THE HISTORY OF THE PHILIPPINE FLAG BASIC INFORMATION AND TUTORIALS

The Philippine Flag, history and evolution.

The design of the Filipino flag is the result of modifications made on the early flags  of the Filipino revolutionists, particularly the group called the Katipunan, which  was led by Andres Bonifacio. 

In 1892, Katipunan adopted a war standard. It consisted of a red rectangular  piece of cloth with three white K's arranged in a row in the middle. The three K's  stood for Kagalagalangan Kataastaasan Katipunan (Most venerable, supreme  organization). In some flags the three letters were arranged in such a way as to  form the three angles of an equilateral triangle. 

Although some Katipunan leaders made their own flags, these flags bore the red field and white K's. Several months before the outbreak of the revolution against Spain in 1896, Bonifacio fashioned another flag. 

This time, the flag consisted of a red rectangular  field with a white sun in the middle. Below the sun were the three K's. 

General E. Aguinaldo and other revolutionary leaders of Cavite Province modified this  Katipunan flag in 1896. They came out with a rectangular banner with the white sun  and eight rays; in the middle of the sun was a white K in the ancient Tagalog script. 

Then on March 17, 1897, at the Naic Assembly, the revolutionary leaders again  modified the flag. At the center of the red rectangular cloth they placed a mythological sun with eyes, nose, and mouth. The sun radiated eight groups of rays.

The sun symbolizes liberty; its eight rays, the first eight provinces that rose up in arms against Spain: Manila, Bulacan, Pampanga, Nueva Erija, Tarlac, Laguna,  Betangas, and Cavite. 

When General Aguinaldo was in exile in Hong Kong, he thought of making  changes in the flag. At his request, Mrs. Marcela Agoncillo, assisted by her eldest  daughter, Lorenzana, and Miss Delfina Herbosa, Rizal's niece, sewed the banner  that later became the Filipino national flag. 

General Aguinaldo brought this flag with him when he returned to the Philippines on May 19, 1898. He first unfurled it in public on May 28, 1898, to commemorate the victory of the Filipinos against the Spaniards in the Battle of Alapan. The official hoisting of this flag, however, was made on June 12, 1898, in Kawit, Cavite. 

HISTORY OF MANILA, PHILIPPINES BASIC INFORMATION AND TUTORIALS

A peek on the history of Manila.

Like every city on earth, Manila has its own identity, people and history.

So we have hand picked out the most interesting parts of its history which make  Manila unique and special.

Keep on reading to learn a thing or two about what makes Manila a great desti-  nation for tourists from all over the world.

The earliest evidence of human life in and around the area of Manila is found the  via the nearby Angono Petroglyphs dated to around 3000 BC. Furthermore, negritos, a class of Australoid peoples, became the aboriginal inhabitants of the Philippines.

They were found across Luzon before the Malayo-Polynesians migrated in  and assimilated them. The Kingdom of Maynila flourished during the latter half of  the Ming Dynasty as a result of direct trade relations with China.

Ancient Tondo  was maintained as the traditional capital of the empire, with its rulers as sovereign  kings and not mere chieftains, and were addressed variously as panginuan ln Meranau or pangino?n in Tagalog ("lords"); an?k banwa ("son of heaven"); or lakandula ("lord of the palace"), the Emperor of China considered the Lakans (rulers of ancient Manila) (Kings).

In the 13th century, the city consisted of a fortified settlement and trading quarter at the shores of the Pasig River, on top of previous older towns. Manila was then invaded by the indianized empire of Majapahit as referenced in the epic eulogy poem Nagarakretagama which inscribed its conquest by
Maharaja Hayam Wuruk.

EARLY NAMES OF THE PHILIPPINES BASIC INFORMATION AND TUTORIALS

What are the early names of the Philippines?

Different names that the Philippines were called at one time:

Mai by the Chinese traders in the 10th century.

Luzon Islands by the Japanese, or sometimes  Luzones or Lucones.

Archipelago of San Lazaro by the Spanish discoverers, led by Magellan because they were discovered on the Sabbath of St. Lazarus, March 16, 1521.

Vall Seu Parigne (Valley Without Peril) because of the hospitality and brotherly love shown by the natives for the Spaniards.

Islas del Poniente (Islands of the West) because Magellan came here by the westerly route from Spain.

Islands of the East by the Portuguese because they came to the Philippines by the easterly route.

