Category Archives: History

History

“Hello Garci” A story of Presidential transgression

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The Hello Garci Scandal is a political and electoral fraud allegation that points to former Philippines president Gloria Macapagal Arroyo as the main culprit. It began during the country’s 2005 elections, where wiretapped conversations discussing vote-rigging were obtained with one of the participants suspected to be President Arroyo. She was apparently making these plans together with the previous Comelec Commissioner, Mr Virgilio Garcillano.

In the recording, a woman with Arroyo’s voice can be heard whispering ‘Yung , ’ which translates to ‘The addition, the addition’ in English, thus implying that the speaker wanted her ballot figures to be changed in one way or another. The conversations also provided evidence that Garcillano was susceptible to manipulation candidates, with one anonymous Comelec official further stating in an interview that Garcillano was the chief electoral fraud plotter and overall supervisor, working in of the incumbent administration.

The “mother of all tapes”

The recorded tapes were released by Igancio Bunye, who claimed that the conversations had taken place on June 6th 2005. A short while later, another round of wiretapped conversations between the two senior officials was also produced by Sam Ong, who was Philippines’ former NBI Deputy Director. He called his findings the ‘mother of all tapes’, which then prompted the country’s House and Senate to launch investigations to ascertain the truth behind all these rigging allegations.

There were also calls made for President Arroyo to step down, though she adherently denied the tapes and refused to do so. In her defense, she admitted to have held brief discussions with an Elections official during the campaigning period, but that it had nothing to do with rigging. Arroyo claimed it was a ‘lapse in judgment’ and apologized to anyone who might have been offended by the leaked tapes. She further mentioned that the conversations happened after vote-counting and therefore didn’t affect the outcome in any way, though she refused to give the name of the Comelec official heard in the recording.

On his part, Virgilio Garcillano went undercover as soon as the Hello Garci CDs were released, and rumours started spreading around the country that he had actually sneaked out. However, after around 5 months the pressure became too much to handle and he decided to resurface, admitting that indeed they held talks with Arroyo but after the votes had already been counted. Garcillano further appeared before House hearings regarding the wiretapping scandal, where he corroborated his claims that the president didn’t command him in any way to scam in 2004 elections.

Gloria Macapagal Arroyo received charges of corruption and election rigging, as well as being involved in many other controversies. This lead to dissatisfaction amongst Filipinos.

Impeachment attempt vs. Arroyo

Following the Hello Garci Controversy, an impeachment case was filed against President Arroyo by a human-rights attorney called Oliver Lozano. He claimed the president had betrayed public trust and was therefore not fit to continue serving the country in that position. The complaint was accompanied by another one filed about 10 minutes later by a private Filipino citizen called Jose Rizaldo P. Lopez.

Voting day was set on August 23rd, where the House of Representatives was to decide whether to remove Arroyo from office or not. However, on the material day the justice committee tarried the impeachment voting process, instead choosing to cast ballot on procedures. Ultimately, a report was made by the House called Report 1012, which suggested that office removal proceedings against Arroyo should stop forthwith.

The next year, lawyer Lozano tried to re-file another impeachment motion against the president in January 16th. This was met with stiff opposition from Arroyo’s minority party loyalists in the house. The House Minority Leader, Francis Escudero, even threatened Lozano with a legal suit in the Integrated Bar, which is the official body that regulates the conduct of attorneys in . The opposition claimed that Lozano’s attempt to remove President Arroyo from office was ‘illegal and unethical’. Particularly considering that the minority party in the House didn’t agree to the impeachment motion in the first place.

Following the Hello Garci Scandal and consequent impeachment trial

Though all attempts to remove Arroyo from office failed following the Hello Garci Controversy. Some members of the public didn’t give up and instead arranged peaceful protests throughout the country for several days. A couple of big names also joined in the demonstrations, including former president of the Philippines Corazon Aquino as well as retired vice president Teofisto Guingona.

However, the campaigns weren’t effective in changing the Congress’ outcome, partly because conventional protesting sites such as EDSA and Mendiola had been cordoned off by the government, and hence there weren’t many people attending the protests to cause any real concern.

Nevertheless, Arroyo eventually responded to the protests by instituting certain reforms in her government, though totally unrelated to the election fraud case. For instance, she introduced new taxes to plug the gap in her administration’s fiscal deficit. This helped the economy to stay strong and resilient throughout her tenure, but despite the healthy economy the root cause of Hello Garci Scandal was still not solved.

In her presidency, Arroyo failed to address issues touching on election fraud propagated by candidates during voting time, unreliable electoral systems and an Elections Commission that’s open to manipulation. Consequently, the public lost confidence in her leadership with her popularity ratings declining significantly based on polls taken by different institutions. For instance, a Pulse Asia research released on July 10th by the Philippine news showed that 57pct of the citizens wanted President Arroyo out of office before completing her full term. Another poll conducted by CNN/Time also gave roughly the same results at 57.5pct.

While the cancellation of impeachment attempts against Arroyo provided a temporary victory for her regime, it still demonstrated that her government had powers to use incumbency privileges to save the presidency from going under.

