What Happened to Friday?

Los Banos Internment Camp. Retrieved from http://www.lougopal.com/manila/?p=2844

Baguio, Davao, Bilibid, Santo Tomas and Los Baños were the established internment camps which housed western civilians, mostly Americans, residing in the Philippines as the Japanese Occupation began. In May 1943 to 1945 there were more than 2000 internees and POW or prisoners of war in the previously known University of the Philippines Agricultural School. The internees were only given with a twelve-feet by 4 feet space which is relatively larger area than what was provided in the camp in Santo Tomas (Gopal, 2015 retrieved from Sams, "Forbidden Family"). Long barracks were long in size with a dividing hall in the center part. The barracks would contain one hundred individuals and stalls were made from uneven planks that served as the flooring.

According to the History channel documentary which tackled on the liberation of Los Banos, the state of living of the internees were good at first. They were provided with enough supply of food and other necessities, yet as the war had enhanced, slowly the quality and quantity of the food that was served to them drastically decreased. They were left starving and incidents of people dying from having no food increased as the war worsened. Sadaaki Konshi as the major of the Japanese troops, the second in command in the Los Banos camp was very brutal to the internees, not giving them the sufficient amount of food that they need, storing and keeping the supply of food from the internees in a secret area. The western internees were powerless to the japanese military, and they resorted to sneaking out dangerously out from the camp to get food from the locality. Men were shot dead as they enter through the barbed wire with food in their hands. 

The American internees were still filled with hope that MacArthur would be back to release them from the japanese hold but it took three years of slow movement in the military move of the Americans to strategically take Manila first before liberating the southern area of Luzon where Los Banos is, which was deeply under the Japanese forces. 

The U.S. Army was advancing towards Manila and General MacArthur had been concerned on the POWs and the internees in the camps that were under hands of the Japanese. The 11th Airborne Division was set to do this task yet they had to liberate Leyte first for a grueling number of months in the mountains of the island.  According to McGowan (n.d.), the 11th also provided support in Mindoro to attack Nasugbu Bay and gain control.

From Major Vanderpool became the connection between General MacArthur to the guerilla network in the area of Luzon that had a scope comprising Batangas, Cavite and Laguna provinces (Krevido, 2013). The Guerilla was headed by alias Terry Magtangol or Army Cadet Eleuterio Adevoso. The members were former cadets of the Philippine Military Academy (McGowan n.d.). The guerilla movement served an essential role in the liberation of the camp alongside the Huklahap. 

A division was formed to perform the mission on a Friday, February 21, 1945 and with this, their were exchange of intelligence plans from the Guerilla men to the Americans. They formulated a multi-pronged attack on the camp. There would be an air raid through parachutes, a platoon would cross the bay using amphibian vehicles to make direct contact with the guerillas and brief them to what the system would play out as the attack would progress. Another team would attack overland coming from Manila to surround the camp, and another would be placed to the highway areas to block japanese reinforcements (McGowan, n.d.).

The Attack. Retrieved from -http://www.history.army.mil/html/artphoto/pripos/amsoldier5.html

The planes were over the camp and the designated teams were attacking at their standpoints while the Japanese men were conducting their morning exercises (without any firearms), they were caught by surprise by the attack. Two out of the five sentry positions were manned so the attack went off as expected. A number of guards have seen the attacks and some fled to the mountains to flee, some were killed and some had turned themselves in. Sakaadi Konishi escaped immediately for there was a slim chance to defend the camp from the massive number of Filipino and American forces that surrounded the area. The internees were brought back to Manila and testimonies from these internees would describe the moment as a sure surprise when hope was about nowhere to be found.

Retrieved from https://www.soc.mil/ARSOF_History/articles/v9n1_vanderpool_page_1.html

The guerilla movement did not have anything to do with the whole process of saving another race but they had helped the American army to have the sufficient information on the Japanese positions, best advantage points and other necessary intel on the Japanese-ruled camp. The familiarity of the guerilla with the physical characteristics was the main role of that they played in the cooperation forces that was established between the Americans (Macapinlac, 2013). The Guerilla men were the ones who drafted the plan and had given it to the 11th airdborne which was also passed to Lt. Col. Gustavo Ingles to outline the operation and get sufficient men for the operation. There were Filipinos who sided with the Japanese also, and they were called the Makapili, and was the major enemy of the guerilla (ROTC or Terry's Hunters). 

As I find and check for references, most are accounts from the western perspective, books, sites and other testaments focusing the liberation of the detainees, the difficult state of living of the internees due to the meticulous planning it involved, the partnerships that made the attack possible and the slim chance that the American forces had to reclaim the other American civilians. They never tackled on the aftermath of the heroic and systematic act that resulted into the murder of the townspeople of Los Banos. 

According to Macapinlac (2013), two days after the liberation of the camp, the Japanese troops came down from Mt. Makiling and rashly slaughtered men, women and children as they suspect everyone to be part of the guerilla movement. The town Mayor at that time had stated that the town was filled with depression despite the success of the liberation. The way that they were slaughtered were the main issue of the townspeople, just by using the bayonet, no one was spared in this killing spree activity that the Japanese had done to the people. Accounts of survivors in Macapinlac's study indicate the inhumanity of the Japanese. Also, infrastructures, books and manuscripts within the campus were badly damaged as the Japanese destroyed them.

