Lapu-Lapu Day 2017

1. Proclamation No 200 declared April 27 "Lapu-Lapu Day." Duterte signed the proclamation on Wednesday, April 26.
2. The date was chosen because it was on this day, in 1521, when the Battle of Mactan erupted. In that battle, Lapu-Lapu, a local chieftain, confronted Portuguese explorer Ferdinand Magellan.
3. Duterte described Lapu-Lapu as "the first of our forefathers to have fought against foreign domination."
4. Lapu-Lapu is regarded, retroactively, as the first Filipino hero. Lapu-Lapu (fl. 1521) was a ruler of Mactan in Visayas. Modern Philippine society regards him as the first Filipino hero because he was the first native to resist Spanish colonization.
5. "It is but fitting and proper that Lapu-Lapu be given the highest honor and that his legacy be remembered by all Filipinos through appropriate ceremonies," said President Duterte.
6. Duterte, who refers to himself as a Bisaya because his father is from Cebu, spoke during campaign sorties in Visayas about the need for Lapu-Lapu to be recognized as a hero at par with heroes from Luzon like Jose Rizal and Andres Bonifacio.
7. He even complained about how Lapu-Lapu is honored only by the use of his name to refer to a fish eaten by Filipinos.
8. To elevate Lapu-Lapu's status, Duterte signed an Executive Order creating the Order of Lapu-Lapu. President Rodrigo Duterte has ordered the creation of the Order of Lapu-Lapu through Executive Order 17 signed by the President through Executive Secretary Salvador Medialdea April 7, 2017. The Order of Lapu-Lapu will be awarded to awarded to officials and personnel of the government, and private individuals in recognition of their invaluable or extraordinary service in relation to a campaign or advocacy of the President.
9. This Order is to be awarded to officials, government personnel, and private citizens "in recognition of invaluable or extraordinary service in relation to a campaign or advocacy of the President." 
10. The order will have three medals: the Lapu-Lapu Medal awarded to officials and personnel of the government, and private individuals who significantly contributed to the success of an activity pursuant to the President’s campaign or advocacy.
11. The Kalasag Medal, to be awarded to officials and personnel of the government, and private individuals who lost their lives and/or property as result of direct participation in activity pursuant to the President’s campaign or advocacy.
12. The Kampilan Medal, for individual seriously injured or wounded as result of direct participation in activity pursuant to the President’s campaign or advocacy.

References:

http://www.rappler.com/nation/168168-duterte-april-27-lapu-lapu-day https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lapu-Lapu http://www.philstar.com/headlines/2017/04/17/1691158/duterte-creates-order-lapu-lapu-honor-service-his-campaigns http://www.update.ph/2017/04/duterte-creates-order-of-lapu-lapu-for-individuals-supporting-his-campaign-advocacy/16862