Until former President Arroyo willingly presents herself before trial, undergoing the full process of determining whether she was guilty of election fraud or not, it would be difficult for her to regain back the public trust and prove the sanctity of government in election matters. So far, there hasn’t been any new legal prosecutions brought up against Arroyo or former Comelec commissioner Virgilio Garcillano, and their case is still open. 

History

Manila Film Center Deaths: When Art Becomes Catastrophe

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The lead up to the completion of the awaited Manila Film Center was both exciting and scandalous in equal measure. As the first of the time in Asia, many believed it would change the face of Asian culture forever.

While the project was applauded by the general population, the bulk of its planning lay in the hands of the first lady, who endured months of pressure, critique, and scrutiny in the months leading up to the Centre’s construction.

Due to this pressure, the project was aggressively pushed by the First Lady of the Philippines, Imelda Marcos. Imelda had been working on the first Manila International Film Festival, she had promised a spectacle unmatched by any other festival in the industry. She invited hundreds of high profile international guests, so there was now a demand to meet their expectations.

Marcos marking the beginning of the Manila INternational Film Festival.

In fact, many believed the International Film Festival was an expensive idea, and couldn’t be afforded by struggling population of the time. Some suggest, in the face of the horror that later occurred, that the project was cursed from the start.

At the crux of the Manila Film Festival was the palatial Manila Film Center’s construction. The building was initiated and managed by government in just 170 days. While the Marcos’, who ruled the Philippines at the time, prided themselves on the amount of manpower and funds that would be released to unearth this historical building, skeptics arose all over the Philippines. Nothing about the super swift completion of an 8-story building screamed safe; in fact, the practical carnage that followed as the roof collapsed during construction was possibly to be expected.

But what would this be suggesting about the festival? Is the magnificent film center truly built on the bones of builders forgone? Does the true number of deaths vastly surpass the official figures? Can supernatural occurrences be expected to occur as the rich and glamorous celebrate cinematography in the tomb of lost workers?

This article will attempt to answer some of the questions mentioned above. It is, however, important to note that in the matters of catastrophes and sudden tragic deaths, the truth can often be much more complex than imagined. For this reason, all readers must pay keen attention to the use of the word “alleged”, as relevant rumours are mentioned.

The Manila Film Center: A grand project turned tragedy.

The Manila Film Center, a national building designed by acclaimed architect Froilan Hong, was built to accommodate the expected huge turnout for the first Manila Film Festival. The building had its edifice upheld on over 900 piles, reaching deep into the earth, to the bedrock 120 feet below the surface.

When first lady Imelda Marcos called for the construction of the $25 million building August of 1981, the Philippines did not officially have a film archive. With the help of Betty Benitez, Deputy MHS Minister Jose Conrado Benitez’s wife, Imelda Marcos founded a group to oversee the project and raise the necessary funds. The project was conceptualized by Ramon M. Ignacio, a Senior Technology Officer at the Technology Resource Center.

On November 17th, 1981, during construction, the scaffolding collapsed and over 150 workers fell and were buried alive in quick-drying wet cement. To this day, the official figures (7 dead) are disputed by the general population. The workers present on site claim to have removed over a hundred bodies from the rubble.

Controversy

The most mystifying part of the tragedy remains the administration of the time’s desire to prepare an official statement prior to the rescuers being allowed on site. According to official reports, rescuers were allowed inside the accident site 9 hours after the roof collapse.

Many believe the tragedy was a direct result of the administration’s insistence the project be finished in an unrealistic period of time. Experts in the field (architects and engineers) claim it is against “most industrial building state legislation” to demand the completion of a construction of this scale in such a time frame.

The project, which originally relied on a $5 million subsidy intended for the film festival, saw its funding severed in the aftermath of the tragic deaths. Local and international newspapers widely reported the irresponsibility of the government of the time, blaming the scale of the catastrophe on their ineptitude dealing with the accident appropriately.

Stuck midway through a project none wished to be involved in further, Imelda Marcos was forced to create a contingency plan to generate the funds necessary for the festival. Due to her influence in the presidential palace, she was able to negotiate the passing of a Presidential Decree (P.D. 1986), which required the immediate creation of a board of review for “motion pictures and television”. The MTRCB or “Movie and Television Review and Classification Board” alleviated censorship laws around the festival, allowing Soft Porn movies to be on show throughout the festival. This earned the Manila Film Center project the additional funding it required for its completion, which ultimately occurred in 1982.

Rumors & Myths

A couple years after the notorious accident, a group of psychics, with Tony Perez of Ateneo de Manila University attempted to come in contact with “spirits” that had seen their demise during the construction of the center. Perez and his group claimed they could sense the presence of over 100 spirits, however, failed to come into direct contact with them.

Dr. Froilan Hong, however, the architect in charge of the project, publicly unveiled the plans of the site and claimed he believed that over 150 workers had been buried alive in the concrete, but due to the strict time frame of the construction, their bodies were never retrieved. Regarding the official declaration that only 7 lost their lives on that fateful day, Dr. Hong claims “there is no truth to such stories”.

Since the accident over 3 decades ago, many have claimed to have sensed a “Strange presence” upon their visit to the center. In fact, local Folklore suggests the existence of “haunting spirits” on site, who “seek revenge over their unjust, violent demise.”

