We use cookies to ensure you get the best experience on our website. By continuing, you are agreeing to our use of cookies. To find out more, please click this link.
One of the memorable moments in my colorful past was being designated implementor of Republic Act No. 8491, better known as the “flag law.” I learned the hard way that you could sometimes get into trouble when…
While history records the tragic deaths of Ninoy Aquino (1983) and Antonio Luna (1899), it seems that we as a people are far from closure. While their assassins have been identified, the person(s) who actually ordered the…
Growing up as a martial law baby meant having to unlearn a lot of Marcos-era distortions. When I saw the word “Pag-ibig,” I had to look at how the word was used to know if it meant…
I was 16 when I first traveled to Europe on one of those silly tours that packed 12 countries in 30 days. Most of our time was spent sleeping in a bus by day and sleeping in…
While history is mainly built on narratives from verified facts, we should also be sensitive to its silences. For example, our focus on the Victory at Mactan on April 27 obscures the Massacre in Cebu on May…
Fireworks of a different kind exploded last April 27 when politicians commented on the 500th anniversary of the Victory in Mactan. Cavite Vice Gov. Jolo Revilla posted on FB: “A salute to the bravery of one of…
Passive-aggressive” is the only way to describe the recent intrusion of 261 Chinese vessels into the West Philippine Sea as of April 11. We don’t know how events will unfold, but can only wish the Chinese will…
Lockdown extended another week? Nobody seems surprised. Some even think this will last till the end of the month, speculating that Malacañang is merely delaying the inevitable to keep people in the National Capital Region Bubble happy…
The spoiler for today’s commemoration of the 500th anniversary of the first Easter Mass in Limasawa are the advocates who stubbornly insist that it was actually held in Butuan. It seems we are far from closure after…
Following the directive from the National Historical Commission, Lapulapu is now spelled without the hyphen that formerly cut the hero’s name in two. If you go over manuscript copies of Antonio Pigafetta’s account of the Magellan expedition,…
We reached Homonhon last week, three hours by motorized boat from Guiuan, Eastern Samar. From the port to the Magellan Landing Site in Cantilan meant a five-kilometer travel on a rough, rust-colored road — a sign of…
March 16, 1521, is a date seared into my memory by textbook history and Yoyoy Villame’s 1972 hit song “Magellan.” Classroom history has come a long way since my childhood, and the “discovery of the Philippines” is…
We use cookies to ensure you get the best experience on our website. By continuing, you are agreeing to our use of cookies. To find out more, please click this link.