On This Day - June 28, 1848 - Rizal's parents Francisco Mercado and Teodora Alonso got married

 

 

On June 28, 1848, Francisco Mercado and Teodora Alonso, the parents of Dr. Jose Rizal, got married. Francisco was from Biñan, Laguna while Teodora was from Meisik, Tondo. They had 11 children, 2 boys and 9 girls.

Rizal's parents

(Francisco Mercado and Teodora Alonso)

  1. Saturnina (1850-1913) was the eldest child. She married Manuel Timoteo Hidalgo of Tanauan, Batangas.
  2. Paciano (1851-1930), the only brother of Jose Rizal and the second child. Studied at San Jose College in Manila, became a farmer and later a general of the Philippine Revolution.
  3. Narcisa (1852-1939), the third child, married to Antonio Lopez of Morong, Rizal. She was a teacher and musician.
  4. Olympia (1855-1887), the fourth child married Silvestre Ubaldo. She died in 1887 from childbirth.
  5. Lucia (1857-1919), the fifth child, she married Matriano Herbosa.
  6. Maria (1859-1945), the sixth child, married to Daniel Faustino Cruz of Biñan, Laguna.
  7. Jose (1861-1896), the second son and the seventh child. He was executed by the Spaniards on December 30, 1896.
  8. Concepcion (1862-1865), the eight child. She died at the age of three.
  9. Josefa (1865-1945), the ninth child. She was an epileptic, died a spinster.
  10. Trinidad (1868-1951), the tenth child. She died a spinster and the last of the family to die.
  11. Soledad (1870-1929), the youngest child, she was married to Pantaleon Quintero.

References

  1. Pambansang Komisyong Pangkasaysayan
  2. http://www.joserizal.ph

On This Day - June 27, 1863 - Ladislao Diwa, co-founder of the Katipunan, was born in San Roque, Cavite


On June 27, 1863, Ladislao Diwa, co-founder of the Katipunan, was born in San Roque, Cavite to Mariano Diwa and Cecilia Nocon, who both hailed from San Francisco de Malabon (present day General Trias), Cavite.

Diwa studied under the supervision of Father Francisco Mañalac, who later recommended him at the Colegio de San Juan de Letran as capista. After he finished his Bachelor of Arts degree from Letran, he enrolled in Theology but abandoned the idea of becoming a priest when his father disapproved it. Thus, he opted to become a lawyer so he enrolled Law at the University of Santo Tomas (UST).

   Ladislao Diwa
   Ladislao Diwa

It was during his law studies at UST when he became acquainted with Andres Bonifacio, who was already engaged in distributing propaganda materials. Diwa was already employed as curial de juzgado or oficial de mesa for the district of Quiapo when he joined La Liga Filipina, which Rizal formed on July 3, 1896 and became secretary of the Liga's popular council of Tondo headed by Bonifacio. But the Liga was short-lived. It was dissolved after Rizal was deported to Dapitan. This, however, did not douse the spirit of activism in Diwa, who, upon learning Rizal’s deportation on July 6, proposed the forming of another liberal and secret organization, patterned after the "Black Mask" of Italy, where members belonged to a triumvirate.

Thus, on the night of July 7, 1892 at the house of Deodato Arellano along Azcarraga Street, now Claro M Recto, near Elcano Street in Tondo, he founded with Andres Bonifacio and Teodoro Plata the Katipunan and formed with them its first triangle. With them at the time of the founding were Jose Dizon, Valentin Diaz and Deodato Arellano. Thereafter, they performed a blood compact around a flickering lamp and vowed to carry the aims of the society. Diwa took the name “Balete” and set up his triangle with Roman Basa and Teodoro Gonzales. He was elected fiscal of the Katipunan’s first supreme council in October 1892. In the election in February 1893, he was elected one of its councilors.

When Diwa was transferred to the Justice of the Peace court in Pampanga, he took advantage of it by recruiting members of the Katipunan in Bulacan, Nueva Ecija and Tarlac. Among his well-known recruits was Francisco Makabulos, who later became general after revolution finally erupted.

On August 19, 1896, the Spanish authorities discovered the secret society and as a result, many Filipinos were arrested including Diwa who was picked up in Betis, Bacolor, Pampanga. The discovery left Andres Bonifacio, who was the president of the Katipunan, with no choice but to declare a revolution. Diwa was imprisoned in Bilibid and shared the same cell with Severino de las Alas and Teodoro Plata, his friend who was the clerk of court in Mindoro. On February 1897, Teodoro Plata met his death in Bagumbayan while Diwa was released from prison because of prisoners swap between the Spaniards and the Filipinos.