While the latter remains difficult to prove, it is clear that the bleak history of the Manila Film Center has made for an eternity of controversy surrounding the Manila Film Festival. It is indeed certain that though the alleged 150 deaths were an undeniable tragedy, the glorious batisse of culture and local history sprouting from lost workers’ bones and sweat, will continue to fascinate the masses for decades to come.

History

The North Borneo Dispute – A History of Tension

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Sabah, formerly known as North Borneo, occupying the northern half of the island of Borneo has long been at the centre of bilateral relation between Malaysia and the Philippines. Even though the Philippines claim has lasted since the early 1960s, Sabah is still under the sovereignty of Malaysia today.

The claim has recently resurfaced following the Philippines administration proposal of shifting to a federal system government. In drafting the proposal, one of the members of the executive committee included Sabah to be part of Philippines which activated the North Borneo dispute.

The Philippines allegations of being the landlord of North Borneo is based on the past territorial claims by the Sultans of Sulu. In response to the recent claims by the Philippines, an official from the Malaysian government dismissed the allegations and issued a warning that such statements could affect diplomatic relations between the two states. The official further reiterated that Malaysia does not recognize any claims by any party to Sabah. In order to understand the nature of the claims better, it is essential to look into the history of the dispute. So, let’s look at the origin of contention.

History of The Territorial Claims To Sabah

The origin of the dispute dates back to an agreement signed by the Sultan – who was in control of Sabah then – and the British North Borneo Co. The contract allowed the British company to settle in the eastern half of Sabah for the unforeseeable future as long as they continued paying rent to the Sultanate. Originally, there were two main sultanates in the area; Brunei and Sulu. In 1658, the Sultanate of Sulu was given Sabah in appreciation of the help by his troops to Brunei in suppressing an uprising.

In 1761, the Sultanate of Sulu went into a contract allowing the British East India Company to develop a trading center in Balenkong Island. This was later followed by another agreement in 1878 by the Sultans to lease his territories in Northern Borneo for compensation in form of rent from the British North Borneo Co. As the WW2 ended in 1945, Sabah was passed over to the British government and was made a colony. After 1946, the British passed the annual payment of lease to the Malaysian government, and till today, the payment still continues with respect to the agreement. Sabah later gained independence in 1963 through a referendum with many votes in favour of the move to join the Federation of Malaysia.



However, the Philippines have maintained their claim on the basis that the agreement signed in 1878 constituted a lease and not a sale of land as regarded by Malaysia and the British. Upon transfer of Sabah from the North Borneo Chartered Company to the Crown following the 1946 North Borneo Cession Order, Francis Burton Harrison , the ex US Governor General who held the position of a foreign adviser to the newly constituted Philippines Republic termed the transfer as illegal on the grounds that other interested parties where not included in the agreement. In 1963, Diosdado Macapagal, the then Philippines President declined to acknowledge the Federation of Malaysia as a result of the inclusion of Sabah.

The dispute was followed by the Manila Accord, a negotiation that included the Philippines, Indonesia and Malaysia signed on 31 July 1963 to settle the Philippines claims to Sabah peacefully. However, the Philippines still insist that their claim and other negotiations, in particular, the Manila accord established and preserved its right to pursue the claim regardless of the establishment of the Federation of Malaysia. The Sulu Sultanate as used Manila Accord several times in a bid to push the Filipino government to proclaim ownership of the northern part of Sabah since the Sultanate still greatly influences the Sulu residents. As a matter of fact, even president Duterte himself promised to pursue the claim during his presidential campaign in 2016 that won him massive political support from the residents.

Return of Tension

The issue of Sabah has resurfaced yet again this time marked by violent standoff featuring the Malaysian troops and followers of the sultan of Sulu in Tanduao village in the district of Lahad Datu. Similar encounters where also witnessed in Simunul village in Semporna. The conflict has raised worries that the violence could spread to other regions of Northern Borneo. Speculations have been raised that the standoff was caused by the parties who are against the Malaysian-brokered peace agreement between the Moro Islamic liberation and the Filipino government due to the timing involved in staging the drama. In a bid to boost their nationalist credentials, some candidates vying for senatorial posts in the Philippines government are using the incident to influence Manila to revive its claims on Sabah. But, following Malaysia’s participation in the peace agreement with the MLF, the Aquino government might not pursue the demands with great enthusiasm.

Impacts of the Claims on Diplomatic Relations

The developments of the dispute are likely to strain bilateral relations between the Philippines and Malaysia, just like in the past. For instance, during the 1960s, the two countries cut their diplomatic ties twice due to this disagreement. This makes the issue a potential international crisis in the sense that if the Malaysian government decides to initiate a crackdown and ignite the unrest from Filipino locals in Sabah, then a domestic crisis could be created in Mindanao if it is seen that the Duterte administration is conceding or weakening its position.

In this post-colonial era, the people’s right to self-determination ought to be made a priority in such land disputes affecting a large percentage of the population. In this case, the residents of Sabah for many years have established themselves under the Malaysian government and changing their citizenship overnight is most likely negatively impact their spirit of patriotism.

On the other hand, the Philippine has the right to defend its claim to Sabah in a peaceful manner that could result in the issue being tabled in the International Court of Justice. If this happens, the relations between these two countries is bound to deteriorate further.

It’s in hope that wisdom and diplomacy will prevail with the Philippines and Malaysia both ending in a peaceful negotiation without going through any fights.

