A quintessential component of summer in the Philippines: ice cream on a cone from your friendly neighborhood sorbetero––a sentiment obviously shared by President Ramon Magsaysay (seen here sporting a breezy polo printed with jockeys, reminiscent of one of his most iconic photographs).
The liberation of Santo Tomas.
On February 3, 1945, the 8th Cavalry, using tanks as battering rams, was able to break through the gates of the University of Santo Tomas. The Japanese guards inside, mostly Formosans, did not offer much resistance and soon surrendered. Some 3,500 internees were liberated (TOP, American and Filipino prisoners crowding outside the entrance of the main building and, BOTTOM, waving an American flag outside the building as the crowd cheers).
However, some 275 internees (MIDDLE, LEFT) were still held hostage by Japanese forces under Lt. Col. Toshio Hayashi, who used them to guarantee safe conduct for himself and his men. The Japanese guards were released on February 5 (MIDDLE, RIGHT) in exchange for the hostages. [Read more]
(All photos by Carl Mydans, courtesy of LIFE Magazine)
- February 3 marked the 68th Anniversary of the Battle of Manila.
![malacanan:
Corazon C. Aquino on the campaign trail for the 1986 Presidential elections: in Iloilo, with running mate Salvador “Doy” H. Laurel. Laurel had been persuaded by Jaime Cardinal Sin and others to withdraw his candidacy for President. The Aquino-Laurel tandem ran under UNIDO, the largest opposition party at the time.
“One got the feeling, looking down at that mass, that it held the two of them in the thrall of a collective determination to end the Marcos regime and give themselves, through Cory and Doy, a chance to control again their destinies. Cory was the edge of that determination, Doy was the blade but the people were the spear shaft and theirs was the force that would propel it forward. The same feeling came to you even in the rallies in smaller cities and in the towns. It was, as Art Borjal, the Inquirer columnist said, the people campaigning for president against Marcos.” — Teodoro L. Locsin, Jr., on the Philippines Free Press. [Read more]](http://25.media.tumblr.com/764540acf00174fda90c8fca2bf83272/tumblr_mht78zsTUR1qifq8yo1_500.jpg)
Corazon C. Aquino on the campaign trail for the 1986 Presidential elections: in Iloilo, with running mate Salvador “Doy” H. Laurel. Laurel had been persuaded by Jaime Cardinal Sin and others to withdraw his candidacy for President. The Aquino-Laurel tandem ran under UNIDO, the largest opposition party at the time.
“One got the feeling, looking down at that mass, that it held the two of them in the thrall of a collective determination to end the Marcos regime and give themselves, through Cory and Doy, a chance to control again their destinies. Cory was the edge of that determination, Doy was the blade but the people were the spear shaft and theirs was the force that would propel it forward. The same feeling came to you even in the rallies in smaller cities and in the towns. It was, as Art Borjal, the Inquirer columnist said, the people campaigning for president against Marcos.” — Teodoro L. Locsin, Jr., on the Philippines Free Press. [Read more]
The Battle of Yuldong was the greatest Filipino victory in the Korean War. A mere 900 Filipino fighting men withstood the night attack of an entire communist Chinese army that numbered 40,000 men at peak strength.
- Art Villasanta, Filipino soldiers’ story of Korean War: Valor redux (Guess we had our Spartan moment in a war which is less discussed in our history books nor discussed by our historians; but Leonidas lost, while our veterans stood their ground)(Source: inquirer.net, via ellobofilipino)
Happy Republic Day, Philippine Commonwealth!
During the American occupation, the Philippines used to celebrate the Republic Day on July 4. It was an awesome occasion where people dined in fancy clothes with American Joes.
That said, this day changed after the war when the Americans granted independence to the Philippines on July 4, 1946. This is our “second” independence, one that kids have forgotten as it isn’t nationally recognized.
So like America, let’s celebrate the Philippine Post-WWII independence!
The photo up there is the changing of flags in Luneta on that day. It must have been awesome for Filipinos to see the Philippine flag finally raised.
FEBRUARY 25, 1986: Corazon Aquino is sworn in as the first woman President of the Philippines. Corazon Aquino became the 11th President and 1st woman President of the Philippines on February 25, 1986. She was also the first popularly and demographically elected female president and head of state in Asia. She is most recognized for her leadership in the People Power Revolution, which helped restore democracy in the Philippines. As President, Aquino oversaw the development of a new constitution which established a bicameral legislature. Her administration held strong emphasis on civil liberties and human rights. Although doing an amazing job in office, her administration was not perfect. She dealt with a series of overthrow attempts and destructive natural disasters until her term ended in 1992. She was recognized by TIME magazine as its “Woman of the Year” in 1986. Corazon Aquino recently passed away in 2009.
As China and Taiwan celebrate the centenary of the Xinhai Revolution that finally overthrew the oppressive Qing Dynasty (October 10, 1911), led by Sun Yat-sen, many Filipinos do not know how Philippine and Chinese history are so intertwined even in the dawn of the 20th century. One of our heroes, Mariano Ponce, was actually a close friend of the Chinese nationalist leader Sun Yat-sen endearingly called by the Chinese as “The Father of the Nation” (國父). It was when Sun was exiled in Japan that he met Ponce, then a representative of the First Philippine Republic. It may have been awesome to witness the two Asian heroes talking, as Sun would listen to Ponce telling him of how Filipinos, Asians similar to the Chinese, fought the overwhelming might of the Spaniards and the Americans. It would not also come as a surprise that Sun Yat-sen may have heard of Jose Rizal, a very close companion of Mariano Ponce. It was to Ponce that Rizal addressed the first copy of Noli Me Tangere in Barcelona and it was Ponce that Rizal came running after for advise, for a good critique of his works (Por Telefono, etc), and for a need of a shock-absorber when Rizal was caught in the heat of the politics inside La Solidaridad. Rizal’s encouragement for Ponce to write was almost of unceasing prodding: “Onward. Fear nothing. You have good style.”
Back to the picture. At a glance, one would think that Ponce was the one in the seating position, and Sun in the standing pose. In reality it’s the opposite. This was taken at Ponce’s residence in Yokohama, Japan, dated 1899, three years after Rizal was shot in Bagumbayan.
THE MAITUM ANTHROPOMORPHIC BURIAL JAR NO. 13
This is unique and the only intact anthropomorphic burial jar with two arms, nipples, navel and male sex organ on the body that is found in an archaeological context. The head is unpainted and with perforations on the lid that show side parting of the hair. Its lips are colored with red hematite and accented with an incised design. It also has two ear lugs on the lower half of the urn.
Filipino ensemble via The Costume Institute of the Metropolitan Museum of Art