To elude another arrest, Diwa left for Cavite by disguising himself as fisherman and walked along the seashore, even had to wade under water on his way to San Francisco de Malabon, where he joined the group of General Mariano Trias and earned the rank of a colonel. Diwa was instrumental in the surrender of the Spanish troops under Leopoldo Garcia Peña on May 28, 1898.

After General Aguinaldo was captured in 1901, Diwa surrendered together with Mariano Trias to the Americans.

Like many other revolutionaries who surrendered or captured during the war with America, Diwa took the oath of allegiance to the United States government. Soon after, he was appointed clerk of Court of First Instance for Cavite. He helped establish the Ligaya College in his hometown, where he also taught. He had acquired tracts of land in Tagaytay and Mendez, which he planted with coconut and abaca.

Diwa married twice. The first was with Delisa Dandan from Parañaque with whom he had three children and the second was with Honorata Crescini, with whom he had five children: Edna, Heraclito, Cecilia, Betis, and Alicia.

On March 12, 1930, Diwa died of nephritis at the age of 67. In his honor, the Caridad Elementary School in Cavite was renamed after him in November 1964.

References:
(Agoncillo, Teodoro A. History of the Filipino People. 8th Ed. Quezon City: Garotech, 1990.
Eminent Filipinos. Manila: National Historical Commission, 1970.
Manuel, Arsenio E. Dictionary of Philippine Biography Volume 1. Quezon City: Filipiniana, 1955.
Unpublished interview with Edna and Cecilia Diwa, surviving daughters of Ladislao Diwa. March 10, 2000. ); All via The Philippine Historical Commission
Photo credit: Philippine Center for Masonic Studies

On This Day - June 26, 2020 - Ramon Revilla Sr. movie icon and former senator died

 

Ramon Revilla Sr. movie icon and former senator died of heart failure at the St. Lukes Medical Center in Taguig City. He was 93.

Ramon Revilla Sr.
(Former Senator Ramon Revilla Sr.)

Born Jose Acuña Bautista Sr. in Imus, Cavite on March 8, 1927, Revilla Sr. was the youngest of the 10 children of businessmen Ildefonso Bautista and Andrea Acuña. He obtained his Bachelor's Degree in Commerce at the Far Eastern University.

He adopted his screen name when he began his film career in the ‘50s.

He, however, only landed small roles, so he shifted career and went to government service starting as a senior intelligence officer and rose through the ranks to reach the rank of major and headed the Secret Service Unit (now known as the Customs Intelligence and Investigation Division) from 1965 to 1972.

In 1972, he returned to show business and adopted the role of action star and producer.

Revilla popularized the agitmat (amulet) from Filipino folklore with his back-to-back fantasy movies hits "Nardong Putik" (1972) and "Pepeng Agimat" (1973).

He also popularized characters "Tiagong Akyat" - whose "Hulihin Si Tiyagong Akyat" movie won him Famas Best Actor in 1973 - and "Tonyong Bayawak" (1979), which made him that year's Box-Office King.

His last big screen appearance was in his son Revilla Jr.'s "Exodus: Tales from the Enchanted Kingdom" (2005).

Revilla Sr. entered politics in 1992 when he won a seat in the Senate. He finished two terms and served until 2004.

As a senator, he was hailed as the "Father of Public Works Act.". He earned the title after he was named chairman of the Senate Public Works Committee and his authorship of Republic Act (RA) 8150, which was signed into law by President Fidel V. Ramos on Sept. 8, 1995.

The law sought to identify the infrastructure projects to be pursued all over the country at that time.

He also authored RA 8294, or the "Revilla Law" that lowered the penalties for illegal possession of firearms; and introduced amendment to RA 6425 or the "Dangerous Drugs Act" that imposed life impris onment or capital punishment on drug traffickers, among others.

Revilla Sr. not only relegated a glittering show business career to his son Revilla Jr. but also his political career. The son also ran for a Senate seat and won the elections twice, in 2004 and 2010.

The Revilla patriarch is said to have fathered at least 72 children from 16 different women, with the youngest being born in 1996.