Filipinos Executed Before 2015

1. Flor R. Contemplacion (January 7, 1953 – March 17, 1995) was a Filipino domestic worker executed in Singapore for murder. Her execution severely strained relations between Singapore and the Philippines, and caused many Filipinos to vent frustrations at the plight of Overseas Filipino Workers towards both states' governments.
2. José Ozámiz y Fortich (May 5, 1898 - 1944) was a Filipino politician from Mindanao. His parents were Jenaro Ozámiz from Navarre, Spain and Basilisa Fortich, a Filipino mestizo of Spanish and Cebuano ancestry. He served as Misamis Occidental's first provincial governor then he also served as representative of the Lone District of Misamis Occidental. He was a delegate to the 1935 Constitutional Convention that resulted in the creation of the 1935 Constitution for the Philippine Commonwealth Government. In 1941, he was elected to the Philippine Senate. When the Japanese occupied the country during World War II, Jose was among those who accepted a post in the Japanese government with the blessings of the guerrilla movement who saw that his position would allow him to move discreetly. He became chairperson of the Games and Amusement Board. Then in May 1943 he came to Mindanao to contact Fertig. He came by boat accompanied by Jose Maria and Pelong Campos of Aloran. During his arrival in Mindanao, he met Fertig and Parson, both major leaders of the guerrilla movement. On his way home, his family was under house arrest. Jose went back to Manila in February 1944. He was arrested on February 11 on his wife's birthday. Jose was condemned to be executed. A Filipino nicknamed "makapili" played a part in his downfall along with twenty-nine other fellow Filipino who also got arrested at the same time. They were the core of the guerilla movement in Manila. He was beheaded by the Japanese during their occupation of the Philippines during World War II for his involvement in the Resistance Movement.
3. Rafael "Liling" R. Roces, Jr. (October 12, 1912 – August 28, 1944) was a Filipino journalist, writer, patriot, World War II spy, hero, and martyr. He is the son of Rafael Filomeno Roces, Sr. (the publishing house owner and proprietor of the Ideal Theater on Avenida Rizal in Manila, Philippines) and Inocencia "Enchay" Reyes. A Manileño, Liling Roces studied at the Ateneo de Manila University. Liling Roces married Leonor “Noring” Varona on January 13, 1937. He had two children, namely Sylvia Roces-Montilla (born January 31, 1938) and Antonio Rafael "Tony" Roces. (After Liling Roces’s death, Leonor Varona later remarried with Aurelio Montinola, Sr.) During the Japanese Occupation of the Philippines, Liling Roces spied for the American troops Commander George Rowe. After a SPYRON courier was caught by Japanese soldiers, Liling Roces, among others, were suspected of providing information to George Rowe and Lt. Commander Charles "Chick" Parsons. Liling Roces was imprisoned and tortured by the Kempeitai in Fort Santiago. On August 28, 1944, Liling Roces, other prisoners, and twenty-three other members of the resistance were boarded onto a truck and brought to the Cementerio del Norte (North Cemetery) of Manila. Roces and his companions were beheaded and buried in one common ground.
4. Commodore Eugene E. Wing (1844−1944) was the Commodore of the Manila Yacht Club when the Japanese invaded the Philippines in 1941, he sailed the Japanese blockade of Corregidor and was captured and executed with author Hugo Herman Miller for being attached to the Visayan Guerrilla Resistance on Leyte Island. Neither Wing nor Miller were duly honored by the U.S. Government for giving their lives behind enemy lines. In Nov of 1943, Commodore Eugene Wing and Hugo Herman Miller were captured during a major Japanese offensive against guerrilla and resistance forces throughout the Philippines. According to the military affidavits relating to their capture and execution, Wing and Miller were relocated to Samar Island where they were executed, by beheading, for their attachment to the Visayan Guerrilla resistance.
5. Anacleto Díaz (November 20, 1878 — February 10, 1945) was a Filipino jurist who served as an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court. Díaz would be one of 2 Supreme Court Justices who were executed by the Imperial Japanese Army during the Battle of Manila in 1945. On February 10, the then paralyzed Díaz and two of his sons were among 300 men herded by the Japanese army and lined up along the corner of Taft Avenue and Padre Faura in Ermita, Manila. Japanese soldiers then opened machine gun fire, killing Díaz and his sons as well as scores of others. Two days later, Diaz's colleague on the Court, Antonio Villa-Real, would also be murdered by the Japanese forces in nearby Pasay. Ironically, the vicinity where Díaz was executed would later become part of the Supreme Court compound when the Court relocated to Padre Faura after the war.
6. Apolinario de la Cruz (July 22, 1814 - November 4, 1841), known as Hermano Pule or Puli ("Brother Pule"), led a major revolt against Spanish rule of the Philippines based on a struggle for religious freedom and independence. Pule fled to Barrio Gibanga but was captured by authorities the following evening. On November 4, 1841, after a brief trial held at the present Casa Comunidad, he was executed by a firing squad at the town of Tayabas, at the age of 27. After he was killed, the authorities "quartered" his body, cut off his head and placed it on a stake as a warning to those who are similarly inclined. A monument in his honor now stands in Tayabas City, and his death anniversary is a holiday in Quezon Province. Hermano Pule may have influenced secular priest José Burgos - who was executed in 1872 - to demand for racial equality in the clergy.
7. José Protasio Rizal Mercado y Alonso Realonda (June 19, 1861 – December 30, 1896) was a Filipino nationalist, novelist, poet, ophthalmologist, journalist, and revolutionary. He is widely considered one of the greatest heroes of the Philippines. He was the author of Noli Me Tángere, El Filibusterismo, and a number of poems and essays. He was executed on December 30, 1896, by a squad of Filipino soldiers of the Spanish Army. Moments before his execution on December 30, 1896, by a squad of Filipino soldiers of the Spanish Army, a backup force of regular Spanish Army troops stood ready to shoot the executioners should they fail to obey orders.The Spanish Army Surgeon General requested to take his pulse: it was normal. Aware of this the Sergeant commanding the backup force hushed his men to silence when they began raising "vivas" with the highly partisan crowd of Peninsular and Mestizo Spaniards. His last words were those of Jesus Christ: "consummatum est",--it is finished. He was secretly buried in Pacò Cemetery in Manila with no identification on his grave. His sister Narcisa toured all possible gravesites and found freshly turned earth at the cemetery with guards posted at the gate. Assuming this could be the most likely spot, there never having any ground burials, she made a gift to the caretaker to mark the site "RPJ", Rizal's initials in reverse.
