ANGELES CITY, Pampanga — To give the people time to observe the death anniversary of Kapampangan hero Jose Abad Santos, it is a non-working holiday today for both public and private establishments here, the city government announced.

Mayor Francis Nepomuceno said Angeles City, in compliance with Republic Act 8815 (An Act Including the City of Angeles in the Coverage of the Jose Abad Santos Day, Amending for the Purpose RA 7552 and for other Purposes), is observing for the second time under his administration the martyrdom of patriot Abad Santos.

The law was passed by the House of Representatives and the Senate on August 17,1999 and May 29, 2000, respectively.

Mayor Nepomuceno said that every Kapampangan or Angeleño should emulate the courage and sacrifices Chief Justice Abad Santos had shown.

“It is one way of honoring a great Kapampangan leader who never gave up his principles and chose to die in the hands of our enemy for our country’s freedom,” Nepomuceno said.

Santos, considered one of the greatest Filipino hero of World War II, was born in San Fernando, Pampanga. His eldest brother, Assemblyman Pedro Abad Santos, was the founder of the Socialist Party of the Philippines and a well-known defender of the poor and the oppressed.

Santos, grandfather of Sen. Jamby Madrigal, was the fifth Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of the Philippines. He was executed by Japanese forces on May 2, 1942 in Malabang, Lanao del Sur.

The commemoration of his death was mistakenly set on May 7 because “at first it was thought that Santos was killed on May 7, 1942,” said former Supreme Court Justice Ramon Aquino, the patriot’s biographer.

Santos is best remembered for his words to his son Pepito: “Huwag kang umiyak, anak! Ipakita mong matapang ka. Bihira, hindi lahat ay nagkakaruon ng pagkakataong mamatay para sa sariling bayan.”(Do not cry, my son, show to these people that you are brave. It is an honor to die for one's country. Not everybody has that chance.)