Sources:
  • The "agimat" is gone: Ramon Revilla Sr., 93, Christina Alpad, June 27, 2020, The Manila Times

On This Day - June 25, 1884 - Jose Rizal toasts In honor of the two Filipino painters, Luna and Hidalgo

 

In honor of two Filipino painters, Rizal's toast to Luna and Hidalgo

(English translation of the full text of Rizal's speech at a banquet in honor of Juan Luna and Felix Resurreccion Hidalgo, Madrid, Spain, June 25, 1884)

In rising to speak I have no fear that you will listen to me with superciliousness, for you have come here to add to ours your enthusiasm, the stimulus of youth, and you cannot but be indulgent. Sympathetic currents pervade the air, bonds of fellowship radiate in all directions, generous souls listen, and so I do not fear for my humble personality, nor do I doubt your kindness. Sincere men yourselves, you seek only sincerity, and from that height, where noble sentiments prevail, you give no heed to sordid trifles. You survey the whole field, you weigh the cause and extend your hand to whomsoever like myself, desires to unite with you in a single thought, in a sole aspiration: the glorification of genius, the grandeur of the fatherland!

Dr. Jose P. Rizal   
(Dr. Jose P. Rizal)   

Such is, indeed, the reason for this gathering. In the history of mankind there are names which in themselves signify an achievement-which call up reverence and greatness; names which, like magic formulas, invoke agreeable and pleasant ideas; names which come to form a compact, a token of peace, a bond of love among the nations. To such belong the names of Luna and Hidalgo: their splendor illuminates two extremes of the globe-the Orient and the Occident, Spain and the Philippines. As I utter them, I seem to see two luminous arches that rise from either region to blend there on high, impelled by the sympathy of a common origin, and from that height to unite two peoples with eternal bonds; two peoples whom the seas and space vainly separate; two peoples among whom do not germinate the seeds of disunion blindly sown by men and their despotism. Luna and Hidalgo are the pride of Spain as of the Philippines-though born in the Philippines, they might have been born in Spain, for genius has no country; genius bursts forth everywhere; genius is like light and air, the patrimony of all: cosmopolitan as space, as life and God.

The Philippines' patriarchal era is passing, the illustrious deeds of its sons are not circumscribed by the home; the oriental chrysalis is quitting its cocoon; the dawn of a broader day is heralded for those regions in brilliant tints and rosy dawn-hues; and that race, lethargic during the night of history while the sun was illuminating other continents, begins to wake, urged by the electric' shock produced by contact with the occidental peoples, and begs for light, life, and the civilization that once might have been its heritage, thus conforming to the eternal laws of constant evolution, of transformation, of recurring phenomena, of progress.

This you know well and you glory in it. To you is due the beauty of the gems that circle the Philippines' crown; she supplied the stones, Europe the polish. We all contemplate proudly: you your work; we the inspiration, the encouragement, the materials furnished.

They imbibed there the poetry of nature-nature grand and terrible in her cataclysms, in her transformations, in her conflict of forces; nature sweet, peaceful and melancholy in her constant manifestation-unchanging; nature that stamps her seal upon whatsoever she creates or produces. Her sons carry it wherever they go. Analyze, if not her characteristics, then her works; and little as you may know that people, you will see her in everything moulding its knowledge, as the soul that everywhere presides, as the spring of the mechanism, as the substantial form, as the raw material. It is imposible not to show what one feels; it is impossible to be one thing and to do another. Contradictions are apparent only; they are merely paradoxes. In El Spoliarium -on that canvas which is not mute-is heard the tumult of the throng, the cry of slaves, the metallic rattle of the armor on the corpses, the sobs of orphans, the hum of prayers, with as much force and realism as is heard the crash of the thunder amid the roar of the cataracts, or the fearful and frightful rumble of the earthquake. The same nature that conceives such phenomena has also a share in those lines.

   Self portrait, Felix Resurreccion Hidalgo, 1909
   Self portrait, Felix Resurreccion Hidalgo, 1901.
On the other hand, in Hidalgo's work there are revealed feelings of the purest kind; ideal expression of melancholy, beauty, and weakness-victims of brute force. And this is because Hidalgo was born beneath the dazzling azure of that sky, to the murmur of the breezes of her seas, in the placidity of her lakes, the poetry of her valleys and the majestic harmony of her hills and mountains. So in Luna we find the shades, the contrasts, the fading lights, the mysterious and the terrible, like an echo of the dark storms of the tropics, its thunderbolts, and the destructive eruptions of its volcanoes. So in Hidalgo we find all is light, color, harmony, feeling, clearness; like the Philippines on moonlit nights, with her horizons that invite to meditation and suggest infinity. Yet both of them-although so different-in appearance, at least, are fundamentally one; just as our hearts beat in unison in spite of striking differences. Beth, by depicting from their palettes the dazzling rays of the tropical sun, transform them into rays of unfading glory with which they invest the fatherland. Both express the spirit of our social, moral and political life; humanity subjected to hard trials, humanity unredeemed; reason and aspiration in open fight with prejudice, fanaticism and injustice; because feeling and opinion make their way through the thickest walls, because for them all bodies are porous, all are transparent; and if the pen fails them and the printed word does not come to their aid, then the palette and the brush not only delight the view but are also eloquent advocates. If the mother teaches her child her language in order to understand its joys, its needs, and its woes; so Spain, like that mother, also teaches her language to Filipinos, in spite of the opposition of those purblind pygmies who, sure of the present, are unable to extend their vision into the future, who do not weigh the consequences.

