Pinay Ako!

[honeysweet 1]

FESTIVALS

SINULOG

Every third weekend of January - Cebu City, Cebu

In January 15, 2006, the Sinulog Festival will culminate with enchanting floats, towering higantes, comical puppeteers and the incredible sounds of the beat of the drums. Festival queens will dazzle you with exotic beauties. Participants will dance in the parades in honor of Sto. Niño. Much like the Ati-atihan, the Sinulog Festival is marked by frenzied reverly to the chant of "Pit Senor!"

PANAGBENGA

(Baguio Flower Festival)

This activity showcases the vibrant culture and landscape of the summer capital of the Philippines, Baguio City through displaying their crafts and products. It promises to entice the people to enjoy gardening even in a fully-built-up area.

MORIONES FESTIVAL

Holy Week - Boac,Magpoc, Marinduque

One of the most famous of Philippine festivals. Colorfully garbed and masked as Roman soldiers and centurions, locals reenact the life of Longinus culminating in his beheading. The entire towns of Boac, Morpog and Gasan are virtually converted into huge stages as the story as Longinus unfolds.

SANTACRUZAN

May - During the month of May, processions, popularly known as Santa Cruz de Mayo, are held in honor of the Blessed Virgin Mary. Today, the Santacruzan is a corss between a beauty pageant and a religious procession.

CARABAO FESTIVAL

May 14 and 15 - Pulilan, Bulacan; San Isidro, Nueva Ecija; Angono, Rizal

The Carabao (kalabaw in Tagalog), is considered a national symbol of the Philippines. The Carabao Festival often features a colorful parade of 20 decorated bamboo sleds and a race among carroza-pulling carabaos on a 400-meter course. It is celebrated in honor of San Isidro, the farmer's patron saint.

PAHIYAS SA QUEZON

May 15 - Sariaya, Lucban, Tayabas, Quezon

Homes are decked with kiping (multi-colored paper thin, leaf-shaped rice kropeck) and harvested vegetables; trade fair; civic parades, procession and other activities.

OBANDO FERTILITY RITES

May 17 to 19 - Obando, Bulacan

What makes the Obando fiesta unique among Philippine festivals? Childless wives perform the dance in the streets in their desire to share the fulfillment and happiness of motherhood! This is to honor Santa Clara, the patron saint of the childless, among others.

PARADA NG LECHON

June 24 - Balayan, Batangas

The Parada ng Lechon, "parade of roasted pigs", is celebrated annually on the Feast of St. John the Baptist. Another practice of the villagers of this province, is to drench the paraders to signify the baptism of Jesus. This signifies a religious and spiritual purifying rite to the people of Batangas.

PINTADOS FESTIVAL

June 29 - Tacloban City, Leyte

Pintados is a derivation of the word "tattoos", that signify courage, rank and strength. The most anticipated aspect of the Pintados Festival is the parade of festive dancers painted from head to toe with designs that use astounding arrays of colors.

MASSKARA FESTIVAL

October 19 - Bacolod City, Negros Occidental

The biggest annual event that reflects the Bacoleños love for fun and gaiety. Coinciding with Bacolod City's charter day celebration, the festival features sports competitions, cultural programs, carnivals, beauty contest and a long Mardi gras style costumed and masked street dancers.

CHRISTMAS

The Philippines is the only Asian country that is predominantly Christian. Majority of its people are Roman Catholic. The Philippine Christmas celebration is said to be the longest and merriest celebration in the world. Misa de gallo, dawn masses celebrated with the first peal of church bells, are traditionally held starting December 16. Stories tell that in the 17th century, a priest combined Catholic rites with the farmers’ native thanksgiving to harvest gods before they start their day. This is followed by a hearty breakfast.

The most popular symbol of Philippine Christmas is the parol (lantern). It represents the star of Bethlehem which symbolically guided the Messiah to the manger. The Paskuhan Village, Asia’s Star Attraction, is a tribute to Filipino craftsmen as expressed by the star-shaped pavilion at the center of the village.

ATI-ATIHAN

January - Kalibo, Aklan

One of the most popular of the Philippine festivals, the Ati-atihan is a celebration in honor of the Sto. Niño. Revelers don colorful costumes and paint their bodies black and dance to the distictive beat of "Hala bira!" around the town.

[Señor Bonito 2]

Philippine HistoryEarly History -The Negritos are believed to have migrated to the Philippines some 30,000 years ago from Borneo, Sumatra, and Malaya. The Malayans followed in successive waves. These people belonged to a primitive epoch of Malayan culture, which has apparently survived to this day among certain groups such as the Igorots. The Malayan tribes that came later had more highly developed material cultures.

