Easter Sunday 2013 is the 492nd anniversary of the first Mass in the Philippines!

DID YOU KNOW? Today, Easter Sunday, is the 492nd anniversary of the first Mass in our country that was celebrated in Isla Mazaua! It happened on 21 March 1521 which was also an Easter Sunday!

The traditional “salubong” between our Lord Jesus Christ (left) and His Mother, the Blessed Virgin Mary (right). Photo taken early this morning by Yeyette Perey de Alas at our town plaza.

It was Fernando de Magallanes, otherwise known as Ferdinand Magellan, who ordered the celebration of the Holy Mass in Mazaua. It was officiated by Fray Pedro de Valderrama (O.S.A.). It is sad to note that Magallanes, a devout Roman Catholic and a kind-hearted gentleman, is one of the most vilified and hated characters in Philippine History today when, ironically, he was the catalyst for the birth of Christianity in our country.

Something is just not right. Something is obviously twisted. We are a Christian —a Catholic— nation. Yet we hate the medium that brought our beloved faith to our shores.

It is the bitterness that was taught to us in US-centric schools that inhibits us from discovering the truth about ourselves. Indeed, “those years cry for a fresher appraisal“. I pray that Easter Sunday 2013 will be the commencement of the “resurrection” of our buried but glorious past.

Happy Easter everyone!

Pascuhan sa La Laguna

Opening their gifts! This is an age-old Filipino custom that my family is conserving every 6th of January. Some far-flung barrios of La Laguna are still doing this (particularly those in the eastern part). But it appears that we’re the only ones who are celebrating this old Filipino tradition here in San Pedro.

 

Aside from the lively Three Kings festivities in Mabitac, some parts of La Laguna still celebrate the centuries-old custom of Christmas gift-giving on that date (6^th of January). A few remote barrios in Liliw, Mabitac, Nagcarlán, Pagsanján, and Santa Cruz still practise the old “pascuhan” tradition wherein children visit their godparents for Christmas freebies, and parents surprise their children with gifts. This custom is obviously of Hispanic origin and is still being practised by many Spanish-speaking countries. The gift-giving commemorates the famous Nativity scene wherein the Three Wise Men from the Orient (popularly known as the Three Kings, a Catholic tradition) visited the child Jesus and gave him gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh, thus recognizing Him as the newborn King of the world.

Culled from my debut book, LA LAGUNA The Heart of the Philippines. Coming very soon! Happy Three Kings everyone! :D

2012 Filipino Of The Year — Jesse Robredo!

FILIPINO eSCRIBBLES and ALAS FILIPINAS bestows their first posthumous Filipino of the Year award to the late Secretary of the Interior and Local Government (DILG), Jesús “Jesse” Robredo y Manalastás, PLH (27 May 1958 – 18 August 2012).

Last 18th of August, the Piper PA-34-200 Seneca I aircraft carrying Secretary Robredo crashed off the shore of Masbate Island. He was about to go home to watch his daughter’s swimming competition in his beloved Naga City, Camarines Sur where he was elected mayor in 1988 at the age of 29. He was said to be the youngest mayor in Philippine History, but that is false – remember that the country’s first president, Emilio Aguinaldo, served as Cavite El Viejo‘s capitán municipal (formerly known as gobernadorcillo, equivalent to today’s town mayor) when he was only 26 years old… but that’s another story.

FILIPINO eSCRIBBLES and ALAS FILIPINAS do not believe in posthumous awards. Honors ought to be given to an awardee while he is still alive. But this one has to be an exception. Let us admit it: Mr. Robredo was not as popular today when he was alive. Stories about his exceptional leadership began to surface only after his tragic demise. Nevertheless, all those stories and testimonies about him are true. He really was an exceptional local executive. The people of Naga City gave him a mandate of two three-term reigns (1988-1998, 2001-2010) before he was appointed as DILG secretary last 9 July 2010.

Thank you, sir Jesse, for inspiring Filipino politicians to practice good governance and to be with the masses at all times.

In this era of government ineptness, neglect, and corruption people search for role models who can show the difference. Robredo became one such model. Amidst the ostentatious and scandal-ridden lifestyle of most public officials, Robredo’s was special. Public service, however, is not only about transparency but bringing about lasting social and economic change.

