Evelio Javier Day, officially Governor Evelio B. Javier Day, is a special non-working public holiday in the Philippines to "commemorate the death anniversary of the late Governor Evelio B. Javier" in the four provinces that comprise

Panay Island Panay is the sixth-largest and fourth-most populous island in the Philippines, with a total land area of and a total population of 4,542,926, as of 2020 census. Panay comprises 4.4 percent of the entire population of the country. The City of I ...

, the

Philippines The Philippines, officially the Republic of the Philippines, is an Archipelagic state, archipelagic country in Southeast Asia. Located in the western Pacific Ocean, it consists of List of islands of the Philippines, 7,641 islands, with a tot ...

, specifically

Antique An antique () is an item perceived as having value because of its aesthetic or historical significance, and often defined as at least 100 years old (or some other limit), although the term is often used loosely to describe any object that i ...

Capiz Capiz (), officially the Province of Capiz (Capiznon language, Capiznon/Hiligaynon language, Hiligaynon: ''Kapuoran sang Capiz''; ), is a Provinces of the Philippines, province in the central part of the Western Visayas Regions of the Philippines ...

Aklan Aklan, officially the Province of Aklan, is a Provinces of the Philippines, province in the Western Visayas region of the Philippines. Its capital and largest town is Kalibo. The province is situated in the northwest portion of Panay, Panay Islan ...

, and

Iloilo Iloilo ( ; ), officially the Province of Iloilo (; ; ; ), is a province in the Philippines located in the Western Visayas region. Its capital and largest city is Iloilo City, the regional center of Western Visayas and politically independen ...

. It has been a holiday on

every year since 1987. Evelio Javier was a politician who was assassinated in the closing days of

Ferdinand Marcos Ferdinand Emmanuel Edralin Marcos Sr. (September 11, 1917 – September 28, 1989) was a Filipino lawyer, politician, dictator, and Kleptocracy, kleptocrat who served as the tenth president of the Philippines from 1965 to 1986. He ruled the c ...

's presidency. A staunch supporter of then-presidential candidate

Corazon Aquino María Corazón "Cory" Sumulong Cojuangco-Aquino (; January 25, 1933 – August 1, 2009) was a Filipino politician who served as the 11th president of the Philippines and the first woman president in the country, from Presidency of Corazon ...

, he was shot on February 11, 1986, four days after the Snap Elections of 1986 were held but while the counting was continuing. The assassination of Evelio Javier helped lead to Marcos's fall from power during the

People Power Revolution The People Power Revolution, also known as the EDSA Revolution or the February Revolution, were a series of popular Demonstration (people), demonstrations in the Philippines, mostly in Metro Manila, from February 22 to 25, 1986. There was a ...

, His assassination is seen as a tipping point in Marcos's fall. Javier was killed in

Freedom Park In the Philippines, a freedom park is a centrally located public space where political gatherings, rallies and demonstrations may be held without the need of prior permission from government authorities. Similar to free speech zones in the United ...

San Jose, Antique San Jose de Buenavista, officially the Municipality of San Jose de Buenavista (; ; ), is a municipality and capital of the province of Antique, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 65,140 people, making it the m ...

allegedly under orders from former Assemblyman and Marcos ally Arturo Pacificador but Pacificador was acquitted of charges in 2004. Today Freedom Park is the center of Javier Day celebrations.

References

See also