8. Mariano Noriel (1864 - January 27, 1915) was a Filipino general who fought during the Philippine Revolution and the Philippine-American War. He was member of the War Council that handled the case of Andres Bonifacio in 1897. He led Filipino advance troops before the American army landed in Intramuros in 1898. History has a way of putting a strange twist to the life story of Noriel. The records show that the doughty Bacoor general, along with the two others, was sentenced to death for the murder of a man in the Bacoor cockpit in May 1909. The Court of First Instance decision on the case was later confirmed by the Philippine Supreme Court, so it was appealed by an Irish-American lawyer named Amzi B. Kelly, to the Supreme Court of the United States which subsequently reversed the decision. But before the final verdict was received from Washington, Noriel and his co-accused had already been executed by hanging in Manila on January 27, 1915.
9. Macario Sakay y de León (c. 1870/8 – September 13, 1907) was a Filipino general who took part in the 1896 Philippine Revolution against the Spanish Empire and in the Philippine-American War. After the war was declared over by the United States in 1902, Sakay continued resistance and the following year became President of the Republic of Katagalugan. In 1905, Filipino labour leader Dominador Gómez was authorised by Governor-General Henry Clay Ide to negotiate for the surrender of Sakay and his men. Gómez met with Sakay at his camp and argued that the establishment of a national assembly was being held up by Sakay's intransigence, and that its establishment would be the first step toward Filipino independence. Sakay agreed to end his resistance on the condition that a general amnesty be granted to his men, that they be permitted to carry firearms, and that he and his officers be permitted to leave the country. Gómez assured Sakay that these conditions would be acceptable to the Americans, and Sakay's emissary, General León Villafuerte, obtained agreement to them from the American Governor-General. Sakay believed that the struggle had shifted to constitutional means, and that the establishment of the assembly was a means to winning independence. As a result, he surrendered on 20 July 1906, descending from the mountains on the promise of an amnesty for him and his officials, and the formation of a Philippine Assembly composed of Filipinos that would serve as the "gate of freedom". With Villafuerte, Sakay travelled to Manila, where they were welcomed and invited to receptions and banquets. One invitation came from the Constabulary Chief, Colonel Harry H. Bandholtz; it was a trap, and Sakay along with his principal lieutenants were disarmed and arrested while the party was in progress. At his trial, Sakay was accused of "bandolerismo under the Brigandage Act of Nov. 12, 1902, which interpreted all acts of armed resistance to American rule as banditry." The colonial Supreme Court of the Philippines upheld the decision. Sakay was sentenced to death, and hanged on 13 September 1907. Before his death, he made the following statement: "Death comes to all of us sooner or later, so I will face the LORD Almighty calmly. But I want to tell you that we are not bandits and robbers, as the Americans have accused us, but members of the revolutionary force that defended our mother country, the Philippines! Farewell! Long live the Republic and may our independence be born in the future! Long live the Philippines!" He was buried at Manila North Cemetery later that day.
10. Felipe Salvador (born on 26 May 1870 at Baliuag, Bulacan – died on 15 April 1912), also known as Apo Ipe or Ápûng Ipê Salvador, was a Filipino revolutionary who founded the Santa Iglesia (Holy Church), a messianic society also known as the Colorum and had the aim of defeating and overthrowing the colonial government of the United States in the Philippines. Salvador joined the Katipunan in 1896 upon the arrival of the Katipuneros from Balintawak in Baliuag, Bulacan. He founded the Santa Iglesia in 1900 after fleeing to the mountains when General Emilio Aguinaldo was captured by American soldiers. Salvador and his church gained a significant number of followers in the regions of Bulacan, Pampanga, Pangasinan, Tarlac, and Nueva Ecija. He was captured by the American contingent in 1910. He was later sentenced to death and was hanged in 1912, two years after his capture.
11. Leo Echegaray (11 July 1960 - 5 February 1999) was the first Filipino to be meted the death penalty after its reinstatement in the Philippines in 1993, some 23 years after the last judicial execution was carried out. His death sparked national debate over the legality and morality of the death penalty, which was later suspended on 15 April 2006. A house painter by trade, Echegaray was accused of the April 1994 rape of his alleged ten-year old stepdaughter, Rodessa (nicknamed "Baby" by the press). He was convicted by Branch 104 of the Regional Trial Court in Quezon City on 7 September 1994, with the death sentence automatically reviewed by the Supreme Court and affirmed on 25 June 1996. Echegaray filed a motion for appeal, which was denied on 19 January 1999. Less than a month later, Echegaray was executed via lethal injection on 5 February 1999. 
12. Josefa Llanes Escoda (20 September 1898–c. 6 January 1945) Heroine: Spiritual Leader of the Underground during World War II in the Philippines; was a well-known Filipino advocate of women's right of suffrage and founder of the Girl Scouts of the Philippines. During World War II, Japanese forces invaded the Philippines. By 1944, news of the underground activities of Josefa Llanes Escoda and her husband Antonio reached far and wide. As the Japanese Occupation stretched on, Josefa Llanes Escoda and Antonio had intensified their "smuggling" activities of sending medicines, clothings, messages, and foodstuff to both Filipino war prisoners and American internees in concentration camps. Josefa Llanes Escoda's husband, Antonio was arrested in June 1944, and Josefa Llanes Escoda was also arrested two months later, on 27 August. She was imprisoned in Fort Santiago, the same prison as her husband, Antonio Escoda, who was executed in 1944, along with General Vicente Lim, who was imprisoned with him. On 6 January 1945, Josefa Llanes Escoda was then evidently taken and held in one of the buildings of Far Eastern University occupied by the Japanese. She was last seen alive on 6 January 1945, but severely beaten and weak, and was transferred into a Japanese Transport Truck. It is presumed that she was executed and buried in an unmarked grave, either in the La Loma Cemetery or Manila Chinese Cemetery, which Japanese forces used as execution and burial grounds for thousands of Filipinos who resisted the Japanese occupation.