Like sickly nurses, corrupted and corrupting, these opponents of progress pervert the heart of the people. They sow among them the seeds of discord, to reap later the harvest, a deadly nightshade of future generations.

But, away with these woes! Peace to the dead, because they are deadbreath and soul are lacking them; the worms are eating them! Let us not invoke their sad remembrance; let us not drag their ghastliness into the midst of our rejoicing! Happily, brothers are more-generosity and nobility are innate under the sky of Spain-of this you are all patent proof. You have unanimously responded, you have cooperated, and you would have done more, had more been asked. Seated at our festal board and honoring the illustrious sons of the Philippines, you also honor Spain, because, as you are well aware, Spain's boundaries are not the Atlantic or the Bay of Biscay or the Mediterranean-a shame would it be for water to place a barrier to her greatness, her thought. (Spain is there-there where her beneficent influence i"s exerted; and even though her flag should disappear, there would remain her memory-eternal, imperishable. What matters a strip of red and yellow cloth; what matter the guns and cannon; there where a feeling of love, of affection, does not flourish-there where there is no fusion of ideas, harmony of opinion?

Juan Luna   
Juan Luna   
Luna and Hidalgo belong to you as much as to us. You love them, you see in them noble hopes, valuable examples. The Filipino youth of Europealways enthusiastic-and some other persons whose hearts remain ever young through the disinterestedness and enthusiasm that characterize their actions, tender Luna a crown, a humble tribute-small indeed compared to our enthusiasm-but the most spontaneous and freest of all the tributes yet paid to him.

But the Philippines' gratitude toward her illustrious sons was yet unsatisfied; and desiring to give free rein to the thoughts that seethe her mind, to the feelings that overflow her heart, and to the words that escape from her lips, we have all come together here at this banquet to mingle our vows, to give shape to that mutual understanding between two races which love and care for each other, united morally, socially and politically for the space of four centuries, so that they may form in the future a single nation in spirit, in duties, in aims, in rights. I drink, then, to our artists Luna and Hidalgo, genuine and pure glories of two peoples. I drink to the persons who have given them aid on the painful road of art!

I drink that the Filipno youth-sacred hope of my fatherland may imitate such valuable examples; and that the mother Spain, solicitous and heedful of the welfare of her provinces, may quickly put into practice the reforms she has so long planned. The furrow is laid out and the land is not sterile! And finally, I drink to the happiness of those parents who, deprived of their sons' affection, from those distant regions follow them with moist gaze and throbbing hearts across the seas and distance; sacrificing on the altar of the common good, the sweet consolations that are so scarce in the decline of life — precious and solitary flowers that spring up on the borders of the tomb.

Source

  1. Gems of Philippine oratory; selections representing fourteen centuries of Philippine thought, carefully compiled from credible sources in substitution for the pre-Spanish writings destroyed by missionary zeal, to supplement the later literature stunted by intolerant religious and political censorship, and as specimens of the untrammeled present-day utterances, by Austin Craig, page 34-37, University of Manila, 1924.

On This Day - June 25, 1950 - The Korean War began when fighting erupted at the 38th Parallel

 


On June 25, 1950, the Korean War began when fighting erupted at the 38th Parallel. The Philippines would be the first Asian nation to send combat troops for the aid of South Korea (Republic of Korea). The legal framework for sending military personnel to the Korean Peninsula would be Republic Act No. 573, which was approved on September 7, 1950 during the administration of President Elpidio Quirino. This law created the Philippine Expeditionary Force to Korea (PEFTOK).
During the same month, the first PEFTOK contingent composed of around 1,400 troops were assembled at Rizal Memorial Stadium for a send-off rite attended by 60,000 people. By September 19, 1950, they arrived in Busan (Pusan), the last United Nations defense line.
Among the highlights of Filipino service in Korea would be the Battles of Yultong (Yuldong) and Imjin River (Solma-ri).


