President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. issued Proclamation No. 678, declaring Tuesday, Sept. 3, 2024, as a Day of National Mourning over the passing of Manlilikha ng Bayan Federico Caballero.

“The death of Manlilikha ng Bayan Federico Caballero is a great loss to our nation, and it is appropriate to honor his outstanding commitment to the preservation of the Panay Bukidnon cultural and artistic heritage,” the President said in Proclamation 678 signed by Executive Secretary Lucas Bersamin.

With the President’s issuance, 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 Sept. 3, 2024.

Caballero, of the Panay Bukidnon community in Calinog, Iloilo, was declared a Manlilikha ng Bayan in 2000 in recognition of his commitment to safeguarding and propagating the Sugidanon tradition of his community.

He was conferred the Gawad sa Manlilikha ng Bayan award for his expertise in the Sugidanon, the epics of Central Panay.

Republic Act No. 8491, or the “Flag and Heraldic Code of the Philippines,” provides that the Philippine flag shall 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  a national order and decoration. PND