References:

http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:Executed_Filipino_people
http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:Filipino_people_executed_abroad
http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:Filipino_people_executed_by_decapitation
http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:Filipino_people_executed_by_firing_squad
http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:Filipino_people_executed_by_hanging
http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:Filipino_people_executed_by_lethal_injection
http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:Executed_Filipino_women

IDEVAW 2014 - Engr Fidela Salvador

Today is the International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women or IDEVAW.

1. In Baguio City today, 24 November 2014, the Alliance of indigenous women's organization in the Cordillera commemorates the quest for justice for Engr. Fidela "Delle" Salvador who was brutally killed by the 41st IB in Lacub, Abra on 5 September 2014.
2. On 17 December 1999, the United Nations General Assembly designated November 25 as the annual date of the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women in commemoration of the death of the three Mirabal sisters in the Dominican Republic.
3. This day also marked the beginning of a 16-day period of Activism against Gender Violence. The end of the 16 days, on 10 December, is noted as International Human Rights Day. 
4. The Mirabal Sisters who are also known as Las Mariposas or The Butterflies are the four Dominican sisters who opposed the dictatorship of Rafael Trujillo, three of whom were assassinated on 25 November 1960. Their assassination turned them into "symbols of both popular and feminist resistance". After their assasination, they were then known as the "Unforgettable Butterflies".
5. Patricia Mercedes Mirabal (born on 27 February 1924) was famous for saying "We cannot allow our children to grow up in this corrupt and tyrannical regime, we have to fight against it, and I am willing to give up everything, including my life if necessary".
6. Minerva Argentina Mirabal (born on 12 March 1926) was famous for saying "....it is a source of happiness to do whatever can be done for our country that suffers so many anguishes, it is sad to stay with one's arms crossed..."
7. Maria Teresa Mirabal (born on 15 October 1935) Maria was famous for saying ".....perhaps what we have most near is death, but that idea does not frighten me, we shall continue to fight for that which is just.."
8. Like the Mirabal sisters, Engr. Fidela "Delle" Salvador is also an Unforgettable Butterfly who was a courageous woman who worked selflessly in the area of Lacub, Abra for project monitoring activity being the independent consultant of the Cordillera Disaster Response and Development Services and who was killed during the pursuit operation of the state armed forces against the New People's Army.
9. Engr. Salvador, 50 years old, and a mother of three children is a consultant of the Cordillera Disaster Response and Development Services Inc. (CorDisRDS) and the Center for Development Programs in the Cordillera (CDPC). She was on a monitoring visit for various socio-economic projects implemented by CorDiSRDS and CDPC in Lacub, Abra when she was killed by the AFP in their operations. Engr. Fidela B. Salvador is a committed development worker, a Project Consultant, a civilian and a non combatant; and not a member of the New People’s Army (NPA) as claimed by the AFP.
10. On 6 September 2014, Engr. Salvador’s body along with the dead body of another civilian, Lacub resident Noel Viste, was airlifted by the AFP from their Bantugo military camp in Lacub to the Barbarit, Lagangilang, military camp. Attendants of the Pineda Funeral Homes fetched and brought them to the Pineda Funeral Homes in Bangued where her body was identified by the staff of the Cordillera Human Rights Alliance (CHRA) on the evening of 6 September 2014.
11. The killing of Engr. Delle is the latest extra-judicial killing perpetrated against an environmental advocate, specifically a disaster responder. A total of 77 environmental advocates have been killed since 2001, of which 39 killings occurred under the administration of Pres. Noynoy Aquino.
12. With Engr. Delle’s death, there are now seven (7) disaster responders that have been killed under the Aquino government, including humanitarian workers, disaster survivors, and grassroots disaster responders.

Below is just an excerpt from http://pinoyweekly.org/new/?p=31841 

The autopsy report was released on 18 September 2014. Prior to this, a case conference with Dr. Ronald Bandonill was held on September 15. Here he discussed salient points of his examination of Engr. Fidela’s body.

The report states that, Engr. Salvador’s cause of death is described as:

+HYPOVOLEMIC SHOCK secondary to GUNSHOT WOUNDS, POSTERIOR TRUNK AREA+
+BLUNT TRAUMATIC INJURY, BACK OF THE HEAD, Contributory+.

Nine bullets entered the body of Engr. Fidela. The damage they brought to her vital organs (heart and lungs) might have killed her instantaneously. But the finding that the blunt traumatic injury (comminuted fracture–meaning skull broken into particles) at back of her head as contributory cause of death, and the contusions, massive lacerations, massive hematoma, among the significant findings of the autopsy painted a scenario that directly questioned the validity of the AFP claim that she was killed in an encounter.

It pointed to the possibility of torture.

An officer of the legal department of PNP-Abra also stated that the 41st IB did not submit a report on Engr. Delle to the SOCO (Scene of the Crime Officer). Yet they had in their possession her ID – a photo of which is posted in their social media page.
- See more at: http://pinoyweekly.org/new/2014/10/letter-quest-for-justice-for-engr-delle-bugarin-salvador/#sthash.1wFPMhfp.dpuf

Front of pamphlet given during the IDEVAW 2014 celebration

Back of pamphlet given during the IDEVAW 2014 celebration

References:

fidela salvador
CDPC-DEFEND! Statement: Justice for Engr. Fidela Salvador
NGO worker Delle Salvador is killed in Lacub, Cordillera
LETTER | Quest for Justice for Engr. Delle Bugarin Salvador
Justice for Engr. Delle Salvador and all Disaster Responders at Risk!
September 24, 2014 URGENT CALL TO STOP THE AFP OPERATIONS IN LACUB, ABRA
Last Surviving Mirabal Sister, Doña Dede, Dead at 88
Mirabal Sisters of The Dominican Republic
The Murder of the Mirabal Sisters: Flashback 1960
Mirabal sisters

Plastic

Plastic Bags

We had an opportunity to purchased several groceries from a Sari Sari Store Bonanza event which was on its 4th year already. It was a jam-packed event but there really were so much savings most especially for store owners.

Upon arriving at home, what caught my attention was one of the plastic bag that was used for one of the items we bought.

Here are 12 interesting things printed in the photo below.

SAVE EARTH USE PLASTIC BAGS

Photo taken using my own Starmobile Turbo phone.

BIODEGRADABLE PLASTIC BAGS ARE:

1. Recyclable
2. Reusable
3. Degradable
4. Non Toxic
5. Saves Water
6. Saves Trees
7. Affordable
8. Lesser Landfill Space
9. Convertible to Gasoline & Diesel
10. Does not cause GLOBAL WARMING
11. The above Claims are SCIENTIFICALLY PROVEN.
12. DO NOT be misled by false accusations made by those without SCIENTIFIC PROOF.

By: PPIA (Philippine Plastic Industry Association)


I am not against the use of paper bags especially for groceries but plastic bags are really practical especially for wet market items.

Regarding saving earth, upon analyzing it thoroughly, the use of plastics really saves a lot of trees from being cut in contrast to the number of fallen trees used for paper production.

Also, at this age of information technology, we should be promoting "PAPERLESS" system especially for our documents. This is off-topic already and we do still need papers among other things which need not be listed here.

We cannot really stop the production of plastics as well as the production of papers. For environmental purposes, it is really just a matter of proper disposal of garbage which includes segregation. Waste management is a big issue and plastics are just a fraction of it because wastes also includes papers, steels, human wastes among other things.

HELP SAVE EARTH BY PROMOTING CORRECT WASTE MANAGEMENT.

And yes, at home, we do practice segregation of plastics, papers, bottles, cans and residuals. It is our way of contributing in helping our Mother Earth.