In the 14th cent. Arab traders from Malay and Borneo introduced Islam into the southern islands and extended their influence as far north as Luzon. The first Europeans to visit (1521) the Philippines were those in the Spanish expedition around the world led by the Portuguese explorer Ferdinand Magellan. Other Spanish expeditions followed, including one from New Spain (Mexico) under López de Villalobos, who in 1542 named the islands for the infante Philip, later Philip II.

Spanish Control - The conquest of the Filipinos by Spain did not begin in earnest until 1564, when another expedition from New Spain, commanded by Miguel López de Legaspi, arrived. Spanish leadership was soon established over many small independent communities that previously had known no central rule. By 1571, when López de Legaspi established the Spanish city of Manila on the site of a Moro town he had conquered the year before, the Spanish foothold in the Philippines was secure, despite the opposition of the Portuguese, who were eager to maintain their monopoly on the trade of East Asia.

Manila repulsed the attack of the Chinese pirate Limahong in 1574. For centuries before the Spanish arrived the Chinese had traded with the Filipinos, but evidently none had settled permanently in the islands until after the conquest. Chinese trade and labor were of great importance in the early development of the Spanish colony, but the Chinese came to be feared and hated because of their increasing numbers, and in 1603 the Spanish murdered thousands of them (later, there were lesser massacres of the Chinese).

The Spanish governor, made a viceroy in 1589, ruled with the advice of the powerful royal audiencia. There were frequent uprisings by the Filipinos, who resented the encomienda system. By the end of the 16th cent. Manila had become a leading commercial center of East Asia, carrying on a flourishing trade with China, India, and the East Indies. The Philippines supplied some wealth (including gold) to Spain, and the richly laden galleons plying between the islands and New Spain were often attacked by English freebooters. There was also trouble from other quarters, and the period from 1600 to 1663 was marked by continual wars with the Dutch, who were laying the foundations of their rich empire in the East Indies, and with Moro pirates. One of the most difficult problems the Spanish faced was the subjugation of the Moros. Intermittent campaigns were conducted against them but without conclusive results until the middle of the 19th cent. As the power of the Spanish Empire waned, the Jesuit orders became more influential in the Philippines and acquired great amounts of property.

Revolution, War, and U.S. Control - It was the opposition to the power of the clergy that in large measure brought about the rising sentiment for independence. Spanish injustices, bigotry, and economic oppressions fed the movement, which was greatly inspired by the brilliant writings of José Rizal. In 1896 revolution began in the province of Cavite, and after the execution of Rizal that December, it spread throughout the major islands. The Filipino leader, Emilio Aguinaldo, achieved considerable success before a peace was patched up with Spain. The peace was short-lived, however, for neither side honored its agreements, and a new revolution was brewing when the Spanish-American War broke out in 1898.

After the U.S. naval victory in Manila Bay on May 1, 1898, Commodore George Dewey supplied Aguinaldo with arms and urged him to rally the Filipinos against the Spanish. By the time U.S. land forces had arrived, the Filipinos had taken the entire island of Luzon, except for the old walled city of Manila, which they were besieging. The Filipinos had also declared their independence and established a republic under the first democratic constitution ever known in Asia. Their dreams of independence were crushed when the Philippines were transferred from Spain to the United States in the Treaty of Paris (1898), which closed the Spanish-American War.

In Feb., 1899, Aguinaldo led a new revolt, this time against U.S. rule. Defeated on the battlefield, the Filipinos turned to guerrilla warfare, and their subjugation became a mammoth project for the United States—one that cost far more money and took far more lives than the Spanish-American War. The insurrection was effectively ended with the capture (1901) of Aguinaldo by Gen. Frederick Funston, but the question of Philippine independence remained a burning issue in the politics of both the United States and the islands. The matter was complicated by the growing economic ties between the two countries. Although comparatively little American capital was invested in island industries, U.S. trade bulked larger and larger until the Philippines became almost entirely dependent upon the American market. Free trade, established by an act of 1909, was expanded in 1913.

When the Democrats came into power in 1913, measures were taken to effect a smooth transition to self-rule. The Philippine assembly already had a popularly elected lower house, and the Jones Act, passed by the U.S. Congress in 1916, provided for a popularly elected upper house as well, with power to approve all appointments made by the governor-general. It also gave the islands their first definite pledge of independence, although no specific date was set.

When the Republicans regained power in 1921, the trend toward bringing Filipinos into the government was reversed. Gen. Leonard Wood, who was appointed governor-general, largely supplanted Filipino activities with a semimilitary rule. However, the advent of the Great Depression in the United States in the 1930s and the first aggressive moves by Japan in Asia (1931) shifted U.S. sentiment sharply toward the granting of immediate independence to the Philippines.

