Gemma Cruz Araneta

Tragic and mysterious

2011-08-17T06:53:00.000-07:00

He was a charismatic and brilliant organizer who had a way with people. Perhaps it was because he infected them with his passionate and militant advocacy for the cause. His primordial aim, like many of his peers, was to unify an emerging nation and its people. He did not have a doctorate degree, no one is certain where he graduated, but reliable sources say his parents could afford a private tutor. Home schooling made him a voracious reader; he was a self-made man who worked for two multinational firms; he had an ear for music and wrote patriotic poems. He joined what was then considered a radical movement the leader of which was immediately captured by government authorities so he establisihed a secret society that was hunted but feared, specially after the its unexpected initial attack that thundered from Balara to San Pedro Makati to Santa Ana and struck right at the heart of Manila. Today ( 10 May) is the 114th anniversary of his tragic and mysterious death at the hands of fellow fighters, at the foot of a forlorn mountain in Maragondon, Cavite.

The summary execution of Gat Andres Bonifacio after a hasty trial exposed some horrifying defects of our national character like regionalism, deviousness and divisiveness, our pitfalls to this very day. To commemorate the death of the Supremo of the Katipunan, I read through "Mga Kasulatan sa Pagllilitis " (Agoncillo, 1963). The brothers Bonifacio--Andres and Procopio--were accused of "nagtipon ng kawal barilan at sandatahan ng walang pahintulot...at parating gumagawa ng pulong na lihim" (illegal army and possession of arms, secret assemblies) Utterly grave was , "May panukalang ihapay itong pamahalaan at patayin ang Presidente [Aguinaldo]" (intent to overthrown government and assasinate the president) They were sentenced to death, "parusang kamatayan", but curiously enough, in the same document, the death penalty was commuted to "destierrong walang taning dusang gaganapin sa isang tanging lugal nahiwalay at babantayan." (perpetual exile at an isolated and well-guarded place)

So what happened? Why were Andres and Procopio killed just the same? On the 97th birthday of former President Emilio Aguinaldo in 1969, historian Teodoro Agoncillo read a paper at a conference of the Philippine Historical Asscociation where he recapitulated certain facts. He said that Aguinaldo decided to exile Andres and Procopio Bonifacio instead of executing them but was overrruled by the Council of War. Consequently, in a letter signed by General M.Noriel, a certain Major Makapagal was ordered to kill the brothers and had he failed to mete the punishment, Makapagal would have been punished with all the rigors of the Spanish Military Court.

Very few know that Andres Bonifacio had joined the La Liga Filipina established by Jose Rizal on 3 July 1892, and had successfully organized its local councils. When Rizal was arrested and hastily exiled to Dapitan , Bonifacio founded the Katipunan, attracting Liga members who saw the need for more drastic measures. Surprisingly enough, Bonifacio's death is commemorated yearly in Maragondon, Cavite but only since 2008 in Manila, under Mayor Alfredo S. Lim's second incumbency. On the day of his tragic and cruel death, Gat Andres Bonifacio is given military honors at his shrine beside City Hall and his other monuments and markers all over the city are embellished with wreaths of summer flowers.

Mabini's eulogy

2011-08-17T06:07:00.000-07:00

The most precious, lofty, heart-rending but profoundly inspiring tribute to Jose Rizal was written by Apolinario Mabini in a book he wrote during his exile in Guam, La Revolucion Filipina. You will find this awesome eulogy in Chapter VIII, "First Stage of the Revolution" ; I have read it many times and have wept each time. Mabini did know what it was all about!

He wrote: "In contrast to Burgos who wept because he died guiltless, Rizal went to the execution ground calm and even cheerful, to show that he was happy to sacrifice his life, which he had dedicated to the good of all the Filipinos, confident that in love and gratitiude, they would always remember him and follow his example and teaching. In truth, the merit of Rizal's sacrifice consists precisely in that it was voluntary and conscious. He had known perfectly well, that, if he denounced the abuses which the Spaniards were committing in the Philippines, they would not sleep in peace until they had encompassed his ruin; yet, he did so because , if the abuses were not exposed, they would never be remedied. From the day Rizal understood the misfortune of his native land and decided to work to redress them, his vivid imagination never ceased to picture to him at every moment of his life the terrors of the death that awaited him; thus he learned not to fear it, and had no fear when it came to take him away. The life of Rizal, from the time he dedicated it to the service of his native land was, therefore, a continuing death, bravely endured until the end for love of his countrymen. God grant that they will know how to render to him the only tribute worthy of his memory: the imitation of his virtues."

Let us then imitate Rizal's virtues as a gift for his 150th birthday.

(Source: Mabini, Apolinario, The Philippine Revolution, translated into English by Leon Ma. Guerrero, 1969)

"Lynching" an ambassador

2011-04-23T07:21:00.000-07:00

Figuratively speaking, that is what happened to Mr. Carlos Pascual, USA ambassador to Mexico until recently ( March 2011) . The dramatic word "lynch" came from a lady radio commentator whose name I did not catch. Wikileaks had revealed that in a report to Pres. Barack Obama, Amb. Pascual said the fight against organized crime is inefficient due to internal strife in the army and navy , described Mexican President Felipe Calderon as "inseguro" and the presidential aspirants of the ruling party, PAN (Partido Accion Nacional) as "hombres grises" meaning colorless. ( I am quoting from "La Jornada", a local rag.)

Pres. Felipe Calderon felt betrayed and hurt, to say the least. As expected, Amb . Pascual was attacked relentlessly by legislators, the academe, the labor sector and the public in general. Had he not resigned, he could have been declared "persona non grata." However, US Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton, came to the rescue, praised Pascual's good work in helping Mexico fight drug lords and announced that the ambassador would stay for a bit to insure orderly transition. She declared that his replacement will be appointed after the Mexican presidential elections (next year!) ; a charge d'affaires will take over in the meantime. Was that a veiled threat?

Amb. Carlos Pascual, a Cuban-American, used to be connected with the Brookings Institute and, curiously enough, his previous diplomatic assignments were to "precarious" states like the Ukraine, so when he was sent to Mexico, there was a lot of "eyebrow raising" here. Be that as it may, Amb. Pascual made frequent visits to Los Pinos (Mexico's Malacanan) , had the ear of the President with whom he was reported to have discussed and perrhaps planned "Rapido y Furioso" (Fast and Furious) a controversial deal that secretly sent 2,000 high-powered arms to Mexico, the unmanned flights of drone planes over Mexican territory, and heaven knows what other obscure operations which Mexicans fear may be violating their Constitution.

In a radio interview, Mexixcan historian, Dr. Lorenzo Meyer, said that was certainly not the first time a US ambassador to Mexico has had shown his hand. In 1853, Amb. James Gadsen negotiated with the corrupt Pres. Antonio de Santa Ana the sale of a vast part of Mexican territory to the USA. The " Gadsen Purchase" so infuriated the Mexican people there were many uprisings and revolts against Santa Ana who was overthrown by the Ayutla revolution.

Dr. Meyer also related that in 1912, when Francisco Madero became president after the dictatorship of Porfirio Diaz, US Ambassador Henry Lane Wilson thought him a weak reformist so he openly cultivated the friendship of Madero's rivals like Gen. Victoriano Huerta. Emboldened, the latter rose against Madero and during a meeting, supposedly at the US embassy, Amb. Wilson advised Huerta to "do what was best for Mexico". Huerta lost no time and Madero was assasinated. For his part, US Pres. William H. Taft believed that Amb. Wilson had gone too far and bade him to stop meddlding in Mexican political affairs. Had there been Wikileaks in those tumultuous times, Ambassadors Gadsen and Wilson could have been lynched.# (written in Mexico city, March 2011)

His Lolo Leon

2011-04-23T06:53:00.000-07:00

A few days after Carmen Guerrero - Nakpil's latest book , HEROES & VILLAINS, was launched my brother, Toto Cruz (the publisher) said, he had an incredible story to tell me so I should go to his place directly after work and have dinner there.

According to Toto, late one evening, he caught a glimpse of someone buying a copy of Mommy's book at the reception desk of his office and the secrtary was surprised when the man said he was buying the book because his grandfather, Leon, was on the cover. Intrigued, my brother dashed out of his office, assistant Peter Lee at his heels, to look for the mysterious stranger. They had hoped to catch him by the elevators but he was nowhere to be found so they rushed down to the front desk of the building where visitors had to retrive their IDs.

"We sighted Franz when he was already walking away from Tower One (of the Philippine Stock Exchange) ," Toto related. "Peter gave chase seeing he was carrying a red book (color of the cover), so we invited him to the brokers' lounge." Franz Villafuerte, grandson of Gen. Leon Villafuerte, works as a government securities dealer at the Development Bank of the Philippines. His Lolo Leon lived to a ripe old age of over 100 and passed on in 1956. Like Macario Sakay, his friend and fellow revolutionary, he had an "anting-anting" which he bequeathed to Franz's father but which his mother buried in their garden. I can only imagine why she could have done that ; I have two Rizalista "anting-anting" which I have not quite deciphered but are on display in my living-room.

Toto told Franz, whom he described as a handsome mestizillo, that our mother put that famous group picture of Gen. Macario Sakay and his comrades-at-arms, Leon Villafuerte included, on the cover of her latest book because she is an admirer of the former. Manila Mayor Alfredo S. Lim , another Sakay die-hard, had a monument built in his honor at the Plaza Morga in Tondo. Franz had not heard about it. Toto continued to say that yet another Sakay stalwart, his sister Gemma, will surely want to interview him about his Lolo Leon. (to be continued)

His Lolo Leon, 2

2011-04-23T06:30:00.000-07:00

Franz Villafuerte, grandson of Gen. Leon Villafuerte, said he would like to research more abour his Lolo Leon. He also told my brother, Toto Cruz, that they have a photo of his Lolo Leon in their living room, so I wonder if it is the same one that is on the cover of my Mother's book (HEROES & VILLAINS) , that famous group picture of Gen. Macario Sakay and his officers, Villafuerte included. Well-groomed and dressed in crisp white "cerradas", did they know they were posing for posterity?

Considering how the post-Aguinaldo revolutionary guerrillas were being hunted and killed by the Americans, the Bringandage Act of 1903 punished them with death and/or life imprisonment with hard labor. It is heartening to know that Franz's elders did not conceal their blood ties with Gen. Leon Villafuerte even if he had joined Sakay who was branded an outlaw or "bandolero" by the American colonial government.

Gen. Leon Villafuerte was a follower of loyal "magdiwang" Gen. Luciano San Miguel who never stopped fighting, not even after the uneasy truce declared at Biak na Bato, nor after President Emilio Aguinaldo was captured in Palanan , Isabela, in 1901. When Gen. San Miguel was killed in battle in 1903, many of his men joined Macario Sakay, among them Leon Villafuerte.#

Legislating Rizal, 1

2011-01-11T03:53:00.000-08:00

Sixty years after Dr. Jose Rizal was execusted in Bagumbayan, mere mention of his two novels, the Noli Me Tangere (1887) and El Filibusterismo (1891) , could stilll whip up a bitter controversy. Firebrand of the Senate, Claro. M. Recto, was reported to have described Rizal's books as, " a constant and inspiring source of patriotism with which the minds of the youth , specially during their formative and decisive years in school, should be suffused."

It was still the post-war, a grim period of rebuilding a devastated economy, recovering shreds of natonal self-respect while choking on unequal treaties so, naturally, there was a resurgence of nationalism. Senator Claro M. Recto invoked Jose Rizal and authored a bill which made his novels (the unexpurgated versions) compulsory reading in all colleges and universities in the Philippines. This was sponsored by the Committee on Education headed by Senator Jose P. Laurel and supported by all senators with the exception of three--Franciso (Soc) Rodrigo, Decoroso Rosales and Mariano Cuenco.

There was weeping and gnashing of teeth at committee hearings that began in April 1956. Vehemently opposed to the bill were the Catholic hierarchly, the Catholic Action of the Philippines, Congregation of Missions, Knights of Columbus, the Catholic Teachers Guild and other Catholic organizations. Stinging commentaries by radio personalities of Church-supported stations called Rizal a ' 'thing of the past and his books an "inadequate Bible of Philippine nationalism today."

With daggers drawn, the Veteranos de la Revolucion (Spirit of 1896) rallied behind Senators Recto and Laurel. Indignant, so did the Alagad ni Rizal, Freemasons, and the Knights of Rizal. The archaic posture of the Church infuriated even the Book Lovers Society. They all affirmed that prohibiting generations of Filipino youth from reading the novels and works of Rizal was tantamount to executing the hero all over again, just like what the Spanish friars and colonial authorities did.

Many of those who opposed the Noli and Fili had not read the novels carefully, or not read them at all, except perhaps for a certain Fr. Jesus Cavanna who tried to slaughter the nationalists with a curious numbers game. He said that in the Noli, out of 332 pages only 25 had patriotic passages while 120 pages attacked the Church; as for the Fili, out of 293 pages only 41 alluded to patriotism and 80 were anti-Catholic. He must have gone through the novels with a fine-toothed comb but interestingly, he is the very same Fr. Cavanna who was inextricably involved in the Rizal retraction hoax.

Source: Totanes, Stephen Henry S., "The historical impact of the Noli Me Tangere and El Filibusterismo" (Budhi Papers, #7, Ateneo de Manila University Press, 1987)

Legislating Rizal, 2

2011-01-11T03:18:00.000-08:00

No legislation was ever so divisive; none has so brutally gashed old national wounds. Never since the Revolution had the Catholic Church been the object of such derisive indignation.

Heading the Veteranos de la Revolucion, Emilio Aguinaldo, President of the First Philippine Republic, denounced the Filipino clergy for putting themselves "under the yoke of the old Spanish friars, against whom the Filipinos of 1896 had risen in arms..."[with] our blood spilled on the battlefields." He demanded the true separation of Church and State and said that Rizal's novels were "banned by the Spanish authorities who had kept Filipinos subject for more than 300 years under the guise of Christianity".

It was Magdalo times all over again ! Four thousand (4,000) revolucionarios gathered at Imus, Cavite, some gave moving testimonies of how they risked their lives just to be able to read the NOLI and FILI when still under Spanish subjugation. They unanimously approved a manifesto calling "un-Filipino and morally repulsive" any opposition to Senator Recto's bill. An old venerable declared he would stop going to church until the bill was approved. Another exclaimed, "My loyalty to religion ends where my loyalty to the country begins."

The Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines insisted that Rizal attacked "the possibility of miracles, purgatory, the sacraments, indulgences, prayers, disparaged the veneration of saints, images, relics, the Blessed Mother and questioned Papal authority. Worst, Rizal doubted "God's omnipotence". In a pastoral letter, Bishop Rufino Santos of Manila explained their opposition to the "compulsory reading in their entirety of such books in any school where Catholic students may be affected."

Senator Laurel, head of the Education Committee, modified Recto's bill for expediency's sake by allowing exemptions for "reasons of religious belief." On 12 June 1956, Republic Act. No. 1425 (Rizal Law) was finally passed. Thus, the writings of Rizal especially the unexpurgated versions of the NOLI and FILI, became compulsory for all public and private schools in the Philippines.

Source: Locsin, Teodoro, "The Church Under Attack", "Phillippines FreePress", May 1956

Forging Rizal, 1

2011-01-09T06:29:00.000-08:00

To this day (30 Dec 2010), one hundred and fourteen years after Dr. Jose Rizal was executed at Bagumbayan, the myth about his retraction continues to confuse, if not obfuscate. Although the retraction strategy was hatched by Spanish Jesuits in the 19th century, soon after they were discombobulated by the NOLI ME TANGERE, Rizal's first seditious novel published in Belgium in 1837 , as late as 1961, a facsimile of the alleged retraction document, supposedly signed by the hero, was printed in the textbook PHILIPPINE HISTORY FOR HIGH SCHOOLS by Dr. Gregorio F. Zaide.

Incredibly prescient, Rizal knew he was going to be vilified after death. When he returned to Manila in 1887, he visited the Ateneo, talked to Padre Faura who told him that everything he had written in the NOLI was true, but that he may lose his head for it and if he should persist in his beliefs (Masonry) he should never again set foot in his alma mater. The Jesuits were probably alarmed because if their famous alumnus had turned his back at Mother Church, others would eventually follow suit.

In July 1892, four days after he established La Liga Filipina in Manila, Rizal was arrested and hastily deported to the wilderness of Dapitan. According to Rafael Palma, an early biographer of Rizal, the Jesuits there offered him quarters at their mission house (probably the most liveable) but only after a spiritual retreat during which he would recant his anti-religious and politically subversive ideas. Needless to say, the steadfast Rizal politely refused.

From his execution on 30 December 1896 to the 1960's six (6) retractions all ludicrous and blatant forgeries have surfaced. These are: (1) "Rizal 's Retraction", Photostat copy, in Jose M. Hernandez's, RIZAL, (Alemars, 1950); (2) "Rizal's Retraction" in "I Abjure Masonry" allegedly by Jose Rizal, San Beda College pamphlet, 1950; (3) "Rizal's holograph", in RIZAL'S UNFADING GLORY, by Fr. Jesus M. Cavanna (revised edition, 1950); (4) "Facsimile of Rizal's Retraction", SELECTED READINGS FROM RIZAL, Ricardo C. Bassig, 1959; (5) "Facsimile of Rizal's Retraction" , PHILIPPINE HISTORY FOR HIGH SCHOOLS, Gregorio F. Zaide, `1961; (6) "Facsimile of Rizal's Retraction", "Statement of the Catholic Hierarchy of the Philippines", 1956.

Absolutely no one has seen the original retraction document from where all these facsimiles were supposedly taken. Amazing, to say the least.

Source: THE FORGERY OF THE RIZAL RETRACTION AND JOSEPHINE'S AUTOBIOGRAPHY, Runes, Ildefonso T. & Buenafe, Mamerto M. (Pro-Patria Publishers, 1962)

On July 1892, four days

Forging Rizal, 2

2011-01-09T05:45:00.000-08:00

This fascinating book, THE FORGERY OF THE RIZAL RETRACTION AND JOSEPHINE'S AUTOBIOGRAPHY, by Ildefonso T. Runes and Mamerto M. Buenafe is worth reprinting for the 150th birthday of the national hero. First published in 1969 by the Manila-based Pro-Patria Publishers, there have been no other editions.

According to the authors, a certain Fr. Manuel Garcia claimed to have dscovered the retraction document in the archives of the Archbishopric of Manila after which reproductions were circulated to interested parties like historians Jose Hernandez and Gregorio Zaide who printed the facsimiles in their books for Phhilippine schools, obviously without first scrutinizing the original. So did editor Ricardo Bassig, Fr. Jesus Cavanna , and San Beda College.

Authors Runes and Buenafe were baffled by the discrepancies in the facisimiles themselves, considering these were supposed to be copies of the original document. In Hernandez's book, RIZAL, the date of the facsimile was--"Manila 29 de Diciembre de 1890"--which the authors believed Rizal could not have signed because he was in Madrid at that time finishing his second novel , EL FILIBUSTERISMO. Curiously, in the San Beda College pamphlet, " I Abjure Masonry", allegedly by Rizal and also printed in 1959, the " 0 " of 1890 was half erased and appeared like a new moon or a letter " C ".

In Fr. Jesus Cavanna's book, RIZAL'S UNFADING GLORY (1956), the dateline was "1896" and was so "heavily doctored" observed Runes and Buenafe that the entire text of the facsimile was traced over to match the thickness of the dubious date. Zaide's textbook, printed in 1961, had a more carefully retouched "1896". The discrepancies described above are illustrated on pages 86 and 87 of Runes and Buenafe's revealing book.

Evidently, the mastermind of the retration forgery aimed to neutralize, if not kill the ideas of Rizal. Rizal himself told his close friends that he would be slandered after death. Had he retracted, all his writings especially the two novels, would have been reduced to worthless pulp. Moreover, the retration hoax had to include his mistress, Josephine Bracken, and that romantic tale about their marriage before he was led to Bagumbayan. Rizal did want to marry her while in Dapitan, but the parish priest there refused to consecrate their union because he was a Mason and a filibustero. Clearly, a last- minute marriage was meant to reinforce the crude retraction hoax. Since he allegedly abjured Masonry and returned to the fold, Rizal could then receive the Sacrament of Matrimony.

Rizal remains polemical even beyond the grave. Sixty years after his execution, in 1956, the Catholic hierarchy strongly opposed a bill that required the teaching of Jose Rizal's life, labors and writings in Philippine schools. Despite the raging controvery, President Ramon Masaysay purposefully signed Republic Act 1425.

When Rizal left

2010-12-25T05:46:00.000-08:00

"Nothing new here, and we do not see much of each other; you can imagine how aloof we have become, each one going to wherever the wind blows him. Since you left, big groups of "Chinese" [Filipino expats were then called "Chinos"] no longer congregate...; it seems that a strong hurricane of egoism has shattered the harmonious relations that were evident among our countrymen. Today, there are no more tertulias like we had before when friends would meet in whatever place to share and exchange impressions, if at all, there are a few groups...that are the source of unjust rumors; others hurl complaints at one another; as a result, good relations are dampened...The (Filipino) colony needs something that can remedy the situation; in that context, I can assure you that your absence caused the malady."(original in Spanish, loose translation is mine)

That was a letter to Jose Rizal from Ceferino de Leon written in Madrid on 2 March 1886. A native of San Miguel de Mayumo, Bulacan, Mr. de Leon was the scion of a prosperous family who could afford to send him to Manila to study and later to Spain to read law at the Universidad de Madrid. He had already heard of Jose Rizal before meeting him personally in Madrid.

After receiving his diploma, Mr. de Leon returned to the Philippines to practice law. Like many other ilustrados, he joined the Revolution and was appointed representative of Benguet in the Malolos Congress. His daughter Trinidad married Manuel Roxas who became President of the Philippines, when Independence (declared on 12 June 1898) was finally restored to us after the Second World War.

Unwittingly, the de Leon letter reveals an irrefragable aspect of Rizal's character that has not been studied thoroughly. Rizal is often portrayed as a "stand alone" hero, aloof but elegant in that black winter coat, brooding, writing seditious novels, studying and reading in the dead of night, charming women with his erudite conversation, making memorable extemporaneous speeches , healing the sick, teaching etc. Apparently, he was a sagacious and patient consensus and coalition builder who ably united the multifarious Filipino community in Madrid.

Rizal's primordial objective was to transform Filipinos through education and love of country, that is why he left voluminous records of his ideas, historical annotations, analysis of colonial society and insights into our future. But, on top of all that, he also had a talent for organizing people to strive for a common goal and together build a nation. That was why he returned to the Philippines and founded La Liga Filipina; from writing, he moved on to organizing a socioeconomic movement.a brotherhood. No wonder he had to be eliminated!

Source: Rizal Ante Sus Contemporaneos, (National Historical Institute, 1961)

Rizal and Consuelo

2010-12-25T05:12:00.000-08:00

Who was Consuelo and why didn't any of our chatty historians link her to Rizal? After all, he used to be a guest at her fathe's residence in Madrid with other Filipino expats who enjoyed the charming company of such a refined Spanish senorita.

Consuelo wrote this revealing entry in her diary: "They say that he is attracted to someone too tall for him and has done everything to get over it but to no avail. I listen to him with pleasure as he speaks so well. I'm afraid he might think I am leading him on, which is true, but I happen to like his conservation. I let myself get carried away and when he leaves, I feel sad; [but] when he is back, I do exactly the same thing" (Spanish original, loose translation is mine)

Consuelo Ortiga y Perez was the daughter of Don Pablo Ortiga y Rey who was once Alcalde de Manila and later appointed president of the Consejo de Filipinas in Madrid. I suspect that the "someone too tall" for Jose Rizal was Consuelo herself and since they were always seen so engrossed in each other (his conversation must have been enthralling) Rizal's friends probably teased him about his seemingly fatal attraction for Consuelo's Spanish eyes.

Perhaps Rizal was infatuated and flattered because Consuelo was such a good listener and coquettish at that. In 1883, he wrote a poem entitled " A C." that was for Consuelo Ortiga. Although Rizal captured the fair senorita's mind with elegant prose and impassioned poetry, they were not destined for each other. It was Eduardo Lete, his batchmate at the Ateneo who eventually won Consuelo's heart.

Source: Rizal Ante Sus Contemporaneos, (National Historical Institute, 1961)

Antonio Luna read Rizal

2010-12-25T04:18:00.000-08:00

Antonio Luna, who became the commanding general of the First Philippine Republic's Armed Forces, read the NOLI ME TANGERE and its sequel EL FILIBUSTERISMO, seditious novels by his friend and compatriot, Jose P. Rizal. He must have been so inspired after he read the NOLI that in a review he wrote for "La Solidaridad" A. Luna described it as bearing the "seal of truth" and vividly exposing the humiliating conditions of colonial society, cleverly concealed by layers of "beautiful lies".

Luna said Rizal's novels garnered praises and were deeply appreciated for having lifted the "veil of inexplicable mysteries" while awakening and stimulating the minds and sentiments of the youth to take up the challenge found in the FILI. I suppose Luna was alluding to Fr. Florentino's poignant words in the final chapter.

He described Rizal as being in a class all his own, but because he had become highly controversial, "he is often judged severely by those who want to diminish his worth." On the other hand, Rizal " is smothered with the incense of adulation, surrounded by a tempestuous whirlwind of irrational and mindless enthusiasm" which Luna hoped would not be like artificial fireworks, dazzling but all too brief.

Luna wrote that before Rizal came into the scene other patriots had advocated Filipino civilization and championed progressive ideas like the three martyred priest Burgos, Gomez and Zamora, (unlamented,Luna mourned ) liberal-minded lawyers like Antonio Regidor and of course, the paladins of the Propaganda Movement, Marcelo del Pilar and Lopez Jaena. They all symbolized a transformation that will inevitably lead the Philippines to progress. However, it was Jose Rizal who defined more concretely the ideas of those noble precursors by giving them flesh and substance, life, energy and dynamism through the characters he created--Elias, Capitan Tiago, Tasio, Ibarra and Maria Clara, and other personages of the NOLI and FILI. As a result, the revolutionary ideas espoused by all Filipino patriots became more widespread.

Significantly, the disciplinarian Antonio Luna also commented that the youth of the 1884 generation were "cowardly and hypocritical, who behaved as if it were a crime to love the country" until Rizal, an extraordinary man, indicated how it should be done. (What could Luna have said about today's youth?)

