VICENTE ALVAREZ AND THE BATTLE FOR FORT PILAR By: Quennie Ann J. Palafox        For decades, many believed that Mindanao did not participate in the Philippine Revolution against Spain in 1896 and 1898, and that it was led by the Tagalogs and the Visayans from Luzon and the Visayas respectively. Mindanao’s place in continue reading : Vicente Alvarez and the Battle for Fort Pilar

MARIA KALAW-KATIGBAK: BEAUTY QUEEN AND SENATORby Reymann L. Guevarra         Endowed with foreordained beauty and intellect, Maria Kalaw-Katigbak, was certainly the crème of the crop in the springtime of her youth. Born to a noble breed, she showed her humble nature even during her moments of success. In the beginning, her beauty went unnoticed, but continue reading : Maria Kalaw-Katigbak: Beauty Queen and Senator

 A BLACK AMERICAN HERO IN THE PHILIPPINESby Peter Jaynul V. Uckung       Heroes and history are a volatile mix. They tend to induce a radical change to an oppressed society dulled into insensitivity by the inequitable system of the ruling class.      A hero is an anomaly rising from a society suffering from unbearable social problems continue reading : A Black American Hero in the Philippines

TANDANG SORA: PROFILE OF A COURAGEOUS MOTHERby Bryan Anthony C. Paraiso        Few Filipinos are aware that a Filipino heroine is celebrating her bicentennial birthday today—Melchora Aquino, popularly known as Tandang Sora. We, who were taught Philippine history by rote, have come to know her through the stately appellation “Mother of the Katipunan,” continue reading : Tandang Sora: Profile of A Courageous Mother

BONIFACIO’S UNDEAD LEGACYby Peter Jaynul V. Uckung      Andres Bonifacio was not the father of the Philippine Revolution.       Social injustice was.      He was not poor. He was not uneducated. He was a working class hero, who initiated a period of immense struggle from below, an effort often treated as a footnote in Philippine history.       continue reading : Bonifacio’s Undead Legacy

CEMETERIES OF MEMORIESWHERE JOURNEY TO ETERNITY BEGINSby Quennie Ann J. Palafox Cemeteries are the least visited places in contrast to parks and shopping malls. Not until November 1, when All Saints is annually held, that cemeteries get absolutely crowded with families visiting their departed loved ones.  Contrary to common knowledge that cemeteries are mere final continue reading : Cemeteries of Memories, Where Journey to Eternity Begins

SERGIO OSMEÑA: REMEMBERING THE GRAND OLD MAN OF CEBU(1878-1961)       Sergio Osmeña is commonly associated with the Philippine fifty-peso bill since it bears his image. Popularly known as the “Grand Old Man of Cebu”, Osmeña rose from being a newspaper reporter to the Presidency of the Philippine Republic in1944-46.      Juana Suico continue reading : Sergio Osmena: Remembering the Grand old man of Cebu

THE WAR AND THE GENERALby Peter Jaynul V. Uckung      Miguel Malvar is a symbol of war – war against the Spaniards and war against the Americans. Though he opted to surrender to the Americans on April 16, 1902, he is remembered by history as one of the fightingest Filipino generals during the resistance continue reading : The War and the General

TEODORA ALONSO’S TRAIL OF TEARSby Peter Jaynul V. Uckung       Being the one of the richest tenant couples of the Calamba Hacienda, one would think that the Mercado-Rizal family was way too high to be affected by colonial mistreatment. The family was the first to own a big adobe house in the town continue reading : Teodora Alonso’s Trail of Tears

SPANISH: A LANGUAGE OF THE FILIPINO NATIONALIST DISCOURSEby Nicole Anne A. Zapanta “To convey in a language that is not one’s own the spirit that is one’s own” –Raja Rao          Spanish has Don Quijote de la Mancha, English has the writings of Shakespeare, German would not be German if it was continue reading : Spanish: A Language of the Filipino Nationalist Discourse

REINVENTING THE FILIPINO HERO by Quennie Ann J. Palafox        People grow up with their favorite childhood heroes motivating them in their everyday lives. Children often dream of becoming Clark Kent, whose alter ego, Superman, uses superhuman abilities in saving mankind from evil forces. Hence, we are always confronted with the question of continue reading : Reinventing the Filipino Hero