On June 12, 2009, the City of Legazpi will celebrate its 50th anniversary as a chartered city coinciding with the 111th Philippine Independence Day. The joint celebration will have the theme “Kagitingan, Kagalingan at Kasipagan Tungo sa Tunay na Kalayaan”.

Legazpi: Gleaming at 50

The celebration will kick off in the morning of June 12th with a Eucharistic Celebration at the St. Gregory the Great Cathedral. The Philippine National Anthem will be played by the Philippine National Police Region V band. City Mayor Noel Rosal will then deliver the welcome message.

Albay Gov. Joey Sarte Salceda will introduce the guest speaker, Budget Secretary Rolando Andaya, who will deliver the Independence Day and Legazpi Charter Day Anniversary message. Director Ernesto Bihis of the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) Region 5 will deliver the closing remarks.

Local government officials and guests will then proceed to the City Hall compound for a wreath-laying ceremony at the bust of Don Miguel Lopez de Legazpi, the Spanish conquistador after whom the city was named. The celebration will be highlighted by a mega job fair at the Albay Astrodome and a civic-military parade commencing at 2 p.m. from Vel-Amor Subdivision to Peñaranda Park.

Legazpi holds a unique distinction of being proclaimed a city three times in its history. It became a city for the first time under the Becerra Law of 1892 but was dissolved after the American occupation in 1900. Legazpi became a city for the second time (with Legazpi and Daraga combined) on December 15, 1948 (Republic Act No. 306) but was dissolved again on June 8, 1954 (Republic Act No. 993). Legazpi became a city for the third time (without Daraga) on June 12, 1959 under Republic Act No. 2234.