Did you know that . . . .
The first local elections in the Philippines under the American occupation held for provincial and municipal posts was held on May 7, 1899 in Baliuag, Bulacan. This was conducted under the supervision of US General Henry W. Lawton.
Gen. Lawton (March 17, 1843 - December 19, 1899) was the son of George W. Lawton of Maumee, Ohio. He was a highly respected United State Army General who served with distinction in the Spanish- American war, however, records revealed that he was the only US general officer who was killed during the Philippine -American War.
Showing posts with label history. Show all posts
Showing posts with label history. Show all posts
The Province of Albay
Albay, Philippines, about 538 kilometers southeast of Manila, is one of the provinces in the Bicol Region that is rich in natural resources, and is home to the spectacular Mayon Volcano. Its capital is Legazpi City and the province is bounded by the provinces of Camarines Sur to the north and Sorsogon to the south. Also to the northeast is Lagunoy Gulf. Albay also takes pride of the beauty of its natures where one could appreciate the scenic of the clear waterfalls, meandering rivers, spectacular ancient cave network and lush underwater world.
Albay has an approximate land area of 2,552.6 square kilometers, which makes it the 26th smallest province in the Philippines. It has four main islands and these are: Rapu-Rapu and Batan, both of the municipality of Rapu-Rapu; Cagraray of the municipality of Bacacay, however, with small area as part of Malilipot, and San Miguel, of Tabaco City. Lagunoy Gulf borders the province to the northeast, separating it from the province of Catanduanes.
The province is comprised of the three cities and fifteen municipalities, first congressional district: municipalities of Tiwi, Malinao, Malilipot, Bacacay, Sto. Domingo, and the City of Tabaco; second congressional district: municipalities of Rapu-Rapu, Daraga, Camalig, Manito, and Legazpi City; third congressional district: municipalities of Guinobatan, Jovellar, Libon, Oas, Pio Duran, Polangui, and Ligao City.
Languages
The people of Albay are called Albayanos. Bicol is the primary language they speak. However, almost all of the municipalities have their own dialects. These are the Bicolano Viejo, Legazpeño, Daragueño, or Albayanon, Polangueño, Oasnon and others. Mostly of the dialects spoken in the coastal areas in Albay are similar to that spoken in Camarines Sur. Majority of the inhabitants also understand Tagalog and English.
History
Long before westerners arrived at the region, the Bicolanos (the people) already has the culture of their own. The Bicol Region was known as Ibalon, which some writers claimed to have been named possibly after their chieftain-DATU GAT ABAAL, who ruled the inhabited territories from his seat of power at Sawangan on the mouth of Makabalo River, when Juan de Salcedo and his soldiers explored it in 1573. Sawangan, a small settlement by a mangrove swamp, became a town called Albaybay in 1616. The town was first renamed Albay, then Legazpi, as Albay went on to refer to the province.
In 1846, the three islands of Masbate, Ticao, and Burias were separated from Albay. The islands were separated to form the comandancia of Masbate. Albay was then divided into four districts: Iraya, Cordillera or Tobaco, Sorsogon, and Catanduanes. In 1894 and in 1945, Sorsogon and Catanduanes, respectively, were separated from Albay and became separate and independent provinces. The province of Albay was created on March 10, 1917.
In 1570, Spain Christianized the Ibalon locals. The Christianization took place when the group of Legazpi Urdaneta expeditionary force headed by Augustinian friars Fr. Alonzo Jimenez and Fr. Juan Orca landed at the southwestern coast of the western peninsula. The group named the southern part of the place as “TIERRA DE IBALON” and the northern part, “TIERRA DE CAMARINES”.
In 1663, Spanish authorities issued as decree renaming Partido de Ibalon, which comprises the eastern part of the peninsula, as Albay.
Sorsogon used to be part of Albay. However, in 1894, by virtue of a decree, Sorsogon became a province.While Sorsogon was created a separate province, Masbate, in 1908, by virtue of an executive order was made a sub-province of Albay by the American Civil Government. It was October 26, 1945 that Masbate became an independent province by virtue of Commonwealth Act No. 687.
Economy
Agriculture is the main industry in Albay. Albay’s main agricultural products are coconut, rice, sugar, and abacá. Handicraft is one of the major sources of income of families in the rural areas. Other sources of livelihood in Albay are the forestry, papermaking, manufacturing of abacá products such as hats, wall decors, bags, mats, and slippers, and fishing for those residing along the coastal areas. The presence of Mayon Volcano draws income for Albay. Because of Mayon Volcano, particularly during its eruption, more tourists visited the province, thereby creating business opportunities to the residents.
Albay has its sea and air ports which give additional income to the government and to its people. The sea ports are the Tabaco City International, Legazpi City National, Pio Duran Provincial, and the Pantao Regional Port. For its airport, it is only in Legazpi City where domestic planes land. Legazpi domestic airport serves as Bicol's gateway to Manila and the Visayas.
