Nagcarlan, Laguna

Spanish colonial sites, restaurants with competitive and affordable dishes, resorts and vacation house and a plethora of welcoming people.

Ana Kalang Festival is a 5-day celebration every April in Nagcarlan, Laguna, across the foot of Mt. Banahaw and Mt. Cristobal. … The festival was named after the legendary tribe head Ana Kalang, which according to the myth was known for her tremendous wealth, kindness, piety and generosity..

Nagcarlan, Laguna

Nagcarlan
Municipality
NagcarlanChurchjf3935 30.JPG
Map of Laguna showing the location of Nagcarlan
Map of Laguna showing the location of Nagcarlan
Nagcarlan is located in Philippines

Nagcarlan
Nagcarlan

Location within the Philippines

Coordinates: 14°08′N 121°25′ECoordinates: 14°08′N 121°25′E
Country Philippines
Region CALABARZON (Region IV-A)
Province Laguna
District 3rd District of Laguna
Founded 1583
Barangays 52
Government[1]
 • Mayor Nelson M. Osuna
Area [2]
 • Total 78.10 km2 (30.15 sq mi)
Elevation 229.0 m (751.3 ft)
Population (2015 census)[3]
 • Total 63,057
 • Rank 10 out of 30 (in Laguna)[4][better source needed]
 • Density 810/km2 (2,100/sq mi)
Demonym(s) Nagcarlangin
Time zone PST (UTC+8)
ZIP code 4002
IDD : area code +63 (0)49
Income class 2nd

Nagcarlan is a second class municipality in the province of Laguna, Philippines. According to the 2015 census, it has a population of 63,057 people.[3]

It is 16 kilometres (9.9 mi) northeast of San Pablo City, or 103 kilometres (64 mi) south of Manila.

Barangays[edit]

Nagcarlan is subdivided into 52 barangays. [2]

  • Abo
  • Alibungbungan
  • Alumbrado
  • Balayong
  • Balimbing
  • Balinacon
  • Bambang
  • Banago
  • Banca-banca
  • Bangcuro
  • Banilad
  • Bayaquitos
  • Buboy
  • Buenavista
  • Buhanginan
  • Bukal
  • Bunga
  • Cabuyew
  • Calumpang
  • Kanluran Kabubuhayan
  • Silangan Kabubuhayan
  • Labangan
  • Lawaguin
  • Kanluran Lazaan
  • Silangan Lazaan
  • Lagulo
  • Maiit
  • Malaya
  • Malinao
  • Manaol
  • Maravilla
  • Nagcalbang
  • Poblacion I (Pob.)
  • Poblacion II (Pob.)
  • Poblacion III (Pob.)
  • Oples
  • Palayan
  • Palina
  • Sabang
  • San Francisco
  • Sibulan
  • Silangan Napapatid
  • Silangan Ilaya
  • Sinipian
  • Santa Lucia
  • Sulsuguin
  • Talahib
  • Talangan
  • Taytay
  • Tipacan
  • Wakat
  • Yukos

Demographics[edit]

Population census of Nagcarlan
Year Pop. ±% p.a.
1903 10,212
1918 14,854 +2.53%
1939 14,762 −0.03%
1948 15,335 +0.42%
1960 18,227 +1.45%
1970 25,057 +3.23%
1975 27,493 +1.88%
1980 30,637 +2.19%
1990 37,696 +2.10%
1995 43,679 +2.80%
2000 48,727 +2.37%
2007 57,070 +2.20%
2010 59,726 +1.67%
2015 63,057 +1.04%
Source: Philippine Statistics Authority[3][5][6][7]

In the 2015 census, the population of Nagcarlan, Laguna, was 63,057 people,[3] with a density of 810 inhabitants per square kilometre or 2,100 inhabitants per square mile.

Tourism[edit]

Nagcarlan has clean flowing rivers, gushing water falls, calm lakes and lush hills and mountains. Historic Spanish colonial sites, restaurants with competitive and affordable dishes, resorts and vacation house and a plethora of welcoming people.

Lack of promotion has caused this town to be overlooked by tourist and that is why locals have made their own ways to promote this town through blogging websites and conducting nature oriented activities like hiking and running.

Notable people from Nagcarlan[edit]

  • Esteban Baldivia – With his screen name DENCIO PADILLA, he is a famous actor from Nagcarlan, Laguna, Philippines.
  • Jak Roberto – is an actor from Laguna, Philippines.
  • Sanya Lopez – is an actress, she is best known for her role as Sang’re Danaya in Encantadia

References[edit]

  1. Jump up^ “Official City/Municipal 2013 Election Results”. Intramuros, Manila, Philippines: Commission on Elections (COMELEC). 11 September 2013. Retrieved 20 November 2013.
  2. ^ Jump up to:a b “Province: Laguna”. PSGC Interactive. Quezon City, Philippines: Philippine Statistics Authority. Retrieved 12 November 2016.
  3. ^ Jump up to:a b c d Census of Population (2015). “Region IV-A (Calabarzon)”. Total Population by Province, City, Municipality and Barangay. PSA. Retrieved 20 June 2016.
  4. Jump up^ Laguna (province)#Administrative divisions
  5. Jump up^ Census of Population and Housing (2010). “Region IV-A (Calabarzon)”. Total Population by Province, City, Municipality and Barangay. NSO. Retrieved 29 June 2016.
  6. Jump up^ Census of Population (1995, 2000 and 2007). “Region IV-A (Calabarzon)”. Total Population by Province, City and Municipality. NSO. Archived from the original on 24 June 2011.
  7. Jump up^ “Province of Laguna”. Municipality Population Data. Local Water Utilities Administration Research Division. Retrieved 17 December 2016.

    Nagcarlan Underground Cemetery

    From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
    Nagcarlan Underground Cemetery
    UNDERGROUND CEMETERY,,,LAGUNA.jpg

    Libingan sa Ilalim ng Lupa ng Nagcarlan
    Details
    Established 1845
    Location Brgy. Bambang, Nagcarlan,Laguna
    Country Philippines
    Coordinates 14°07′53″N 121°24′53″ECoordinates: 14°07′53″N 121°24′53″E
    Type Roman Catholic
    Style Baroque
    Owned by Roman Catholic Diocese of San Pablo
    Size 1 hectare
    No. of graves 276 niches

    The Nagcarlan Underground Cemetery (Filipino: Libingan sa Ilalim ng Lupa ng Nagcarlan) is a national historical landmark and museum in Barangay Bambang, Nagcarlan, Laguna supervised by the National Historical Commission of the Philippines. It was built in 1845 under the supervision of Franciscan priest, Fr. Vicente Velloc as a public burial site and its underground crypt exclusively for Spanish friars, prominent town citizens and members of elite Catholic families.[1] It is dubbed as the only underground cemetery in the country.[2]

    History[edit]

    Establishment of the Underground Cemetery[edit]

    Fr. Vicente Velloc supervised the establishment of a cemetery in Nagcarlan in 1845 below Mt. San Cristobal. Unlike the traditional Spanish cemeteries at that time, Fr. Velloc decided to build it away from the town’s center. The cemetery is planned to serve as a public resting place for the people of the town while the underground chamber below the chapel of the cemetery will only house remains of Spanish friars and prominent people. It was built together with the construction of the expanded St. Bartholomew Parish Church and rectory.[3] The cemetery is built with a chapel where funeral masses was held and directly below it is an underground crypt.

    As Meeting Place during the Revolution[edit]

    During the Philippine Revolution, the cemetery served as a meeting place of revolutionary leaders of the Katipunan in 1896.[3] Pedro Paterno and Gen. Severino Taiño of the “Maluningning” command held a meeting at the cemetery where they planned the historic Pact of Biak-na-Bato in 1897.[4] It also served as hideout for Filipino leaders during the Philippine-American War and of guerillas in World War II.[5]

    Declaration as a Historical Landmark[edit]

    The Nagcarlan Underground Cemetery was declared as a National Historical Landmark by virtue of Presidential Decree no. 260, dated August 1, 1973 with amendments by Administrative Order 1505, dated June 11, 1978.[3] Since the declaration, no more burials were allowed in the cemetery.[1] It underwent renovations before it was again opened to the public during the unveiling of the marker in October 24, 1981. The oldest tomb is dated 1886 while the last interment was in 1982 when it was formally declared as a National Historical Landmark.[2][5]

    Features[edit]

    The Baroque cemetery is located two kilometers south of downtown Nagcarlan that takes the shape of a circular cemetery across a 1 hectare property.[1][2] It is surrounded by octagonal stone walls made of red tiles with iron-wrought grills.[6] A façade or arch of about 18 feet high with two iron grill gates leads to a red tiled pathway across a green space leading to the cemetery chapel. The chapel containing a statue of Santo Sepulcro serves as a place for requiem or funeral mass. Located 15 feet below the chapel is an underground graveyard consisting of only 36 tombs arranged in four walls [7] The crypt and chapel is connected by two flight of steps. The first nine steps lead to a Spanish inscription that reads:[2]

    Go forth, Mortal man, full of life
    Today you visit happily this shelter,
    But after you have gone out,
    Remember, you have a resting place here,
    Prepared for you.

    The last six steps lead to the underground crypt.

    The cemetery has 240 apartment-type niches on the walls where each side of the chapel contains 120 niches. Overall, there are 276 niches.

    Management[edit]

    The cemetery complex remained as a property of the Roman Catholic Diocese of San Pablo. It is supervised and managed by the National Historical Commission of the Philippines. Currently, no more burials are allowed inside the cemetery. The complex is used for special celebrations such as the Feast of Christ the King andLent of the local parish[2] and the diocese.

    References[edit]

    1. ^ Jump up to:a b c “Tourism – Places of Interest”. Local Government Unit of Nagcarlan. Retrieved June 21, 2014.
    2. ^ Jump up to:a b c d e “Visiting RP’s only underground cemetery”. Philippine Daily Inquirer. Retrieved June 21, 2014.
    3. ^ Jump up to:a b c Historical Markers: Regions I-IV and CAR. Manila: National Historical Institute (Philippines). 1993. p. 173. ISBN 9715380611.
    4. Jump up^ “History of Nagcarlan, Laguna”. Retrieved June 20, 2014.
    5. ^ Jump up to:a b “Cemetery trivia: How well do you know our burial grounds?”. Rappler. November 1, 2013. Retrieved June 21, 2014.
    6. Jump up^ “Nagcarlan Underground Cemetery Historical Landmark”. National Historical Commission of the Philippines. Retrieved June 21, 2014.
    7. Jump up^ “Nagcarlan Underground Cemetery”. Laguna Travel Guide. Retrieved June 21, 2014.

    External links[edit]

Corregidor

Corregidor
Map of Corregidor 1941.jpg
Corregidor is located in Philippines

Corregidor
Corregidor
Location within the Philippines
Geography
Location Manila Bay
Coordinates 14°23′8″N 120°34′23″ECoordinates: 14°23′8″N 120°34′23″E
Archipelago Philippine Islands
Length 6.5 km (4.04 mi)
Width 2.0 km (1.24 mi)
Highest elevation 589 ft (179.5 m)
Highest point (Topside), a plateau
Administration
Province Cavite
City Cavite City
Demographics
Ethnic groups Tagalog

Corregidor Island /kəˈrɛɡɪˌdɔːr/, locally called Isla ng Corregidor, is an island located at the entrance of Manila Bay in southwestern part of Luzon Island in the Philippines. Due to this location, Corregidor has historically beenfortified with coastal artillery to defend the entrance of Manila Bay and Manilafrom attacks by enemy warships. Located 48 kilometres (30 mi) inland, Manila has been the largest city and the most important seaport in the Philippines for centuries, from the colonial rule of Spain, Japan and the United States, to the establishment of the Philippines in 1946.

Corregidor (Fort Mills) is the largest of the islands that formed the harbor defenses of Manila Bay together with El Fraile Island (Fort Drum), Caballo Island (Fort Hughes) and Carabao Island (Fort Frank), which were all fortified during the American liberation of the country. The island was also the site of a small military airfield, as part of the defense.

During World War II, Corregidor played an important role during the invasion and liberation of the Philippines from Japanese forces. Heavily bombarded in the latter part of the war, the ruins left on the island serve as a military memorial to American, Filipino and Japanese soldiers who served or lost their lives on the island. Corregidor is one of the important historic and tourist sites in the country.

Geography[edit]

Corregidor Island and the entrance to Manila Bay.

Corregidor and the other fortified islands of Manila Bay fall under the jurisdiction of the City of Cavite, Cavite province.[1][2] Corregidor, also known as “The Rock” for its rocky landscape and the heavyfortifications, along with Caballo Island, about 1.7 km (1.1 mi) south, divide the entrance of Manila Bay into the North and South Channel.

The tadpole-shaped island, with its tail running eastward, is about 6.5 km (4.0 mi) long, about 2.0 km (1.2 mi) wide at its widest with a total land area of about 900 hectares (2,200 acres). The highest elevation is at 180 m (590 ft) on the Topside.[3] The island is divided into four sections:

Topside[edit]

The island’s biggest area, which points towards the West Philippine Sea, rises prominently to a large flat area that is called “Topside”. Beneath this was the fortified communications center of the island, as well as the location for the Army headquarters, barracks for enlisted men, a branch of the Philippine Trust Co. bank, the Cine Corregidor movie theater, officers’ quarters, underground ordnance shops, the parade ground, an Officers’ Club with a 9-hole Golf Course, tennis courts, and swimming pool, and the bulk of the artillery batteries that constituted the strength of Corregidor.

Middleside[edit]

Middleside is a small plateau that interrupts the upward slope from Bottomside to Topside, and was the location of 2-story officers’ quarters, barracks for the enlisted men, a hospital, quarters for non-commissioned officers, a service club, PX, and two schoolhouses—one for the children of Filipino soldiers and the other for American children.

Bottomside[edit]

Bottomside in 1982

Bottomside is the lower part of the island and is the neck that connects the tail and head of the island. South of Bottomside was Barangay or Barrio San José (near what was Navy Beach); on the north is what was Army Dock, with its three large piers, and, east of Bottomside, is the Malinta Tunnel. The Malinta Hill separates Bottomside from the Tail End.[4]

Tailside[edit]

The Tailside or Tail End is not a given name, but it is the remaining portion of the island where different memorials, shrines and the island’s airstrip are located. Kindley Field was constructed in the early 1920s and named in honor of an early hero of the U.S. Army Air Corps. The airfield was operated then by the army, and the navy had a seaplane base. The short runway, cramped and hilly terrain had limited its use.[5] [6][7]

Geology[edit]

Corregidor and Caballo islands are remnants of a volcanic crater, the Corregidor Caldera, which was last active about one million years ago. However, the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (PHIVOLCS) still classifies Corregidor as a potentially active volcano.[8]

History[edit]

Spanish colonial era[edit]

The island came under Spanish sovereignty on May 19, 1570, when Miguel Lopez de Legazpi and his forces arrived in Manila Bay. Legazpi was authorized by the Spanish Crown to establish the capital of the Philippines in Manila, and convert the Muslims in Luzon and Mindanao to Christianity. Corregidor was used as a support site for the nine Spanish galleons used during the campaign.

Under Spanish rule, Corregidor served not only as a fortress of defense, a penal institution, and a station for Customsinspection, but also as a signal outpost to warn Manila of the approach of hostile ships. Corregidor comes from the Spanish word corregir, meaning “to correct.” One story states that the island was called Isla del Corregidor (literally, Island of the Corrector) due to the Spanish customs system, wherein all ships entering Manila Bay were required to stop and have their documents checked and “corrected”. Another version claims that the island was used a penitentiary or correctional institution by the Spanish government, and thus came to be called El Corregidor.[9] Corregidor is also a specific position of authority within the former Spanish administrative structure, who is the head of the territorial unit known as Corregimiento. The institution of administrative districts called Corregimientos (with the chief, “El Corregidor”) was in use throughout Spanish America and the Philippines. Just as an example, in the Philippines had “corregidores” in charge of Bataan and Zambales, among others.[10]Isla del Corregidor“, the ancient name of the place, literally means “Corregidor’s island”.

On November 23, 1574, the Chinese pirate Limahong and his 65 vessel fleet, with 3,000 men anchored between Corregidor and Mariveles. From that site he launched two successive attacks against Manila, commanded either by Limahong himself or the Japanese Sioco. Both of them failed their purpose before a fierce battle defense led by the governor Juan de Salcedo.

In November and December 1600, the surroundings of Corregidor Island were used as an anchorage by the DutchmanOlivier van Noort. His ships Mauritius and Eendracht were engaged in piratical activities on the sailing route to and from Manila. This situation was dealt with after the naval combat of Fortune Island on December 14, 1600. As a result, Spain lost its ship San Diego but captured the Dutch sailing boat Eendracht and Oliver van Noort retreated from the Philippines.

As a consequence of these events, and also to prevent sudden attack by the Muslims from Mindanao, a watch vessel was posted at Corregidor to control the entrance to the bay. According to data from 1637, this vessel had a crew of twenty men, who were paid 540 pesos a year for this task.

Corregidor Island was taken over by the Dutch in June 1647 and from there they launched an offensive against Cavitewhich was repelled by the Spanish garrison, under the command of Andre Lopez de Azalduigui. However, the Dutchmen would remain in the island for seven more months as it served them well as an operations base from which to intercept Chinese merchant traffic in the vicinity of Luzon and Cebu. Finally they withdrew with little of their expectations fulfilled.

During the invasion of Manila and Cavite in October 1762 by the Royal Navy and the British Army under Admiral Cornish and General Draper, Corregidor was used as an anchorage for warships, particularly HMS Panther and the captured warship, the Spanish galleon Santisima Trinidad, during November 1762.

The arrival of the Spanish fleet, led by General Ignacio Mario de Alava, with the mission to place the Philippine Islands on alert, did not affect the fortunes of Corregidor Island. He limited his activity to the setting up of a naval station at Cavite.

On January 18, 1853, the Corregidor Island Lighthouse was first lit on the highest part of the island to mark the entrance of Manila Bay to vessels coming in from the South China Sea. The Spanish government built the Second-Order light, which is situated 639 feet (195 m) above sea level and visible for 20 miles (32 km).[11]

Spanish–American War[edit]

Corregidor Island was included in the Philippines defense plan prepared in 1885 by General Cerero, but no action was taken to implement it. When the U.S. Navy‘s attack was thought to be imminent, a 12 cm gun, “Hontoria System”, which came from the Spanish Navy‘s cruiser Antonio de Ulloa, and two shorter ones of the same caliber from the Spanishgunboat Genaral Lezo, were installed on the rocky island El Fraile. On the south side of Corregidor, the Spanish armyinstalled three 15 cm artillery pieces which came from the Spanish navy cruiser Velasco which was undergoing repairs.

On the midnight of April 30 to the 1st of May 1898, U.S. Navy Commodore George Dewey led his naval squadron, with his flag hoisted on board the armored cruiser USS Olympia, eastward along the southern coast of Corregidor Island, beyond the reach of Spanish batteries and with no navigational lights on.

At a distance about one mile off El Fraile, Dewey’s fleet changed course to the North East, steaming towards Manila. When they were discovered, the Spaniards fired from El Fraile’s artillery. An American response followed immediately, first byUSS McCulloch and then by USS Boston, USS Raleigh and USS Concord. Since the flotilla’s speed was ten knots, they were soon far away from the Spanish batteries. Dewey sailed for Cavite where he destroyed the naval forces of Admiral Montojo.

Once the Cavite shipyard was subdued by means of a Stipulated Pact, two American ships went ashore at Corregidor Island on the 3rd of May forcing the Spaniards on the island to surrender. Colonel Garces, chief of the coast batteries at the entrance of Manila’s Bay, and the island’s governor, First Class Naval Lieutenant, Augusto Miranda, were urged to come to terms with the Americans, and so they did. Therefore, Miranda remained on the island with only 100 soldiers and the Spanish Flag on top; Garces and officers under his command, as well as 292 men with their weapons and ammunition, were transferred to the Mariveles port. From there they were conducted along the provinces of Bataan and Pampanga until they reached Manila on 5 May. There they joined the Navy battalion which was already quartered in Sampaloc.

On 4 May, the American ships opened fire against the 100 men who, according to the pact had been left on Corregidor and demanded the garrison forces be reduced to 25 men. The Spanish governor consulted Manila authorities, and they ordered the evacuation of the island. The troops were sent to Naic, Cavite on boats while the governor was transferred to the American cruiser USS Baltimore and became a prisoner with his family. The Americans offered to liberate him but the Navy Lieutenant rejected. Shortly afterwards, he was disembarked in Balanga, Bataan. In this way, the Spanish presence on Corregidor Island, which had lasted 328 years, came to an end.

American colonial period[edit]

The entrance to Malinta Tunnel

In 1902, the island was organized as an American military reservation. In 1903, a convalescent hospital was established by the United States Army.

The Board of Fortifications chaired by William H. Taft recommended that key harbors of territories acquired after the Spanish–American War be fortified.[12]Consequently, Corregidor was fortified and incorporated into the harbor defenses Manila and Subic Bays. In 1908, a Regular Army post was established on the island, designated as Fort Mills, in honor of Brigadier General Samuel Meyers Mills, Jr., Chief of Artillery of the U.S. Army from 1905 to 1906. By early 1909, H Company of the 2nd Battalion of the Corps of Engineers was assigned to Corregidor and started on the construction of concrete emplacements, bomb-proof shelters, and trails at various parts of the island. This pioneer engineer company left Fort Mills on March 15, 1912. All or part of 35 different numbered Coast Artillery Corps companies served tours at Fort Mills between 1909 and 1923.

The defense of Corregidor was the immediate responsibility of the Philippine Coast Artillery Command, commanded by Major General George F. Moore at the start of World War II. Stationed on the island after the return to the regimental system in 1924 were the following regular units:

In addition to Fort Mills; the army post on Caballo Island was named Fort Hughes; on El Fraile, Fort Drum; and on Carabao Island, Fort Frank. According to the war plan, these forts could withstand a six-month-long siege, after which the United States would provide aid. The fortifications on Corregidor were designed solely to withstand seaborne attack. Though American military planners realized that airplanes would render Fort Mills obsolete, the United States was restricted from improving the fortifications by the Washington Naval Treaty of 1922. After this, the U.S. Army constructed the Malinta Tunnel, with its series of related laterals, to protect its military stores and vital installations in the event of war.

Fort Mills’s defense installations had cost the U.S. government more than $150 million, which did not include the expense of fortifying the neighboring islands of Caballo, Carabao, and El Fraile.

Infrastructure[edit]

There were 65 miles (105 km) of paved roads and trails on the island and 19.5 miles (31.4 km) of electric railroad track. The latter were used largely to haul heavy equipment and ammunition from Bottomside to the different Batteries. The Corregidor High School was where children of both Filipino and American servicemen assigned on the island studied. The island also had an electric trolley system as public transport, a movie house (Cine Corregidor), a baseball field and a swimming pool. The business and social center of this community was found on Topside.

Water supply[edit]

Before the war and during the siege, Corregidor depended on Bataan for most of its potable water. For this purpose, barges were used to haul water either from Mariveles or Cabcaben, Bataan.

World War II[edit]

During World War II, Corregidor was the site of two costly sieges and pitched battles—the first during the first months of 1942, and the second in January 1945—between the Imperial Japanese Army and the U.S. Army, along with its smaller subsidiary force, the Philippine Army.

Surrender of U.S. forces at the Malinta Tunnel May 6, 1942

During the Battle of the Philippines (1941–42), the Japanese Army invaded Luzon from the north (at Lingayen Gulf) in early 1942 and attacked Manila from its landward side. The American and Filipino troops under the command of GeneralDouglas MacArthur, retreated into the Bataan Peninsula, west of Manila Bay. The fall of Bataan on April 9, 1942 ended all organized opposition by the U.S. Armed Forces in the Far East (USAFFE) to the invading Japanese forces on Luzon in the northern Philippines. They were forced to surrender due to the lack of food and ammunition. Eventually Corregidor and its adjacent islets at Manila Bay became the final bastions for holding out against the enemy.

Between December 24, 1941 and February 19, 1942, Corregidor was the temporary location for the Government of the Philippines. On December 30, 1941, outside the Malinta Tunnel, Manuel L. Quezon and Sergio Osmeña were inaugurated respectively as President and Vice-President of the Philippines Commonwealth for a second term. GeneralDouglas MacArthur also used Corregidor as Allied headquarters until March 11, 1942. The Voice of Freedom, the radio station of USAFFE broadcast from Corregidor, including the famous announcement of the fall of Bataan. In April 1942, one Battalion of the Fourth Marines was sent to reinforce the island’s beach defenses.