References:

List of Waste Types
Rethink ban on plastics: association 
Plastics manufacturers cut down production amid ban

Miguel Malvar

1. Miguel Malvar y Carpio was born on 27 September 1865 in New York street in Cubao, Quezon City, to Maximo Malvar (locally known as Capitan Imoy) and Tiburcia Carpio (locally known as Capitana Tibo).
2. In 1891, Malvar married Paula Maloles who was the beautiful daughter of the capitan municipal of Santo Tomas, Don Ambrocio Maloles. Ulay, as she was locally known, bore Malvar thirteen (13) children, but only eleven (11) of them survived: Bernabe, Aurelia, Marciano, Maximo, Crispina, Mariquita, Luz Constancia, Miguel (Junior), Pablo, Paula, and Isabel. Malvar had the habit of bringing his family with him as he went to battled during the Philippine Revolution and the Philippine-American War. 
3. General Malvar assumed command of the Philippine revolutionary forces when Emilio Aguinaldo surrendered to the Americans in 1901.
4. General Malvar surrended to General J. Franklin Bell on 13 April 1902 mainly due to desertion of his top officers and to put an end to the sufferings of his countrymen.
5. After the war, General Malvar refused any position which the Americans offered him and he died in Manila on 13 October 1911 due to liver failure.
6. General Malvar was buried in his hometown, Santo Tomas, Batangas on 15 October 1911.
7. According to some historians, he could have been listed as one of the presidents of the Philippines but is currently not recognized as such by the Philippine government.
8. Malvar, Batangas is a second (2nd) class municipality which was named in honor of the late General Miguel Malvar.
9. Malvar, Batangas was created a municipality by virtue of a proclamation by the acting Governor General of the Philippines Honorable Charles B. Yeater, on the 16th of December 1918. The proclamation took effect on 10 January 1919 and on the same day the municipality was inaugurated. Luta was Malvar's old name before it became a municipality.
10. The Miguel Malvar class corvette was named after General Malvar which is a ship class of patrol corvettes of the Philippine Navy and are currently its oldest class of corvettes.
11. On 18 September 2007 Congressman Rodolfo Valencia of Oriental Mindoro filed House Bill 2594 declaring General Malvar as the second Philippine President, alleging that it is incorrect to consider Manuel L. Quezon as the Second President of the Philippine Republic serving after Emilio Aguinaldo: "General Malvar took over the revolutionary government after General Emilio Aguinaldo, first President of the Republic, was captured on March 23, 1901, and [was] exiled in Hong Kong by the American colonial government---since he was next in command." Also, in October 2011, Vice President Jejomar Binay sought the help of historians in proclaiming revolutionary General Miguel Malvar as the rightful second President of the Philippines.
12. PROCLAMATION NO. 853  DECLARING SATURDAY, 27 SEPTEMBER 2014, AS A SPECIAL (NON-WORKING) DAY IN THE MUNICIPALITY OF MALVAR, BATANGAS.

References:

Miguel Malvar
Malvar, Batangas
Malvar
Proclamation No. 853, s. 2014

Martial Law in the Philippines

Proclamation No. 1081 read in part:

“ My countrymen, as of the twenty-first of this month, I signed Proclamation № 1081 placing the entire Philippines under Martial Law... ”
— Ferdinand Marcos, September 21, 1972

1. Martial law in the Philippines (Tagalog: Batas Militar sa Pilipinas; Spanish: ley marcial en Filipinas) refers to several intermittent periods in Philippine history wherein the Philippine head of state (such as the President) proclaims that an area is placed under the control of the Armed Forces of the Philippines. Martial law is declared either when there is near-violent civil unrest or in cases of major natural disasters, however most countries use a different legal construct like "state of emergency".
2. Typically, the imposition of martial law accompanies curfews, the suspension of civil law, civil rights, habeas corpus, and the application or extension of military law or military justice to civilians. Civilians defying martial law may be subjected to military tribunals (court-martial).
3. On 30 August 1896, Spanish Governor-General Ramón Blanco, 1st Marquis of Peña Plata, declared "state of war" in the provinces of Manila, Bulacan, Cavite, Pampanga, Tarlac, Laguna, Batangas, and Nueva Ecija and place them under martial law.
4. On 23 June 1898, another decree signed by Emilio Aguinaldo was issued, replacing the Dictatorial Government with a Revolutionary Government, with himself as President.
5. On 22 September 1944, martial law came into effect when President José P. Laurel of the wartime Second Philippine Republic (puppet-government under Japan) placed the Philippines under martial law in 1944 through Proclamation No. 29, dated 21 September 1944.  Proclamation No. 30 was issued the next day, declaring the existence of a state of war between the Philippines and the US and Great Britain. This took effect on 23 September 1944.
6. On 21 September 1972, but it was actually signed on 17 September 1972 by President Ferdinand Marcos. The formal announcement of the proclamation was made only at seven-thirty in the evening of 23 September 1972, about twenty-two hours after he had commanded his military collaborators to start arresting his political opponents and close down all media and retail (fashion, food, religious, sports) establishments.
7. Proclamation № 1081 was the declaration of Martial Law in the Philippines by President Ferdinand E. Marcos. It became effective throughout the entire country on 21 September 1972, and was announced to the public two days later. It was formally lifted on 17 January 1981—six months before the first presidential election in the Philippines in twelve years.
8. Under the pretext of an assassination of then-Defence Secretary (now Senator) Juan Ponce Enrile and an ensuing Communist insurgency, President Marcos enacted the Proclamation that he might be able to rule by military power.
9. He initially signed the Proclamation on 17 September 1972, but it was postdated to 21 September 1972 because of Marcos' superstitions and numerological beliefs. Marcos formally announced the Proclamation in a live television and radio broadcast from Malacañang Palace a further two days later on the evening of 23 September 1972.
10. The following year, President Marcos replaced the 1935 Constitution with a new one that changed the system of government from a presidential to a parliamentary one, with himself remaining in power as both head of state (with the title "President") and head of government (titled "Prime Minister"). President Marcos also manipulated elections and had his political coalition–the Kilusang Bagong Lipunan (KBL; English: New Society Movement)–control the unicameral legislature he created, known as the Batasang Pambansa.
11. President Marcos formally lifted Martial Law on 17 January 1981, several weeks before the first pastoral visit of Pope John Paul II to the Philippines for the beatification of Lorenzo Ruiz.
12. On 4 December 2009, in the wake of the Maguindanao massacre, Macapagal-Arroyo placed Maguindanao province under a state of martial law, through Proclamation No. 1959. The declaration also suspended the writ of habeas corpus in the province. The announcement was made days after hundreds of government troops were sent to the province, which would later raid armories of the powerful Ampatuan clan. The Ampatuan family was implicated in the massacre, which saw the murder of 57 persons, including women members of the rival Mangudadatu clan, human rights lawyers, and 31 media workers. This was considered the worst incident of political violence in the nation's history. It has also been condemned worldwide as the worst loss of life of media professionals in one day in the history of journalism. Macapagal-Arroyo lifted the state of martial law in Maguindanao on 12 December 2009.