The Philippine Flag
The Clearing Point
R. CHAM G. ZUÑIGA VI, Ll.B., MLGM, Ph.D.
It is school opening again, and certainly, students have to line up for the flag raising ceremony in the early hour of the school days.
This writer has serialized the information about the Philippine Flag. May readers find them interesting and educational.
Our law on the Philippine Flag mandates that reverence and respect shall at all times be accorded to our national flag, the anthem, and other national symbols which embody the national ideals and traditions and which express the principles of sovereignty and national solidarity. It also provides that heraldic items and devices shall seek to manifest the national virtues and to inculcate in the minds and hearts of our people a just pride in their native land, fitting respect and affection for the national flag and anthem, and the proper use of the national motto, coat-of-arms and other heraldic items and devices.
But how many of us know our national motto? How about the coat-of-arms? What are this heraldic items and devices mentioned in our Flag and Heraldic Code?
Our Flag and Heraldic Code provides that the National Motto shall be "MAKA-DIYOS, MAKA-TAO, MAKAKALIKASAN AT MAKABANSA." And the National Coat-of-Arms shall have: Paleways of two (2) pieces, azure and gules; a chief argent studded with three (3) mullets equidistant from each other; and, in point of honor, ovoid argent over all the sun rayonnant with eight minor and lesser rays. Beneath shall be the scroll with the words "REPUBLIKA NG PILIPINAS," inscribed thereon.
On the heraldic items and devices, government entity, including the military, are allowed to adopt appropriate coat-of-arms, administrative seals, logo, insignia, badges, patches, and banners; and initiate awards, citations, orders or decorations. This is of course with authority of the Congress or by the Office of the President.
The above-mentioned code provides that the Pledge of Allegiance to the Philippine flag shall be the following:
Ako ay Pilipino
Buong katapatang nanunumpa
Sa watawat ng Pilipinas
At sa bansang kanyang sinasagisag
Na may dangal, katarungan at kalayaan
Na pinakikilos ng sambayanang
Maka-Diyos
Maka-tao
Makakalikasan at
Makabansa.
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Such pledge shall be recited while standing with the right hand with palm open raised shoulder high. Individuals whose faith or religious beliefs prohibit them from making such pledge must nonetheless show full respect when the pledge is being rendered by standing at attention.
- o 0 o -
Do you know that ……………….
… our national flag is a rectangular with its maximum length twice its width or its minimum length twice the altitude of the equilateral triangle?
… the white field of our national flag is an equilateral triangle, each side of which is equal to the width of the flag?
… the width of the red and blue stripes of our national flag shall each be one-half the width of the flag?
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The Philippine Citizenship [Part I]
The Clearing Point
R. CHAM G. ZUÑIGA VI, LL.B., MLGM, Ph.D.
The Philippine Citizenship
This article is presented in series. It is hope that it would guide readers on the concept of Philippine citizenship. This is Part I of the series.
In the case of Fornier versus COMELEC and Ronald Allan Kelly Poe, also known as Fernando Poe Jr., docketed as G. R. No. 161824 and promulgated on March 3, 2004, the Supreme Court of the Philippines pointed out that “citizenship is a treasured right conferred on those whom the state believes are deserving of the privilege. It is a precious heritage, as well as an inestimable acquisition, that cannot be taken lightly by anyone - either by those who enjoy it or by those who dispute it.”
Greek philosopher Aristotle, in the book entitled The Principle of Politics (1946), as edited and translated by Ernest Larker, “gave the earliest concept of citizenship sometime in 384 to 322 B.C. when he described the “citizen” as “a man who shared in the administration of justice and in the holding of an office.” In other words, he defines citizenship as he who has the power to take part in the deliberative or judicial administration of any state. However, he saw significance of it to determine the constituency of the “State”, which he described as “being composed of such persons who would be adequate in number to achieve a self-sufficient existence.”
In the book, The Conditions of Citizenship, (1994) [as edited by Bart Van Steenbergen, Sage Publications, London, Thousand Oaks, New Delhi], Aristotle’s concept of citizenship was expanded to include “one who would both govern and be governed, for which qualifications like autonomy, judgment and loyalty could be expected. Citizenship was seen to deal with rights and entitlements, on the one hand, and with concomitant obligations, on the other.”
The concept of citizenship has three main elements. Citizenship as legal status is defined by civil, political and social rights. Under this element, the citizen is the legal person free to act according to the law and have the right to claims with the protection of the law. It need not mean that the citizen takes part in the law's formulation, nor does it require that rights be uniform between citizens. Citizenship as as political agents defined by actively participating in a society's political institutions. Citizenship as membership in a political community that furnishes a distinct source of identity.
