The blue area is the Philippine Sea. To its left is the Philippine Islands. Can you visualize the location of the Philippine Sea within the vast Pacific Ocean? The long elongated island to the extreme middle left is The Philippines. Philippine Sea is a section of the western North Pacific, lying east and north … More Philippine Sea – What, Where and Its Place in the Philippine History
June 12 is the Philippine Independence Day, recognized through Proclamation No. 28 signed by then President Diosdado Macapagal on May 12, 1962 citing Emilio Aguinaldo’s establishment of the Philippine Republic from Spain. Congress then formally designated June 12 as the date of Philippine independence by passing Republic Act No. 4166 in 1964. Despite what Aguinaldo … More The Philippines Independence Day – True Fact
Bauan Cathedral, located in the center of town of Bauan, Batangas, across the town plaza shared a long history with the town itself. It is interesting how the church evolved throughout the centuries. The first church of Bauan was not located at the present site. Since the Mission of Bauan was a visita … More History of Bauan Cathedral
Continuing on the blog from last week, I hope you are not getting a nightmare looking at these photos. If you do, I apologize. Who is Apo Anno? Apo Anno, a tribal leader in the Benguet province, was a descendant of a 12th century Kankanaey hunter who lived to a ripe old age … More Apo Anno – A Philippine National Treasure
Kabayan is one of the oldest towns in Benguet, situated in a wide valley surrounded by mountains in Northern Luzon. It was recognized as the center of Ibaloi culture. Out of several tribes in this area, the Ibaloi tribe was the only people to practice mummification as a way of preserving their dead … More Kabayan and its Centuries-old Mummies
Vigan, the provincial capital of Ilocos Sur in Luzon northwest region on the Mestizo River, was built by the Spaniards in 1572, their third oldest settlement on the islands after Cebu and Intramuros. Unlike Intramuros, it was never fortified. It has some of the Philippine’s best remaining Spanish colonial architecture. Before the Spanish arrived, trade … More Historic Vigan, A UNESCO World Heritage Site
The landmark discovery announced in Nature on Wednesday, April 10, 2019 makes Luzon the third Southeast Asian island in the last 15 years to bear signs of ancient human activity. Homo luzonensis, a newly discovered human specie unknown to science, was found in Callao Cave in Peñablanca, Cagayan in northern Philippines. The specie is … More A New Specie of Ancient Human Discovered in the Philippines
Before there was Philippines, there was already Butuan, a formal settlement along the banks of Agusan River which maybe the site of the oldest human settlement in the Philippines. Being an archipelago, the Philippines from the beginning is a seafaring nation. Because of Butuan’s location, the Butuanos were skilled boat builders and expert seafarers. Being … More Butuan, the oldest Philippine settlement and the Balangays
Islam was referred to as mohammedanism when I was growing up in the Philippines. There were several religious sects in the country and one of them was mohammedanism, not Islam. Mohammedans (Muslims) practiced mohammedanism. Most of the muslims lived in Mindanao and Sulu Archipelago. Spaniards called them moros because of their perceived resemblance to the … More The Coming of Islam in the Philippines
The Philippines was ruled by various Asian empires during its early history. Trade with Indonesia, Borneo, mainland Southeast Asia, Japan, Persia and India developed shortly after the Ice Age and many merchants made the Philippines their base. Between 1500 BC and 1440 AD, the Philippines traded with several Asian empires and from 200 … More Philippine PreHispanic Relations With Neighboring Countries
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