The gruesome aftermath of the successful feat of the American-Filipino operation was never emphasized in the documentary. The long journey of the American 11th Airborne division was greatly highlighted and the suffering of those in the camp was also emphasized. This makes me believe that after all that happened, media and the capability of humans to eliminate the other truths can cause a great lacking information needed to see the whole picture. This fact makes me grateful that people like Macapinlac, a Filipino, conducted a series of studies on what had occured in Los Banos during the Japanese Occupation to provide a new perspective on the wider scope of the truth.

References:
McGowan (n.d.). World War II: Liberating  Los Banos Internment Camp. Retrieved from https://www.historynet.com/world-war-ii-liberating-los-banos-internment-camp.htm
Krivido, M. E. (2013). Major Jay D. Vanderpool: Advisor to the Philippine Guerillas. Veritas Vol. 9 No. 1. Retrieved from https://www.soc.mil/ARSOF_History/articles/v9n1_vanderpool_page_1.html
MAcapinlac, M. M. (2013). The Historical Geography of Los Banos During the Japanese Occupation. The Journal of History Vol LIX.

PI10 supplying Me with more Facts and Opinions

Utilizing learning from the classroom scene to my everyday life is one major turn about that I have noticed through one semester of learning the Life and Works of Rizal. The awareness of how Rizal lived his life makes me more determined to live mine to its potential and to actually make a an impact to other people's lives. With all the news on the koalas, the amazon, Hongkong, plastic pollution and climate change, I started to think about what the point of pursuing my college life when I could actually do volunteer and charity works to directly support programs that pursue helping these areas. The thought of dropping flashed in my mind and I immediately dismissed it for I knew that education or my intellectual development is the highest form of treasure that I could acquire alongside the shaping of my morals and virtues, while in the university, surrounded by a diverse set of people. This made me correlate with the fact that Rizal, if he was in shoes, would definitely opt to just study and finish the six-year degree on time to be a citizen specializing in the welfare of animals. Serving the country by working with animals would be my part in this society. 

I have realized that Rizal is more than just a hero, he to me is like a friend that he has never met, a one-sided relationship that I think that I have with him. He becoming a more significant figure than he was before has influenced my way of thinking, the way I see the societal problems and how to theoretically solve them and how to live my life by my own means and my own set of goals to achieve the greatest possible good in order to help other people. I am very much fueled to do my share in this world and I can now say that the study on Rizal's life and works have brought me to where I am now, drawing inspiration on the national hero to never back down, to be rational and to fight for the nation in your own means. I really appreciate the class for I did not only learned facts but my opinions on things have broadened and that is what I am aiming for, learning.

As the semester closes to an end, I'd like to express how thankful I am that for the first time in a while, I have enjoyed learning in a new perspective. The correlations between the problems in  Rizal's time to our time today, are significantly similar, and learning the roots of all these chaotic mess of society, my drive to find possible remedies is fueled by Rizal determination. Though he showed hopelessness, anger and negativity that can be inferred from his works, he showed the down slope of things, that everything has an uphill and a downhill portion. PI made me feel that he was also an ordinary person who became very extraordinary as he succeeded in harnessing his full potential all for his family and the Philippine nation. I am grateful for his existence. I am fortunate enough to have learned all these under a great professor also. I know that I will stumble more in life and will encounter hopelessness like Rizal, yet I will stand and be reminded of how determination can go a long way.

Retrieved at https://makeagif.com/gif/jose-rizal-the-movie-part-17-of-17-ZAQ88x

The Unfold

Rizal's life was filled with adventure, thrill, intellectual discoveries and tons of drama right before his death. His life has been featured and is still being relayed to the modern day era to be studied upon and to set an example to the Filipino youth. PI10 would not be in the curriculum of each university if Rizal's life and works did not greatly impact the history and the "kamalayan" of the Filipino people, to stand up for who we are as a people and what we are capable of as a race.

One of the interesting things that I found out about Rizal is him stuffing his pockets and shoes with stones and paper right before he was executed. It made me think of the possible secrets he could've written in those papers, last thoughts that ran in his mind, whether these were about fear, the Philippines, his family, God. It just awakened my curiosity if there were important anecdotes that we never knew that existed in those bits of paper. Another one would be learning that his waistline was 25-26 inches, when in fact mine is 26-27 inches. Where is the justice in that? Did Rizal even eat properly? For a man 5'3" in height to maintain such proportions and a freshie college girl is bigger in size. I maybe bitter but this fact has brought my interest on Rizal to a new different level. I hope he was not anorexic or did not skip meals. But in Dapitan it was said that he had three viands per meal so he must have had a fast metabolism or inherently had small proportions. The last fact that blew my mind away was Rizal trying drugs, hashish to be exact. As an experimental teenage boy, if I were him I'd do the same thing. At this point in my life, being reckless is what I feel. Getting piercings, tattoos, trying weed (shh Tokhang is still there) and dying my hair are the things that are on my list. When I knew of this fact, I felt the normalcy and the tendency of Rizal to experiment with such things and with life. Somehow, I could relate to him at this level and I'm glad to have learned that fact because it makes me feel that Rizal, too, is like me.

