General Macario Sakay y de Leon was born on Mar. 1, 1878, along Tabora Street in Tondo, Manila. and died 114 years ago today on Sept. 13, 1907, at age 29. He first worked as an apprentice in a kalesa (carriage) manufacturing shop. He was also a tailor, a barber, and a stage actor. Sakay … More General Macario Sakay – Was He an Outlaw or a Patriot?
IF I WERE THE NEXT PRESIDENT(Part 6 of a series) By BEN R. PUNONGBAYAN Founder, Buklod National Political Party There is a common acknowledgement that the quality of our education system is quite low. This observation, without doubt, has been validated by the poor results of the performance of our students in periodic international assessments … More Overhauling the Philippine Education System
An encomienda was a system adopted in all the Spanish colonies based upon the practice of exacting tribute from Muslims and Jews during the Reconquista (Reconquest) of Muslim Spain. As legally defined in 1503, encomiendas (the term comes from Spanish encomendar, “to entrust”) were used to reward the long, loyal, or hazardous service to the … More Encomienda in the Philippines
IF I WERE THE NEXT PRESIDENT(Part 5 of a series) By BEN R. PUNONGBAYAN Founder, Buklod National Political Party A heartbreaking face of poverty is the present-day preponderance of undernutrition of Filipino young children. The leading single measure of this undernutrition, or malnutrition generally, is stunting—the health condition of children under five years old of … More SUBSTANTIALLY REDUCING POVERTY – Reducing Child Stunting
IF I WERE THE NEXT PRESIDENT (Part 4 of a series) By BEN R. PUNONGBAYAN Founder, Buklod National Political Party The present widespread presence of homeless and informal settlers in our society is another tormenting face of dehumanizing poverty in our country. Improving their current condition clearly needs direct government intervention. Otherwise, this problem will persist for a long … More Solving the problem of homelessness
On February 23, General Antonio Luna needed Malvar and his unit to participate in a Filipino counterattack planned to regain ground lost earlier by Filipinos and capture Manila. However, the Filipino offensive collapsed. In mid-March, an expeditionary force under Brig. Gen. Loyd Wheaton moved eastward, clearing Filipino troops from the vicinity of the Pasig River, … More General Miguel Malvar and the Philippine Revolution – Conclusion
IF I WERE THE NEXT PRESIDENT (Part 3 of a series) By BEN R. PUNONGBAYAN Founder, Buklod National Political Party If I were the next President, my overarching program is to substantially reduce poverty. There are several aspects to this great undertaking. I will deal first with what I call providing “Siguradong Sahod” to a targeted … More ‘Siguradong sahod’ to substantially reduce poverty
After the revolt of South America and Mexico from Spain, the Philippines became Spain’s richest possession, and the spirit of colonial exploitation grew. In 1896 the Filipinos, led by Emilio Aguinaldo, revolted. Reforms, as promised by the Spaniards in the Pact of Biak-Na-Bato, were very slow in coming, and small bands of rebels, distrustful of … More General Miguel Malvar and the Philippine Revolution – Part II
IF I WERE THE NEXT PRESIDENT (Part 2 of a series) By BEN R. PUNONGBAYAN Founder, Buklod National Political Party As President, I will devote my whole six-year term to provide a much more effective, efficient, decisive and widely focused national leadership with the primary objective of transforming the Filipino nation into a fair, just, equitable … More Containing COVID-19
Not generally known are the historical facts that Miguel Malvar succeeded Aguinaldo as president of the Philippine Republic, the last revolutionary general to lay down his arms in the war against Spain, and the last Filipino rebel to surrender to the Americans. Malvar was born in Barrio San Miguel, Santo Tomas, Batangas, on September 27, … More General Miguel Malvar and the Philippine Revolution – Part 1
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