Clandestinely shipped and smuggled into the Philippines, the NOLI and FILI were read and discussed in secret among circles of friends, in factories and workshops, even convents and classrooms, in cities as well as in isolated corners of the countryside. As expected, those caught with the books were apprehended by colonial authorities , but such vicious persecution only served to strengthen a just cause .

Source: article by Taga-Ilog, Antonio Luna's pseudonym, "La Solidaridad", October 1891.
(original in Spanish, loose translation is mine)

Rizal, a century hence

2010-12-25T03:55:00.000-08:00

A century and a half actually, by next year Jose Rizal would have turned a hundred and fifty. Monthly meetings are being held by the National Historical Commission of the Philippines which dutifully invites all historical associations, civic groups, the Knights of Rizal, and descendants of the hero. I have been receiving frantic email messages from friends in the academe, here and abroad, asking if something is being done for a meaningful celebration.
In my opinion, we should forget oratorical and essay writing contests for the simple reason that we hardly know what Rizal is all about. We have not bothered to fully decode the messages Rizal embedded in the voluminous writings he left behind.
For starters, I am going to reread Rizal's biographies , the serious scholarly ones by Craig, Coates, Palma, Guerrero, etc, to extract the development of the hero's political thoughts, instead of a mere chronology of his life and loves, which I did in college. Then, I will go directly to the source , perhaps it should be the other way around or maybe I should do both simultaneously.
I had the temerity to propose to the venerable Knights of Rizal a photographic documentation of all Rizal monuments starting from the very first one erected in Daet, Camarines Norte in 1899. They should get together with local government for the restoration and maintenance of the monuments under the guidance of the National Historical Commission. Your proposals are most welcome.

A galleon visits Manila

2010-10-15T00:58:00.001-07:00

The galleon trade enhanced Manila's importance as a trading center in Southeast Asia from 1565 to 1815 during which a total of 108 galleons plied the trans-Pacific route between Manila and Mexico. During those two and a half centuries, 30 galleons were reported shipwrecked, 10 in the treacherous currents of San Bernardino Straits, and four were captured by British pirates like Francis Drake (later honored with knighthood.)

An incredible range of products from Asia and the Americas were traded for Mexican silver which became the standard of exchange-- silk and cotton, porcelain ware, ivory carved religious images, coveted spices, sturdy metal grills to filigree jewelry, rice, tea, mangoes, exotic flowering plants, gold dust, wax, cordage, textiles from Manila, Ilocos (for galleon sails), embroidery from Lubang and Cebu (in lieu of Belian lace), carpets, furniture, tapestries, lacquer, etc, the bills of lading were mind-boggling. (Legarda, Benito, 1999)

So, when the galleon "Andalucia" dropped anchor at Pier 13 last Wednesday (October 6), I was disconcerted at how small it looked. How could they have tucked into the hull all the items in the above-mentioned inventory? Leaving Manila in July, the "habagat" season, the galleons would arrive in Acapulco in December, greeted by" ferias" and festivities during which merchants competed for the goods that would be distributed to other Spanish colonies and on mules across Mexico to the port of Vera Cruz and on to Europe.

The "Andalucia" is supposed to be a faithful replica of the Nao de Manila; I asked the captain who explained that the "Andalucia" is a medium-sized galleon with only 35 crew members but centuries ago, even these were manned by 225 sailors and officers. The Fundacion Nao Victoria based in Seville, Spain, also owns galleons with heavier tonnage and they sail around the world where they are welcomed by throngs of curious people; it took them 18 weeks to get to Manila from Seville.

Below the deck is the artillery room where I counted 10 cannons and spotted a keg of Tio Pepe jerez (sherry) tied securely to a post. I could not stand straight in the Admiral's room without bumping my head, but of course, people then were shorter. It was delightful to take the breeze on a kind of upper deck, in the olden days, the area was strictly for officers only. The weather cooperated, it did not rain for two days so the welcome cocktails hosted by the Spanish ambassador and the "sunset cocktails" of the Mayor of Manila the day after, were very well attended. During the day, there were long lines of people waiting for their turn to board and get a feel of the galleon, some were jokingly looking for slaves, others for Johnny Depp.

Vice-President Jejomar Binay came and so did Senator Loren Legarda. Mayor Lim invited the principals and heads of public and private schools in Manila and most of them trooped to Pier 13 for a blast from the past, while sipping cocktails and practicing their Spanish aboard the "Andalucia", the galleon that came to Manila.

What American teachers needed

2010-09-17T01:26:00.000-07:00

"Socially, attractive, possessing diplomacy , executive ability, tact, persistence, patience, hopefulness, and of course, teaching ability"--those were the qualities required of American teachers who came here aboard the "Thomas" in August 1901. Needless to say, none of them knew they were expected to be such paragons.

In her informative article "American Teachers and the Filipinos (1904) ," Helen P. Beattie listed all the above-mentioned virtues. She stressed the importance of "social gifts" because she found Filipinos to be "eminently social people" and if the American teacher wanted to be invited to "...their dinners, balls, dramas..."Thomasites had to refine their social skills.

On the other hand, Ms. Beattie cautioned American teachers about "surrendering" the ideals they had long cherished. Was she alluding to encounters with local government officials? She believed and was probably right that the Thomasites, "...can accomplish but little in construction, repair and furnishing of school buildings" without the aid of these local leaders. However, it would be wrong for them to assume an air of superiority and act as if "things not American are hopelessly bad."

In Mrs. Beattie's opinion, tact and diplomacy were indispensable qualities in dealing with Filipinos ," for a prouder , more sensitive people than these never lived." That was very true then but now we have all but lost it. (Source:"Bulletin of the American Historical Collection, July -September, 1984).

Distorted vision

2010-09-17T01:10:00.000-07:00

In his time, Jose Rizal was obsessed with the type of education available to the majority of Filipinos. His voluminous correspondence to family and friends, his articles for "La Solidaridad and his novels ( Noli Me Tangere and El Filibusterismo) all reflect his deep concern for the problems of education in the Philippines.

When Rizal was enrolled at the Universidad Central de Madrid (1882-1885) , he felt so invigorated by the liberal ideas of his mentors (Miguel Morayta and Francisco Pi y Margall) that he began to plan a colegio moderno where young Filipinos would be encouraged to think and analyze instead of learn obscurantist ideas by rote and memorization. Importantly, the colegio moderno would instill a sense of nationhood (sentimiento nacional) in future generations.

With nation-building foremost in his mind, Rizal was convinced that the key to material progress was scientific knowledge which served as a solid base for agriculture, industry, and commerce. History was of vital importance and it included the study of different religions and cultures. Curiously, hygiene was also one of the subjects, among several others.

To Jose Rizal, quality education was an indispensable requirement for personal transformation without which there could be no real social change or national redemption. Rizal came to that conclusion in the 19th century, sadly enough, after more than a hundred years, in the 21st century, we realize that our educational system has distorted Rizal's noble vision. It does not transform us for the better, much less awaken in each of us a sense of nationhood.

Midnight benchmarks

2010-05-31T23:51:00.000-07:00

According to a front page story in one of the local dailies, a 7.3 per cent growth of the gross domestic product (GDP) was registered in the first quarter of this year, compared to the moribund 0.5 percent of the same period in 2009. Amazing indeed, but suspicious nonetheless, even if election-related expenses were taken into account. The cynic in me feels that such glaringly optimistic and flattering reports about astounding last-minute economic growth can have only one purpose-- to erode our confidence in the in-coming government of president-apparent Noynoy Aquino.

Acting Secretary Augusto Santos of the National economic and Development authority (NEDA) said he expects the 7.3 percent GDP growth to be sustained in the second quarter. Why not? After all, the Arroyo administration will officially end on the last day of the second quarter. NEDA director for national policy, Dennis arroyo, was pleasantly shocked because traditionally, first quarter growth is never ever that high. However, warning signals were emitted by the above-mentioned agency.

The El Nino and La Nina are tops on the national worry-list followed by Greece's debt crisis which might have adverse effects on our lucrative industry, the exportation of overseas workers. Then follow the endemic lack of competitiveness, inadequate infrastructure (specially for tourism), low tax collection and the high cost of energy. Agriculture shockingly posted zero growth.

I caught bits of a radio report that said something about six million jobs being generated by the still present dispensation; whether these were created here in the country or found abroad by Filipinos, it was not explained. Does that include the 1.73 million jobs generated by the incredible 7.3 percent GDP first quarter growth? Only the NEDA can tell.

Analysts of Goldman Sachs ( of all people!) have been lavish with unsolicited opinions; they said the Philippines is poised for economic recovery (as if we ever admitted a crisis) and will sustain its high GDP, at least through the second quarter of 2010. Why is the Arroyo administration setting such insurmountable benchmarks, and at midnight?

A hundred laws

2010-05-31T23:09:00.000-07:00

Although short-lived, the Congress of the First Philippine Republic passed more than a hundred decrees and laws to address the imperatives of the young nation. Aside from those establishing the branches of government and appointing department secretaries and directors, schools were founded in October 1898 lie the Universidad Literaria, its Faculty of Law, and the Instituto Burgos.

It may interest you to know, that it was Congress that proclaimed General Emilio Aguinaldo president, after which a congressional commission formally made it known to him. President Aguinaldo took his oath of office before Congress, delivered a patriotic speech, then the Philippine Army swore allegiance to the Republic and to the Constitution.

From the more than a hundred laws and decrees passed by the Malolos Congress and President Aguinaldo, you can tell that nation-building was the primordial concern of our forefathers, that they were doing their honorable best and that obviously they were ready for self-government. Significantly, as early as 21 June 1898, a decree gave tenants the lands they tilled; another issued on the the 29th punished cattle-rustling, and on 15 July town presidents were instructed to administer church property.

There were laws that aimed to protect future generations. Cock-fighting, cards, and other forms of gambling were forbidden to the young who were encouraged to engage in sports like swimming, boxing, and athletics. But curiously, a decree prescribed how young people could marry without parental consent.

Tax laws were passed to generate government revenue; a Permanent Commission of Justice was established, the Departments of Finance and Public Welfare were reorganized. By January 1899, due to the impending war with America, there were decrees of great urgency that ordered the production of food, creation of "Juntas de Defensa" to assure territorial security, strengthened army discipline, placed civil officials under military authorities, and forbade merchant vessels flying the American flag from entering ports controlled by the Republic.

There was an ominous decree dated 7 May 1899 after a Cabinet crisis, accepting the resignation of the brilliant loyal Apolinario Mabini while flamboyant Padro Paterno took charge and formed a new Cabinet. The rest, as they say, is history.

Nagging Noynoy

2010-05-26T19:20:00.000-07:00

I wonder if President Corazon Aquino ever nagged her only son about smoking, a thoughtless, harmful and expensive vice. If she did, she must have given up for he evidently never took heed. At fifty, he is no cold turkey and seems hopelessly addicted to nicotine.

Be that as it may, let us not badger the president-apparent about his chain-smoking because there are graver matters, more life-threatening, about which we should ceaselessly nag him, until he succumbs to our collective clamoring.

No, he should not make the prosecution of newly-elected Congresswoman Gloria M. arroyo a doggedly personal quest; that could turn out to be such a waste of time and energy. There are special courts and credible committees that can handle investigations and vastly improve what his late and lamented mother tried to do during her own presidency.

I most definitely plan to nag Noynoy about three things, for the meantime--food (in)security, the screaming cost of energy and slow death by debt strangulation. There are other nag-points like education , but, in my unsolicited opinion, those three are the most crucial to national survival.

Like malignant tumors, these socio-economic cancers have metastasized and curing them will inevitably cause the president- apparent a lot of tension and stress. So, let him be! Don't nag him yet about the vice he can no longer keep a secret; we can do that later.

Flagging

2010-05-26T18:53:00.000-07:00

Flagging means to lose energy, to become feeble, less active and to decline. (The Penguin English Dictionary, 2001). Pardon the pun but the campaign to promote the Flag Law seems to be flagging. Every year, during the week ending on May 28, the National Historical Commission (NHC, formerly NHI) energetically musters the population to celebrate Flag Day. Absolutely everyone has to be involved--local government units, the Boys and Girls Scouts, departments and agencies, particularly National Defense and Education.

Last year, the NHC sent a rather phlegmatic lecturer to the Manila City Hall where student representatives of various public schools were gathered at the ceremonial hall eager to learn about the history of the Philippine flag, how to fold the flag and the Flag Law (Republic Act 8491) that sanctions disrespectful acts and misuse of our national standard.

Not content with that single lecture, the Manila Historical and Heritage Commission took an extra step by distributing to the city's 896 barangays enormous colored posters illustrating the do's and don't's contained in the Flag Law. The informative, sturdy and glossy posters were distributed through the Manila Barangay Bureau, in May 2009.

A couple of weeks ago, while making an ocular inspection of an archaeological site along Pedro Gil Street in Santa Ana, some residents of the place urged me to take down the flag in front of a tiny barangay office located on the traffic island cum park. The flag was faded, grimy and tattered at the edges. To display ( either deliberately or negligently) the Philippine flag in that pitiful state is definitely against the Flag Law.

And where was the barangay chairman? Didn't he read that Flag Law poster distributed last year? He was nowhere to be found; neither did he answer his cell phone. Two men clambered up the post, took the flag down as respectfully as they could, and handed it to me. It shall be properly cremated, during Flag Day ceremonies ( twilight of 28 May) with 300 other tattered flags gathered from all over the city by Manila's Reservist Corps.

It might interest the reader to know that out of the 896 posters only one remains. The rest, according to reports ( of the Manila Tourism and Cultural Affairs bureau), became collateral damage of typhoon "Ondoy". Be that as it may, we should not lose heart, our interest in promoting respect for the Philippine flag should never wane.

The Met opens

2010-05-26T18:10:00.000-07:00

Softly, very softly, the Metropolitan Theatre opened on 29 April at five o'clock in the afternoon. For those who do not know or have forgotten, it is near the Liwasang Bonifacio (formerly Plaza Lawton) and the Post Office and a stone's throw away from the City Hall of Manila.

Three agencies are involved in the restoration of the Met-- the National Commission on Culture and the Arts (NCCA), the GSIS and the City Government of Manila. Precisely because it was soft, the opening was not be a glittering social event, like it was when then First Lady Imelda Marcos re-inaugurated the theatre in the 1970's.

Champagne did not flow; there were no canpes from Via Mare; no blare of trumpets from the Maniila Symphony, the Met's in-house orchestra; instead, the much-awarded Manila City Band was there to welcome guests with festive melodies.

The lavish ballroom with fabled chandeliers will remain closed until phase 5 of the restoration work is completed. The two Amorsolo murals are kept in the GSIS museum. However, the guests admired the intricate Art Deco grill work at the lobby as well as the graceful statues by Francesco Monti, the muses of music and song.

Realistic and doable were the priorities of work phases 1 to 4. The enormous roof had to be repaired and meticulously sealed, then the unscrambling, debundling, reconnecting of old light and water connections which took forever; the partial rehabilitation of the proscenium, the more thorough refitting of the stage and its appurtenant equipment and dressing rooms; the recurrent, baffling inundation of the orchestra pit was finally solved.

There were no rows of red velvet cushioned chairs, the Marcos vintage ones had disappeared, cannibalized perhaps like the unique costume collection. But, the guests were comfortable enough. There was passing cooling, no air- conditioning. The Manila Historical and Heritage Commission distributed souvenir fans with the picture of the Metropolitan Theatre.

The show affirmed its metamorphosis into a real people's theatre. It consisted of excerpts of councilor Lou Veloso's "Senakulo", a song from "Baler, the musical" , Asia's Queen of song, Pilita Corrales, brought the house down with an emotive rendition of "A Million Thanks". Significantly, the same singer-actor who played the Filipino revolutionary in "Baler" also portrayed Jesus Christ in the "Senakulo" reminding the audience that our anti-colonial struggle for Independence was, at one time, expressed through the passion of Christ. "Pasyon at Rebolusyon" is the favorite thesis of Filipino historian, Rey Ileto.

Mayor Alfredo S. Lim and Vice-Mayor Francisco Domagoso arrived dramatically, in open carriages which they rode during a city-wide motorcade--they were campaigning. Enthusiastic about the Met opening, they stayed until the end so did Gloria Romero, German Moreno, Cecile G. Alvarez and other notables. There were more than eight hundred students from the public schools of Manila, teachers and principals, barangay folk and their officials , a smattering of foreigners who had read about the soft opening on line and people who just walked in to marvel. It was standing room only!

Rags to riches

2010-05-13T20:23:00.000-07:00

Since the time of the late and eternally lamented President Ramon Magsaysay, candidates have been weaving maudlin "rags to riches" stories about themselves. I think it was in the 1950s that very humble origins became the cutting edge in any electoral campaign. Being poor was equated with honesty and compassion for the indigent, the "common tao". That was the winning platform of "Magsaysay, my guy" who, as it turned out was not that poor.

Since then, the political landscape has deteriorated dramatically. Just because someone was poor once upon a time doesn't mean he or she is saintly pristine and not rotten to the core. Neither does it automatically follow that those who were never ever poor are callously indifferent to the plight of the underprivileged or clueless as to the structural causes of poverty.

Perhaps, those who capitalize on mawkish "rags to riches" tales believe they can inspire and uplift the poor whose votes they aim to capture. It it is indeed their purpose to project themselves as avatars and exemplary citizens, they should first take the sage advice of erstwhile NEDA director, Winnie Monsd-- explain to us, with quivering details , how you got rich.

Strikingly, none of the fanciful infomercials and jingles brag about a candidate's intellectual prowess and cultural pursuits. As if it were a crime against the poor, no one admits to reading serious books and periodicals or to spending a few hours at the National Museum. Don't any of the candidates believe that a good education, a solid cultural background, breeding and sophistication are things worth advertising?

For all you know, the poor are tired of your pandering and are nauseated by the hypocrisy of those soupy "rags to riches" tales.

Faith restored

2010-05-13T19:46:00.000-07:00

Against blatant lies, against shameless back-stabbing against insidious sabotage, against contemptuous disloyalty, against profligate and nauseating vote-buying, against the severe dictates of organized pressure groups, against all unthinkable cruel odds, Alfredo S. Lim won another term as Mayor of Manila.

That restored my faith in human nature and more importantly in the Filipino. How could a mayor like Alfredo S. Lim lose? He is so indisputably focused on addressing the basic needs of Manilenos. He judiciously disburses taxpayers' money on free hospitals, doctors, medicines, health centers, and a fully equipped "Health on Wheels" trailer that serves depressed communities. He gives much-needed "womb to tomb" care.

Life has taught MayorLim to uphold education as the greatest equalizer, so he makes sure there are institutions where education is given free to deserving students. He also inculcates an awareness of history and culture, pride of country in the young. I have not even touched on the rule of law and livelihood.

Evidently, during the May 2010 elections, Manilenos rallied behind their sitting mayor and together we overcame all those insurmountable odds mentioned in the first paragraph. Moreover, with a young charismatic and respectful vice-mayor, Francisco Domagoso, by his side, the most malevolent political foe is now biting dust.

Indeed, God never sleeps and there is hope for the Filipino voters.

Chiz's Rizal

2009-11-03T18:41:00.000-08:00

Many months ago, on a Monday, Senator Francis Joseph Escudero, better known as Chiz, went to the Freedom Triangle of the Manila City Hall, upon the invitation of Mayor Alfredo Lim, to give a talk after the flag ceremony. The youthful senator had not yet turned forty and his colleague, Noynoy Aquino, was still completely opaqued by his dazzling celebrity sister.

The only thing I remember of what Senator Chiz Escudero said had something to do with Dr. Jose Rizal. He declared that Rizal was wrong to have said that the youth are the hope ( ang pagasa) of the country (bayan).Coming from a youth icon, that unexpected assertion raised quite a few eyebrows, including mine.

Chiz said that the youth of the land should not just standby, nonchalantly with folded arms, waiting for the future to happen; implying that that was what Jose Rizal meant. He said the youth should act now and be involved now and not wait for a future time . What a baffling interpretation of Jose Rizal lwho had consciously and relelntlessly lived his life for Filipinas and who faced death before he had turned forty.

In fact, the majority of our heroes and heroines, our "best and brightest", were young people who did not wait; in their 20s and 30s they had put their lives at stake so that in future Filipinos may have an independent and sovereign republic. Many of them were inspired by Jose Rizal's appeal (through Padre Florentino in EL FILIBUSTERISMO) so they did not just standby idly waiting for the future to happen.

I believe Senator Escudero misinterpretted Jose Rizal; he should either read the hero's works more carefully or fire his speech writer.#

P is for peso

2009-09-17T21:07:00.000-07:00

As early as 20 January 1899, US President William McKinley established the Philippine commission and instructed it to report on, among other matters, the currency situation in the Philippines, the newly independent republic who God supposedly told him to "Christianize and civilize". The Commission said that if there were monetary changes to be made, a dollar of the same weight as the Mexican silver one could circulate, but a new symbol distinct from the US dollar sign had to be configured to avoid confusion.

Someone suggested that the capital letter P be used to denote Philippine money because the word Philippines starts with a P, so does the word peso, and the Spanish word for silver which is plata. Moreover, the letter P is found on all typewriters. The naming game must have attracted the attention of American Judge Charles E. Magoon, acting chief of the Bureau of Insular Affairs, who immedidately sent a telegram to Governor William H. Taft in Manila. He supported the idea but said the letter P should be in capitalized Roman font with two parallel lines "passing through and extending slightly beyond loop at right angle to shaft or stem..."

That design was promulgated by the US colonial government through Executive Order No. 66, which stipulated that the Roman character P with the two lines be used",,,by all officials as the designation of the new Philippine pesos to differentiate it from the $ mark for United States currency and Pts. of Spain..." That was how the peso got its P. #

Designer Coins

2009-09-17T19:35:00.000-07:00

You may be pleased to know that a Filipino designed the first "territorial coin" minted by the United States for its new colony, the Philippines. At the end of Spanish rule, there was a veritable Babel of currencies in this country, even coins from Spain's ex-colonies in Latin America were accepted as legal tender.

As early as 1903, when the Filipino-American War was still raging, the US Congress passed the Coinage Act to put some logic in the currency situation. A local sculptor, Melecio Figueroa, was hired to design the first Americana territorial coins. On the reverside of the coin, Figueroa drew the mighty American eagle with wings outstsretched and the words "United States Of America" with the year, 1903. On the obverse side, he put a lady, standing tall, holding a hammer-like instrument resting on an anvil. That coin was the size of a Mexican silver dollar.

Mr. Figueroa must have been a dotting father for he used his own daugahter as a model for the mallet-weilding lady, even if she was only ten years old then. I wonder why he did not ask his wife to pose, instead of imagining how his pre-teener would look like as an adult.

He had another design for the one centavo and half-centavo coins-- a man, also with a hammer and anvil, but seated in front of the Mayor Volcano. Eventually, the half-centavo coin was pejorataively called "kusing" as it was perceived to be valueless; it was eventually withdrawn from circulation. These designer coins are now collectors' items#

Seditious plays, 2

2009-08-14T01:40:00.000-07:00

"...On its feet, rabid with fury and frenzy, for three hours..." that was how the Filipino audience of seditious plays was described by Commander Anthony Stanley Riggs in his book THE FILIPINO DRAMA (1905); he was a Manila resident from 1902-05. Continued Com. Riggs, "...it is also difficult to conceive of our own feelings, were we placed as the Filipinos are..." Perhaps, that was why Riggs felt compelled to delve into the phenomenon of seditious drama in the newly conquered and occupied Republic of the Philippines.

Com. Riggs grudgingly admired the intrepidi Filipino patriots who, with meager financial resources and devastated by a superior military power, wrote play after play in the vernacular, creatively transforming theater into guerilla warfare, as a deperate last-ditch struggle to keep revolutionary flames burning until the restoration of Independence.

Among the audacious Filipino playwrights was Aurelio Tolenltino whose "Kahapon, Ngayon at Bukas" was presented on 14 May 1903, at a jam-packed Teatro Libertad in Manila. In the zarzuela, the actor symbolizing the Tagalog provinces had to trample on the American flag as a sign of victory; Aurelio himself played this role. The Americans in the audience reacted so violently there was a terrible riot after which Tolentino was arrested for sedition.

Juan Matapang Cruz, another intrepid patriot, presented "Hindi Aco Patay" at the Tetaro Nueva Luna in Malabon on 8 May 1903. Accordidng to reports, when the Katipunan flag was shown on stage, some American soldiers in the audience threw empty beer bottles at it, clambered on stage and destroyed the scenery, bedlam followed and J. Matapang Cruz and the actors were arrested by the American secret service a month later.

Gabriel Beato Francisco of Sampaloc (father of Filomena, first woman pharmacist, and Maria, firs twoman lawyer) wrote "Ang Katipunan" which was presented at the Teatro Oriental in Manila and later on 21 February 1905, in Laoag, Ilocos; everyone involved in the presentation, audience included, were arrested for violating the Sedition Act of 1901.

Pantaleon Lopez (1872-1912) wrote "Ave de rapina" or "Ibong manlulupig" in 1901, which alluded to the Dean Worcester versus "El Renacimiento" case where the latter was sued for esposing Worcester's predatory activities in a fiery editorial entitled "Aves de rapina" (Birds of prey"). The zarzuela was staged at the Teatro Angel in Singalong, Manila, under tight police surveillance as tension had been building up, a few days before, due to the arrest of a local band that played the Philippine National anthem at a fiest in Quiapo. Hoping to skirt arrest, Lopez made the fierce bird of prey rattle off a promise to look after the future of the country. Nevertheless, the theater was raided and playwlright, cast and audience were dragged to the Pako police station.

Most of the librettos and scripts of the Philippine seditious theater were confiscated and brought to the USA for translation and further scrutiny and then archived with the "Philippine Insurgent Papers.". Unwittingly, they were preserved for posteritiy in that roundabout and ironic manner.#

Occupation day,2

2009-08-13T22:45:00.000-07:00

According to the family grapevine, my maternal great grandfather, Leon Maria Guerrero, would wake up infuriated on every 13th day of August, a tragic day for him but "Occupation Day", a "fiesta oficial" for the American colonial government.