I realized that Rizal is a normal human being that his emotions and feelings drive him to do what he did in his terms. Rizal also feels common feelings like homesickness, especially, which I greatly relate to after studying for almost 7 years now away from home. I felt his longing for the familiar air of his hometown and now makes me feel a bigger desire to really go home, to feel that comfort of family and friends nearby. I also would like to emphasize that I realized the extent of his rationality, the he was very virtuous at the same time resorted to reason, finding the balance in his way of thinking. This could be observed in the perspectives of his stories, the creativity of his works, the way his opinions were translated to his writings. 

I am forever grateful for Jose Rizal's existence. He is legitimate idol who may be very mainstream, but is indeed an icon that every Filipino should look up to. Yet one question keeps bugging my mind. Did Rizal fall in love with Maximo Viola? There are anomalies about Rizal's sexuality and have linked their friendship to something deeper. I just want to know whether Rizal was that advance of a man to know that LGBTQIA+ rights would someday be a rising topic.

Kulas and his Misadventures: the Search for the Filipino Identity

Retrieved from https://www.tumblr.com/search/ganito%20kami%20noon...%20paano%20kayo%20ngayon%3F

Ganito Kami Ngayon Paano Kayo Ngayon constructively describes the Philippine setting in the 20th century as the  the reign of Spain closes to an end as the Americans replace them while the indios are still fighting for the country's sovereign and independence from foreign control. A mix of all the sectors in the society, the film vividly showcased the social standards, conditions, errors and falsehoods of the society, the evilness that resides in the characters as the portray people in the society and the "makwela" scenarios in which the protagonist Kulas face the challenges as he journeys in finding his identity, his country men's affinity through the war times. 

It would be right to say that Kulas was a very naive man, a person who is a "kaladkarin" which  were evident in the first parts of the movie as he happened to meet a friar who required much needed help to find his son, asked him a favor to the task. He immediately answered a yes despite the fact that he was mistreated first when he helped the friar get back to his convent. He wandered and found the said son, Bindoy. One interesting detail on his way to get Bindoy was the group of Katipuneros having a meeting. That was Kulas' first encounter of the revolutionary men and he did not mind them or did not even seem curious of them for he was just focused on his prior goal of getting Bindoy back to his father. That scene indicates the primary introduction of the revolution. The urge to join the fight might not be surfacing at first as to what happened to Kulas, yet it will slowly surge to the exterior.

He also encountered a group of performers who were on their way to Manila. Diding was one beautiful woman who was a part of the group who captured Kulas' eyes. He was left awestruck by her beauty, a woman whose ambition was to become an actress. From there they separated ways as the alleged independence of the Philippines from Spain took place and the group stayed in Cavite. Everyone was joyous and the celebration was in the air. Kulas and Bindoy continued their long journey to Manila as they meet a Chinese merchant, Lim, who became an integral part in Kulas' life later in the movie.

In Manila, he was given the a prize of a house owned by Padre Gil and along with this is the dividends of the friar. Kulas became an overnight rich man yet he was in a state of shock for how could a mere country bumpkin be a man of the mansion, he had no educational background, had no idea how the upper class people lived. He accepted the offer wholeheartedly for it was his nature, not able to say no to things asked of him. Here, he serves as a clean canvas, fresh from the ideas of the revolution, the world of parties and celebrations, recreational activities such as fencing. From there his path crossed with Diding's once more as he was trying to escape from Kidlat, his jailmate. He made sure to follow Diding and offered her to live under his home. They became a thing yet Diding was more interested in achieving her dream, therefore using another man to get this. He was Don Tibor who used his powers and connections to help Diding be in the spotlight. Diding just decided out of the blue, left Kulas to be with Don Tibur.

Kulas was left devastated. He had his first heartbreak. Amidst this emotional turmoil, he was sent to the guardia civil headquarters to be asked as a witness of Kidlat. Both of them were jailed once more and they managed to escape as they were beng transferred to another area. The both went to Lim's place to seek refuge and their Kidlat expressed his revolutionary notions. He was a part of the revolutionists and from there Lim helped them cross the bridge to Mandaluyong and camouflaging the two detainees using copra. There, gunfire was already crossing from the two groups, Kulas was shot and Lim was shot dead as he was trying to save Kulas. Kulas then realizes the passion of the revolutionists, the love of Lim to his friends, and the intensity of the war that impacts his life. He woke up in an American Hospital area and there he saw the injured men that were involved in the war. 

He was taken under Don Tibor's home to fully recover even if it was against his will, and there, Diding was present now eager to be with Kulas in marriage. They enjoyed each other's company at first but as Don Tibor became paralyzed and the wife of his came of Iloilo, things went downhill in their relationship. Diding was deeply in love with Don Tibor and once again, Kulas was left at the sidelines. In their final scene together, Kulas expressed his wondering mind, his deep love for Diding, but he arrived at a much greater calling. He wanted to join the revolution, a spark inside of him was lighted. His current life, a limited one, made no sense to him anymore and cannot go back to his past reality, his past way of living especially as the war grew larger. He bid farewell to his beloved Diding and went far to see how he can achieve his goal once more. The final scene was very simple, yet after all the ups and downs in the previous ones, it was a great movie ender when Kulas emphasized to the kids that he's met that they also were Filipinos, not just " taga diyan, taga roon, taga rito's. " I felt the whole scenario and made me realize that anyone can be a Filipino, as long as you claim your right to be one and you exercise it by acting upon your duties as a Filipino, contributing to the society.