—Bicol Today—

Let us all save the Alberto House of Biñán

PRES. BENIGNO AQUINO III: Save the historic Alberto Mansion in Biñán, La Laguna.
Dr. Bimbo Santa María

The house is almost 200 years old. It was built by Lorenzo Alberto Alonso, father of Teodora Alonso and grandfather of Dr. José Rizal. The house was in almost perfect shape until the current owner, a descendant of Alberto Alonso, sold it to a resort owner in Bagac, Bataán. The local government opposed it and did not grant the dismantling permit. However, in May of 2010, the house was dismantled from the inside.

A campaign to save the house was launched spearheaded by local heritage advocates called the United Artists for Cultural Conservation and Development (UACCD). With the help of the print and broadcast media together with netizens, the issue gained public interest.

A new law on heritage conservation was approved by then President Gloria Arroyo on March 2010 stating that structures 50 years and above have to be conserved if it has cultural importance. The National Historical Institute (now National Historical Commission of the Philippines or NHCP) was ready to put a marker in the house recognizing it as historical since the 90s but was refused by the owner. Since then, and in spite of the public clamor to save the house, the NHCP till the present has reiterated it was never declared as an important cultural property, at the same time saying that they do not have the funds to save the house.

The house is the only remaining original structure on site in relation to Dr. Rizal. The Rizal Shrine in Calambâ is only a replica built from its foundation and floor initiated by then Pres. Elpidio Quirino through funds coming from donations of schoolchildren in the 1950s.

Many would say that it is not that important since it is “just” the house of Rizal’s mother. Not realizing that without Teodora Alonso, there would be no Pepe Rizal. Teodora was Rizal’s first teacher and was the one who moulded his character of love of country. The house is the living soul that reminds us of the memory of this great woman and her contribution to Philippine history.

The destruction of this house is man-made. They took away the ceiling, the floor, and even dug the foundations, leaving only the shell of the house. A part of the roof caved in last week. A call for help ran in the internet for the government to immediately intervene before the whole house collapses, but it fell into deaf ears. On 22 October 2012, 75% of the roof went down along with a big part of the façade.

But the house can still be saved. It took one president in the past to rebuild the Rizal Shrine in Calamba. Now, we call on our president to step in and help save and reconstruct this irreplaceable part of our history in Biñán. A fitting honor for a mother of a national hero.

PLEASE SIGN THE PETITION BY CLICKING HERE!

Kevin Alas (/a.las/) is king of NCAA, not Kevin Alás (/aˈlas/)

I’m not a big fan of hoop games, but I do watch it on TV only when I chance upon family members playing live. I’m referring to multi-titled basketball head coach Louie Alas (dad’s younger brother) and his intimidating Letranista kids Junjun and Kevin. Their team, the formidable Letrán Knights, is currently vying for the final championship slot to conclude the 88th season of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA).

My wife dwarfed by my cager cousins. Left to right: Junjun, Yeyette, Kevin, and Kenneth.

Last night, during the Final Four playoffs against the San Sebastián Stags, Kevin was waxing it hot for he was sinking treys from everywhere beyond the arc as if there’s no tomorrow. All throughout the game, he was a rampaging nightmare for the Stags, finishing a career-high 43 points. And hours after the game, he was still trending in Twitter and other social media, something extremely rare for a collegiate cager.

But no, this is not exactly the main reason why I’m writing about basketball. I just have to stroke a pet peeve of mine. If there’s one thing I hate, it’s the commentating. Well, not the whole commentary per se. I’d care less for the whole world whether or not they’re speaking niceties towards each other or screaming in awe for every field goal and kicked groins during game time. What I don’t like is how they pronounce our last name: ALAS. For the record, our last name is Spanish, and in that language it means “wings”. Hence, it should be pronounced as AH-las (/a.las/) and not a-LAS (/aˈlas/). The latter pronunciation is used only during card games (in that sense, Alas means “Ace”). The broadcasting team must have been thinking of Tong-its all the time whenever my cousins are strutting their stuff on the hardcourt. Cayá lang ang saquít talagá sa teñga, eh. I’m pretty sure they’d feel the same way if I murder their last names too.