The Battle of Corregidor was the culmination of the Japanese campaign for the conquest of the Philippines. The fortifications across the entrance to Manila Bay were the remaining obstacle to the 14th Japanese Imperial Army of Lieutenant General Masaharu Homma. The American and Filipino soldiers on Corregidor and the neighboring islets held out against the Japanese to deny the use of Manila Bay, but the Japanese Army brought heavy artillery to the southern end of Bataan, and proceeded to blockade Corregidor. Japanese troops forced the surrender of the remaining American and Filipino forces on May 6, 1942, under the command of Lt. Gen. Jonathan Wainwright.

The battle for the recapture of Corregidor occurred between 16 and 26 February 1945, in which American and Filipino forces liberated the island fortress from Japanese soldiers.

Fortifications[edit]

The fortifications on Corregidor

There were 23 batteries installed on Corregidor, consisting of 56 coastal defense guns and mortars. In addition, Corregidor had 13 anti-aircraft artillery batteries with 76 guns (28 3-inch and 48 .50-caliber) and 10 60-inch Sperry searchlights.

The longest-range coastal pieces were the two 12-inch (305 mm) guns of Batteries Hearn and Smith, with a horizontal range of 29,000 yards (27,000 m). Although capable of an all around traverse, these guns, due to their flat trajectories, were not effective for use against targets on Bataan.

During the siege, the island had ample armor-piercing ammunition but very little of the anti-personnel type, which then was of greatest demand for use against land targets on Bataan. In fact, most of the anti-personnel shells were only for the 12-inch mortars of Batteries Way and Geary.

Battery Monja[edit]

Battery Monja is located on Wheeler Point. It was operated by G Company of the 92nd Coast Artillery Regiment, Philippine Department. The battery had two French 155mm GPF cannon, both of which were hidden in the sides of the island’s bluffs. One gun was commanded by 2LT Robert L. Obourn, who claimed that, towards the end of the battle, “You could see the shells wobble towards the [enemy] ships. Our guns were reduced to nothing more than muskets.” Obourn’s gun was struck and destroyed on 28 April 1942, killing 2 of his gunners. The remaining crew of Battery Monja continued to fight against the Japanese as guerrillas until 18 July 1942. Only 6 men, including Lt. Obourn, survived their capture. The 5 enlisted men that were serving as gunners for the battery attempted to escape from their temporary prison camp two days after capture; they all were killed during their attempted escape.

Battery Way[edit]

Battery Way, named for Lt. Henry N Way, which along with Battery Geary, was the mainstay of the Corregidor Garrison during the Japanese invasion. Its mortars, capable of a 360-degree traverse, could fire on land targets at Bataan. They brought the most destruction on Japanese positions during the attempted landings on the southwest coast of Bataan late in January to the middle of February 1942. These mortars were silenced by enemy shelling in May 1942.

Battery Geary[edit]

Battery Geary was a battery of eight 13-ton, 12-inch mortars. Defiladed in a hollow on Corregidor’s Southern coast it was fairly well protected from Japanese shelling. However, on January 6, 1942, under the command of Capt. Ben Ewing King, a Japanese bomb landed in a makeshift temporary bunker killing 31 of Battery Geary’s NCOs and canoneers. Early in the morning of January 26 Battery Geary opened fire on a unit of Japanese soldiers near Longaskawayan Point on the west side of the Bataan Peninsula. This was the first time fixed coastal artillery had fired at an enemy since the close of the Civil War. Although the fire was considered accurate and effective Col. Bunker decided to replace Capt. King and he was sent to perform the duties of fort XO and to command HQ Battery on Ft. Drum. He was replaced at Battery Geary by Capt. Thomas W. Davis. Later, this battery was pinpointed by the Japanese artillery and was subjected to heavy shelling. One direct hit by a 240-mm shell, which detonated the magazines of this battery in May 2, 1942, proved to be the most crippling shot during the entire siege of Corregidor. This explosion tossed the fifty ton barrel of the mortar around, one to a distance of 150 yards (140 m), another was blown through three feet of reinforced concrete wall into the adjoining powder magazine of Battery Crockett. Large chunks of steel were blown as far as the Malinta Tunnel, killing 27 of the battery crew instantly. Also, one mortar still had a live round in its breech, and it was in the process of firing the shell when the magazine was hit. That live round, of anti-personnel type, still lies within the breach of the mortar.

Aerial view of the ruins

Corregidor today[edit]

After the War, many people, most of them veterans, visited the island because of its history. Today, Corregidor is a historic monument as well as a tourist destination. Many travel companies offer day tours on the island featuring military installations used during World War II. Most of the war-ravaged buildings have not been restored, and left as they were after the war in reverence to the Filipino and American soldiers who died there.

Pacific War Memorial[edit]

Marker of the Pacific War Memorial

Standing on the highest part of Corregidor’s Topside is the Pacific War Memorial, which was built by the United States Government to honor the Filipino and American soldiers who participated in World War II. It was completed in 1968 at the cost of three million dollars. The major memorial structure is a rotunda with a circular altar directly under the dome’s oculusthrough which light falls on the altar during daylight hours. Light lands directly on the altar on May 5 at exactly 12 noon, in commemoration of the surrender of the troops stationed there and the courage they exhibited over 72 days of bombing. Located behind the Memorial is the Eternal Flame of Freedom, a 40 feet (12 m) Corten steel structure commissioned to Aristides Demetriossymbolizing freedom.[13]

Malinta Tunnel[edit]

The Malinta Tunnel, which is the last stronghold of the joint Philippine and American military prior to the Japanese takeover during the World War II, is now home to an audio-visual presentation by National Artist Lamberto V. Avellana of the events that took place on the island, including the reluctant departure of General Douglas MacArthur and the evacuation of the Philippine president Manuel L. Quezon and his family to unoccupied areas of the Philippines and eventually in exile in the United States.[4]

Filipino Heroes Memorial[edit]

One of the most recent additions to Corregidor is the Filipino Heroes Memorial located in the Tail End. This 6,000-square meter complex has 14 murals depicting heroic battles fought by Filipinos from the 15th century up to the present day. It was designed by Francisco Mañosa, while the murals and a statue of a Filipino guerrilla were sculpted by Manuel Casas. The complex was inaugurated by President Fidel V. Ramos on August 28, 1992.[5]

Japanese Garden of Peace[edit]

This garden was built as a memorial to the Japanese soldiers who served and died on the island during World War II. The park includes a praying area, shrines, markers and a small pavilion that houses photographs and memorabilia.[5]

Corregidor lighthouse[edit]

The Corregidor lighthouse

The lighthouse on Topside is one of the oldest landmarks in Corregidor, first lit in 1853. In 1897, the defective lighting apparatus was changed, extending the range to 33 miles (53 km). The grounds and keeper’s dwellings were further improved during the American occupation. During World War II, the lighthouse was damaged during the siege of Corregidor. The lighthouse was totally reconstructed in the 1950s with a different design and stands on the same spot where the first lighthouse once stood. The whole lantern of the lighthouse was recently replaced by the Philippine Coast Guard to run on solar power.

Notable residents[edit]

See also[edit]

Philippines

Coordinates: 13°N 122°E

Republic of the Philippines

Republika ng Pilipinas (Filipino)[a]
Motto: 
Maka-Diyos, Maka-Tao, Makakalikasan at Makabansa[1]
“For God, People, Nature, and Country”
Anthem: Lupang HinirangScript error: No such module “Break”.Chosen Land

MENU
0:00
Great Seal

Seal of the Philippines.svg

Dakilang Sagisag ng Pilipinas  (Tagalog)
Great Seal of the Philippines

Location of the Philippines
Capital Manilaa
14°35′N 120°58′E
Largest city Quezon City
14°38′N 121°02′E
Official languages
Recognized regional languages
National language Filipino
Optional languagesb
Ethnic groups(2010[3])
Religion
Demonym Filipino (masculine or neutral)
Filipina (feminine)

Pinoy (colloquial masculine)
Pinay (colloquial feminine)

Philippine (English)

Government Unitary presidentialconstitutional republic
Rodrigo Duterte
Leni Robredo
Aquilino Pimentel III
Pantaleon Alvarez
Maria Lourdes Sereno
Legislature Congress
Senate
House of Representatives
Formation of the republic e
June 12, 1898
• Treaty of Paris (1898) / Spanish Cessionc
December 10, 1898
January 21, 1899
March 24, 1934
May 14, 1935
July 4, 1946
February 2, 1987
Area
• Total
300,000 km2(120,000 sq mi) (72nd)
• Water (%)
0.61[5] (inland waters)
• Land
298,170 km2
115,120 sq mi
Population
• 2015 census
100,981,437[6] (13th)
• Density
336.6/km2 (871.8/sq mi) (37th)
GDP (PPP) 2017 estimate
• Total
$873.966 billion[7] (29th)
• Per capita
$8,223[7] (118th)
GDP (nominal) 2017 estimate
• Total
$348.593 billion[7] (36th)
• Per capita
$3,280[7] (104th)
Gini (2012) 43.0[8]
medium · 44th
HDI (2015) Increase 0.682[9]
medium · 116th
Currency Piso (Filipino: [ˈpiso]) (₱)(PHP)
Time zone PST (UTC+8)
• Summer (DST)
not observed (UTC+8)
Date format
  • mm-dd-yyyy
  • dd-mm-yyyy (AD)
Drives on the right[10]
Calling code +63
ISO 3166 code PH
Internet TLD .ph
  1. ^ While Manila proper is designated as the nation’s capital, the whole of National Capital Region (NCR) is designated as seat of government, hence the name of a region. This is because it has many national government institutions aside from Malacanang Palace and some agencies/institutions that are located within the capital city.[11]
  2. ^ The 1987 Philippine constitution specifies “Spanish and Arabic shall be promoted on a voluntary and optional basis.”[12]
  3. ^ Filipino revolutionaries declared independencefrom Spain on June 12, 1898, but Spain ceded the islands to the United States for $20 million in theTreaty of Paris on December 10, 1898 which eventually led to the Philippine–American War.
  4. ^ The United States of America recognized the independence of the Philippines on July 4, 1946, through the Treaty of Manila.[13] This date was chosen because it corresponds to the U.S.Independence Day, which was observed in the Philippines as Independence Day until May 12, 1962, when President Diosdado Macapagalissued Presidential Proclamation No. 28, shifting it to June 12, the date of Emilio Aguinaldo‘s proclamation.[14]
  5. ^ In accordance with article 11 of the Revolutionary Government Decree of June 23, 1898, the Malolos Congress selected a commission to draw up a draft constitution on September 17, 1898. The commission was composed of Hipólito Magsalin, Basilio Teodoro, José Albert, Joaquín González, Gregorio Araneta, Pablo Ocampo, Aguedo Velarde, Higinio Benitez,Tomás del Rosario, José Alejandrino, Alberto Barretto, José Ma. de la Viña, José Luna, Antonio Luna, Mariano Abella, Juan Manday, Felipe Calderón, Arsenio Cruz and Felipe Buencamino.[15] They were all wealthy and well educated.[16]

The Philippines (/ˈfɪlɪpnz/ (About this sound listen); Filipino: Pilipinas [ˌpɪlɪˈpinɐs] or Filipinas[ˌfɪlɪˈpinɐs]), officially the Republic of the Philippines (Filipino: Republika ng Pilipinas), is a unitary sovereign state and island country in Southeast Asia. Situated in the western Pacific Ocean, it consists of about 7,641 islands[17] that are categorized broadly under three main geographical divisions from north to south: Luzon, Visayas, and Mindanao. The capital city of the Philippines isManila and the most populous city is Quezon City, both part of Metro Manila.[18] Bounded by the South China Sea on the west, the Philippine Sea on the east and the Celebes Sea on the southwest, the Philippines shares maritime borders with Taiwan to the north, Vietnam to the west, Palau to the east and Malaysia and Indonesia to the south.

The Philippines’ location on the Pacific Ring of Fire and close to the equator makes the Philippines prone to earthquakes and typhoons, but also endows it with abundant natural resources and some of the world’s greatest biodiversity. The Philippines has an area of 300,000 square kilometers (115,831 sq mi),[19]and a population of approximately 103 million.[20] It is the eighth-most populated country in Asia and the 12th most populated country in the world. As of 2013, approximately 10 million additional Filipinos lived overseas,[21]comprising one of the world’s largest diasporas. Multiple ethnicities and cultures are found throughout the islands. In prehistoric times, Negritos were some of the archipelago’s earliest inhabitants. They were followed bysuccessive waves of Austronesian peoples.[22] Exchanges with Chinese,Malay, Indian, and Islamic nations occurred. Then, various competing maritime states were established under the rule of Datus, Rajahs, Sultans orLakans.

The arrival of Ferdinand Magellan in Homonhon, Eastern Samar in 1521 marked the beginning of Hispanic colonization. In 1543, Spanish explorer Ruy López de Villalobos named the archipelago Las Islas Filipinas in honor ofPhilip II of Spain. With the arrival of Miguel López de Legazpi from Mexico City, in 1565, the first Hispanic settlement in the archipelago was established.[23]The Philippines became part of the Spanish Empire for more than 300 years. This resulted in Catholicism becoming the dominant religion. During this time,Manila became the western hub of the trans-Pacific trade connecting Asia withAcapulco in the Americas using Manila galleons.[24]

As the 19th century gave way to the 20th, the Philippine Revolution followed in quick succession, which then spawned the short-lived First Philippine Republic, followed by the bloody Philippine–American War.[25] Aside from the period ofJapanese occupation, the United States retained sovereignty over the islands until after World War II, when the Philippines was recognized as an independent nation. Since then, the Philippines has often had a tumultuous experience with democracy, which included the overthrow of a dictatorship bya non-violent revolution.[26]

It is a founding member of the United Nations, World Trade Organization,Association of Southeast Asian Nations, the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum, and the East Asia Summit. It also hosts the headquarters of the Asian Development Bank.[27] The Philippines is considered to be anemerging market and a newly industrialized country,[28] which has an economy transitioning from being one based on agriculture to one based more on services and manufacturing.[29] It is one of the only two predominantlyChristian nations in Southeast Asia, the other being East Timor.

Etymology

The Philippines was named in honor of King Philip II of Spain. Spanish explorer Ruy López de Villalobos, during his expedition in 1542, named the islands of Leyte and SamarFelipinas after the then-Prince of Asturias. Eventually the name Las Islas Filipinas would be used to cover all the islands of the archipelago. Before that became commonplace, other names such as Islas del Poniente (Islands of the West) and Magellan’s name for the islands San Lázaro were also used by the Spanish to refer to the islands.[30][31][32][33][34]

The official name of the Philippines has changed several times in the course of its history. During the Philippine Revolution, the Malolos Congress proclaimed the establishment of the República Filipina or the Philippine Republic. From the period of the Spanish–American War (1898) and the Philippine–American War (1899–1902) until the Commonwealth period (1935–46), American colonial authorities referred to the country as the Philippine Islands, a translation of the Spanish name.[25] From the 1898 Treaty of Paris, the namePhilippines began to appear and it has since become the country’s common name. Since the end of World War II, the official name of the country has been the Republic of the Philippines.[35]

History

Prehistory

The Tabon Caves are the site of one of the oldest human remains known in the Philippines, the Tabon Man

The metatarsal of the Callao Man, reliably dated by uranium-series datingto 67,000 years ago is the oldest human remnant found in the archipelago to date.[36] This distinction previously belonged to the Tabon Man of Palawan, carbon-dated to around 26,500 years ago.[37][38] Negritos were also among the archipelago’s earliest inhabitants, but their first settlement in the Philippines has not been reliably dated.[39]

There are several opposing theories regarding the origins of ancient Filipinos. F. Landa Jocano theorizes that the ancestors of the Filipinos evolved locally. Wilhelm Solheim‘s Island Origin Theory[40] postulates that the peopling of the archipelago transpired via trade networks originating in the Sundaland area around 48,000 to 5000 BC rather than by wide-scale migration. The Austronesian Expansion Theoryexplains that Malayo-Polynesians coming from Taiwan began migrating to the Philippines around 4000 BC, displacing earlier arrivals.[41]

The most widely accepted theory, based on linguistic and archeological evidence, is the “Out-of-Taiwan” model, which hypothesizes that Austronesians from Taiwan, who were themselves descended from the neolithic civilizations of the Yangtze river such as the Liangzhu culture,[42] began migrating to the Philippines around 4000 BC, displacing earlier arrivals.[41][43] During the neolithic period, a “jade culture” is said to have existed as evidenced by tens of thousands of exquisitely crafted jade artifacts found in the Philippines dated to 2000 BC.[44][45]

The jade is said to have originated nearby in Taiwan and is also found in many other areas in insular and mainland Southeast Asia. These artifacts are said to be evidence of long range communication between prehistoric Southeast Asian societies.[46] By 1000 BC, the inhabitants of the archipelago had developed into four kinds of social groups: hunter-gatherer tribes, warrior societies, highland plutocracies, and port principalities.[47]

Precolonial epoch

A Boxer Codex image illustrating the ancientkadatuan or tumao (noble class).

The current demarcation between the Prehistory and the Early history of the Philippines is 21 April 900, which is the equivalent on the Proleptic Gregorian calendar for the date indicated on the Laguna Copperplate Inscription—the earliest known surviving written record to come from the Philippines.[48] This date came in the middle of what anthropologists refer to as the Philippines’ “Emergent Phase” (1st–14th centuries CE), which was characterized by newly emerging socio-cultural patterns, the initial development of large coastal settlements, greater social stratification and specialization, and the beginnings of local and international trade.[49] By the 1300s, a number of the large coastal settlements had become progressive trading centers, and became the focal point of societal changes, ushering complex lifeways which characterized what F. Landa Jocano called the “Barangic Phase” of early Philippine history, beginning from the 14th century through the arrival of Spanish colonizers and the beginning of the Philippines’ colonial period.[49]

The discovery of iron at around the 1st century AD created significant social and economic changes which allowed settlements to grow larger and develop new social patterns, characterized by social stratification and specialization.[49]

Some of these polities, particularly the coastal settlements at or near the mouths of large rivers,[50] eventually developed substantial trade contacts with the early trading powers of Southeast Asia, most importantly the Indianized kingdoms of Malaysia and Java, the various dynasties of China,[50] Thailand,[51] and later, the Muslim Sultanate of Brunei.[52] They also traded with Vietnam,[51] Japan,[53] and other Austronesian islands.[54]

Based on archeological findings, trade with China is believed to have begun in the Tang dynasty, but grew more extensive during the Song dynasty.[52] By the 2nd millennium CE, some (but not all) Philippine polities were known to have sent trade delegations which participated in the Tributary system enforced by the Chinese imperial court.[52] These “tributary states” nominally acknowledged the Sinocentric system which saw China and the imperial court as the cultural center of the world. Among the early Philippine polities, this arrangement fulfilled the requirements for trade with China, but did not actually translate into political or military control.[52][50]

The Ifugao/Igorot people utilized terrace farming in the steep mountainous regions of northern Philippines over 2000 years ago.

Regarding the relations of early Philippine polities with the various state-level polities of Indonesia and Malaysia, legendary accounts often mention the interaction of early Philippine polities with the Srivijaya empire, but there is not much archeological evidence to definitively support such a relationship.[49] Considerable evidence exists, on the other hand, for extensive trade with the Majapahit empire.[55]

The exact scope and mechanisms of Indian cultural influences on early Philippine polities are still the subject of some debate among Southeast Asian historiographers,[49][56] but the current scholarly consensus is that there was probably little or no direct trade between India and the Philippines,[49][56] and Indian cultural traits, such as linguistic terms and religious practices,[55] filtered in during the 10th through the early 14th centuries, through early Philippine polities’ relations with the Hindu Majapahit empire.[49] The Philippine archipelago is thus one of the countries, (others include Afghanistan and Southern Vietnam) just at the outer edge of what is considered the “Greater Indian cultural zone”.[56]

The early polities of the Philippine archipelago were typically characterized by a three-tier social structure.[49][50] Although different cultures had different terms to describe them, this three-tier structure invariably consisted of an apex nobility class, a class of “freemen”, and a class of dependent debtor-bondsmen called “alipin” or “oripun.”[49][50] Among the members of the nobility class were leaders who held the political office of “Datu,” which was responsible for leading autonomous social groups called “barangay” or “dulohan”.[49] Whenever these barangays banded together, either to form a larger settlement[49] or a geographically looser alliance group,[50] the more senior or respected among them would be recognized as a “paramount datu”, variedly called a Lakan, Sultan, Rajah, or simply a more senior Datu.[52][49][57]

Early historic Coastal Polities

The Laguna Copperplate Inscription, c. 900. The oldest known historical record found in the Philippines, discovered at Lumban, Laguna.

The earliest historical record of these kingdoms is the Laguna Copperplate Inscription, which indirectly refers to the Tagalog settlement of Tondo(c. before 900–1589) and two to three other settlements believed to be located somewhere near Tondo, as well as a settlement near Mt. Diwata in Mindanao, and the temple complex of Medang in Java.[48] Although the precise political relationships between these polities is unclear in the text of the inscription, the artifact is usually accepted as evidence of intra- and inter-regional political linkages as early as 900 CE.[48][52][50] By the arrival of the earliest European ethnographers during the 1500s, Tondo was led by the paramount ruler called a “Lakan“.[52][50] It had grown into a major trading hub, sharing a monopoly with the Rajahnate of Maynila over the trade of Ming dynasty[58] products throughout the archipelago.[52]This trade was significant enough that the Yongle Emperor appointed a Chinese governor named Ko Ch’a-lao to oversee it.[59][60]

The next historical record referred a location in the Philippines is Volume 186 of official history of the Song dynasty which describes the “country” of Ma-i (c. before 971 – after 1339). Song dynasty traders visited Ma-i annually, and their accounts described Ma-i’s geography, trade products, and the trade behaviors of its rulers.[61] Because the descriptions of Mai’s location in these accounts are not clear, there is some dispute about Mai’s possible location, with some scholars believing it was located in Bay, Laguna,[62] and others believing it was on the island of Mindoro.[38]

The Butuan Ivory Seal (c. 1002) was recovered in the 1970s in Butuan.

The official history of the Song dynasty next refers to the Rajahnate of Butuan(c. before 1001–1756) in northeastern Mindanao which is the first polity from the Philippine archipelago recorded as having sent a tribute mission to the Chinese empire – on March 17, 1001 CE. Butuan attained prominence under the rule of Rajah Sri Bata Shaja,[54] who was from a Buddhist ruling-class governing a Hindu nation. This state became powerful due to the local goldsmith industry and it also had commercial ties and a diplomatic rivalry with the Champa civilization.

The Kedatuan of Madja-as (c. 1200–1569) was founded following a civil war in collapsing Srivijaya, wherein loyalists of the Malay datus of Srivijaya defied the invading Chola dynasty and its puppet-Rajah, called Makatunao, and set up a guerrilla-state in the islands of the Visayas. Its founding datu, Puti, had purchased land for his new realms from the aboriginal Ati hero, Marikudo.[63][verification needed] Madja-as was founded on Panay island (named after the destroyed state of Pannai allied under Srivijaya which was located in Sumatra). Afterwards, the people of Madja-as often raided the port cities of southern China and warred with the Chinese navy.[64]

The Rajahnate of Cebu[65] (c. 1200–1565) was a neighbor of Madja-as in the Visayas led by Rajamuda Sri Lumay, a monarch with partial Tamil descent. This state grew wealthy by making use of the inter-island shipping within the archipelago.[66] Both the Rajahnates of Butuan and Cebu were allied to each other and they also maintained contact and had trade routes with Kutai, a Hindu country[67] in south Borneo established by Indian traders.[68]

The earliest legendary date mentioning the Rajahnate of Maynila (c. 1258–1571) on the island of Luzon across the Pasig River from Tondo has to do with the naval victory of the Bruneian Rajah Ahmad over the Majapahit Rajah Avirjirkaya, who ruled a prior pre-Muslim settlement in the same location.[52] Chinese records of this period also mention a polity called “Luzon.” This is believed to be a reference to Maynila since Portuguese and Spanish accounts from the 1520s explicitly state that “Luçon” and “Maynila” were “one and the same”,[52] although some historians argue that since none of these observers actually visited Maynila, “Luçon” may simply have referred to all the Tagalog and Kapampangan polities that rose up on the shores of Manila Bay.[69] Either way, from the early 1500s to as late as the 1560s, this seafaring people was referred to in Portuguese Malacca as Luções, and they participated in trading ventures and military campaigns in Myanmar,Malacca and East Timor[70][71][72] where they were employed as traders and mercenaries.[73][74][75]

In northern Luzon, the Wangdom of Pangasinan (c. 1406–1576) sent emissaries to China in 1406–1411.[76]

Map showing the extent of theSultanate of Sulu in 1822.