In the second volume of Capt. John R.M. Taylor's THE PHIIPPINE INSURRECTION AGAINST THE UNITED STATES, this American intelligence officer reported that on 10 August 1898, Gen. Pio del Pilar sent an ominous message to Gen. Emilio Aguinaldo, warning him that "...the Americans want to deceive us...we shall attack them and drive them out." Apparently, while Aguinaldo was organizing his forces in Cavite, Filipino troops in Manila, according to Taylor"...watched the arrival of American reinforcements with rising indignation for they saw that the capaital would not be theirs. They felt that they were about to be defrauded of the prize for which they had labored and fought. Many wanted to see their flag flying over the Walled City." Needless to say, Taylor also believed that all the Filipinos wanted to do was loot Intramuros.

On 12 August, Gen. Riego de Dios, whom Aguinaldo had installed as governor of Cavite, informed him that the Spaniards in Manila had reportedly surrendered to the Americans who were raring to take possession of Intramuros. That very evening, Aguinaldo received a terse telegraphed message from Gen. Anderson forbidding him and his "Filipino insurgents" from entering Manila. Sensing betrayal, Aguinaldo flew into a rage. Meanwhile his former allies had already taken possession of a bridge to prevent him and his troops from entering Manila.

On 13 August, Aguinaldo received yet another stern warning from the American general: "Your troops are not permitted to enter Manila without the permission of the American commander on this side of the Pasig River, as they would be under our fire."

Audaciously, the Filipinos passsed through Santa ana, according to Capt. Taylor"...and got into the city almost as soon as the Americans. They did not get in without opposition by the Americanas, who endeavored to eecute their orders to keep them out without resorting to actual force." On the same day, Aguinaldo received another telegram which read:"Serious trouble threatening between our forces. Try and prevent it. Your force should not force themseves in the city until we have received the full surrender [of the Spaniards].Then we will negotiate with you." To which Aguinaldo replied:"My troops are forced by yours, by means of threats of violence to retire from positions taken. It is necessary to avoid conflict, which I should lament, that you order your troops to avoid difficulties with mine as until now they [Filipino troops] have conducted themselves like brothers to take Manila."

Capt. John Taylor wrote: "It was fortunate for the Americans in front of Manila that Aguinaldo's councilors were not unified and that his soldiers were short of ammunition."#

Buying Filipino

2008-10-25T00:09:00.000-07:00

Now that Filipinos are finally beginning to realize that they should buy locally made products, there is nothing on sale that is made here, from chicken parts to vegetables and fruits to apparel, every thing is imported or smuggled by people whose names we know but do not dare mention.Most of our industries have collapsed exponentially in the past decades, despite protective legislation. Who was it who pontificated--I think he was a president-- that it is cheaper to buy than to manufacture or to plant? However, the recent nose dive of the global financial system and the USA's economy have belied the efficacy of that short-sighted policy; it seems that we may not even be able to borrow the funds we need to buy our daily sustenance.

When the melamine milk scare became banner headlines for several days, I suddenly remembered how my mother used to insist that we drink milk from a dairy farm owned by one of the Aranetas, Vicente I think, brother of J. Antonio who eventually became my father-in-law. I don't remember the brand of that locally produced and bottled milk but I do recall that it was delicious and creamy but, unfortunately, not always available at our neighborhood store, Cherry grocery. Nevertheless, my mother was relentless in her support of Filipino industrialists.

Shortly after WWII, I was sent to St. Theresa's kindergarten and my first pair of leather shoes, courtesy of grandpa Dr. Alfredo Guerrero, was purchased at a posh store on the Escolta called Squires Bingham. I was fascinated by a kind of x- ray machine which showed whether the shoes were a perfect fit. However,as soon as Elpo rubber shoes and Gregg Shoes opened their doors that is where we shopped for our footwear , my college graduation shoes came from there. Along Legarda street in Manila, there was a row of shoe shops where my mother and I went for made-to-order party footwear, usually of the same fabric as one's formal frock.. Then Marikina blossomed into the country's shoe center; hundreds of shoe makers held regular shoe and bag fairs, a must see destination in those days. .

Cherry Grocery, now Foodarama, used to give personalized service so . I would often hear my mother dictating her weekly shopping list on the phone and in a couple of hours a small van would deliver our supplies. She would always punctuate her sentences with "Local", "LocaL", "LOCAL!" and when I once asked her why, she said, rather annoyed, that the grocery people (Tsinoys) would always ask her whether she preferred the imported brand. Our chocolates were Serg and Cocoa Ricoa; she frowned at Peter Paul ( which had a coco nutty flavor I loved) because these were manufactured by an American Company in Laguna, Franklin Baker I think, and although the wife of one of the American executives,Janet Walker, was a friend we never bought Peter & Paul and had them only when Mrs. Walker brought us children a boxful.

That was also why I was never addicted to pop drinks. To this day, I do not take Coca or Pepsi colas, in any form, with my meals, like most of my contemporaries. My siblings and I grew up on Cosmos sarsaparilla, buko water and home made fruit juices or an occasional glass of wine. Believe it or not, my mother used to venture into the wet market in San Juan to buy tapa and longanisa but when we needed processed foods it had to be by Ram. Naturally, that obssesion to "Buy Filipino " was explained to us children, even if Mother was probably not sure we quite understood. She would expound on how ridiculous it was to export our raw materials to industrialized countries only to buy them back as pricey processed goods. That was why it was and is vital for the Philippines to industrialize, she never tired to illuminate us. Industrialization meant more jobs for Filipinos, higher technological levels and a better life.

But all those incipient industries have since then withered on the vine for many reasons among them the colonial mentality of us Filipinos which we seem to have nurtured instead of extirpated, and later, blind adherence to the GATT and WTO and now globalization. Many of those Filipino industrialists did not turn out to be as patriotic as we hoped, instead of expanding the textile industry, remnants were smuggled from the USA; local food manufacturers folded up faced with intense competition from foreign firms that merely packaged goods for the local market. Eventually, we were told that it is cheaper to buy rice so the most fertile lands were converted into unproductive (but lucrative) subdivisions and golf courses.

Many of my mother's contemporaries espoused those nationalistic policies and practiced what they preached and now we can see that they were right after all and that lack of patriotism has an extremely high cost. It may not be too late to start again.
\

2008-10-24T23:58:00.000-07:00

Macario Sakay vindicated, 1 &

It all began last year on 13 September 2007 when the City of Manila, led by Mayor Alfredo S. Lim, simultaneously commemorated the 100th death anniversary of General Macario Sakay and the 104th birthday of Amado V. Hernandez , two Filipino patriots, natives of Tondo. General Macario Sakay was born on Calle Tabora but no one knows where his house once stood so Mayor Lim had no choice but to hold a dual event at the Plaza Amado V. Hernandez, a rotunda of black granite slabs in front of the Santo Niño Church of Tondo.

“Sword & Pen” was the elegantly significant title devised by Mrs. Carmen G. Nakpil, chairperson of the Manila Historical & Heritage Commission (MHHC) The “sword” was General Macario Sakay who fought two imperial powers, Spain and the United States of America, as a katipunero of “balangay Dapitan” and later as a soldier of the Revolutionary Army of the First Republic. He was captured by the Americans in 1902 , was later granted amnesty only to take up arms even more ferociously and establish the Republika ng Katagalugan in the mountainous hinterlands of Rizal and Laguna. The “pen” was Amado V. Hernandez, labor leader and nationalist, activist poet and writer , who was posthumously honored with the National Artist Award f or literature.

“Next year, ”Mayor Lim declared after extolling the long-haired General’s love for country, “… there will be a monument to Macario Sakay at that plaza.” He was pointing at Plaza Morga, a narrow oval shaped plot, a stone’s throw away from where we were.
Indomitable revolutionaries like Gen. Macario Sakay, were a menace to the rapid “pacification” of the Philippines so the American colonial government passed the “Ley de Bandolerismo” which branded as bandoleros, tulisanes, ladrones and common criminals Filipinos who vehemently refused to pledge allegiance to the USA and continued fighting for independence. That is why there is no monument to General Macario Sakay. After he was betrayed in 1906, by Dominador Gomez, the general was imprisoned in Old Bilibid, hanged with other revolutionary fighters in 1907 and his body unceremoniously dumped in a common grave. To this day many Filipinos believe he was a dangerous outlaw and not a patriot.

Soon after the “Sword & Pen” , during a “tertulia”, a monthly gathering at the Museo ng Maynila (re-opened by Mayor Lim in 2007) historians, teachers, principals, students, barangay captains and kagawads and an assortment of history buffs and culture vulture, tackled the touchy topic of historical rectification and the vindication of our maligned and forgotten heroes. Should we rectify historical errors and vindicate our denigrated heroes? By all means, was the consensus at that monthly tertulia which showed that Mayor Lim’s monument project was very well received.

The implementation depended on a lot of other offices and city departments, not just on the MHHC , the Museo or the Manila Tourism and .Cultural Affairs Bureau. It is vital to network with the barangay where Plaza Morga is located and its neighboring units. Mayor Lim never fails to remind the department heads of the city government that inter-office cooperation should be cultivated for good and effective governance.

Macario Sakay vindicated, (2)

The Manila Barangay Bureau, headed by Mr. Roland Lim, had to be deeply involved every step of the way to assure that barangay folk will feel they have a stake in Mayor Alfredo S. Lim’s Macario Sakay monument project. Without the cooperation of barangay captains, kagawads and tanods it would be almost impossible to guarantee peace and order in the plaza and protection against vandals and malevolent elements who might try to deface the hero’s statue.

The City Engineers Office, led by Eng. Amado Andres, focused on the infrastructure. “Clinging vine” lamp posts of the past were replaced with others of a more appropriate design (still much too gaudy for my taste). The pedestal was a monolith, the standard 5x5x7 feet , and samples of marble and granite slabs were submitted for approval. Engineer E. Manimbo of the Parks Development and Beautification Office was enjoined not to even attempt to trim the one and only acacia that dominates Plaza Morga, lest he suffer the fate of Intramuros Administrator Bambi Harper.

Mrs. Monina Santiago, industrious OIC of the Museo ng Maynila, unearthed books about Macario Sakay and other “bandoleros” in the personal library of Atty Sioson, member of the Manila Historical and Heritage Commission (MHHC). Monumental and unequaled research work s of Antonio Abad, Orlino Ochosa and Luis Dery were sent of Mrs. Nakpil who wrote an edifying one- page article on Macario Sakay for the “Philippine Star.” For his part, historian Dr. Jaime Veneracion discussed Sakay and his times during my radio program “Krus na Daan” and to our surprise a lot of people called to ask for more information and congratulate us for rectifying history.

“Patnubay” Award for scuplture, Mr. Benjamin Mendoza , was commissioned to make the monument. He first presented clay model plus three drawings which were submitted to Mayor Lim . Meticulous with historical details, Mr. Mendoza asked for photos of Sakay’s weapons and not finding pictures clear enough to show details, I ventured to ask (Ret) General Manuel Yan, Jr. for technical advise. An aficionado of military history, Gen. Yan said that by the time Sakay was fighting the Americans guerrilla - style the saber was no longer in use so he should be shown carrying a pistol or revolver, to which Mayor Lim agreed

I visited Macario Sakay at Mr. Mendoza atelier on Matimtiman street at the Teachers’ Village . It was touching to see the statue of the “bandolero” take form, projecting such indomitable force and passion. The small clay model was much too mestizo- looking, but the big statue was turning out to be a more faithful representation of Sakay who had a small native nose. I told the sculptor that Mrs. Nakpil never fails to point out that the hair should be well-groomed, Sakay was after all a barber. With a master’s touch Mr. Mendoza made Sakay’s mane fly in the air, exactly how Mrs. Nakpil described it in her poignant article.

A week before the actual unveiling, the weather was most uncooperative; it rained torrents; streets were flooded knee- deep, many of us were stranded in City Hall. I was afraid the pedestal would be washed away in the downpour and that the statue of Macario Sakay, reclined under a makeshift canvas tent for final pouring and finishing touches, would end up splattered on the cobbles of Plaza Morga. The thought of having to cancel the unveiling of the first ever statue of Macario Sakay after such elaborate and painstaking preparations, was most depressing indeed.

By some miracle, the storm suddenly left with no other tropical convergence threatening our “area of responsibility” ; so on that Saturday morning, the 13th of September, a sun like the one embroidered on Macario Sakay’s red flag cast brilliant rays on the Mayor of Manila, his Tondo constituents, the navy and army men in full regalia, the police, teachers, students , bureaucrats, historians, vendors, workers, “Los Bandoleros” of UP, long-haired like Sakay, and all those curious souls who gathered at Plaza Morga to honor Macario Sakay and finally vindicate his name on the 101th anniversary of his cruel but glorious martyrdom.

from Antonio Barrientos

2008-09-15T20:06:00.001-07:00

Dear Ms. Araneta:I am from Talisay Batangas ( a coastal town just below Tagaytay City) and I first heard the story of Sakay (he was known only as Sakay during that time-possibly no one was telling the people that Gen. Sakay was a revoluionary, a freedom fighter) from my mother who also heard the story from her mother who during the time of Gen. Macario Sakay was only a teenager. According to my mother, she was told by my grandmother that Gen. Macario Sakay and his fellow revolutionaries used to passed the river where my grandmother and other women were washing clothes. As I recall it right, the women according to my grandmother's account were terrified and extremely afraid because news were circulating (possibly American propaganda) that Gen. Sakay was a tulisan whose group were known to abduct women and extort from people wherever they passed. But based on my grandmother's account, nothing really happened everytime the General pass by. It seemed the group of Gen. Macario Sakay was ostracized by the people because the latter loss in the propaganda war (press releases) but their honor untainted. I think this account that I heard from my mother as a young boy (I am now 55 -years old, born in 1953), was a credible evidence that Gen. Macario Sakay was an honorable man, and a true hero. He was indeed vindicated and History is rewritten.
Yours truly,
Antonio Barrientos
Winnipeg, Manitoba Canada

from Fe Panaligan Koons

2008-09-13T23:35:00.000-07:00

Congrats! I am sure you helped in the Macario Sakay memorial/statue daw ba sa Tondo.. mabuti naman at naparangalan na si Sakay.. Long time overdue. glad to know that Mayor Lim is supporting these things.

Rescuing my "bandoleros"

2008-09-07T06:42:00.000-07:00

By” bandoleros” I mean Generals Macariio Leon Sakay, Lt. Col. Lucio de Vega Lt. Gen Francisco Carreon, Major General Leon Villafuerte, Major Benito Natividad and Lt. Col. Julio Montalan whose singular group picture was taken in 1906, shortly after they were lured to surrender but ignominiously betrayed by the American and Filipino negotiators. .
Certainly, there were many other patriots who were unjustly branded bandoleros and insurrectos but we know even less about them than those young men in that photograph, all in their twenties, dashing in rayadillos, with well-groomed long hair. To the Americans, Macario Leon Sakay was the most politically dangerous because he had formed a juridical entity, the Katagalugan republic, in the inaccessible mountains of Rizal, which aimed to continue the First Republic , dismembered by the capture of Pres. Emilio Aguinaldo in 1901. Gen. Sakay ‘s final objective was independence from USA colonial rule.

The invasion of the Philippines at the turn of the 20th century was a hot electoral issue in the USA as it did not turn out to be a “splendid little war” like the invasion of Cuba and Puerto Rico, but an embarrassing “dirty little war” that was taking much too heavy a toll on American lives. Astutely, presidential candidate William McKinley professed his benevolent intentions and said God himself told him to “civilize, educate and Christianize” the Filipinos. In American media, our iconic representation was a naked black savage baby with a boar’s teeth necklace, cuddled by a loving Uncle Sam. No mention at all that Filipinos had already established the first republic in Asia.

Believe it or not, Filipino resistance was described as fierce by correspondents then . The Americans were inconvenienced, to say the least, with the establishment of the First Republic in Malolos shortly .after Spain surrendered to them at the mock battle of Manila on 13 August 1898 and while they waited for reinforcements, this fledgling Republic held sway over twenty five provinces with Pres. Aguinaldo corresponding with the sultanates of Jolo and Sulu. The Filipinos began to establish schools including a military academy and had the audacity to send an ambassador to the Paris to prevent the sale of the Philippines to the USA. .
Macario Leon Sakay and his group were among those who believed it was their sacred duty to the nation to continue resisting the USA and re-establish the Filipino republic. As the scandalous invasion infuriated the anti-imperialists in the USA, the Anti Sedition law and Brigandage Act were passed in 1901 by the Philippine Commission to officially put an end to the war.. Henceforth, Filipinos who continued to resist American supremacy for whatever reason would be called insurrectos, bandoleros, tulisanes and ladrones subject to arrest and death by hanging, and forever maligned in Philippine history books as common criminals. .
The rescue of my “bandoleros” began as late as the 1930’s when former revolutionary leaders, like Artenio Ricarte, published their memoirs in local newspapers and magazines. In the 1940’s , nationalists like Claro M. Recto often alluded to the” bandoleros” whose “… names are not now held in grateful rememberance…” . and by 1956, Antonio K. Abad , member of the Philippine Historical Society, published his book with a somewhat cautious title: : GEN. MACARIO L. SAKAY, WAS HE A BANDIT OR A PATRIOT ?

In their lifetimes, historians, Teodoro Agoncillo and Renato Constantino also came to the rescue. More recently, in 1995, Orlino A. Ochosa published BANDOLEROS, OUTLAWED GUERRILLAS OF THE PHILIPPINE-AMERICAN WAR, 1903, 1907.. Ever controversial, Manila Mayor Alfredo S. Lim has commissioned a statue of Gen. Macario Leon Sakay to be unveiled on 13 September, the first monument ever to Tondo’s heroic “bandolero”.

Another bandolero

2008-09-07T06:41:00.001-07:00

In his captivating book, “BANDOLEROS”, OUTLAWED GUERRILLAS OF THE PHILIPPINE-AMERICAN WAR, 1903-1907, historian Orlino A. Ochosa tells us that Gen. Luciano San Miguel served the Revolution since 1896, as a stalwart of the Magdiwang council, was probably a rabid “Bonifacista” and continued fighting against the American invaders, in defense of the First Philippine Republic. But, despite his being a die-hard follower of Bonifacio, Gen. San Miguel( with Gen. S. Alvarez) decided not “ to attack the Magdalo headquarters in Naic (Cavite) to rescue the Supremo from prison…” after the fatal Tejeros convention because San Miguel and Alvarez “…would have no part in any bloody plan which would lead the Revolution to nowhere but its fall…” They believed that the blood and lives of revolutionaries should be consecrated to no other purpose but the “Kalayaan ng Inang Bayan…” That intruiging fact was revealed by Prof. Ochosa.

Gen. San Miguel’s long and arduous patriotic quest did not only inspire other “renegades” like General. Artemio Ricarte, ( Prof. Ochosa said he was the latter’s personal hero) but also American writers like Vic Hurley who dedicated ten pages of his book , JUNGLE PATROL, to “…the most serious menace to the peace of the Philippine Islands…”; he was described as a “sincere insurrecto” even if Hurley’s work was about the Philippine Constabulary which the American colonial government established precisely to pursue revolutionary fighters branded bandoleros, tulisanes and ladrones by the Anti-Brigandage Act of 1901.

According to Prof. Ochosa, Gen. San Miguel was the “ the last bonafide insurrecto” of the First Republic who continued fighting against the American invaders after Gen. Vicente Lukban (of Balangiga fame) was captured and Gen. Artemio Ricarte ( a.k.a.Vibora) summarily exiled to Guam . Macario Leon Sakay and his group were waging guerrilla warfare in the mountains of Rizal while Gen. San Miguel was fighting the enemy in Cavite and Batangas until he perished in the ferocious battle of Corral-na bato in 1903.
In Pres. Emilio Aguinaldo’s book about the Philippine Revolution, he stated that upon returning from Hong Kong, “…the old revolutionary chief, Señor Luciano…presented himself to receive orders….” And he then saw action in Manila, Laguna, Batangas, Morong, Bulacan, Pampanga, Tarlac and Nueva Ecija. Prof. Ochosa also said that there is not record that Gen. San Miguel took part in the truce of Biak-na-bato, or that he was in Hong Kong with Aguinaldo.

In these turbulent times, when the Philippine Republic is in danger of Balkanization, we should all emulate Gen. San Miguel’s rejection of factionalism for the sake of the greater good, for the overriding interests of Inang Bayan. Prof. Ochosa included one of San Miguel’s memos to a Major Alba in his book: “ I entreat and request that you abstain from meddling with the Katipunan affairs …Today more than ever, the union of the province is needed, and I have sufficient personnel to prevent the province [Bataan] from becoming divided against itself, or some towns from declaring themselves independent from others. …”
Ironically, there are streets, parks and plazas, even schools named after Filipinos of lesser stature and paltry achievement. Not a single pathway nor barangay center is named after a true nationalist and patriot like General Luciano San Miguel, another “bandolero” whom we must rescue from undeserved oblivion.(gemma601@yahoo.com)

It must have been tough

2008-09-07T06:35:00.000-07:00

It must have been tough for the Thomasites who arrived in Manila on 21 August 1901. After a month –long sea voyage aboard US Army transport “Thomas” (which is why they were called Thomasites) .
Assuming the Thomasites were given a thorough briefing of what life is like in the tropics, they must have still had worst cultural shock which the majority of them endured quite heroically.
In the records of the War Department of the USA (“Doorway to the archcives of our national greatness”) the Philippines, Manila and the Filipinos were described from the cynical eyes of the conqueror: “Many have taken advantage of the opportunities offered for education by the Jesuit order, and have been carried through the classics, but then the majority seem to have suffered from the ‘civilization’ offered them”—a cryptic statement worth reading between the lines.

The Thomasites were probably warned about the terrible weather, described in the War Records as such: ”The blistering sun or something else has burned both ambition and emotion out of him [the Filipino] if he ever possessed either…With the possible exception of some parts of the interior of India and Arabia, it is doubtful if there is any hotter climate than that of Manila. The islands reach within four degrees of the equator The temperature is not so very high but the humidity excessive.”

The unnamed rapporteur of the War Annals warned that , “…The most extreme care must constantly be exercised to keep one’s physical condition properly toned all summer long. The hottest days in the year are in May and June. ..For seven months in the year, from April to October, no one but the poorest laborer goes out of doors unless compelled to between 8 in the morning and 4 in the afternoon. ..In Manila, the whole population rises at 4 and 5 a.m. and gets the work of the day out of the way until 8 o’clock. …At sundown Manila wakes up.”

After the weather advisory, came a language situationer as they were sent to these islands to teach English, Judging from the War Annals, they must have been told something to the effect : “Practically nothing , but his [the Filipino’s] curiosity , which seems insatiable, will stir him from his rut and the vocabularies of hundred of thousands of the tribes men lack anything that answer for ‘Thank You.’

Even then it was observed that Tagalog was the language of commerce: ” Of the dialects, the most important is Tagaloc (sic). It is spoken by fifteen hundred thousand Tagals is Luzon and the adjacent islands. Ten thousand girls have often been heard chattering Tagaloc (sic) all at once in a Manila tobacco factory. …The native aptitude in the use of modern writing material is beyond doubt ..” The report quotes a Spanish priest who sardonically said that , “ the natives no longer use arrows and spears against us, but pen ink and paper , and fables, calumnies and jokes…”

Was there peace and order? The Thomasites arrived five months after Pres. Emilio Aguinaldo was captured , yet the Philippine-American war was till raging. A month after they landed , Filipino Revolutionary forces led by Gen Vicente Lukban wiped out a whole company of American soldiers in Balangiga, Samar, which in retaliation was left a “howling wilderness” by American General Jacob Smith. In Laguna, parts of Central Luzon, Negros, Leyte and Cebu, fighting was still going on , guerilla style, in defense of the First Philippine Republic. . Generals Macario Sakay, Luciano San Miguesl, Artemio Ricarte, and Julian Montalan were still up in arms even if Apolinario Mabini had been arrested and exiled to Guam.

As they were fielded to various provinces, did the Thomasites notice that communities were being uprooted and reconcentrated (hamletting) ? Crops were being destroyed (scorched earth) to prevent the Filipinos from supporting the revolutionary fighters, according to historian Augusto . de Viana, .resistance continued in the islands but with the passage of the Bringandage Act of 1901, those who continued to resist USA domination were labeled insurgents, tulisanes , highway men and outlaws.

An American linguist of the time, Mary I. Bresnahan wrote:” It continues to be speculative if the Filipino's purported desire to learn English was genuine or not. Documents tell us about Filipinos trembling with fear inside their huts built on stilts as they expected the intrusion of the cruel Americans reputed to be blood thirsty giants bent on killing even the most trusting among them. Unsure about the real motives of the invaders, the Filipinos did what they thought would please the Americans the most. And that was to learn their language, ---English." ("The Americanization of the Philippines, The Imposition of English during the 1898-1901 Period" by Alfonso L García Martínez, Law College of Puerto Rico, 1982).

National identity and tourism

2008-09-07T06:27:00.000-07:00

Why do tourism meetings I attend always turn out to be a collective pondering over national identity? At a recent gathering of the National Capital Region (NCR) Tourism Councils, at the Paranaque City Hall, I had resolved to speak less and listen more inasmuch as the City of Manila was represented by someone else in the first two meetings. People trickled in mindless of the time so it took ages to form a quorum; but I could not complain as I myself had arrived late , having underestimated the distance from Manila to Sucat.

When the meeting was finally called to order and minutes approved, a Paranaque constituent asked for the floor and began to tell us about their cultural projects like preparations for the coming feast day of Our Lady, the revival of Paranaque’s once famous embroidery industry which specialized in “pina calado” ( an exquisite sample was passed around) . A barangay captain brought in a few sepia photos of scenes of Paranaque during the crepuscular years of the Spanish Empire, which reminded a young lady resident that the last salt beds of Paranaque ( two endangered hectares) had to be preserved so future generations. Another person clamored to protect the last mangroves from irreversible destruction.
Then history came into the picture when , for some reason, the Caloocan representative said that Gregoria de Jesus was born there and that she went to Manila probably because she had become involved with the Katipunan. I could not resist finishing the Gregoria story so I said that after Andres Bonifacio was killed in Maragondon, Cavite, she married his aide-de –camp, Julio Nakpil, and they spent the rest of their years in the house of Ariston Bautista in Quiapo where they raised a large family.

Before we knew it, the NCR Tourism Council was discussing Filipino national identity, its weaknesses and how it should be strengthened through the opportunities given by sustainable tourism development. It all became clear to us, the histories of cities and municipalities comprising the NCR are so intertwined , geographical and political boundaries so porous and traditions so similar that the council should draft a cohesive, collective tourism plan that will benefit the whole and all its parts.

