Panay Island commemorates today, Feb. 11, the death anniversary of Evelio Bellaflor Javier.
Under Republic Act. No. 7601, Feb. 11 of every year is a special non-working holiday in the provinces of Antique, Iloilo, Capiz, and Aklan.
Javier, then governor of Antique, was brutally gunned down in broad daylight on February 11, 1986 at the peak of the snap presidential elections between the late former presidents Corazon Aquino and Ferdinand Marcos.
His death delivered the coup de grace to the people’s bottled up resentment against the Marcos dictatorship.
Javier, a close friend of the Aquino family, was killed in front of the provincial capitol. His assassination was allegedly ordered by Arturo Pacificador, former assemblyman and ally of ousted dictator Marcos.
Pacificador surrendered to authorities, but he was acquitted by the Antique Regional Trial Court in 2004. His co-accused were given life terms after found guilty.IMT