To all basketball commentators in both the NCAA and the PBA (for Uncle Louie is now part of Alaska Ace’s coaching staff), this is something for you to chew over.

On a side note, I was surprised that this season’s NCAA theme is in Spanish: ¡CELEBRAMOS 88! Conquistar por tu honor nuevas glorias (To conquer new glories for your honor). But all that wonderment ceased when I learned that the host school was Colegio de San Juan de Letrán, my Uncle and cousins’ team school.

Wow! I didn’t know that this season’s theme is in Spanish! Cool!

The theme is actually culled from the school’s hymn which is still in Spanish.

I’m glad that Letrán still keeps their Filipino Identity alive, albeit just the name and the school. Unlike the rather sorry case for Universidad de Santo Tomás. Some pathetic officials there in the past (and may God bless and forgive them for their linguistic and nationalistic treason) opted to anglicize the name of the university, thus the laughable change to University of Santo Tomas. The name is actually Spanglish, the next step towards pidginization, my golly! ¡Ang saquít sa teñga! And to think that this learning institution is Asia’s first university and was given the ever prestigious title La Real y Pontificia Universidad.

If Rizal were alive today, he would have been thankful to have left that university abruptly.

¡ARRIBA LETRÁN!

Latino Pride

¡Feliz Día De La Hispanidad!

The truth about the encomienda (FILIPINO eSCRIBBLES’ 3rd anniversary special)

I didn’t know that my accidental discovery of La Laguna province’s foundation date was going to dance with controversy. Instead of receiving magnanimity from the powers that be, it was, sadly, received with vehement opposition.

First, the National Historical Commission of the Philippines (NHCP) contended that 28 July 1571 should not be recognized because on that date, La Laguna was founded not as a province but as an encomienda. I told them that it should not be made an issue. There is no question that La Laguna —now referred to simply as Laguna— did not begin as a province on that date, but the NHCP had overlooked what a foundation date really is. My argument is really simple: when La Laguna came into being. Not as a province per se, but as La Laguna itself.

Up to now, nobody knows exactly when La Laguna became a province. Ron Yu, the editor of the coffee table book that I’m writing about the province, theorized that it could have been 1581 when Bay was made the first capital of La Laguna (many in the provincial capitol, including yours truly, agree with him). But the problem is that there is no exact date. Nevertheless, whether we have an exact date or not, it will NEVER negate the fact that La Laguna already existed prior to 1581. Oddly, concerned individuals over at the NHCP either fail to understand this or they simply don’t want to accept it.

In the end, when they could no longer withstand the strength of the logic of what a foundation date really is, one of them found a loophole: that it would be unpatriotic if Lagunenses will choose La Laguna’s foundation as an encomienda simply because this system connoted slavery! Yes, this gentleman mentioned the word slavery. And he crumbled right before my very eyes.

But did the encomienda really connote slavery? Let us first study the background of the problem.

What is an encomienda?

In elementary and high school classes, Filipino students are generally taught that an encomienda was a piece of land given to a Spaniard for a certain period of time. Included on that land are the indios (natives) who were the original settlers. The receiver of the encomienda is called an encomendero. The encomendero had the right to exploit the natives for labor but without enslaving them.

Unfortunately, it is hardly taught that an encomienda was a quid pro quo affair. What is hardly taught these days is that it was the duty of the encomendero to:

1) protect the natives from tribal enemies
2) to educate them, i.e., to teach them the Spanish language, and
3) to indoctrinate them into the Christian faith.

To wit, an encomienda was a legal system employed by the Spanish crown during the colonization of the Americas to regulate Native American labor. And this system was later applied to the Philippines.

Hardly slavery.

In this scheme, the Spanish crown grants the encomendero a specified number of indios (for a limited time period) for whom they were to take responsibility by accomplishing the aforementioned duties. That is why it is called an encomienda in the first place: it is from the Spanish verb “encomendar” which means “to entrust”. In return, the encomendero could extract labor from their wards in the form of labor, gold (if available), or other products (mainly agricultural produce). There was, therefore, a mutual obligation from both encomendero and indio.