From April 22 to April 25, 1951, 900 Filipino troops organized under the 10th Battalion Combat Team (BCT) fought alongside United Nations (UN) forces to hold the line at Yultong (Yuldong) and Imjin River (Solma-ri) against thousands of Communist soldiers during the Chinese Spring Offensive of the Korean War, a concerted campaign by combined Chinese and North Korean troops aimed to break the UN forces and drive them out of Korea. During these battles, the Filipino side suffered 12 killed in action and 38 wounded, as against 501 casualties on the Communist side.


Initially ignoring orders to withdraw, Filipino troops, particularly the 70-strong Tank Company, were still counterattacking in hopes of recovering the bodies of their fellow soldiers killed or wounded in action. Although unsuccessful in their later rescue of the British Gloucestershire Regiment (1st Glosters) at Hill 235, the outcome of the said battles managed to delay the Chinese-North Korean offensive in this sector. Had the UN line collapsed in the initial Communist breakthrough, it was argued they would have had better chances for their campaign to recapture Seoul by May 1951.


Among those lost in the battlefield were BCT officers Captain Conrado Yap and Lieutenant Jose Artiaga. Yap was posthumously awarded the Philippine Medal of Valor and the U.S. Distinguished Service Cross, while Artiaga was posthumously awarded the Philippine Distinguished Conduct Star. After these engagements, the 10th BCT would be transferred to the Han River. By May 1951, they would have lost around half of their original strength. Of the 1,367 Filipino soldiers who arrived in Korea, 150 have been killed, 182 wounded or missing, another 182 declared physically unfit for combat, and 104 sent home after being wounded. They would eventually be relieved by the 20th BCT in August 1951.
Meanwhile, according to Korea's Ministry of Patriots and Veterans Affairs (MPVA), 112 Filipino soldiers were killed, 288 were wounded, 16 went missing in action, and 41 became prisoners of war out of the total 7,420 troops sent during the course of the Korean War. Republic Act No. 1886, approved on June 22, 1957 during the administration of President Carlos P. Garcia, extended educational benefits to Filipino veterans of Korean War.


As of 2019, over 2 million Koreans visit the Philippines, while half a million Filipinos go to South Korea.

Tolkien explains why the Fellowship didn't fly the Eagles to Mordor in LEGO

So this is why the Fellowship didn't fly the Eagles to Mordor. 
Tolkien explains it in this video with Tolkien minifigure! 
 
 
 
Enjoy!

On This Day - June 24, 1571 - Miguel Lopez de Legazpi proclaimed Manila as the capital of the Spanish colonial administration in the Philippines

 

June 24, 1571 Miguel Lopez de Legazpi proclaimed Manila as the capital of the Spanish colonial administration in the Philippines.

On June 24, 1571, Manila was proclaimed the capital of the Spanish colonial administration in the Philippines. 

Arrival of Spaniards in Manila
 

Earlier in Cebu, Spanish colonizer Miguel Lopez de Legazpi, having heard of the rich resources of Manila, dispatched two of his lieutenant-commanders, Martín de Goiti and Juan de Salcedo, to explore the northern region.

On May 8, 1570, they arrived in Manila and were welcomed by natives and formed an alliance with Rajah Sulayman, a Muslim king who ruled the place at that time. However, the local sensed the true objectives of the Spaniards and a battle between the troops of Sulayman and the Spaniards erupted. As the Spaniards were heavily armed, they were able to conquer Manila.

After hearing that the city had been conquered, Legazpi came to join Goiti in Manila. He formed a peace pact with the native councils, Rajah Sulayman and Rajah Lakandula.

On June 24, 1571, Legazpi finally established a permanent settlement, and he also ordered the construction of the walled city of Intramuros. He proclaimed Manila as the island's capital and permanent seat of the Spanish colonial government in the western Pacific Ocean.

Manila became a replica of a European medieval city. There were churches, palaces and city hall built in the Spanish baroque style. In 1574, Manila was bestowed the title "Insigne y Siempre leal Ciudad de España" (Distinguished and ever loyal city of Spain) by King Philip II.

By the end of the 16th century, Manila had become a leading commercial center of East Asia, carrying on a flourishing trade with China, India, and the East Indies.

Reference: Philippines News Agency archives