Los Baños holiday declared

LOS BAÑOS, Laguna, Philippines – Sept. 17 is a special non-working holiday here.

President Aquino, through Executive Secretary Paquito Ochoa Jr., has issued Proclamation 1099 declaring the holiday to give residents the opportunity to participate in the town’s 400th anniversary.

Los Baños officially became a town on Sept. 17, 1615.

The countdown to the quadricentennial celebration started during the town’s founding anniversary last year. A series of historical, cultural, educational, tourism, sports, and other activities had been held since last September.

The Bañamos Festival on Sept. 14 to 20 will cap the year-long observance of the town’s 400th anniversary.

“Pagkilala sa Kasaysayan, Pagpupugay sa Kasalukuyan, Pagtanaw sa Kinabukasan,” is the theme of this year’s anniversary celebration.