History

The mystery of Pre-Colonial Philippines

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When someone talks about the history of the Philippines, the conversation generally begins with the arrival of the Spanish. Few people recognise the nation even existed, let alone had a system of governance and was even quite prosperous before the coming of the Spanish and other colonizers.

The land had a rich culture with a people who had established themselves in rather unbelievable ways. Pre-colonial Philippines has been quoted by some historians and other rather influential people as being one of the most progressive societies to ever exist to this moment.

A brief look at the history books reveals a land where there was a very rich culture of agriculturalists, innovators and empowerment beyond comparison. So, what was the culture like before the Spanish colonized this land? It is vital to note that the name Philippine is attributed to Dominican Priest and Spanish explorer Ruy Lopez de Villalobos who named the Philippine Islands after Phillip II in 1543. The name was automatically adopted henceforth.

This piece is, however, about the rich culture the country had before colonization. Here are a few points to note, therefore, about pre-colonial Philippines.

Their women were very powerful

A look at the pre-colonial Philippines reveals a society where there was a lot of equality when it comes to gender. Women were just as powerful as men in terms of family hierarchy, societal placement, leadership and even professionalism. The women had a lot of say on how the family unit operated from making key decisions such as the number of kids to have and their spacing. They also solely decided the names of their kids.

In certain instances, women were even thoroughly revered by men because of the power and influence they yielded. It was a common sign to see men walking behind women as a show of respect. As well, just like men, women owned and inherited property, had equal opportunity in almost all professions and craftsmanship and also led their respective territories.



They had good foreign relations especially with the Chinese

Pre-colonial Philippines generally had very good relations with foreigners. They traded with the Arabs, Chinese and even Indians. History reveals that the trading expertise of native Filipinos gave them a name halfway across the world. Their trade was, however, not outstanding with the Chinese. People could consider them trade buddies because of the level of trust between the two.

It is said that the honesty of the Philippines greatly surprised the Chinese and improved their trade relations. So much was the trust that at times the Chinese would leave their goods at the ocean shore and come back for their traded items late on whereupon the Filipinos would surrender the returns without question. This made the Chinese the greatest trade partners of the ancient Philippines.

Their tribes were either highlanders or lowlanders.

The indigenous Filipinos include several tribes that existed way before the coming of the modern Filipinos. These tribes have been traced almost 50,000 years back according to archaeological evidence. It is important to notice that there are 2 major subdivisions for the 134 indigenous Filipino tribes. They were either highlanders or lowlanders. After colonization, the lowlanders were majorly influenced in terms of culture erosion by the colonizers. The highlanders, however, maintained the majority of their culture even during and after colonization. This was majorly influenced by the inaccessibility of the highlands that discouraged the colonizers.

The majority of the indigenous people of northern Philippines are referred to as Igorot while those found within the mainland Mindanao are called the Lumad. The tribes co-existed peacefully and engaged in many activities amongst themselves which strengthened their relations as well as that of foreigners. The tribes and sub-tribes also intermarried and visited each other to ensure they correlated well.

Their differences were more of a strength than a weakness which helped them in improving their general operations and life as a whole. While there were 134 ethnic groups in the Philippines, 135 languages still exist till now and one is known by the majority, if not all of the Philippines population. This common language is Tagalog and is currently used as the national language.

Several professions already existed

The ancient Filipinos were a predominantly an agricultural society with large tracts of land having both animal and crops. This made them self-sufficient in terms of food. Do not, however, be fooled that they were only agriculturalists. They had very many other professions that saw them create a well-rounded society. These professions included mining, seafaring, hunting, weapon making, smithing and even textiles.

This made them produce a lot of items that they could use and trade in. This as well made them one of the richest and most-skilled pre-colonial settlements known to man. Many foreigners came to settle within the Filipinos because of their skill-set and their friendly and honest lifestyle.

Islam was the major religion

Islam is said to be the oldest single religion to ever exist in the pre-colonial Philippines. This is attributed to the trade relations between the ancient Filipinos and Muslim traders from The Persian Gulf and other surrounding areas. This happened in the 14th century and quickly spread to the rest of Philippines with a major concentration of Muslims
in the southern region of Mindanao.

The greatest warriors in terms of fighting against the west and general colonization were the Muslims with most of their clerics such as Rajah Sulayman who was the Muslim Rajah (leader) of Maynila, staging fights that have gone down history as some of the longest resistance against colonizers. Islam is currently a religion practised by 6% of the Philippine population in the modern day, with Christianity, Buddhism and Hinduism taking a big chunk of the current Philippine population.

It is evident that the average ancient pre-colonial Filipino was a person with a strong and rich culture, well-endowed intellect with a high level of professionalism and skill. With such large tracts of well-endowed land, an honest society with equality, religion, and diversity that was embraced rather than shunned, one could argue that life must have been better during pre-colonial time than now, but that is just an issue up for debate.

History

Moulding skulls: The ancient practice of skull binding in the Philippines

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I’m sure we have all seen those iconic National Geographic photos featuring different tribes from around the world. Many of those images being of isolated tribes still engaging in unusual practices passed down by their ancestors.

