The Raising of Flag in Mindanao

The first formal hoisting of the Philippine flag in Mindanao was done on January 17, 1889 in Butuan City. Here, Gov. Wenceslao Gonzales of the Tercio Distrito of Surigao, Fr. Francisco Nebot, S.J., and the principal president of Butuan formally lowered the Vatican flag and officially raised the Philippine flag accompanied by the playing of the Himno National de Filipinas by the local bands of Butuan, Tubay and Cabadbaran. Historical accounts hold that with the impending victory of the Philippine Revolution throughout the country, emissaries of the Revolutionary Government of General Emilio F. Aguinaldo led by Wenceslao Gonzales proclaimed the Philippine Republic in Mindanao during the event. This historic act which took place in Butuan, then military capital of the province of Surigao, marked the end of colonial rule in this part of the archipelago, and was fittingly carried out with the hoisting of the Philippine flag, a first in all of Mindanao.