The Commonwealth - The Hare-Hawes Cutting Act, passed by Congress in 1932, provided for complete independence of the islands in 1945 after 10 years of self-government under U.S. supervision. The bill had been drawn up with the aid of a commission from the Philippines, but Manuel L. Quezon, the leader of the dominant Nationalist party, opposed it, partially because of its threat of American tariffs against Philippine products but principally because of the provisions leaving naval bases in U.S. hands. Under his influence, the Philippine legislature rejected the bill. The Tydings-McDuffie Independence Act (1934) closely resembled the Hare-Hawes Cutting Act, but struck the provisions for American bases and carried a promise of further study to correct “imperfections or inequalities.”

The Philippine legislature ratified the bill; a constitution, approved by President Roosevelt (Mar., 1935) was accepted by the Philippine people in a plebiscite (May); and Quezon was elected the first president (Sept.). When Quezon was inaugurated on Nov. 15, 1935, the Commonwealth of the Philippines was formally established. Quezon was reelected in Nov., 1941. To develop defensive forces against possible aggression, Gen. Douglas MacArthur was brought to the islands as military adviser in 1935, and the following year he became field marshal of the Commonwealth army.

World War II - War came suddenly to the Philippines on Dec. 8 (Dec. 7, U.S. time), 1941, when Japan attacked without warning. Japanese troops invaded the islands in many places and launched a pincer drive on Manila. MacArthur’s scattered defending forces (about 80,000 troops, four fifths of them Filipinos) were forced to withdraw to Bataan Peninsula and Corregidor Island, where they entrenched and tried to hold until the arrival of reinforcements, meanwhile guarding the entrance to Manila Bay and denying that important harbor to the Japanese. But no reinforcements were forthcoming. The Japanese occupied Manila on Jan. 2, 1942. MacArthur was ordered out by President Roosevelt and left for Australia on Mar. 11; Lt. Gen. Jonathan Wainwright assumed command.

The besieged U.S.-Filipino army on Bataan finally crumbled on Apr. 9, 1942. Wainwright fought on from Corregidor with a garrison of about 11,000 men; he was overwhelmed on May 6, 1942. After his capitulation, the Japanese forced the surrender of all remaining defending units in the islands by threatening to use the captured Bataan and Corregidor troops as hostages. Many individual soldiers refused to surrender, however, and guerrilla resistance, organized and coordinated by U.S. and Philippine army officers, continued throughout the Japanese occupation.

Japan’s efforts to win Filipino loyalty found expression in the establishment (Oct. 14, 1943) of a “Philippine Republic,” with José P. Laurel, former supreme court justice, as president. But the people suffered greatly from Japanese brutality, and the puppet government gained little support. Meanwhile, President Quezon, who had escaped with other high officials before the country fell, set up a government-in-exile in Washington. When he died (Aug., 1944), Vice President Sergio Osmeña became president. Osmeña returned to the Philippines with the first liberation forces, which surprised the Japanese by landing (Oct. 20, 1944) at Leyte, in the heart of the islands, after months of U.S. air strikes against Mindanao. The Philippine government was established at Tacloban, Leyte, on Oct. 23.

The landing was followed (Oct. 23–26) by the greatest naval engagement in history, called variously the battle of Leyte Gulf and the second battle of the Philippine Sea. A great U.S. victory, it effectively destroyed the Japanese fleet and opened the way for the recovery of all the islands. Luzon was invaded (Jan., 1945), and Manila was taken in February. On July 5, 1945, MacArthur announced “All the Philippines are now liberated.” The Japanese had suffered over 425,000 dead in the Philippines.

The Philippine congress met on June 9, 1945, for the first time since its election in 1941. It faced enormous problems. The land was devastated by war, the economy destroyed, the country torn by political warfare and guerrilla violence. Osmeña’s leadership was challenged (Jan., 1946) when one wing (now the Liberal party) of the Nationalist party nominated for president Manuel Roxas, who defeated Osmeña in April.

The Republic of the Philippines - Manuel Roxas became the first president of the Republic of the Philippines when independence was granted, as scheduled, on July 4, 1946. In Mar., 1947, the Philippines and the United States signed a military assistance pact (since renewed) and the Philippines gave the United States a 99-year lease on designated military, naval, and air bases (a later agreement reduced the period to 25 years beginning 1967). The sudden death of President Roxas in Apr., 1948, elevated the vice president, Elpidio Quirino, to the presidency, and in a bitterly contested election in Nov., 1949, Quirino defeated José Laurel to win a four-year term of his own.