A week after that, I was invited by the Philippine Women’s University (PWU) to lecture on tourism to a Saturday class made up of professionals, diplomats, educators, media practitioners and writers. As an advocate of cultural, historical and heritage tourism I started out by telling them about a recent anniversary of a day care center in Tondo ran by a foundation with the assistance of teachers from a nearby university. When asked to give a message, I decided to address the children, aged five to nine. I asked them in the vernacular for the name of our country. They became pensive but no one gave an answer. I was perplexed because we had just sung the national anthem. Neither did I get a response when I asked for the name of the city. However, when I asked for the name of the barangay captain, a chubby grandfather type sitting with other local officials, they all screamed his name with genuine affection.

Where does one learn about the country? Maybe we take it for granted that pre-school children know that they are citizens of the Philippines so there is no conscious effort to teach love of country, no deliberate attempt to instill in the very young the values of patriotism and nationalism; my country first; my country above all. Someone exclaimed that she learned love of country at home, where else? If you do not learn that at home, then you must learn it in school, I ventured. The room resounded with lamentations, almost like a weeping and gnashing of teeth, about the dismal state of education in the country today.

The subjects that were assiduously taught to us before merited an hour each-- Philippine history, civics, social sciences, art appreciation, English phonetics—but are now lumped together, ostensibly to give more emphasis on science, math and English, preferably via computer. So, if you don’t learn how to love your country at home, if it is no longer taught in schools, where can Filipinos learn about who and what they are? Could tourism be used as a didactic tool? Through tourism, can we acquire a sense of place and eventually a “pride of place”? Hopefully, “pride of place” can lead us to love of country. By promoting cultural, heritage and historical tourism for the domestic market, will this strengthen our national identity? (gemma601@yahoo.com)

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Constructing tourism

2008-09-07T06:24:00.000-07:00

Tourism is often associated with traveling to places away from home and arranging tours for those who come here and see what the country is like. Tourism is often presented as a factor of economic growth as it generates livelihood in many sectors like the hotel and restaurant industries, retail shops, transport, cultural and health, guiding and gaming, the list can be endless. In the Philippines, tourism is supposed to contribute at least 10 per cent of the GDP even if it is lumped with the service sector.
Tourism gives the illusion of glamour so being Secretary of the Department of Tourism is a most coveted post. Tourism looks like easy work , lots of fun and loads of money. Every little town aspires to become a tourism destination so foreign currency can pour in. Curiously, despite all the aspirations and since the Department of Tourism was established about four decades ago, the highest recorded tourism arrivals have not gone beyond 3 million.
Since one of our development goals is to make tourism a veritable lifestyle , the “culture of tourism” should be instilled in every Filipino at a very early age, which means that the Department of Education has to make a conscious and determined effort to teach Filipinos to love the Philippines and be proud of being Filipinos. The DepEd has to make sure that in all public and private schools, academic and vocational centers, the pupils are consciously and assiduously taught, at the very least, cultural and visual patriotism. The DepEd once had an excellent campaign to make all Filipinos learn at least ten historical turning points, ten native songs, ten heroes, historical landmarks, heritage sites, artists, works of art, etc.; is that being continued? How can you promote your country effectively if you know nothing about it? How can you invite foreigners to come to your country if you are not sincerely and deeply proud
of it and if you are not sure that it is a good thing to be Filipino?
Once the above goals are achieved, it might take generations if we do not begin now, then the values which we seem to have lost might finally resurface: Sslf-respect, a certain self-confidence, self- reliance that will stimulate creativity and originality, cleanliness, honesty, a natural courtesy and refinement, a pride of self and pride of place; these values and virtues are building blocks for a stable and sustainable tourism industry.
Tourism is necessarily multi-disciplinary which is something local committees and commissions are starting to realize. As mentioned above, the DepEd plays a vital and essential role in the formation of citizens who are tourism advocates and workers. Because tourism is the marketing of a country’s natural resources and its built heritage resources, the construction of a sustainable tourism industry includes urban planners, architects, engineers, both in government and the private sector. It also includes carpenters, masons, carvers, painters , contractors and other construction workers. Let us not forget the clergy. Local government officials more so than national ones are the main protagonists of a sustainable, tasteful and appropriate tourism industry.
Even the police and the military have a vital role in the construction of tourism, not only because they guarantee the physical safely of local and foreign visitors but also because they can enforce the existing laws that protect the environment and natural resources as well as cultural, historical and heritage resources all of which are valuable and irreplaceable tourism products.
All the above-mentioned sectors should be melded into a sort of national philharmonic orchestra with an energetic and dedicated conductor who knows the musical score by heart and who makes sure that everyone follows the rhythm and cadence of the musical composition. That should be the role of the president of the republic, with the secretary of tourism playing the role of the orchestra’s musical director.

from Rudy Bolipata of Richmond, VA

2008-09-07T02:23:00.000-07:00

It's indeed sad but a painful reality in this day and age, that we have
to bear this burden of a lack of national identity. The diaspora
has sent off many of those who would have borne the brunt of educating
our youth to many foreign lands to work their magic for others, many of
our best minds are better appreciated (and better rewarded) elsewhere,
our disappearing middle class will continue to be frittered away by
the west with all its come-ons……all these because of the necessity
to provide for a better life not possible in our own Inang Bayan.
It has helped materially, but…….

You posed so many good questions that deserve to be answered
….yes, we of the diaspora would hope that we get the things done
right in our time, that the "fair hopes of the fatherland" fulfill the enormous
responsibility on their young shoulders given the proper impetus.
We must never give up the hope, and we thank you for your insightful thoughts.

(

from Gloria Lily

2008-09-07T02:06:00.000-07:00

Yes, tourism will be a great tool to promote nationalism and patriotism!

Also, I strongly believe that if we have a sound Tourism program
it will boost the Philippines Economy...

It's too bad that I didn't have the appetite for it (tourism )when
I was young child. I guess because I didn't know about it and wasn't
offered in school nor could my parents afford ( money wise)
to let us explore the Philippines.

Please let me know when there is a discussion or forum
about this again. I would love to go or help out!

Zamora's sacrifice

2008-08-24T20:52:00.001-07:00

Those who remembered (like Mayor Alfredo S. Lim) celebrated the birthday of Padre Jacinto Zamora last 14 August, With Jose Burgos and Mariano Gomezm he championed the cause of secular priests during the 19^th century. They believed it was a travesty and an injustice for religious priests, (called friars) to hold on to the parishes which most of them were using to wield political power and from where they relished socioeconomic privileges. GOMBURZA , a password of the Katipunan, is how we refer to the heroic triumvirate.

Although Padre Zamora was originally from Pandacan, (where his memory is dearly revered) he served in Intramuros and Cavite where he was implicated with a workers mutiny in 1872, so brutally repressed by the colonial authorities who rounded up, captured, arrested, tortured, summarily executed and exiled anyone remotely suspected of sedition and rebellion. The three priests were implicated by a certain Zaldua who turned government witness thinking he would be spared the garrote.

According to the historical grapevine, Padre Zamora was given to gambling; he had a group of card-playing friends and one of them sent him a cryptic note about gun powder and ammunition being ready (meaning the gambling paraphernalia) and, unfortunately for the young priest, that fell into the wrong hands and was used as evidence against him. Padre Zamora did not leave a substantive body of written works, like Jose Rizal and other Propagandists, none of his sermons are extant but he was said to have contributed to the underground press of his time. His death and the terrible circumstances and manner of execution has made his (as well as Burgos and Gomez) sacrifice a turning point in the nation’s history.

As it was, during the period that led to the Cavite Mutiny and to the reformist campaign of GOMBURZA the natives, then called indios, appropriated the tern Filipino which was used to refer to Spaniards born in the Philippines. Historians have interpreted that as as indelible sign of a collective feeling of nationhood which became widespread and more passionate and eventually sparked the Philippine Revolution and bore fruit in the First Republic.

Strikingly different were those times, compared to what its going on these days . Last week, Governor Joey Salceda of Albay was reported to have declared during a television interview that we are ”genetically destined to fail as a nation state” or some such barbarity. An erstwhile congressman and close adviser of the president, Mr. Salceda certainly did not mince words as he demolished our past, present and future in one fell swoop. He mindlessly denigrated the sacred memory of Filipino heroes like Padre Jacinto Zamora who gave up their lives for a nation they envisioned ; he deliberately dismissed the efforts of millions of Filipinos who are making ends meet and keeping the country afloat, and worst, Mr. Salceda has totally obliterated our future as Filipinos. What are we to be, entities without any sovereignty, jurisdiction or identity?

Could that be why Fr. Jacinto Zamora went mad at the last minute? Was he gripped by a sudden desperation that perhaps all would be for naught?

Did we ever learn English?

2008-08-24T20:40:00.001-07:00

One wonders if the Thomasites were ever told that teaching English was part and parcel of the "policy of attraction" of the USA during the Philippine-American War. Before the Thomasites arrived, many American soldiers were already made to teach English and ten of them called“Philippine veterans” returned with the Thomasites on 21 August 1901.

That idealistic and adventurous group of American teachers arrived five months after Pres. Emilio Aguinaldo was captured and barely a month after they landed, Filipino Revolutionary forces led by Gen Vicente Lukban wiped out a whole company of American soldiers in Balangiga, Samar, which in retaliation was left a “howling wilderness” by American General Jacob Smith.

In Laguna, parts of Central Luzon, Negros, Leyte and Cebu, Filipino revolutionary forces were still fighting quite fiercely , guerilla style, in defense of the First Philippine Republic. Even if Apolinario Mabini had been arrested and exiled to Guam, Generals Macario Sakay, Luciano San Miguel, Artemio Ricarte, and Julian Montalan were still at large and raising hell despite the Bringandage Act of 1901 which branded as insurgents, bandoleros , tulisanes and ladrones those who continued resisting American supremacy.

Be that as it may, the Thomasites were well-received, Filipino children attended the newly-opened public school and because there was a dearth of teachers, many young people enlisted for intensive teacher- training courses to help the Thomasites with their tasks. Even schools established by Spaniards helped the Thomasites. In 1902, the Colegio de San Juan de Letrán published a textbook, “ Mañga Onang Turô sa Uicang Inglés “ by Tagalog Professor P. Ulpiano Herrero and Spanish friar.Francisco García. It had 482 pages of English language lessons explained in both the Tagalog and Spanish.

Dedicated as they were, the Thomasites were under strict scrutiny of American authorities who closely monitored their impact on the education of the natives. In 1908 Director of Instruction David P. Barrows was not too pleased as he wrote the following in the bureau’s School Report: "It is to be noted that with the increased study and use of English, there has been an increased study of Spanish. I think it is a fact that many more people in these islands have a knowledge of Spanish now than they did when the American Occupation occurred. Spanish continues to be the most prominent and important language spoken in political, journalistic and commercial circles. English has, therefore, active rivals as the language of trade and instruction. It is equally probable that the adult population has lost interest in learning English. I believe it is a fact that many more people now know the Spanish language than when the Americans sailed for these islands and their occupation took place... ”

Eight years later, in 1916, another disquieting report was submitted by Henry Ford to US President Woodrow Wilson: "Although, as based on the school statistics, it is said that more Filipinos speak English than any other language, no one can be in agreement with this declaration....Spanish is everywhere the language of business and social intercourse...In order for anyone to obtain prompt service from anyone, Spanish turns out to be more useful than English...And outside of Manila it is almost indispensable. The Americans who travel around all the islands customarily use it." (The Ford Report of 1916..”The Use of English”)

To the surprise of American authorities, many Filipinos set up schools like the Universidad Literaria; the Liceo de Manila was co-founded by Dr. Leon María Guerrero and Don Enrique Mendiola; Centro Escolar de Señoritas, by Librada Avelino, El Colegio de Manila by Mariano Jócson, El Instituto de Molo, Iloilo, by the Avanceña sisters and Don Manuel Locsin; the Escuela de Cebu by Doña Florentina Tan Villanueva and the Instituto de Mujeres by la Gran Maestra Rosa Sevilla de Alvero.

These educators were the children of the Revolution and the First Republic and they taught in Spanish and in vernacular languages like Tagalog, Visayan and Ilocano. English was for them "a language of economic conquest".

As it was, the Thomasites program was hampered by the fact that it was difficult for the Filipino populace to learn English for unlike the vernacular languages, English is not written as it is spoken. In that same 1916 report, Mr. Henry Ford was quick to observe: “… They (the natives) are practically without phonic standards in acquiring English and the result is that they learn it as a book language rather than as a living speech. ".

That being the case, the Philippine Commission enacted Act No. 190 to make English the official language of all courts effective January 1, 1906, which had to be amended with Acts No. 1427 and 1946 that extended the deadline to January 1, 1911 and January 1, 1913, respectively. Moreover, Executive Order No. 44, issued on August 8, 1912, allowed Spanish to continue as an official language until 1920 as it was deemed a “practical impossibility “ to substitute English for Spanish in court proceedings and in municipal governments .

When the "Monroe Commission" came to the islands to assess the educational system and the state of English instruction by the Thomasites, the conclusions were cautious: "Upon leaving school, more than 99% of Filipinos will not speak English in their homes. Possibly, only 10% to 15% of the next generation will be able to use this language in their occupations. In fact, it will only be the government employees, and the professionals, who might make use of English."

As it turned out, the Thomasites did not only teach English, they also taught American values, American history and their way of life. In all the public schools set up during their time, they taught Filipino school children how to tend gardens, plant vegetables and fruit trees that eventually improved their diet and health. They also popularized sports and physical fitness. The Thomasites composed many songs that we still sing today like “Planting Rice” , “My Nipa Hut” and “I was poorly born on top of a mountain.” If Filipinos learned democratic values from them, they must have also learned a lot from us. I wonder what their letters to home were like.

from Felix I.Rodriiguez, Ph.d.

2008-08-18T05:15:00.000-07:00

Dear Ms. Gemma Cruz Araneta,
Thank you so much for writing about the babaylan. I recall seeing in some books materials believed to be used by babaylan for healing and other “mystical” rites. I wonder if the National Museum might have similar artifacts in their collection.
Thanks so much again, and let me tell you how much I enjoy reading your column

(Division of Alcohol and Substance Abuse (DASA)
Olympia, WA 98504-5330)

Celebrating Apolinario Mabini

2008-08-02T20:25:00.000-07:00

Apolinario Mabini was remembered and honored by the City of Manila on the 144^th anniversary of his birth with two celebrations, the first at the Polytechnic University of the Philippines (PUP) campus where the hero’s house was relocated and the second at the corner of A. Mabini street and Quirino avenue where a past administration erected a statue. Mayor Alfredo S. Lim led both events and did not fail to remind the young people present that Apolinario Mabini was known as the “ Utak ng Rebolusyon” and the chief architect of the First Republic of the Philippines. In his speech, the good Mayor quoted portions of “Ang Tunay na Sampung Utos ng Dios

Mabini wrote in classic Tagalog like the majority of our forbears and there were words like “timawa and katimawaan” which had different meanings and connotations in the 19^th century. Mayor Lim observed: “ Noong unang panahon ang timawa ay isang taong hindi datu, sultan o rajah, hindi siya maharlika o mandirigma, ngunit hindi rin siya alipin. Ang timawa ay taong may kasarinlan at kalayaan; malaya siya sa pagkilos, pag-iisip at paggawa. Sa kasalukuyan para bagang iba na ang ibig sabihin ng , timawa dahil ito’y naglalarawan sa isang taong siniil ng karalitaan at kahirapan kaya marahil di siya tunay na malaya.”

Then, the Mayor read Mabini’s fourth commandment: “ Ibigin mo ang iyong Inang bayan na higit sa iyong sarili, nasa kaikalawa siya ng Dios at ng iyong puri. Siya ang nakaisa-isang Paraisong pinaglagyan sa iyo ng Dios sa buhay na ito; siya lamang ang pinalikawan ng iyong lahi; na kaisa-isang mana mo sa iyong pinagnuno; at siya lamang inaasahan ng iyong angkan; dahil sa kanya’y, nagtitikim ka ng kabuhayan, pagsinta at pag-aari; natatanawan mo ang katimawaan, kapurihan sa Dios.”

He continued with the hero’s fifth and sixth commandments: “Pagpilitan mo ang katimawaan ng iyong bayan bago ang iyong sarili, at papaghariin mo sa kanya ang bait, ang katuwiran at kasipagan; sa pagka’t kung timawa siya ay matitimawa rin ikaw at ang iyong kamag –anakan. Kasunod nito ang Ika-anim sa mga tunay na utos: ‘ Pagpilitan mo ang kasarinlan ng iyong bayan, sa pagka’t ikaw lamang ang tunay na makapagmamalasakit sa kanyang ikasusulong at ikatatanghal, ang kanyang kasarinla’y siya mo naming kalayaan o kaluwagan, ang kanyang pagkasulong ang kayamanan mo sa lahat ng bagay at ang kanyang pagkatanghal ang siya mo naming sariling kabantugan at kabuhayang walang hangan.’ ”

The seventh commandment is still relevant, said the Mayor: “Huwag mong kilalaning sa loob ng iyong bayan ang pangyarihan nino mang tawo na hindi sa lagay ninyong magkakababayan pagka’t ang boong kapangyariha’y sa Dios nagmumula at ang Dios ay sa konsiencia ng bawa’t isa nangungusap; kaya’t ang tawong ituro at ihalal ng mga konsciencia ng sangkabayanan ang siya lamang makapagtataglay ng tunay na kapangyarihan.”

These are but a few of Mabini’s principles and policies that were used to forge a new independent nation and build the First Republic of the Philippines, the very first one that accomplished “ katimawaan of kalayaan” in Asia. Mayor Alfredo S. Lim ended by addressing the youth: “Ipagpapaubaya ko sa inyo ang masinop na pagsusuri ng ginintuang dekalogo ni Apolinario Mabini , gabay ng mga mamayang maka-Dios at makabayan. “

Re-inventing the babaylan

2008-08-02T20:12:00.000-07:00

> > How did the babaylan cope with the
> onslaught of “cross and sword”? After the bloody revolts
> against their sworn enemies, the early Spanish missionaries;
> after burning churches and disfiguring Christian icons and
> after the painful betrayal of community members, the
> babaylans had to devise effective survival methods. They
> either fled to the mountains or adopted Christian ways to
> co-exist with the colonial order
> Mr. Adelbert Batica, a Filipino expat,
> sent his comments to my article “Silencing the
> babaylan”. He wrote: : “The babaylan, as well as the
> symbols and images associated with them may have totally
> disappeared except where they have reappeared as modern-day
> healers and "hilot" who most often use oraciones
> as part of their healing practice. But, I would propose
> that they were actually resurrected, "reinvented"
> if you may, under a Christian context.”
>
> Indeed, there are several religious
> communities led by women like the “Ciudad Mistica de
> Dios”, at the foot of the sacred Mt. Banahaw that uses
> the Bible and Christian prayers as the basis of their own
> stylized rituals. Curiously, the “Ciudad Mistica de Dios
> “ began with the “Iglesia Mistica Filipina” founded
> by Suprema Maria Bernarda in 1915. Mr. Batica observed:
> “The old ladies who act as prayer leaders at many
> religious devotionals including novenas (especially for the
> dead) seem to be carrying on the dynamic of the
> "babaylan", although in this day and age instead
> of being armed with amulets she wears scapulars, religious
> medals, and usually carries a prayer book or
> "novenario" and a rosary.”
> Mr. Batica also said: “ This
> reincarnation of the babaylan may not be too obvious in the
> urban areas of the Philippines, but in my view they are
> active and very present on the more provincial and small
> town scenes.. The family of the deceased is offering a
> "pamisa" or observing a "patapos" for
> the their departed loved one, they would usually turn to a
> prayer leader, instead of the family offering the prayers
> themselves because chances are, they would not be familiar
> with the rituals and the protocols for these devotions
> while the prayer leader is considered an expert.”
> >
> Mr. Batica has personal knowledge: “ Many of the
> prayer leaders I knew in my hometown were
> > either single old women or widows who decided to
> dedicate themselves to the church or to their own
> interpretation of religious life. They, in turn, handed
> down what they knew about traditions, prayers, rituals to
> younger women...and the cycle goes on. And yes, some of
> the prayer leaders in my hometown were also believed to
> have healing powers and to
> > invoke the spirits of the other world in their healing
> sessions. Truly, old (represented by ancient beliefs in
> anitos or spirits, for example) and new (christian symbols)
> working hand in hand to keep body and soul healthy.”
> Mr. Batica speaks from experience:: “Of
> course, mine are just mere observations and added
> interpretations. But would you believe that I even saw
> this kind of dynamic - the animist blending in with the
> Christian, in such far away places as Peru and Cuba? The
> reason I say this is because I had the privilege of being
> assisted by "curanderas" (healers) in my
> travels.”
> Strangely enough, in the Philippines, the women
> healers of “Ciudad Mistica de Dios” and similar
> communities do not want to be called descendants or heirs of
> our babaylan tradition. Could it be because they are wary
> of being associated with superstition and witch craft?
> Evidently, the black propaganda against babaylans started by
> early Spanish missionaries centuries ago lives on.

Silencing the babaylan

2008-08-02T20:01:00.000-07:00

The BABAYLAN, a native priestess or spiritual leader in the days of datus and rajahs, has always been a subject of fascination to latter day Filipina feminists. There is no self-respecting conference on the empowerment of women that does not conjure the spirit of the babaylan directly after the national anthem is sang. So beguiling is the babaylan, members of the gay population insist that they are the rightful descendants and heirs of those enchanted women , a contention belied by a variety of historical evidence ranging from ancient epics and ritualistic formulae to the travel chronicles of Pigafetta and de Loarca who came to these shores with Magellan and Legazpi, respectively..

Antonio Pigafetta did not know they were called babaylan and referred to them as “viejas” , old women, because that was what they were. By the time a woman became a full-fledged babaylan, she was already middle-aged and menopausal for it took almost a lifetime to master that gift those sacred rituals and songs and to assimilate the wealth of ancient wisdom. That being the case, self-styled modern day babaylans like dancer Myra C. Beltran and singer Grace Nono, are probably too green to aspire for such prominence. After all, the babaylan was a pillar of native society together with the datu, the panday and bayani ( warrior); they were not only spiritual leaders but also guardians and harbingers of culture values and tradition. Pigafetta wrote about how the “viejas” danced on a cambay cloth, chanting and drinking wine, playing reed trumpets (flutes probably) to pay homage to the sun . One of them sacrificed a pig, which revolted Pigafetta, and dipped the tip of her reed flute in the pig’s blood and marked the fore head of her busband , companions and community members. .The vieja (babaylan) did not mark the Spaniards with pig’s blood , a bold and meaningful statement that went above Pigafetta’s head.

By pointedly excluding the Spaniards, according to Fe B. Mangahas,(“The babylan historico-cultural context”, Centennial Crossings, 2006) Pigafetta’s babaylan explicitly marked a space between them and the foreigners, an ominous warning of impending conflict and disaster. It was the antithesis of those blood compacts between native men and foreigners ( Magellan and Rajah Kulambu) , alleging equality and brotherhood. The prescient babaylans were right after all, in the centuries that followed and in myriad ways, Spain betrayed the essence of those blood compacts.

Sixty years later when Miguel Lopez de Legazpi came, his chronicler Miguel de Loarca, called “ vieja” by her real title—babaylan—but denigrated her as “possessed by demons whose body is hurled to the ground, foaming at the mouth after so much chanting and dancing….” In fact, de Loarca was terrified as he associated the babaylan’s being “possessed “ to her having healing powers potent enough to raise the dead , and the gift of prophesy.

As expected, the early missionaries like Fray Ignacio Alzina were wary of the babaylans. To the natives, their revered priestess was the medium between them and the gods. The babaylan performed the pag-anito rituals for abundant harvest which was the very cycle of life and they were known to divert plagues and pestilence away from fertile land to the gushing rivers. To Fray Alzina and other missionaries like him , the babaylan was a formidable obstacle to Christianization , who had to be discredited, if not destroyed and forever silenced.

Like wild fire

2008-08-02T19:49:00.000-07:00

There are many historical records in the archives of Spain that have remained unread by Filipino historians and among these are Masonic papers which Dr. Jaime Veneracion believes could pertain to the Katipunan. ( Dr. Veneracion is the resident historian of my daily radio program “Krus na Daan” where he guests every Wednesday.) Because the Katipunan was a secret organization using some Masonic rites and symbols, the Spanish military intelligence agents of those days may have been confused. There were about 30,000 katipuneros like Manuel and Domingo Abella, Leon Adia, Julian Aguila , Jose Alberto, Jose Antonio, Gregorio Barbaque, Anastacio Francisco, Teodoro Guerrero, to name only a few. How fascinating that there may be much more to the Katipunan than what we know today.

At the City of Manila, the foundation of the La Liga Filipina on 3 July 1892 was commemorated at a charming plaza that bears its name, at the corner of Rajah Matanda and Ilaya streets in Tondo. On the same site used to stand the house where Rizal’s mutual benefit society was founded with such noble goals as the unification of the archipelago into a vigorous , homogenous unit; the protection of the poor ; aid to members who have suffered losses by lending them capital for industry and agriculture; the introductionof new machines needed by the country and the establishment of shops, stores and other enterprises as sources of livelihood for Liga members. Today, we call these small and medium enterprises.
Among the La Liga Filipina members were Ambrosio Salvador, Agustin de la Rosa, Deodato Arellano, Bonifacio Arevalo, Macario Sakay, Artemio Ricarte, Timoteo Paez, Juan Zulueta and Isidoro Francisco. Not many people know that Andres Bonifacio and Apolinario Mabini had joined and both tried to reorganize the Liga after Rizal was summarily deported to Dapitan, barely four days after it was founded. .
It can be argued that the tragic turn of events convinced Andres Bonifacio about the futility of peaceful reforms and led him to establish the Katipunan the anniversary of which we celebrated yesterday the corner of El Cano and Claro M. Recto streets and at the Bonifacio Shrine behind City hall where a short re-enactment of its initiation rites was performed by the Barasoain Kalinangan Foundation. The Katipunan was not just a Tagalog affair, it spread like wild fire from the original eight of southern Luzon to the Ilocos, Abra, Cagayan and Batanes in the north and in the south to Mindoro, Palawan, Cebu, Iloilo, Negros, Leyte, Samar, Surigao, Cotabato and Misamis.