The concept of citizenship had undergone several changes. In the 18th century, the concept of citizenship was confined to civil citizenship. Under this concept, rights necessary for individual freedom were established. These rights refer to rights to property, personal liberty and justice.
In the 19th century, the same concept was expanded to include political rights. And in the 20th century, another expansion of the concept was made to include social citizenship.
What is social citizenship? This is the citizenship of an individual, which recognizes the right of the citizen to economic well-being and social security.
History books gave us the impression that Jose P. Rizal, Andres Bonifacio, and other inhabitants of the
The Spaniards executed Jose Rizal on December 30, 1898. The mediation that Andres Bonifacio did because of the misunderstanding among those who fight against the Spanish government was rebuffed by the clannish middle class of
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The Philippine Citizenship [Part III]
The Philippine Citizenship
The year 1898 was considered the turning point in history on the Spanish ruling over the
The United States in
This treaty was known as the Treaty of Paris of 1898. Under the treaty, the –
“Spanish subjects, natives of the Peninsula, residing in the territory over which Spain by the present treaty relinquishes or cedes her sovereignty may remain in such territory or may remove therefrom, retaining in either event all their rights of property, including the right to sell or dispose of such property or of its proceeds; and they shall also have the right to carry on their industry, commerce, and professions, being subject in respect thereof to such laws as are applicable to foreigners. In case they remain in the territory they may preserve their allegiance to the Crown of Spain by making, before a court of record, within a year from the date of the exchange of ratifications of this treaty, a declaration of their decision to preserve such allegiance; in default of which declaration they shall be held to have renounced it and to have adopted the nationality of the territory in which they reside.”
Under the Treaty of Paris, both native and Spanish subjects who did not exercise their option to leave the Philippines, but remained in the country and adopted the nationality of the Philippines were considered citizens of the Philippines. However, those Spanish subjects who remained in the Philippines and declared before a court of record their intention to preserve their allegiance to Spain within a year and a half from the date of ratification of the treaty retained their Spanish nationality
Upon the ratification of the treaty on April 11, 1900, the civil rights and political status of the native inhabitants of the Philippines were yielded to the United States thereby ceasing them also to be Spanish subjects. But ceding to the United States did not mean becoming American citizens.
For the first time in the Philippine history, the term "citizens of the Philippine Islands" appeared in the Philippine Bill of 1902, thereafter known as the Philippine Organic Act of 1902. Part of which provides –
".... that all inhabitants of the Philippine Islands continuing to reside therein, who were Spanish subjects on the 11th day of April, 1891, and then resided in said Islands, and their children born subsequent thereto, shall be deemed and held to be citizens of the Philippine Islands and as such entitled to the protection of the United States, except such as shall have elected to preserve their allegiance to the Crown of Spain in accordance with the provisions of the treaty of peace between the United States and Spain, signed at Paris, December tenth eighteen hundred and ninety eight."
Under the said Act, to be considered a “citizen of the Philippines”, one must be an inhabitant of the Philippines, and a Spanish subject on the 11th day of April 1899. An inhabitant refers to one that is a native-born inhabitant, an inhabitant who was a native of Peninsular Spain, and an inhabitant who obtained Spanish papers on or before 11 April 1899.
How about those children who were born in the Philippines from 11 April 1899 to 01 July 1902? How are they considered in terms of citizenship? It should be noted that during these period no citizenship law existed in the Philippines.
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The First Philippine Flag
The Clearing Point
R. CHAM G. ZUÑIGA VI, MLGM, Ph.D.
The First Philippine Flag
Historians were in disagreement of the location where the Philippine flag was first raised.
There were those who claimed that the Philippine flag was first unfurled on
But Manuel L. Quezon III wrote that one of the historical errors being perpetuated in history textbooks and commemorative rites was the place where the Philippine flag was first displayed. His basis of this error was the signboard in
However, looking back to the historical accounts of General Emilio Aguinaldo, he narrated in one historical record that on
Gen. Aguinaldo further narrated that -.
“It was there [in Kawit] where the first fight of the Philippine Revolution of 1898 was started, which we may call the continuation of the campaign of 1896 to 1897, a fight which lasted from ten o’clock in the morning to three o’clock in the afternoon, when on account of lack of ammunition the Spaniards with all their arms surrendered to the Filipino Revolutionaries who entered into Cavite [port] with the prisoners. I took advantage of the glorious opportunity to bring to light and undulate the national flag which was saluted by an immense multitude, with cheers of delirious joy and great hurrahs ‘vivas’ for Independent Philippines and for the generous nation of the United States, all of which was witnessed by several officers and marines of the American Squadron, who plainly showed their sympathy for the cause of the Filipinos by taking part in their great rejoicing.” (italics supplied)
If we are to believe of the above accounts, it could easily be deduced that the first flag-raising took place near the
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The following are insights on the Flag and Heraldic Code of the Philippines that may guide our dear readers particularly the students.