The enormous task of reconstructing the war-torn country was complicated by the activities in central Luzon of the Communist-dominated Hukbalahap guerrillas (Huks), who resorted to terror and violence in their efforts to achieve land reform and gain political power. They were finally brought under control (1954) after a vigorous attack launched by the minister of national defense, Ramón Magsaysay. By that time Magsaysay was president of the country, having defeated Quirino in Nov., 1953. He had promised sweeping economic changes, and he did make progress in land reform, opening new settlements outside crowded Luzon island. His death in an airplane crash in Mar., 1957, was a serious blow to national morale. Vice President Carlos P. García succeeded him and won a full term as president in the elections of Nov., 1957.

In foreign affairs, the Philippines maintained a firm anti-Communist policy and joined the Southeast Asia Treaty Organization in 1954. There were difficulties with the United States over American military installations in the islands, and, despite formal recognition (1956) of full Philippine sovereignty over these bases, tensions increased until some of the bases were dismantled (1959) and the 99-year lease period was reduced. The United States rejected Philippine financial claims and proposed trade revisions.

Philippine opposition to García on issues of government corruption and anti-Americanism led, in June, 1959, to the union of the Liberal and Progressive parties, led by Vice President Diosdado Macapagal, the Liberal party leader, who succeeded García as president in the 1961 elections. Macapagal’s administration was marked by efforts to combat the mounting inflation that had plagued the republic since its birth; by attempted alliances with neighboring countries; and by a territorial dispute with Britain over North Borneo (later Sabah), which Macapagal claimed had been leased and not sold to the British North Borneo Company in 1878.

Marcos and After - Ferdinand E. Marcos, who succeeded to the presidency after defeating Macapagal in the 1965 elections, inherited the territorial dispute over Sabah; in 1968 he approved a congressional bill annexing Sabah to the Philippines. Malaysia suspended diplomatic relations (Sabah had joined the Federation of Malaysia in 1963), and the matter was referred to the United Nations. (The Philippines dropped its claim to Sabah in 1978.) The Philippines became one of the founding countries of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) in 1967. The continuing need for land reform fostered a new Huk uprising in central Luzon, accompanied by mounting assassinations and acts of terror, and in 1969, Marcos began a major military campaign to subdue them. Civil war also threatened on Mindanao, where groups of Moros opposed Christian settlement. In Nov., 1969, Marcos won an unprecedented reelection, easily defeating Sergio Osmeña, Jr., but the election was accompanied by violence and charges of fraud, and Marcos’s second term began with increasing civil disorder.

In Jan., 1970, some 2,000 demonstrators tried to storm Malacañang Palace, the presidential residence; riots erupted against the U.S. embassy. When Pope Paul VI visited Manila in Nov., 1970, an attempt was made on his life. In 1971, at a Liberal party rally, hand grenades were thrown at the speakers’ platform, and several people were killed. President Marcos declared martial law in Sept., 1972, charging that a Communist rebellion threatened. The 1935 constitution was replaced (1973) by a new one that provided the president with direct powers. A plebiscite (July, 1973) gave Marcos the right to remain in office beyond the expiration (Dec., 1973) of his term. Meanwhile the fighting on Mindanao had spread to the Sulu Archipelago. By 1973 some 3,000 people had been killed and hundreds of villages burned. Throughout the 1970s poverty and governmental corruption increased, and Imelda Marcos, Ferdinand’s wife, became more influential.

Martial law remained in force until 1981, when Marcos was reelected, amid accusations of electoral fraud. On Aug. 21, 1983, opposition leader Benigno Aquino was assassinated at Manila airport, which incited a new, more powerful wave of anti-Marcos dissent. After the Feb., 1986, presidential election, both Marcos and his opponent, Corazon Aquino (the widow of Benigno), declared themselves the winner, and charges of massive fraud and violence were leveled against the Marcos faction. Marcos’s domestic and international support eroded, and he fled the country on Feb. 25, 1986, eventually obtaining asylum in the United States.

Aquino’s government faced mounting problems, including coup attempts, significant economic difficulties, and pressure to rid the Philippines of the U.S. military presence (the last U.S. bases were evacuated in 1992). In 1990, in response to the demands of the Moros, a partially autonomous Muslim region was created in the far south. In 1992, Aquino declined to run for reelection and was succeeded by her former army chief of staff Fidel Ramos. He immediately launched an economic revitalization plan premised on three policies: government deregulation, increased private investment, and political solutions to the continuing insurgencies within the country. His political program was somewhat successful, opening dialogues with the Marxist and Muslim guerillas. However, Muslim discontent with partial rule persisted, and unrest and violence continued throughout the 1990s. In 1999, Marxist rebels and Muslim separatists formed an alliance to fight the government.