Katipunan roster

2008-08-02T19:25:00.000-07:00

> Jose Turiano Santiago was assigned to set up a balangay
> in the San Jose de Trozo area while Restituto Javier
> recruited members in Santa Cruz and Faustino Manalac, in
> Binundok ( now Binondo). Julian Nepomuceno, alias Digma, was
> head of balangay “Laonglaan” ( a pen name of Jose
> Rizal). Tomas Alup Remigio and Rafael Gutierrez established
> the Sanguniang Bayan “Mahiganti”. Katipuneros Genaro
> Reyes, Rogelio Borja, Onofre Ramos operated in Mandaluyong.
> Licerio Geronimo headed the Katipunan branch (sangay) in
> Montalban. He later became a general of the Revolutionary
> Army and the First Republic which he defended valiantly
> during the Philippine-American War. Gen. Geronimo ambushed
> and shot the American General Lawton who was known to have
> captured American Indian Chief Geronimo , also by a river.
>
> Julian de Jesus spread the teachings of the KKK in
> Montalban while Tomas A. Susano was the KKK advocate in
> Novaliches. Pedro Sevilla was KKK agente especial (special
> agent) in Kalookan, Lorenzo Lupa headed the Katipunan
> sector in Sampalukan (now Sampaloc) and Kalookan with Andres
> Bato. Apolonio Samson established the Sangguniang Bayan ng
> Katipunan (town council) in Malabon while Severino Roxas
> headed the Balangay “Matitigan” (barangay) and Gregorio
> Coronel the Katipunan branch in Malabon.
> Canuto Celestino was also agente especial in Nabota
> (now Navotas) while Silvestre Pascual a.k.a Pam Beteng was
> head of the Katupunan in the same place.. Vicente Gomez
> spread the teachings of the Katipunan in Marikina while
> Hermogenes Bautista was setting up a sangay (branch). .
> Ignacio de la Paz, Paterno Carlos and Celestino Teodoro
> conducted initiation rights at Barangka and Mandaluyong.
> Fernrando Angeles was agente especial in Morong while
> Adriano San Jose was setting up a branch . Felipe Gomez was
> also agente especial but in Pasig where Eulalio Santiago was
> head of balangay. Eusesbio Aspilleda was agente especial in
> San Pedro Makati and his counterparat in Pasay was Pacual
> Villanueva. Patricio Bernabe and Santiago Inquimboy were
> agentes espseciales in Palanyag or Parañaque.
> Sabas de Guzman was head of balangay in Palanyag while
> Mariano Dalandan and Valentin Dumalang, Adriano Agot were
> agentes especiales in Las Pinas , Antipolo and Baras,
> respectively. Other agentes especiales were Jose Inares of
> Binagonan, Nazario Crisostomo of Boso-boso, Exequiel Ampil
> of Kainta, Agustin Eustacio of Caradona, Isidro Pascual of
> Jalajala and Rufiino Melendres of Pililla .
> Quiapo also had an agente especial in the person of
> Cipriano Siga. Adausto Ocampo was agente especial in Taytay,
> Rafael Marigona in Teresa, Nicasio Manao and Gregorio Salva
> in Pateros . Urbano Caraballo and Tomas Montillano
> distributed revolutionary pamphlets against the abuses of
> Spanish friars in San Pedro Makati and Muntinlupa.
> Needless to say, there were more than forty-five
> Katipuneros ; more names will be published next week.
>

The Baler Surrender

2008-07-08T07:44:00.000-07:00

Six years ago, a law was passed, with Php 15 million funding, for the celebration of Filipino-Spanish Friendship Day.on 30 June. If memory serves, it was Senator Edgardo Angara who authored the bill and shepherded it through the labyrinth of the legislative and executive branches until it became a law. There is no need to explain why the good senator spearheaded what one might call a 2oth century “Pacto de Sangre” , blood compact and in fact, Senator Angara was also involved in the publication of an edifying coffee table book titled PACTO de SANGRE.

Despite the law and Pres. Angara’s enthusiasm , Fil-Hispano Friendship Day celebrations have had lukewarm response from the general public, yet another proof that the “historia negra” lives on , mindlessly or not, in many official and non-official speeches during various commemorations of events related to the Philippine Revolution against the Spanish colonial rule. It can be argued that on the Spanish side, the primordial reason for celebrating friendship with former enemies is to obliterate, once and for all, the historia negra from our collective memory, or at least correct persistent misconceptions by highlighting the positive side of colonial rule, instead of dwelling on the negative.

A couple of years ago, the Institute Cervantes, a veritable institution in this country, showed the film “Los Ultimos de Filipinas” ( last to leave ) at a high-end Makati theater. Fortunately, its then newly-appointed director, Jose Rodriguez, explained that the film was produced during the early years of Franco’s dictatorship when the Spanish people, especially the military sector, were somewhat demoralized, so, by showing on celluloid the heroic resistance of those Spanish soldiers holed-up and besieged in a small church in Baler, the Spanish people might bolster their sagging self-image.

Had Mr. Rodriguez not given his elucidating prologue, the Filipino audience might have found that 50’s vintage movie quite ludicrous and may have missed the point. But, there are two sides to this point, rather, two points of view regarding the significance of what happened in Baler to the “ultimos de Filipinas”.

The friendship celebration during the past six years, including the one that was held last 21 June ( why they could not wait until the 30th is beyond me) have always emphasized the resilience and loyalty of the “los ultimos”, the Spanish stragglers in Baler and the kindness of Filipino soldiers and townspeople for feeding them in secret instead of massacring them. Well and good, but the point to remember is that in Baler, Spain surrendered to the First Philippine Republic and not to the United States of America as they did in Intramuros, Manila and that Pres. Emilio Aguinaldo abided by the existing international conventions of war by giving humane treatment to prisoners of war. In Baler, the First Philippine Republic and Spain were on equal footing.

Homage to Rajah Sulayman

2008-06-27T18:39:00.000-07:00

Today (24 June) we are celebrating the 437th foundation day of Manila, the city that Spain established and enclosed within formidable walls to defend it against other invaders and define the limits of its empire in this part of the world. But, before all that came to pass, there was already a Maynila whose exact foundation day remains unknown but which historical records have described as a burgeoning center of regional trade, a stable, progressive political and social unit ruled by Rajahmuda Sulayman, perhaps assisted by a wise uncle, Rajah Matanda. They were related to the sultan of Borneo.

One of the turning points of the history of these islands ( there was no Philippines yet) was the introduction of Islam by preachers and scholars, , traders and travelers from Borneo, towards the end of the 15th century, via Sulu and Mindanao. Many of us have forgotten that Islam gained ground in Mindoro, Palawan, parts of Cebu, Batangas, Pampanga, Catanduanes, Laguna and as far north as Cagayan Valley According to Salah Jubair (“A Nation Under Endless Tyranny”) natives learnt the rudiments of the new religion, read the Qur’an, accepted Islamic practices like circumcision and the avoidance of pork, and began to use Muslim names.
For the first time after the fall of Granada in 1492, the Spaniards and the Moros, met again in Manila, after each had circled half the earth, in opposite directions. It must have been a seething encounter: The Spaniards had not forgotten 800 years of Muslim domination while in their collective memory, Muslims still mourned the three million who perished during the “reconquista” of Granada by the Catholic monarchs, Ferdinand and Isabela.

Not surprisingly, the Spaniards called the Islamized natives of Manila “Moros” to differentiate them from the Taga-Ilog animists who were more easily Christianized. According to S. Jubair, the word “Moro” came from Mauritania and referred to Berbers of North Africa who conquered and dominated Spanish territory for 800 years. It was only after 1578 that Moro was used to refer to the Muslims of Mindanao and Sulu. Neither was the first Moro-Spanish War fought down south, , it exploded right here in Maynila between Martin de Goiti and Rajah Sulayman.

There could be no blood compact in that hour of reckoning. Rajah Sulaiman declared that he and the Manileños wished to be friends with all peoples but they will not tolerate any abuse and will repay with death the least affront to their honor. Probably unaccustomed to meeting strong-willed natives, Goiti was piqued by what he mistook for arrogance. Rajah Sulayman was merely making a foreign policy declaration.

The Spaniards had their own agenda and came back twice to fight Rajah Sulayman. Some historians say that he was killed during the Battle of Bangkusay, in Tondo; others say that he survived, settled somewhere in Bagumbayan and continued to be recognized as the Señor de Manila. Be that as it may, Rajah Sulayman and the Maynila he ruled deserve to be remembered by Filipinos today.

from Oscar Apostol

2008-06-16T22:46:00.000-07:00

As an expatriate your endearing articles about our history, ancestry, culture, heroes and others nuggets are my personal conduits and discoveries keeping me in touch to my beloved Philippines. I thank you. I swear these longings make me more Filipino than many of those living in the Philippines. The obvious difference is my deep appreciation and pride of everything Filipino. I suppose being transplanted to another culture does that to you. You stake a claim of whom you are without ambivalence whatsoever.

As a young man growing up with a few regrets, I bought the whole American culture, line and sinker so to speak. At that time we were going through transition from Spanish to American culture. Our national language was adopted in less than a decade so our people were at an early stage of unification; which is still in progress even now. I doubt if it will ever come to pass. However, I cannot undo my past. At my age, I am somewhat of a Renaissance man. I value my heritage, multi race and culture that is Filipino, speaking and understanding three languages. That is more than most people do.

My wife and I have just returned from our intense, busy two-week visit of Manila-Makati and vicinity, staying at the 306 Ascott International Residence Hotel atop of Glorietta 4. The view on our 18th floor non-smoking residence was spectacularly facing Greenbelt skyline, Intercontinental Hotel where we stayed 25 days in 1980 and Shoe to the right and Rustan to our left. Our last visit was in 2005 and stayed a month at the BSA Towers on Greenbelt area.

Some observations seen on local television. Too many American programs being shown. It is not good for our people. No wonder we have an identity problem. We are Filipinos not Americans. Many of our friends speak to them in English. I am not sure if that is good in the long run. Are we robbing and brain washing our children to think Filipino? There is a big difference in essence and thought process. I went through it myself, for goodness sake.

I insisted that our friends take us to Quiapo this trip. I believe it must have been in 1956 (not sure of date) during the total solar eclipse when we were there last. We discovered there is a new Quiapo church and that our friends have not been there for decades. I wanted to see a reference point of my youth in the event this was our last visit. Surprisingly I had a deep appreciation in visiting Quiapo again. It is part of me and who I am. If I was in awe of the churches in Toledo and Madrid in Spain I should equally be proud of our own. And I was.

Discovering our heritage is an eye opener. We need to teach our young people to value our own heritage. There is such an incidental beauty that comes with the discovery. And you begin to love and be comfortable with your own skin because it is your very own; but you have to claim it.

Thank you for another golden nugget of an article, Gemma.
(Roseville, California 95747/ USA)

Unraveling heritage

2008-06-14T20:23:00.000-07:00

What is heritage? Kinakain ba iyan? --used to be persistent questions, but not anymore for heritage is now mainstream; the awareness is spreading fast through instruments like the Heritage Identification and Documentation Training (HIDT), a 3-day workshop conducted by the Heritage Conservation Society (HCS) in Silang and Maragondon, Cavite .

There was an element of surprise as most participants did not quite know what to expect, but were pleasantly surprised to discover that heritage had always been close to their hearts. Of the fifty eight who joined HIDT, about 80 per cent were local government bureaucrats . “I expected architecture students to be the main bulk, “ said Arch. Melvin G. Patawaran, who designed the HIDT modules, in order to ” train Filipinos to identify and become more aware of built heritage structures in their communities, and expose them to techniques of cultural mapping and documentation. value of analysis of structures and interpretation of plans ”

To whet cultural appetites, the HIDT began with a tour of the La Salle University Museum at Dasmarinas, Cavite followed by a visit to the famous church in Silang. Eye-opening ectures were given by Arch. Augusto Villalon , former president, now Guru Council head of HCS, member of the UNESCO and ICOMOS; Eric Zerrudo, curator of the Manila Metropolitan Museum; Arch Rene Mata, director/trustee of HCS, restorer of the Lingayen Capitol building and Arch. M.G. Patawaran who is also a director/trustee of the HCS.

On the second day, the participants went to Maragondon and were warmly met by the Tourism Council, thanks to Mayor Monte Andaman. They toured the three heritage structures selected for study and documentation—the 17^th century Maragondon church with its fabulous carved doors, , the Maragondon Elementary school, a Gabaldon-type built in 1925 and the 19^th century Reyes “bahay na bato”, the site of Andres Bonifacio’s clandestine trial after the fatal Tejeros Convention in 1897. Then the HIDT participants were divided into three groups, working collectively at the above-mentioned spots. Each cluster had a facilitator , Arch. Melvin Patawaran was with the Gabaldon school group, Arch. Rene Mata with the Bonifacio Museum and Christian Aguilar with those who worked on the Maragondon church. Power point presentations were given by each cluster on the third day, followed by a lively open forum where participants commented on each other’s works with the facilitators sharing their observations.

Many participants said that before the HIDT, they could never explain why the old structures in their communities caused such strong emotions and deep feelings; but, now they understand why. By learning identification and documentation techniques they began to fathom the value and significance of built heritage.

Unraveling heritage proved to be an effective bond. The participants asked the HCS to create a blogspot specially for the HIDT “Maragondon batch” so they can continue networking, sharing news about heritage projects they intend to implement in their communities. There was also a demand for more materials like a glossary of basic terms related to conservation and restoration which should have been included in the conference kits. The HIDT was an eye-opener and the consensus was that it should be replicated in other parts of the Philippinesl to awaken “pride of place” in every Filipino.

Participants were housed at the Yen Center of the International Institute of Rural Reconstruction whose current president, Juan Miguel Luz, is the vice-president of the Heritage Conservation Society. This first HIDT was co-sponsored by PCSO, SSS, Legazpi Tiles, Tourism Council of Maragondon, Manila Historical & Heritage Commission.

A national Church emerges

2008-06-12T07:09:00.001-07:00

The idea of separating Church and State was taken up by the Propaganda Movement, in particular by Marcelo H. del Pilar who, on 15 September 1892 , denounced as abhorrently unjust the deportation of Jose Rizal to Dapitan. He said that religious reasons were used to impose political punishment for Rizal was accused of disloyalty to Spain when all he did was attack the friars, When the Propagandists clamored for secular education, religious freedom and the non- interference of ecclesiastical officials in government affairs, they were in effect arguing in favor of the separation of Church and State.

Unexpectedly, during the Revolution and the Malolos Congress that followed, separation of Church and State became a hot and sensitive issue that threatened the very unity of the First Republic. The memory of GOMBURZA was still fresh in the collective memory and the Filipino secular priests wanted to enjoy the social and political prestige of the Spanish friars they had replaced. The dilemma was to fulfill the aspirations of the Filipino seculars without perpetuating friar abuses and to remove Filipino priests from the spiritual jurisdiction of the Spanish Archbishop of Manila but still adhere to the Pope of Rome. . Aguinaldo;s presidential decree of 24 June 1899 ordered the local clergy to show their patriotism and loyalty by sending parish collections to Fr. Gregorio Aglipay and not to Spanish Archbishop Nozaleda. .

Apolinario Mabini, chief presidential adviser, penned several vital measures, which Pres. E. Aguinaldo signed, to guarantee the local clergy’s support for the First Republic specially because war with the United States already seemed inevitable. The separation of church and state issue, (its opponents won by one point in the third round ) was suspended for a future constituent assembly. When the new government had to legislate the disposal of parish funds, this was done with utmost care as indicated by the 1 September 1898 decree of Pres. E. Aguinaldo.

The reaction of Aglipay and the Filipino clergy were , to the Malolos legislators, a barometer of national sentiment. When the First Republic deemed civil marriages obligatory and religious ones optional, Felipe Calderon (who had championed the union of Church and State) cautioned his colleagues about threatening, though unwittingly, the interests of the Filipino clergy, or belittling their religious beliefs. Lest the First Republic be criticized for being anti-Catholic, . civil and canonical marriages were given the same importance specially because t the civil registry was still a function of the parishes.

As early as 1898, in a “First Manifesto”, the Hong Kong Junta already expressed “ …that the native clergy of the country be those to direct and teach the people from every step of the ecclesiastical hierarchy…” The Philippine Revolution and the Malolos Congress showed that the First Philippine Republic did satisfy the aspirations of the Filipino secular clergy. Historians say that it was Apolinario Mabini who had doggedly pursued the establishment of a national Church; in an independent Philippines, the highest ecclesiastical authority had to be Filipino. Although he did not contemplate breaking off with Rome, Mabini rejected the Spanish Archbishop of Manila who exercised his authority only in territory occupied by the American invading forces and not in the twenty-five provinces under the First Republic.

from Rommel de los Santos de Ausen

2008-06-12T07:00:00.000-07:00

Good day!

I encountered your article about Epifanio de los Santos and I feel the same. I am kinda doing research on him when I have free time. I was so curious about his life and works and it still amazes me what he has done- a silent leader. I'm so amazed and curious about history . He was kinda like finding and guiding our nation's identity in those difficult times. Filipinos could relate to him more and I think he's becoming more and more relevant in today's society. He serves as my inspiration. We learn from the great men of history and it's no wonder those great men are Filipinos.

One thing I'm curious about is how did he took the savage distortions of indigenous tribes in the "Saint Louis Exposition". He must have been devastated about it as one of those intellectuals during that time. We have our very own history and it's unique and exciting which could be compared with other old civilizations. We are in a later period. Learning about EDSA could bury those remnants of colonial mentality that we still have as of today.

" A Society Grows Great when Old Men Plant Trees Whose Shade They Know They Shall Never Sit In." Greek Proverb

Hope their legacy lives on.

from Edgar Grajo

2008-06-12T06:43:00.000-07:00

Niece piece no wonder, the church in the Philippines still wields power on some of the undertakings and decision- making of the goverment. They have to ask religious leader their blessing.

from Dr. Cesar Reyes

2008-06-12T06:37:00.000-07:00

(Re: Separating Church from State) I am glad to read your great words, Gemma.

Have a wonderful summer.

Separating Church from State

2008-06-08T16:57:00.000-07:00

>
> The gray areas between Church and State must be a legacy
> of our colonial past. For three hundred years, if not more,
> during the Spanish colonial period, the parish priests, the
> majority friars of religious orders, were considered the
> keystones of the Capitania General de Filipinas, the most
> remote corner of the Spanish empire. The friar was a
> permanent fixture in these islands while
> governors-general, military commanders or even Audiencia
> members came and went; it was rare for governors-general to
> stay more than two years.
> Needless to say, a friar of a religious order
> had no business running a parish but since the early
> missionaries were either Agustinians, Franciscans,
> Dominicans or Jesuits, they had to man the newly-founded
> parish, an anomaly that persisted through the centuries. By
> the 19th century, the friar/parish priest had immense power
> as he took care no only of the religious needs of their
> flock but of the civil registry, recommendations to public
> positions, public works, education, almost all aspects of
> social and economic life. During the Revolution, a group of
> friars were displeased at the “softness” of a governor
> so they sent a telegram to Madrid and got rid of him in
> forty eight hours.
> Strikingly, during the Malolos Congres the most
> contentious issue was the separation of Church and State.
> Felipe Calderon, principal author of the Malolos
> Constitution and delegate Manuel Gomez were the champions
> of the union of Church and State. So deeply passionate were
> the debates that one delegate, Tomas del Rosario, expressed
> his opposition in a five- hour speech. He and his brother
> Arcadio were professed Masons and former members of
> Rizal’s La Liga Filipina.
> Evidently conservative, Calderon and Gomez
> believed that the Catholic Church was the only force
> unifying the Philippines, a nation with diverse languages,
> cultures and regional idiosyncrasies and because the
> majority of Filipinos were Catholics, the separation of
> Church and State would be offensive to them. Delegate
> Gomez added that if Church and State remained united,
> people would be governed by an “internal force” and an
> “external force” , that is, religion and government,
> with the former moderating the latter.
> Felipe Calderon also argued that the Filipino clergy
> might feel betrayed ( and they did !) because for
> centuries they had aspired for both religious and political
> influence. Calderon warned about the Vatican refusing the
> ordidnation of Filipino priests and taking adverse
> measures in the final disposition of the enormous
> landholdings of the religious orders. His co-delegates
> criticized him for recognizing the friars’ ownership of
> land which was ‘vicious in origin”. Calderon felt
> rebuffed when the “Articulo Adicional” was attached
> to the Malolos Constitution; it stated that all friar
> lands had been restored to the State since the declaration
> of independence in June 1898.
> The del Rosario brothers insisted that aside from
> the religious factor, there were deeply –rooted secular
> values that unified Filipinos in their Revolution against
> Spain. Besides, a separation of Church and State did not
> necessarily mean the abandonment of Christian morality and
> doctrine which admittedly had become part of Filipino
> culture. To perpetuate the union of Church and State was
> tantamount to preserving “feudal theocracy “ which
> during three hundred and fifty years created a “State
> within a State’ to the misfortune of the Filipinos.
> Arcadio del Rosario pointed out that not all the
> inhabitants of the Philippines were Catholics, what about
> the Muslims? By favoring one religion, serious conflicts
> may ensue and lead the young republic to a civil war.
> When the Malolos Congress delegates voted on the
> Church and State issue, there was a tie, not once but
> twice, and on the third voting the results were 26-25 in
> favor of separation. The Filipino secular clergy was
> palpably disappointed. Apolinario Mabini, then Chief
> Adviser of Pres. E. Aguinaldo, realized that the First
> Republic needed the support of the Filipino clergy
> specially because the war with the United States was
> imminent. It was he who advised Pres. Aguinaldo to put the
> Church and State matter on hold until more normal times.
>

A Pakistani's view

2008-06-02T23:18:00.000-07:00

A few days after arrived from Islamabad, I met a Pakistani who has lived in the Philippines for about seventeen years; he is married to a Filipina. I told him that there are striking similarities between our two countries and that I sincerely started feeling at home in Islamabad and actually thought that I could live there quite happily.

My new friend, Muhammad Aslam, is the vice-president of the Pakistan-Philippines-Pakistan Business Council so naturally we spoke about the balance ( or imbalance!) of trade . He said there are many more products that Pakistan and the Philippines can sell each other but, sadly enough, neither seem to be exploiting this potential. There are Philippine products that are always in demand in Pakistan like canned food products of different brands,-- the Dole and Del Monte line of fruit and vegetables , different types of Century Tuna, Nata de Coco , powdered fruit juices like Tang and tinned sweet corn.

There is also an incredible market for dermatological products which abound in the Philippines like Eskinol-type astringents, crams and cosmetics based on virgin coconut oil. (Pakistan as a much drier climate.) There seems to be a bottomless demand for abaca rope( the famous Manila Rope) and other abaca-based goods, not to mention, solid wood and rattan furniture. Believe it or not, Pakistan is looking at the Philippines as a supplier of black pepper, ginger, and betel nut; yes, the common and much-maligned nganga is sought-after in Pakistan. Used newspapers and telephone directories can feed our neighbor’s recycling industries.

For their part, they are most willing to increase their rice exports as this is not a staple grain in Pakistan; all kinds of textiles are available from cotton to silk, as well as precious and semi-precious jewelry, leather goods and of course pharmaceutical products at very affordable prices.

So what are we waiting for?—I asked Mr. Aslam. What is keeping us from increasing the volume of trade? Woefully, he said that due to the exorbitant freight cost Pakistani Importers are constrained to buy their needs from other countries. Malaysia, Vietnam and Thailand which have products similar to ours are reaping the benefits of a steady and lucrative trade with Pakistan. Mr. Aslam offers a simple computation: ahe freight cost for a 20 -fitter container from the Philippines to Pakistan is around US$ 1,350,while it is only between US$ 750-850 from Pakistan to Philippines; a 40-fitter container will cost US$ 2,700 from the Philippines to Pakistan but only US$ 1,350 from Pakistan to the Philippines. Seemingly insignificant, the difference has a direct impact on the final cost and competitive edge of all products.

Islamabad's "Fortalice boutique"

2008-06-02T23:14:00.001-07:00

One of the pleasant surprises of my visit to Pakistan
was the couple of nights spent at Islamabad’s
“Fortalice ”, an up scale bourgeois house ensconced
in a Makati-type village and converted into a boutique
hotel.
That was where the Islamabad Policy Research
Institute, our host,billeted us -- Lyn Resurrecction
(Business Mirror),Natalia Diaz (Philippine Daily
Inquirer), Ellen Tordesillas (Malaya), Fatima
(People’s Asia), and Dante Francis Ang ( Manila
Times)— shortly after an animated session with the
frightfully outspoken journalists of the Karachi Press
Club. Our hosts probably wanted to keep us out of
harms way; we were joking of course, the Pakistan
trip was definitely not a “guided tour”.
The “Fortalice” was pure nostalgia. Somehow, it
reminded me of the Araneta mansion “MARA”, on McKinley
Road, where my husband and I lived during the first
two years of our marriage. In fact, I had given my
father-in-law’s sedate, paneled study adaptive re-use
by converting it into Fatimah’s nursery. Living at
“Mara” was like being in a sublimely lusurious hotel
but with the warmth of a large, cheerful family.
Not quite as grand as “Mara”, Islamabad’s “Fortalice
Boutique ” was just as elegant what with chandeliers,
a sweeping main staircase, lots of carved panels and
grills and marble slabs. When the original owners
lived there, they probably had an enviable collection
of art and a fine library like my in-laws. The
elderly waiter in a brocade vest, probably the family
mayordomo, guided us through the menu and explained
special features of the house.
After my mother-in-law passed away, late last year,
her children did not quite know what to do with the
palatial “MARA”. I was afraid it would suffer the fate
of other ancestral homes so I suggested that they
turn it into a boutique hotel much like the
“Fortalice” of Islamabad.

Pakistan at first sight

2008-06-02T23:06:00.000-07:00

I wanted to touch base ( so to speak)n with Pakistan as we Filipinos seem to have lost track of this worthy ally. Pakistan Airlines has long suspended its flights to Manila so I took an Emirates airbus and had to change planes in Dubai. The Islamic Republic of Pakistan, a South Asian country with a 1,046 kilometer coastline along the Arabian Sea shares geographical borders with Iran, India, People’s Republic of China and Afghanistan with whom it has had spiny political and military relations. But that is nothing new to Pakistan because that intriguing part of the world where South and Central Asia and the Middle East converge has, since the dawn of time, witnessed invasions and settlements of Persians, Greeks, Mongols Arabs, Turks and Afghans.