It is common to see pictures of African and Amazonian tribes who still engage in the practice of lip stretching. You can often see photos of the women from the mountainous regions of Burma and Thailand who still engage in the practice of placing brass coils around their necks. This pushes their shoulders and collar bones down to give the appearance of a longer neck.

Then we have the Philippines.

Skull moulding in the Philippines

Before the Spanish occupation of the Philippines, the Visayans (Natives of the Philippines southern region) practised skull moulding to enhance beauty.

This cranial deformation, also known as head flattening or binding was a form of early body modification in the Philippines. This was performed by intentionally distorting the normal growth of a child’s skull by applying pressure to particular areas.

The procedure was only performed on children as their skulls were still soft, the same process performed on adults would only damage the skull.

The early Visayans thought of broad faces, receding foreheads and flat noses as being attractive. So, the head binding was a means of reaching these local standards of beauty.

The Visayan skull moulding was carried out using a tangad. This is a set of thin, comb-like rods bound to the babies forehead. The tangad hinders the forward growth of the babies skull. The skull is, therefore, directed backwards meaning they grew higher at the rear.

As the Spanish influence spread across the country these indigenous concepts of beauty moved aside as locals favoured the European beauty standards which came with the Spanish culture.

Archaeological excavations in the Visayas have helped bring to light the popularity of skull moulding. Burial sites in Cebu, Samar and Bohol amongst others have produced dozens of skulls showing signs of skull moulding.

History

The Ozone Disco Killer Inferno

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Timog Avenue in Quezon City is the heart of the cities entertainment precinct. Situated near the 11th World Scout Jamboree Memorial Rotonda, was the popular Ozone Disco which was opened in 1991 by Segio Orgaoow. 

The disco – operated under the management of the Westwood Entertainment Company – was opened inside a building which had previously housed a jazz club named “Birdland”.

Disaster strikes inside Ozone Disco

The evening of March 18, 1996, was a particularly busy evening for the club. There were an estimated 350 patrons along with 40 club employees inside Ozone Disco. This was despite the club only being suitable for approximately 100 patrons; as well as having only been formally approved for a maximum of 35 persons.

The majority of guests that evening were high school and college students celebrating the end of their school year.

Shortly before midnight witnesses reported seeing sparks flying inside the DJs booth. This was soon followed by smoke; though most guests assumed it was a part of the clubs special effects.

“It was starting to get bigger,” she says. “People were starting to go out. But I noticed that a lot of other people didn’t realize that something was wrong. They were just there standing or dancing.

Shortly after the smoke began pouring from the DJ booth the electrical systems within the club shut down. A fire soon broke out, spreading rapidly across the ceiling.

It wasn’t long before the fire had engulfed the whole room. The guests began pushing their way towards the door. Though the harder they pushed, the harder it was to exit the building as the doors would only open inwards.

After the 4-hour long blaze ended, investigators found the bodies of victims piled down the corridor leading to the exit. The final death count was placed between 160 and 162 victims, the majority of victims being young adults.

Aftermath of the Ozone Disco blaze

Immediately after the blaze the Ozone Disco was described as a firetrap. The clubs emergency exit had been blocked after a building had been constructed next door; meaning the building had no proper fire exit installed.

It was also found that guards had locked the front exit to the club. They had assumed that a riot had broken out inside the venue.

Six individuals involved with Westwood Entertainment faced criminal charges after the incident.

The president of Westwood Entertainment, Hermilo Ocampo, and the corporation’s treasurer, Ramon Ng, were found guilty by a Quezon City trial court and sentenced to a four-year prison term, and fined 25 million pesos each.

The courts also ordered them to repay families of the deceased 150,000 pesos as well as 100,000 pesos to the those injured during the event.

Hermilo Ocampo, and Ramon Ng were found guilty due to their negligence in meeting standards set by the building code. They had failed to provide sprinklers inside the establishment, the fire extinguishers they had put in place were found to be defective.

The lone exit which had trapped the guests due to opening inwards also did not meet the standards of the building code. A former employee actually claimed that the inward swinging doors were put in place due to it being good Feng Shui.

A week before the 19th anniversary of the tragedy, the building which housed the Ozone Disco was demolished. All that remains is the memories left with the few survivors of that devastating evening.

History

The Basilica Del Santo Niño, The Cultural Icon Of Cebu

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The Basilica Minor del Santo Niño (The Minor Basilica of the Holy Child in English) holds deep cultural significance for the people of Cebu due to the Catholic faith held by the majority of Cebuanos. The church represents the introduction of Christianity to the island and in turn the Christianization of The Philippines.

The Basilica Minor del Santo Niño was first constructed in 1565 by Miguel Lopez de Legaspi and Fr. Andres Urdaneta. It was built on the very site where the statue of the Sto. Nino de Cebu, a statue depicting the Child Jesus, was found in 1565 by Spanish explorers led by Miguel Lopez de Legazpi.

The church still stands to this day, hundreds of years after the construction of the first structure. Despite this, the church has faced its fair share of setbacks over the years.

Rebuilding The Basilica Minor del Santo Niño

The original structure of the church, made from hardwood, mud and nipa burnt to the ground on November 1, 1568. IN 1605 the construction of the church began, again using hardwood and nipa materials. The construction lead by Fr. Pedro Torres continued up until it was finished in 1626.