Several natural disasters, including the 1991 eruption of Mt. Pinatubo on Luzon and a succession of severe typhoons, slowed the country’s economic progress. However, the Philippines escaped much of the economic turmoil seen in other East Asian nations in 1997 and 1998, in part by following a slower pace of development imposed by the International Monetary Fund. Joseph Marcelo Estrada, a former movie actor, was elected president in 1998, pledging to help the poor and develop the country’s agricultural sector. In 1999 he announced plans to amend the constitution in order to remove protectionist provisions and attract more foreign investment.

Late in 2000, Estrada’s presidency was buffeted by charges that he accepted millions of dollars in payoffs from illegal gambling operations. Although his support among the poor Filipino majority remained strong, many political, business, and church leaders called for him to resign. In Nov., 2000, Estrada was impeached by the house of representatives on charges of graft, but the senate, controlled by Estrada’s allies, provoked a crisis (Jan., 2001) when it rejected examining the president’s bank records. As demonstrations against Estrada mounted and members of his cabinet resigned, the supreme court stripped him of the presidency, and Vice President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo was sworn in as Estrada’s successor.

Macapagal-Arroyo was elected president in her own right in May, 2004, but the balloting was marred by violence and irregularities as well as a tedious vote-counting process that was completed six weeks after the election.

This is a very good summary of the modern times and the living past. Thanks for your contribution, honeysweet.

[muñequita linda 0]

"I prefer a government run like hell by Filipinos to a government run like heaven by Americans."

The above statement is attributed to Manuel Luis Quezon, the First President of the Commonwealth of the Philippines.

Manuel Luis Quezon y Molina was born in the small town of Baler in the province of Tayabas (Tayabas was renamed Quezon while Baler and several other towns are now part of the Aurora province which detached from Quezon) to Lucio Quezon, a sergeant in the Spanish Army, and Maria Dolores Molina. He was educated at an early age learning Spanish at the age of five and Latin, religion, geography, and Spanish grammar by age seven. Quezon had finished a Bachelor of Arts degree with the highest honours at age 16 at the Colegio of San Juan de Letran. He went on to study law and jurisprudence at the University of Santo Tomas but cut off to join the Philippine-American War for Philippine independence. He returned to his studies after the capture and surrender of Emilio Aguinaldo.

In 1905, he ran for governor of Tayabas and served two years before being elected a representative in the newly established Philippine Assembly. Between 1909 - 1916 he was the appointed Resident Commissioner to the US. He was entitled to speak but not vote in the US House of Representatives. It was during this time that he pushed for and fought for Philippine independence. Through his efforts, he obtained the passage of the Jones Act in the US Congress which granted Philippine independence but did not give a specific date as to when it would take effect.

Quezon returned to Manila in 1916 to be elected into the Philippine Senate. Two years later he was Senate president. In 1922, Quezon became leader the of Nacionalista Party. In 1934, he returned to the US and negotiated for passage of the Tydings-McDuffie Act which set the date for full Philippine independence. The date set was 1946. For the ten years in the run-up to independence, a commonwealth government was provided for.

In 1935, Quezon was elected as president of the Commonwealth government, defeating Emilio Aguinaldo and Bishop Gregorio Aglipay. Sergio Osmeña was elected as vice-president. Both were re-elected to their respective posts in 1941.

During his presidency, Quezon tackled the problem of landless peasants in the countryside. Other major decisions include reorganisation of the islands military defence, approval of recommendation for government reorganisation, promotion of settlement and development in Mindanao, tackling foreign strangle-hold on Philippine trade and commerce, proposals for land reform and the tackling of graft and corruption within the government. Quezon and Osmeña established an exiled government in the US with the outbreak of the war and the threat of Japanese invasion. During his exile in the US, Manuel Quezon died of tuberculosis in Saranac Lake, New York

[Besame Mucho 1]

President Quezon has also been quoted for the following:

“If the pre-ordained fate of my country is either to be subject people but rich, or free but poor, I am unqualifiedly for the latter.”

“The party never has been and never will be the people. My loyalty to my party ends where my loyalty to my country begins.”

“Social Justice is far more beneficial when applied as a matter of sentiment and not of law.”

“Pray for me so that I can return to the Philippines. I feel so weak that I am afraid I can not make it.”