As you know, Pakistan was part of British India until 1947 when Muhammad Ali Jinnah led a movement for a Muslim homeland comprised by the provinces of Sind, West Punjab, Baluchistan, East Bengal and the Northwest Frontier Province. Mr. Jinnah, the Quaid-e-Azam (Great Leader) is revered as the Father of the Nation and in Karachi there is an awesome mausoleum done in white marble where his remains are kept. Seven thousand people come daily to pay their respects. According to the Ministry of Information, no one can talk or write against the Founder of the Nation.

There are many similarities between Pakistan and the Philippines. Both have gone through periods of military rule and political instability as well as brief moments of economic growth and development. In 1971, a civil war in East Pakistan resulted in the independence of Bangladesh . Let us hope the similarities end there as none of us wish to see a fragmented Philippines.

When I last looked, Pakistan and the Philippines were members of the NAM (Non-Aligned Movement), the impossible dream, and the SEATO (Southeast Asian Treaty Organization) which turned out to be a paper tiger. Today, we are both members of the United Nations, the World Trade Organization, and the Group of 77 developing nations. Pakistan is considered a nuclear power, while we have a nuclear power plant which has never been used but for which we have uselessly paid billions of dollars.

Pakistan and the Philippines are both destined (or doomed?) to play the precarious and dangerous role of frontline states, at the Arabian Sea and South China Sea, compelled to join pro-Western military alliances, then anti-communist and now anti-terrorist, that have sucked them into wasteful wars of conflict and intervention. It’s time to take another look at Pakistan.

Warning from fisher folk

2008-05-14T21:58:00.000-07:00

The “curse of free trade”, according to economist Alejandro Lichauco, has virtually wiped out our agricultural sector from twenty-five percent of the economy in the 1980’s to a bare fifteen per cent today. One can only imagine how those “wiped out” are surviving. Lamentably, in this archipelago of more than seven thousand islands, fisher folk are also being wiped out by the same curse. The market-driven, free trade policies of a series of governments have, according to the KilusangMangingisda (KM), resulted in the dire neglect of fisheries and aquaculture management and the lack of support for municipal fishers. Notably, the latter make up ninety-five percent of the fisheries labor force and contribute at least a third of total fisheries production. Painfully, KM chairman Bonifacio Federizo observes that the present dispensation seems to perpetuate old habits as it equates development with private investments, market access and export-oriented production. The small producers are callously ignored even if, at the municipal level, they play a vita lrole in ensuring livelihood for coastal communities and food fish security for the entire country. Chronic problems like poor management, socio-environmental negligence and resource depletion remain unsolved.

The KM, a coalition of fourteen federations, disputes claims that extensive, commercial aquaculture is a sound and rational alternative to capture fishery. “In its present form,” says Mr.Federizo,” aquaculture in the country remains unregulated and saddled with unsustainable practices.”Insistently, he has pointed out that wanton conversion of mangroves to commercial fish ponds, have already wiped out two-thirds of the country’s natural nurseries and feeding grounds. The excessive accumulation of feeds and organic wastes in commercial fish cages continue to pollute once pristine lakes and near-shore marine waters, causing noxious and wasteful fish kills. Why aren’t their voices heard at high-level summits? Short of obliterating the “curse of free trade”, the Kilusang Mangingisda proposes the following remedies for the impending fish food shortage.
• The maximum sustainable fishing yield is 1.9 million metric tons a year; let us not exceed that.
• Commercial fisheries should be limited to waters of Exclusive Economic Zone since these are relatively unexploited.
• Standards for responsible aquaculture should be enforced to mitigate and/or prevent adverse socio-environmental impact on aquaculture production and coastal fishing communities.
• Post-harvest facilities like refrigeration, freezers and cold storage should be accessible to small fisher folk in order to minimize losses due to spoilage.

The KM affirms that there has been a food fish deficit since 2005 and that the country’s fisheries production cannot keep up with the demands of a rapidly- growing population. In 2005, the local demand for fish food was at 2.6 million metric tons; according to figures from the Comprehensive National Fishery Industry Development Plan (CNFIDP), an individual Filipino’s average yearly fish consumptionis 31.4 kilos, so multiply that by 135 millionFilipinos (population by 2025 based on a yearly growth rate of 2.36 percent) and you will have an idea of how many metric tons of fish we will need by 2025. Over-fishing has remained unchecked since the1970’s and by blindly relying on free trade and market forces, we have foolishly exhausted our resources and gone beyond maximum sustainable yields; the average fish catch has declined to only one sixth of what itwas in the 1950s. First the agricultural sector is accursed, now the fisheries industry is on the vergeof collapse. Let us heed the warning of small fisherfolk before it is too late.

Pakistan at first sight

2008-05-14T21:24:00.000-07:00

Two days after I landed in Karachi, Pakistan, my mother dreamt I was carrying a basket of red and yellow flowers which alarmed her to no end even as I told her not to worry because only white flowers are portents of doom. That was probably my fault because I waited until the very last minute to tell her that I had accepted an invitation of the Islamabad PolicyResearch Institute to spend a week in Pakistan. She was extremely worried, like everyone else, and wondered why I always choose the most dangerous places to visit. That trip to North Vietnam in 1968 and also in the month of May was brought up as evidence of my recklessness. I promised not to go anywhere near theAfghan border, but apparently, that was no consolation.

I wanted to touch base ( so to speak)n withPakistan as we Filipinos seem to have lost track of this worthy ally. Pakistan Airlines has long suspended its flights to Manila so I took an Emirates airbus and had to change planes in Dubai. The Islamic Republicof Pakistan, a South Asian country with a 1,046 kilometer coastline along the Arabian Sea shares geographical borders with Iran, India, People’sRepublic of China and Afghanistan with whom it has had spiny political and military relations. But that is nothing new to Pakistan because that intriguing part of the world where South and Central Asia and theMiddle East converge has, since the dawn of time, witnessed invasions and settlements of Persians,Greeks, Mongols Arabs, Turks and Afghans.

As you know, Pakistan was part of British India until 1947 when Muhammad Ali Jinnah led a movement for a Muslim homeland comprising the provinces of Sind, West Punjab, Baluchistan, East Bengal and the Northwest Frontier Province. Mr. Jinnah, theQuaid-e-Azam (Great Leader) is revered as the Fatherof the Nation and in Karachi there is an awesome mausoleum done in white marble where his remains are kept. Seven thousand people come daily to pay their respects. According to the Ministry of Information, no one can talk or write against the Founder of the Nation. There are many similarities between Pakistan and the Philippines. Both have gone through periods of military rule and political instability as well as brief moments of economic growth and development. In1971, a civil war in East Pakistan resulted in the independence of Bangladesh . Let us hope the similarities end there as none of us wish to see a fragmented Philippines.

When I last looked, Pakistan and the Philippines were members of the NAM (Non-Aligned Movement), the impossible dream, and the SEATO (Southeast AsianTreaty Organization) which turned out to be a paper tiger. Today, we are both members of the UnitedNations, the World Trade Organization, and the Groupof 77 developing nations. Pakistan is considered a nuclear power, while we have a nuclear power plantwhich has never been used but for which we have uselessly paid billions of dollars. Pakistan and the Philippines are both destined(or doomed?) to play the precarious and dangerous role of frontline states, at the Arabian Sea and SouthChina Sea, compelled to join pro-Western military alliances, then anti-communist and nowanti-terrorist, that have sucked them into wasteful wars of conflict and intervention. It’s time to takeanother look at Pakistan.

Fishy

2008-05-01T17:18:00.000-07:00

Yesterday, the cost of galunggong, (our index
fish), rose to more than Php102 pesos per kilo at
wet markets in the National Capital Region,
deepening our state of confusion and helplessness.
Is there also a shortage of fish, aside from that of
rice and other basic food stuff, or, is it a shortage
of pesos to buy food? Heads of various government
agencies have always argued that it is cheaper for us
to import food products, rice included, rather than
produce. What if we can no longer afford to buy what
we need? Don
Is there a shortage of fish ? According to the
Kilusang Mangingisda (KM), a coalition of fourteen
national fisher federations, the Comprehensive
National Fishery Industry Development Plan (CNFIDP) ,
prepared jointly by the government and stakeholders
in the domestic fisheries sector, reveal that in 2005,
there was indeed a fish deficit of 205,159 metric
tons which will increase to an estimated 585,000
metric tons by 2025. The average yearly fish deficit
is 403,000 metric tons. Is something being done to
mitigate the inevitable?
The Kilusang Mangingisda (KM) chairman, Bonifacio
Federizo, is of the opinion that the sorry state of
our fisher folk and the fishing industry is largely
due to the destruction and loss of once protected
mangrove areas. Because of that, millions of Filipinos
living in coastal communities who once benefited from
these natural marine nurseries and coastal barriers
have become vulnerable to natural disasters that
include dwindling fish harvests. Mr. Federizo lays
the blame at the doorsteps of the Asian Development
Bank (ADB) and other international finance
institutions (IFIs) for funding environmentally
destructive aquaculture from 1970’s to the 1990.

Apparently, during the above-mentioned period, the ADB
and IFIs offered billions of dollars in loans and
grants to increase fisheries production and trade,
specially of high-value species like tuna and shrimp.
Mr. Bonifacio Federizo, argues that the expansion “of
destructive aquaculture led to a massive loss of
mangrove areas that ultimately led to decreasing
fishery stocks and to the present deficit in the
supply of food fish in the country…Between 1985 and
1989, external assistance given to huge aquaculture
complexes in developing countries averaged to US$
500 million a year,” Mr. Federizo, cited data from the
Food and Aquaculture Organization (FAO) of the United
Nations.

According to the same source, from 1989 to 1995, the
ADB and the World Bank were the prime supporters of
aquaculture in Asia , accounting for sixty- nine
percent of total foreign funding supporting forty
percent of total projects. The KM leaders say that as
the ADB and World Bank funds fueled the expansion of
intensive aquaculture they unleashed an environmental
catastrophe as mangroves were destroyed to give way
to the large-scale production of shrimp and other
species for both export and major domestic markets,
“Mangrove losses in Southeast Asia was mind-boggling.
“ said Mr. Federizo, “ In Thailand , 203,765
hectares representing fifty-five percent of total
mangrove area were lost. In Vietnam , only 60,000
hectares of an original 200,000 hectares in the Mekong
Delta remain. In the Philippines , only 117,000
hectares remain out of 500,000 hectares of mangroves
in the 1920s. Mangrove conversion to fishponds is the
main reason for the precarious state of our fishing
sector,” Federizo pointed out.
On the other hand, one can also argue that the ADB and
IFI’s are not entirely to blame; guiltier are the
government agencies mandated to protect the
environment but allowed the destruction of mangroves;
guiltier are Filipino investors greedy enough to
sacrifice national interests. Dynamite and cyanide
fishing and other environmentally damaging methods are
committed with impunity.. Even if the ADB and IFI’s
were to see light and strictly require adherence to
international environmental standards, only the
Filipinos can take care of the Philippines.

"Green Revolution" revisited

2008-04-29T20:49:00.000-07:00

From a rice-importing country, the Philippines
became a rice exporter in 1977, for the first time
in the 20th century. This was credited to the
“GreenRevolution” which promoted the
Masagna 99, a highyielding rice variety developed
at the InternationalRice Research Institute
(IRRI). The “GreenRevolution” was wildly
acclaimed by industrializedcountries, in particular
the USA, the usual financialand technical
assistance agencies like the World Bank(WB),
USAID and the Asian Development Bank (ADB),
not to mention certain multinational corporations.
Yet, after three decades, here we are again
importing rice in massive quantities.

Although the Philippines was no longer
a“showcase of democracy” in 1977,
( Pres. FerdinandMarcos had imposed
martial rule ), it was undeniably a “show
window” of the “rice revolution”and that was
considered an achievement both the Marcos
dictatorship and the IRRI. Anachronistic as it
may sound today, the Cold War was the
backdrop of the“Green Revolution” which was
but a clever device toehance the superiority
of the capitalist system through “miracle rice”
production in areas of chronicpoverty and
hunger, fertile grounds for communism.Perhaps,
that was why the “Green Revolution”ultimately
foundered on its own avowed goals.

Landholders big and small had to be transformed
into dynamic capitalist entrepreneurs,producing
the modern commercial way, with incredibly
new technologies, extensive credit and marketing
systems that, inevitably , reduced the peasants’role
in agricultural development. “Green Revolution”all
but abolished the traditional way of rice farming.

Strikingly, the miracle was short-lived. Excessive
use of chemicals rendered the soil infertile and threw
ecology off balance. while small landholders were
either forced to sell their plots (awarded through
land reform) or work for a pittance as tenant
farmers and sharecroppers until big landholders
mechanized their plantations. It became obvious
that “Green Revolution”intensified poverty
when it was supposed to generate livelihood
specially in non - irrigated areas. Once landless,
peasants fled in droves to urban areas for survival.

Some people remember that the Philippine government
relaxed its efforts at rice production much too soon
and contrary to the strategy of WB,ADB and
USAID which favored continued increase in staple
food outputs. The three million hectares devoted to
rice were reduced to two million by the Ministry of
Agriculture in favor of IRRI’s “production
intensification” scheme of having four crops a year.
On top of that, there was an irreversible shift to
more remunerative export crops like winter vegetables
and fruits and grains like corn and sorghum
for livestock and animal feeds. Although rice output
was kept at par with population increase, targets for
agriculture growth were deliberately lowered.

In 1983, UN agricultural consultant Ernest Feder
published PERVERSE DEVELOPMENT,
(Foundation ofNationalist Studies , Quezon City)
where he dissected the “Green Revolution” and
its impact. He predicted that in the long run,
“…more important economic factors adverse to
rice production are likely to make their appearance.
A relevant factor affecting thefuture of the
rice sector in the Philippines will turnout to be
government policy which will by necessity be
coordinated with the production priorities set by
monopoly capital operating in the Philippines.
Monopoly capital in agriculture is only moderately
interested in rice [production].” How true, the
“farmer as rice importer” policy drove the
Filipino peasant to despair and to greener pastures
abroad.

an invitation

2008-04-27T00:34:00.000-07:00

You are cordially invited to visit

manilaheritageiscool.blogspot.com

Yes, Manila heritage is cool!
is the blog of the Manila Historical &
Heritage Commission which was
revived by Mayor Alfredo S. Lim
in July 2007. He is the honorary
chairman.

Chairperson is Mrs. Carmen G.Nakpil
Vice-chairman is Vice-Mayor
F. Domagoso, better known as
Isko Moreno.

Latest post is a guide to the Flores
de Mayo and Santacruzan.

Saving Pila

2008-04-26T23:28:00.000-07:00

The Pila Historical Society Foundation, Inc. was
founded during the incumbency of Mayor Q. Relova
who made sure the town council would appoint it the
official  caretaker of the plaza.That made possible
the demolition of historically irrelevant and
illegal structures that had mushroomed on 
the Pila plaza.

   By that time, Apollo del Rio was mayor the town
council  had become allies of heritage so
conservation work was on track. Parish priest
Fr.Melchor Barcenas did  such a remarkable job in
restoring  the Pila church which  was declared the
Diocesan Shrine of St. Anthony of Padua. 

   Happily, incumbent Mayor Wilfredo Quiat
believes in continuity.Upon request,he demolished
a mini police station, an eyesore tucked under the
right wing of the municipio and built  new one near
the public school. Even if it means losing votes,he
has not allowed vendors to reclaim the plaza to
peddle their wares.Once, Mayor Quiat invited Santiago
Bacelona, then mayor of Escalante, Negros Occidental,
to take his staff to Pila to exchange ideas and
experiences about heritage conservation.

     Yet, Pila’s inhabitants  have not let their
guard down as heritage conservation is always under
threat. Last year, they battled  a cellular phone
company  which posted banners on all the  lamp posts
around the Pila plaza, just when Pila had become a
must- see  for cultural tours. Advertising blitz  was
also tacked on the trees along the main road leading
to the town and also along the national highway. 

     The Pila Historical Society appealed to its
friends in and outside Pila and the ensuing campaign
was so heart-rending it sparked a blaze of unsolicited
assistance from champions of“corporate responsibility”.
Banners and streamers were taken down,ugly food stalls
and push carts were replaced with donated ones designed
by Pila residents; electric posts were suddenly
reminiscent of the First Philippine  Republic.

     When you visit  Pila, never be in a hurry.
Prepare yourself for a leisurely,tranquil day where
there is  nothing more delightful than to stroll up
and down its shady roads, tracing  the medieval
“cuadricula”. If you let the Pila Historical Society
know about  your visit, they will most probably
arrange for merienda at Cora Relova’s living-room 
or at  Monina Rivera’s two-storey home.  The
St. Anthony of Padua Church is worth a visit,
admire its retablo and intricacies of its wall
designs. After you have rested under embracing
coolness of its nave, find your way to the
Escuela Pia and marvel at the Chinese, Thai and
local earthenware excavated in ancient gravesites
of Pinagbayanan. 

     We could very well have more  Pilas in the
Philippines but the race against the ravages of time,
ignorance and indifference is so perilous that one
sighs with relief when  national andmarks like Pila
are saved through tireless community effort.

from Laurence T.Gayao, MD

2008-04-23T21:24:00.000-07:00

I have read your thought- provoking articles all these years and thank you
for the nationalistic insights, above the political forays of our self serving
leaders. I have often wondered why multinational
corporations don't invest in Philippines as much as in Japan, Korea,
and Japan? I would think that we have the man power, who are
well- educated, English -speaking and motivated to work. I don't know
how true it is that Philippine law requires that a corporation to operate
in the Philippines it has to be 60% owned by Pilipinos and be headed
by a Pilipino. Tell me who in their right minds would invest billions of
dollars and have some body else have the controlling interest. much
more run it. In Japan, Korea, and China they are more investment friendly
they realized that multinational corporations have the capital and have
already marking network to sell their products.

United States the largest economy has several corporations owned by
different nationalities. Sony corporation is a good example they own
Sony entertainment which controls Hollywood movies, music productions
and distribution world wide. Many Japanese car companies have
manufacturing plants scattered around USA giving jobs to thousand of
Americans. Why could this not be done in the Philippines? More
employment and greater tax base, this is a no brainer.

Our leaders should have an understanding of the global economy to
stop our brain drain. Not just say "Mabuhay ang Pilipino" but
do something upang mabubuhay ang ating kapwa Pilipino.
(Mansfield, Texas)

from Arnold Arnaiz

2008-04-23T21:09:00.000-07:00

I have written countless emails and made phone calls
to try to save what was left of the school where Rizal
was first formally educated. Unfortunately none have
been answered and as time goes by its condition has
deteriorated all the more. A friend who reads your blog
referred me to you. I pray that you can be of some
assistance knowing that we share your passion about
our nation's history.

The place where Maestro Cruz taught Pepe the basics of
elementary studies at age 9 in Binan Laguna has been left
to decay, the foundations has fallen to the ground - what
remains now I assume are lumbers waiting to be disposed.

I have been traumatized by this experience that I have
decided to create a blog and called out some friends who
would be willing to help, as you can imagine this is not an
easy task for someone without connections.

What remains of the small kubo is still there, I'm very sure
that it won't be there forever. At this point the kubo
has been completely levelled its material being lumber
and nipa made it worst, I was thinking that maybe the
reason people don't hear me out is because they've felt
that 'it cant be helped' but I feel we can still do something
with what remains of the school.

Your thoughts?
http://withonespast.wordpress.com

Charming Pila

2008-04-23T18:49:00.000-07:00



When she returned to Pila, Laguna, after
fourteen years of living in New York
and San Francisco,the redoubtable
Corazon Relova  was horrified  that the 
once charming plaza of her childhood was
smothered  by a decrepit  museum building,
broken plants boxes, a grubby basketball
court, an unfinished water reservoir turned
garbage dump,  food stalls cum informal
dwellings with TV antennas and adding to
the sordid mess were uncollected remains
of ferias and peryantes.

Cora Relova  knew that she  had to knock some
heritage sense into the mayor’s head; happily, 
he was Querubin Relova,  a second  cousin. 
With contagious enthusiasm she recruited
Monina Rivera,another cousin, and historian
Luciano Santiago (his history of Pila later
helped make  it a landmark). The owners of 
ancestral homes  around the plaza are all
relatives so when a house goes up for sale,
another relative buys it.

Cora herself was born in a charming chalet
at a corner of the plaza,  with a spectacular
macopa tree that literally turns pink in the
summer. The main staircase  is outside,
in front of the house, gracefully curved,
ornamented with flowers and leading up to a
cool veranda. Like other houses of that period,
it is almost transparent and  a perpetual
breeze flows through  windows with no  grills,
spreading the fragrance of  a tropical garden
through discreet ventanillas and finely carved
rafters of dividing walls.

The ancestral homes of  Pila, Laguna,  are
expressions of Filipino identity, culture
and beliefs;their  architectural style blends
with the environment and  has evolved over
a period of time to address the community’s
changing needs. Most of the ancestral homes 
are inhabited by families of their original
owners who graciously welcome visitors  but
are hesitant to enroll in the
“bed and breakfast”program of the Department
of Tourism,for fear of losing their privacy.

Pila will be four hundred thirty-three years
old this year but it  is really much older,
originating from a seaside settlement,
Pinagbayanan, even before Ferdinand Magellan
found his way to Mactan; perennial floods
drove it to  Pagalangan and in the 17th
century, perhaps for purposes of
Christianization,the natives were grouped
into  a “reduccion” (hamlet)  by the  early
Spanish missionaries.In 1613, it became 
La Noble Villa de Pila;in our colonial history,
only eight towns were given that supreme accolade. 
Amazingly,  Pila’s “cuadricula” ( town-planning
according to the 16th century“Leyes de las
Indias" remains intact to this day.

Before  Cora’s cousin, Mayor Querubin Relova,
finished his term as mayor,  the Pila Historical
Society Foundation, Inc. was founded, duly
registered and appointed official caretaker of
the plaza.That made possible the demolition of
historically irrelevant and illegal structures
that had mushroomed on the site. As heritage
conservation took root, Pila began to attract
more advocates. Senator Rodolfo Biazon paid for
a pathway along the perimeter of the town plaza
and funded the restoration of  a  water fountain
built by American engineers in 1911. Almost a
hundred years old,  this is  fed by a “bukal” or
subterranean stream. Not to be outdone,then Governor
Jose Lina  donated a welcome arch, street lights
and park benches. 

Pila attained national  celebrity on 17 May
2000, when this  fourth class municipality was
declared a National Historical Landmark by the
National Historical Institute.







___________________________________________

Bencab's dream

2008-04-12T19:35:00.001-07:00



   When Ben Cabrera left for London in 1969,
we his fans thought  that that was the last we
were going to see of our icon. He was in pursuit
of  Caroline Kennedy, blonde British writer
and hippie,whom  he had met at Indios Bravos Café
in Malate.She had gained some notoriety after
a local magazine published her article,
“Filipinos are clumsy lovers”;
yet,she married Bencab.

    A journey to the West is really a journey 
to the East, a poet once said, so Bencab did 
come back in 1986, sans Caroline, settled in
Baguio, continued to paint, exhibit and 
travel the world,  created the Tam-Awan artists
village. At the same time, he  began collecting
and accumulating Cordillera artifacts and
to no one’s surprise,  he became  National Artist
in 1996.

     Bencab is constructing his Cordillera
fantasy in Asin,Benguet. Why Asin? Could it be
because Benedicto Reyes Cabrera (Bencab’s  real
name) was born in Malabon and grew up in the
constricted urban hinterlands of Mayhaligue,
Santa Cruz and Bambang, Tondo?  Bencab’s private
preserve  in Asin  is on a superlative
promontory that gives you a stunning  glimpse
of the South China Sea. Besides, you are
enthralled by the sound of waterfalls, 
brooks and gurgling hot springs; no wonder there
are so many vegetables and flowers with names not
easy to remember—heliconia, anthurium, bromeliad, a
riot of lilies, orchids and azaleas.
  
     Bencab  has about seven Cordilleran  houses.
His collection boasts of huts from Ifugao and Bontoc
and a rare octagonal one  from Kalinga. To him, that
is the only feasible way of saving these inimitable
highland ancestral homes from certain destruction.
Respectful of authenticity, he has fitted them with
modern hot water baths and converted each one into a
into a unique guest house. In heritage parlance, that
is  adaptive re-use, an acceptable, if not laudable
method  conservation.

   Looking back, Bencab must have been  stricken
with conservation mania,  incurable it seems, while
living  in London where he loved to  browse at
antiquarian bookstores  and stalls. He came across
a lot of prints, maps and old photographs of the
Philippines which probably shocked him,  as did the
books of Antonio Morga and sundry European travelers
disquiet  Jose Rizal and his fellow  Propagandists.
  
    The first spark, according to  writer friend Krip
Yuson, was in 1971,  when Bencab  came across  a
fading daguerreotype —Portrait of a Servant Girl—taken
at the end of the 19th century. In his book about
Bencab’s works,  Krip Yuson described how Bencab
reproduced the daguerreotype on canvas  to blur “the
evident and  purposeful servility” and project  “the
innate dignity”  of  the Filipino servant girl.
  
     I might add, just like Jose Rizal’s painstaking
annotations of Antonio Morga’s Sucesos de las Islas
Filipinas. That was the start of Bencab’s
incomparable “ Larawan “ series  and his
nationalistic outpouring about the
Philippine-American War--“A page of and Officer's
Diary” and “ Bandit and Gentleman”.





____________________________________________________________________________________
You rock. That's why Blockbuster's offering you one month of

about "Ilocano living"

2008-04-12T19:30:00.000-07:00

Dear Mr. Urmeneta,

Thank you for reading my article and the kind words
you sent me. I am glad to know that I somehow
rekindled that "pride of place" in a kababayan
who now wants to discover his roots. Let us be
proud of being Ilocano, or Tagalog in my case,
the important thing is we are all essentially
Filipino.

