indiohistorian:

As the tension between the Philippines and China escalate, it would be good for us to take a pause and see how China views the whole dispute over the Kalayaan islands. As can be seen above, China has wielded valuable but unnoticed ‘weapons’ in laying a claim to the maritime territory. It’s HISTORY and SCIENCE. And yes, China knows her history well, not to mention the Research and Development preparations that come with this claim.

It’s  high-time that we as a country push for our own national sovereignty over our territory. Logic (with the reason that the Spratlys and Scarborough are nearer to us than China) will help but it won’t do.

First question is this, what do we do when we get these islands? Do we have our Filipino scientists ready in our national intellectual arsenal, to study the natural resource of this maritime territory? Are we prepared to invest on these islands, to study it, to harness these resources for the benefit of the country? Even some of our natural resources within our undisputed territory lay undiscovered, and many discoveries are still made, largely by foreigners.

Second question is, do we have documents, historical proofs to back up our claim?

I hope that we as a people would not only talk but walk the talk. I’m just echoing what Ambeth Ocampo says. Spratlys is ours. But we need to back it up with more than sheer patriotism.

indiohistorian:

To remember those who have fallen.

From the video: “This tells the “true story” behind the “forgotten war” of Bataan and Corregidor — savage battles that violently hurled falsely reassured Filipinos and an ill-prepared Philippines into the Second World War in the Pacific. Produced by the Department of National Defense of the Philippines and the Philippines Veterans Affairs Office this series of videos documents the outstanding courage, heroism and nobility of Filipinos regardless the inevitable fall of the country to the unrelenting Imperial Japanese military juggernaut. An outcome inevitably irreversible despite the fierce resistance of the mostly Filipino and American defenders as the United States government relegated succor to the loyal but unwarily naive Philippine Commonwealth as secondary to America’s commitment to her European allies. 

This historical account belies many of the myths that have long distorted the realities of Philippine American relations and a must for the serious student of history, geopolitics and military matters. On a lighter yet equally revealing note it also gives a glimpse of pre-war Manila and Philippine society.”

As a historian, I still remember vividly the writing I saw on Mount Samat, where the Dambana ng Kagitingan, the monument for the fallen Filipino soldiers who died defending the barricade, was:

“Let all who see take pride in the courage of our race.” 

On the last days approaching April 9, 1942, it is said that for the first time in history, Filipino soldiers from all over the archipelago came to Bataan to defend the liberty of the Philippines. If not for them, Corregidor Island would not have lasted a month more (6 months all in all) as the last hold out of Filipinos and Americans against the Imperial Japanese, who by then had conquered almost the entire Southeast Asian region. When Bataan fell on April 9th, the Japanese soldiers began the grueling punishment for the 70,000 survivors of Bataan which would be infamously called the Bataan Death March. 

pinoytumblr:

Aerial Photographs | Philippines
It’s more fun in the Philippines!
Bakit pa lalayo?
Sobrang swerte kaya ng tsinelas mo!
Nakatapak ka sa paraiso!

Photos:
1. Bongao (by Farl)
2. Ambil Island and Lubang (by Storm Crypt)
3. Moving Back a Bit over Legaspi (by Storm Crypt)
4. donut, hole (by Farl)
5. Philippine Islands Aerial Shots 1.jpg (by novellsteel)
6. Mt. Halcon (by Storm Crypt)
7. Last Look at Honda Bay (by Storm Crypt)
8. Muelle Bay and Puerto Galera (by Storm Crypt)
9. Secluded Beaches Somewhere Between Siargao and Cebu (by Zanstra)
10. Glittering Islands (by Storm Crypt)

prufrocking:

Hey you guys, the Philippines is super great

(via pinoytumblr)

hellohowareyou:

Part 2 of 2

hellohowareyou:

New Year’s Eve at East Avenue Medical Center (posted last January for TaoPo.org)

The Department of Health (DOH) confirms a total of 1,022 reported firework-related injuries over the holidays, with many more unaccounted for.

The aftermath of 2012 New Year’s Eve celebrations brought an increased number of cases from last year’s count. East Avenue Medical Center in Quezon City, Metro Manila at the eve of the new year was teeming with people. Special emergency forces clad in orange were waiting outside for patients that arrived at the hospital’s Trauma Center.

By 10pm, patients with injuries from burns and minor explosions started arriving. As the night progressed, people started coming in with gradually more serious injuries: stray bullet wounds, major burns, blows to the head, and fingers that needed amputating. This year, there was a suprising number of stray bullet victims, most of which were women and children, meaning there is a high percentage of misuse of firearms. There were also many cases of injury from car accidents, drunk driving, and drunken brawls.

Part 1 of 2

ingzzz:

Watch a Carlos Celdran show. 

One thing off my senior’s bucket list!:)

Minimalist set design. Funny (and punny) storytelling. Chismis. Livin’ La Vida Imelda was definitely worth the effort of commuting from Quezon City to Makati. After the show, I went home with more questions than answers regarding the notorious Martial Law era and the woman behind the dictator. I was half hoping that Carlos Celdran would show us a snapshot of Imelda’s shoe collection, but he was still able to share lots of interesting images, and my favorite would be that of Ferdinand Marcos’ abs.

Now I’m convinced that history classes are more fun in the Philippines with people like Carlos Celdran.

More info about the show here. 

indiohistorian:

The life of Aung San Suu Kyi on the big screen. I can’t wait to see this. 

twistedfork:

It’s More Fun Weekend Project

I’ve been doing a lot of weekend projects for the month of December. I finished 3 so far. This was the first one, the second one was VERSUS/HEARTS and I just finished the third one last weekend. 

I really like the “It’s More Fun in the Philippines” tagline BBDO Guerrero came up with, the direction of the campaign and the big idea behind it.

—

In doing this exploration, I took into consideration the comments about the icon and the typeface. I also tried to keep it close the intention, tone & feel of the campaign.

This is solely a personal exploration and interpretation of the campaign. :) It’s something I do for fun.

You may download the full PDF Deck Here.