Kulas was a blank space yet to be filled with the rough motions of life and the sequence of events in his life taught hin many lessons that brought him to a higher ground. At first it evident that Kulas enjoyed the simpler ways of life, only with his horse Kidlat, the bonding moments with Bindoy, and such. But he became enlightened as his life progressed, seeking for a greater purpose. He became open minded. He became an actual citizen of the country not just a mere Tagalog. He achieved that level of progress and to me it was what's important. He proved himself as a Filipino as he metamorphosed in embracing his becoming of a Filipino.

Idleness from the Colonial Illness

Retrieved from https://www.amazon.co.uk/Indolence-Filipino-Jose-Rizal/dp/1545479089

Enough with the praises on how beautifully written "The Indolence of the Filipino People" is, because it is one of a kind, a true sate of the art piece from the National Hero. Rizal established his creative and critical literary skills in a wide span of diverse works and proved himself a master of uncovering the fact of the matter and abolishing the hoax that later writers imply of Filipinos as being indolent. This particular composition exhibits a different viewpoint in presenting the truth, the root, the origin of the label tagged to the Filipino people. Rizal with his annotations and references translated all of the miseries in Filipino history directly attacking the Spanish colonialists. As I enjoy reading and knowing the source of the how the term was patched to the Filipinos, I cannot help but be sad to find all the accounts to be of truth, that from the very start, the Filipinos were bound to face such fate, attributed to laziness and idleness. As I internalize Rizal's words I cannot help but connect the past and the future where I am stuck pondering whether the new generation of Filipinos can still escape this character.

In going about this work of Rizal, I have listed the points which struck me in a deeper level, these passages gave headstrong claims which undoubtedly makes sense in my perspective, in a Filipino of the modern time's take to all of these. I can relate to this modern era and that I can empathize greatly as I see the current condition of the Philippines. These points showcase what we call the cancer or the root of the indolence of Filipinos. He embodied being a historian, sociologist, medical practitioner in taking into account the points that he wanted to display at very resilient claims supported with trusted facts and analysis. I greatly believe that Filipinos are not indolent people, but are just tagged to be such, as I follow through Rizal's work, this is what I stand for.

Among Rizal's many points the first one is with regards with Christianity, wherein the Filipinos are discouraged by friars to not dwell on the thought of bringing the worldly possessions to heaven, which encourages not striving to attain great earthly ownership. This also reflect the state of the Spanish and Filipino setting where the heads of the offices which are Kastilas are either late in coming to work or do not comply with the needed work done by an official, while the Filipino staff arrive early to finish a day's work and more. This setup compromises the way of life and thinking of the colonial Filipinos leaving them with thoughts of unjustly working or flow of the world for them. They would rather stay in poverty than to be in a position of pure groundless and unjustified state in life where only minimal effort is needed to achieve much benefits in return.

The Filipinos also experienced a sense of betrayal from the western counterparts, for as they emerge from the social strata towards a higher post, example would be becoming the cabeza de barangay, they would enjoy the perks of the position yet one wrong move, one misunderstanding with the church r the government officials, they would be subjected to blasphemy and from there their careers would plummet down. As Filipinos witness this in three centuries, it had been instilled within them to only settle for what is simple and what is safe. They have become restricted with the fact that the Spanish have taken over the highest positions, therefore people's livelihoods, properties, skills, education, basically the entirety of the lives of the Filipinos, were under the Spanish rule, resulting to the so called indolence of the Philippines, the reason of why Rizal underwent all these research to present us with the origin of how this act of indolence infiltrated the bloodstreams of the Filipino people. This was one of the key points that have observed in the narration.

The Filipinos were "nangangapa" at that time for they were forced to work with the limited resources that they could put their hands and minds into. Fertile land properties were under the religious sectors  disabling people from managing their own or even working for these sectors without any conflict, and here comes education which the Filipinos were denied to be a part of the academe at first, so they resorted to learn Latin, Spanish and other subject of interest from the mere references they could afford to get a hold of. The Spanish were privileged enough to attain enlightenment while Filipinos were discouraged to do so for they will question and revolt against the crown. Filipinos settled at the bottom for what they could have to attain safety in a place and time of depression in a physically and emotionally unstable society. Noticing these points from Rizal's excerpts, I cannot help but see these in a new light regarding the correlation of all these in the modern world.