There was one time when one student wondered why the Philippine Flag was flown at half-mast. He uttered, “Perhaps somebody in the government service holding high position is dead.” When and why do we really raise the flag at half-mast?
Our flag law mandates that flag shall be flown at half-mast as a sign of mourning on all the buildings and places where it is displayed on the day of official announcement of the death of any of the president or a former president of the republic, for ten (10) days; the Vice-President, the Chief Justice, the President of the Senate and the Speaker of the House of Representatives, for seven (7) days; and such other persons to be determined by the National Historical Institute (NHI), for any period less than seven (7) days.
The flag shall be flown at half-mast on all the buildings and places where the decedent was holding office, on the day of death until the day of interment of an incumbent member of the Supreme Court, the Cabinet, the Senate or the House of Representatives, and such other persons as may be determined by the NHI.
The flag when flown at half-mast shall be first hoisted to the peak for a moment then lowered to the half-mast position. The flag shall again be raised to the peak before it is lowered for the day.
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The Barong Tagalog [Part 2 of 2 series]
The Clearing Point
R. CHAM G. ZUÑIGA VI, Ll.B., MLGM, Ph.D.
The Barong Tagalog
[Part 2 of 2 series]
Long time before the Spaniards came to the Philippine, the Tagalog people on the northern island of Luzon, already wore a dress that can be seen as the origin of the Barong Tagalog. The Barong Tagalog or simply barong, derived from the word baro, is an embroidered formal garment of which the Filipinos are known. It is very soft, lightweight and worn untucked over an undershirt. It is a commonly used during formal occasions.
There were several theories explaining why the Filipinos used Barong Tagalog during the Spanish Era. One historical details say that during the Spanish era, the authorities required the Indios (the word used to described the subject of Spain – referring to the Filipino people) to use Barong, a dress made of flimsy material so that any concealment of weapons in their body could easily be detected. During the Spanish era (1561-1889) the Barong Tagalog was required by the Spanish Government for Indios to be worn most of the times to show the disparity of the rich and the poor. The poor who served the rich were required to be always in uniform. Moreover, since Barong is to be used untucked, it connotes a designation of a low rank in the society.
However, sociologists stand against this theory pointing out that untucked wear was very common in south-east Asian countries. Also the use of a thin dress to describe Barong Tagalog is natural to a country like the Philippines given the climate that is tempestuous, hot and humid. Also, sociologists noted that during the Spanish regime, there was no specific law specifically directing the use of Barong by Filipinos exclusively. It may be noted that there were some natives of the island that wore shirts tucked at times.
Another theory had it that barong was a local adaptation or a precursor to a popular shirt in the Latin-American communities called guayabera. The guayabera is a men's shirt popular in Latin America, the Caribbean, Southeast Asia, the West Indies, and Zimbabwe. It is also known as "Mexican Wedding Shirt”.
Why is it that the barong is tucked out? One explanation says that it is because of the tropical climate of the
Barong Tagalog appeals to many whether high or low-key personalities. As others put it, it speaks volumes of a heritage that spanned decades of multi-cultural influences and raw patriotism. This is probably why it is naturally worn with pride and dignity. For whenever one don a Barong Tagalog, he is not just carrying a style, but wears a legacy. As an abogado de campanilla, you cannot afford not to wear the Barong Tagalog when arguing a case in the Philippine courts.
Before the discovery of
During the 18th century, the handkerchief was made as an accessory to the baro. Contrary to some beliefs that it was worn untucked to designate a low-profile in the society, the real reason was to show off the hand woven embroidery for others to admire and appreciate.
During the Spanish era, the Indios, who were rich and powerful were the only ones allowed to use Barong with shoes and hats. They were neither allowed to tuck in their baro nor were they allowed to have any pockets. It is to distinguish them from the Spanish rulers.
In the 19th century, hand-woven embroidery on the chest of the baro was introduced. Some modifications on the designed particularly on the collar was introduced.
After World War II, the Filipinos modifying the Barong Tagalog as a matter of rebuild the independence created an identity for the
Several other modifications on the Barong Tagalog were seen through the years. We now have the polo barong which refers to a short-sleeved version of the barong. The "gusot-mayaman" and linen barongs are generally considered less formal than the Barong Tagalog. They are used for everyday office wear. The shirt-jack barong is the barong cut in shirt-jack style. This is the modified barong worn during campaigns of the politicians or out-in-the-field assignments of government workers.
The birth of the barong into Philippine history began as a status of inferiority of the Indios during the Spanish era. However, today the purpose of a barong has evolved into a garment of independence and pride. It expressed the desire for freedom of the Filipino people and it was made through the development of innovative design and styles. It has revolutionized Filipino fashion and has expanded to styles of different types. It also depicts of the iconic symbol of fine craftsmanship of the people long time ago called Indios.
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