[I AM NOT THAT GUY 5,715]

From

The Philippine Revolution

by Apolinario Mabini

1969

End and Fall of the Revolution

As I had foreseen, our improvised militia could not withstand the first blow struck by the disciplined American troops. Moreover, it must be admitted that the Filipino forces stationed around Manila were not prepared for an attack that night: General Ricarte, in command of the detachments in the south, and General San Miguel, commander of the eastern zone where the attack began, were. then in Malolos. Little accustomed to war, the Filipino commanders and officers hardly appreciated the value of military instruction and discipline so that the emplacements were not served with anything approaching order and precision. The Filipino general staff had not studied or laid down any plans for offensive or withdrawal movements in case of an outbreak of hostilities. Mr. Aguinaldo, who had scant appreciation of the advantages of a unified command and coordinated tactics, had made no provision for the prompt restoration of communications among the various it -- my units should a sudden retreat i nterrupt the telegraphic system. Mr. Aguinaldo wanted to keep the forces around Manila under his direct orders, commanding them from his residence in Malolos, although he could not devote himself completely to the proper discharge of the duties of this command because of his preoccupations as head of the government and the conceit of personally deciding many matters which should have been channeled through the departments of the central administration. Only after the outbreak of hostilities, when the telegraph lines had already been cut, did he name General Luna commander of the forces operating around Manila, but by that time the various army units had already evacuated their old emplacements, and communications among them had become slow and hazardous. Furthermore, Luna resigned his command shortly afterward because the War Minister had disapproved one of his dispositions. However, he resumed command of the defensive operations north of Manila when the Philippine Government was compelled to leave Malolos for San Isidro in the province of Nueva Ecija. Luna was able to raise fresh forces in Calumpit, forming a number of companies composed of veteran soldiers. of the former native army organized by the Spanish Government, and with these troops as a core he imposed a stern disciplinary system to stop the demoralization of our troops. But many commanders, jealous of their authority, withheld from him the effective cooperation that was necessary. This led to the cashiering by brute force of commanders who did not recognize his authority, or the court-martialing of those who abandoned their posts in the face of the enemy, or the disarming of troops that disobeyed his or ders.

In spite of all these obstacles, Luna would have succeeded in imposing and maintaining discipline if Aguinaldo had supported him with all the power of his prestige and authority, but the latter was also beginning to grow jealous, seeing Luna slowly gain ascendancy by his bravery, audacity, and military skill. All those affronted by his actuations were inducing Aguinaldo to believe that Luna was plotting to wrest from him the supreme authority. After the Calumpit bridge had fallen to the American forces, due mainly to the scarcity of ammunition, Luna came to see me in San Isidro and entreated me to help him convince Mr. Aguinaldo that the time had come to adopt guerrilla warfare. I promised to do what he wanted, while making it clear to him that I doubted I would get anywhere because my advice was hardly heeded in military matters inasmuch as, not being a military man but a man of letters, my military knowledgeability must be scant, if not nonexistent. I could not keep my promise because after our meeting I did not get to see Mr. Aguinaldo until after some time when he came expressly to seek my advice on whether or not it would be expedient to reorganize the cabinet. Unable to overcome my sense of propriety even in those circumstances, I answered in the affirmative, and, having relinquished office to my successor, Don Pedro A. Paterno, in the first days of May 1899, 1 left for the town of Rosales near Bayambang. Some weeks later Mr. Aguinaldo sent a telegram asking Luna to see him in Cabanatuan for an exchange of views, but when Luna arrived in Cabanatuan he met not Aguinaldo but death by treachery plotted by the very same soldiers whom he had disarmed and court-martialed for abandonment of their post and disobedience to his orders ( he did not find Aguinaldo at home and was treacherously murdered by the soldiers who were on sentry duty there ). Colonel Francisco Roman, who accompanied Luna, died with him. While Luna was being murdered. Mr. Aguinaldo was in Tarlac taking over command of the forces which the deceased had organized. Before his death Luna had his headquarters in Bayambang, and had reconnoitered Bangued to determine if it met the conditions for an efficacious defense in case of a retreat; what is more, he was already beginning to transport there the heavier pieces of ordnance. Notwithstanding, Aguinaldo established his government in Tarlac, wasting his time on political and literary activates, a negligence which General Otis exploited by landing his infantry in San Fabian while his cavalry, wheeling through San Jose and Umingan, took San Quintin and Tayug, thus cutting all of Mr. Aguinaldo's lines of retreat and giving the deathblow to the Revolution.

Until now I cannot believe that Luna was plotting to wrest from Mr. Aguinaldo the high office he held although Luna certainly aspired to be prime minister instead of Mr. Paterno, with whom Luna disagreed because the former's autonomy program was a violation of the fundamental law of the State and as such was a punishable crime. This is shown by a report in the newspaper La Independencia, inspired by Luna and published a few days before his death, which stated that the Paterno-Buencaminio cabinet would be replaced by another in which Luna would be prime minister as well as war minister. When a few days afterward Luna received Mr. Aguinaldo's telegram calling him to Cabanatuan, Luna thought perhaps that the subject of their meeting would be the new cabinet; he did not expect an attempt to assassinate him precisely at the critical juncture when the Revolution most needed his strong and skilled right arm; nor could he believe that a licit and correct ambition should inspire fear i n Mr. Aguinaldo who had named him commanding general of the Philippine army. Luna had certainly allowed himself to say on occasion that Aguinaldo had a weak character and was unfit to be a leader, but such language was only an explosive outlet for a fiery and ebullient temperament which saw its plans frustrated by the lack of necessary support. All of Luna's acts revealed integrity and patriotism combined with a zealous activity that measured up to the situation. If he was sometimes hasty and even cruel in his decisions, it was because the army was in a desperate position due to the demoralization of the troops and the lack of munitions; only acts of daring and extraordinary energy could prevent its disintegration.