I call these accounts of unconscious resorting to being indolent as the modern day burnout. As people become more and more attached to the system of an institution, how things go or how life runs, people become robots, settling for a manual life of this and that, set A to set B only, to and fro. People tend to get tired, not tired physically, for the bodily strength can be regained in just one sleep, but a certain type of exhaustion of the mind and the soul, which are difficult to refuel once the power source or the light within has become busted. I can account my high school experience to this, where in a sea of people who are as smart or are way smarter than you breath the same air as you are placed in an institution vying and surviving a very demanding requirement system of the school, who would not be left out of light after six years of staying there. I have never felt so drained in my life, as a teenager I was left with tons of things to study on and do when my peers would be outside experiencing the world at their own pace. I felt that I was stripped down with this right, to chill as an adolescent. That is why I can say I can put my feet in the Spanish era, and feel what my ancestors have felt. Getting worn out by the system that supports you is something to be of concern, because it spreads like an illness, a cancer that mutates along the lines and transforms to other sets of malignant tumors that grow inside the minds and souls of people. I feel that it has no cure, but the least that us Filipinos could do to really show that the indolence tag is not for us, is to at least try and seek new horizons, by focusing on what the nation's needs, concerns and illnesses, as we find the elusive cure if there is any to the ailments of our society. Filipinos are not lazy, just burnt out.

Retrieved from https://www.healthline.com/health/tips-for-identifying-and-preventing-burnout

Forefathers of Clashing Powers, Rigged Alliances and False Nationalism

Andres Bonifacio will always be regarded as the icon of the Cry of Pugadlawin. He will always be the avid follower of Rizal's writing and he will always be the Father of Katipunan. His contribution to the Philippine revolution left a huge mark as it paved the way to attain independence from Spain. He may not be the founding persona of KKK but he was the most iconic and highly regarded Supremo of the organization. As he encountered attacks, dismissal, criticism, disapproval during his time and shortly his death, his credibility was put into test until the end.  

The start of all of these is when Emilio Aguinaldo had taken back most areas in the province of Cavite from the Spaniards, and Bonifacio, in charge of taking over Manila, therefore the contest for the incoming leader was at bay, where both strong contenders are making their own marks in their own fighting grounds. The Tejeros convention was a turning point for the Filipinos as it served as a opening to the Philippine Republic. It was in chaos and lasted for several days (Galeon, 2018). The Magdiwang and Magdalo groups were present and as they elect the officials, Bonifacio was already at disadvantage for these people are from Cavite and he is from Tondo. The votes would be in Aguinaldo's favor, also adding the fact that Aguinaldo relatively had more accounts of winning areas and towns than him. 

The Tejeros convention had two parts and on both instances Aguinaldo emerged as the victor, while Bonifacio was downgraded from being a supremo to a secretary for internal. The members of the convention also questioned his capacity to work in the said position as his educational background was criticized. It was a slap towards Bonifacio so he went back to Manila and established a new convention, Naic Military Agreement which repudiated the results from the Tejeros convention. Bonifacio along with his brothers were charged with treason for this matter. They underwent trial and their defense lawyer declared their guilt than defending them. The Bonifacio brothers were then sentenced to death. They died in Maragondon, Cavite.

Back in the primary and secondary levels, students were ought to believe that the Filipino heroes are mighty, god-like beings, romanticized to leave the young Filipinos with a sense of awestruck and admiration to serve as role models to the many generations of the Filipinos. As critical realist thinkers, it would be reasonable to think that the claim majority adhered to would be false. There is a great probability that ever since their times, our heroes, Bonifacio, Aguinaldo, etc., may have only had selfish reasons over the position, to be in power, to be in control. 

Ultimately, we can compare what happened in the past to our local and national politics. Politicians seize their positions and use it to their advantage. In Calbayog City, Samar, where I permanently reside, there are only two colors to choose from, yellow or red. The Uy family would be in the Dilawan and the Tan in the red, yet one from the Uy clan due to internal conflict separated and changed his color to red, attacking his own bloodline for the money, the status and the power at stake. The head of the Uy family was shot in a meeting de avance and died after, in 2010. The suspect came from the other party yet the case still hasn't moved on nine years after. There will always be a repeat in history, a pattern, a recurring core issue in the Philippine Government. Distrust, prioritizing the color more and resorting to killing the opposite site just to eliminate a strong candidate for office. Killing Bonifacio for being a threat to the position can be compared to this. And he and his brothers' account for treason which led to their deaths shows today's issue of EJK, death without the proper litigation. 

This reflects that the Philippines is still strongly entangled with the system that every group of people is independent, that one group is higher than the other and that no uniting force is able to shatter this force hindering the country to be free from intensely destructive political turmoil. We are who we are, and others will always be others mentality is indeed difficult to forever dismiss yet as we journey to the new Philippines, we might as well reflect and look back to our forefathers, and relate to our current government, that these political bickering, divided decisions and governmental issues, should be looked upon a new light in order to move on from the past and let history be history, only serving as our guide as we try reconcile and diverge from our deep-rooted political backgrounds, to serve a new nation. This is what the Tejeros Convention taught me. 

