Legarda, National Quincentennial Committee Launch Road to 500, a Philippine Quincentennial Special

On the occasion of the Philippine-Spanish Friendship Day, House Deputy Speaker and Antique Representative Loren Legarda launched today the first episode of a new online program titled “Road to 500.” The episode will be streamed live on Tuesday, June 30, 2020, 10:00 a.m. via facebook.com/conglorenlegarda.

With the theme “Rethinking 1521,” the episode tackled the Filipino way of commemorating the 500th anniversary of the first circumnavigation of the world which will take place in 2021. The event was previously regarded as the ‘discovery of the Philippines’ and the beginning of Philippine history. The National Quincentennial Committee (NQC), created by virtue of Executive Order No. 55 (2018), through different activities intends to correct these misconceptions.

For the first episode of this online series, Legarda was joined by NQC Executive Director and National Historical Commission of the Philippines Chairperson Rene Escalante and Prof. Xiao Chua of the De La Salle University History Department.

Legarda took part in this national event to help promote the celebration and educate the public about our pre-colonial history and the values the Filipinos can get from the events that took place in 1521.

Upcoming episodes will also feature the different aspects of the preparation of the country for the quincentennial.

In 2021, the country will commemorate the 500th anniversary of the Victory at Mactan, the Philippine participation in the first circumnavigation of the world, and other related events, collectively known as the 2021 Quincentennial Commemorations in the Philippines.

Road to 500 is organized by the Office of Deputy Speaker Legarda, in partnership with the National Quincentennial Committee Secretariat and the National Historical Commission of the Philippines. ###