References:

Proclamation No. 1081
Martial law in the Philippines

6th Pandayang Lino Brocka Festival

PANDAYANG LINO BROCKA Film Festival is a gathering of students and student groups and independent filmmakers and film/video/media collectives in the Philippines, national in scope. In its launch in August 2009, in cooperation with the NCCA, it is designed to be held at the National Capital Region, where cultural tools such as films finds prominence in the Filipino people’s mode of confrontation with today’s social ills.

The film festival is a tribute to internationally acclaimed Philippine cinema legend Lino Brocka, who has produced countless films depicting Philippine social reality among which include timeless films Tinimbang Ka Ngunit Kulang, Maynila sa mga Kuko ng Liwanag, Insiang, Bayan Ko, Kapit sa Patalim, Orapronobis, among many others.

The 6th Pandayang Lino Brocka Political Film and New Media Festival, an annual festival of critical and cultural audio-visual works is set to be launched on August 29, 2014 at the University of the Philippines Film Institute, Cine Adarna.

The schedule for the 12 movies ...

[UPDATED from https://www.facebook.com/pandayanglinobrockafestival ] The 6th Pandayang Lino Brocka Poster. Join us on the Festival Launch on the 29th of August, Cine Adarna UP Diliman.

Festival Launch Opening Program

9:00AM – 12:00 NN FORUM: The Relevance of the National Artist Award in Filipino Arts and Culture

1:00 PM – 6:00 PM Screening: 6th Pandayang Lino Brocka Film selection

1:00 PM Pangarap ko sa Pilipinas by Pinoy Media Center
1:05 PM 100 Days of Injustice by Tudla Productions
1:20 PM Ingay by Romano Alvorez
1:35 PM Barikada by Kilab Multimedia
1:45 PM American Home by Justine Dizon
2:00 PM Tindoga by Nef Luczon
2:50 PM Dapat Nang Itakwil by Tanghalang Bayan ng Kulturang Kalye (TaBaKK)
3:00 PM Pieta by Herwin Cabasal
3:15 PM Holiday Bust by Pinoy Media Center
3:30 PM Amot by Jo Maline Mamangun & Divine Miranda
3:40 PM Padayon by Kathy Molina
3:55 PM The Guerilla is a Poet by Sari and Kiri Dalena
6:05 PM Open Forum with Jose Maria Sison on ‘The Guerilla is a Poet’

6:35 PM – 7:05 PM Awarding of certificates to filmmakers and workshop facilitators and trophies to exemplary works
7:05 PM – 8:30 PM Screening: Signed: Lino Brocka by Christian Blackwood

Source: http://herwincabasal.files.wordpress.com/2014/08/pandayan-poster2.jpg

References:

Pandayang Lino Brocka Political Film and New Media Festival
CALL FOR ENTRIES: 6th Pandayang Lino Brocka Political Film and New Media Festival
6th Pandayang Lino Brocka Festival kicks off August 29
Arts and Culture 6th Pandayang Lino Brocka Political Film and New Media Festival
pandayanglinobrockafestival
PIETA’s Screening at the 6th Pandayang Lino Brocka

Apolinario Mabini 150 Years

In celebration of the birth sesquicentennial of Apolinario Mabini, here are some legacies about him.

1. The house where Mabini died is now located in the campus of the Polytechnic University of the Philippines (PUP) in Santa Mesa, Manila, having been moved twice. The simple nipa retains the original furniture, and some of the books he wrote, and also contains souvenir items, while hosting the municipal library and reading facilities.
2. Mabini was buried in his town of birth - what is now Talaga, Tanauan City, Batangas. A replica of the house Mabini was born in was also constructed on the site, and also contains memorabilia.
3. Mabini's face adorns the Philippine Ten peso bill in 1998, along with that of Andrés Bonifacio, and the pair has been featured on the 10-peso coin since 2000.
4. Four Philippine municipalities are named after Mabini: Mabini, Batangas; Mabini, Bohol; Mabini, Compostela Valley, and Mabini, Pangasinan.
5. The Philippine Navy's Jacinto class corvette, BRP Apolinario Mabini (PS-36) which was acquired in 1997, is also named after Mabini.
6. Southern Tagalog Arterial Road (STAR), an expressway that connect the province of Batangas to the SLEX, was renamed Apolinario Mabini Superhighway in 2007 when President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo signed Republic Act 9462.
7. Apolinario Mabini Bridge, formerly known as Nagtahan Bridge in the City of Manila, was renamed in his honor in 1967 by President Ferdinand Marcos through Proclamation No. 234.
8. There is a reef called the Mabini Reef which is also known as the Johnson South Reef located in the Spratlys Islands at the West Philippine Sea.
9. At least 6 national roads, 19 streets in Metro Manila, 5 health facilities, 80 elementary and secondary schools, and 3 colleges nationwide have Mabini in their names.
10. The Apolinario Mabini Award is a prestigious national award given by the President of the Republic of the Philippines  to Persons with Disabilities (PWD) whose work and accomplishments in the last five years promote the human rights and dignity of Filipinos with disability.
11. In 2013, the Polytechnic University of the Philippines, through the College of Communication, launched its first media recognition called the PUP Mabini Media Awards. With over 40 categories in five media flat forms – television, radio, print, advertising and online media –the award giving body commends outstanding programs and individuals in the said fields.
12. Established in 2003 pursuant to Executive Order No. 236, or The Honors Code of the Philippines, the Gawad Mabini is conferred upon DFA personnel and Filipinos who have rendered distinguished service and promoted the interests of the Philippines at home and overseas.