The 1300s saw the arrival and eventual spread of Islam in the Philippine archipelago. In 1380, Karim ul’ Makdum and Shari’ful Hashem Syed Abu Bakr, anArab trader born in Johore, arrived in Sulu from Malacca and established theSultanate of Sulu by converting Sulu’s rajah, Rajah Baguinda Ali and marrying his daughter.[77][78] At the end of the 15th century, Shariff Mohammed Kabungsuwan ofJohor introduced Islam in the island of Mindanao and established the Sultanate of Maguindanao. The sultanate form of government extended further into Lanao.[79]

Islam then started to spread out of Mindanao in the south and went into Luzon in the north. Manila in Luzon was Islamized during the reign of Sultan Bolkiah in 1485 to 1521. This was accomplished because the Sultanate of Brunei subjugated Tondo by defeating Rajah Gambang in battle and thereafter installing the Muslim rajah, Rajah Salalila to the throne and by establishing the Bruneian puppet-state of the Rajahnate of Maynila.[80][81][82][83] Sultan Bolkiah also married Laila Mecana, the daughter of Sulu Sultan Amir Ul-Ombra to expand Brunei‘s influence in both Luzon and Mindanao.[84] The Muslims then proceeded to wage wars and conduct slave-raids against the Visayans.[85] Participating in the Muslim raids, the Sultanate of Ternate consequently destroyed theKedatuan of Dapitan in Bohol.[86] The Rajahnates of Butuan and Cebu also endured slave raids from, and waged wars against the Sultanate of Maguindanao.[87]

The rivalries between the Datus, Rajahs, Sultans, and Lakans eventually eased Spanish colonization. Furthermore, the islands were sparsely populated[88] due to consistent natural disasters[89] and inter-kingdom conflicts. Therefore, colonization was made easy and the small states of the archipelago quickly became incorporated into the Spanish Empire and were Hispanicized and Christianized.[90]

Colonial era

Spanish rule

A sketch of a Manila galleon used during the Manila-Acapulco Trade.

In 1521, Portuguese explorer Ferdinand Magellan‘s expedition arrived in the Philippines, claimed the islands for Spain and was then killed at the Battle of Mactan.[91] Colonization began when Spanish explorer Miguel López de Legazpiarrived from Mexico in 1565 and formed the first Hispanic settlements in Cebu. After relocating to Panay island and consolidating a coalition of native Visayan allies, Hispanic soldiers and Latin-American recruits, the Spaniards then invaded Islamic Manila, therein they put down the Tondo Conspiracy and exiled the conspirators toGuam and Guerrero.[92] Under Spanish rule, they established Manila as the capital of the Spanish East Indies (1571).[93]

They also defeated the Chinese warlord Limahong.[94][95] To counteract the Islamization of the Philippines, the Spanish then conducted the Castilian War which was aimed against the Sultanate of Brunei[96][97] and war was also waged against the Sultanate of Ternate and Tidore (in response to Ternatean slaving and piracy against Spain’s allies: Bohol and Butuan).[98] The Spanish considered their war with the Muslims in Southeast Asia an extension of the Reconquista, a centuries-long campaign to retake and rechristianize the Spanish homeland which was invaded by the Muslims of the Umayyad Caliphate. The Spanish expeditions into the Philippines were also part of a larger Ibero-Islamic world conflict[99] that included a rivalry with the Ottoman Caliphate which had a center of operations at its nearby vassal, the Sultanate of Aceh.[100] Consequently, fortifications were also set up in Taiwanand the Maluku islands. These were abandoned and the Spanish soldiers, along with the newly Christianized Papuannatives of the Moluccas, withdrew back to the Philippines in order to re-concentrate their military forces because of a threatened invasion by the Japan-born Ming-dynasty loyalist, Koxinga, ruler of the Kingdom of Tungning.[101] However, the planned invasion was aborted. Meanwhile, settlers were sent to the Pacific islands of Palau and the Marianas.[102]

Spanish rule eventually contributed significantly to bringing political unity to the fragmented states of the archipelago. From 1565 to 1821, the Philippines was governed as a territory of the Mexico-based Viceroyalty of New Spain and then was administered directly from Madrid after the Mexican War of Independence. The Manila galleons, the largest wooden ships ever built, were constructed in Bicol and Cavite.[103] The Manila galleons were accompanied with a large naval escort as it traveled to and from Manila and Acapulco.[104] The galleons sailed once or twice a year, between the 16th and 19th centuries.[105] The Manila Galleons brought with them goods,[106] settlers[107] and military reinforcements destined for the Philippines, from Latin America.[108]

Trade introduced foodstuffs such as maize, tomatoes, potatoes, chili peppers,chocolate and pineapples from Mexico and Peru. Within the Philippines, theMarquisate of Buglas was established and the rule of it was awarded to Sebastian Elcano and his crew, the survivors of the first circumnavigation of the world, as well as his descendants. New towns were also created[95] and Catholic missionaries converted most of the lowland inhabitants to Christianity.[109] They also founded schools, a university, hospitals and churches which were built along the Earthquake Baroque architectural style.[110] To defend their settlements, the Spaniards constructed and manned a network of military fortresses (called “Presidios“) across the archipelago.[111] The Spanish also decreed the introduction of free public schooling in 1863.[112] As a result of these policies the Philippine population increased exponentially.[113][114]

During its rule, Spain quelled various indigenous revolts. There were also several external military challenges from Chinese and Japanese pirates, the Dutch, the English, the Portuguese and the Muslims of Southeast Asia. Those challengers were fought off despite the hostile forces having encircled the Philippine archipelago in a crescent formed from Japan to Indonesia. British forces occupied Manila from 1762 to 1764 in an extension of the fighting of the Seven Years’ War. Spanish rule was restored following the 1763 Treaty of Paris.[90][115][116] The Spanish–Moro conflict lasted for several hundred years. In the last quarter of the 19th century, Spain conquered portions of Mindanao and the Moro Muslims in theSulu Sultanate formally recognized Spanish sovereignty.

Photograph of armed Filipino revolutionaries known as Katipuneros.

In the 19th century, Philippine ports opened to world trade and shifts started occurring within Filipino society. Many Spaniards born in the Philippines (criollos)[117] and those of mixed ancestry (mestizos) became wealthy and an influx of Latin American immigrants[118] opened up government positions traditionally held by Spaniards born in the Iberian Peninsula (peninsulares). The ideals of revolution also began to spread through the islands. Criollo dissatisfaction resulted in the 1872Cavite Mutiny that was a precursor to the Philippine Revolution.[90][119][120][121]

Revolutionary sentiments were stoked in 1872 after three priests—Mariano Gómez,José Burgos, and Jacinto Zamora (collectively known as Gomburza)—were accused of sedition by colonial authorities and executed.[119][120] This would inspire a propaganda movement in Spain, organized by Marcelo H. del Pilar, José Rizal, and Mariano Ponce, lobbying for political reforms in the Philippines. Rizal was eventually executed on December 30, 1896, on charges of rebellion.[122] As attempts at reform met with resistance, Andrés Bonifacio in 1892 established the secret society called the Katipunan, who sought independence from Spain through armed revolt.[121]

Bonifacio and the Katipunan started the Philippine Revolution in 1896. A faction of the Katipunan, the Magdalo of Caviteprovince, eventually came to challenge Bonifacio’s position as the leader of the revolution and Emilio Aguinaldo took over. In 1898, the Spanish–American War began in Cuba and reached the Philippines. Aguinaldo declared Philippine independence from Spain in Kawit, Cavite on June 12, 1898, and the First Philippine Republic was established in theBarasoain Church in the following year.[90]

American rule

A depiction of the Battle of Paceo during the Philippine–American War.

The islands were ceded by Spain to the United States as a result of the latter’s victory in the Spanish–American War.[123] A compensation of US$20 million was paid to Spain according to the terms of the 1898 Treaty of Paris.[124] As it became increasingly clear the United States would not recognize the nascent First Philippine Republic, the Philippine–American War broke out, the First Republic was defeated, and the archipelago was administered under an Insular Government.[125] The war resulted in the deaths of tens of thousands of combatants as well as a couple of hundred thousand civilians, mostly from a cholera epidemic.[125][126][127][128]

The Americans then suppressed other rebellious sub-states: mainly, the waningSultanate of Sulu, as well as the insurgent Tagalog Republic, the Cantonal Republic of Negros in the Visayas, and the Republic of Zamboanga in Mindanao.[129][130]During this era, a renaissance in Philippine culture occurred, with the expansion of Philippine cinema andliterature.[131][132][133] Daniel Burnham built an architectural plan for Manila which would have transformed it into a modern city.[134] In 1935, the Philippines was granted Commonwealth status with Manuel Quezon as president. He designated a national language and introduced women’s suffrage and land reform.[135][136]

Japanese rule

General Douglas MacArthur landing ashore during the Battle of Leyte on October 20, 1944.

Plans for independence over the next decade were interrupted by World War II when the Japanese Empire invaded and the Second Philippine Republic of José P. Laurel was established as a collaborator state. Many atrocities and war crimes were committed during the war such as the Bataan Death March and the Manila massacre that culminated with the Battle of Manila.[137] In 1944, Quezon died in exile in the United States and Sergio Osmeña succeeded him. The Allied Forcesthen employed a strategy of island hopping towards the Philippine archipelago, in the process, retaking territory conquered by Imperial Japan.

From mid-1942 through mid-1944, the Filipino guerrilla resistance[138][139] had been supplied and encouraged by U.S. Navy submarines and a few parachute drops, so that the guerrillas could harass the Japanese Army and take control of the rural areas, jungles and mountains – thus, the Japanese Empire only controlled 12 out of 48 provinces.[140] While remaining loyal to the United States, many Filipinos hoped and believed that liberation from the Japanese would bring them freedom and their already-promised independence.

Eventually, the largest naval battle in history, according to gross tonnage sunk, the Battle of Leyte Gulf, occurred when Allied forces started the liberation of the Philippines from the Japanese Empire.[141][142] Allied troops defeated the Japanesein 1945. By the end of the war it is estimated that over a million Filipinos had died.[143][144][145]

Postcolonial period

Proclamation of Philippine independence from the United States (1946).

On October 11, 1945, the Philippines became one of the founding members of the United Nations.[146] The following year, on July 4, 1946, the Philippines was officially recognized by the United States as an independent nation through the Treaty of Manila, during the presidency of Manuel Roxas.[5] Disgruntled remnants of the communist Hukbalahap[147]continued to roam the countryside but were put down by President Elpidio Quirino‘s successor Ramon Magsaysay.[148][149] Magsaysay’s successor, Carlos P. Garcia, initiated the Filipino First Policy,[150] which was continued by Diosdado Macapagal, with celebration of Independence Day moved from July 4 to June 12, the date of Emilio Aguinaldo‘sdeclaration,[151][152] while furthering the claim on the eastern part of North Borneo.[153][154]

In 1965, Macapagal lost the presidential election to Ferdinand Marcos. Early in his presidency, Marcos initiated numerous infrastructure projects but was accused of massive corruption and embezzling billions of dollars in public funds.[155] Nearing the end of his term, Marcos declared Martial Law on September 21, 1972.[156] This period of his rule was characterized by political repression, censorship, and human rights violations but the US were steadfast in their support.[157]

On August 21, 1983, Marcos’ chief rival, opposition leader Benigno Aquino, Jr., was assassinated on the tarmac at Manila International Airport. Marcos eventually called snap presidential elections in 1986.[158] Marcos was proclaimed the winner, but the results were widely regarded as fraudulent, leading to the People Power Revolution. Marcos and his allies fled toHawaii and Aquino’s widow, Corazon Aquino was recognized as president.[158][159]

Contemporary history

The 1991 eruption of Mount Pinatubo is the second largest volcanic eruption of the 20th century.

The return of democracy and government reforms beginning in 1986 were hampered by national debt, government corruption, coup attempts, disasters, a persistent communist insurgency,[160] and a military conflict with Moro separatists.[161] During Corazon Aquino‘s administration, U.S. forces withdrew from the Philippines, due to the rejection of the U.S. Bases Extension Treaty,[162][163] and leading to the official transfer of Clark Air Base in November 1991 and Subic Bay to the government in December 1992.[164][165] The administration also faced a series of natural disasters, including the eruption of Mount Pinatubo in June 1991.[166][167]After introducing a constitution that limited presidents to a single term, Aquino did not stand for re-election.

Aquino was succeeded by Fidel V. Ramos, who won the Philippine presidential election held in May 1992. During this period the country’s economic performance remained modest, with a 5–7 percent GDP growth rate.[168] However, the political stability and economic improvements, such as the peace agreement with theMoro National Liberation Front in 1996,[169] were overshadowed by the onset of the 1997 Asian financial crisis.[170][171] On his Presidency the death penalty was revived in the light of the Rape-slay case of Eileen Sarmienta and Allan Gomez in 1993 and the first person to be executed was Leo Echegaray in 1999.[172]

Ramos’ successor, Joseph Estrada assumed office in June 1998 and managed to regain the economy from −0.6% growth to 3.4% by 1999 amidst the 1997 Asian financial crisis.[173][174][175] The government had announced a war against the Moro Islamic Liberation Front in March 2000 and neutralized the camps including the headquarters of the insurgents.[176][177] In the middle of ongoing conflict with the Abu Sayyaf,[178] accusations of alleged corruption, and a stalled impeachment process, Estrada‘s administration was overthrown by the 2001 EDSA Revolution and succeeded by his Vice President,Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo on January 20, 2001.[179]

In Arroyo‘s 9-year administration, The economy experienced GDP growth from 4% in 2002 to 7% growth in 2007 with the completion of infrastructure projects like the LRT Line 2 in 2004[180] and managed to avoid the Great Recession.[181]Nevertheless, it was tied with graft and political scandals like the Hello Garci scandal pertaining to the alleged manipulation of votes in the 2004 presidential elections.[182][183][184][185] On November 23, 2009, the Maguindanao massacre led to the murder of 34 journalists.[186][187]

Benigno Aquino III won the 2010 national elections and served as the 15th President of the Philippines. He was the third youngest person to be elected president and the first to be a bachelor,[188] beginning with the 2010 Manila hostage crisisthat caused deeply strained relations between Manila and Hong Kong for a time. During the previous years, TheFramework Agreement on the Bangsamoro was signed on October 15, 2012, as the first step of the creation of an autonomous political entity named Bangsamoro.[189] However, territorial disputes in eastern Sabah and the South China Sea have escalated.[190][191][192]

The economy performed well at 7.2% GDP growth, the second fastest in Asia.[193] Aquino signed the Enhanced Basic Education Act of 2013, commonly known as K–12 program in May 15, 2013 aiming to enhance the educational system in the country.[194] On November 8, 2013, Typhoon Yolanda (Haiyan) struck and heavily devastated the country, especially in the Visayas.[195][196] On April 28, 2014, when United States President Barack Obama visited the Philippines, the Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement, was signed.[197][198][199] From January 15 to 19, 2015, Pope Francis stayed in the Philippines for an apostolic and state visit and paid visits to the victims of Typhoon Haiyan (Yolanda).[200][201] On January 25, 2015, 44 members of the Philippine National PoliceSpecial Action Force were killed after a clash took place inMamasapano, Maguindanao putting efforts to pass the Bangsamoro Basic Law into law in an impasse.[202][203] On December 20, 2015, Pia Wurtzbach won the Miss Universe 2015, making her the third Filipino to win the Miss Universe title following Gloria Diaz in 1969 and Margarita Moran in 1973.[204] On January 12, 2016, the Philippine Supreme Court upheld the Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement paving the way for the return of United States Armed Forces bases into the country.[205] On March 23, 2016, Diwata-1 was launched to the International Space Station (ISS), becoming the country’s first micro-satellite and the first satellite to be built and designed by Filipinos.[206]

Rodrigo Duterte takes his oath as he is sworn in as the 16th President of the Philippines

Former Davao City mayor Rodrigo Duterte of PDP–Laban won the 2016 presidential election becoming the first president from Mindanao.[207] On July 12, 2016, thePermanent Court of Arbitration ruled in favor of the Philippines in its case against China’s claims in the South China Sea.[208] On August 1, 2016, the Duterte administration launched a 24-hour complaint office accessible to the public through a nationwide hotline, 8888, and changed the nationwide emergency telephone number from 117 to 911.[209][210] After winning the Presidency, Duterte launched an intensified anti-drug campaign to fulfill a campaign promise of wiping out criminality in six months.[211] By March 2017, the death toll for the Philippine Drug War passed 8,000 people, with 2,679 killed in legitimate police operations and the rest the government claims to be homicide cases.[212][213][214]

Politics

Malacañang Palace is the official residence of the President of the Philippines.

The Philippines has a democratic government in the form of a constitutional republic with a presidential system.[215] It is governed as a unitary state with the exception of the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM), which is largely free from the national government. There have been attempts to change the government to afederal, unicameral, or parliamentary government since the Ramos administration.[216][217]

The President functions as both head of state and head of government and is thecommander-in-chief of the armed forces. The president is elected by popular vote for a single six-year term, during which he or she appoints and presides over thecabinet.[218] The bicameral Congress is composed of the Senate, serving as theupper house, with members elected to a six-year term, and the House of Representatives, serving as the lower house, with members elected to a three-year term.[218]

Senators are elected at large while the representatives are elected from both legislative districts and through sectoral representation.[218] The judicial power is vested in the Supreme Court, composed of a Chief Justice as its presiding officer and fourteen associate justices, all of whom are appointed by the President from nominations submitted by the Judicial and Bar Council.[218]

Foreign relations

President Rodrigo Duterte meeting with Vladimir Putin during the APEC summit in Peru, 2016.

The Philippines’ international relations are based on trade with other nations and the well-being of the 10 million overseas Filipinos living outside the country.[219] As a founding and active member of the United Nations, the Philippines has been elected several times into the Security Council. Carlos P. Romulo was a former President of the United Nations General Assembly. The country is an active participant in theHuman Rights Council as well as in peacekeeping missions, particularly in East Timor.[220][221][222]

In addition to membership in the United Nations, the Philippines is also a founding and active member of ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations), an organization designed to strengthen relations and promote economic and cultural growth among states in the Southeast Asian region.[223] It has hosted severalsummits and is an active contributor to the direction and policies of the bloc.[224]

The Philippines values its relations with the United States.[219] It supported the United States during the Cold War and the War on Terror and is a major non-NATO ally. Despite this history of goodwill, controversies related to the presence of the now former U.S. military bases in Subic Bay and Clark and the current Visiting Forces Agreement have flared up from time to time.[219] Japan, the biggest contributor of official development assistance to the country,[225] is thought of as a friend. Although historical tensions still exist on issues such as the plight of comfort women, much of the animosity inspired by memories of World War II has faded.[226]

Relations with other nations are generally positive. Shared democratic values ease relations with Western and European countries while similar economic concerns help in relations with other developing countries. Historical ties and cultural similarities also serve as a bridge in relations with Spain.[227][228][229] Despite issues such as domestic abuse and war affecting overseas Filipino workers,[230][231] relations with Middle Eastern countries are friendly as seen in the continuous employment of more than two million overseas Filipinos living there.[232]

With communism no longer the threat it once was, once hostile relations in the 1950s between the Philippines and Chinahave improved greatly. Issues involving Taiwan, the Spratly Islands, and concerns of expanding Chinese influence, however, still encourage a degree of caution.[226] Recent foreign policy has been mostly about economic relations with its Southeast Asian and Asia-Pacific neighbors.[219]

The Philippines is an active member of the East Asia Summit (EAS), the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC), theLatin Union, the Group of 24, and the Non-Aligned Movement.[218] It is also seeking to strengthen relations with Islamic countries by campaigning for observer status in the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation.[233][234]

On October 24, 2017, Russia’s Minister of Defence Sergey Shoygu and Philippines Secretary of Defense Delfin Lorenzanasigned the Russia-Philippines Agreement for Military-Technical Cooperation at the ASEAN Convention Center in Clark, Pampanga.[235] On October 25, 2017, Russia donated 5,000 AK-74M Kalashnikov assault rifles, 1 million units of ammunition and 5,000 units of steel helmets.[236] Russia’s Pacific Fleet also gave the Armed Forces of the Philippines 20 military trucks. Philippines President Rodrigo Duterte personally oversaw the transition on the Russian destroyer Admiral Panteleyev which was docked in Manila.[237]

Military

The Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) are responsible for national security and consist of three branches: the Philippine Air Force, the Philippine Army, and the Philippine Navy (includes theMarine Corps).[238][239][240] The Armed Forces of the Philippines are avolunteer force.[241] Civilian security is handled by the Philippine National Police under the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG).[242][243]

In the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao, the largest separatist organization, the Moro National Liberation Front, is now engaging the government politically. Other more militant groups like the Moro Islamic Liberation Front, the communist New People’s Army, and theAbu Sayyaf have previously kidnapped foreigners for ransom, particularly on the southern island of Mindanao.[245][246][247][248] Their presence has decreased in recent years due to successful security provided by the Philippine government.[249][250] At 1.1 percent of GDP, the Philippines spent less on its military forces than the regional average. As of 2014 Malaysia and Thailand were estimated to spend 1.5%, China 2.1%, Vietnam 2.2% and South Korea 2.6%.[251][252]

The Philippines has been an ally of the United States since World War II. A mutual defense treaty between the two countries was signed in 1951. The Philippines supported American policies during the Cold War and participated in theKorean and Vietnam wars. It was a member of the now dissolved SEATO, a group that was intended to serve a role similar to NATO and that included Australia, France, New Zealand, Pakistan, Thailand, the United Kingdom, and the United States.[253] After the start of the War on Terror, the Philippines was part of the coalition that gave support to the United States in Iraq.[254]

Administrative divisions

The Philippines is divided into three island groups: Luzon, Visayas, and Mindanao. These are further divided into 17regions, 81 provinces, 145 cities, 1,489 municipalities, and 42,036 barangays.[255] In addition, Section 2 of Republic Act No. 5446 asserts that the definition of the territorial sea around the Philippine archipelago does not affect the claim over the eastern part of Sabah.[256][257]


