Between 307 and 314 during the Western Dynasty (265-316 AD), the Central Plains straddling the middle and lower reaches of the Yellow River was in turmoil. Liu Min Yuan (劉敏元) and his townmate Guan Ping (管平), who was over 70 years old, fled from Qi (齊, in today’s Shandong province) toward the west. When they reached Xing Yang […]
Rodrigo Duterte came to power vowing to rid the country not only of illegal drugs and criminality but also corruption in government. In fact, he has sacked Cabinet members and government officials whenever he hears derogatory information about them, such as using their positions to broker deals or exert undue influence. The two people the […]
Discussing the rice traders of 1862 in his great work Feeding Manila, in Peace and War: 1850-1945 (Ateneo Press, 2016), professor emeritus Daniel F. Doeppers narrates: Doña Cornelia Lao Chanco (1819-1900) was one of the Manila consignees in 1862. Born to Chinese mestizos in Binondo, Manila in 1836, she was married to Tomas Ly-Chauco, an […]
A friend forwarded to me a post from the Pinoy Ako Blog. In “Ako si PAB, eh ano ngayon (I am PAB, so what)?” Maria Josephina Vergina Laurio admitted that she is behind the blog, that she is PAB. I was awed by this brave act. It takes courage to reveal her true identity, knowing […]
Yu Gun (庾衮) was born poor and lived in poverty since childhood. When he grew up, he took to farming to support his parents. From 275 to 280 A.D. (Western Jin Dynasty), an epidemic broke out in Yu’s hometown, killing two of his brothers and leaving an elder brother, Yu Pi (庾毗), in serious condition. […]
Visa-free Taiwan Visa-free entry to Taiwan is welcome news to many Filipinos, especially the Chinese Filipinos. As Tulay associate editor Grace Pe-Bacani said, it took her just seconds to log on to the visa-free online registration to get visas for her whole family. I’ve had no problem in the last three years getting my electronic […]
Kong Yong (孔鏞 1427-1486) was appointed governor of Gao Zhou (高州) in Guangdong province in 1465 during the Ming Dynasty. Because of his predecessor’s bad governance, the people of Yao (瑶) ethnic group had no food to eat and turned to banditry. The city gate was closed to keep them from attacking. Upon assuming office, […]
Illegal drugs slipping past the Bureau of Customs, illicit affairs and hidden wealth, basketball players as intelligence officers, corrupt bank official absconding with bank money. Scandal after scandal have been bombarding our sensibilities. Yet, society appears so blasé about them, in the same manner it seems to have become numbed to the continued extrajudicial killings […]
A s part of their homework, my granddaughters, ages 9 and 7, were instructed to watch President Duterte’s second State of the Nation Address on television. The SONA would be discussed in class, they were told. The two girls asked me to sit with them so we could listen to it together. For the first […]
Who were afraid of the mestizos? Answer: The Spanish colonizers during the 19th century. We are not kidding. Referring again to Alfredo Roces’ Adios Patria Adorada: The Filipino as Ilustrado, the Ilustrado as Filipino, which I cited in the July 4-14, 2017 issue on “The great role of mestizos,” Sinibaldo de Mas in 1842 penned […]