In this map of the Philippines under the United States printed in the year 1900, “Bajo de Masinloc” or Scarborough Shoal/Panatag Shoal is clearly seen as part of the maritime jurisdiction of the Philippines.  At the time, Qing Dynasty’s territories have been diminished due to the expanding imperialism of European powers in mainland China. If China would appeal to history, what period in the timeline would they choose? Of course the period when they had extensive domain (Yuan dynasty perhaps?) But then, they have to claim Mongolia, parts of Russia, the whole Korean peninsula, Vietnam, etc. etc. to be consistent. You see how absurd their claims are on Panatag Shoal and Kalayaan Islands?
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In this map of the Philippines under the United States printed in the year 1900, “Bajo de Masinloc” or Scarborough Shoal/Panatag Shoal is clearly seen as part of the maritime jurisdiction of the Philippines. 

At the time, Qing Dynasty’s territories have been diminished due to the expanding imperialism of European powers in mainland China. If China would appeal to history, what period in the timeline would they choose? Of course the period when they had extensive domain (Yuan dynasty perhaps?)

But then, they have to claim Mongolia, parts of Russia, the whole Korean peninsula, Vietnam, etc. etc. to be consistent. You see how absurd their claims are on Panatag Shoal and Kalayaan Islands?

thecreativedork: Halo-halo You can search high and low for a desert that would cool your tagaktak-ng-pawis hot day, but there is nothing like the Filipino Halo-Halo. It embodies the variety of fruits and ingredients found in the 7,107 islands of the Philippines. The name itself (lit. trans. mix-mix) connotes variety, a mix of differing qualities that compliment each other, and togetherness. Even some of the ingredients are foreign and just made its way to our Halo-Halo, just like the history of the Philippines. One wonders why we don’t have a Halo-halo festival, like the Ginseng festival of Korea. Among all the variations, only the Halo-Halo has the Ube and Leche flan. Add to that some lanka, nata de coco and pinipig. Ohh I think the cherry is a recent add-on.  Anyone knows the history of this palamig? :)
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thecreativedork:

Halo-halo

You can search high and low for a desert that would cool your tagaktak-ng-pawis hot day, but there is nothing like the Filipino Halo-Halo. It embodies the variety of fruits and ingredients found in the 7,107 islands of the Philippines. The name itself (lit. trans. mix-mix) connotes variety, a mix of differing qualities that compliment each other, and togetherness. Even some of the ingredients are foreign and just made its way to our Halo-Halo, just like the history of the Philippines. One wonders why we don’t have a Halo-halo festival, like the Ginseng festival of Korea. Among all the variations, only the Halo-Halo has the Ube and Leche flan. Add to that some lanka, nata de coco and pinipig. Ohh I think the cherry is a recent add-on. 

Anyone knows the history of this palamig? :)

Source: thecreativedork

Anita Magsaysay-Ho (1914-2012), the ‘female Amorsolo’ of Philippine Art. She loved to depict the everyday life of Filipino women. She once said: “In my works, I always celebrate the women of the Philippines. I regard them with deep admiration and they continue to inspire me – their movements and gestures, their expressions of happiness and frustration, their diligence and shortcomings, their joy of living. I know very well the strength, hard work and quiet dignity of Philippine women, for after all, I am one of them.” It was not loving art in itself as many artists are guilty of doing. It is art with a purpose, with a mission. She may have passed away, but Filipino artists can still learn a lot from her life. To see more of Anita’s works, click HERE.
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Anita Magsaysay-Ho (1914-2012), the ‘female Amorsolo’ of Philippine Art. She loved to depict the everyday life of Filipino women.

She once said:

“In my works, I always celebrate the women of the Philippines. I regard them with deep admiration and they continue to inspire me – their movements and gestures, their expressions of happiness and frustration, their diligence and shortcomings, their joy of living. I know very well the strength, hard work and quiet dignity of Philippine women, for after all, I am one of them.”

It was not loving art in itself as many artists are guilty of doing. It is art with a purpose, with a mission. She may have passed away, but Filipino artists can still learn a lot from her life.

To see more of Anita’s works, click HERE.

In commemoration of the 70th anniversary of the Fall of Corregidor.

Corregidor Island was the last bastion of the Philippine transitional government (Philippine Commonwealth) that held out from the Japanese beginning December 1941 to May 6, 1942. It is a rocky island on the mouth of Manila bay that served as a fortress armed with weapons to protect the whole bay area. The Japanese army, never did enter the bay, and instead amassed its forces from the north and the southeast of Luzon, converging its forces in Manila. The invasion began a few hours after the Japanese attack of Pearl Harbor in Hawaii, then the base of the USAFFE.  When the Empire of Japan closed in on the whole of Southeast Asia, it was only Bataan and Corregidor that were left standing. Bataan, a peninsula near Corregidor, fell on April 9, 1942, but Corregidor held out a month more, aborting the Japanese plan to conquer Australia.