Nueva Vizcaya Nueva Ecija Northern Samar Northern Samar Northern Samar Negros Oriental Negros Occidental Mountain Province Misamis Oriental Misamis Occidental Metro Manila Masbate Masbate Masbate Marinduque Maguindanao Leyte La Union Lanao del Sur Lanao del Norte Laguna Kalinga Isabela City Isabela Iloilo Iloilo Iloilo Ilocos Sur Ilocos Norte Ifugao Guimaras Eastern Samar Eastern Samar Dinagat Islands Davao Oriental Davao Oriental Davao Occidental Davao Occidental Davao Occidental Davao del Sur Davao del Norte Davao del Norte Davao del Norte Cotabato City Cotabato Compostela Valley Cebu Cebu Cebu Cebu Cebu Cebu Cebu Cavite Catanduanes Capiz Camarines Sur Camarines Sur Camarines Sur Camarines Norte Camiguin Cagayan Cagayan Cagayan Cagayan Cagayan Cagayan Cagayan Bulacan Bukidnon Bohol Bohol Bohol Biliran Biliran Benguet Batangas Batangas Batangas Batangas Batanes Batanes Batanes Bataan Basilan Aurora Apayao Antique Antique Antique Antique Albay Albay Albay Albay Aklan Agusan del Sur Agusan del Norte Abra Zamboanga Sibugay Zamboanga del Sur Zamboanga del Norte Zamboanga City Zamboanga City Zambales Samar Samar Samar Samar Tawi-Tawi Tawi-Tawi Tawi-Tawi Tawi-Tawi Tawi-Tawi Tawi-Tawi Tarlac Surigao del Sur Surigao del Sur Surigao del Norte Surigao del Norte Surigao del Norte Surigao del Norte Surigao del Norte Sulu Sulu Sulu Sulu Sulu Sulu Sulu Sulu Sultan Kudarat Southern Leyte Southern Leyte South Cotabato Sorsogon Siquijor Sarangani Sarangani Romblon Romblon Romblon Romblon Romblon Romblon Rizal Rizal Quirino Quezon Quezon Quezon Quezon Quezon Quezon Quezon Pangasinan Pangasinan Pampanga Palawan Palawan Palawan Palawan Palawan Palawan Palawan Palawan Palawan Palawan Palawan Palawan Palawan Palawan Oriental Mindoro Occidental Mindoro Occidental Mindoro Occidental Mindoro Occidental Mindoro Malaysia Malaysia Malaysia Malaysia Malaysia Malaysia Cordillera Administrative Region Ilocos Region Cagayan Valley Central Luzon Metro Manila Calabarzon Mimaropa Bicol Region Eastern Visayas Central Visayas Western Visayas Negros Island Region Zamboanga Peninsula Northern Mindanao Caraga Davao Region SOCCSKSARGEN Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao Philippine Sea Sulu Sea South China Sea Celebes Sea Lake Buluan Dupulisan Bay Pagadian Bay Mayo Bay Pujada Bay Melgar Bay Taguite Bay Sindangan Bay Panguil Bay Dumanquilas Bay Dapa Channel Lake Mainit Pilar Bay Tolong Bay San Juanico Strait Janabatas Channel Ormoc Bay Carigara Bay Maqueda Bay Cabugao Bay Lake Buhi Lake Bato Panganiran Bay Lake Naujan Mompog Pass Bagac Bay Subic Bay Dingalan Bay Palanan Bay Divilacan Bay Dasol Bay Bangui Bay Gingoog Bay Bislig Bay Lianga Bay Lanuza Bay Luzon Strait (Batanes Islands) Luzon Strait (Babuyan Islands) Baler Bay Casiguran Sound Masbate Pass Ticao Pass Burias Pass San Pedro Bay Batangas Bay Balayan Bay San Bernardino Strait Sibutu Passage Lanao Lake Taal Lake Sarangani Strait Sarangani Bay Balintang Channel Babuyan Channel Dinagat Sound Surigao Strait Sogod Bay Canigao Channel Cebu Strait Macajalar Bay Butuan Bay Iligan Bay Sorsogon Bay Albay Gulf Lagonoy Gulf Lamon Bay Tayabas Bay Tablas Strait Laguna de Bay Linapacan Strait Mindoro Strait Cuyo East Pass Cuyo West Pass Guimaras Strait Iloilo Strait Panay Gulf Samar Sea Asid Gulf Ragay Gulf San Miguel Bay Polillo Strait Lingayen Gulf Leyte Gulf Bohol Sea Bohol Sea Bohol Sea Basilan Strait Sibuguey Bay Illana Bay Davao Gulf Moro Gulf Maligay Bay Sulu Sea Camotes Sea Camotes Sea Camotes Sea Camotes Sea Visayan Sea Visayan Sea Visayan Sea Visayan Sea Visayan Sea Visayan Sea Verde Island Passage Jintotolo Channel Manila Bay Manila Bay Manila Bay Sibuyan Sea Sibuyan Sea Sibuyan Sea Sibuyan Sea Sibuyan Sea Sibuyan Sea Sibuyan Sea Sibuyan Sea South China Sea South China Sea South China Sea South China Sea South China Sea South China Sea South China Sea South China Sea South China Sea South China Sea South China Sea South China Sea South China Sea South China Sea Tañon Strait Tañon Strait Sulu Sea Sulu Sea Sulu Sea Sulu Sea Sulu Sea Sulu Sea Sulu Sea Sulu Sea Sulu Sea Sulu Sea Sulu Sea Sulu Sea Sulu Sea Sulu Sea Sulu Sea Sulu Sea Sulu Sea Sulu Sea Sulu Sea Sulu Sea Sulu Sea Sulu Sea Sulu Sea Sulu Sea Sulu Sea Sulu Sea Sulu Sea Sulu Sea Sulu Sea Sulu Sea Sulu Sea Sulu Sea Sulu Sea Sulu Sea Sulu Sea Sulu Sea Sulu Sea Sulu Sea Celebes Sea Celebes Sea Celebes Sea Celebes Sea Celebes Sea Philippine Sea Philippine Sea Philippine Sea Philippine Sea Philippine Sea Philippine Sea Philippine Sea Philippine Sea Philippine Sea Philippine Sea Philippine Sea Philippine Sea Philippine Sea Philippine Sea Philippine Sea Philippine Sea Philippine Sea Philippine Sea Philippine Sea Philippine Sea South China Sea South China Sea South China Sea Tañon Strait South China Sea South China Sea South China Sea South China Sea South China Sea South China Sea South China Sea Sulu Sea Sulu Sea Sulu Sea Celebes Sea Celebes Sea Philippine Sea Philippine Sea Philippine Sea Philippine Sea Philippine Sea Philippine Sea Philippine Sea Philippine Sea South China Sea South China Sea South China Sea South China Sea Honda Bay Cabalian Bay Pagapas Bay Sigayan Bay Basiad Bay Maribojoc Bay Taytay Bay Calavite Passage Balabac Strait

Labelled map of the Philippines - Provinces and Regions.png

About this image

Administrative regions

Regions in the Philippines are administrative divisions that serve primarily to organize the provinces of the country for administrative convenience. The Philippines is divided into 17 regions (16 administrative and 1 autonomous). Most government offices are established by region instead of individual provincial offices, usually (but not always) in the city designated as the regional center. As of 2015, CALABARZON was the most populated region while the National Capitol Region (NCR) the most densely populated.

10 Most Populous Regions of the Philippines (2015)[258]
Rank Designation Name Area Population (as of 2015)  % of Population Population density
1st Region IV CALABARZON 16,873.31 km2(6,514.82 sq mi) 14,414,774 14.27% 850/km2(2,200/sq mi)
2nd NCR National Capital Region 619.57 km2(239.22 sq mi) 12,877,253 12.75% 21,000/km2(54,000/sq mi)
3rd Region III Central Luzon 22,014.63 km2(8,499.90 sq mi) 11,218,177 11.11% 510/km2(1,300/sq mi)
4th Region VII Central Visayas 10,102.16 km2(3,900.47 sq mi) 6,041,903 5.98% 600/km2(1,600/sq mi)
5th Region V Bicol Region 18,155.82 km2(7,010.00 sq mi) 5,796,989 5.74% 320/km2(830/sq mi)
6th Region I Ilocos Region 16,873.31 km2(6,514.82 sq mi) 5,026,128 4.98% 300/km2(780/sq mi)
7th Region XI Davao Region 20,357.42 km2(7,860.04 sq mi) 4,893,318 4.85% 240/km2(620/sq mi)
8th Region X Northern Mindanao 20,496.02 km2(7,913.56 sq mi) 4,689,302 4.64% 230/km2(600/sq mi)
9th Region XII SOCCSKSARGEN 22,513.30 km2(8,692.43 sq mi) 4,545,276 4.50% 200/km2(520/sq mi)
10th Region VI Western Visayas 12,828.97 km2(4,953.29 sq mi) 4,477,247 4.43% 350/km2(910/sq mi)

Geography

Topography of the Philippines

The Philippines is an archipelago composed of about 7,641 islands[259] with a total land area, including inland bodies of water, of 300,000 square kilometers (115,831 sq mi).[260] Its 36,289 kilometers (22,549 mi) of coastline makes it the country with the 5th longest coastline in the world.[218][261] It is located between 116° 40′, and 126° 34′ E longitude and 4° 40′ and 21° 10′ N latitude and is bordered by the Philippine Sea[262] to the east, the South China Sea[263] to the west, and the Celebes Sea[264] to the south. The island of Borneo[265] is located a few hundred kilometers southwest and Taiwan is located directly to the north. The Moluccas and Sulawesi are located to the south-southwest and Palau is located to the east of the islands.[218]

Most of the mountainous islands are covered in tropical rainforest and volcanic in origin. The highest mountain is Mount Apo. It measures up to 2,954 meters (9,692 ft) above sea level and is located on the island of Mindanao.[266][267] The Galathea Depth in the Philippine Trench is the deepest point in the country and the third deepest in the world. The trench is located in the Philippine Sea.[268]

The longest river is the Cagayan River in northern Luzon.[269] Manila Bay, upon the shore of which the capital city of Manila lies, is connected to Laguna de Bay, the largest lake in the Philippines, by the Pasig River. Subic Bay, the Davao Gulf, and the Moro Gulf are other important bays. The San Juanico Strait separates the islands of Samar and Leyte but it is traversed by the San Juanico Bridge.[270]

Situated on the western fringes of the Pacific Ring of Fire, the Philippines experiences frequent seismic and volcanic activity. The Benham Plateau to the east in the Philippine Sea is an undersea region active in tectonic subduction.[271]Around 20 earthquakes are registered daily, though most are too weak to be felt. The last major earthquake was the 1990 Luzon earthquake.[272]

Mayon is the Philippines’ most active volcano.

There are many active volcanoes such as the Mayon Volcano, Mount Pinatubo, andTaal Volcano. The eruption of Mount Pinatubo in June 1991 produced the second largest terrestrial eruption of the 20th century.[273] Not all notable geographic features are so violent or destructive. A more serene legacy of the geological disturbances is the Puerto Princesa Subterranean River, the area represents a habitat for biodiversity conservation, the site also contains a full mountain-to-the-sea ecosystem and has some of the most important forests in Asia.[274]

Due to the volcanic nature of the islands, mineral deposits are abundant. The country is estimated to have the second-largest gold deposits after South Africa and one of the largest copper deposits in the world.[275] It is also rich in nickel, chromite, and zinc. Despite this, poor management, high population density, and environmental consciousness have resulted in these mineral resources remaining largely untapped.[275] Geothermal energy is a product of volcanic activity that the Philippines has harnessed more successfully. The Philippines is the world’s second-biggest geothermal producer behind the United States, with 18% of the country’s electricity needs being met by geothermal power.[276]

Biodiversity

Philippine tarsier (Tarsius syrichta), one of the smallest primates.

The Philippines’ rainforests and its extensive coastlines make it home to a diverse range of birds, plants, animals, and sea creatures.[277] It is one of the ten most biologically megadiverse countries.[278][279][280] Around 1,100 land vertebrate species can be found in the Philippines including over 100 mammal species and 170 bird species not thought to exist elsewhere.[281] The Philippines has among the highest rates of discovery in the world with sixteen new species of mammalsdiscovered in the last ten years. Because of this, the rate of endemism for the Philippines has risen and likely will continue to rise.[282] Native mammals include thepalm civet cat, the dugong, the cloud rat and the Philippine tarsier associated withBohol.

Although the Philippines lacks large mammalian predators, it does have some very large reptiles such as pythons andcobras, together with gigantic saltwater crocodiles. The largest crocodile in captivity, known locally as Lolong, was captured in the southern island of Mindanao.[283][284] The national bird, known as the Philippine eagle has the longest body of anyeagle, it generally measures 86 to 102 cm (2.82 to 3.35 ft) in length and weighs 4.7 to 8.0 kg (10.4 to 17.6 lb).[285][286] The Philippine eagle is part of the Accipitridae family and is endemic to the rainforests of Luzon, Samar, Leyte and Mindanao.

Rafflesia speciosa is endemic to the island of Panay.

Philippine maritime waters encompass as much as 2,200,000 square kilometers (849,425 sq mi) producing unique and diverse marine life, an important part of theCoral Triangle.[256] The total number of corals and marine fish species was estimated at 500 and 2,400 respectively.[277][281] New records[287][288] and species discoveries[289][290][291] continuously increase these numbers underlining the uniqueness of the marine resources in the Philippines. The Tubbataha Reef in the Sulu Sea was declared a World Heritage Site in 1993. Philippine waters also sustain the cultivation of pearls, crabs, and seaweeds.[277][292]

With an estimated 13,500 plant species in the country, 3,200 of which are unique to the islands,[281] Philippine rainforests boast an array of flora, including many rare types oforchids and rafflesia.[293][294] Deforestation, often the result of illegal logging, is an acute problem in the Philippines. Forest cover declined from 70% of the Philippines’s total land area in 1900 to about 18.3% in 1999.[295] Many species are endangered and scientists say that Southeast Asia, which the Philippines is part of, faces a catastrophic extinction rate of 20% by the end of the 21st century.[296] According to Conservation International, “the country is one of the few nations that is, in its entirety, both a hotspot and a megadiversity country, placing it among the top priority hotspots for global conservation.”[293]

Climate

The Philippines has a tropical maritime climate that is usually hot and humid. There are three seasons: tag-init or tag-araw, the hot dry season or summer from March to May; tag-ulan, the rainy season from June to November; and tag-lamig, the cool dry season from December to February. The southwest monsoon (from May to October) is known as the Habagat, and the dry winds of the northeast monsoon (from November to April), the Amihan.[297] Temperatures usually range from 21 °C (70 °F) to 32 °C (90 °F) although it can get cooler or hotter depending on the season. The coolest month is January; the warmest is May.[218][298]

The average yearly temperature is around 26.6 °C (79.9 °F).[297] In considering temperature, location in terms of latitude and longitude is not a significant factor. Whether in the extreme north, south, east, or west of the country, temperatures at sea level tend to be in the same range. Altitude usually has more of an impact. The average annual temperature of Baguioat an elevation of 1,500 meters (4,900 ft) above sea level is 18.3 °C (64.9 °F), making it a popular destination during hot summers.[297]

Sitting astride the typhoon belt, most of the islands experience annual torrential rains and thunderstorms from July to October,[299] with around nineteen typhoons entering the Philippine area of responsibility in a typical year and eight or nine making landfall.[300][301][302] Annual rainfall measures as much as 5,000 millimeters (200 in) in the mountainous east coast section but less than 1,000 millimeters (39 in) in some of the sheltered valleys.[299] The wettest known tropical cyclone to impact the archipelago was the July 1911 cyclone, which dropped over 1,168 millimeters (46.0 in) of rainfall within a 24-hour period in Baguio.[303] Bagyo is the local term for a tropical cyclone in the Philippines.[303]

Economy

Philippine Export Treemap in 2012.

A proportional representation of the Philippines’ exports, 2012.

The Philippine economy is the 34th largest in the world, with an estimated 2017 gross domestic product (nominal) of $348.593 billion.[7]Primary exports include semiconductors and electronic products, transport equipment, garments, copper products, petroleum products,coconut oil, and fruits.[5] Major trading partners include the United States, Japan, China, Singapore, South Korea, the Netherlands, Hong Kong, Germany, Taiwan, and Thailand.[5] Its unit of currency is thePhilippine peso (₱ or PHP).[304]

A newly industrialized country, the Philippine economy has been transitioning from one based upon agriculture to an economy with more emphasis upon services and manufacturing. Of the country’s total labor force of around 40.813 Million,[5] the agricultural sector employs 30% of the labor force, and accounts for 14% of GDP. The industrial sector employs around 14% of the workforce and accounts for 30% of GDP. Meanwhile, the 47% of workers involved in the services sector are responsible for 56% of GDP.[306][307]

The unemployment rate as of 14 December 2014, stands at 6.0%.[308][309]Meanwhile, due to lower charges in basic necessities, the inflation rate eases to 3.7% in November.[310] Gross international reserves as of October 2013 are $83.201 billion.[311] The Debt-to-GDP ratio continues to decline to 38.1% as of March 2014[312][313] from a record high of 78% in 2004.[314] The country is a net importer[307] but it is also a creditor nation.[315]

After World War II, the Philippines was for a time regarded as the second wealthiest in East Asia, next only to Japan.[219][316][317] In the 1960s its economic performance started being overtaken. The economy stagnated under the dictatorship of President Ferdinand Marcos as the regime spawned economic mismanagement and political volatility.[219][317] The country suffered from slow economic growth and bouts of economic recession. Only in the 1990s with a program of economic liberalization did the economy begin to recover.[219][317]

The 1997 Asian Financial Crisis affected the economy, resulting in a lingering decline of the value of the peso and falls in the stock market. The extent it was affected initially was not as severe as that of some of its Asian neighbors. This was largely due to the fiscal conservatism of the government, partly as a result of decades of monitoring and fiscal supervision from the International Monetary Fund (IMF), in comparison to the massive spending of its neighbors on the rapid acceleration of economic growth.[169] There have been signs of progress since. In 2004, the economy experienced 6.4% GDP growth and 7.1% in 2007, its fastest pace of growth in three decades.[318][319] Average annual GDP growth per capita for the period 1966–2007 still stands at 1.45% in comparison to an average of 5.96% for the East Asia and the Pacific region as a whole. The daily income for 45% of the population of the Philippines remains less than $2.[320][321][322]

The economy is heavily reliant upon remittances from overseas Filipinos, which surpass foreign direct investment as a source of foreign currency. Remittances peaked in 2010 at 10.4% of the national GDP, and were 8.6% in 2012 and in 2014, Philippines total worth of foreign exchange remittances was US$28 billion.[323][324] Regional development is uneven, with Luzon – Metro Manila in particular – gaining most of the new economic growth at the expense of the other regions,[325][326]although the government has taken steps to distribute economic growth by promoting investment in other areas of the country. Despite constraints, service industries such as tourism and business process outsourcing have been identified as areas with some of the best opportunities for growth for the country.[307][327]

Goldman Sachs includes the country in its list of the “Next Eleven” economies[328][329] but China and India have emerged as major economic competitors.[330] Goldman Sachs estimates that by the year 2050, it will be the 20th largest economy in the world.[331] HSBC also projects the Philippine economy to become the 16th largest economy in the world, 5th largest economy in Asia and the largest economy in the South East Asian region by 2050.[332][333][334] The Philippines is a member of the World Bank, the International Monetary Fund, the World Trade Organization (WTO), the Asian Development Bankwhich is headquartered in Mandaluyong, the Colombo Plan, the G-77 and the G-24 among other groups and institutions.[5]

Transportation

The transportation infrastructure in the Philippines is relatively underdeveloped. This is partly due to the mountainous terrain and the scattered geography of the islands, but also the result of consistently low investment in infrastructure by successive governments. In 2013, about 3% of national GDP went towards infrastructure development – much lower than many of its neighbors.[335][336] There are 216,387 kilometers (134,457 mi) of roads in the Philippines, with only 61,093 kilometers (37,961 mi) of roads paved.[337]

Buses, jeepneys, taxis, and motorized tricycles are commonly available in major cities and towns. In 2007, there were about 5.53 million registered motor vehicles with registrations increasing at an average annual rate of 4.55%.[338]

The Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines manages airports and implementation of policies regarding safe air travel[339][340] with 85 public airports operational as of 2014.[341] Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) serves theGreater Manila Area together with Clark International Airport. Philippine Airlines, Asia’s oldest commercial airline still operating under its original name, and Cebu Pacific, the leading low-cost airline, are the major airlines serving most domestic and international destinations.[342][343][344]

Expressways and highways are mostly located on the island of Luzon including the Pan-Philippine Highway, connecting the islands of Luzon, Samar, Leyte, and Mindanao,[345][346] the North Luzon Expressway, South Luzon Expressway, and theSubic–Clark–Tarlac Expressway.[347][348][349][350][351][352]

Rail transport in the Philippines only plays a role in transporting passengers within Metro Manila. The region is served by three rapid transit lines: LRT-1, and LRT-2and MRT-3.[353][354][355] In the past, railways served major parts of Luzon, and railroad services were available on the islands of Cebu and Negros. Railways were also used for agricultural purposes, especially in tobacco and sugar cane production. Rail freight transportation was almost non-existent as of 2014. A few transportation systems are under development: DOST-MIRDC and UP are implementing pre-feasibility studies on Automated Guideway Transit.[356][357][358] A so-called Hybrid Electric Road Train which is a long bi-articulated bus, was also being tested as of 2015.[359][360][361]

As an archipelago, inter-island travel using watercraft is often necessary.[362] The busiest seaports are Manila, Batangas, Subic, Cebu, Iloilo, Davao, Cagayan de Oro, and Zamboanga.[363] 2GO Travel andSulpicio Lines serve Manila, with links to various cities and towns through passenger vessels. The 919-kilometer (571 mi)Strong Republic Nautical Highway (SRNH), an integrated set of highway segments and ferry routes covering 17 cities was established in 2003.[364] The Pasig River Ferry Service serves the major rivers in Metro Manila, including the Pasig Riverand Marikina River having numerous stops in Manila, Makati, Mandaluyong, Pasig and Marikina.[365][366]

Science and technology

An IRRI researcher studying rice DNA under ultraviolet light.

An IRRI researcher studying rice DNA underultraviolet light.

The Philippines has pursued efforts to improve the field of science and technology. TheDepartment of Science and Technology is the governing agency responsible for the development of coordination of science- and technology-related projects in the Philippines.[367]The National Scientist of the Philippines award is given to individuals that have contributed to different field of science in the country. Notable Filipino scientists include Maria Orosa, a food technologist famous for her formulated food products like calamansi nip, soyalac and thebanana ketchup,[368]

Fe del Mundo, a pediatrician whose pioneering work in pediatrics as an active medical practice spanned 8 decades,[369] Paulo Campos, a physician who was dubbed as “The Father of Nuclear Medicine in the Philippines” for his contributions in the field of nuclear medicine,[370]Ramon Barba, an inventor and horticulturist known for his method to induce more flowers in mango trees.[371]

Research organizations include the International Rice Research Institute, an international independent research and training organization established in 1960 with headquarters in Los Baños, Laguna,[372][373] focusing on the development of new rice varieties and rice crop management techniques to help farmers in the country improve their lives.[374] The Philippines bought its first satellite in 1996.[375] In 2016, the Philippines first micro-satellite, Diwata-1 was launched aboard the US Cygnus spacecraft.[376]

Communications

The Philippines has a sophisticated cellular phone industry and a high concentration of users. Text messaging is a popular form of communication and, in 2007, the nation sent an average of one billion SMS messages per day. Over five million mobile phone users also use their phones as virtual wallets, making it a leader among developing nations in providing financial transactions over cellular networks.[377][378][379] The Philippine Long Distance Telephone Company commonly known as PLDT is the leading telecommunications provider. It is also the largest company in the country.[377][380]

The National Telecommunications Commission is the agency responsible for the supervision, adjudication and control over all telecommunications services throughout the country.[381] There are approximately 383 AM and 659 FM radio stations and 297 television and 873 cable television stations.[382] On March 29, 1994, the country went live on the Internet via a 64 kbit/s connection from a router serviced by PLDT to a Sprint router in California.[383] Estimates for Internet penetration in the Philippines vary widely ranging from a low of 2.5 million to a high of 24 million people.[384][385] Social networking and watching videos are among the most frequent Internet activities.[386]

Tourism

Limestone cliffs of El Nido, Palawan.

The travel and tourism sector is a major contributor to the economy, contributing 7.1% to the Philippine GDP in 2013 [387] and providing 1,226,500 jobs or 3.2 percent of total employment.[388] 2,433,428 international visitors arrived from January to June 2014 up by 2.22% in the same period in 2013. South Korea, China, and Japan accounted for 58.78% while the Americas accounted for 19.28% and Europe 10.64%.[389] The Department of Tourism has responsibility for the management and promotion of the tourism sector.

The country’s rich biodiversity is one of the main tourist attractions with its beaches, mountains, rainforests, islands and diving spots among the most popular tourist destinations. As an archipelago consisting of about 7,500 islands, the Philippines has numerous beaches, caves and other rock formations. Boracay has glaring white sand beaches and was named as the best island in the world by Travel + Leisure in 2012.[390] The Banaue Rice Terraces in Ifugao, the historic town of Vigan in Ilocos Sur, the Chocolate Hills in Bohol, Magellan’s Cross in Cebu and the Tubbataha Reef in Visayas are other highlights.

The Philippines is also one of the favorite retirement destinations for foreigners due to its warm climate all year round, beaches and low cost of living.[391]

Water supply and sanitation

Among the achievements of the government in the Philippines are a high access to an improved water source of 92% in 2010; the creation of financially sustainable water service providers (“Water Districts”) in small and medium towns with the continuous long-term support of a national agency (the “Local Water Utilities Administration” LWUA); and the improvement of access, service quality and efficiency in Manila through two high-profle water concessions awarded in 1997.[392]

The challenges include limited access to sanitation services, high pollution of water resources, often poor drinking water quality and poor service quality, a fragmentation of executive functions at the national level among numerous agencies, and a fragmentation of service provision at the local level into many small service providers.[392]

In 2015 it was reported by the Joint Monitoring Programme for Water Supply and Sanitation by WHO and UNICEF that 74% of the population had access to improved sanitation and that “good progress” had been made.[393] The access to improved sanitation was reported to be similar for the urban and rural population.[393]

Demographics

Population density per province as of 2009 per square kilometer.

The population of the Philippines increased from 1990 to 2008 by approximately 28 million, a 45% growth in that time frame.[394] The firstofficial census in the Philippines was carried out in 1877 and recorded a population of 5,567,685.[395]

It is estimated that half of the population resides on the island of Luzon. The 3.21% population growth rate between 1995 and 2000 decreased to an estimated 1.95% for the 2005–2010 period, but remains acontentious issue.[396][397] The population’s median age is 22.7 years with 60.9% aged from 15 to 64 years old.[5] Life expectancy at birth is 71.94 years, 75.03 years for females and 68.99 years for males.[398]Poverty Incidence significantly dropped to 21.6% in 2015 from 25.2% in 2012.[399]

Since the liberalization of United States immigration laws in 1965, the number of people in the United States having Filipino ancestry has grown substantially. In 2007 there were an estimated[400][401] 12 millionFilipinos living overseas.[402]

According to the official count the population of the Philippines hit 100 million at the time of midnight on July 27, 2014, making it the 12th country to reach this number.[403]

Cities

Metro Manila is the most populous of the 3 defined metropolitan areas in the Philippines and the 11th most populous in the world. as of 2007, census data showed it had a population of 11,553,427, comprising 13% of the national population.[404] Including suburbs in the adjacent provinces (Bulacan, Cavite, Laguna, andRizal) of Greater Manila, the population is around 21 million.[404][405]

Metro Manila’s gross regional product was estimated as of 2009 to be 468.4 billion (at constant 1985 prices) and accounts for 33% of the nation’s GDP.[406] In 2011 Manila ranked as the 28th wealthiest urban agglomeration in the world and the 2nd in Southeast Asia.[407]

Ethnic groups

Dominant ethnic groups by province.