Screenshot from http://www.gov.ph/mabini150/

References:

Biography of Apolinario Mabini 
Kabataan at Edukasyon ni Apolinario Mabini
July 23 2014 declared a holiday in Batangas
2014 IS THE BIRTH SESQUICENTENNIAL OF APOLINARIO MABINI JULY 23, 1864 - MAY 13, 1903
Apolinario Mabini From Wikipedia
Lodges Form Regional Grand Council
Author Topic: 107th Death Anniversary of Apolinario Mabini  (Read 1011 times)
The Origin of Mabini Pangasinan
FAST FACTS: The life and legacy of Apolinario Mabini
Top 5 Historical Places in Manila
APOLINARIO MABINI AWARDS FOR 2013
PNoy Confers Apolinario Mabini Award to Visually Impaired Zamboangueño
DFA confers Mabini awards on 16 diplomats 
1st PUP Mabini Media Awards: Grateful to be recognized as Best Blog by the PUP students

12 Facts About Hermano Pule

 De la Cruz, Apolinario (1815-1841) 

1. Apolinario De la Cruz was also known as Hermano Pule (Brother Pule).
2. He was a Filipino religious leader who tried to provide native-born Filipinos with a means of entering a career in the Roman Catholic Church which meant opposing the Spanish rulers of the Philippines during that time.
3. Hermano Pule was born in Barrio Pandác in the town of Lucban in Tayabas Province (now Quezon) on 22 July 1815. 
4. His parents were wealthy and devout Roman Catholics named Pablo de la Cruz and Juana Andres.
5. As a young man in 1829, he went to Manila and tried to join the Dominican Order to become a Catholic priest, but no Catholic order would accept a native Filipino during those times.
6. He was accepted as a donado in the San Juan de Dios Hospital and he was admitted to the Cofrad'ia de San Juan de Dios, a religious brotherhood open to the native-born, which was an affiliate of the hospital that opened De la Cruz's interest in public speaking. 
7. He was expelled from the hospital for reasons unknown and went back to his native town, Lucban, and founded  Cofradia de San José (Confraternity of St. Joseph) in 1832 which was composed of native Filipinos.
8. The aims of the cofradia were never clear in the accounts, but one of them was to honor Saint Joseph and Virgin Mary by having a mass celebrated on the 19th of every month. This gave historian David P. Barrows reason to describe the cofradia as a "special cult."
9. Apolinario started the Cofradia with 19 members and called himself, being the leader, as hermano mayor, thus, he became widely known as Hermano Pule and later on, the Confraternity's membership rose up to 5,000 members which prompted the Spaniards to suspect that it was a secret political organization set to overthrow the state. 
10. In 1 November 1841, Spanish soldiers attacked Apolonio De la Cruz and his followers and after fours hours of fighting, a thousand members were killed.
11. Hermano Pule was able to escape to Sariaya, Quezon but was tracked, captured, arrested, tried for treason, executed at the age of 26 on 4 November 1841 and and as a warning those who are similarly inclined, his body was cut into pieces while his head was placed in a cage and was hung on a pole along the road leading to Majayjay town. Two days later on 6 November 1841, prominent members Dionisio de los Reyes and Miguel de Jesus, both of tayabas Town, and Francisco Espinosa of Sariaya, were executed by a firing squad.
12. A monument in his honor now stands in Tayabas City, and his death anniversary is a holiday in Quezon Province and Hermano Pule may have influenced secular priest José Burgos - who was executed in 1872 - to demand for racial equality in the clergy.

Bust of Hermano Pule; Photo courtesy of Watawat Website

References

2010 World Book
APOLINARIO DELA CRUZ (1815-1841)
APOLINARIO A. DE LA CRUZ (1815-1841) Crusader of Religious Freedom
Hermano Pule
HERMANO PULE AND THE COFRARIA DE SAN JOSE'

116th Philippine Independence Day

Theme: “Pagsunod sa Yapak ng mga Dakilang Pilipino, Tungo sa Malawakan at Permanenteng Pagbabago” (Following the Footsteps of Great Filipinos, Towards Widespread and Lasting Change)