Felipinas or Philipinas which the islands were named in 1542 by Rui Lopez  de Villalobos in honor of the Prince. This was from the Spanish word Felipinas, from which the Americans derived the English word Philippines.

THE IGOROT RESISTANCE DURING THE SPANISH OCCUPATION IN THE PHILIPPINES

The Igorot Resistance

Attempts to Christianize the Igorots were led by the Spanish friars--the Augustinians from the Ilocos, and the Dominicans from Cagayan--and a few secular priests from Abra. While Christianization was the major concern of the religious orders, the conquistadores and crown officials mainly concentrated on occupying the Igorot gold mines. 

During the first fifty years of Spanish rule the crown sent numerous and costly expeditions to the Cordillera but all were failures. While the Cordillera terrain worked lasted for ten years. 

For instance, in the Trinidad Valley north of Baguio, the Spaniards successfully deflected every Igorot defense including rocks thrown from above, bamboo "ground-spears," and sharpened stakes hidden in the grass and camouflage pits. When the Spaniards finally reached the valley, they burned 180 Igorot houses. 

In fact, Spanish raids left a pattern ofdestruction and desertion. Starting in the mid-nineteenth century, the Cordillera was constituted into a series of comandancias politico-militares or political-military districts. 

Spanish military expeditions crisscrossed the Cordillera to establish Spanish authority, curtail the tobacco smuggling, and collect tribute. The Spanish military control of the Cordillera allowed Spanish missionaries and even foreign travelers to roam the region. 

New agricultural crops were introduced like coffee, cacao, and citrus fruits as well as new technologies such as wheelbarrows, the potter's wheel, and coffee-husking machines. Hundreds of Igorots became literate and about 8,000 became Christians. 

Yet, the occupation also resulted in untold devastation: houses were burned down, crops destroyed, and livestock seized or slaughtered. The military raids also left a trail ofdead Igorots while many other Igorots succumbed to smallpox, which the Spaniards had introduced. 

The Igorots who survived for the first time lived under a colonial order symbolized by tributes and forced labor. The Spanish domination of the Cordillera was short-lived because the Philippine Revolution of 1896 ended its colonial rule.

THE MALACANANG PALACE AND MUSEUM - TOURIST DESTINATION

How to get to the Malacanang Palace and Malacanang Museum?

Malacanang Palace is the home of the President of the Philippines. It tells many history, and a significant part of Philippine history. It like the White House of the United States of America.

Home of the governor-generals and presidents of the Philippines since the 1860s, the Malacañang Palace is a fittingly grand and intriguing edifice, well worth the minor hassle involved in arranging a visit.

Much of the palace is permanently off-limits to the public, but you can visit the wing that houses the Malacañang Museum (Mon–Fri 9am–4pm; P50; T02/784-4286, Wwww.president.gov.ph) by making an appointment at least seven days in advance.

You’ll need to email or fax a letter of request to the palace, stating your name, preferred date and time of visit, and attaching a photocopy or scan of your passport; call first to confirm the latest procedure.

You can also join a tour run by Ivan Man Dy of Old Manila Walks (T0917/329-1622, Wwww.oldmanilawalks.com), which saves you the bother.

The Malacañang occupies the site of a smaller stone house dating from 1750. In 1825 the Spanish government bought it and, in 1849, made it the summer residence of the governor-general of the Philippines.

After the governors’ palace in Intramuros was destroyed in the earthquake of 1863, the move to Malacañang was made permanent and the property was extended several times over the years.

The museum occupies the beautifully restored Kalayaan Hall, completed in 1921, and traces the history of the palace and of the presidency from Emilio Aguinaldo to the present day.

The palace is in J.P. Laurel Street in San Miguel district, a short taxi ride east of Intramuros and Quiapo.

INTERNATIONAL RICE RESEARCH INSTITUTE BASIC INFORMATION

International Rice Research Institute
The world’s largest institute on rice research

Do you know that the world’s largest research center on rice is in the Philippines? The International Rice Research Institute (IRRI), the biggest of its kind in the world, is stationed in the Philippines since the 1960s.

IRRI is located in Los Baños, Laguna, right beside the University of the Philippines. It is at IRRI where rice farmers from around the world come to study and learn new rice farming methods.

In the 1960s, the country was one of the world’s top rice producers, and, thus, was a logical site for the Institute’s headquarters.