References:

http://www.philippinestudies.net/files/journals/1/articles/1155/public/1155-1240-1-PB.pdf

https://kahimyang.com/kauswagan/articles/1258/the-tejeros-convention-according-to-general-artemio-ricarteGaleon, 

D. (2018). The Politics of our Forefathers. Manila Bulletin.  https://newsbits.mb.com.ph/2018/06/10/the-politics-of-our-forefathers/

Raids, Root, Relevance

The Moro piracy in the Spanish era in the Philippines can be directly related to the issue on religion, the conflict between the Christians and the Muslims. The term Moro was derived from the word Moors who are a group of people that invaded the Iberian Peninsula back in the year 711. The Spanish used this term to associate the Muslim tribes in the southern part of the Philippines who resisted the foreign subjugation for a very long period of time (Prus, 2018). They were under the Datus and the Sultans, have set their own version of the society and governance.

Trade, relations, power and religion were factors that Spanish government wanted to take over and monopolize in the country. The Moro who has an established trading market with the nearby countries, the Arabs and the Chinese, pose a threat to the Spanish rule who wanted all these connections to be placed at their hands. The Moors are also incessant in their efforts to drive away the foreign powers. Their autonomy is something that they give a great amount of value. The constant clash of the two forces has occurred in significant numbers over the centuries.

According to Saleeby (1908) in the late 1500's until the 1600's, the Moro armada forayed the islands of Negros, Panay, Cebu, and the rest of the Visayas. The people residing in the reduccions fled to the mountain areas to save themselves from the raiders while the Spanish military and other natives defended the pueblos. These scattered attacks to the Visayas and Southern Luzon led to the request of the Jesuits to advance in the land of the Moros which entails a vision of a bloody war to attain the supreme power over them. The governor-general granted this and the Spanish military was able to kill 300 Moros and save Christian captives of about 120 individuals. The Moros would raid these Spanish settlements due to the fact that the colonizers are also serve as a threat since their political dominance is expanding in Manila, etc. The royal families residing in these areas are related to those in Sulu and Brunei therefore there is mutual tension on both parties. 

The slave trade heightened the piratical raids to its peak in the 1600's to early 1800's (Non, 1993). This symbolizes the wealth and the power the group holds, depending on the number of slaves in captive. The effects of these involved the capture of independent voyages from one island to another and settlements are always on the edge of alertness to prepare any surprise attacks. The Spanish government and military forces countered these strikes by building stone forts, trenches and stone churches in which served as evacuation areas of the people. The locals introduced the 'pancaos' which is a sea crafts that were faster than the ships and boats of the Moros, and were made to chase the raiders away far from the settlements.

The raids stopped in February 11, 1851 when Jolo was taken under by Spain and a treaty was signed between the Sultan of Sulu and the Spanish officials. Despite this, smaller number of groups still continued their way of doing these attacks to neighboring areas. The effects of the Moro movement is that it continued, from the Spanish era it extended to the American occupation when the Americans want to infiltrate Mindanao also for power and religious reasons, and then to the Japanese time where the Japanese also tasted the ferocity of the Moros. Their autonomy is greatly emphasized, maintained

and protected by them, which can now be seen in the Bangsamoro autonomous region of the Philippines.

Their perseverance and the love of their own people and belief, embracing the Moro life, as they bring us to where we are now. The  historical significance that they have imparted in each settlement in various islands in the Visayas and areas in Luzon altered the sequence of the story of these places and had led to the current state of the country. The terror, the wrath and the conflict that they have brought to the communities have left marks in the society be it in physical such as the fortresses and churches or the perception, the stigma that stuck in the society regarding the moros. They are relevant. There might still be a definite division between the Moros and other Filipinos, we are still connected through the history of our ancestors that are still breathing in our own veins. The richness of the conflict, the depth of the origin, and the interconnected wiring of our history has brought us together despite the discord of the two groups.

References:

Non, D. (1993).Moro Piracy during the Spanish Period and Its Impact. Southeast Asian Studies, Vol. 30, No.4. Accessed on 1the 14th of October 2019 at https://kyoto-seas.org/pdf/30/4/300403.pdf

Prus, D. M (2018). Who were the Moros? What were they fighting for? Accessed on 14th October 2019 at https://www.quora.com/Who-were-the-Moros-What-were-they-fighting-for

Saleeby, N. (1908). The History of Sulu. Manila: Classic Book Section. Accessed on the  14th October 2019 at https://historyofsulu.wordpress.com/2014/07/17/moro-raids/

Rizal's Intriguing Retraction Controversy

Source: https://ourhappyschool.com/philippine-studies/jose-rizals-education

There will always be three groups regarding the issue of the national hero's retraction. The catholic Rizalists, those who believe Rizal retracted; the Masonic Rizalists, who follows the belief that Rizal did not; and You, the audience that will decide which of the two sides you identify yourself with. A series of analysis on the data and resources that are available, and the keen interpretation of the series of events that occurred, especially on the gap of years where these accounts went missing. This should be the first and only criterion on dwelling on this intriguing topic that mainly focuses on maintaining on being objective as much as possible. Yet the whole process shifts to being subjective as we weigh the indications of every single detail.

From the accounts, the versions are said to have had major differences in words used, numbers of punctuation marks and the flow of paragraph placing. There is anomaly here that can be observed which gives us a hunch and a view of a huge possibility that directs our minds to think that Rizal did not do such thing. The forty-year gap of the discovery also adds to this implication and can compare this incident to the Kalantiaw Code which supposedly was the account on pre-colonial framework on government, but was approved to be a false document. The likelihood of this also happening to the retraction account of Rizal is significantly high since history can repeat itself, and with this very fascinating and intriguing topic, falsified documents as a classification is taken into consideration.

