BORONGAN CITY, E. SAMAR , Philippines — A bronze bust was unveiled here to honor Don Eugenio S. Daza, the hero behind the famous Balangiga Massacre, on his 142nd birthday, according to a PIA-7 report.
Members of the Philippine National Police rendered a 21-gun salute after a wreath was laid at Daza’s monument.
Daza was a school teacher who finished his Education degree with honors at the Ateneo School. Roy Daza, one of his heirs said his great grandfather was offered by Ateneo with a teaching job, but he opted to return home to render services to his townmates.
In Borongan, “Lolo Enyong” as Daza was fondly called, taught for free until the war when General Emilio Aguinaldo was proclaimed president of the First Philippine Republic in Malolos, Bulacan.
Daza plotted what history books refer to as the worst single defeat the Americans suffered in their entire military campaigns in the country.
As an educator, Daza established the central school in Borongan, which was later named after him—-the S. Daza Pilot Elementary School (ESDPES). The school, popularly known as “pilot,” has since then nurtured hundreds of local professionals and political leaders.
As the pupils and teachers of the school continued their whole-day celebration yesterday at the school’s covered court, a contest on waste paper gathering was launched. A lecture was also made on zero waste management. Winning groups received cash prizes.
The bust was unveiled by members of the school’s Federation of Homeroom Parents Teachers Association, led by its president, lawyer Rio Afable, National Historical Institue officials and the Daza family. (FREEMAN)