IRRI was established by virtue of a grant from the Rockefeller Foundation. Its goal was to help develop and improve rice production technologies.

Today, it serves as a repository of the biggest rice germ plasma collection in the world, with rice genetic materials coming from various rice-producing countries from all over the globe.

The Institute’s research and work on rice - the staple grain to more than half of the world’s population – has attracted many scientists, prominent world leaders and personalities into the country.

US Secretary of Agriculture Orville Freeman, President Lyndon Johnson and philanthropist Laurance Rockefeller are just some of the few leaders who have come to visit IRRI and see its experimental and model farms in the country. It is indeed a pride that the Philippines is home to this rice think-tank.

The International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) is the primary organization engaged in the development of better rice production. It had helped a lot of countries from India, China, Vietnam, Thailand and Cambodia achieved rice self-sufficiency and had even become world rice exporters.

IRRI is one of the reasons behind the sustained world rice supply and we are proud it calls the Philippines its home.

Postcript: The Philippines ironically is an importer of Rice from the countries it helped to develop rice, on their own.

JUAN LUNA - ONE OF THE GREATEST PAINTERS IN PHILIPPINE HISTORY

Juan Luna - Tribute To A Proud Filipino

Just who is Juan Luna?

Juan Luna
A testament to the greatness of Filipino painters

Juan Luna’s Spoliarium, in vivid, moving colors, is a testament to the artist’s invaluable contribution to Philippine and world arts. Spoliarium earned Luna the gold medal in the prestigious Exposicion Nacional de Bellas Artes in Madrid, Spain.

His painting skillfully captured the drama and agony of gladiators killed in Roman arenas. Prior to this, Luna won the silver medal for painting La Muerte de Cleopatra in the same exposition.

Juan Luna’s triumph as a painter is symbolic of Filipinos’ enduring spirit and capability to succeed in a league dominated by foreigners. From his humble origins in Ilocos Norte, the young Luna went to Manila to get his diploma, and later on to study painting in the Academia de Dibujo y Pintura.

A grant recipient for art in Spain gave him the opportunity to travel to Europe, which helped inspire him to create an impressive body of works that includes España y Filipinas, Woman with Manton in Manila, and Lady at the Race Track.

In Spain, he also had the opportunity to form deep friendships with other patriots such as Rizal and Felix Resurreccion Hidalgo. His love for country, as well as his abiding concern for the poor and the oppressed, imbued his later paintings with deep social realism and meaning.

This is evident in his later works, such as the Les Moins Malheruex and the Le Chiffonier, which depicted the poor in various situations. Juan Luna also did the illustrations for Jose Rizal’s Noli Me Tangere.

Juan Luna is a shining example of how one’s talent and love for art and country can empower one to overcome limitations and challenges in creating enduring beauty and continuing art’s social relevance.

We should be reminded that Juan Luna lived in a historical context when Filipinos were deemed inferior by their colonial masters. Luna breached conventional barriers and displayed the Filipino’s artistic prowess.

What Luna left for generations to come is debunking the colonial myth that Filipinos were of a weaker people. He joined international art competitions, won, and was admired by locals and foreigners alike.

Notwithstanding his personal frailties, his paintings are still being sought-after by today’s popular museums and curators around the globe. Juan Luna only proved that no barriers can prevent the Filipinos’ talent and brilliance from reaching greatness.

PHILIPPINES 2000 - A VISION LEFT NOT ATTAINED?

By the year 2000, the Philippines will be a Newly Industrialized Country.

The Ramos Administration (1992-1998). Fidel V. Ramos won in the 1992 presidential election against six other candidates. In the last five years of his administration, he has changed the Philippines from being “the Sick Man of Asia” into “The Next Tiger of Asia.”

Due to his economic programs and accomplishments, Newsweek Magazine, cited the Philippines as the “The Next Tiger of Asia.” The Ramos term ends this year, 1998. (See Ramos’ economic program as envisioned in Philippines 2000.)

The Philippines 2000 platform was widely successful, making it one of the greatest legacies of the Ramos administration to the Philippines. Ramos was successfully able to open the then-closed Philippine economy and break Marcos-era formed monopolies, especially with regard to Philippine Airlines and the Philippine Long Distance Telephone Company, which were privitized and de-monopolized during his tenure.

