JULY, JULIO, HULYO

The southwest monsoon, locally known as habagat, brings steady rains in July.

For 250 years, the galleon that sailed between Manila and Acapulco timed its departure and arrival according to the monsoons. If the ship left too early, it could fall into the doldrums, for there would be no trade winds to blow it northward and carry it out into the Pacific. If it left too late, it was likely to encounter hurricanes, or baguios, along the way.

Based on data acquired by the Manila Observatory, the Jesuit Federico Faura announced the arrival of a typhoon on July 7, 1879. It was the first official storm warning in the Far East.

The Heritage Cards for this month of August

Apolinario Mabini, the Sublime Paralytic, did not think that taking up arms against the oppressor was enough to stage a revolution. In his writings, he emphasized the need for a change of heart, an internal and moral revolution, to pave the way for the birth of a new social order. Mabini was born on July 23, 1864.

July On July 3, 1892, Jose Rizal founded La Liga Filipina, the Propaganda Movement’s last-ditch effort to avert a bloody revolution. But Rizal was arrested and deported to Dapitan shortly after. On hearing about Rizal’s arrest, Andres Bonifacio organized the Katipunan on July 7. The movement would start the revolution four years later. In 1807, an uprising lasting two weeks gave the Spanish authorities in Ilocos the jitters. It erupted on July 16, when angry, ill-armed Ilocano farmers stormed the Spanish headquarters in Piddig, Ilocos Norte. They were protesting the state monopoly of basi (sugarcane wine).