Our nation faced many challenges and tragedies in 2018. Yet, it is human nature to find reason to stay optimistic. So, let me start off my first Beats & Bytes for 2019 on a positive note. Allow me to highlight the activities and events of the organizations I am involved in: the Kaisa Heritage Center, […]
I wanted my year-end column to end on a happier note, but I cannot leave two upsetting pieces of news unaddressed. The first is about former Davao City vice mayor Paolo Duterte’s ridiculous but highly disturbing list of people allegedly planning the ouster of his father President Duterte. The second is about the project to […]
This is a continuation of my last Gems of History column on “Parian in Cebu” to complete the story of what happened to the Chinese in Cebu at the turn of the 20th century. Our narration will again be based mainly on National Artist Resil B. Mojares’ Casa Gerordo in Cebu.From 1850 onwards, the Chinese […]
In this issue, we share with you two stories about Ming patriots who fought against the Manchurian army in the mid-17th century. The Manchurians overran China in 1644, signaling the ascent of the Qing Dynasty. One of their most detested orders was requiring all male Chinese to wear pigtail. The order prompted the people of […]
My friends, Tsinoys and native Filipinos alike, have been calling my attention to the deluge of negative comments about the influx of Chinese nationals, especially from the mainland, and other issues. They worry that the negativity may spill over to include Chinese-Filipinos. They said they can distinguish the Chinese who are newcomers from the Tsinoys […]
The Parian of Manila is by far the most known district the Spanish colonizers had restricted the Chinese in the Philippines to during their four-century rule. Outside of the city, however, were other thriving, albeit less known parians. Several of them were home to not only the Chinese but also Chinese mestizos.Two parians I came […]
I have been in and out of circulation for the past three weeks. Backtracking news reports, I found, to my regret, a number of disturbing happenings that make me question where recent events are leading us. Shabu disappears Media reported that former Bureau of Customs (BOC) Commissioner Isidro Lapeña was promoted to Cabinet rank on […]
Zheng Zi Long (鄭子龍), a famous pirate and marine merchant during the late Ming Dynasty (1368-1644), was awarded amnesty and served as Ming general. He would later resist the Manchurian or Qing conquest. In the autumn of 1646, however, Zheng Zi Long decided to surrender to the Qing court over the objections of his eldest son, […]
Philippine politics is primarily dominated by dynasties. But the 2019 midterm elections seem to have enlarged the problem, challenging the boundaries of legality and morality. It makes us really wonder about the state of democracy in the Philippines. It makes us admire even more candidates like public health advocate Dr. Willie Ong and broadcast journalist […]
In Domingo De Salazar, OP (UST, 2001), author Lucio Gutierrez devotes a section to “The Cutting of Pigtail or the Danger of Apostasy of the Sangleys” in Chapter IV, “Missionary and Evangelical Labors of Domingo de Salazar in the Philippines, 1581-1591.” People might wonder what the “pigtail” had to do with the Catholic faith among […]