According to the 2000 census, 28.1% of Filipinos are Tagalog, 13.1% Cebuano, 9% Ilocano, 7.6% Visayans/Bisaya (excluding Cebuano, Hiligaynon and Waray), 7.5% Hiligaynon, 6% Bikol, 3.4% Waray, and 25.3% as “others”,[5][408] which can be broken down further to yield more distinct non-tribal groups like the Moro, theKapampangan, the Pangasinense, the Ibanag, and theIvatan.[409] There are also indigenous peoples like theIgorot, the Lumad, the Mangyan, the Bajau, and the tribes of Palawan.[410]

Filipinos generally belong to several Asian ethnic groups classified linguistically as part of the Austronesian orMalayo-Polynesian speaking people.[410] It is believed that thousands of years ago Austronesian-speaking Taiwanese aborigines migrated to the Philippines from Taiwan, bringing with them knowledge of agriculture and ocean-sailing, eventually displacing the earlier Negrito groups of the islands.[411] Negritos, such as the Aeta and the Ati, are considered among the earliest inhabitants of the islands.[412]

Being at the crossroads of the West and East, the Philippines is also home to migrants from places as diverse as China, Spain, Mexico, United States, India, South Korea, and Japan. Two important non-indigenous minorities are theChinese and the Spaniards.

The Chinese, mostly descendants of immigrants fromFujian, China after 1898, number 2 million, although there are an estimated 27 percent of Filipinos who have partial Chinese ancestry,[413][414][415] stemming from precolonial and colonial Chinese migrants.[416] Intermarriage between the groups is evident in the major cities and urban areas.[417]

At least one-third of the population of Luzon, as well as old settlements in the Visayas and Zamboanga City at Mindanao (around 13.33% of the Philippine population), have partial Hispanic ancestry (from varying points of origin and ranging fromLatin America[418] to Spain).[419] Recent genetic studies confirm this partial European[420][421] and Latin-American ancestry.[422]

Other important non-indigenous minorities include Indians, Britons, and Japanese people. The descendants of mixed-race couples are known as mestizos.[423][424]

Languages

Population by mother tongue (2010)
Language Speakers
Tagalog 24.44 %
22,512,089
Cebuano 21.35 %
19,665,453
Ilokano 8.77 %
8,074,536
Hiligaynon 8.44 %
7,773,655
Waray 3.97 %
3,660,645
Other local languages/dialects 26.09 %
24,027,005
Other foreign languages/dialects 0.09 %
78,862
Not reported/not stated 0.01 %
6,450
TOTAL 92,097,978
Source: Philippine Statistics Authority[3]

Ethnologue lists 186 individual languages in the Philippines, 182 of which are living languages, while 4 no longer have any known speakers. Most native languages are part of thePhilippine branch of the Malayo-Polynesian languages, which is itself a branch of the Austronesian language family.[410] The only language not classified as an Austronesian language isChavacano which is a creole language of Mexican-Spanishand is classified as a Romance language.[425]

Filipino and English are the official languages of the country.[12] Filipino is a standardized version of Tagalog, spoken mainly in Metro Manila and other urban regions. Both Filipino and English are used in government, education, print, broadcast media, and business. In most towns, the local indigenous language is spoken. The Philippine constitution provides for the promotion of Spanish and Arabic on a voluntary and optional basis, although neither are used on as wide a scale as in the past.[12] Spanish, which was widely used as a lingua franca in the late nineteenth century, has since declined greatly in use, but is experiencing revival due to government promotions, while Arabic is mainly used in Islamic schools in Mindanao.[426] However, Spanish loanwords are still present today in many of the indigenous Philippine languages.[427]

Nineteen regional languages act as auxiliary official languages used as mediums of instruction: Aklanon, Bikol, Cebuano,Chavacano, Hiligaynon, Ibanag, Ilocano, Ivatan, Kapampangan, Kinaray-a, Maguindanao, Maranao, Pangasinan, Sambal,Surigaonon, Tagalog, Tausug, Waray, and Yakan.[2] Other indigenous languages such as, Cuyonon, Ifugao, Itbayat,Kalinga, Kamayo, Kankanaey, Masbateño, Romblomanon, Malay, and several Visayan languages are prevalent in their respective provinces.[428]

Languages not indigenous to the islands are also taught in select schools. Mandarin is used in Chinese schools catering to the Chinese Filipino community. Islamic schools in Mindanao teach Modern Standard Arabic in their curriculum.[429] French,German, Japanese, Korean, and Spanish are taught with the help of foreign linguistic institutions.[430] The Department of Education began teaching the Malay languages of Indonesian and Malaysian in 2013.[431]

Religion

The Taal Basilica in Batangas is the largest Catholic church in Asia.

The Philippines is an officially secular state, although Christianity is the dominant faith.[432] Census data from 2010 found that about 80.58% of the population professed Catholicism.[4] Around 37% regularly attend Mass and 29% identify as very religious.[433][434] Protestants are 10.8%[435][436] of the total population, mostly endorsing Evangelical Protestant denominations that were introduced by American missionaries at the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries, they are heavily concentrated in Northern Luzon and Southern Mindanao.[437][438] The Philippine Independent Church is a notable independent Catholic denomination.[439][440][441]Iglesia ni Cristo is a notable Unitarian and Restorationist denomination in the country.[442][443]

Islam is the second largest religion. The Muslim population of the Philippines was reported as 5.57% of the total population according to census returns in 2010,[4] although a 2012 report by the National Commission on Muslim Filipinos estimates it at 11%.[444] The majority of Muslims live in the Bangsamoro region.[445][446][447][448] Most practice Sunni Islam under the Shafi’i school.[449][450]

An unknown number of Filipinos are irreligious, but they may form as much as 10% of the population.[451][452] Catholicism’s historic dominance is steadily declining, with about 9% of adherents considering leaving their church.[453]

An estimated 2% of the total population practice Philippine traditional religions, whose practices and folk beliefs are often syncretized with Christianity and Islam.[443][454] Buddhism is practiced by around 2% of the population, and is concentrated among Filipinos of Chinese descent.[443][449][454] The remaining population is divided between a number of religious groups, including Hindus, Jews, and Baha’is.[455]

Health

There are an increasing number of private health providers and, as of 2009, 67.1% of healthcare came from private expenditures while 32.9% was from government. In 2013, total expenditures on the health sector was 3.8% of GDP, below the WHOtarget of 5%.[456] Health expenditure represented about 6.1% of total government spending. Per capita total expenditure at average exchange rate was USD52.[457]The budget allocation for Healthcare in 2010 was ₱28 billion (about USD597 million) or ₱310 ($7) per person[458] but had an increase in budget in 2014 with a record high in the collection of taxes from the House Bill 5727 (commonly known as Sin taxBill).[459]

There are an estimated 90,370 physicians or 1 per every 833 people, 480,910 nurses, 43,220 dentists, and 1 hospital bed per every 769 people.[457] Retention of skilled practitioners is a problem. 70% of nursing graduates go overseas to work. The Philippines is the biggest supplier of nurses for export.[460]

In 2001 there were about 1,700 hospitals, of which about 40% were government-run and 60% private. Cardiovascular diseases account for more than 25% of all deaths. According to official estimates, 1,965 cases of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) were reported in 2003, of which 636 had developed acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS). Despite the increase of HIV/AIDS cases from 12,000 in 2005[461] to 17,450 as of April 2014 with 5,965 people who were under anti-retroviral therapy,[462] the country is still a low-HIV-prevalence country with less than 0.1% of the adult population estimated to be HIV-positive.[463]

Education

The University of Santo Tomas, established in 1611, has the oldestextant university charter in Asia.

The Philippines has a simple literacy rate of 95.6%, with 95.1% for males and 96.1% for females. The Philippines had a functional literacy rate of 86.45%, with 84.2% for males and 88.7% for females in 2008.[464][465] Spending on education accounted for 16.11% in the national budget proposed for 2015.[466][467]

The Commission on Higher Education (CHED) lists 2,180 higher education institutions, 607 of which are public and 1,573 private.[468] Classes start in June and end in March. The majority of colleges and universities follow a semester calendar from June to October and November to March. There are a number of foreign schools with study programs.[218] A 6-year elementary and 4-year high school education is mandatory[469] with an additional two years being added in 2013.[470][471]

Several government agencies are involved with education. The Department of Education covers elementary, secondary, and non-formal education. The Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA) administers post-secondary, middle-level education training and development. The Commission on Higher Education (CHED) supervises college and graduate academic programs and degrees as well as regulates standards in higher education.[472]

In 2004, madaris were mainstreamed in 16 regions nationwide, mainly in Muslim areas in Mindanao under the auspices and program of the Department of Education.[473] Public universities are all non-sectarian entities, and are further classified as State Universities and Colleges (SUC) or Local Colleges and Universities (LCU).[468] The University of the Philippines, a system of eight (8) constituent universities, is the national university system of the Philippines.[474]

Culture

A participant of the Ati-Atihan Festival.

Philippine culture is a combination of Eastern and Western cultures. The Philippines exhibits aspects found in other Asian countries with a Malay[475] heritage, yet its culture also displays a significant number of Spanish and American influences. Traditional festivities known as barrio fiestas (district festivals) to commemorate the feast days of patron saints are common, these community celebrations are times for feasting, music, and dancing. The Ati-Atihan, Moriones and Sinulog festivals are a couple of the most well-known.

Some traditions, however, are changing or gradually being forgotten due to modernization. The Bayanihan Philippine National Folk Dance Company has been lauded for preserving many of the various traditional folk dances found throughout the Philippines. They are famed for their iconic performances of Philippine dances such as the tinikling and singkil that both feature clashing bamboo poles.[476]

One of the most visible Hispanic legacies is the prevalence of Spanish names and surnames among Filipinos; a Spanish name and surname, however, does not necessarily denote Spanish ancestry. This peculiarity, unique among the people of Asia, came as a result of a colonial edict by Governor-General Narciso Clavería y Zaldua, which ordered the systematic distribution of family names and implementation of Hispanic nomenclature on the population.[477] The names of many streets, towns, and provinces are also in Spanish.

The common use of the English language is an example of the American impact on Philippine society. It has contributed to the ready acceptance and influence of American pop cultural trends. This affinity is seen in Filipinos’ love of fast food and American film and music. Fast food outlets are found on many street corners. American global fast food chain stalwarts have entered the market, but local fast food chains like Goldilocks and most notably Jollibee, the leading fast food chain in the country, have emerged and compete successfully against their foreign rivals.[478][479]

Architecture

Colonial houses in Vigan.

Spanish architecture has left an imprint in the Philippines in the way many towns were designed around a central square or plaza mayor, but many of the buildings bearing its influence were demolished during World War II.[58] Some examples remain, mainly among the country’s churches, government buildings, and universities. Four Philippine baroque churches are included in the list of UNESCO World Heritage Sites: the San Agustín Church in Manila, Paoay Church in Ilocos Norte, Nuestra Señora de la Asunción (Santa María) Church in Ilocos Sur, andSanto Tomás de Villanueva Church in Iloilo.[480] Vigan in Ilocos Sur is also known for the many Hispanic-style houses and buildings preserved there.[481]

The American occupation in 1898 introduced a new breed of architectural structures in the Philippines. This led to the construction of government buildings and Art Deco theaters. During the American period, some semblance of city planning using the architectural designs and master plans by Daniel Burnham was done on the portions of the city of Manila. Part of the Burnham’s plan was the construction of government buildings that resembledGreek or Neoclassical architecture.[482] In Iloilo, a lot of the colonial edifices constructed during the American occupation in the country can still be seen. Commercial buildings, houses and churches in that era are abundant in the city and especially in Calle Real.[483]

However, certain areas of the country like Batanes have slight differences as both Spanish and Filipino ways of architecture assimilated differently due to the climate. Limestones and coral were used as building materials.[484] Idjangs or Ivatancastles were the primary shelter of the people prior to the Spanish conquest of the whole Philippines.[485]

Music

Percussion instruments that make up the Philippine kulintang ensemble, an example of pre-Hispanic musical tradition

Philippine music has evolved rapidly due to the different influences stemming from colonialism under other countries. Before the Spanish conquest of the islands, most music was reminiscent of, or heavily influenced by, nature. Some examples of this tribal music is Koyu No Tebulul of the T’boli and Ambo Hato of the Ifugao. This genre is often accompanied by gong music and one well known instrument is theKulintang.

During the Spanish era Rondalya music, where traditional string orchestra mandolintype instruments were used, was widespread. In the Philippines, Rondalya refers to any group of stringed instruments that are played using a plectrum or pick. Filipino instruments are made from indigenous Philippine wood; plectrums, or picks, are made from tortoise-shell. Other stringed instruments composing the standard Filipino rondalla are the 14-string bandurria found only in the Philippines, the laúd, the octavina, the Twelve-string guitar, the Ukulele, the bajo de uñas or double bass, the Guitarrón mexicano, and other Filipino-made instruments modeled and developed after the guitar. Harana and Kundiman are prevalent during this time wherein these songs are often used in courtship rituals.[486]

Marcelo Adonay (organist), Simplicio Solis (organist), Diego C. Perez (pianist), Jose Conseco (pianist) and Doña Dolores Paterno (composer) were some of the recognized musicians in this era. Nowadays, American pop culture has a heavy hold on the Filipinos that evolved from the Spanish times when the American occupation happened. Along with Korean pop, these two are dominating the recent music scene in media.[487][488] However, the revival of Spanish-influence folk music has been possible thanks to the different choir groups coming in and going out of the country, such as the Philippine Madrigal Singers.[489]

Dance

Tinikling dancers.

Just like the evolution of Philippine music, dance as well has been in constant change. Prior to colonial rule, the Philippines has a wide array of ethnic dances from different tribal groups. This is due mainly to the fact that Philippines is an archipelago thus the different varieties of dance developed. Both Luzon and Visayas, at first, were more akin to tribal movements until the Spanish came. Mindanao represents more of an array of Muslim inspired dances and Spanish influence was minimal in the region of Zamboanga.

Universal dances in the Philippines are found at societal functions such as rituals, mimicry, life cycle and parties. During the Spanish era, most dances are accompanied by Rondalya music usually with 14-string bandurrias that the Filipinos invented or by other type of stringed instruments that locally evolved in to the culture as well.

One famous dance that is well known is called the Tinikling, where a band of Rondalya musicians play along with the percussive beat of the two bamboo poles. It usually starts with men and women acting a scene about “How rural townsfolk mingle”. The dancers then graze thru the clashing of the bamboo poles held on opposite sides. The end displays the paired bamboo poles crossing each other. The Muslim version of this where bamboo poles are also used is called the Singkil.[490] Nowadays, in the Modern and Post-Modern time periods, dances vary from the delicate ballet up to the more street-oriented styles of breakdancing to name a few.[491]

Visual art

The Spoliarium (1884) by Juan Luna.

Pottery and weaving are among the very first art forms showcasing Filipino artistic design and are evident from cave dwellings all over the country. Among these are mostly anthropomorphic earthenware jars dating from c. 5 BC to 225 AD. Weaving was mostly done by women, using fibers from abaca, pineapple, cotton, and bark to make clothes, rugs and hats. Baskets were mostly utilized to carry grain and other foods.[492][493]

Early Philippine sculpture is characterized by frontal nudity. One of the earliest forms are the bulols by the Ifugao people which serve as an assurance for bountiful harvests. The original function of these sculptures are related to the ceremonies and beliefs of the tribes who created them. Arab and Russian missionaries also brought beveled type of carvings in the form of Okkil. The beginnings of this sculpture type started with the Islamization of Sulu. The Spanish colonization of the country did not hinder Filipinos creating sculptures for objects of adoration. During this time, sculptures of deities and saints were used to teach Filipinos Christian doctrines. During the American colonialism, worshippers of faith were not discouraged to sculpt in order to adorn churches. Filipinos’ first exposure to painting happened when Spain conquered the Philippines and these were used as religious propaganda often displayed in churches. However, as education progressed and wealth increased, more and more artists started to shift from the traditional religious motifs to a more secular pattern of imagery.[494]

Paintings of early modernist painters such as Damián Domingo often still had a religious association but the art of Juan Luna and Félix Hidalgo showed a trend towards political statement. The first Philippine national artist Fernando Amorsoloused post-modernism to produce paintings that illustrated aspects of Philippine culture, while other artists such asFernando Zóbel used both realistic and abstract techniques.

In the modern period, the integration of architecture in the Art Deco style happened. Many of these examples can be seen in statues all over the country especially in public parks and spaces.[495]

Values

As a general description, the distinct value system of Filipinos is rooted primarily in personal alliance systems, especially those based in kinship, obligation, friendship, religion (particularly Christianity), and commercial relationships.[496]

Filipino values are, for the most part, centered around maintaining social harmony, motivated primarily by the desire to be accepted within a group.[497] The main sanction against diverging from these values are the concepts of “Hiya“, roughly translated as ‘a sense of shame’, and “Amor propio” or ‘self-esteem’.[497] Social approval, acceptance by a group, and belonging to a group are major concerns. Caring about what others will think, say or do, are strong influences on social behavior among Filipinos.[498]

Other elements of the Filipino value system are optimism about the future, pessimism about present situations and events, concern and care for other people, the existence of friendship and friendliness, the habit of being hospitable, religious nature, respectfulness to self and others, respect for the female members of society, the fear of God, and abhorrence of acts of cheating and thievery.[499]

Cuisine

Left-to-right: Lumpia, Adobo, Halo-halo and Sisig.

Filipino cuisine has evolved over several centuries from its Malayo-Polynesian origins to become a mixed cuisine with many Hispanic,Chinese, American, and other Asian influences that have been adapted to local ingredients and the Filipino palate to create distinctively Filipino dishes. Dishes range from the very simple, like a meal of fried salted fish and rice, to the elaborate, such as the paellasand cocidos created for fiestas.[479][500]

Popular dishes include lechón, adobo, sinigang, kare-kare, tapa,crispy pata, pancit, lumpia, and halo-halo. Some common local ingredients used in cooking are calamansi, coconuts, saba (a kind of short wide plantain), mangoes, ube, milkfish, and fish sauce. Filipino taste buds tend to favor robust flavors, but the cuisine is not as spicy as those of its neighbors.[479][500]

Unlike many of their Asian counterparts, Filipinos do not eat with chopsticks; they use Western cutlery. However, possibly due to rice being the primary staple food and the popularity of a large number of stews and main dishes with broth in Filipino cuisine, the main pairing of utensils seen at the Filipino dining table is that of spoon and fork, not knife and fork.[501]

The traditional way of eating with the hands known as kamayan (using the washed right hand for bringing food to the mouth)[502] was previously more often seen in the less urbanized areas.[503] However, due to the various Filipino restaurants that introduced Filipino food to people of other nationalities as well as to Filipino urbanites, kamayan fast became popular. This recent trend also sometimes incorporates the “Boodle Fight” concept (as popularized and coined by the Philippine Army), wherein banana leaves are used as giant plates on top of which rice portions and Filipino viands are placed all together for a filial, friendly and/or communal kamayan feasting.[504]

Literature

José Rizal is a pioneer ofPhilippine Revolution through his literary works.

Philippine mythology has been handed down primarily through the traditional oral folk literature of the Filipino people. While each unique ethnic group has its own stories and myths to tell, Hindu and Spanish influences can nonetheless be detected in many cases. Philippine mythology mostly consists of creation stories or stories about supernatural creatures, such as the aswang, the manananggal, the diwata/engkanto, and nature. Some popular figures from Philippine mythologies are Maria Makiling, Lam-Ang, and theSarimanok.[505]

Philippine literature comprises works usually written in Filipino, Spanish, or English. Some of the most known were created from the 17th to 19th century. Adarna, for example, is a famous epic about an eponymous magical bird allegedly written by José de la Cruz or “Huseng Sisiw”.[506] Francisco Balagtas, the poet and playwright who wrote Florante at Laura, is recognized as a preeminent writer in the Filipino language. José Rizal wrote the novels Noli Me Tángere (Touch Me Not) and El Filibusterismo (The Filibustering, also known as The Reign of Greed). He is considered a national hero.[507] His depiction of the injustices of Spanish rule, and his death by firing squad, inspired other Filipino revolutionaries to seek independence.[508]Several Filipino writers were awarded National Artist of the Philippines such as N. V. M. Gonzalez, Amado V. Hernandez,Francisco Arcellana, Nick Joaquín, F. Sionil José and many more.

Media

Philippine media uses mainly Filipino and English. Other Philippine languages, including various Visayan languages are also used, especially in radio due to its ability to reach remote rural locations that might otherwise not be serviced by other kinds of media. The dominant television networks ABS-CBN, GMA and TV5 also have extensive radio presence.[509]

The entertainment industry is vibrant and feeds broadsheets and tabloids with an unending supply of details aboutcelebrities and sensationalist daily scandals. Drama and fantasy shows are anticipated as are Latin telenovelas,Asianovelas, and anime. Daytime television is dominated by game shows, variety shows, and talk shows such as Eat Bulaga and It’s Showtime.[510] Philippine cinema has a long history and is popular domestically, but has faced increasing competition from American, Asian and European films. Critically acclaimed directors and actors include Lino Brocka andNora Aunor for films like Maynila: Sa mga Kuko ng Liwanag (Manila: In the Claws of Light) and Himala(Miracle).[511][512][513][514] In recent years it has become common to see celebrities flitting between television and movies and then moving into politics provoking concerns.[515]

Cinema

Brillante Mendoza is a prominent Filipino film director.

Salón de Pertierra was the first introduced moving picture on January 1, 1897 in the Philippines. All films were all in Spanish since Philippine cinema was first introduced during the final years of the Spanish era of the country. Antonio Ramos was the first known movie producer. He used the Lumiere Cinematograph when he filmed Panorama de Manila(Manila landscape), Fiesta de Quiapo (Quiapo Fiesta), Puente de España (Bridge of Spain), and Escenas Callejeras (Street scenes). Meanwhile, Jose Nepomuceno was dubbed as the “Father of Philippine Cinema”.[516] Dubbed as the “Father of Philippine Cinema”, his work marked the start of cinema as an art form in the Philippines.[517] His first film produced was entitled Dalagang Bukid (Country Maiden) in 1919.

Film showing resumed in 1900 during the American period. Walgrah, a British entrepreneur, opened the Cine Walgrah at No. 60 Calle Santa Rosa in Intramuros. It was also during this time that a movie market was formally created in the country along with the arrival of silent movies. These silent films were always accompanied by gramophone, a piano, a quartet, or a 200-man choir. During the Japanese occupation, filmmaking was put on hold. Nonetheless, it was continued on 1930s up until 1945 replacing the Hollywood market with Japanese films but met with little success. Postwar 1940s and the 1950s were known as the first golden age of Philippine cinema with the resurgence of mostly Visayan films through Lapu-Lapu Pictures.

During the 1960s, James Bond movies, bomba (soft porn) pictures and an era of musical films, produced mostly by Sampaguita Pictures, dominated the cinema. The second golden age occurred from 1970s to early 1980s. It was during this era that filmmakers ceased to produce pictures in black and white. A rise in Hollywood films dominated theater sales during the late 1980s until the 2000s.[518] The dawn of this era saw a dramatic decline of the mainstream Philippine movie industry.[519] In the year 2009, however, presence of box-office films in the Philippine Box Office has surged. The mid 2010s also saw broader commercial success of films produced by independent studios.[520][521]

Sports

A PBA game at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.

Various sports and pastimes are popular in the Philippines including basketball,boxing, volleyball, football (soccer), American football, both codes of Rugby football,badminton, karate, taekwondo, billiards, ten-pin bowling, chess, and sipa.Motocross, cycling, and mountaineering are also becoming popular. Basketball is played at both amateur and professional levels and is considered to be the most popular sport in the Philippines.[522][523] In 2010, Manny Pacquiao was named“Fighter of the Decade” for the 2000s (decade) by the Boxing Writers Association of America (BWAA), World Boxing Council (WBC), and World Boxing Organization(WBO).[524] The national martial art and sport of the country is Arnis, Eskrima or Kaliin some regions[525]

The Philippines has participated in the Summer Olympic Games since 1924 and was the first country in Southeast Asia to compete and win a medal.[526] The country had competed in every Summer Olympic Games since then, except when they participated in the American-led boycott of the 1980 Summer Olympics.[527]The Philippines is also the first tropical nation to compete at the Winter Olympic Games debuting in the 1972 edition.[528]

Games

Sabong or Cock Derby

Traditional Philippine games such as luksung baka, patintero, piko, and tumbang preso are still played primarily as children’s games among the youth.[529][530]Sungka is a traditional native Philippine board game. Card games are popular during festivities, with some, including pusoy and tong-its, being used as a form ofillegal gambling. Mahjong is played in some Philippine communities.