While it is admirable that the Filipino and American forces fiercely protected the sovereignty of the Commonwealth of the Philippines, there was still inequality among the ranks. Take for example the food that was given to the soldiers. Filipinos were given sardines (although this does not necessarily mean this was of lower quality compared to other food) and Americans were given meat. Nevertheless, Filipino and American soldiers have proven their bravery, that inspired Douglas MacArthur’s promise, “I shall return.”

With the lowering of morale, and with the news that the U.S. would prioritize Europe (against the Nazi expansion) than Asia, over 13,000 soldiers (Filipinos and Americans alike) held out with measly rations and weapons until its surrender.

The writer who ended a 300-year long occupation

An Israeli commentator highlights Jose Rizal and his revolutionary legacy. The pen is indeed mightier than the sword. Mya Guarnieri, a Jerusalem-based writer, writes:

Rizal dedicated Noli Me Tangere to his country, writing, “I shall endeavor to show your condition, faithfully and ruthlessly. I shall lift a corner of the veil which shrouds the disease, sacrificing to truth everything, even self-love…”

Today, more than 100 years after Filipino Independence, school children still read Noli Me Tangere. Rizal is hailed as a national hero.

I believe in fiction. It reveals truth in a way that non-fiction cannot. It connects people, creating a sense of community and purpose. And, like journalism, it speaks truth to power. But because fiction captures emotional truth—and emotions tend to drive our lives and the world we live in more than the facts and logic ever do—it is even more potent than journalism.

Let me put it this way: have you ever heard of a newspaper article sparking a revolution?

“EYE ON: The Philippines” is showing now on CNN and will run through within the week. Don’t miss it! Eye.On  Notice the National Hero segment. Ugh. It’s Jose Rizal ONLY. Puh-ke-yeow NOT included.
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“EYE ON: The Philippines” is showing now on CNN and will run through within the week. Don’t miss it!

Eye.On 

Notice the National Hero segment. Ugh. It’s Jose Rizal ONLY. Puh-ke-yeow NOT included.

As the tension between the Philippines and China escalate, it would be good for us to take a pause and see how China views the whole dispute over the Kalayaan islands. As can be seen above, China has wielded valuable but unnoticed ‘weapons’ in laying a claim to the maritime territory. It’s HISTORY and SCIENCE. And yes, China knows her history well, not to mention the Research and Development preparations that come with this claim.

It’s  high-time that we as a country push for our own national sovereignty over our territory. Logic (with the reason that the Spratlys and Scarborough are nearer to us than China) will help but it won’t do.

First question is this, what do we do when we get these islands? Do we have our Filipino scientists ready in our national intellectual arsenal, to study the natural resource of this maritime territory? Are we prepared to invest on these islands, to study it, to harness these resources for the benefit of the country? Even some of our natural resources within our undisputed territory lay undiscovered, and many discoveries are still made, largely by foreigners.

Second question is, do we have documents, historical proofs to back up our claim?

I hope that we as a people would not only talk but walk the talk. I’m just echoing what Ambeth Ocampo says. Spratlys is ours. But we need to back it up with more than sheer patriotism.

Because it’s so humid and hot this summer, here I am again longing to go up to the cool misty mountains of Baguio. Shot in 1910, the photograph above shows Kennon Road (formerly Benguet Road) with De Dion-Bouton classic cars. Believe it or not, these cars used to climb up the steep and snake-like road of Kennon. The road itself, now one of the three access roads to the city, was built largely by immigrant Japanese nationals followed by the Fil-Chinese, Americans and Filipinos beginning in 1903. Col. Lyman Kennon lead the road-construction project (yep, he’s an American colonel, in the backdrop of the Philippine-American War) with around 1,500 Japanese workers, most of whom, stayed on in Baguio after the road was completed. Many of these Japanese influenced Igorot farming, namely organic farming which some farmers in La Trinidad still practice today. When the Japanese Occupation ended in 1945, many Japanese in Baguio, even the long-time residents, were suspected of treason and were forcefully deported to their country.  I had an oral history interview with an old Filipina lady in Baguio who married a Japanese. When her husband was deported after the war, it was so sudden that she never had the time to say goodbye. They never saw each other again. 
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Because it’s so humid and hot this summer, here I am again longing to go up to the cool misty mountains of Baguio. Shot in 1910, the photograph above shows Kennon Road (formerly Benguet Road) with De Dion-Bouton classic cars. Believe it or not, these cars used to climb up the steep and snake-like road of Kennon.

The road itself, now one of the three access roads to the city, was built largely by immigrant Japanese nationals followed by the Fil-Chinese, Americans and Filipinos beginning in 1903. Col. Lyman Kennon lead the road-construction project (yep, he’s an American colonel, in the backdrop of the Philippine-American War) with around 1,500 Japanese workers, most of whom, stayed on in Baguio after the road was completed. Many of these Japanese influenced Igorot farming, namely organic farming which some farmers in La Trinidad still practice today. When the Japanese Occupation ended in 1945, many Japanese in Baguio, even the long-time residents, were suspected of treason and were forcefully deported to their country. 

