I am delighted to hear about the news that Palaweños has rejected the proposal to split it into three separate provinces. I hope the voters do the same to those who sponsored it in the next elections. Never forget who pushed for hacking the great province into several parts. Splitting provinces into several parts is […]
Author: Arnaldo
I’ve passed by Labrador (back when I was working in the area) never bothered to explore it. And it’s strange because the place is a historical site and I’m supposed to be a history buff. I have corrected this error. My plan was to do some bird watching the entire morning then proceed to WWII […]
This is the 3rd in a series of vlogs about Filipinos here in Singapore. I wanted to find these strands of connections between the early Filipinos that came here, worked and lived, and left. I am surprised that there’s a lot of stories waiting to be told. A few years ago a friend of mine […]
I have been to Fort Canning too many times. Strolling around the hill is good exercise. While it’s a recreational area for most of us, many forget how historic it is. You dig deep and long enough you’ll find pieces of evidence of its past. There’s actually an archaeological dig exhibit not far from the […]
When I vlogged (is that even a word?) about El Presidente, Emilio Aguinaldo’s River Valley Road hotel, where he met with US consul Spencer Pratt, I thought that’s a one-off. Well, I found out that before he left Singapore, he returned the favor. He paid the American a courtesy visit. You see, reading history is […]
I finally made a vlog! I don’t know whether to be happy with it or not. But I thought it’s an important message to deliver. The revolutionary Filipino leader Emilio Aguinaldo visited Singapore once, not to do some sightseeing (although I wish he did and wrote about his experience) but to attend a meeting with […]
By Elizabeth Abad Medina This is not going to be an academic essay but, as the title says, a reflection, triggered by a comment in a blog from a kababayan who said that polos y servicios was not that bad because the work was remunerated. This would be like saying that at least the OFWs […]
It took me a few weeks (around two months actually) to process what I just saw—well, I’m exaggerating a little here. So here’s my video, or what do they call this these days? Reaction video? Is that right? I’m a big fan of Nick, so of course, I would want you to see this (what’s […]
An interview with my late father. Recorded to document family history. The details in his stories are no longer clear. He was 79 during the recording. We grew up hearing these stories, so, in my mind, I was filling in the gaps. Papa’s WWII stories are particular to his community and hometown, San Carlos in […]
The recent fish kill around Manila Bay has been unsurprisingly politicized, used to throw shade against the dumping of sand in Manila Bay. At first, I thought there could be a correlation between the dolomite sand and the fish kill. This may have not been a coincidence, right? Then clearer photos of the fishes started […]
Glenn Anthony May, American historian, who wrote important Philippine history books: Social Engineering in the Philippines (1980), A Past Recovered: Essays on Philippine History and Historiography (1987), Battle for Batangas: A Philippine Province at War (1991), and Inventing a Hero: The Posthumous Re-Creation of Andres Bonifacio (1996), passed away last September 10 according to local […]
I’ve recorded audio of one strange experience I had in Biñan many years ago. This was in the old Alberto house, the ancestral home of Rizal’s mother. When people find out that I’ve inspected bahay-na-batos all over the country they always ask: Are they haunted? Below is my favorite story to tell. They don’t get […]
There’s this Radiolab podcast that featured Filipinos working for Facebook as censors. The podcast delved into what many consider an over-reach on Facebook’s part in suppressing content. But my fascination was on the Filipino content moderators. Who would have thought that pornographic and violent posts are purged from Facebook’s platform in Manila of all places? […]