Sabong or cockfighting is another popular entertainment especially among Filipino men, and existed prior to the arrival of the Spanish. Antonio Pigafetta, Magellan’s chronicler, first documented this pastime in the kingdom of Taytay.[531][532] The yo-yo, a popular toy in the Philippines, was introduced in its modern form by Pedro Flores with its name coming from the Ilocano language.[533]

See also

Pagsanjan,Laguna

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Pagsanjan
Municipality
Pagsanjanjf4165 14.JPG
Official seal of Pagsanjan
Seal
Nickname(s): The Tourist Capital of Laguna; Athens of Laguna; Home of Our Lady of Guadalupe
Motto: Bayang Maunlad, Bayang Maganda, Bayang Payapa, Lahat ay Masaya
Map of Laguna showing the location of Pagsanjan
Map of Laguna showing the location of Pagsanjan
Pagsanjan is located in Philippines

Pagsanjan
Pagsanjan

Location within the Philippines

Coordinates: 14°16′N 121°27′ECoordinates: 14°16′N 121°27′E
Country Philippines
Region CALABARZON (Region IV-A)
Province Laguna
District 4th district of Laguna
Founded December 12, 1668
Barangays 16
Government[1]
 • Mayor Girlie “Maita” J. Ejercito (PMP)
Area [2]
 • Total 26.36 km2 (10.18 sq mi)
Population (2015 census)[3]
 • Total 42,164
 • Density 1,600/km2 (4,100/sq mi)
Time zone PST (UTC+8)
ZIP code 4008
IDD : area code +63 (0)49
Income class 2nd
Website www.pagsanjan.gov.ph

Pagsanjan (pronounced ‘Pag-sang-han’) is a second class municipality in the province of Laguna, Philippines. According to the 2015 census, it has a population of 42,164 people.[3] It is situated about 92 kilometres (57 mi) southeast of Manila.

Pagsanjan is the tourist capital of Laguna and the home of the Bangkero Festival. The bangkeros are tour guides, who steer the tourists’ boats. They are the boatmen who shoot the 14 rapids between rocks and boulders all the way to the Pagsanjan Falls (or Magdapio Falls), for which the town is well known but are actually located in the neighboring municipality of Cavinti. The Bangkero Festival is celebrated in the month of March.

The incumbent mayor of Pagsanjan, Laguna is Girlie J. Ejercito, known as former actress Maita Sanchez. She is also the wife of Emilio Ramon “Jorge Estregan, Jr.” Ejercito, who served as mayor from 2001–2010 and previous governor of Laguna.

For 170 years (1688–1858), Pagsanjan was the capital of the province of Laguna. During this long period, the town prospered as the commercial, cultural and learning center of the province, and was called the “Athens of Laguna”.[4]

Etymology[edit]

Pagsanjan is located in the riparian delta formed by the confluence of the Balanac and Bumbungan rivers. Originally named Pinagsangahan, meaning “branching” or “juncture”, the town was given renamed Pagsanjan by early Spanish colonists, because they found it extremely difficult to pronounce its polysyllabic name.

Geography[edit]

Pagsanjan has a land area of 26.4 square kilometres. It is located about 92 kilometres (57 mi) southeast of Manila. It is bounded on the east by theBalubad Mountain; on the west by the capital town of Santa Cruz; on the north by the San Isidro Hill and Laguna de Bay; on the north-east by the town of Lumban; on the southeast by the towns of Cavinti and Luisiana; on the south by Mount Banahaw; and on the south-west by the town ofMagdalena.

Baraŋgays[edit]

Pagsanjan is politically subdivided into 16 barangays. [2]

  • Anibong
  • Biñan
  • Buboy
  • Cabanbanan
  • Calusiche
  • Dingin
  • Lambac
  • Layugan
  • Magdapio
  • Maulawin
  • Pinagsaŋjan
  • Barangay I (Pob.)
  • Barangay II (Pob.)
  • Sabang
  • Sampaloc
  • San Isidro

History[edit]

Old Town Gate

Pagsanjan was originally a barrio of Lumban. In 1668, eight Japanese and Chinese traders who were highly impressed by the strategic location of the barrio at the juncture of Balanac and Bumbungan rivers founded the town. They established a trading settlement and engaged in the betelnut industry. In time, the barrio became the flourishing trading center of eastern Laguna and attracted families from the surrounding communities of Cavinti and Pila. On December 12, 1668, the then Governor, General Juan Manuel de la Peña Bonifaz, issued a gubernatorial decree elevating its status from barrio to a town. In 1688, Pagsanjan replaced Bay as the capital of the province. It remained such until 1858, during which it bloomed as the cultural and commercial center of the province.

Pagsanjan residents[edit]

Like all people in the world, the Pagsanjeños are hospitable and friendly to all visitors, especially the foreigners. They are warmhearted, fiesta-loving and witty. In time of peace, they are amiably peaceful, civic-spirited, and cheerful; in time of war, however, they are brave, intensely patriotic, and fight with fury. They are loyal and proud of their beloved town and ancestral heritage.

The people of Pagsanjan are also fortunate to have a resplendent cultural heritage. This culture is a harmonious blending of the Asian, Hispanic, Mexican, and American civilization influences. It is revealed in their rich folklore, customs and traditions, and colorful fiestas. During colonial times Pagsanjan was a famous center of culture. Her people, according to Fray Felix de la Huerta, Franciscan friar-chronicler, were “muy culto” (highly cultured). The Pagsanjeños then cherished good education. They sent their children to the elementary school to learn the fours R’s (reading, writing, arithmetic, and religion). Children of the rich families studied in the homes of private teachers. After acquiring the fundamentals of Spanish and Latin languages, they were sent to Manila to obtain higher education at the Ateneo de Manila, College of San Juan de Letran, and in the University of Santo Tomas. It is a fact that during the Spanish regime Pagsanjan among all towns in Laguna had the highest percentage of illustrados (intellectuals).

This old tradition of acquiring a good education still exists among present-day Pagsanjeños. To them, a college diploma is a status symbol. Today numerous Pagsanjeños study law, medicine, education, nursing, engineering, and other college courses in the colleges and universities in Manila and in foreign countries.

As a cultured people, The Pagsanjeños take pride in their fine homes with beautiful furniture, oil paintings, pianos, and rugs; in their well-groomed lawns, and flower gardens; in their clean, beautiful streets, and sidewalks; and in their attire and personal appearance. But because of the destruction of their ancestral homes in Pagsanjan and the threat of the Huk movement in the towns and barrios of Laguna province, many Pagsanjeño families evacuated their native town and moved permanently to the Greater Manila area. This exodus of Pagsanjeño families mostly represented the elite of the local population, including rich landlords and the talented intellectuals. A few prominent families noted for their lineage and inherited wealth, however, remained in town and cooperated with the common people in the rebuilding of their ruined town.

The rich Pagsanjeño families who left the town resided in Manila, Pasay, Makati, Caloocan City, and San Juan, where they built their homes and reared their families. Some of them sold their ancestral residential lots in Pagsanjan, for they had no intention of restoring their old homes in town. They became absentee landlords, for they simply employed some persons called encargados to manage their family rice farms and coconut plantations.

Demographics[edit]

Population census of Pagsanjan
Year Pop. ±% p.a.
1903 6,361
1918 7,538 +1.14%
1939 8,865 +0.78%
1948 9,282 +0.51%
1960 10,691 +1.18%
1970 14,556 +3.13%
1975 16,188 +2.15%
1980 19,489 +3.78%
1990 25,024 +2.53%
1995 28,999 +2.80%
2000 32,622 +2.56%
2007 35,944 +1.35%
2010 39,313 +3.31%
2015 42,164 +1.34%
Source: Philippine Statistics Authority[3][5][6][7]

In the 2015 census, the population of Pagsanjan was 42,164 people,[3] with a density of 1,600 inhabitants per square kilometre or 4,100 inhabitants per square mile.

Notable Pagsanjeños[edit]

Pagsanjan March[edit]

The official song of the Municipality of Pagsanjan and its people is Pagsanjan March. The anthem was composed by Rogel Taiño, a native of Pagsanjan.

In popular culture[edit]

Movies and films shot in Pagsanjan

See also[edit]

References[edit]

  1. Jump up^ “Official City/Municipal 2013 Election Results”. Intramuros, Manila, Philippines: Commission on Elections (COMELEC). 11 September 2013. Retrieved 20 November 2013.
  2. ^ Jump up to:a b “Province: Laguna”. PSGC Interactive. Quezon City, Philippines: Philippine Statistics Authority. Retrieved 12 November2016.
  3. ^ Jump up to:a b c d Census of Population (2015). “Region IV-A (Calabarzon)”. Total Population by Province, City, Municipality and Barangay. PSA. Retrieved 20 June 2016.
  4. Jump up^ Pagsanjan Official Site
  5. Jump up^ Census of Population and Housing (2010). “Region IV-A (Calabarzon)”. Total Population by Province, City, Municipality and Barangay. NSO. Retrieved 29 June 2016.
  6. Jump up^ Census of Population (1995, 2000 and 2007). “Region IV-A (Calabarzon)”. Total Population by Province, City and Municipality. NSO. Archived from the original on 24 June 2011.
  7. Jump up^ “Province of Laguna”. Municipality Population Data. Local Water Utilities Administration Research Division. Retrieved17 December 2016.

External links[edit]

Preceded by
Bay
Capital of Laguna
1688-1858
Succeeded by
Santa Cruz

Gala–Rodriguez Ancestral House

Gala–Rodriguez Heritage House
(Sariaya)
Historical Marker Gala-Rodriguez House.jpg

Historical Marker Gala–Rodriguez House given by the National Historical Institute, May 14, 2008
Basic information
Location Poblacion, Sariaya, Quezon, (Region IV-A) Philippines
Geographic coordinates 13.961951°N 121.524808°ECoordinates: 13.961951°N 121.524808°E
Country Philippines
Heritage designation Heritage House (National Historical Institute)
Architectural description
Architect(s) Dr. Juan Nakpil
Architectural style Art Deco style
Completed May 4, 1935

On May 14, 2008, the two-storey Gala–Rodriguez house was declared by theNational Historical Institute of the Philippines as one of the three heritage houses in Sariaya, because of its notable historical and cultural significance.[1] The house was designed by Dr. Juan Nakpil in the early 1930s and was owned by one of the most distinguished couples in Quezon, Dr. Isidro Rodriguez and Doña Gregoria Gala. The house is located in Rizal Street along with other opulent houses owned by the illustrados of old Sariaya.[2] The Gala–Rodriguez House is listed as one of the Ancestral Houses in the Philippines, under Region IV-A.

History[edit]

Gala–Rodriguez House facade

The Gala–Rodriguez House, second receiving area at the 2nd floor

The Gala–Rodriguez mansion was built in the 1930s as Dr Isidro Rodriguez’ gift to his ailing wife, Doña Gregoria, who had long wished to have her dream house for their seven children. During the house construction, Sariaya and the Province of Quezon were suffering from a crisis brought by a pest called leaf miners. Most of the coconut plantations which were the primary source of income in Quezon were greatly affected. In this depressing period, Doña Gregoria feared that the house may not be finished in full [2] but the crisis later proved to be beneficial for them because the labor cost went down to 50 centavos per day and P12.00 for the master carpenter.[3] On May 4, 1935, in time for Doña Gregoria’s birthday the house was finally completed and the family decided to occupy the place. Unfortunately, two days before her birthday, Doña Gregoria died of her illness.[2]

In the year 1942, during World War II, Japanese Imperial Officers used the house as their headquarter.[1] Three Japanese Officials occupied the second floor while the family was allowed to stay at the ground floor. According to the current owner of the house, one of the Japanese Officers, General Ashima, fell in love and courted Carmen, the oldest daughter of the owner. To win Carmen’s heart, General Ashima would provide the family with supply of foods and clothing materials. He would also serenade Carmen by playing the guitar and by dedicating love songs for the beautiful lady. Nonetheless, the family was doubtful about the real intention of the Japanese officer so they would hide Carmen in the Cellar.

When the guerilllas learned that there were Japanese Officers occupying the house, they intentionally informed the Americans who were about to liberate Manila at that time. The guerillas sent a map to the American forces to bomb the whole house. Before the planned destruction took place, residents of Sariaya already fled to the barrios for their safety. They did not inform the owners of the house because they fear that General Ashima might follow Carmen. Luckily a good friend of the family went back to tip them of the planned bombing and on the same day, the whole family evacuated.

Three bombs were dropped in the vicinity of the house. The first one hit the front part of the property and exploded at the gate. The second one was dropped behind the house and created a 20- foot- deep crater. The third one directly hit the house and landed in the stairs but it did not explode.

When the whole town was looted after the bombing, the Gala–Rodriguez House was spared because no one dared to enter the house for the fear that the bomb might explode anytime, not a single piece of furniture was lost. Later, the bomb was moved to the garage with the help of some residents.

A week after the bombing, the house became the venue for a welcome party dedicated to the US Air force. In the midst of the celebration, Exal, the younger sister of Carmen told one American soldier about the bomb that was kept in the garage. Immediately, the party stopped and everyone was alarmed. A bomb disposal unit was called by the American forces to check the bomb and found out that it was live. The bomb squad unit successfully removed the bomb and finally the house was out of danger.

Life moved on and Doña Carmen took charge of the house. In 1950’s, she got married to Judge Vicente Arguelles and they had one child, Gladiola, also known as Ineng. It was this time when the family decided that the crater created by the bomb explosion at the back of the house be turned into the biggest and deepest swimming pool but it was later downsized into 15- foot deep pool which is equivalent to a 2- storey building.

In 1960’s, Sariaya was struck again by another disaster and it was known as the great fire. Doña Carmen had already given instruction to throw the furniture at the pool to save them but another stroke of luck happened. The flames that were about to destroy the house were fanned away by the wind.[3]

The grand daughter of the original owner, Galdiola Arguelles-Cabuñag is now the owner and the one who maintains the historical house.[1]

As quoted from the official brochure of the ancestral house, “ The Ancestral home, having survived theses series of both tragic and momentous events cannot simply be attributed to some good luck. It certainly was blessed and preserved for a definite and meaningful purpose.”.[3]

House features[edit]

Entrance

Close up of facade

The Gala–Rodriguez heritage house is one of the Art Deco houses that flourished in Sariaya, Quezon during the pre-war era in the Philippines. The house most prominent features are the fan-shaped front entrance glass canopy and the art deco relieves that decorates the mirador of the house.[1] The house features two receiving rooms, several bedrooms, two dining halls, a prayer room, and an intricately designed veranda. At the back is a terrace overlooking a 15-foot-deep swimming pool[2] and a private garden with a gazebo.

Most of the fixtures and furniture inside the house are of American and European origins. The crafted wooden pieces of furniture was designed and manufactured by Manila’s leading furniture atelier, Don Gonzalo Puyat. Exquisite table wares are also on display and large wall mirror greets every visitor in the receiving area. A 19th century grand piano is also in the receiving area complemented by a vintage wooden radio in one corner of the room.

According to Eric Dedace, a tour guide and PRO of Sariaya Tourism Council, the real charm of the house are the stories tied to this historical house most especially during the wartime era concerning Carmen, the beautiful daughter of Dr. Isidro. Her stories are one of the highlights of a guided tour that gives a picture of what life is in old Sariaya.[4]

First floor[edit]

One of two receiving areas of the Gala–Rodriguez house.

On the first floor is the first of two[4] receiving rooms of the house, a dining area, and a study room which also served as Dr. Isidro’s office. Inside the office is a wooden cabinet where clothes, pictures and other personal belongings and memorabilia of the eldest child in the family, the beautiful Doña Carmen, are exhibited. Old pictures of the different areas of the house are also displayed inside because these were Doña Carmen’s way of reminding the maids how they should fix the curtains, furniture and other fixtures back in place when they are removed for cleaning. The owner of the house wants everything to be in exact place and arranged in the original manner.

On the left side of the staircase is the dining area where a classic and elegant table arrangement is on display. The set up is complemented by antique silver and china ware with golden and satin table cloths. Hidden under the dining room carpet is a secret passage that leads to the cellar of the house.

Cellar[edit]

The Gala–Rodriguez House cellar, the hiding place of Dona Carmen during the Japanese era

The Cellar used to be the hiding place of Carmen during the Japanese era. According to the current owner of the house, the family of Carmen would often hide her in the cellar because a high-ranking Japanese official, General Ashima, was after her beauty but the family was doubtful of the General’s real intentions. The young Carmen would often stay there for days with her Yaya.

Today, the cellar has been turned into a museum. Some of the family’s antique belongings are on displayed including Carmen’s shoes, the family travel luggage and bags, a collection of old bottles and tin cans from different makes and brands, unused vintage art deco light fixtures and some vintage car plates. An old image of Virgin Mary in a wooden frame is bolted on the wall and below it is a wooden kneeler of Carmen that she uses when praying the rosary. Below the passage leading to the dining area is a small door that opens at the back gate of the house which they call “the secret passage to freedom”.

Second floor[edit]

Second floor

On the second floor is the second receiving area which is as elegant as the first one, meticulously furnished with pieces of furniture and textiles in green hues. The set up is completed with wide opening windows, stained glass clerestory windows, large chandeliers, French provincial style furniture and long curtains that extend from floor to ceiling. The second dining area is also located at the second floor of the house. From the receiving area, a wide door opens to the front porch where the family stays for coffee to relax and have a view of the town.

The girls’ bedroom and master’s bedroom are also located on this floor. The house also features a small prayer room which is typical in most ancestral houses in the Philippines.

The bathrooms still has its original and working plumbing fixtures from the 1930s.

Gallery[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^ Jump up to:a b c d Mallari Jr., Delfin. “History lives in Sariaya mansions”. Philippine Daily Inquirer. Archived from the original on December 29, 2013. Retrieved May 13, 2014.
  2. ^ Jump up to:a b c d Peña, Edzelle. “Philippine history breathes in the Gala–Rodriguez Heritage house”. loQal.ph. Archived from the original on May 13, 2014. Retrieved May 13, 2014.
  3. ^ Jump up to:a b c The Gala–Rodriguez Heritage House Brochure: In Love and War. 2008.
  4. ^ Jump up to:a b Dedace, Eric. “Sariaya Ancestral Houses”. waypoints.ph. Retrieved May 14, 2014.

Juan Nakpil

Juan Felipe Nakpil
Born May 26, 1899[1]
Quiapo, Manila, Philippine Islands
Died May 7, 1986 (aged 86)
Manila, Philippines
Nationality Philippines Filipino
Occupation Architect
Known for National Artist of the Philippines

Juan F. Nakpil (May 26, 1899 – May 7, 1986) was a Filipino architect, teacher and a community leader. In 1973, he was named one of the National Artists for architecture. He was regarded as the Dean of Filipino Architects.

Biography[edit]

He was one of eight children of the Philippine Revolution veterans Julio Nakpil and Gregoria de Jesús (who married the former after the death of her first husband Andrés Bonifacio). He died in Manila in 1986.

Education[edit]

He studied Engineering at the University of the Philippines and later, at the University of Kansas, where he received his bachelor’s degree in Civil Engineering. He then studied Architecture at the Fontainebleau School of Fine Arts in France upon the recommendation of Jean Jacques Haffner, one of his professors at the Harvard Graduate School of Architecture.[2]

Career[edit]

Nakpil worked at Andres Luna de San Pedro’s architectural firm (1928) and at Don Gonzalo Puyat & Sons, opening his own architectural firm in 1930.[3] Among Nakpil’s works are San Carlos Seminary, Geronimo de los Reyes Building, Iglesia ni Cristo Riverside Locale (Now F. Manalo, San Juan), Magsaysay Building, Rizal Theater, Capitol Theater, Captain Pepe Building, Manila Jockey Club, Rufino Building, Philippine Village Hotel, University of the Philippines Administration and University Library, and the Rizal Shrine in Calamba, Laguna. He also designed the International Eucharistic Congress altar and improved the Quiapo Church in 1930 by erecting a dome and a second belfry. He was hailed as a National Artist for Architecture in 1973.[4]

Projects[edit]

Theaters[edit]

  • Gaiety Theater, Manila (now inactive)
  • Rizal Theater (since demolished; the site is occupied by Shangri-La Hotel Makati City)
  • Capitol Theater (now inactive)
  • University of the Philippines Theater and carillon tower

Other buildings[edit]

University of the Philippines, Administration Building or “Quezon Hall”

References[edit]

  1. Jump up^ Mendoza, Guillermo. (1973). “Pioneer in Philippine Architecture.” The National Artists of the Philippines. Pasig City: Cultural Center of the Philippines (CCP) and Anvil Publishing. 1998.
  2. Jump up^ Mendoza, G. (1973)
  3. Jump up^ Mendoza, G. (1973)
  4. Jump up^ “The National Artists of the Philippines: Juan F. Napkil”. National Commission for Culture and the Arts. Archived from the original on 26 July 2014. Retrieved 19 March 2012.

Battle of Tirad Pass

Battle of Tirad Pass

Battle of Tirad Pass
Part of the Philippine-American War
Gregorio del Pilar and his troops, around 1898.jpg
General Gregorio del Pilar and his troops, around 1898
Date December 2, 1899
Location Tirad Pass, Ilocos Sur, Philippines
Result Strategic Filipino victory
Tactical American victory

  • Death of Gen. Gregorio del Pilar
  • Filipino forces successfully delay the American advance
Belligerents
 United States  Philippine Republic
Commanders and leaders
Peyton C. March Gregorio del Pilar 
Francisco di Palmara 
Strength
300[1] 60[1]
Casualties and losses
2 killed
9 wounded[2][3]
52 killed[1]
Battle of Tirad Pass is located in Philippines

Tirad Pass
Tirad Pass

Location of Tirad Pass.

The Battle of Tirad Pass (Filipino: Labanan Sa Pasong Tirad), sometimes referred to as the “Philippine Thermopylae“,[4] was a battle in the Philippine-American War fought on December 2, 1899, in northern Luzon in the Philippines, in which a 60-man Filipino rear guardcommanded by Brigadier General Gregorio del Pilar succumbed to over 500 Americans, mostly of the 33rd Volunteer Infantry Regiment under Major Peyton C. March, while delaying the American advance to ensure that President Emilio Aguinaldo and his troops escaped.[5]

Background[edit]

Peyton March, as painted by Nicodemus David Hufford III.

The tricolor flag of Gen. Gregorio del Pilar (in the Battle of Pasong Balite, Bulacan & Battle of Tirad Pass, Ilocos Sur, December 2, 1899, patterned after Cuba flag).

The retreat of Aguinaldo from Bayambang, Pangasinan, through the mountainous terrain began on November 13, 1899, after he had disbanded the regular Filipino army into guerrilla units.[2] On November 23, Aguinaldo’s party reached the pass, which provided a strategic bottleneck. It was to be protected by a rear guard under GeneralGregorio del Pilar, who noticed the advantageous terrain of Tirad Pass (Pasong Tirad as it was locally called),[6] and hunkered down to defend it while Aguinaldo escaped through the mountains.[2] The hand-picked force of Filipinos, which was the remaining contingent of the lateAntonio Luna‘s army, constructed several sets of trenches and stone barricades on both shoulders of the pass, as well as on top of its 4,500-foot height.[2] Meanwhile, during early November, Major March had been given the task of pursuing Aguinaldo. By November 30, March and his men, in haste to catch the Philippine president, marched through Candon, Santo Tomas, La Union and Salcedo, Ilocos Sur.[2] He and his men found out that Aguinaldo had passed through Salcedo five days previously, and that fueled the Americans’ march to Concepcion (now named Gregorio del Pilar), a town overlooked by the steep pass, which they reached by December 1. March had no clear idea of the size of Aguinaldo’s rear guard, but he had calculated it to be no more than 150 men.[2]

Battle[edit]

At about 6:30 in the morning of December 2, the Americans advanced up the trail but were met with a steady volley of fire, resulting in them only being able to climb around 300 feet. The Americans abandoned the idea of a frontal assault and took cover in the zigzag trail. Texan sharpshooters stationed themselves on a hill overlooking the trenches and proceeded to whittle down the Philippine rear guard with measured volleys. Nevertheless, the Filipinos continued to hold their ground, utilizing focused volley fire that repelled other advances by the Americans.[2] Therefore, March sent elements of their force with an Igorot villager named Januario Galut to determine the Filipino positions and outflank the defenders.[2] While the flanking movement was still in progress, three American soldiers rushed to the battlefield but found themselves receiving Filipino fire. Two died, being the only Americans killed in the encounter, while the third was badly wounded.[2]

More than five hours after the battle began, the Americans began to feel the scorching heat of the midday sun and decided to rest for a while amidst the rocks. Later that day, the search party had succeeded their task, and the Americans fell upon the rear of the outnumbered defenders, defeating them. Over the course of the battle, 52 of the 60 Filipinos were killed.[2] Among the dead was General del Pilar, shot through the neck at the height or end of the struggle (depending upon which eye-witness account is to be believed[7]).