What should be firmly noted in this system is the existence of the aforementioned mutual obligation between the encomendero and his subjects. In the first place,there would be no encomienda at all without either of the two parties involved. At the onset, pre-Philippine societies were not yet organized into township communities, i.e., they were not yet set up in a way the Spaniards had wanted them to be. These communities were small and scattered. Many were forest dwellers. And those living in river and lakeshore communities were not as compact as well. Naturally, it took some time and effort for an encomendero to organize the indios in his encomienda in order for the mutual obligation to materialize. Thus, it is safe to say that the encomienda served as the prototype (or it laid the groundwork) for the reducción, at least in these islands.

Important note: this is not to say that the encomienda preceded the reducción. In the early years of Spanish rule, both encomienda and reducción have taken place at the same time. But in Laguna, this seemed to have been the case.

To wit: the distribution of land during the early years of Spanish rule had to start somewhere, and that was done through the encomienda system. The encomendero was also required to support the missionaries and to train the indios assigned to him how to grow various crops and raise farm animals. Through the encomienda system, the indios learned modern farming methods. Through the encomienda system, the carabao was imported from Vietnam to facilitate rice farming. All this stimulated modern agriculture.

This is not to say that the encomienda system was perfect. Did it become corrupt? Yes, but not to the extent which ultranationalist anti-Hispanics wanted it to appear in our minds. True, abuses and corruption did take place. But which regime on Earth at any point in history was considered heaven? And if we are to compare the encomienda system to our modern political landscape, the encomenderos of yore would have looked like saints compared to our politicians today.

For the sake of argument, let us say that the encomienda was filled with nothing but hardship and suffering for our indio ancestors. Should we still consider 28 July 1571 as La Laguna’s foundation date? Of course. In the case of La Laguna and 28 July 1571, the doctrine of res ipsa loquitur should come to mind. “The thing speaks for itself.” It doesn’t matter anymore if the encomenderos were drunkards or rapists. What is written on paper (i.e., the chart where the foundation date of La Laguna appears) should still be recognized and respected and should not be mixed with opinionated bull.

It’s like this: suppose that a man was the product of rape, why should he be disallowed to celebrate his birthday?

Anyway, back to the encomienda. The creation of provinces did not happen overnight. It had to evolve. And it did evolve from the encomienda. And even if the encomienda system did not become corrupt, it would have been abolished, nay, replaced in the first place. The encomienda was the basis for the creation of provinces. If not for the encomienda, there would have been no provinces in the first place.

In closing, subscribing to the leyenda negra will never do us anything good at all. Hating everything that Spain did to us only harms all the more. Ultranationalism is the problem here. It leads us to blind hatred. Attacking our Spanish past is tantamount to shooting ourselves in the foot. For good or for worse, the encomienda is part of our history, and is already history. It helped create modern Filipino society.

But to these NHCP historians, the encomienda system was bad, bad, and bad. The Spanish colonization of the Philippines was bad, bad, and bad. It makes me wonder why one of them still uses the surname Encomienda. He should change it to, perhaps, Lapu-lapu or Gat Páñguil.

Or Datu Putî.

Aw, shucks. Good vibes, Pepe… it’s FILIPINO eSCRIBBLES‘ third birthday today!

The North American Invasion of the Philippines Continues

Below is a grueling exposé of how the evil US military forces have once again occupied our nation.

THE NORTH AMERICAN INVASION OF THE PHILIPPINES CONTINUES

José Miguel García

From identifying ourselves with our nation in the 1900s when we were a newly born nation, we had reverted back to identifying ourselves with only ourselves, our family, or our clan just like when we were not yet a nation before the 1600s. An indication of how we identified ourselves with our nation was demonstrated in a letter by Ellis G. Davis, Company A, 20th Kansas about us in the 1900s: “They will never surrender until their whole race is exterminated. They are fighting for a good cause, and the Americans should be the last of all nations to transgress upon such rights. Their independence is dearer to them than life…”¹

Today, the North Americans of the United States continue to violate our nationhood. The difference is that today, we Filipinos continue to defend their violation.