It is also said that Archbishop Nozaleda's version of the retraction was lengthy and Rizal dismissed it so he wrote his own version which emphasized on dismissing opposing Catholic beliefs and repudiate masonry. This event is also probable in the sense that even in Dapitan when Rizal wanted to tie the not with Josephine Bracken, that he managed to express his retraction to be able to formally bind his relationship with the Irish woman. But this leads me to the question whether between love for the country or love for a significant other which would prevail if I were Rizal. Will surrendering and admitting my insurgence through my work give justice to what I am fighting which will become ironic? Or do I let go and move on towards a new life to legally be with my partner, and convert back to Catholicism?

I believe that with these differences, it can be pointed out that there is lingering suspicions regarding this topic yet I believe that Rizal's core is made up of the Filipino cries that he is ever so willingly trying to alleviate, even if he has faced realizations on hopelessness in parts of his life. That's why I stand by the side of the Masonic Rizalists, that Rizal did not retracted, not even for a woman he loved. He of course had his pride and it would tell him to stand on his own terms even if it meant his happiness and life would be taken away. Us, the audience, each of us were once spectators that have now turned and chosen one of either side, will never know the truth and can only assess what we can recover. Whether Rizal retracted or not, this issue may be a source of debacle in the flow of history, yet the impact and the weight of Rizal's life and works entirely overshadow this controversy.

The question of retraction will forever linger in the minds and hearts of the Filipino audience. It will never be confirmed, denied, proven or disproven. Yet we continue to make sense out of this very limited area of study, and that’s become the challenge to us to make intellectual guesses if Rizal did or did not retract.

Rizal in Dapitan, Dapitan with Rizal

Dapitan served as Jose Rizal's home as he was exiled in Zamboanga. The movie Rizal in Dapitan depicts the four fruitful years he spent in the area and showcases some of his life's struggles though these can be considered to be minor than the challenges he has faced before his exile. He became a teacher of boys who proved to be worthy of his apprenticeship; became a farmer, this is from winning the lottery and buying 16 hectares of land; an engineer, helping the people of Dapitan to construct a dam; and became a father of a stillborn baby. He faced challenges, there was despair but there were also great joys as Rizal stayed in Dapitan. The movie mirrors his life and gives the Filipino people a glimpse and snippets of what occurred to him as he stayed in Zamboaga.

Tikoy Aguiluz at the Cinema Manila International Film Festival
(source: https://entertainment.inquirer.net/files/2011/11/Tikoy-Aguiluz-Nora-Aunor.jpg)

Rizal in Dapitan is directed by Amable "Tikoy" Aguiluz who has an established reputation in the Philippine film industry for his award-winning works in cinematography, directing, producing and screenwriting. The cinematography was under Romy Vitug and Nap Jamir who are renowned cinematographers and dominated the film industry from the 80's to early 2000's. The cast included Albert Martinez and Candy Pangilinan who are regarded as premier actors together with Jaime Fabregas and Amanda Page. This set of team was highly regarded for forming a solid combination for the project, as expected. Despite this set of people working together, there are evident observations that do not bring out the proper essence, flow and expected outcome feeling in the movie.

Laying my own personal observations and standards on filmography, the flow of events and the sudden transitions of each scene were quite rough. This may be due to the pattern of the sequence of the real events that had happened that was followed by the scriptwriters, making the majority of the movie seem as a compiled version of different minor events. If I were a foreigner or someone with no background of Rizal whatsoever, I would also feel that the film is a series of events that has been made to fit together. The camera angles were utilized well and in each scene, ratio, dynamics, contrast and focus can be observed, which I appreciate. The cinematography was very fitting and dynamic all throughout the movie which is why I give my respects to the ones responsible for it.

Fabregas as Father Sanchez with Martinez as Rizal
(Source: https://www.clickthecity.com/movies/a/4414/on-our-shelves-rizal-sa-dapitan)

Jaime Fabregas, Candy Pangilinan greatly made impact in the movie, despite having minor roles, because the sheer rawness of their characters were neatly portrayed and artistically performed. The ripples of emotion of the scened they were in worked in symbiosis with the exchange of lines with Rizal. Albert Martinez is a good Rizal character yet I could not help but compare him to Cesar Montano who proved to be the most fitting actor to play Rizal. Albert showed Rizal's major qualities yet I sense a lacking in compatibility with the character he was into. I cannot lay my finger it but I think it is on Martinez' comfort of him delivering his lines that I think are the most essential, the missing ingredient to properly show the needed timbre of emotions. Amanda Page as Josephine Bracken did not have any Irish accent which I was looking forward to, and the way she played her part seems to be unnatural to her making the whole setting off. She and her part did not meet half way to really excavate the rawness of her parts and scenes.