1. Philippine Independence Day is also known as "Araw ng Kasarinlan", "Araw ng Kalayaan", and "Day of Freedom".
2. The currently celebrated Philippine Independence is actually a declaration of Independence from Spain which was declared between four and five in the afternoon on 12 June 1898 from the window of Emilio Aguinaldo’s home in Kawit, Cavite which was not recognized by the US, Spain and any other country in the world during that time.
3. The Act of the Declaration of Independence on 1898 was prepared, written, and read by Ambrosio Rianzares Bautista in Spanish.
4. The Philippine Declaration was signed by 98 persons including an American army officer named L.M. Johnson, Colonel of Artillery, who also witnessed the proclamation.
5. The current Philippine National Flag which was made in Hongkong by Mrs. Marcela Agoncillo, assisted by her daughter Lorenza and Jose Rizal’s niece Delfina Herbosa de Natividad, and completed in five days was unveiled on that day.
6. Their was also the performance of the Marcha Filipina Magdalo, which is  now known as Lupang Hinirang, composed by Julián Felipe and first played by the San Francisco de Malabon marching band on that day.
7. The Declaration is currently housed in the National Library of the Philippines and is not on public display but can be viewed with permission like any other document held by the National Library. It was reportedly stolen in the 1980s or 1990s but was returned to the National Library in 1994 by University of the Philippines professor Milagros Guerrero.

   

   http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Philippine_independence.jpg

8. The United States granted independence on 4 July 1946 through the Treaty of Manila coinciding with their Independence Day celebration and was observed in the Philippines until 1962.
9. On May 12, 1962, President Diosdado Macapagal issued Presidential Proclamation No. 28, which declared June 12 a special public holiday throughout the Philippines, "... in commemoration of our people's declaration of their inherent and inalienable right to freedom and independence."
10. On 4 August 1964, Republic Act No. 4166 renamed July 4 holiday as "Philippine Republic Day", proclaimed June 12 as "Philippine Independence Day", and enjoined all citizens of the Philippines to observe the latter with befitting rites. Prior to 1964, June 12 had been observed as Flag Day, which was moved to 28 May (the date the Philippine Flag was first flown in battle in Alapan, Imus, Cavite in 1898).
11. Historically, there were already 6 declarations of Philippine Independence between 1895 and 1946. These dates were: April 12, 1895; August 23, 1896; October 31, 1896; June 12, 1898; October 14, 1943; and July 4, 1946. We can also include a 7th declaration, symbolically, on September 16, 1991 when the Philippine Senate refused to extend the U.S. lease of the Subic Bay Naval Station.
    
12. The following concluding words in the 1898 Declaration of Independence is historically debated because it describes the current Philippine flag as a commemoration of the flag of the United States of America.
    

    “It was resolved unanimously that this Nation, already free and independent as of this day, must use the same flag which up to now is being used, whose design and colors are found described in the attached drawing, the white triangle signifying the distinctive emblem of the famous Society of the Katipunan which by means of its blood compact inspired the masses to rise in revolution; the three stars, signifying the three principal Islands of this Archipelago—Luzon, Mindanao, and Panay where this revolutionary movement started; the sun representing the gigantic steps made by the sons of the country along the path of Progress and Civilization; the eight rays, signifying the eight provinces—Manila, Cavite, Bulacan, Pampanga, Nueva Ecija, Bataan, Laguna, and Batangas—which declared themselves in a state of war as soon as the first revolt was initiated; and the colors  Blue, Red, and White, commemorating the flag of the United States of North America, in manifestation of our profound gratitude towards this Great Nation for its disinterested protection which it lent us and continues lending us.”

    You decide.

Screenshot of Google's Doodle for the 116th Philippine Independence Day

References:

Independence Day (Philippines)
Kalayaan 2014: A lineup of events commemorating the country’s independence Independence Day 2014
DSWD supports 116th Philippine Independence Day celebration
Group wants August 23 as new Independence Day
Philippine Independence Day Foundation
July 4, 1946: True Philippine Independence Day
The Proclamation of Philippine Independence
Proclamation No. 28, s. 1962
15 Bicolano martyrs given honors in June 12 rites in Naga City
America in our Declaration of Independence
True independence
Philippine Trivia: Nice To Know!
Interesting Questions, Facts, and Information
The Proclamation of Philippine Independence
PHILIPPINE INDEPENDENCE DAY TRIVIA
Independence Day in Philippines
Philippine Declaration of Independence
The First Unfurling of the Philippine National Flag
SurSur DILG reminds LGUs to celebrate 116th Philippine Independence Day
City Celebrates 116th Independence Day with Rep. Paduano as guest of honor
Philippine Independence Day Foundation
Singapore PM defends Philippine Independence rites

12 Most Peaceful Countries for 2014

Today is World Press Freedom Day.

May 3 is a day to commemorate the importance of freedom of the press with regards to reporting without borders. It was declared by the United Nations General Assembly under Article 19 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

May 3 also marks the anniversary of the Declaration of Windhoek which was a compilation of free press principles by African newspaper journalists in 1991.

In light of this celebration, let us offer our prayers for those journalists and media personalities who have died in the line of duty. There are already 1,054 journalists killed since 1992 according to CPJ or the Committee to Protect Journalists. For more information regarding these killings, click HERE.

Also, we offer our prayers for the release of jailed journalists in different countries so that they will free from jail already. Feel free to click HERE to know more about these jailed journalists.

For today's post, below are the top 12 countries based on the list of World Press Freedom index which reflects the degree of freedom being enjoyed by journalists in the said countries. The World Press Freedom index file can be downloaded in PDF format HERE. It is published by Reporters Without Borders based upon the organization's assessment of the countries' press freedom records by using different methodologies.

1. Finland
2. Netherlands
3. Norway
4. Luxembourg
5. Andorra
6. Liechtenstein
7. Denmark
8. Iceland
9. New Zealand
10. Sweden
11. Estonia
12. Austria

For the complete list, click HERE. For the methodology used, click HERE.

Photo from the World Association of Newspapers and News Publishers (WAN-IFRA)

References:

Reporters Without Borders
World Press Freedom Index 2014
About 3 May
30 Days for Freedom
Committee to Protect Journalists
World Press Freedom Day