Unfortunately, due to the nature of the materials used in its construction, the church again burnt down in 1628.

Construction on the church almost began almost immediately. As in 1628 Fr. Juan Medina directed the construction of the church although using stones and bricks as an alternative to the previous materials. This new construction did not last long as issues with the bricks being used began to arise. The bricks began to “melt” when they came in contact with air so construction on the new church was halted.

Thanks to the efforts of Father Provincial Bergano, Governor-General Fernando Valdes, Bishop Manuel Antonio Decio Y Ocampo of Cebu and Juan de Albarran Prior of the Sto. Nino. work on the church once again was underway.

Utilising hewn stone. Fr. Antonio Lopez, the residents of Talisay, and Father Francisco Aballe, together with his parishioners began construction of the church. This work began on February 29, 1735, when Fernándo Valdés y Tamon, the Governor of Cebu, ordered the church to be constructed with hard stone. The church was also to be built on the same site as the previous structures. Construction finally came to an end in 1739.

Significance of The Santo Niño in Cebu

The Santo Niño is a roughly 12-inch high wooden statue of Jesus in his infant form. The statue is believed to have been made in Flanders, Belgium due to its similarities to the Infant Jesus of Prague. The Santo Niño is now considered the oldest religious relic in The Philippines.

The Santo Niño, a representation of Jesus as a black holy child is housed inside the Basilica to this day. The statue is believed to be the same statue given by Portuguese explorer Ferdinand Magellan to Queen Juana back in 1521.

The Santo Niño is now seen as the patron of Cebu. Cebuanos turn to the Santo Niño for strength and guidance within their lives.

When Magellan comes to town

On September 20, 1519, a fleet of five galleons under the command of Portuguese Navigator Ferdinand Magellan at the service of the king and queen of Spain set sail from San Lucar de Barrameda in search of the Spice Islands. Their journey took them to Limasawa, a small island south of Leyte in the central region of The Philippines.

Magellan took possession of the islands and named it The Philipines after King Philip of Spain. Magellans expedition then moved on towards Cebu. Magellan found the island to be very hospitable, which motivated him to make the island his base for exploration, Christianization and conquest.

King Humabon and Queen Juana of Cebu gave him a warm reception as well as embracing the teachings of Christianity. Magellan gave to Queen Juana a gift during the baptism of King Humabon and his wife Queen Juana on April 14, 1521; this gift is believed to be the statue of the Santo Niño housed in The Basilica Minor del Santo Niño today.

“After dinner the priest and some of the others went ashore to baptize the queen, who came with forty women. We conducted her to the platform, and she was made to sit down upon a cushion, and the other women near her, until the priest should be ready.

She was shown an image of our Lady, a very beautiful wooden child Jesus, and a cross. Thereupon, she was overcome with contrition, and asked for baptism amid her tears. We named her Juana, after the emperors mothers; her daughter, the wife of the prince, Catherina; the queen of Mazua, Lisabeta; and the others, each their distinctive name. Counting men, women, and children, we baptized eight hundred souls.

The queen was young and beautiful, and was entirely covered with a white and black cloth. Her mouth and nails were very red, while on her head she wore a large hat of palm leaves in the manner of a parasol, with a crown about it of the same leaves, like the tiara of the pope; and she never goes any place without such a one. She asked us to give her the little child Jesus to keep in place of her idols; and then she went away.”

As gratitude for their hospitality, Magellan agreed to fight along side King Humabon who was at war with the neighbouring tribe in Mactan island. Magellan was killed in the battle. His men then returned to Spain, which happened to be the expedition which set the record as the first to circumnavigate the earth.

Spain sent another expedition into the South East Asian Region. An Augustinian priest, named Andres Urdaneta, a world-known cosmographer who lived inside the monastic walls of the Augustinian monastery in Mexico along with  Miguel Lopez de Legaspi, Basque-Spanish navigator and a governor was summoned to lead the expedition. On November 21, a memorable expedition left Mexico for the Philippines and arrived in Cebu on April 27, 1565.

Cebuanos held suspicion that the Spaniard’s return was about bringing retribution to Magellan’s death, another battle broke out. But heavy artilleries and huge cannons forced the natives to flee to the mountain leaving behind their villages burnt to the ground.

As Spanish soldiers surveyed the debris of the village, a soldier, Juan Camus found an image of the Child Jesus under the pile of ashes unscathed inside a wooden box. The burned wooden box left behind during the 1521 Magellan expedition had preserved the Holy Child carving.

The Basilica Minor del Santo Niño in modern times

A replica of the Santo Niño is now found within a side altar at the Basilica; It is enshrined in a glass case adorned with gold and precious stones. Every third Sunday of January, millions will flock to the streets of Cebu in order to celebrate the largest festival of the year.

It is the Sinulog Festival, a colourful celebration in honour of the feast of the Santo Niño, the patron of Cebu. The main attraction of this festival is the street parade which lasts for 9 – 12 hours, with participants coming from different towns and cities across Cebu, occasionally some participants come from a different island.