With all good wishes, I am,
Yours sincerely,
Gemma Cruz Araneta

about Leon Ma. Guerrero

2008-04-12T02:57:00.001-07:00

Hi, Gemma,

Your blog surfaced yesterday when I was googling something. Thanks for reading my book, "1904 World's Fair: The Filipino Experience." I didn't know that Leon Maria Guerrero was your great grandfather. I recently came across his name again on my research about the Panama-Pacific International Exposition in San Francisco in 1915. He was the Philippine Commissioner to the fair. During the dedication of the Philippine Pavilion on February 26, 1915, he delivered a speech, saying:

“People of America, the Filipinos bless you because they hope from you with the faith of a believer in their complete political emancipation. America, a nation of grand ideas, zealous deposit of saved liberties, will know how to bring to the light by its rigorous action certain fiber in the moral structure of the Filipino and make of him a human type in which there will be associated side by side those supreme ideas in which his mind has always found delight. Never will the Filipinos forget the benefits which the United States have conferred upon him in trying to eradicate evils due not to a defective moral constitution, but to the social medium in which he has developed. This exposition in San Francisco will be for the Philippines one lesson more to be added to many already learned and will serve to entrench still deeper the conviction that the world is not a vale of tears when intelligence transform it. Californians and Americans all, my people admire you because you represent a new humanity which has endeavored to combine in one single marvelous whole the ideal and the practical, without surrendering anything of the dignity that belongs to the race."

The speech was delivered in Spanish; it was translated by Charles Morales, the Director of Exhibits from Mindanao and Sulu.

Judging from your great grandfather's interviews and public speeches, I could sense his admirable traits of human decency and love of country. Congratulations for coming from a good stock. More power to your blog.

Ciao,

Joe Fermin

from Oscar Apostol

2008-04-12T02:47:00.000-07:00

I am a diehard patriot. One cannot pick and choose to pay homage to a national flag. The flag represents the heart and soul of the people buoyed by heroes blood , sweat and tears. As an American citizen and a veteran I highly respect the Philippine flag even though I am an expatriate. A cat may have nine lives but does not change color..

There is no incongruity between nationalism and religion. Adventist or not these are Filipinos. What you described are mere ceremonies and frankly can be hollow at best. How can these people sold their Filipino ness down the river for a pittance religion that saw light only after the Reformation? Their acceptance of such a stupid demand is enraging to me.

Without candle lights and dimming of auditorium lights it leaves you nothing but people in satin clothes. At the end of the ceremony they return to their old self. So who is kidding whom?

I have expressed my views and feelings. So there.

Oscar Apostol

Roseville, Ca. USA

(NOTE: JUST FOUND OUT THAT THE JEHOVAH WITNESS, NOT THE ADVENTISTS, THINK THAT THE FLAG IS A GRAVEN IMAGE.--GCARANETA) .

about "View from a mountain"

2008-04-12T02:42:00.000-07:00

HI there, Gemma. Thanks for the article you shared in the Manila Bulletin. - rhoen

Rhoen Catolico, MVC '95

Asst. Program Director

AWR Asia/Pacific

798 Thomson Road

Singapore 298186

Ilocano living

2008-04-12T02:03:00.000-07:00

Nestled in the lowlands of Currimao, Ilocos Norte,
is Sitio Remedios, the brainchild of Dr Joven Cuanang,
renowned neurologist and director of St. Luke’s Medical Center.
On a seaside property inherited from his mother, Dr. Cuanang
has attempted to recreate a Filipino colonial town, evoking
the Spanish “cuadricula” complete with church ( Paoay in
miniature) , seven elegant ancestral homes of local elite framing
the town plaza. He bought houses from all over Ikocos Norte,
had them dismantled systematically with each piece carefully
numbered, transported and transplanted to his kingdom
by the sea, where these inland structures were never meant to be.

Monsoon rains alternating with scorching sun ,
deteriorates even the sturdiest of building materials.
But we know that whatever is not destroyed by climate is
ravaged by fire, earthquakes, volcanic eruptions or by man’s
own actions and inactions, sheer ignorance and crass
commercial greed. With all that in mind, Dr. Joven Cuanang
boldly carried on with his vision for Sitio Remedios.
The houses have names, indicating their provenance—
Piddig, Bacarra, Dingras and bahay na bato; the admittedly
composite ones, the bahay retazo, are called radrillo, puraw
and pasuquin. Because all the houses were gathered in

Ilocos Norte, there is a subtle architectural harmony quite
pleasing to the eye. A perfect host, Dr. Cuanang serves
authentic Ilocano food and has many amusing stories about how
Sitio Remedios was built. He regrets that an ancient Sampaloc
had to be sacrificed to give the plaza a perspective of the sea.
It is not square and is cobbled with what look like gigantic
river pebbles but are slabs of natural stone from a nearby quarry.

Apparently, these had to be laid out twice because the first
batch of workers knew nothing about stone, so quarry men had to
be recruited to redo the work. It was child’s play for them,
Dr. Cauanang laughed, because they had the “feel”, not unlike
the Ilocano carpenters , mostly unschooled, whose instinctive
“feel” helped them put together the ancestral houses jig saw in
a wink of an eye. They did not need “as built” plans to reassemble
the Bacarat, Piddig and Dingras houses ,but for some reason,
Dr. Cuanang asked Arch. Rex Hofileña, an Ilongo, to design
the three bahay retazo.

Sitio Remedios is not meant to be a theme park but
is reminiscent of Nayong Pilipino which had a hint of authenticity.
To enjoy Sitio Remedios, forget the amenities you left behind in the
big city, relish how the Ilocos sun burns your skin, marvel at the
botanical splendor around you and learn the names of the flowers and
plants that Dra. Cuanang himself selected and planted. Feast your eyes
on the incredible architectural details of the Piddig, Bacarat and
Dingras houses and imagine how our forbears invented and created
those embroidered eaves, fitted wooden plans, those coquettish
barandillas and carved wall decorations.

The view from the miniature Paoay church is an alluring expanse
of aquamarine sea that turns to a vivid coral at sunset. There is a
modern infinity pool that blends with the sea, a stark white lighthouse
with an open but shaded tower, breezy enough for a delicious siesta.
On the opposite end, an Asian spa is hidden beneath luxuriant fruit
trees, palms and all manner of fragrant, aromatic vines. Done in
pebbles, paletada and grass, there are massage and meditation rooms.

The houses in Sitio Remedios are pricey (specially the
Bahay na Bato where I spent a night) but the point is for one
family to occupy a house and savor how life was in the days
of Artemio Ricarte and Juan Luna.

What is peak oil?

2008-04-06T06:25:00.000-07:00


That exotic phrase-- peak oil -- was completely
new to me until I heard it from historian
Dr. Floro Quibuyen,a renowned Rizalist.
He explained that  peak oil is the year
in which oil production reaches its maximum
and in which  half the oil in the world
will have been burned; henceforth,there
will be a continuous decrease in
oil production.

However, Dr. Quibuyen clarified that  
peak oil does not mean “running out
of oil, but rather a steadily decreasing
supply, increasing costs and causing
major changes in the way we live”.
He warned that without timely mitigation,
the economic, social, and political
costs of the peak oil phenomenon will be
unprecedented.

The shocking  news is that peak oil arrived
in 2006 but was announced only a year later,
on  22 October 2007 by a body called the
Energy Watch Group  This was corroborated by 
the CEO of Royal Dutch Shell who ventured 
that  by 2015, if not earlier,  oil supply
may very well fall behind the demand and when
that occurs, the market prices of this
seemingly irreplaceable source of energy 
and everything remotely related to it 
will inevitably reach astronomical proportions.

What are we to do in  this country where 
peak oil has not even entered   public
discourse? No one seems to bother about 
the Uppsala and  Kyoto Protocols ; we
can surmise that only members of the academe,
like Dr. Quibuyen, have bothered to study
these documents. It has taken media 
three years, 2005-2008. to make
superficial mention of this thing
called  peak oil.

On 2 March 2005, Dr. Quibuyen spoke
about  peak oil at national conference, 
“The Philippines between Asia
and Oceania” at the Asian Center,
of the University of the Philippines.
Some of his colleagues teased him
about being   a “prophet of doom”;
no one said that we must all prepare
for what seems like an impending
disaster.

What could the repercussions of
peak oil be? According to Dr. Quibuyen,
if the decline in oil production surpasses 
the ability of alternative technologies to
replace oil, energy consumption will be
severely constricted, as consumers compete
for increasingly scarce oil resources. 
The situation may resemble past oil supply
shocks, all of which had brought about
significant economic changes. For example,
disruptions in supply during the 
Arab oil embargo of 1973-74 and the
Iranian Revolution of 1978-79 caused
unprecedented increases in the 
prices of oil and petroleum products 
and subsequent  world recessions.

Dr. Quibuyen expounded:
“Ultimately, however, the consequences
of a peak and permanent decline in oil
production could be even more prolonged
and severe than those of past oil supply
shocks. Because the decline will be neither
temporary nor reversible, the effects will
continue to be felt until alternative
transportation technologies that replace
oil become available in sufficient
quantities and at competitive costs.”

Following the peak which according to
Dr. Quibuyen had arrived two years ago, 
oil production  is expected to
decline increasingly as years go by
and there had better be a corresponding
increase in alternative fuels and
technologies or the world will be in deep
trouble.




  
 ____________________________________________________________________________________
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View from a mountain

2008-04-05T19:27:00.000-07:00

Some years ago,  a news item buried in the inner
pages of a bulky broadsheet reported that
Adventists schools in this country prohibit
their students to render homage to the
Philippine flag.  I wondered about the
accuracy of that news item and if the
Department of Education would do
something about it.

Then a couple of years ago, I met
Mr. Daniel Dial,president of the Mountain
View  College, at a concert sponsored by the
Adventists and I invited him to my radio
program “Krus na daan” to talk about  that
school  ensconced in the mountains of
Valencia city,Bukidnon. Last year, he
invited me to be the commencement speaker
for the 2 9 March 2008 graduation
ceremonies, the college’s 74th, which
I happily accepted. I remembered that
disquieting  news item and wanted
to see for myself if it was true.
         
There were several ceremonies  one of which
was the Consecration that took place
on the evening of my arrival. To the famous
march  of Verdi’s Aida, the graduates,
splendid in satin  academic robes,  entered
the circular chapel  in solemn procession.
After the main speaker delivered his two-hour
homily, heavily focused on  the life of Christ
according to  the four evangelists, the lights
were dimmed and the master of ceremonies
asked the students to light candles. The effect
was spiritually uplifting and as the students
were asked to kneel in prayer, their parents
and teachers were called to form a circle
around them and with   hands clasped,
they also knelt in prayer. The soft glow of
candle lights and prayers piously chanted
could have touched the heart of the
most  cynical Catholic.
         
Precisely at that sacred moment, an
imponderable thought shook my
entire being--  this congregation and
others like it are the backbone of
the Philippines! This is the burgeoning
middle class,dynamic, hard-working,
disciplined and entrepreneurial that has  
kept this country afloat. Why look for super
heroes, the country’s  salvation is found right
here, in the chapel of Mountain View College.

Strikingly, the 2008 class hymn and philosophy
is taken from a psalm of  King David-- 
”Here I am Lord, send me!”  Yes, indeed!
Send me to make a difference and save the
Philippines, Lord! – was  the electrifying
plea that boggled my mind.

Somehow, I felt that the young Adventists,
their parents and teachers, all kneeling
in fervent prayer,  were not extending 
the philosophy of David’s psalm  to local
Philippine conditions. My lightning revelation
was  interrupted by Dr. Myrna Dial, Daniel’s wife,
who whispered that eighty-five percent of the
graduates were going to seek greener pastures
in foreign lands and that once, when she
asked a class roomful of  students how many
would stay behind, only two raised their
hands. Well, there are economic imperatives
to consider; families hock land and livestock
just to send their children to school after
which the eldest is expected to  be the 
family breadwinner. With such constraints, 
a Filipino, patriotic or not,  is compelled
to join the overseas labor force.
 
I do not think the Adventist students were
prohibited to pledge allegiance to the
Philippine flag, at least not at Mountain View
College but, there was definitely a disconnect
between being a good Christian and a good
Filipino. On day two, during an idyllic lunch
aboard a bamboo houseboat on the placid
Lake Apo, I told Dr.Daniel Dial and my
Adventist friends that I had an observation
I wanted to share with them.#
 



  
 ________________________________

The making of a sermon

2008-03-27T00:16:00.001-07:00

Last Sunday, the priest saying Mass reminded
us that Easter is more important than
Christmas and although Jesus Christ became
man on Christmas day to save us,when He rose
from the dead on Easter Sunday, He proved
His divinity beyond any doubt;  no human being
had/has ever risen from the dead.(Coincidentally,
on the way to Mass, that was exactly what my
mother was telling us.)
 
Sadly, I was certain that  most of those
gathered there for Easter Mass were
listening but not hearing the priest’s homily;
neither were they transfixed by the awesome
significance of  Christ rising from the
dead. Sermons (now called homilies), speeches at
commencement exercises and  various commemorations,
even privilege speeches in the august halls of
Congress have been reduced to mere  rituals-
decorative, rhetorical and occasional. At best, 
the audience is deceptively attentive yet
stone deaf, and at worse,  noisy  and
shockingly rude.

Frankly, I am always curious about  what a speaker
has to say and  if he is a priest,pastor
or minister,I want to know if he is able
to connect  God’s teachings  to my life as a
member of the Church and a citizen of this Republic.
As early as the XVIth century,when Christianity
first came to our shores, the Spanish missionaries
knew that the  vital connection had to be made,
profoundly and urgently, lest their efforts at
evangelization  fail.

During the Holy Week, I made my own private pabasa
of  Seromones of Padre Francisco Blancas de San
Jose,(edited by Jose Mario c. Francisco,SJ,
Pulong:Sources for Philippine Studies, Ateneo de
Manila University, Quezon City), a Dominican who
arrived in 1595, probably aboard a galleon, via
Mexico. He was assigned to Bataan where he
lived for ten years. To make that vital connect
to the native psyche, Padre Blancas de San Jose
had to learn Tagalog and some Chinese, compile
Tagalog words into a glossary and figure out
Tagalog grammatical construction and write
a book about it.  Those valuable tools for
evangelization outlived their author.
 
Not content with grammar books and  glossaries,
Padre Blancas de San Jose had to learn native
concepts of the Almighty, the afterlife,
kinship, political and socioeconomic hierarchies,
values like good and evil,punishment and reward.
He also analyzed songs, legends and myths, and
what we now call performing and plastic arts.
Only after acquiring that vast socio-
anthropological experience and body of knowledge
did the padre feel he could touch the lives of the
natives, make them internalize Doctrina
Cristiana  and transform them into thinking
Christians. Needless to say, it helped that the
inhabitants of Bataan were rounded up,
by the colonial authorities,  in "reducciones"
or hamlets. However, I do not cease to
wonder  whether our present day preachers study
the multifarious features  of  modern Philippine
society as painstakingly as Padre Blancas de
San Jose scrutinized XVIth century Bataan.

from Lydia M. Padilla-Rinne

2008-03-23T04:23:00.000-07:00

TERVE from Finland, meaning Mahuhay to you!!!


I read your article on Hannibal Lim  through
MANILAHIGHSCHOOLALUMNI@yahoogroups.com website.
A member whose pseudonym is "ZA4TEZA" has been
keen  and kind to forward some of your articles.

Thank you so much for your insight and giving
us more knowledge of the past which in my
high school days we did not know about.This is
part of my everyday learning,as my mother
Aurelia said:I should learn something everyday
 by reading or listenening to experiences of other
people.

Keep up the good work of enlightening us with
 your articles and writings.GODs blessings on
you and your loveones,especially your
parents,hoping they are still alive.
with Love & Prayers
Lydia Padilla-Rinne & mother Aurelia
Manila High School BATCH 1962

from js(doebrook)

2008-03-23T04:06:00.000-07:00

After reading your article I want to respond about the Koreans.

I cannot believe Filipinos are giving preferential treatments to Koreans after all the brutalities they have done during the war in the Philiipines.

Now the Koreans are here in our country investing in small businesses, prospering and again abusing the Filipinos.

But does our Philippine government as well as the Filipinos know the Koreans? After the 2nd World war, Korea and Taiwan both colonies of the Japanese Empire were placed under the mandate of the United Nations. I am not going into details of the separation.

I was 16 years old when the Japanese Army invaded the Philippines in December 8, 1941.

In 1942, I joined an American guerrilla force operating in Bulacan Military Area. The Koreans and Taiwanese in the Japanese Army were only permitted to carry bayonets without a rifle. The raping and abuses of the Filipinos were mostly done by these Japanese soldiers armed with bayonets. In my experience during the war the atrocities done by the Japanese Army were committed by the Koreans and Taiwanese who were also abused and ill- fed by their Japanese colonizers.

from Leonora Enriquez

2008-03-23T04:02:00.000-07:00

Thanks for sharing your observation. This situation happens all the time . Some of our kababayans assist foreigners first because they are given tips or lagay. I was in line to withdraw money from my mother's bank account . This was at the PNB Olongapo city branch. I stood in line for almost 2 hours . I see some people going in and out of the teller cage all the while thinking they were employees by the bank. But they were friends of the teller and she assist them first because she gets some tip from the withdrawal. This people going in and out are the runnres of the account holders. I was so upset that I demanded to speak with the manager. It did not do me any good because I found out that he is also doing the same thing. He assisted me but he is also assisting other "clients" at the same time. It was very disgusting. It is true to every government agency that I dealt with because when my mother pass away in 2006 I had a hard time processing her paperworks because I refuse to give lagay . I believe this is the root of the problem. Most people do not take their jobs seriously and no pride at all.

from Adelbert Batica

2008-03-23T03:59:00.000-07:00

That was one great article! Hard-hitting, pero magnifico. But yes, there are some of us who need a spine to stand up to foreigners. You know, if you were writing for a newspaper in Mexico, the more "appropriate" vocabulary to use over would have been coj...s. But course.

On my last trip to Cuba, I had an excruciating experience with waiting in line for almost three hours outside the office of the government-owned cellphone company. I had gone there to help my host's daughter get a cellphone (which is a tough one to get in Cuba, since its purchase of cellphones was, and I believe still is, highly regulated). To buy the cellphone, she needed a permit from the Ministry of the Interior that had an officer assigned at the same location for the purpose of issuing permits. As their customer at their "casa particular", I did have a legitimate business with them, and had to sign an endorsement for the cellphone puchase.

But to backtrack a bit, we waited three agonizing hours for that brief moment with the Ministry of Interior officer and the cellphone sales personnel. There was already a long line of people, locals and foreigners alike, waiting to purchase or load a cellphone. As we got to what looked like the end of the line, we asked the question which is SOP at any waiting line all over Cuba: "Quien es el ultimo?" ("Who's last [in line]"). A lady in front of me said, "Usted, senor." A security guard stood nearby keeping a close eye on us. Other than the long wait, it was quite an illuminating experience. Mind you, a three-hour wait is long, and in between, I had to take a restroom break, and eat a snack (courtesy of an enterprising vendor who had his wares ready a few feet from us). I think I must have lit a few cigarros in between, also. And get this: during that three-hour "episode" I never lost my place in the line. All the customers in line make sure nobody broke the line or cut in. Well...it helped that a security guard was close by.

I even traveled all the way to visit Santiago de Cuba (a 12-hour bus ride from Havana) and the Church of our Lady of Cobre, and as usual - there were lines at the bus stations, museums, and other attractions. Never did I experience anybody cutting in, whether foreigner or local. And yes, asking "Quien es el ultimo?" didn't make me uncomfortable.

Saludos!

my reply

2008-03-23T03:55:00.000-07:00

Dear Mr. Ellett, Sr.,

There were indeed other Cebu Pacific counters that
were closed and Mr. Jeweish Batiduan did take the
Koreans to other counters, as I had mentioned in my
article, BUT, only after I had called his attention.
He brought them to counter 20 which was closed and
unattended and then to counter 26 which was at the
extreme end of the line of counters and eventually
opened for Laoag, which was why I caught  up with him.

In my opinion, it is as simple as "first come,first
serve" and if you have to attend to an impatient
group,  for efficiency's sake do open another counter,
by all means. It's commonsense , isn't it? ( Am not
even saying common courtesy as that has become a very
rare commodity.)

Have a glorious Easter.

from Ken Ellett, Sr.

2008-03-23T03:49:00.000-07:00

Jewish Romulo C Batiduan was just probably doing what his management and owners have told him to do. So any criticism needs to be directed to the owners and not him. Those stepping in front of you are probably regular group agents that are there every day. Normally airlines have a separate window for them. They bring many customers to the line and actually reduce a line length from the many that they serve from standing in line with you..

It is probably that there is a lack of windows available that the group agents are pulled in front of you. This is a basic airline management problem that they need to recognize and find a solution to. You are certainly not the only one that is disturbed with this practice with this airline. It is a shame that their management do not realize that all the good things that they try to build for the line is eroded by this practice that gives you a poor view of them. Experiences like this live on far beyond any good that the airline can do

Looking for a spine

2008-03-21T19:41:00.000-07:00



   Whenever you see a Filipino missing this vital
part of the human anatomy,(I am referring to the
spinal column ) don’t you feel pained and anguished?
That was how I felt some days ago,15 Marchtobe exact,
while I was lining up at Cebu Pacific counter 21
(which had an “Open” sign)at the domestic airport.
As instructed,I arrived two hours before boarding
time, was armed with the proper IDs and had braced
myself to go through rigorous security measures,which
turned out to be disappointingly lax.

   There were two ladies before me , one was
already checking in when I arrived.Surely, she was
an OFW as she had several cardboard boxes securely
tied and properly labeled.It took some time for the
Cebu Pacific agents,( there were two of them, a
young lady and young man), to weight all that
stuff and  the queue was getting longer.Suddenly,
from the end of the line, a Korean-looking man
with a bunch of passports went directly to the
counter to check-in and before addressing the
male agent  he  half turned and said a blanket,
“Sorry..” to all those patiently waiting in line;
four other Korean-looking males joined him as soon
as they saw  that the  Cebu Pacific agent had
ignored all the Filipinos quietly and patiently
waiting in line.

   What was going on? Isn’t anyone going to call
the attention of the Cebu Pacificagent and complain
about such arbitrary goings- on? I approached the
counter to politely ask , “ Bakit nauuna sila (the
Koreans)? Di ba, kanina pa kami nakapila rito?Bakit
inuna mo sila?” I did not even rate an answer.
The Cebu Pacific agent completely ignored me even
as I told him ( very calmly ) that I would have
to report his behavior to the airline head office.
Couldn’t he have told those  Koreans to wait in
line just like every body else?

   Do you think  a group of Filipino travelers
could have pulled that stunt at any airportin Korea?
They would probably be shoved back to the end of the
line and reprimanded publicly with ugly words. How
could this young Filipino ticket agent be so
spineless?  It was depressing, to say the least.

 I went back behind the yellow line and suggested
to the lady passenger who was ahead of me to check
in as it was rightfully her turn. At this point,the
female Cebu Pacific agent motioned to me (rather
feverishly) to approach the counter so she could
check me in, ignoring the passenger who had come
before me. Obviously she had missed the point;why
should she attend to me first just because I was
upset at her wimpy co-worker who all but groveled
at the sight of those aggressive foreigners? I
had to remind her:“Nauna siya [the lady passenger]
sa akin, dapat siya ang asikasuhin mo.” By this
time, the wimp  had whisked his impatient Koreans
to counter 20 then to 26,safely out of the
firing line.

  When it was  my turn, I  asked the female Cebu
Pacific agent for the name of  her coworker who had
treated Filipinos so  shabbily but,  she said  she
barely knew him. However, she did not realize that
I was booked for  Laoag the counter of which  had
opened in the meantime.  It was   precisely number
26,  from where the  spineless one had dispatched
his dear Koreans. I had to check in there because
passengers going to Laoag  had to be  weighed  with
their luggage.  So, I caught up with the wimp after
all and could ask for his  name-- Jewish Romulo C.
Batiduan. Yes, his first name is  Jewish.I hope the
Easter bunny brings him a set of sturdy vertebrae
which he badly needs.

Treacherous grounds

2008-03-11T07:53:00.000-07:00



     The glaring issue  we are  too horrified to face
even if it is hitting us  between the eyes is treason.
It is so despicable and so painful  that it is hard to
imagine that treason may have been committed against
the Filipino people. Has  the future of  the
Philippines been  compromised, the Constitution
silently violated,  and our institutions eroded by
those who would  foment and protect their personal
gains ?

     An economist friend explained that the sell- out
has been going on for decades, right under our noses.
Haven’t I noticed how our fledgling industries were
always nipped at the bud and never allowed to
flourish? Haven’t I heard siren songs about how much
cheaper it is to import staple foods than pamper
indolent farmers? Haven’t I heard plaudits to
consumer-led growth, the strong peso and the service
sector?  This friend said I should stop looking at the
trees and try to get a perspective of the forest, or
rather, the dense wilderness surrounding us.

     To illustrate his point,  he said the
astronomical overpricing in the ZTE, National
Broadband Network, the Cyber Education project, North
and South Rail  was allowed by the proponents as an
exchange for something China badly bneeds. My
economist  friend emailed  a copy of   Mr. Barry
Wain’s article ‘Manila’s Bungle in the South China
Sea” (Far Eastern Economic Review, Jan/Feb 2008) .This
revealing  article is a must read.

     Mr. Wain  (Institute of Southeast Asian Studies,
Singapore) extensively quotes a Mark Valencia, an
independent expert on the South China Sea. The article
contends that: “ Presumably for higher political
purposes..,”   the present dispensation has agreed to
joint surveys with China in areas that include parts
of our legal continental shelf  where China does not
have legal claims--  our sliver of the  Spratlys and
precious Malampaya, our   gas- producing field off
Palawan .

     By agreeing to joint surveying,  our government
implicitly agrees that the Chinese  claims  have a
legitimate basis  which is quite  dangerous  because
China has always affirmed “historical” ownership of
almost the entire South China Sea.
So, if the present dispensation, no matter how
indirectly, appears to  give credence to  China’s
“historic claim,”  we not only put our position in
jeopardy but also that of  fellow ASEAN members.  The
articles describes the administration’s behavior as “…
a stunning about-face”  because in 1995,  the
Philippines kicked up an international fuss when the
Chinese moved onto the submerged Mischief Reef on the
same underlying “historic claim” to the area.