In the 1960s, the United States of the North Americans provided landing facilities inside their base here in the Philippines to the Air Force of Great Britain during our conflict against the latter over the Sabah territorial dispute.²

There is now a US military base inside the camp of the AFP Western Mindanáo Command yet the AFP has no control over it. Filipino soldiers among us do not have access inside without permit from the US occupational forces. As of this day, we have no control of foreigners like the North Americans of the United States on what they do in our own country. The senate rejection of the US bases in the Philippines in 1991 is only true within our minds. But they are not true beyond our minds.³

On July 2002, a Filipino among us, Buyong-buyong Isnijal was shot by US Sgt. Reggie Lane in Tuburan, Basilan.⁴ In November 30, 2007, North American occupational forces led by a certain Master Sgt. Ronburg ordered the staff of the Panamáo District Hospital in Panamáo, Sulú to shut down operations after sundown, threatening to shoot us if they did not follow his orders. Filipino military officers among us were impotent in leading our forces to defend us Filipinos in that part of the country against such violation of our nationhood. This deprived 40,000 among us Filipinos of that area, of medical care every night for around one month.⁵ The commission on human rights and the Sulú Desk reported on the involvement of US troops in the wanton carnage and absolute mayhem of nine filipinos which included a Philippine Army soldier on vacation, a pregnant woman, a four-year-old, and a nine-year-old in Ipil, Maimbung, Sulú on February 4, 2008. The provincial governor denounced this atrocity.^6,7,8

A certain Filipino military official of Western Mindanáo Command admitted that he disapproves the practice of higher-ranking Filipino officials among us saluting lower ranking US troops or acting as bodyguards for them.⁹ Another Filipino official among us, Philipine Navy Lt. Nancy Gadián also told the media that US troops behavior towards Filipino soldiers even of higher rank is that of a human master towards a dog.¹⁰

Under these circumstances is the official mission of the US military in the Philippines today: to train us Filipino soldiers hardened for decades of combat against terrorists in a jungle, in a hot and humid tropical environment, home-ground of the latter who have also been veterans as well as slippery in-fighting and, most notably, have been products of CIA-directed: recruitment; training; funding, and; combat experience in engaging Soviet paratroopers in the deserts and mountains of Afghanistan during the US-caused Afghan-Soviet War.^11,12 What combat skills, techniques, and tactics will the US soldiers with less experience in these types of combat and terrain than we have as we have been directly involved with for decades, can they teach us?^13,14

In Vietnam, they lost. In Afghanistan, they were never generally engaged in the daily face to face battles in every corner of the local terrain.¹⁵ In Iraq, they engaged their enemies with heavy reliance on massive technology and firepower only after they have softened defenders in their homegrounds after they have intervened in the domestic social affairs processes. Aside from local insurgents with which their original motive they corrupted, the US also transmitted local insurgent looking foreigners to increase the strength of the local insurgents. It is these insurgents who were generally engaged in the daily face-to-face battles in every corner of the physical and social terrain with the enemies of the United States of the North Americans. What they achieved in the Middle East was that they were able to destroy their supposedly military enemies only after they have destroyed the whole of the nation of their enemies. It is this whole nation who happened to be the collateral damage — a term they very often used conveniently. Therefore, it is not so much the combat techniques and tactics that they can teach us. Rather, it is their brand of military strategy —the whole of the subject nation being destroyed in order to destroy the subject enemy— that they can teach. The Abu Sayyaf issue is just one of the results of the CIA creation of religious fighters from Muslim regions including Mindanáo to fight a proxy war against the Soviets in Afghanistan. Based on US media reports themselves, Abu Sayyaf has a relationship with Al Qaeda which the US created to fight a proxy war in Afghanistan.^{16,17,18,19,20,21,22}