Even in modern times, the church has continued to face destructive forces. During the last World War, a bomb fell on the church yet the Santo Niño remained intact. The church has also endured various earth quakes, the most significant being in 2013 were the church faced significant damage due to a major earthquake based in Bohol.

he Basilica Complex of Basilica Minore del Santo Niño is located in city block bordered by the Osmena Boulevard, D. Jakosalem Street, P. Burgos Street, and the Plaza Sugbo where the Magellan’s Cross is located. The main entrance is on the Osmena Boulevard. Two blocks to the north of the basilica is the Cebu Metropolitan Cathedral. It is where the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Cebu seats.

The Basilica currently remains under the care of the Augustinians – The Order of St. Augustine.

History

Pepsi And The Number Fever Campaign Disaster

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In the early 90s, the beverage company Coca-Cola were significantly outselling their arch rival, Pepsi-Cola. Official records stated that the former held a 75 percent market share compared Pepsi-Cola who were just hanging on by a meagre 17 percent.

In their endeavour to better their sales, Pepsi-Cola Philippines Inc. decided to introduce a marketing program known as “The Number Fever” in the year 1992. This program, although initially very successful, caused the Pepsi mistake Philippines later on that rocked the entire nation with a large number of riots and a great deal of loss in terms of human lives as well as damage to property.

The Number Fever – Pepsi-Colas inventive marketing plan

According to this marketing program, the caps of all the bottles of their drinks were to have 3-digit numbers imprinted along with amounts for cash prizes (ranging from 1000 pesos to 1 million pesos). When the promotion period ended, the winning number was to be announced, and the winner was to receive the grand prize of 1 million pesos.

The promotional plan worked to perfection as sales of the company’s products went up by a whopping 40 percent within the period of a few weeks. This initial success prompted the company to increase the number of prizes to a staggering 1500. During the entire promotional period, a total of 31 million people (more than half the population of the country at the time) took part in this program. This did help to increase the sales figures of the company to a great extent.

 

The announcement of the winner and the blunder

The company had to announce a winner at the end of the program, and once they did, all hell broke loose in The Philippines. It was initially announced that even though numerous people would go on to win small amounts in prizes (which would be imprinted beneath the caps), these amounts would not be dispersed by the company until the eventual winner was also declared.

Two months post the start of the campaign, the company announced the winning number to be “349”, and the winner was promised a payout of 1 million pesos in prize money.

This is where the Pepsi mistake Philippines started. Evidently, the Mexican consulting firm, D.G.Consultores, who were hired by the company to choose the winning number randomly, were the reason behind this blunder. They were supposedly provided with a list of numbers that should not have been considered when selecting the winning number, and “349” was one of those figures.

Consequently, Pepsi had ended up printing over 800,000 caps with the number, and the list was given to them to avoid the very situation that eventually manifest itself. Hence, a situation arose where thousands of people around the country came up with bottle caps that had the winning number and wanted to claim their prize.

 

The Aftermath – Numerous riots around the country

With so many people claiming the 1 million pesos prize, Pepsi tried to avoid the situation by arguing that the caps did not have the proper security code, and denied to disperse any prize money. This caused a substantial uproar in the country with riots everywhere.

According to the reports of Pepsi, at least 32 delivery trucks and over 40 company trucks were damaged by the public through stoning or fire, and a few of them were even overturned. Numerous Pepsi offices and production plants were bombed and destroyed all over the country. Several people even lost their lives in these riots.

Eventually, the company received 689 civil suit notices along with over 5,200 criminal complaints in regards to deception and fraud. The 2 million dollars budget that the company had initially set for the prize money rose to a staggering 10 million dollars in legal and restitution fees. It all turned out to be a pretty costly blunder on their behalf.

What happened eventually?

In the year 2006, 14 years after the incident, the Supreme Court of the Philippines issued a verdict which cleared Pepsi from all the criminal charges stating that there was “no proof of negligence on behalf of the company”, and that they were not to be held accountable for the riots. However, this did nothing to reduce the extent of damage that had already been done.

History

KKK and its Revolutionary Operations in the Philippines

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As a little PSA for the uninitiated in Philippine history. The many references to the KKK you may see or hear are not what you think.

I still remember laughing as I passed the chain restaurant donning the name KKK. Obviously, I knew they weren’t advertising the American white supremacist group.

After asking a few people about it, I didn’t seem to get a complete answer on what the KKK was referencing. So, I decided to dive into the topic myself.

So who was behind the KKK revolutionary group?

It turns out the KKK is a historically important secret society and revolutionary group. Its beginnings date back to 1892 when anti-Spanish Filipinos decided to band together. The members had the common goal of gaining independence from Spanish rule.

Now the official name of the society was Kataastaasan, Kagalanggalangang Katipunan ng mga Anak ng Bayan. When translated into English, means Supreme and Most Honorable Society of the Children of the Nation. So it seems that shortening it to KKK or the Katipunan was a reasonable decision.

The founders of the group Andres Bonifacio, Teodoro Plata, Ladislao Diwa plus various others were mostly Freemasons. This meant that a lot of the organisational structure adopted by the KKK was borrowed from Philippine Freemasonry.

A lot of people associate the Filipino national hero Jose Rizal with the KKK. Although Rizal was not formally a member of the group; due to his being exiled to Mindanao at the time; he still remained a close affiliate with the KKK. The society had been created as a reaction to the La Liga Filipina organization being shut down, an organization in which Rizal was the founding member.