The death of Andres Bonifacio had plainly shown in Mr.. Aguinaldo a boundless appetite for power, and Luna's personal enemies exploited this weakness of Aguinaldo with skillful intrigues in order to encompass Luna's ruin.

To say that if Aguinaldo, instead of killing Luna (allowing Luna to be killed), had supported him with all his power, the Revolution would have triumphed, would be presumption indeed, but I have not the least doubt that the Americans would have had a higher regard for the courage and military abilities of the Filipinos. Had Luna been alive, I am sure that Otis's mortal blow would have been parried or at least timely prevented, and Mr.. Aguinaldo's unfitness for military command would not have been exposed so clearly. Furthermore, to rid himself of Luna, Aguinaldo had recourse to the very soldiers whom Luna had punished for breaches of discipline; by doing so Aguinaldo destroyed that discipline, and with it his own army. With Luna, its most firm support, fell the Revolution, and, the ignominy of that fall bearing wholly on Aguinaldo, brought about in turn his own moral death, a thousand times more bitter than physical death. Aguinaldo therefore ruined himself, damned by his ow n deeds. Thus are great crimes punished by Providence.

To sum it up, the Revolution failed because it was badly led; because its leader won his post by reprehensible rather than meritorious acts; because instead of supporting the men most useful to the people, he made them useless out of jealousy. Identifying the aggrandizement of the people with his own, he judged the worth of men not by their ability, character and patriotism but rather by their degree of friendship and kinship with him; and anxious to secure the readiness of his favorites to sacrifice themselves for him, he was tolerant even of their transgressions. Because he thus neglected the people forsook him; and forsaken by the people, he was bound to fall like a waxen idol melting in the heat of adversity. God grant we do not forget such a terrible lesson, learnt at the cost of untold suffering.

Source

[muñequita linda 0]

Even The Sublime Paralytic stated that Aguinaldo was unfit to be a leader and he had to kill those who had better ideas than he did, like Bonifacio and Gen. Luna. He had to eliminate these brilliant heroes so that he could proclaim himself as the leader of the revolution, and be a legend in his own mind, no matter how big a misfit he was.

[Giskat09 2]

^isn't that gal that posed nude and ended up online half pinoy? Jennifer Hudson. The highschool musical girl.

Also Manny Pacquiao, Nonito Donaire, Brandon Vera...to name a few awesome fighters from the PI. I'm down with the PI....cool people and place.

THATS VANESSA HUDGENS.. HALF FILIPINA AND HALF NATIVE AMERICAN

[Señor Bonito 2]

I was in the Philippines last month to say “I do” to Señorita Tessa and after the Davao wedding we spent some precious time in Manila. This 6-day sojourn in Manila was the most I had since leaving for America 36 years ago. While in Manila, and being crazy and avid history students and buffs and regular contributors to this thread that we are, Tess (now Señora Bonita for VJ purposes) and I went out of our way to visit some of the places with historical significance and we were reminded once more that our Philippine history and the rest of the living past are still vivid in our memory. Yeah, the history and the living past that were the main entrées of this now idle thread.

We shot some pictures in some of these places with historical connotations and here are some of them:

By Dr. Jose Rizal's Monument.

At the memorial dedicated to Padres Burgos, Gomez & Zamora at Bagumbayan Field.

At Aguinaldo's revolutionary headquarters.

Exploring Intramuros by horse drawn conveyance. Almost everything in the old Spanish town has been rebuilt or renovated.

With Gen MacArthur's statue in Intramuros' "Top of the World".

At Fort Santiago with the Rizal Heritage House in the background

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[maritoni 3]

Wow!!thank you for sharing your pictures manong Aj:) you absolutely are Perfect couple..

[Señor Bonito 2]

Wow!!thank you for sharing your pictures manong Aj:) you absolutely are Perfect couple..

You're welcome, MJ. You and Tony are too!

[Pinay Wife 47]

I miss the land of my birth :crying: Thanks for the pictures.

[Señora Bonita 0]

I miss the land of my birth :crying: Thanks for the pictures.

You are welcome, Pinay wife. Here's hoping that AJ and I did not shower you with the homesick blues. Just to let you know that I can't wait to set foot in America so that I can finally contribute to your thread about how life goes on in the States!