In modern day terms and from my own perspective, with the hype that the movie was given of, the end product didn't meet the expected output. It was not a bad movie, it was just a little bit underdone for my taste, yet even so, I still appreciate the uniqueness of the style and flow that the movie had. It was like, it was almost there, to the Greatest Tier of movies, yet the compatibility of all the characters, production team, directing group, did not live up to what was expected as a collective project. The movie gave me an overview of what Rizal's life was in Dapitan and gave me feelings on  things like contentment, sharing knowledge, doing service, loving, trusting and pursuing what is right with a tad bit of being realistic.

How Spanish Modern Filipinos are

Bahay-kubo was formed to become Bahay na Bato, babaylans became friars, scattered river settlements converted into reduccion, with sabong and other gambling areas introduced, these are just some of the influences of the Spanish era that are still present in the Philippine setting. Housing, religion, cuisine, education, architecture and even changes in names of the Hispanic way have been infused to the pre-colonial set. These have been deeply ingrained in the Filipino society today that serves as the links of the future to the past, allowing the new generation of Filipinos to relate on a different level on how life was before. The sense of continuity of these influences in one generation to another are evident and present in the wide variety of practices, customs, beliefs and traditions that have been tied to the Philippines for centuries.

Fashion and Clothing

From bahags and tapis to camisas and until today's minimalist fashion, the influence of the Spanish culture that served as a transition stage of clothing has left its mark on the modern Filipino fashion. The highlights in this are the Maria Clara, a balance between the indigenous and western design of female outfit; terno, for more of a casual look; the Barong Tagalog, which is made up of fibers and extensive needlework in design that is the national attire of the Philippines. These attires are still worn today in formal occasions to represents high regards and respect to the event or the ceremony.

Tapis (Source: https://philippinefolklifemuseum.org/portfolio-items/tapis/)

Maria Clara Gown(Source: https://philippinefolklifemuseum.org/portfolio-items/maria-clara/)

SONA 2019: The Robredos (Source: https://filipinotimes.net/lifestyle/2019/07/23/eyes-guests-2019-sona-fashion/)

Surnames
There were accounts in the system of naming the pre-colonial Filipinos as recorded in Catalogo Alphabetico de Apellidos that was dated in 1842. The Spanish had a difficult task to record who was who for the naming of the early Filipinos were simple yet tricky, that were based on three categories. According to Flores (2016), a professor in San Franciso State University who studied the naming of the early Filipinos, the first way of giving a person a name is dependent on the area he/she is residing. An example would be Sato Tabing Ilog, and when he moves his residence to the forest he will be Sato Ginubatan. He is the same person but there will be two people recorded in the registry, which became very tricky in documenting. The second one would be the traditional method of naming a person according to who his/her grandfather or father is, e.g. Anak ni Tasyo or Apo na Ando. The last category would be based on the unique characteristic a person had and an example would be Totong pilay or Pedro ngongo. Then Governor General Narciso Claveria asked Madrid a list of names to assign the Indios with surnames to make recording of names more efficient to be used in collecting taxes. These names were handed to the Filipinos by decree and is still evident in the modern-day surnames.

Catalogo de Apellidos (Source: pilipino-express.com)

Language

After three centuries of being under the Spanish empire, many words have been brought to the vocabulary of Tagalog especially. The new number system was introduced, religious words also were added alongside the common terms for things found inside homes. Some Tagalog terms are also derived from Spanish words like barrio (Baryo) and escuela (eskwela). The introduction of F instead of just utilizing P, also became a prominent part of the spellings and pronunciations of some words. These words like kutsara, bintana, abiso, abante, are common words that are of use until today by the Filipino people.

Common acquired Tagalog Words from Spanish (Source: https://historum.com/threads/spain-and-the-philippines.171224/)

Cuisine

The merienda time or the mid-afternoon snack came from the Spanish influence which would comprise of ginataan or bibingka. Snacks and desserts that are milk-based have become the staple merienda go to food like pastillas, polvoron, and baked goods such as pandesal and ensaymadas. Our present-day viands also come from the Spanish and Mexican influence and examples would be the chicken adobo, tinolang manok, which are served in every karenderya in the nation, and the lechon or roasted pig when fiestas are celebrated. We are what we eat, and the Filipinos prepare and embrace such dishes which dates back to the Spanish colonial time because of the impact of the influence to the country's cuisine it has imparted.

Desserts and dishes of Spanish Influence (Source: http://reeseisreal.blogspot.com/2012_02_01_archive.html)

These modern practices, customs, beliefs and traditions are colonial in origin but are now considered and accepted now as Filipino. These influences also have established themselves as important in the Filipino lives since the roots of what bind the nation intersects to the colonial period. It is up to the present generation to let these flourish, grow and maintain the bridge to the past, the national identity, the Filipino culture. Nurturing what has been passed on to the new set of Filipino folks, one must be responsible to impart contributions in preserving these practices and tradition, and be proud of being a Filipino of diverse origins.

References:

Flores, P. (2016). How Filipinos Got Their Surnames. Accessed on October 7, 2019 at http://www.positivelyfilipino.com/magazine/how-filipinos-got-their-surnames

n.a. (n.d.). Spanish Influence on Filipino Food. Accessed on October 7, 2019 at https://www.asian-recipe.com/philippines/spanish-influence-on-filipino-food.html