A brother filipino, Gregan Cardeño, was recruited as a security guard with Skylink Security and General Services, an agency based in Zamboanga City and a subcontractor of DynCorp International, a contractor of the US military. On January 30, 2010, he signed a contract with the agency to work as a security guard for the American military personnel assigned to the Joint Special Operations Task Force-Philippines (JSOTF-P) in Maguindanáo. However, on February 1, 2010, Gregan was brought to the JSOTF-P military barracks of the North American of the United States occupying the Philippine Army’s 103^rd Battalion Headquarters in Camp Ranao, Marawi City, to work not as a security guard but as an “interpreter” for the US troops. On February 3, 2010, inside the US facility in Marawi City, Gregan was reported to have died. The local police, headed by one SPO3 Ali Rangiris, told Carivel, the sister of Gregan, that when he arrived at the scene of the incident, he found the body of Gregan on the floor and the area already “contaminated.” Filipino investigators have been blocked by the North Americans of the United States occupational forces in Mindanáo to conduct investigation inside their facility. Captain Javier Ignacio of the Western Mindanáo Command helped the family of Cardeño in the investigation. On March 25, 2010, Capt. Ignacio was gunned down by unknown motorcycle-riding gunmen in March just before he was about to execute an affidavit regarding his knowledge about the circumstances of the death.²³ A Filipina was gang-raped by members of the United States Marine Corps in Subic in 2005. The case however was dismissed inspite of the overwhelming evidences.²⁴ Another Filipina whose name was hidden was raped by a North American in Macati City in April 2009. But due to fear of ending up like another case of Nicole, she did not charge her rapist in court.²⁵

Are we already independent? Except for Carlos García, we never had any president who could not be controlled by the United States of North America and stay long as president.²⁶ All these presidents are products of US-tampered development of our educational system. The guns are the tools of the North Americans to destroy our defenses and control our archipelago. The English language is the tool of the North Americans to destroy our identity and control our minds.²⁷

This US control of our national developmental code is the cause of why despite of our Asian neighbors having already overtaken us in defense status today, despite of our having had an excellent defense system in 1898 up to the early 1900s, having been able to militarily maneuver for years against being caught, locked, and controlled by the world power US aggressor forces until they resorted to massive kidnapping and extermination of the civilians among us, and despite of decades of US pumping of military aid, training, guidance, and tutelage to us, we are still dependent on US and impotent in defending our nation against foreign invaders today.

Have we not been an invaded territory by the United States of the North Americans until today?

