PNA photos by Ben Briones)