Declaring 18 January 2022 as a Day of National Mourning Over the Passing of National Artist Francisco Sionil Jose

January 17, 2022

PROCLAMATION NO. 1288

DECLARING 18 JANUARY 2022 AS A DAY OF NATIONAL MOURNING OVER THE PASSING OF NATIONAL ARTIST FRANCISCO SIONIL JOSE

WHEREAS, the passing of National Artist for Literature Francisco Sionil Jose is a great loss to our nation;

WHEREAS, his distinguished works and achievements in the field of Literature helped in the preservation of Filipino culture and identity, and contributed to the artistic heritage of the Philippines and the world;

WHEREAS, to express the nation's solidarity with the family and friends of the departed in their time of mourning, a State Funeral will be held on 18 January 2022 at the Libingan ng mga Bayani in honor of the memory and legacy of National Artist Francisco Sionil Jose; and

WHEREAS, Section 27 (k), Chapter 1 of the Implementing Rules and Regulations of Republic Act No. 8491 or the "Flag and Heraldic Code of the Philippines," provides that the President or Congress may order the national flag to be flown at half-mast, as a sign of mourning on all buildings and places where it is displayed, on the day of interment of a recipient of national order and decoration;

NOW, THEREFORE, I, RODRIGO ROA DUTERTE, President of the Republic of the Philippines, by virtue of the powers vested in me by the Constitution and existing laws, do hereby declare 18 January 2022 as a Day of National Mourning over the passing of National Artist Francisco Sionil Jose.

The national flag shall be flown at half-mast from sunrise to sunset, on all government buildings and installations throughout the Philippines and abroad, on 18 January 2022.

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand and caused the seal of the Republic of the Philippines to be affixed.

DONE in the City of Manila, this 17th day of January, in the year of Our Lord, Two Thousand and Twenty-Two.

Published in the Official Gazette, Vol. 118, No. 6, Page 914 on February 7, 2022.