*******

ENDNOTES

1. Kipling, R. Letters from the Front: An Insight into the Filipino-American War
2. Vizmanos, D. 2002. Rejoinder to Pro-Balikatan Arguments. Bulatlat, Vol.2, Number 7. http://www.bulatlat.com/news/2-7/2-7-reader-vizmanos2.html
3. Citizens Peace Watch. 2008. Report of the Fact-Finding Mission to Zamboanga City and Sulu, pp. 3-6, 64. Quezon City.http://www.focusweb.org/philippines/docs/CPWReport.pdf
4. Conde, C. 2002. Terrified Basilan Woman Swears U.S. Soldier Shot Her Husband. Bulatlat.com. http://bulatlat.com/news/2-25/2-25-basilan.html
5. Alipala, J. 2007. Talks of U.S. Interventions Prompts Sulu Meetings. Philippine Daily Inquirer.http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/inquirerheadlines/regions/view/20071231-109541/Talk_of_US_intervention_prompts_Sulu_meetings
6. Citizens Peace Watch. 2008. Report of the Fact-Finding Mission to Zamboanga City and Sulu, pp. 6-9, 64. Quezon City.http://www.focusweb.org/philippines/docs/CPWReport.pdf
7. Alipala, J. 2008. Sulu ‘Massacre’ Survivor Claims Seeing U.S. Soldiers. Mindanao Bureau.http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/breakingnews/nation/view/20080207-117398/Sulu-massacre-survivor-claims-seeing-US-soldiers
8. Watson, P. 2008. U.S. role in Philippine raid questioned, Los Angeles Times.
9. Citizens Peace Watch. 2008. Report of the Fact-Finding Mission to Zamboanga City and Sulu, p. 10. Quezon City.http://www.focusweb.org/philippines/docs/CPWReport.pdf
10. Calonzo, A. 2009. U.S. Troops Joined Combat In Mindanao, Says Navy Wistleblower. GMANews.TV.http://www.gmanetwork.com/news/story/170796/news/nation/us-troops-joined-combat-in-mindanao-says-navy-whistleblower
11. Chossudovsky, M. 2002. The Nobel War Prize.http://globalresearch.ca/articles/CHO210B.html
12. Bengwayan, M. 2002. US Forces in the Philippines Facing CIA-Trained Abu Sayyaf Terrorists.http://www.officialconfusion.com/oldsite/terrorfiles/phillipines/abusayyaf.html
13. Citizens Peace Watch. 2008. Report of the Fact-Finding Mission to Zamboanga City and Sulu, p. 10. Quezon City.http://www.focusweb.org/philippines/docs/CPWReport.pdf
14. Vizmanos, D. 2002. Rejoinder to Pro-Balikatan Arguments. Bulatlat, Vol.2, Number 7. http://www.bulatlat.com/news/2-7/2-7-reader-vizmanos2.html
15. Blum, W. Afghanistan- 1979-1992: America’s Jihad. U.S. Military & CIA Interventions Since World War II. http://killinghope.org/
16. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dqn0bm4E9yw
17. http://www.yonip.com/main/articles/intervention.html, International Solidarity Mission, Statement of the, “Against U. S. Armed Intervention in the Philippines July 24-31, 2002,”
18. http://www.yonip.com/main/articles/philippines.html, A six-part series The United States in the Philippines: post-9/11 imperatives, By Larry Chin
19. James M, & Cooley J. 2001. The Abu Sayyaf-Al Qaeda Connection. ABC News. pp. 1-2. http://abcnews.go.com/International/story?id=79205&page=1#.T8i4KajLb-s
20. Chin, L. 2001. The Abu Sayyaf. The United States in the Philipines: Post 9/11 imperatives, Part 6, Yonip Library Section – Visiting Forces Agreement and Balikatan Exercises.
21. Santuario, E III. 2007. Abu Sayyaf: The CIA’s Monster Gone Berserk. Constantine Report. http://www.constantinereport.com/allposts/abu-sayyaf-the-cia%E2%80%99s-monster-gone-berserk/
22. Cooley, J. 1999. Unholy Wars: Afghanistan, America, and International Terrorism. Pluto Press, 345 Archway Road, London N6 5AA and 22883 Quicksilver Drive, Sterling, VA 20166-2012, USA
23. Zarate, C. I. 2012. Gregan. Philippine Daily Inquirer. Chino Roces Avenue corner Yague and Mascardo Streets, Makati City, Metro Manila, Philippines. http://opinion.inquirer.net/27799/gregan
24. Rodis, R. 2009. The Subic Rape Case. Inquirer.net.http://www.inquirer.net/specialreports/subicrapecase/view.php?db=1&article=20090509-203985
25. Olea, R. 2009. Another ‘Nicole’: Filipina Accuses US Marine of Rape; Case Heightens Junk-VFA Call. Bulatlat.com.http://bulatlat.com/main/2009/05/14/another-%E2%80%98nicole%E2%80%99-filipina-accuses-us-marine-of-rape/
26. Carlos P. García. Wikipedia.http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carlos_P._Garcia
27. http://thefilipinomind.blogspot.com/2006/03/making-of-americanized-filipino-minds.html

Congratulations, Senator Angara!

A hearty congratulations to Hispanista/Filipinista Senator Edgardo Angara for being inducted to the Hispano-American Royal Academy of Science, Arts and Letters! He is the only Asian and non-Spanish speaker in the ranks of the exclusive academy.

Senator Angara is the only lawmaker today who is carrying on the fight to preserve the Filipino Identity through the promotion of our Hispanic ties. And right now, he is clamoring for the return of the Spanish language into K+12 program. He is reminiscent of past great senators such as Claro M. Recto, Enrique Magalona, Cipriano Primicias, and Vicente Sotto, among many others. The truth is that Senator Angara is struggling for an unpopular cause, especially since history has bedeviled our Spanish past. But he does not care about this. He is after nothing but the historical truth.

¡Viva Señor Angara, el héroe moderno del cosmos filipino!

It started in Baler: Angara’s ‘highest honor’ as 1st Asian, non-Spanish speaker royal academy member

The century-old Real Academia Hispano Americana de Ciencias, Artes Y Letras in Cádiz, one of Europe’s oldest cities and the Iberian Peninsula’s center of culture and the arts, last month inducted Sen. Edgardo Angara into its elite roster of intellectuals, recognizing the lawmaker for furthering Philippine-Spanish relations within and outside the government.

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Philippine-Spanish Friendship Day 2012

The Philippine-Spanish Friendship Day is a national holiday that commemorates and preserves centuries-old friendship, and strong historical and cultural links between our countries.

—Senator Edgardo Angara—

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