Aftermath[edit]

The Americans lost 2 dead and 9 wounded, most of which resulted from the repelled frontal assault. Despite nearly total annihilation, however, the Filipinos under Del Pilar held off the Americans long enough for Aguinaldo to escape.[2] Upon receiving word of the battle outcome in nearby Cervantes, Ilocos Sur, Aguinaldo and his party resumed their retreat into the mountains of what was then Bontoc province, pursued by March and his men. March broke off the pursuit on March 7.[8] On September 6, 1900, Aguinaldo reached Palanan, Isabela, where he would continue to lead the guerrilla campaign he had begun on November 13, 1899. He was captured there on March 23, 1901 by men of General Frederick Funston.[6]

According to Filipino writer and historian Nick Joaquin however, the main objective of the Americans was not to pursue Aguinaldo but to keep him away from linking up with the elite Tinio Brigade, which was under the command of Manuel Tinio. In his critical book of essays “A Question of Heroes” he notes that Tirad Pass was an “exercise in futility” in that it only allowed Aguinaldo to “run to nowhere”.[9]

Del Pilar’s diary was recovered among the possessions looted by the victorious Americans, who had stripped him bare of his military decorations, his uniform and his personal belongings, leaving him, as the eyewitness, correspondent Richard Henry Little wrote, “We carved not a line and we raised not a stone, But we left him alone with his glory”. The exact wording of its poignant final entry, written on the night of December 1, differs somewhat between sources quoting it. Two versions are:

The General has given me the pick of all the men that can be spared and ordered me to defend the Pass. I realize what a terrible task has been given me. And yet I feel that this is the most glorious moment of my life. What I do is done for my beloved country. No sacrifice can be too great.[10][11][12]

The General has given me a Platoon of available men and has ordered me to defend this Pass. I am aware what a difficult task has been given me. Nevertheless, I feel that this is the most glorious moment of my life. I am doing everything for my beloved country. There is no greater sacrifice.[13]

Del Pilar’s corpse lay unburied for three days. American officer Lieutenant Dennis Quinlan, with a group of Igorots, later buried his body and left a plaque, “Gen. Gregorio del Pilar, Died December 2, 1899, Commanding Aguinaldo’s Rear Guard, An Officer and a Gentleman.”[2]

Memorials[edit]

Gregorio del Pilar‘s tomb (Bulacan Provincial Capitol plaza and his equestrian statue).

In honor of Del Pilar’s heroism, the Philippine Military Academy was named Fort Del Pilar and a historical marker placed at the site of the battle.[1]

The Battle of Tirad Pass and the death of Del Pilar was also commemorated duringWorld War II when the Japanese-backed government of President José P. Laurelsought to re-kindle anti-American sentiment by reviving memories of the Philippine-American War with the creation of the Tirad Pass Medal. The design of the obverse (front) of the medal included a bust of Del Pilar and a view of Tirad Pass. The design of the reverse (back) includes the date 1944. The Tirad Pass Medal was the only military medal or decoration issued by the Laurel government during the Japanese occupation.[14]

References[edit]

  1. ^ Jump up to:a b c d Dumindin, Arnaldo. “Dec. 2, 1899: General Gregorio Del Pilar dies at Tirad Pass”. Retrieved 12 September 2012.
  2. ^ Jump up to:a b c d e f g h i j k l Agoncillo, Teodoro (1960). Malolos: Crisis of the Republic. pp. 543–552.
  3. Jump up^ Tucker, Spencer (2009). The Encyclopedia of the Spanish-American and Philippine-American Wars: A Political, Social, and Military History. ABC-CLIO. p. 643. ISBN 978-1-85109-951-1.
  4. Jump up^ Jerry Keenan (2001), Encyclopedia of the Spanish-American & Philippine-American wars, ABC-CLIO, p. 311, ISBN 978-1-57607-093-2
  5. Jump up^ Tucker, Spencer C. (2009), Encyclopedia of the Spanish-American and Philippine-American Wars, The: A Political, Social, and Military History: A Political, Social, and Military History, ABC-CLIO, p. “500”+”80″ 643, ISBN 978-1-85109-952-8
  6. ^ Jump up to:a b Agoncillo, Teodoro (1974). Introduction to Filipino History.
  7. Jump up^ A number of eyewitness accounts are quoted in Kalaw, Teodoro Manguiat (1974). “XVII Battle of Tirad and the Death of del Pilar”. An acceptable holocaust: life and death of a boy-general. National Historical Commission. pp. 55–61.
  8. Jump up^ Gregg Jones (2012). Honor in the Dust: Theodore Roosevelt, War in the Philippines, and the Rise and Fall of America’s Imperial Dream. Penguin Publishing Group. pp. 135–136. ISBN 978-1-101-57512-3.
  9. Jump up^ Joaquin, Nick. A Question of Heroes.
  10. Jump up^ Moorfield Storey; Marcial Primitivo Lichauco (1926), The Conquest of the Philippines by the United States, 1898–1925, G. P. Putnam’s sons, p. 109
  11. Jump up^ Louis Freeland Post; Alice Thatcher Post; Stoughton Cooley (1899). “The Death of Gregorio Del Pilar”. The Public. Louis F. Post. 2–11.
  12. Jump up^ Raymond Landon Bridgman (1903), Loyal traitors: a story of friendship for the Filipinos, J.H. West (Full text, from the library of the University of California)
  13. Jump up^ Teodoro Manguiat Kalaw (1974), An Acceptable Holocaust: Life and Death of a Boy-general, National Historical Commission of the Philippines, p. 61
  14. Jump up^ Basso, Aldo P. (1975), Coins, Medals and Tokens of the Philippines 1728–1974, 2nd Edition, Bookman Printing House

Coordinates: 17°09′00″N 120°38′00″E

External links[edit]

Felix Manalo

Felix Ysagun Manalo (born Félix Ysagun y Manalo, May 10, 1886 – April 12, 1963), also known as Ka Félix,[3] was the first Executive Minister of the Iglesia ni Cristo (Church of Christ) and registered it with the Philippine Government on July 27, 1914. He is the father of Eraño G. Manalo, who succeeded him as Executive Minister of the INC, and the grandfather ofEduardo V. Manalo, the current Executive Minister.

Because there were no precursors to the registered church, external sources and critics of the INC refer to him as its founder.[4] The official doctrine of the Iglesia is that Felix Y. Manalo is the last messenger of God, sent to reestablish the church founded by Jesus Christ, which has fallen into apostasy following the end of the Apostolic Age..

Felix Y. Manalo was born in Barrio Calzada, Tipas, Taguig, Manila province(transferred to Rizal province in 1901 and now part of Metro Manila), Philippines, on May 10, 1886. He was raised in a rural setting by his devoutCatholic parents, Mariano Ysagun and Bonifacia Manalo. With their livelihood based on a combination of agricultural work, shrimp catching and mat making, they were humble people who lived on the edge of poverty. During a childhood disrupted by his father’s death, his mother’s remarriage and the Philippine Revolution, and an adolescence overshadowed by the Filipino-American War, Manalo received only a few years of formal schooling.[6][7][note 1]

Late in the 1890s, after a telling lapse of faith, the teenage Manalo rejected Catholicism. At the time he resided in Manila with his uncle Father Mariano Borja, a priest assigned to the urban parish of Sampaloc. Severely rebuked for privately studying the Bible, Manalo began forthwith to question many basic Catholic doctrines. He also sought solace in other religious groups. According to the National Historical Commission of the Philippines, the establishment of the Philippine Independent Church or theAglipayan Church was his major turning point, but Manalo remained uninterested since its doctrines were mainly Catholic. In 1904, he joined the Methodist Episcopal Church,[8] entered the Methodist seminary, and became a pastor for a while.[9]He also sought through various denominations, including the Presbyterian Church, Christian Mission, and finally Seventh-day Adventist Church in 1911. There Manalo laboured as trusted evangelist before quarrelling with Adventist leaders over matters of doctrine and customary authority relationships between Westerners and Filipinos. He was left in 1913. Plainly displeased with the various branches of Christianity brought to the Philippines by foreign missionaries, Manalo began to mingle with a diverse crowd of atheists and freethinkers who had rejected organized religion.

In November 1913, Manalo secluded himself with religious literature and unused notebooks in a friend’s house in Pasay, instructing everyone in the house not to disturb him. He emerged from his silence three days later with his newfound doctrines and principles.[10]

Manalo, together with his wife, Honorata, went to Punta that same month and began preaching. He also returned to Taguig to evangelize and preach; there, he was ridiculed and stoned by the townsfolk during his meetings. He was later able to baptize a few converts, including some of his persecutors. He registered his newfound religion as the Iglesia ni Cristo (English: Church of Christ; Spanish: Iglesia de Cristo) on July 27, 1914, a day before the start of the First World War, at the Bureau of Commerce as a corporation sole with himself as the first Executive Minister.[8][10][11] Expansion followed as the Iglesia started building congregations in the provinces as early as 1916.[12] The denomination’s first three ministers were ordained in 1919.

By 1924, the INC had about 3,000 to 5,000 adherents in 43 or 45 congregations in Manila and six nearby provinces.[11] By 1936, the INC had 85,000 members. This figure grew to 200,000 by 1954.[12] A Cebu congregation was built in 1937—the first to be established outside of Luzon, and the first in the Visayas. The first mission to Mindanao was in 1946. Meanwhile, the INC’s first concrete chapel was built in Sampaloc, Manila, in 1948.[11][13] Adherents fleeing Manila, where the Japanese forces were concentrated during the Second World War, were used for evangelization.[11] As Manalo’s health began to fail in the 1950s, his son Eraño started to take leadership of the church.

In November 30, 1955, Felix led the dedication of the chapel of the Locale of Pasay, simultaneously with the offering of Eraño’s newborn son Eduardo V. Manalo, the current Executive Minister.

On April 2, 1963, Manalo was confined to hospital for treatment of stomach ulcers, which brought him constant pain that medication did not help. On April 11, 1963, doctors performed a third surgery on him, which would be his last.[14] Manalo died on April 12, 1963, at 2:35 in the morning, at the age of 76. Leadership of the Iglesia passed to his son, Eraño, who was elected unanimously by the council of elders.[15]His remains were viewed by mourners in the INC’s 3,200-seater chapel in San Francisco del Monte, Quezon City.[16] On April 23, he was buried at what was then the central office of the Iglesia ni Cristo in San Juan, Rizal.[17] The local police estimated the crowd at the funeral procession to have been 2 million, and the rite took five hours.[18]

Felix Y. Manalo started his preaching mission with only a handful of listeners in a small room at the workers quarters of a construction company named Atlantic, Gulf and Pacific Steamship Company. When he died, he left a well-established church with millions of members all over the Philippines. In only 49 years of existence, theIglesia ni Cristo had 1,250 local chapels and 35 large concrete cathedrals.[18] Felix Y. Manalo was a recognized and highly respected religious leader of the Philippines.

The church’s growth and expansion met many criticisms and persecutions. Its leaders and members alike were often ridiculed and maligned. However, Felix Y. Manalo was an eloquent speaker, and he could deliver a skillful argument and had a facility in the use of Scriptures and a mastery in organization.[18]

The ministers of the Christian Mission honored him on December 25, 1918, as an outstanding evangelist.[4]

The Genius Divinical College of Manila on Avenida, Rizal, a non-sectarian institution headed by Eugenio Guerero, conferred on Felix Y. Manalo the degree of Master of Biblo-Science honoris causa on March 28, 1931.[15]

On July 27, 2007, coinciding with the 93rd anniversary of the Iglesia ni Cristo, the National Historical Institute (NHI) of the Philippines unveiled a marker on the birthplace of Felix Y. Manalo, declaring the site as a National Historical Landmark. The marker is located at Barangay Calzada, Tipas, Taguig City, Metro Manila where the ancestral home of Manalo once stood. The marker sits on a 744-square-meter plaza. In his dedication speech, Ludovico Badoy, NHI executive director, said, “Brother Felix Y. Manalo’s significant contribution to Philippine Society is worth recognizing and emulating.” He further said, “… the church he preached [has] changed the lives and faith of many Filipinos. He deserves the pride and recognition of the people of Taguig.” The responsibility, maintenance, and operation of the landmark was turned over to the INC.[19]

On the same year, the Philippine government declared July 27 of every year as “Iglesia ni Cristo Day” to enable millions of INC followers in the Philippines and in 75 countries around the world to observe the occasion with fitting solemnity.[20]

On May 10, 2014, coinciding his 128th birth anniversary, the Philippine Postal Corp. (Philpost) launched the Iglesia ni Cristo Centennial Commemorative Stamp at the INC Central Office in Diliman, Quezon City, to mark the 100th anniversary of the church’s registration in the Philippines. The stamp features the INC Central Temple and Felix Y. Manalo in sepia. At the bottom of the stamp is the INC centennial logo in color. Philpost issued 1.2 million of the stamps, which is more than twice the number of stamps they usually issue for a single design. The stamp, 50 millimeters by 35 mm, is bigger than the ordinary-sized 40 mm by 30 mm stamps.[21]

In some cities and towns in the Philippines,the adjacent street near an INC locale is renamed F. Manalo to honor Felix Y. Manalo’s contributions in Philippine history.

Antonio Luna

Antonio Luna

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Antonio Luna
Antonio luna small.jpg
2nd Chief of Staff of the Armed Forces of the Philippines
In office
22 January 1899 – 5 June 1899
President Emilio Aguinaldo
Preceded by Artemio Ricarte
Succeeded by Emilio Aguinaldo
Personal details
Born Antonio Luna y Novicio
October 29, 1866
Binondo, Manila, Captaincy General of the Philippines
Died June 5, 1899 (aged 32)
Cabanatuan, Nueva Ecija,United States Military Government of the Philippine Islands
Cause of death Assassination
Relations Juan Luna (Brother)
Awards Philippine Republic Medal
Military service
Nickname(s) “The Fiery General”
“Taga-Ilog”
Allegiance  First Philippine Republic
Service/branch Philippine Army Seal 1897.jpg Philippine Revolutionary Army
Years of service 1898–1899
Rank PR General.svg Captain General
Battles/wars Philippine–American War

Antonio Luna y Novicio (29 October 1866 – 5 June 1899), an Ilocano born in Manila, was a Filipino general who fought in the Philippine–American War.

Regarded as one of the fiercest generals of his time, he succeeded Artemio Ricarte as Chief of Staff of the Armed Forces of the Philippines. He sought to apply his background in military science to the fledgling army. A sharpshooter himself, he organized professional guerrilla soldiers later to be known as the “Luna Sharpshooters” and the “Black Guard”. His three-tier defense, now known as the Luna Defense Line, gave the American troops a hard campaign in the provinces north of Manila. This defense line culminated in the creation of a military base in the Cordillera.[1]

Despite his commitment to discipline the army and serve the Republic which attracted the admiration of people, his temper caused some to abhor him.[2]His efforts were not without recognition during his time, for he was awarded the Philippine Republic Medal in 1899. He was also a member of the Malolos Congress.[3] Besides his military studies, Luna also studied pharmacy,literature and chemistry.[4]

Family background[edit]

Antonio N. Luna was born on 29 October 1866 in Calle Urbiztondo (Barraca Street), Binondo (now part of San Nicolas), Manila. He was the youngest of seven children of Joaquín Luna y Posadas (1829–1891), from Badoc andSpanish mestiza Laureana Novicio y Ancheta (1836–1906, from Luna, La Union (formerly Namacpacan)).[5] His father was a traveling salesman of the government tobacco monopoly.[6] The tobacco monopoly was formally established in 1782.[7] After their family moved to Manila in 1861, his father became a merchant in Binondo.[8]

Siblings[edit]

His older brother, Juan N. Luna, was an accomplished painter who studied in the Madrid Escuela de Bellas Artes de San Fernando. His Spoliarium garnered one of the three gold medals awarded in the Madrid Exposición Nacional de Bellas Artes in 1884. Another brother, José, became a doctor.[8] Yet another brother, Joaquín, fought with Antonio in the Philippine-American War,[9] and later served as governor of La Union from 1904 to 1907.[10] Joaquín would also serve as senator from 1916 to 1919.[11] His three other siblings were Numeriana, Manuel, and Remedios.[5] And Antonio Luna finished his studes in painting in Escuela de Bellas Artes de San Fernando.

Education[edit]

At the age of 11, Luna initially learned reading, writing, and arithmetic from a teacher known as Maestro Intong.[4] He also memorized the Doctrina Christiana, believed to be the first book printed in the Philippines.[4][12] The title of the work literally means “Christian Doctrine”, and thus the primary goal of the book was to propagate Christian teaching across the Philippine archipelago. The book consists of 38 leaves and 74 pages of text in Spanish, Tagalog transliterated into roman letters, and Tagalog in its original Baybayin script, under a woodcut of Saint Dominic, with the verso originally blank, although in contemporary versions bears the manuscript inscription, “Tassada en dos reales“, signed by Juan de Cuellar. After asyllabary comes the basic prayers: the Lord’s Prayer, Hail Mary, Credo, and the Salve Regina. Following these are Articles of Faith, the Ten Commandments, Commandments of the Holy Church, Sacraments of the Holy Church, Seven Mortal Sins,Fourteen Works of Charity, and points on Confession and Catechism.[13][14]

After his education under Maestro Intong, he studied at the Ateneo Municipal de Manila, where he received a Bachelor of Arts degree in 1805.[15] He went on to study literature and chemistry at the University of Santo Tomas, where he won first prize for a paper in chemistry titled Two Fundamental Bodies of Chemistry (Dos Cuerpos Fundamentales de la Quimica). He also studied pharmacy. Meanwhile, his background on swordsmanship, fencing, and military tactics came from his studies under Don Martin Cartagena, a major in the Spanish Army.[15] In addition, he acquired skill to become a sharpshooter. Upon the invitation of his elder brother Juan in 1890, Antonio was sent by his parents to Spain. There he acquired a licentiate (at Universidad de Barcelona) and doctorate (at Universidad Central de Madrid).[4]

Scientific achievements[edit]

Luna was active as a researcher in the scientific community. After receiving his doctorate in 1893, he published a scientific treatise on malaria entitled On Malarial Pathology (El Hematozoario del Paludismo), which was favorably received in the scientific community.[16] He then went to Belgium and France, and worked as assistant to Dr. Latteaux at the Pasteur Institute and to Dr. Laffen. In recognition of his ability, he was commissioned by the Spanish government to study tropical and communicable diseases.[4] In 1894, he returned to the Philippines where he took part in an examination to determine who would become the chief chemist of the Municipal Laboratory of Manila. Luna came in first and won the position.[8]

Propaganda Movement[edit]

Luna with fellow reformists Eduardo de Lete (center) andMarcelo H. del Pilar (right). Photo was taken in Spain in 1890.

In Spain, he became one of the Filipino expatriates who mounted the Propaganda Movement and wrote for La Solidaridad, headed by Galicano Apacible. He wrote a piece titled Impressions which dealt with Spanish customs and idiosyncrasies under thepen-name “Taga-ilog”. Also, like many of the Filipino liberals in Spain, Luna joined the Masonry where he rose to being Master Mason.[4]

He and his brother Juan also opened the Sala de Armas, a fencing club, in Manila.[4]When he learned of the underground societies that were planning a revolution and was asked to join, he scoffed at the idea and turned down the offer. Like other Filipinoémigrés involved in the Reform Movement, he was in favor of reform rather than revolution as the way towards independence.[8] Besides affecting their property, the proponents of the Reform Movement saw that no revolution would succeed without the necessary preparations.[2] Nevertheless, after the existence of the Katipunan was leaked in August 1896, the Luna brothers were arrested and jailed in Fort Santiago for “participating” in the revolution.[8] His statement concerning the revolution was one of the many statements used to abet the laying down of death sentence for José Rizal. Months later, José and Juan were freed but Antonio was exiled to Spain in 1897, where he was imprisoned at the Cárcel Modelo de Madrid.[4]

His more famous and yet controversial brother, Juan, who had been pardoned by the Spanish Queen Regent Maria Christina of Austria herself, left for Spain to use his influence to intercede for Antonio in August 1897. Soon enough, Antonio’s case was dismissed by the Military Supreme Court and he was released.[8][17]

Luna, repenting for his blunder during the end of the first phase during Philippine Revolution, which ended at the Pact of Biak-na-Bato, then prepared himself for the second phase. Upon his release in December 1897, Luna studied field fortifications, guerrilla warfare, organization, and other aspects of military science under Gerard Leman, who would later be the commanding general of the fortress at Liège.[4] He also read extensively about the discipline when he was at the Ateneo de Madrid.[17] The second phase of the revolution began with the return of Emilio Aguinaldo to Cavite in 1898.[2][18] Upon arriving in Hong Kong, he was given a letter of recommendation to Aguinaldo and a revolver by Felipe Agoncillo. He returned to the Philippines in July 1898.[19]

Personal life[edit]

Luna courted Nellie Boustead, a woman who was also courted by José Rizal, in the period between 1889–1891.[8]Boustead was reportedly infatuated with Rizal. In a party held by Filipinos, a drunk Antonio Luna made unsavory remarks against Nellie Boustead. This prompted Rizal to challenge Luna into a duel. However, Luna apologized to Rizal, thus averting a duel between the compatriots.[20]

There are urban legends that persist to the present concerning Luna diverting millions of pesos from the Republic’s treasury, particularly from Ilocos and Pampanga, to the hometown of his alleged sweetheart, Ysidra Cojuangco. Ysidra was the aunt of Jose Cojuangco, father of Corazon Aquino. Luna’s wealth was rumored to have been entrusted to Ysidra, resulting in the latter becoming one of the richest women in the Philippines by 1900.[21] However, there were no recorded comments or printed insinuations of Luna’s financial impropriety from anti-Luna figures of the Aguinaldo government during and immediately after the Philippine–American War.[22]

Philippine–American War[edit]

Prior to the war[edit]

Antonio Luna
Antonio luna small.jpg

General Antonio Luna
Nickname(s) “The Fiery General”
“Taga-Ilog”
Born October 29, 1866
Manila, Spanish Philippines
Died June 5, 1899 (aged 32)
Cabanatuan, Nueva Ecija,Philippine Islands
Allegiance  First Philippine Republic
Service/branch Philippine Army Seal 1897.jpgPhilippine Revolutionary Army
Years of service 1898–1899
Rank PR General.svg Captain General
Battles/wars Philippine–American War

Awards Philippine Republic Medal
Relations Juan Luna (Brother)

Luna was one of the first to see action in Manila on 13 August 1898, when the Americans landed troops in Intramuros. Since June 1898, Manila had been completely surrounded by the revolutionary troops. Colonel Luciano San Miguel occupied Mandaluyong; General Pío del Pilar, Makati; General Mariano Noriel, Parañaque; Colonel Enrique Pacheco, Navotas, Tambobong, and Caloocan. General Gregorio del Pilar marched through Sampaloc, taking Tondo, Divisoria, and Azcárraga; Noriel cleared Singalong and Paco, and held Ermita and Malate.[23] Luna thought the Filipinos should enter Intramuros to have joint occupation of the walled city. But Aguinaldo, heeding the advice of General Wesley Merritt and Commodore (later Admiral) George Dewey, whose fleet had moored in Manila Bay, sent Luna to the trenches where he ordered his troops to fire on the Americans. After the chaos following the American occupation, at a meeting in Ermita, Luna tried to complain to American officers about the disorderly conduct of their soldiers.[8]

To silence Luna, Aguinaldo appointed him as Chief of War Operations on 26 September 1898, and assigned the rank of brigadier general. In quick succession, he was made the Director or Assistant Secretary of War and Supreme Chief of the Republican Army on 28 September,[24]arousing the envy of the other generals who were fighting since the first phase of the Revolution. Meanwhile, Luna felt that bureaucratic placebos were being thrown his way, when all he wanted was to organize and discipline the enthusiastic but ill-fed and ill-trained troops into a real army.[8]

On 15 September 1898, the Malolos Congress, the constituent assembly of the First Philippine Republic, was convened in Barasoain Church.[25] Luna would be one of the elected representatives, and was narrowly defeated by Pedro Paterno as President of the Congress with a vote of 24–23.[3]

Seeing the need for a military school, in October 1898, Luna established a military academy at Malolos, known as the Academia Militar, which was the precursor of the present Philippine Military Academy. He appointed Colonel Manuel Bernal Sityar, a mestizo who was formerly lieutenant serving the Civil Guard, as superintendent. He recruited other mestizos and Spaniards who had fought in the Spanish army during the 1896 Revolution for training. However, the academy had to be suspended indefinitely by March 1899 due to the outbreak of the Philippine–American War.[8]

Group showing some of Luna’s aides: General Manuel Tinio (seated, center), General Benito Natividad(seated, 2nd from right), General Jose Alejandrino (seated, 2nd from left).