I had an oral history interview with an old Filipina lady in Baguio who married a Japanese. When her husband was deported after the war, it was so sudden that she never had the time to say goodbye. They never saw each other again. 

It was in 1835, in a time when the Spanish language was the in-thing in Philippine literature, a young Filipino began to dedicate his Tagalog composition to his ‘muse.’ The man was Francisco Baltazar y dela Cruz or simply known as Francisco Balagtas. Like a tale copied by Dumas, Balagtas fell in love with Maria Asuncion Rivera, but a certain wealthy man named Mariano Capule, who’s also interested with the lady, imprisoned Balagtas under false charges. It was in prison that Balagtas wrote one of the best of Philippine literature entitled Florante at Laura, perhaps alluding the darkness of his prison cell and his depression to the darkness of the forest and the tree where his protagonist, Florante, was tied. Sa isang madlilim gubat na mapanglaw  dawag na matinik ay walang pagitan, halos naghihirap ang kay Pebong silang dumalaw sa loob na lubhang masukal. Malalaking kahoy ang inihahandog pawang dalamhati, kahapisa’t lungkot, huni pa ng ibon ay nakalulunos sa lalong matipi’t nagsasayang loob.  His muse would appear in Balagtas’ works under the name ‘Celia.’ Because of Florante at Laura, Balagtas unconsciously began a new genre of Philippine literature called Awit. It was years later in the early decade of the American period in the Philippines, the Filipino poet, Jose Corazon de Jesus, would name the Filipino art of extemporaneous poetic debate as Balagtasan. He died a year later when Rizal was born.  Belated happy 224th birthday, Ginoong Francisco Balagtas! 
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It was in 1835, in a time when the Spanish language was the in-thing in Philippine literature, a young Filipino began to dedicate his Tagalog composition to his ‘muse.’ The man was Francisco Baltazar y dela Cruz or simply known as Francisco Balagtas. Like a tale copied by Dumas, Balagtas fell in love with Maria Asuncion Rivera, but a certain wealthy man named Mariano Capule, who’s also interested with the lady, imprisoned Balagtas under false charges. It was in prison that Balagtas wrote one of the best of Philippine literature entitled Florante at Laura, perhaps alluding the darkness of his prison cell and his depression to the darkness of the forest and the tree where his protagonist, Florante, was tied.

Sa isang madlilim gubat na mapanglaw 

dawag na matinik ay walang pagitan,

halos naghihirap ang kay Pebong silang

dumalaw sa loob na lubhang masukal.

Malalaking kahoy ang inihahandog

pawang dalamhati, kahapisa’t lungkot,

huni pa ng ibon ay nakalulunos

sa lalong matipi’t nagsasayang loob. 

His muse would appear in Balagtas’ works under the name ‘Celia.’ Because of Florante at Laura, Balagtas unconsciously began a new genre of Philippine literature called Awit. It was years later in the early decade of the American period in the Philippines, the Filipino poet, Jose Corazon de Jesus, would name the Filipino art of extemporaneous poetic debate as Balagtasan. He died a year later when Rizal was born. 

Belated happy 224th birthday, Ginoong Francisco Balagtas! 

correosfilipinas: Rizal Monument in Switzerland, before its transfer to Manila. 1910 Richard Kissling, the Swiss sculptor, won the 2nd prize in the Philippine international competition for creating a design of Jose Rizal’s monument that would also house the hero’s remains. This move was approved by the United States commission in 1901, perhaps trying to get the Filipinos’ sympathy amidst the backdrop of the Philippine-American War. The competition was held from 1905-1907. Paciano Rizal as well as other prominent people were part of the competition committee. There was quite a controversy surrounding the judging of the design, since the design of the first prize winner (Carlos Nicoli of Italy) was never built. In my opinion though, a simpler design such as Kissling’s is much preferable than the overdone Nicoli design. It’s ironic how Rizal insisted that there should not be any monument of him. He specifically wrote that a simple cross would do.
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correosfilipinas:

Rizal Monument in Switzerland, before its transfer to Manila. 1910

Richard Kissling, the Swiss sculptor, won the 2nd prize in the Philippine international competition for creating a design of Jose Rizal’s monument that would also house the hero’s remains. This move was approved by the United States commission in 1901, perhaps trying to get the Filipinos’ sympathy amidst the backdrop of the Philippine-American War. The competition was held from 1905-1907. Paciano Rizal as well as other prominent people were part of the competition committee. There was quite a controversy surrounding the judging of the design, since the design of the first prize winner (Carlos Nicoli of Italy) was never built. In my opinion though, a simpler design such as Kissling’s is much preferable than the overdone Nicoli design. It’s ironic how Rizal insisted that there should not be any monument of him. He specifically wrote that a simple cross would do.

Source: correosfilipinas