 According to the Wain article, to date the  details
of those  agreements  with China  remain unknown, and
almost nothing has been disclosed about progress on
the seismic study, which should be completed in the
next few months. China’s  demands for resources seem
bottomless and as an emerging power, it seems to have
succeeded in  persuading  this government to tailor
our national plans to China’s requirements,  when it
should be the other way around.. The Arroyo
administration may find China’s  offers impossible to
resist so  we should remain vigilant   through
“communal action” ,  “interfaith rallies” or even
Senate inquiries. There should be transparency and
accountability at all times so the present
dispensation will not be accused of tiptoeing on
treacherous grounds.

from Art Carolino

2008-03-11T07:46:00.000-07:00

I enjoy reading your written articles. You bring out lessons from History which most of us tend to disregard and forget. Your role should be duplicated. It should be preserved. Lest we forget.

Thank you!

2008-03-10T22:26:00.000-07:00

Dear Ms. Araneta,

Well written article on Gen. Vicente Lim.

Keep up the good work.

Respectfully,

Fiorello S. Adriano, MBM, FICD
PMA Class 1970, Flying School 72-A

Cannibal Lim's legacy

2008-03-03T22:19:00.000-08:00




 At West Point, where Vicente Lim was the first
Filipino graduate, he was  called “cannibal” because
of his skin color.  That was in 1914 when the majority
of  Americans knew next to nothing about us, except
what they had seen or heard at the St. Louis World
Fair.  Born in Calamba in 1888, Vicente Lim was an
impressionable ten year old  lad when the First
Republic was established in Malolos in 1899, and when
the Philippine Revolutionary Army had to defend it
against American invaders. Last 24 February, the City
of Manila celebrated the 120th birthday of this
Filipino hero and martyr.

     Fresh from West Point, Vicente Lim was sent to
Europe during World War I as 2nd lieutenant in the US
army.  Upon his return to Manila, he joined the
Philippine Scouts, then  the Philippine army and by
1940, he was Chief of Staff. When the Philippine Army
was incorporated into the American Armed Forces on
July 16, 1941, Vicente Lim was promoted to   Brigadier
General, the  top–ranking Filipino officer under
General Douglas MacArthur.

     However, he did not always agree with Gen.
MacArthur.  Cannibal Lim opposed  MacArthur’s National
Defense Plan for the Philippines and as it turned out
he was right, subsequent events proved the plan
useless. After the attack on Pearl Harbor, Lim was
placed in command of the 41st Philippine Division
which led the rear guard action against the Japanese
in Abucay, Bataan, but was ordered to surrender to
General Homma  on April 9, 1942. He became a prisoner
of war,   survived the infamous  Death March, and on
June 6, 1942, was admitted to the Philippine General
Hospital for treatment of injuries from where he
conducted secret guerrilla activities.

     In 1944, Gen. Lim  received orders to join
General Douglas MacArthur.  He could have figured
prominently in the Leyte Landing,  but sadly enough,
enroute to Australia he was captured by the Japanese,
incarcerated  and brutally tortured in Fort Santiago
and the Bilibid prison. The Japanese drained his blood
(for transfusions to their own soldiers) after which
Vicente Lim was beheaded. Like many of those who
perished  in February 1945,  his remains were never
found. General Lim is listed in the Tablets of the
Missing at the Manila National Cemetery and  was
awarded, posthumously ,  the Legion of Merit and the
Purple Heart.

     Lim and MacArthur never agreed on the officers
corps. The latter concentrated on training reserve
forces while the former insisted that a  "half-baked”
officers corps is “an agent for abuse and corruption.
He was right;  a “fatal tradition” had  crept into the
Armed forces,  a distorted “utang na loob” which Lim
said was meant  “to help each other right or wrong”. 
He also wrote  that “... the minute you put in
favorites, relatives, and compadres, then this army
will bring down the government…”  How prophetic!  ” No
matter how crooked and weak the  President ,” Lim
said, “ ... as long as the army is strong, honest, and
free from politics, the nation will stand.”

     His analysis of Philippine democracy is relevant
today:  "The principal defect of our national defense
is not the  training or lack of finances, but the
great and dangerous defect of democracy which has been
implanted into the minds of the Filipino people. We
have a nationally wrong conception of democracy. Our
democracy in the Philippines is unilateral. It is only
for  benefit, for  freedom, for  Rights, and  only for
the comfort and happiness of each individual member of
the nation. That is the common belief, and I venture
to say 99.9% of our people believe in that kind of
democracy.” He said that Filipinos  should be
cognizant of their obligations and duties and must be
willing to sacrifice for the good of the State , in
the same measure they enjoy “ personal democracy”.

  



  
 _________________________________________________________

A peek at EDSA 1

2008-03-01T17:26:00.000-08:00




 In February 1986, from across the Pacific Ocean ( I
was then living in Mexico)  there were disquieting
reports of restlessness in the Philippine Military
attributed to the  RAM-YOU (Reformed Armed Forces
Movement-Young Officers Union), a somewhat covert
group of idealistic officers.  I was sent to Manila by
a Mexican news daily  to cover what turned out to be
the last days of the Marcos regime.
 
     Upon arrival in Manila, some friends from the
Left suggested that I attend  Cardinal Jaime  Sin’s
press conference  at the Archbishop’s Palace in
Mandaluyong and that  I should ask the Cardinal’s
staff to get me an appointment with the RAM. What an 
astonishing troika, I thought, clerico/ military
fascist/ Left, a political slogan come true.  Could
Marcos survive that?
 
     The day after the Cardinal’s Press conference  I
received a phone call and was told  to go to the
Ministry of Defense Office at Camp Aguinaldo where a
certain Capt. Rex Robles would be waiting for me. The
anti-Marcos RAM, holding office at the Defense
Ministry?  They will never believe this in Mexico, I
thought.

     Rex Robles turned out to be a mustachioed,
youngish gentleman  dressed  in a flowered shirt and
tan slacks of the finest twill.  He was relaxed,
expansive and when I introduced myself he offered his
hand and confirmed his identity. Somehow, I felt he
expected me to comment on  his sartorial  informality
so I obliged and told him that I had expected  a
military rebel to be  dressed in general issue
fatigues,  with at least a light hand gun tucked in
his waistband.  Obviously, the message was that the
RAM was in absolute  control of the situation .  As
soon as we were seated, an aide brought in two
steaming hot , luscious  mouth-watering Giant Siopaos
from Ma Mon Lluk, which I found impossible to resist,
deprived as I was of such delicacies in Mexico city.

     After the  interview,  Capt. Robles regaled me
with stories about  how First Lady Imelda Marcos would
invite the RAM to Malacanang when she heard about
demoralization in the ranks due to  lack of equipment,
uniforms, boots, starvation pay  and poor  living
conditions.  Mrs. Marcos  gave them lessons on
self-reliance, Rex said rather significantly. Perhaps
he  was just being facetious but the message was clear
enough, the Marcos government was neglecting a vital
sector of his support network.
 
     In retrospect, the demands of the RAM-YOU then
were no different from those of the  Oakwood, Bicutan
and  Peninsula Hotel mutineers.  Yesterday, the Armed
Forces conducted a Unity Walk from the EDSA 1 shrine
to Camp Aguinaldo. Reportedly spontaneous, the march
did not include any significant civilian elements, in
contrast to what happened at EDSA during those fateful
days in February, twenty-two years ago.

Mayor Lim lauds GOMBURZA

2008-02-24T17:30:00.000-08:00

 On that  breezy Sunday morning, one
hundred thirty six years after three Filipino priests
were garroted at Bagumbayan,  Manila Mayor Alfredo Lim
commemorated the  nationalism  of Fathers Mariano
Gomez, Jose Burgos and Jacinto Zamora and connected it
to the  current “communal action”.
       
 Addressing the students in the audience,
Mayor Lim  said  that  both Jose Rizal and Andres
Bonifacio were inspired by Frs. Gomez,  Burgos and
Zamora. Dr. Rizal, a twelve-year old lad  when the
priests were executed,  dedicated to them his novel EL
FILIBUSTERISMO.  Apparently, the acronym GOMBURZA is
attributed to  Andres Bonifcaio  as it was one of the
passwords of the Katipunan.

 Fr. Jose Burgos , an Ilocano,   son of a Spanish
lieutenant was only thirty five when he was killed. He
was  a brilliant theologian and became the second
curate of the Manila Cathedral as well as fiscal of
the Ecclesiastical Court. Perhaps, his being a Spanish
mestizo  helped him attain  such elevated positions,
denied to  indio-Filipino  priests who were just as
qualified.

 Fr. Jacinto Zamora was a native of Pandacan and only
two years older than Fr. Burgos on execution day. He
became parish priest of Marikina and Pasig and was
later appointed to the Manila Cathdral, after  passing
with flying colors the qualifying examination.
At the time of his death, Fr. Mariano Gomez, a
mestizo Chino from Santa Cruz, Manila,  was already
seventy –three.(Mayor Lim took note of the age
similarity). He had a Bachelor of Theology and  was
also a lawyer and parish priest of Bacoor, Cavite. He
founded the newspaper called “La Verdad”(“Truth”) where
he exposed the abuses of the Spanish
colonial government as well as the religious orders.

  Why were they garroted by the Spanish colonial
government and why didn’t the Church object?

 GOMBURZA were members of the COMITE REFORMADOR  which was
fighting to secure equal rights for Filipino secular
priests who,  for centuries,  were discriminated
against by reason of race in the appointments for
parish priests. In the early years of
Christianization, friars of the religious orders had
to man the newly-established parishes for lack of
secular clerics, but eventually,  when  many native
Filipino became secular priests they were considered
undeserving to be appointed as full parish curates.
Those positions were still reserved for full-blooded
Spanish priests most of whom were from religious
orders and who had grown accustomed to  hold political
sway  as intermediaries  between the State and the
native population.

 Because the Church and State were one , colonial
authorities always took the side of the Church and
native priests who clamored for their rights were
considered rebels. On 20 January 1872, a mutiny
exploded in the   Spanish naval base in Cavite and
although it had absolutely nothing to do with the
activities of the COMITE REFORMADOR,  the three
priests were deliberately implicated. arrested,
charged with sedition, incarcerated at Fort Santiago
and two weeks later  were sentenced to death by
garrote.

  A reign of terror followed and many Filipino males
who showed talent and courage, like GOMBURZA,  were
rounded up  and killed Many of them went into hiding,
some concealed  their  identities like Paciano
Mercado who changed  the family name  to Rizal because
he was a friend of Fr. Burgos and his younger brother
a pupil.

 After the ceremony,  Mayor Alfredo Lim  rushed to La
Salle Greenhills to attend the protest Mass for “
communal action” sparked by the revelations of Eng.
Jun Lozada. What a fitting tribute to GOMBURZA!

From rocks to boulders

2008-02-17T03:28:00.000-08:00

 A couple of days after he was appointed
Director-General of the NEDA (National Economic
Development Authority ) Mr.  Romulo Neri was
interviewed by a television network (ANC, if memory
serves) where  he sounded so candid, cheerful  and
idealistic that I began to wonder how  long someone
like him  could last in the vipers’ tangle of
government. That  was  sometime in December 2002.
Calmly and with a boyish smile, Mr. Neri  answered
with ease and aplomb a barrage of acrid questions from
the program host and tele-viewers about changes in the
President’s  economic policies.  Earlier, the Chief
Executive   had announced that she would be shifting
gears,  from  macro mode to microeconomics.

     Romulo Neri explained the new orientation  in a
manner easily grasped by people like me whose
knowledge of economics is quite elementary.  He also
revealed that  President Arroyo was disheartened that
the policies and programs she had earlier announced in
her first State of the Nation address had not been
implemented to her satisfaction. Neri then compared
President Arroyo’s policies and programs to seeds
planted on fertile ground, watered and nurtured by the
Chief Executive herself but unable to sprout to
fruition because of  the proverbial field was littered
with rocks.
     
     According to Neri, the rocks were the “powerful
individuals and groups”  who strangle economic
development to protect their vested interests and he
likened  the President’s  new microeconomic approach
to removing those cumbersome rocks that were
smothering the seeds of progress.  That was in 2002;
perhaps,   never in Romulo Neri’s wildest dream did he
imagine that while  clearing the road of pesky rocks
a truly back-breaking task lay ahead, that of
moderating greed. In six years, the rocks had become
boulders of mammoth  proportions.
 
      During that maiden interview, Romulo Neri also
advocated  the controversial “open skies” policy
because it was  President G. Arroyo’s avowed objective
to  make  the Diosdado Macapagal International Airport
a regional travel hub that would   jump start the
development of both Central and Northern Luzon.
Moreover, Neri said  we should have “open skies” with
Korea and the Middle East and  increase seating
capacities and flight frequencies so  Filipino
overseas workers would not have to “pay an arm and a
leg” just to come home. Did he  succeed in removing
the meteors in our air lanes?

        From “Snow White”  to “Golden Compass”  ( my
first movie and latest one  I have seen) the forces of
evil seem to be more dynamic, formidable, relentless
and ruthlessly astute than  the forces of good which
appear   meek , improvised, diffused  and impotent.
Naturally, in both “Snow White”  and “ Golden
Compass”,  the good  triumphed in  the end but, that
is not  always the case in real life where evil seems
to  reap astronomic dividends until the coming of
Karma. But that  can take  ages so in the mean time,
the  righteous have to run for  cover. Don’t you
notice how your good works always boomerang on you
with the most hazardous effects?  Ask Eng. Jun Lozada,
Mr. Romulo Neri’s friend and colleague.

Genius has no country

2008-02-10T09:02:00.000-08:00



             In that electrifying space between Juan  Luna’s
‘Spoliarium” and Resurreccion Hidalgo’s “Assassination
of  Bustamante”, the most eloquent and heart-rending 
masterpieces of Philippine art history, a concert was
held by three young and incredibly prodigious Filipino
musicians— Jovianney Emmanuel Cruz, pianist,  Alfonso
Bolipata, violinist and Renato Lucas, cellist. 
 
      That Sunday evening, at the Hall of Masters of
the National Art Gallery the “Spoliarium”, enshrined
there  after a perilous odyssey,  continued to strike
terror and  awe,  just as it had in Europe where it
was first acclaimed  in the XIXth century. Against
that  poignant backdrop,   Alfonso Bolipata rendered 
“ Chaconne” ,  an intricately Baroque  piece by Johann
Sebastian Bach; it was delightful, to say the least.
  
     Before he began playing  Amadeus Mozart’s Sonata
in C Major (K.330), Jovianney Emmanuel Cruz hinted
that we should try to detect the various
“international influences” evident in the three
movements, operatic Italian with Germanic precision,
which only Mozart could have melded in a refined
sonata. Jovianney almost always explains what he is
about to play so one’s appreciation for music grows,
the more one understands what the pieces are all
about.

     Renato Lucas’  choice “Souvenir de Song”  is
definitely older  than Bach and Mozart, more ancient
than  Philippine colonial history itself.  “Song “ is
what we know as the  Sung dynasty, during which time
Kublai Khan (or was it Genghis?) and his hordes
invaded China . Under such cruel tyrannical rule, a
court musician played melodies of silent protest on a
sitar andm centuries later,  those inspired  Jeffrey
Ching to compose “Souvenir de Song”. He is a
contemporary Filipino-Chinese composer who is  making
waves with his exotic but  modern  abstractions of
Chinese dynastic music.  I am glad Mr.  Lucas  took
pains to explain that through  his cello, we would
hear that rebellious spirit brooding through a
plaintive sitar; it gave meaning to his piece,
specially because we were wedged between Luna's
revolutionary allegory and Hidalgo's unconcealed rage.

     The finale was spectacular because all three
musicians joined forces to play Arensky’s   Piano Trio
No. 1 in d minor, opus. 32. Jovianney told the
audience that we had journeyed through  various
musical periods in one evening-- ancient China to Bach
and Mozart and now Arensky  who he described as a sort
of  transition because he was a pupil of the great
Tchaikovsky and the teacher of Rachmaninoff.

    The audience went wild after their astounding
performance  so the three virtuosos  obliged with an 
unrehearsed  encore.  Then Bolipata, the violinist,
had to dash to the Cultural Center for another
commitment.
 
     That Sunday evening  concert,  “Musiko sa
Museo”,  was a project of the Volunteer Corps of the
National Museum of the Filipino People. Ticket sales
(at Php 1,000 each)  will go to a sustaining fund for
the National Art Gallery renovation project and to the
Museum’s educational programs. There is more to come ,
an Opus fest is in the works and will be held
sometime in July.

      I hope our virtuosos perform in  a place
steeped with  history and heritage,  where one can
almost hear a euphoric Jose Rizal toasting ( like he
did when Juan Luna’s “Spoliarium” won the gold medal)
to Filipino genius “…that  blossoms everywhere.  like
the light, the air..” Genius  has no country , Rizal
said,  it is as international as space, life and God
Himself.

from Fil Apolonio Inocencio

2008-02-10T08:44:00.000-08:00

It becomes a source of pride when I read about Filipinos standing for
principles.  I am elated that there are still some who have not bowed
down to that almighty dollars.Thanks for you for writing about it.

from Albert Banico

2008-02-10T03:53:00.000-08:00

I heard you in your last radio program broadcast. * It was really very educational and i regret not attending the activities sponsored by Mayor Lim. ** Honestly, i was born and lived in Manila for almost 30 years and it was the reason why the city of manila is close to my heart.

I was very happy when i heard that there is a plan to erect monuments for Macario Sakay, Sulayman and Raja Matanda, In fact earlier last year i wrote an article in Filipino at "Tanod Dyario ng Bayan" regarding Macario Sakay.

I hope that in the future through the Manileno's and the NHI (National Historical Institute) as well as other historical societies , the students historical societies will witness the erection of a monument of our "other presidents" in the order of Sacay, Miguel Malvar, Artemio Ricarte, as well as those heroes of the Philippine-American War who did not sell their countrymen.

Let us not also forget those heroes in the literary and journalism profession who also fought side by side in the clamor for an immediate independence in 1900. And of course the womens Right to Vote movement; we can gather the help of the recent feminist movement in our society to realize this. God bless you!

(* My radio program "Krus na daan" is at DZRJ 810 khz AM band, from Monday to Friday at 5 - 6 pm. Mr. Banico must caught last Wednesday's broadcast ( 6 February). Wednesdays are dedicated to Philippine history and my regular guest is Prof. Jaime Veneracion of the UP Department of History.)

(** Manila Mayor Alfredo Lim revived the Manila Historical & Heritage Commission(MHHC) which organizes "tertulias", for students and history professors, once a month at the Museo ng Maynila (Army & Navy Club building, Luneta). The MHHC also arranges the commemoration of significant events like the birth of Gen. Macario Sakay and the 109th anniversary of the Philippine-American War.)

from Javier Ruescas

2008-02-08T13:49:00.000-08:00

Magistral artículo de nuestra estimada Gemma. Muy acertado y
excelentemente escrito. Muchos deberían reflexionar sobre la
importancia del 4 de febrero, y lo que representa. Deberían
recuperarse los ideales de la auténticamente soberana Primera
República Filipina. Enhorabuena Gemma.

Of principles and dangling modifiers

2008-02-07T22:22:00.000-08:00

And I wanted to add— misplaced prepositions, third cousins and cabalens —but had to keep the title short. During that fateful congressional session on 4 February, while Representatives explained why they were in favor or against declaring the Speaker’s seat vacant, they were , perhaps unwittingly, murdering the English language. But, there are worse sins than bad grammar like voting for the wrong reasons, such as extended family relations ( “...became he is my third cousin.”) and tribal affinities (“ ...because she is my cabalen.”). On top of that, many congressmen shamelessly plagiarized Reverend Jackson, Mother Teresa and St. Francis of Assisi , maybe for dramatic effect.

The toppling of Speaker Jose de Venecia has nothing to do with reforms nor with democracy; it is a clash of Titans. There was so much weeping and the gnashing of teeth , among dangling modifiers and misplaced prepositions, that at first, it was hard to divine what was really at stake. Then it became clear that it was a sub-battle within a bigger more lethal war and that both have pushed the bitterly contending forces closer to Armageddon where the Executive Branch will deal the fatal and final blow on the entire Legislative Branch to achieve absolute hegemony.

Yet, in all that embarrassing, disheartening and demoralizing spectacle, there were sparks of hopefullight. The party lists of the Left rose to the occasion. They voted in the negative because they believe that changing Speakers does not constitute true democratic reform. They declared that the independence and sovereignty of the Legislative Branch are primordial and should be upheld and protected at all cost if this Republic were to remain a democratic one. That was a principled decision not taken in haste.

The consequences of that negative vote are bound to be formidable. If in the past countryside development funds came in trickles, the tap will now be permanently turned off and when constitutional amendments are enforced, the Party List system could very well disappear from our political landscape. I salute them for being true to their principles, for being forthright and patriotic, instead of succumbing to the temptations of lucrative accommodation.#

from Jose Perdigon

2008-02-07T22:16:00.000-08:00

Bravo, Gemma, por decir las cosas como son. Si se me permite una gracieta, en el Diccionario del Diablo de Bierce se define al cínico como el que ve las cosas como son y no como debieran ser, por lo que en antiguo reino de los Escitas a los cínicos se les arrancaban los ojos para mejorar su vista.

from Sir Don Brennock, KCR

2008-02-07T22:12:00.000-08:00

What a wonderful article. Congratulations to Gemma Cruz Araneta. My only surprise is that I thought that the vast majority of Filipinos were actively aware of this horrific event and indeed the follow-on horrors that were perpetrated, not just on Filipino troops but on the civilian population as well, including the most appalling treatment of Filipino women on the public streets. We seem to think that 'waterboarding', as it is now so casually referred to by the USA in it's treatment of some of it's 'terrorist' prisoners, is a new phenomenon. Not so. The 'Water Torture' was quite commonly used by the American troops in the Philippines at that time. They even took photographs of themselves in action. Four or five troops forcibly held down an unfortunate Filipino, a funnel with a short pipe or hose attached was inserted in his mouth and water was poured in until he confessed to something or other, gave up his comrades, or DIED by drowning.
The only eye-witness account of the events around the 4th. Feb.(my Son's birthday, so I will never forget) 1899 by an independent outside witness, that I am aware of, is 'The Filipino Martyrs' by (would you believe it, ? an Irishman) Richard Brinsley Sheridan, who happened to be travelling in the Far East at the time, was on his way back from China and heard that a revolution was going on in the Philippines. So, in the style of Victorian gentlemen of the time, he went to have a look at what was happening. His book (originally produced in 1900) is one of the FILIPINIANA REPRINT SERIES, Book 22, by Renato Constantino. A forefather of Sheridan's, also Richard Brinsley Sheridan, was a very famous Irish Writer, Playwright and Parliamentarian.
We must never allow our children to forget the reality of their history. It is part of their heritage and they are entitled to know all the facts of who they are and where they came from.

Non Omnis Moriar.

Sir Don Brennock, KCR
Dublin,
Ireland.

from Celso F. Aurelio

2008-02-07T22:07:00.000-08:00

You're the nugget in propagating a sense of History among our kababayans. I hold all these facts near and dear and continue in my small way of trying to correct 'distortions' made by others who know less but talk more. This letter also voices some insights in your previous article re: Manila-1945.

The February incidents you mentioned less than 50 years apart are incongrouosly part and parcel of American history as well. There are footages of the Philippine-American War available and the Manila of 1945 atrocities can be viewed in a DVD produced by Peter Parsons, Baguio resident & son of Chick Parsons- MacArthurs supply and point man for contact with Philippine guerillas. This DVD is highly recommended by the 'Battling Bastards of Bataan' (BBB) organization of which I'm a humble member.

In April 2002, along with 2 busloads of American Bataan-Corregidor WWII veterans and their families and friends, (I was the only Filipino national in the group), the BBB returned to our shores to mark the 60th anniversary of the Bataan Death March. Talking with some of the vets, their respect for Gen. 'Skinny' Wainright is far greater than their respect for Gen. MacArthur. Their reasoning? Wainright stuck with them in the battlefields of Bataan. Some were also blaming MacArthur for being instrumental in the utter destruction of Manila in 1945. They also questioned the Kamikaze Museum in Mabalacat, initial jumping point for these 'crazed' pilots in hurtling themselves to death into American ships. Local politicians claim that this will promote tourism (Japanese, I reckon) in their area. We also closed-ranks with the Phil. Defenders of Bataan and Corregidor veterans in ceremonies at Camp Crame in QC. Talking with them was like reliving my late father's and other kins Bataan war experiences. As we visited most of the WWII landmarks (e.g. Cabanatuan, Capas, Bilibid Prison, Intramuros, Mariveles, Corregidor, Bataan proper, the American Memorial Cemetery-with US Sen. Inouye-Hawaii and Stevens-Alaska, both decorated WWII vets in attendance, UST- where the tour members incarcerated there during the War caught a glimpse of their old quarters), the vets also questioned the presence of Japanese markers in Corregidor. One wonders- are there any German markers in Normandy? Or can we also put up a marker at Japan's Yakasuni shrine- honoring Japan's militarism? The presence of the Japanese ambassador during the Araw Ng Kagitingan ceremonies at Mt. Samat in Bataan was the last straw, yet the practice continues to this day.

When we had a mini-March leading to the Capas shrine terminus, a lot of the barrio folks came out and waved and smiled at us. We returned the favor, hobnobbing with the locals like long-lost friends. I overheard an American daughter telling his WWII vet father- 'Dad, these folks are probably the descendants of those who gave you food and water when you passed through here'. You mentioned Senator Gordon holding a Japanese festival of sorts. In our welcome program at the Manila Hotel, some of the guests included Mr. Manchester (famous WWII European theater writer who died before he could finish a book on the Bataan Death March); Mrs. Beth Day Romulo; the daughter of Gen. Lim; Ms. Lesley- Ann Meyer and Edna Binkowski of the Fil-American Endowment- instrumental in replacing the Bataan Death March markers; and other dignitaries. Oh yes, Mr. Richard Gordon was also there. (Chicago, Il.USA)

from Dr. Celia Reyes-Acuna

2008-02-07T22:04:00.000-08:00

Dear Gemma, I am a practicing pediatrician in Corpus Christi, Tx (UST Medical School, Class 1962). I just wanted to let you know that I enjoy reading the articles you've written. Let me know where I can read more about you and your literary work. By the way, I started the Philippine Society for the Performing Arts of Corpus Christi in 1991 and have sponsored beautiful concerts here with Lisa Macuja and her ballet group, Phil Madrigal Singers, UP Concert Chorus, Kabayao family, etc. Regards, Celia Reyes-Acuna, MD