Members of the La Liga Filipina moved away from the organization when the realization came that the organizations’ peaceful stance would be suppressed by Spanish authorities. As these members moved to the KKK their aims were adjusted to the concept of an armed revolution against the Spanish.

The KKK had begun their work in preparing for the revolution over the course of many years. They had been working to stockpile weapons and build membership to their organization. These activities did not go unnoticed by the Spanish authorities, as they had begun to alert their superiors to possible anti-Spanish movements amongst the Filipinos.

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The Spanish turn against the movement

Shortly after the Spanish became aware of the movement, they received information on the location of the organizations’ operations. Spanish officers arrived at the site of the Katipunan newspaper printing operations and made several arrests; this became the trigger for the Katipunan to stage their revolution.

This led to a series of battles across Manilla and into its neighbouring provinces. As a consequence, many rebels were killed or arrested and ultimately the Katipunan were subject to defeat. But this was only the beginning of the demise of Spanish dominance in The Philippines.

In the end, the movement worked to weaken the Spanish colonial power due to their frequent clashes. The Spanish were also weakened after needing to focus resources on fighting another war across the globe. After much resistance, the rebels were able to gather control over most of the countries’ territory.

In the end, the rebels were able to declare independence on June 12, 1898, in Cavite. After 333 years of colonial rule, The Philippines was finally able to declare independence from the Spanish.

As a side note, the Philippine hero Jose Rizal was killed as a result of these uprisings. At the time, Rizal was on his way to Spain. Word got out that a group he was instrumental in forming had begun to revolt against the Spanish. In the end, Rizal was executed by the Spanish after being convicted for treason.

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History

Leaders who changed the nation: Manuel Quezon

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Also known as Manuel Luis Quezon Molina, the Philippines first president was born Manuel Quezon y Molina on August 19, 1878, to Maria Molina and Lucio Quezon, who were both schoolteachers. The couple taught in Baler, Tayabas found in the Quezon Province, of Luzon.

Manuel would later add the name Antonio to his name after a benefactor who fed and housed him when he was still struggling and could not take care of himself. Not many people would remember to honor their benefactors that way and forget the minute they make it in life, unlike Manuel.

Educational background of Manuel Quezon

Manuel had the best education that prepared him for national leadership. He went to school at the San Juan de Letran College. Thereafter, he joined the University of Santo Tomás as a lecturer.

At school, his teachers described him to be bright but lazy, attributes that most people presently can remember their teachers later surrendered associating with them and that makes them laugh fondly remembering their school days.

While at the University, he chose to study law; though, his studies were distracted by the Spanish-American war. In 1899, he cut short his studies to fight for independence against the United States in a struggle led by Emili later surrendered in 1901, causing Quezon to go back to the University to obtain his law degree in 1903.

Manuel established a law firm in his hometown of Tayabas where he made an income of $500 per month. He was not an ordinary lawyer, as he decided to run his trade much like Robinhood. He charged the rich exorbitantly for his services while the poor benefited from his services pro bono. Good luck finding such a lawyer in our times!

In a baffling move, he left his law firm to go and become a prosecutor, a job that earned him $75 per month. Again, that is not what your everyday lawyer would do. But we have already established that he was no ordinary person. His benevolence made him popular across The Philippines.

Quezon moves into the political arena

His journey to becoming president of The Philippines started when he ran for governor of his home province of Tayabas. By this time, his conviction was that his county could only gain independence by cooperating with the United States.

Quezon went on to become a representative to the Philippine Assembly. The 1909 appointment as a resident commissioner for the Philippines gave him speaking privileges, but still denied him voting rights in the United States House of Representatives.

Quezon was instrumental in the approval and adoption of the Jones Act. In 1916 that pledged independence for his country without a particular date of implementation. Manuel later resigned as commissioner that year and headed back to the Philippines. He went on to clinch a seat in the new Philippine Senate, where he served as its president until 1935.

He is not just an ordinary leader, this is why he is referred to as the people’s president. The diligent leader fought for the Nacionalista Party and went on to fight for the Tydings-McDuffie Act (1934) which gave his country independence. He became the first Commonwealth’s president on September 17, 1935.

Quezon hit the ground running reorganizing the military defense of the island, tackled the problem of the landless peasants in his country, saw to the development and settlement of the southern island of Mindanao. He also diligently fought corruption and graft in his government.



Manuel Quezon: traits and accomplishments outside of politics

Unknown to many people, Quezon had other talents apart from his academic and professional brilliance. For instance, he was a gifted card player and gained notoriety due to his poker skills. He also learned and started playing bridge, which became his best hobby.

Quezon loved stylish clothes, and unlike most people who have to depend on designers for the ideal attire, he made his clothes that used to turn heads. Music was his forte as well, as he was a gifted pianist. One of his notable achievements in this field was teaching the trans-Atlantic ship orchestra the way to play the national anthem of his country.

The people of the Philippines re-elected Quezon in 1941. The invasion of Japan in 1942 had him leave for the United States. While in exile in the USA, he served on the Pacific War Council. As a member of the council, he went on to sign the United Nations Declaration against Fascist Nations. He also wrote his biography, ‘The Good Fight’ in 1946. He never saw the establishment of the complete Philippine independence, as he died of tuberculosis.