Tess

[muñequita linda 0]

I was in the Philippines last month to say “I do” to Señorita Tessa and after the Davao wedding we spent some precious time in Manila. This 6-day sojourn in Manila was the most I had since leaving for America 36 years ago. While in Manila, and being crazy and avid history students and buffs and regular contributors to this thread that we are, Tess (now Señora Bonita for VJ purposes) and I went out of our way to visit some of the places with historical significance and we were reminded once more that our Philippine history and the rest of the living past are still vivid in our memory. Yeah, the history and the living past that were the main entrées of this now idle thread.

We shot some pictures in some of these places with historical connotations and here are some of them:

By Dr. Jose Rizal's Monument.

At the memorial dedicated to Padres Burgos, Gomez & Zamora at Bagumbayan Field.

At Aguinaldo's revolutionary headquarters.

Exploring Intramuros by horse drawn conveyance. Almost everything in the old Spanish town has been rebuilt or renovated.

With Gen MacArthur's statue in Intramuros' "Top of the World".

At Fort Santiago with the Rizal Heritage House in the background

.

Hi AJ & Tess,

Greetings from the Sonoran Desert! Nice of you to post pictures with historical backgrounds. I wonder if you had a chance to visit Corregidor, an integral part of Philippine history. You know what, I had so much fun contributing to this thread when it was on. It's too bad it's now inactive, but I wish for its revival to spruce up the PI forum a little bit and to supplement the current trivial and mundane topics and the on going intramurals among some members.

[Señor Bonito 2]

I was in the Philippines last month to say “I do” to Señorita Tessa and after the Davao wedding we spent some precious time in Manila. This 6-day sojourn in Manila was the most I had since leaving for America 36 years ago. While in Manila, and being crazy and avid history students and buffs and regular contributors to this thread that we are, Tess (now Señora Bonita for VJ purposes) and I went out of our way to visit some of the places with historical significance and we were reminded once more that our Philippine history and the rest of the living past are still vivid in our memory. Yeah, the history and the living past that were the main entrées of this now idle thread.

We shot some pictures in some of these places with historical connotations and here are some of them:

By Dr. Jose Rizal's Monument.

At the memorial dedicated to Padres Burgos, Gomez & Zamora at Bagumbayan Field.

At Aguinaldo's revolutionary headquarters.

Exploring Intramuros by horse drawn conveyance. Almost everything in the old Spanish town has been rebuilt or renovated.

With Gen MacArthur's statue in Intramuros' "Top of the World".

At Fort Santiago with the Rizal Heritage House in the background

.

Hi AJ & Tess,

Greetings from the Sonoran Desert! Nice of you to post pictures with historical backgrounds. I wonder if you had a chance to visit Corregidor, an integral part of Philippine history. You know what, I had so much fun contributing to this thread when it was on. It's too bad it's now inactive, but I wish for its revival to spruce up the PI forum a little bit and to supplement the current trivial and mundane topics and the on going intramurals among some members.

Hi Linda! Adda kan gayam dita Arizona? Congrats. How's life treating you so far there in the Grand Canyon State? I hope the weather is not too toasty yet. Well, to answer your inquiry, we were unable to visit Corregidor because the waters of Manila Bay were very rough when we were there as it was raining almost everyday. The boat ride and my seasickness could have embarassed me and pestered the rest of the boat passengers.

Yeah, I concur with you that it is a shame this thread is now dormant. Even if there was only a handful of us history buffs who were regulars on this thread, we enjoyed swapping historical tidbits and expressing our own lore of the living past. I don't fancy this thread being revived as the interest of the originator, Mr. Bill, has apparently faded away.

Umay cayo agpasiar ditoy ah. It's only 4½ hours drive from Scottsdale to our place. Our county, Riverside, is next after the stateline (Colorado River) from Arizona. Tell your husband to bring his golf clubs.

[borednad2 0]

After you ladies asked us Kanos why we married Pinay, it is time to define yourselves, for the Kanos you love, and the rest of the world, who may not understand you.

My father-in-law, after drinking some Red Horse, told me, "We Filipinos are great imitators! We can copy anything!"

My wife asks me if we can send some of the things we don't use to Philippines. I tell her, "Honey, that won't work in the Philippines. We use 110 and they use 220."

"Don't worry! They can make anything work!"

I spent some time at the Mall of Asia, and I think she is right! Everything you can think of is there, and it is Pinoy made! I can't tell the difference.

So ladies, tell us about yourselves.

--Bullwinkle

hmmm simple question u asked and we gave u the history huh?aint that nice hehhehehe...filipinas? we are sweet,love to laugh,likes telling jokes bad and good ,we smell good (hehehheh...) and hey u love us..u have a filipina wife noh?