A score of veteran officers became teachers at his military school. Luna devised two courses of instruction, planned the reorganization, with a battalion of tiradores and a cavalry squadron, set up an inventory of guns and ammunition, arsenals, using convents and town halls, quartermasters, lookouts and communication systems. He built trenches with the help of his chief engineer, General Jose Alejandrino, and had his brother Juan design the school’s uniforms (the Filipino rayadillo). He also insisted on strict discipline over and above clan armies and regional loyalties, which prevented coordination between various military units.[26] Envisioning one united army for the Republic, clan armies and regional loyalties presented a lack of national consciousness. It was also a condition that the Spanish utilized to keep the native contingent of their armed forces within check. Soldiers of one region were used to fight revolts in other regions.[27]

Convinced that the fate of the infant Republic should be a contest for the minds of Filipinos, Luna turned to journalism to strengthen Filipino minds with the ideas of nationhood and the need to fight the Americans. He decided to publish a newspaper, “La Independencia.”[28]:63 This four-page daily was filled with articles, short stories, patriotic songs and poems. The staff was installed in one of the coaches of the train that ran from Manila toPangasinan. The paper came out in September 1898, and was an instant success. A movable feast of information, humor, and good writing, 4,000 copies were printed, which was more than all the other newspapers in circulation put together.[29]

When the Treaty of Paris, under which Spain was to cede the Philippines to the United States, was made public in December 1898, Luna quickly decided to take military action. He proposed a strategy that was designed to trap the Americans in Manila before more of their troops could land by executing surprise attacks (guerrilla warfare) while building up strength in the north. If the American forces penetrated his lines, Luna determined that he would wage a series of delaying battles and prepare a fortress in northern Luzon, particularly the Cordillera. This, however, was turned down by the High Command, who still believed that the Americans would grant full independence.[30]

Outbreak of the war[edit]

American soldiers of the 1st Nebraska Volunteers, Company B, during the Battle of Manila.

The Americans gained the time and the opportunity to start hostilities with the Filipinos at the place and time of their choice. On the night of 4 February 1899, when most of the Filipino generals were at a ball in Malolos to celebrate the success of the American anti-imperialists delaying the ratification of the Treaty of Paris, the Americans staged an incident along the concrete blockhouses in Santa Mesa near the Balsahan Bridge.[31] An American patrol fired on Filipino troops, claiming afterwards that the Filipinos had started shooting first. The whole Filipino line from Pasay to Caloocan returned fire and the first battle of the Filipino-American Warensued. Two days later, in response to the incident, the US Senate voted for annexation. In doing so, the conflict became the war of conquest, occupation and annexation that Luna, Mabini, and others had predicted and about which they had warned Aguinaldo and his generals previously.[32]

Luna, after receiving orders from Aguinaldo, rushed to the front lines from his headquarters at Polo (present-dayValenzuela City) and led three companies to La Loma to engage General Arthur MacArthur‘s forces. Fighting took place atMarikina, Caloocan, Santa Ana, and Paco. The Filipinos were subjected to a carefully planned attack with naval artillery, with Dewey’s US fleet firing from the Manila Bay. Filipino casualties were high, amounting to around 2,000 killed and wounded.[31] Luna personally had to carry wounded officers and men to safety; of these rescues, the most dramatic was that of Commander José Torres Bugallón. After being hit by an American bullet, Bugallón had managed to advance another fifty meters before he was seen by Luna to collapse by the side of the road. As the Americans kept up their fire on the road, Luna had to gather an escort of around 25 men to save Bugallón, who Luna declared was equivalent to 500 men. Surviving the encounter, Luna tried to encourage Bugallón to live and gave the latter an instant promotion to lieutenant colonel. However, Bugallón died thereafter.[33]

On 7 February, Luna issued a detailed order to the field officers of the territorial militia. Containing five specific objects, it began “by virtue of the barbarous attack upon our army on February 4,” and ended with “war without quarter to false Americans who wish to enslave us. Independence or death!” The order labeled the US forces “an army of drunkards and thieves”[31] in response to the continued bombardment of the towns around Manila, the burning and looting of whole districts, and the raping of Filipino women by US troops.[34]

When Luna saw that the American advance had halted, mainly to stabilize their lines, he again mobilized his troops to attack La Loma on February 10. Fierce fighting ensued but the Filipinos were forced to withdraw thereafter.[35] Caloocan was left with American forces in control of the southern terminus of the Manila to Dagupan railway, along with five engines, fifty passenger coaches, and a hundred freight cars. After consolidating control of Caloocan, the obvious next objective for American forces would be the Republic capital at Malolos. However, General Otis delayed for almost a month in hopes that Filipino forces would be deployed in its defense.[36]

Nevertheless, with their superior firepower and newly arrived reinforcements, the Americans had not expected such resistance. They were so surprised that an urgent cable was sent to General Lawton who was in Colombo, Ceylon (now Sri Lanka), with his troops. Illustrating the concern that the Americans had, the telegram stated, “Situation critical in Manila. Your early arrival great importance.”[37]

Luna Sharpshooters and the Black Guard[edit]

The Luna Sharpshooters was a short-lived unit formed by Luna to serve under the Philippine Revolutionary Army. On 11 February, eight infantrymen, formerly under Captains Márquez and Jaro, were sent by then Secretary of War Baldomero Aguinaldo to Luna, then Assistant Secretary of War. The infantrymen were disarmed by the Americans. So, they journeyed to be commissioned in the regular Filipino army. Seeing their desire to serve in the army, Luna took them in and from their group grew and emerged as the Luna Sharpshooters.[38] The sharpshooters became famous for their fierce fighting and proved their worth by being the usual spearheading unit in every major battle in the Philippine-American War. After theBattle of Calumpit on 25–27 April 1899, only seven or eight of them remained in the regular Filipino army.[38] In the Battle of Paye on 18 December 1899, a Filipino sharpshooter, Private Bonifacio Mariano, under the command of General Licerio Gerónimo killed General Henry Ware Lawton, making the latter the highest ranking casualty during the course of the war.[39]

Luna also formed other units similar to the sharpshooters. One would be the unit, which would later be named after Bugallón, commanded by Rosendo Simón de Pajarillo. The unit emerged from a group of ten men wanting to volunteer in the regular Filipino army. Luna, still thinking of the defeat at the Battle of Caloocan, sent the men away at first. However, he soon changed his mind and decided to give the men an initiation.[38] After taking breakfast, he ordered a subordinate, Colonel Queri, to prepare arms and ammunition for the ten men. Then, the men boarded a train destined towards Malinta, which was American-held territory. After giving orders to the men, he let them go and watched them with his telescope. The men, succeeding their mission, eventually returned unharmed. Admiring their bravery, he organized them into a guerrilla unit of around 50 members. This unit would see action in the Second Battle of Caloocan.[38]

Another elite unit would be the Black Guard, a 25-man guerrilla unit under a certain Lieutenant García. García, one of Luna’s favorites, was a modest but brave soldier. His unit was tasked to approach the enemy by surprise and quickly return to camp. Luna had admired García’s unit very much that he wanted to increase their size. However, García declined the offer. He believed that a larger force might undermine the efficiency of their work.[38] Jose Alejandrino, the chief army engineer and one of Luna’s aides, stated that he never heard of García and his unit again after Luna’s resignation on February 28.[40]

Further operations during the war[edit]

General Tomás Mascardo, military commander of Pampanga

A Filipino counterattack began at dawn on 23 February. The plan was to employ a pincer movement, using the battalions from the North and South, with the sharpshooters (the only professionally trained troops) at crucial points. Thesandatahanes or bolomen inside Manila would start a great fire to signal the start of the assault.[41] Troops directly under Luna’s command were divided into three: the West Brigade under General Pantaleon García, the Center Brigade under GeneralMariano Llanera, and the East Brigade under General Licerio Gerónimo.[42] Luna even requested the battle-hardened Tinio Brigade from Northern Luzon, under the command of General Manuel Tinio. It had more than 1,900 soldiers. However, Aguinaldo gave only ambiguous answers and the Tinio Brigade was unable to participate in the battle.[42] It was only partly successful because of two main reasons. Firstly, some of the successful Filipino sectors ran low on ammunition and food, and were thus forced to withdraw to Polo. Secondly, Luna failed to relieve the Kapampangan militia, already past their prime, when the battalion from Kawit, Cavite, refused to replace the former, saying that they had orders to obey only instructions directly from Aguinaldo. Such insubordination had become quite common among the Filipino forces at that time as most of the troops owed their loyalty to the officers from their provinces, towns or districts and not to the central command. As a result, the counterattack soon collapsed, and Luna placated himself by disarming the Kawit Battalion.[43]

1st Nebraskan Volunteers advancing during the Battle of Santo Tomas.

Luna, however, proved to be a strict disciplinarian and his temper alienated many in the ranks of the common soldiers. An example of this occurred during the Battle of Calumpit, wherein Luna ordered General Tomás Mascardo to send troops from Guagua to strengthen the former’s defenses. However, Mascardo ignored orders by Luna insisting that he was going to Arayat to undertake an “inspection of troops”. Another version of Mascardo’s reasoning emerged and it was probably that which reached Luna. This version was that Mascardo had left to visit his girlfriend.[44]Luna, infuriated by Mascardo’s actions, had decided to detain him. However, Major Hernando, one of Luna’s aides, tried to placate the general’s anger by convincing Luna to push the case to President Aguinaldo. Aguinaldo complied to detain Mascardo for twenty-four hours. Upon returning to the field, however, the Americans had broken through his defenses at the Bagbag River, forcing Luna to withdraw despite his heroic action to defend the remaining sectors.[4]

Luna resigned on 1 March, mainly in resentment for the rearmament of the Kawit Battalion as the Presidential Guard.[45]Aguinaldo hesitantly accepted the resignation. As a result, Luna was absent from the field for three weeks, during which the Filipino forces suffered several defeats and setbacks. One such defeat would be at the Battle of Marilao River on 27 March.[46] Receiving the depressing reports from the field through his La Independencia correspondents, Luna went to Aguinaldo and asked to be reinstated with more powers over all the military heads, and Aguinaldo promoted him toLieutenant General and agreed making him Commander-in-Chief of all the Filipino forces in Central Luzon (Bulacan, Tarlac, Pampanga, Nueva Ecija, Bataan, Zambales).[29][47]

The Luna Defense Line was planned to create a series of delaying battles from Caloocan to Angeles, Pampanga,[1] as the Republic was constructing a guerrilla base in the Mountain Province. The base was planned to be the last stand headquarters of the Republic in the case the Americans broke through the Defense Line.[48] American military observers were astonished by the Defense Line, which they described as consisting of numerous bamboo trenches stretching from town to town. The series of trenches allowed the Filipinos to withdraw gradually, firing from cover at the advancing Americans. As the American troops occupied each new position, they were subjected to a series of traps that had been set in the trenches, which included bamboo spikes and poisonous reptiles.[49]

Earlier in the month of May 1899, Luna almost fell in the field at the Battle of Santo Tomas. Mounted on his horse, Luna then charged into the battlefield leading his main force in a counterattack. As they advanced, the American forces began firing upon them. Luna’s horse was hit and he fell to the ground. As he recovered, Luna realized that he had been shot in the stomach, and he attempted to kill himself with his revolver to avoid capture.[50] He was saved, though, by the actions of a Filipino colonel named Alejandro Avecilla who, having seen Luna fall, rode towards the general to save him. Despite being heavily wounded in one of his legs and an arm, with his remaining strength Avecilla carried Luna away from battle to the Filipino rear. Upon reaching safety, Luna realized that his wound was not very deep as most of the impact of the bullet had been taken by a silk belt full of gold coins that his parents had given him, which he had been wearing.[50] As he left the field to have his wounds tended, Luna turned over the command to General Venacio Concepción, the Filipino commander of the nearby town of Angeles.[4] Meanwhile, in recognition of his work, Luna was awarded with the Philippine Republic Medal.[50]By the end of May 1899, Colonel Joaquín Luna, one of Antonio’s brothers, warned him that a plot had been concocted by “old elements” or the autonomists of the Republic (who were bent on accepting American sovereignty over the country) and a clique of army officers whom Luna had disarmed, arrested, and/or insulted. Luna shrugged off all these threats, reiterating his trust for Aguinaldo, and continued building defenses at Pangasinan where the Americans were planning a landing.[9]

Assassination and the aftermath[edit]

Colonel Francisco Román, Luna’s aide-de-camp who was also assassinated with him.

On 2 June 1899, Luna received two telegrams – one asked for help in launching a counterattack in San Fernando, Pampanga; and the other said to be signed by Aguinaldo himself, ordered him to go to the new capital at Cabanatuan, Nueva Ecijato form a new cabinet.[51] In his jubilation, Luna wrote Arcadio Maxilom, military commander of Cebu, to stand firm in the war.[51] Luna set off from Bayambang, Pangasinan; first by train, then on horseback, and eventually in three carriages to Nueva Ecija with 25 of his men.[4][31] During the journey, two of the carriages broke down, so he proceeded with just one carriage with Colonel Francisco Román and Captain Eduardo Rusca, having earlier shed his cavalry escort. On 4 June, Luna sent a telegram to Aguinaldo confirming his arrival. Upon arriving at Cabanatuan on 5 June, Luna alone, proceeded to the headquarters to communicate with the President. As he went up the stairs, he ran into an officer whom he had previously disarmed for insubordination, and an old enemy whom he had once threatened with arrest for favoring American autonomy. The former was Captain Pedro Janolino, commander of the Kawit Battalion. The latter was Felipe Buencamino, Minister of Foreign Affairs and a member of the Cabinet. He was told that Aguinaldo had left for San Isidro in Tarlac. Enraged, Luna asked why he had not been told the meeting was cancelled.[22]

Both exchanged heated words as he was about to depart, a rifle shot in the plaza rang out. Still outraged and furious, Luna rushed down the stairs and met Janolino, accompanied by some elements of the Kawit Battalion. Janolino swung his bolo at Luna, wounding him in the head. Janolino’s men fired at Luna, while others started stabbing him, even as he tried to fire his revolver at one of his attackers.[22] He staggered out into the plaza where Román and Rusca were rushing to his aid, but they too were set upon and shot, with Román being killed and Rusca severely wounded. As he lay dying, Luna uttered “Cowards! Assassins!“.[22] Luna received more than 30 wounds.[52] He was hurriedly buried in the churchyard, after which Aguinaldo relieved Luna’s officers and men from the field, including General Venacio Concepción, whose headquarters inAngeles, Pampanga Aguinaldo besieged the same day Luna was assassinated.

Immediately after Luna’s death, confusion reigned on both sides. The Americans even thought Luna had taken over to replace Aguinaldo.[53] Luna’s death was publicly declared only by 8 June, and a circular providing details of the event released by 13 June. While investigations were supposedly made concerning Luna’s death, not one person was convicted.[54] Later, General Pantaleon García said that it was he who was verbally ordered by Aguinaldo to conduct the assassination of Luna at Cabanatuan. His sickness at the time prevented his participation in the assassination.[citation needed]Aguinaldo would be firm in his stand that he had nothing to do with the assassination of Luna.[55]

The death of Luna, the most brilliant and capable of the Filipino generals at the time,[18] was a decisive factor in the fight against the American forces. Despite mixed reactions on both the Filipino and American sides on the death of Luna,[56]there are people from both sides who nevertheless developed an admiration for him.[57] General Frederick Funston, who received the credit of capturing Aguinaldo at Palanan, Isabela, stated that Luna was the “ablest and most aggressive leader of the Filipino Republic.” For General James Franklin Bell, Luna “was the only general the Filipino army had.” General Robert Hughes remarked that “with the death of General Luna, the Filipino army lost the only General it had.[57] Meanwhile,Apolinario Mabini, former Prime Minister and Secretary of Foreign Affairs, had this to say: “If he was sometimes hasty and even cruel in his resolution, it was because the army had been brought to a desperate situation by the demoralization of the soldiers and the lack of ammunitions: nothing but action of rash courage and extraordinary energy could hinder its dissolution.[58] Of the Filipino armed forces organized during Luna’s service in the army, Major General Henry Ware Lawtoncommented, “Filipinos are a very fine set of soldiers, far better than the Indians… Inferior in every particular equipment and supplies, they are the bravest men I have ever seen… I’m very well impressed with the Filipinos!” This statement Lawton later recanted.[59]

Subsequently, Aguinaldo suffered successive, disastrous losses in the field, as he retreated northwards. On 13 November 1899, Aguinaldo decided to disperse his army and begin conducting a guerrilla war.[60] General José Alejandrino, one of Luna’s remaining aides, stated in his memoirs that if Luna had been able to finish the planned military camp in the Mountain Province and had shifted to guerrilla warfare earlier as Luna had suggested, Aguinaldo might have avoided having to run for his life in the Cordillera Mountains.[40][57] For historian Teodoro Agoncillo, however, Luna’s death did not directly contribute to the resulting fall of the Republic. In his book, Malolos: The Crisis of the Republic, Agoncillo stated that the loss of Luna showed the existence of a lack of discipline among the regular Filipino soldiers and it was a major weakness that was never remedied during the course of the war. Also, soldiers connected with Luna were demoralized and as a result eventually surrendered to the Americans.[31]

Commemoration[edit]

English series ₱50 bill.

In popular culture[edit]

Military offices
Preceded by
Artemio Ricarte
Commanding General in the Philippine Army
23 January 1899 – 5 June 1899
Succeeded by
José de los Reyes
Political offices
New title

Post created
Assistant Secretary of War
28 September 1898 – 5 June 1899
Succeeded by
Ambrosio Flores

References[edit]

  1. ^ Jump up to:a b c Marcos, Ferdinand (1968). The contemporary relevance of Antonio Luna’s military doctrines.
  2. ^ Jump up to:a b c Agoncillo, Teodoro. History of the Filipino People (8th ed.). Quezon City: C & E Publishing.
  3. ^ Jump up to:a b Jose (1972), pp. 450–452.
  4. ^ Jump up to:a b c d e f g h i j k l m Dumindin, Arnaldo. “June 5, 1899: Assassination of Gen. Antonio Luna”. Retrieved 29 June2012.
  5. ^ Jump up to:a b Jimenez (2015), p. 9.
  6. Jump up^ Jose (1972), p. 29.
  7. Jump up^ “Tobacco History”. National Tobacco Administration. Retrieved 22 August 2015.
  8. ^ Jump up to:a b c d e f g h i j Guerrero Nakpil, Carmen (27 October 2008). “A plot to kill a general”. Philippine Star. Retrieved22 August 2015.
  9. ^ Jump up to:a b Jose (1972), pp. 372–373.
  10. Jump up^ “History”. Province of La Union. Retrieved 25 August2015.
  11. Jump up^ “List of Previous Senators: Fourth Legislature”. Senate of the Philippines. Archived from the original on 23 April 2007. Retrieved 25 August 2015.
  12. Jump up^ Lessing J. Rosenwald. “Lessing J. Rosenwald Collection”. Library of Congress. World Digital Library. Retrieved 2010-11-28.
  13. Jump up^ Full text of Doctrina Christiana at Project Gutenberg. Accessed 22 August 2015.
  14. Jump up^ Doctrina Christiana: The First Book Printed in the Philippines. Manila: National Historical Commission. 1973. pp. iii–xi.
  15. ^ Jump up to:a b Jimenez (2015), p. 10.
  16. Jump up^ Jimenez (2015), p. 12.
  17. ^ Jump up to:a b Jimenez (2015), p. 14.
  18. ^ Jump up to:a b Agoncillo, Teodoro (1974). Introduction to Filipino History.
  19. Jump up^ Jose (1972), p. 58.
  20. Jump up^ Ocampo, Ambeth (2010). Looking Back. Anvil Publishing, Inc. pp. 20–22. ISBN 978-971-27-2336-0.
  21. Jump up^ “AQUINO – COJUANGCO | FACTS THEY DONT WANT YOU TO KNOW HD”. Retrieved 16 August 2015.
  22. ^ Jump up to:a b c d Jose (1972), pp. 429–436.
  23. Jump up^ Joaquin, Nick (1990). Manila, My Manila: A History for the Young. Vera-Reyes, Inc.
  24. Jump up^ Beede, Benjamin (2013). The War of 1898 and U.S. Interventions, 1898T1934: An Encyclopedia. Routledge. p. 266. ISBN 978-1-136-74691-8. Retrieved 26 August 2015.
  25. Jump up^ Kalaw 1927, pp. 120, 124–125
  26. Jump up^ Jose (1972), pp. 206–207.
  27. Jump up^ Berlin, Donald (2008). Before Gringo: History of the Philippine Military 1830–1972. Pasig City: Anvil Publishing. p. 21.
  28. Jump up^ Sonnichsen, A., 1901, Ten Months a Captive Among Filipinos, New York: Charles Scribner’s Sons
  29. ^ Jump up to:a b Jose (1972), pp. 269–271.
  30. Jump up^ Jose (1972), pp. 172–177.
  31. ^ Jump up to:a b c d e Agoncillo, Teodoro (1960). Malolos: The Crisis of the Republic. ISBN 978-971-542-096-9.
  32. Jump up^ Jose (1972), pp. 178–183.
  33. Jump up^ Jose (1972), pp. 186–189.
  34. Jump up^ Jose (1972), pp. 200–202.
  35. Jump up^ Jose (1972), pp. 210–212.
  36. Jump up^ Linn (2000a), p. 92.
  37. Jump up^ Jose (1972), p. 213.
  38. ^ Jump up to:a b c d e Jose (1972), pp. 220–221.
  39. Jump up^ Ocampo, Ambeth (2011). Looking Back 4: Chulalongkorn’s Elephants. Anvil Publishing, Inc. pp. 66–70. ISBN 978-971-27-2600-2.
  40. ^ Jump up to:a b Alejandrino, Jose (1949). La Senda del Sacrificio.
  41. Jump up^ Jose (1972), pp. 225–227.
  42. ^ Jump up to:a b Jose (1972), pp. 229–231.
  43. Jump up^ Jose (1972), pp. 241–244.
  44. Jump up^ Ocampo, Ambeth (1997). Luna’s Moustache. Anvil Publishing. pp. 22–24. ISBN 978-971-27-0593-9.
  45. Jump up^ Jimenez (2015), p. 16.
  46. Jump up^ Dumindin, Arnaldo. “Americans Advance To Malolos, March 24–31, 1899”. Retrieved 26 August 2015.
  47. Jump up^ Jose (1972), p. 293.
  48. Jump up^ Jose (1972), pp. 280–281.
  49. Jump up^ Jose (1972), pp. 318–320.
  50. ^ Jump up to:a b c Jose (1972), pp. 314–317.
  51. ^ Jump up to:a b Jose (1972), p. 377.
  52. Jump up^ Jose (1972), p. 436.
  53. Jump up^ Jose (1972), p. 375.
  54. Jump up^ Jose (1972), pp. 388–392.
  55. Jump up^ Aguinaldo, Emilio. (1964). Mga Gunita ng Himagsikan.
  56. Jump up^ Jose (1972), p. 401.
  57. ^ Jump up to:a b c Jose (1972), pp. 409–413.
  58. Jump up^ Mabini, Apolinario (1969). The Philippine Revolution. National Historical Commission. p. 50. Retrieved 22 August2015.
  59. Jump up^ Jimenez (2015), p. 17.
  60. Jump up^ Linn (2000b), p. 16.
  61. Jump up^ “General Antonio Luna Parade Grounds”. UP ROTC. Retrieved 8 August 2010.
  62. Jump up^ “Brief Profile of General Luna, Quezon Province” (PDF).
  63. Jump up^ “Traveler on foot”. Retrieved 26 September 2015.
  64. Jump up^ “An Act Creating Certain Barrios in the Municipality of Mayorga, Province of Leyte”. LawPH.com. Retrieved2011-04-12.
  65. Jump up^ “RP Issues of 1958”. Republic of the Philippines – Stamps & Postal History. Retrieved 31 August 2015.
  66. Jump up^ “General Antonio Luna”. Stamps of the world. Retrieved31 August 2015.
  67. Jump up^ Wertheim, Eric: The Naval Institute Guide to Combat Fleets of the World 15th Edition, page 552. Naval Institute Press, 2007.
  68. Jump up^ “REMEMBERING GENERAL ANTONIO LUNA”. Archived from the original on 15 August 2012. Retrieved 25 August2012.
  69. Jump up^ “Department of National Defense”. Retrieved 25 August2012.
  70. Jump up^ “El Presidente (2012) Full Cast & Crew”. IMDb. Retrieved 15 September 2015.
  71. Jump up^ Lecaros, Mikhail. “Movie Review: ‘El Presidente’ is a historical disappointment”. GMA News Online. Retrieved15 September 2015.
  72. Jump up^ Heneral Luna The Movie Retrieved 22 August 2015.
  73. Jump up^ “10 movies featuring PH national heroes”. Rappler. August 25, 2014. Retrieved 25 August 2015.

Books[edit]

Further reading[edit]

  • Guerrero, Angel (1933). Biag ni General Antonio Luna. Manila: Service Press.
  • Ocampo, Ambeth (2015). Looking Back 10: Two Lunas, Two Mabinis. Pasig City: Anvil Press.

External links[edit]