He was also able to resolve the power crisis in the Philippines through privitization of power plants and the construction of new ones. The reforms spurred additional investment into the Philippines.

Other economic reforms achieved during the Ramos administration was the re-adjustment of the value added tax from four percent to an International Monetary Fund and World Bank-mandated ten percent. The success of the reforms paved the way for the Philippines to be called "Asia's New Tiger".

Economic reforms instituted during the Ramos era enabled the Philippines to experience growth rates of up to nine percent annually, and enjoy annual budget surpluses well into his tenure. The economic reforms instituted in the Philippines 2000 platform would have an effect on how the Philippines would be affected in the 1997 East Asian financial crisis.

Perhaps one of the greatest legacies of Philippines 2000 regarding peace and stability was the 1996 peace treaty signed between the Philippine government and the Moro National Liberation Front, ending over thirty years of conflict on the island of Mindanao.

A tiger economy is the economy of a country which undergoes rapid economic growth, usually accompanied by an increase in standard of living. The term was initially used for South Korea, Singapore, Hong Kong and Taiwan (East Asian Tigers), and in the 1990s it was applied to the Republic of Ireland (the Celtic Tiger).
In 2007, Brazil, Russia, India, Panama and China are considered to have tiger economies. The Southeast Asian countries of Malaysia, Indonesia, the Philippines, Thailand and Vietnam may also be considered tiger economies due to their high growth rates in recent years.

The Greek economic miracle of the 1950s and 1960s has also been described afterward as a tiger economy. It is not often cited internally, however, as the era was also a time of great political turmoil in spite of the economic success.

More recently, the term has been used to refer to the Baltic states Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania, known collectively as the Baltic Tigers. Slovakia is referred to as the Tatra Tiger. Romania is referred to as the Carpat Tiger. Within Canada the province of Alberta has also been considered to have a tiger economy.
Power Crisis

The Philippines then was experiencing widespread brownouts due to huge demand for electricity and antiquity of power plants. During his State of the Nation address on July 27, 1992, he requested Congress to enact a law that would create an energy department that would plan and manage the Philippines' energy demands.

Congress not only created an energy department but gave him special constitutional powers to resolve the power crisis. Using the powers given to him, Ramos issued licenses to independent power producers (IPP) to construct power plants within 24 months. The power crisis was resolved in 1994.

Unfortunately, Ramos issued supply contracts that guaranteed the government would buy whatever power the IPPs produced under the contract in U.S. dollars to entice investments in power plants. This became a problem during the East Asian Financial Crisis when the demand for electricity contracted and the Philippine Peso lost half of its value. This caused the Philippine price of electricity to become the second-highest in Asia, after Japan.

The country was considered risky by investors due to previous coup attempts by military adventurists led by Gregorio Honasan, and experienced brownouts at an almost daily basis lasting 4-12 hours before he issued IPP licences. The low supply of power and perceived instability held back investments and modernization in the country.

In addition, the Philippines was a pioneer in the Build-Operate-Transfer (BOT) scheme where private investors are invited to build certain government projects (i.e. tollways, powerplants, railways, etc.), make money by charging users, and transfer operation to the government after a set amount of time. As there was no literature or previous experience to such a scheme, most early contracts put a large and undue amount of risk on the government in cases of unfavorable changes in the business environment.

During his administration, Ramos began implementing economic reforms intended to open up the once-closed national economy, encourage private enterprise, invite more foreign and domestic investment, and reduce corruption. Ramos was also known as the most-traveled Philippine President in recent history with numerous foreign trips abroad, generating about US$ 20 billion worth of foreign investments to the Philippines.

To ensure a positive financial outlook on the Philippines, Ramos led the 4th Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation Leaders' Summit in the Philippines on November 1996. He also instituted reforms in the tax system which includes a forced increase on VAT (E-VAT law) from 4% to 10% mandated by World Bank and the International Monetary Fund.

Under his administration, the Philippines enjoyed economic growth and stability. The Philippine Stock Exchange in the mid-1990s was among the best in the world[citation needed] and his visions of 'Philippines 2000' that leads the country into a newly industrialized country in the world and the "Tiger Cub Economy in Asia".

LYDIA DE VEGA MERCADO - THE FASTEST WOMAN IN ASIA A FILIPINO MATTERS TRIBUTE

Lydia De Vega - The ‘Filipina Iron’ Lady

Lydia de Vega was born on December 26, 1964 in Meycauayan, Bulacan. The Asia’s sprint queen of the eighties became the country’s first woman to run and compete in the Olympics. First, she was sent to the 1984 Olympics in Los Angeles and later in the 1988 Olympics in Seoul.

Lydia De Vega, fondly called “Diay,” earned the name “Asia’s fastest sprinter” in her time after carrying-off an impressive gold medal award in the 100 meter dash in the 1982 New Delhi Asiad. She defeated India’s P. T. Usha in the 1986 Seoul Asiad’s 100 meter dash with an imposing record of 11.53 seconds to grab another gold medal.

In the same Seoul meet, she also bagged the silver medal in the 200-meter race. She brought home two gold medals in the 1981 Manila SEA Games, earning her the honor of “Athlete of the Year” from the Philippine Sportswriters Association (PSA). She was also given the same PSA tribute in 1986 and 1987.

Before she decided to retire, she won another gold medal in the sprint race in the 1993 Singapore SEA Games. And after hanging her sneakers, she became a councilor in her hometown and also served as a sports consultant of her province, sharing her talent, skill and experience to future Filipino sprinters.

During the twilight years of Martial Law, Lydia de Vega electrified the imagination of a nation that was thirsty for heroes. While her people were cowed and subdued by an oppressive regime, Lydia stood toe-to-toe with Asia’s best runners and broke into the elite racing club with a string of gold medals and regional records.

She is a picture perfect barrio lass who personified the admirable traits of a Filipina – determined, disciplined, religious, coy and stunningly graceful. Although hurting and injured, she is said to have sprinted without complaints in order to represent her country’s honor in overseas race competitions.

What makes her life story more inspiring is that she remained a role model for the youth, which is rare for athletes today who easily succumb to the false lure of glitz, glamour and glory. Lydia de Vega’s stellar career may have been overshadowed by a country reeling from economic and political turmoil.

But her achievements in that turbulent period are the country’s few bright spots that shall forever be an inspiring tale for Filipinos.

ANG KATIPUNAN (KKK) - Kataas-taasang, Kagalang-galangang Katipunan ng mga Anak ng Bayan BASIC INFORMATION AND TUTORIALS

Katipunan - The brilliance of the revolutionary Filipinos


Officially known as the Kataas-taasang, Kagalang-galangang Katipunan ng mga Anak ng Bayan (Supreme and Venerable Society of the Children of the Nation), the Katipunan was the underground organization that served as a jump-off point of the Philippine revolutionary movement.

Known by their acronym KKK, the Katipunan was founded in July 7, 1892 and has for its aim the full independence of the Philippines from Spain through armed insurrection. The shorthand for KKK came from the Tagalog root word tipon which means “to gather”.

As one of the earliest national liberation movements in Asia, the Katipunan had the organizational leadership, ethos, financial support, network of supporters, and a military arm ready to pounce on Spain at a given signal. Undoubtedly, the Filipinos’ long quest for national independence was sustained due to the groundwork laid out by the KKK.

The Katipunan organized the “shadow” revolutionary government – a novelty at that time – to head the national leadership vested in the Kataastaasang Sanggunian or Supreme Council. The hierarchical layers begin with the Sangguniang Bayan or Provincial Council, which attended to the affairs of partisans in the provinces.

The smallest political unit was the Sangguniang Barangay or Popular Council, which handled the administration of their barangay jurisdictions. Adjudication was under the Sangguniang Hukuman or Judicial Council.

Such depth and capacity for organizational details illustrated the foresight, leadership and management abilities of the early Filipino patriots. Organizing a revolt in such a grand scale was brilliant considering the tight and repressive Spanish regime, the archipelagic nature of the country, lack of formal military training, inadequate arms and poor communication and transportation means.

It is surprising that from a few loyal members the Katipunan soon grew in numbers to eventually challenge and defeat a European power.

The Katipunan was the first organized large-scale Filipino insurrection movement against Spanish oppression. Many future national leaders who took prominent roles in the war against the American occupation started from the ranks of this revolutionary organization, such as Emilio Aguinaldo, Antonio Luna, Miguel Malvar and Gregorio del Pilar.

But most importantly, the men and women of the Katipunan were able to go beyond socio-economic, regional and linguistic differences in order to represent the national Filipino sentiments and aspirations.