Magtanim ay Di Biro

Magtanim ay Di Biro

Magtanim ay di biro
Maghapong nakayuko
Di naman makatayo
Di naman makaupo
Halina, halina mga kaliyag
Tayo’y magsipag-unat-unat
Magpanibago tayo ng lakas
Para sa araw ng bukas

Paruparong Bukid

Paruparong Bukid

Paruparong bukid na lilipad-lipad
Sa gitna ng daan papagapagaspas
Isang bara ang tapis
Isang dangkal ang manggas
Ang sayang de kola
Isang piyesa ang sayad
May payneta pa siya — uy!
May suklay pa mandin — uy!
Nagwas de-ohetes ang palalabasin
Haharap sa altar at mananalamin
At saka lalakad na pakendeng-kendeng.

Hukbalahap Rebellion

After World War II, the bad relationship between landlords and farmers, who were seeking better conditions, became worse. The tenancy problem plagued the country, particularly in the provinces of Pampanga, Bulacan, Nueva Ecija, and Tarlac in central Luzon.

There was too much tension when the landlords who evacuated to urban areas during the war came to the rural areas to ask for back “rent” for their lands from the farmers. With the help of their own armed bands, they tried to force the peasants to give to them what they owed them.

At the same time, the Huks, or Hukbalahaps who fought against the Japanese as U.S.-supported Filipino guerillas did, were reluctant to give up their arms.

As a result, General Douglas MacArthur put to jail Luis Taruc and Casto Alejandro, the leading Huk leaders. Furthermore, the U.S. forces were ordered to disarmed the Huks. Instead, the Huks fled to the mountains. Still armed, they supported the Pambansang Kaisahan ng mga Magbubukid-PKM (National Peasant Union) in its fight against the landowners.

By that time, the peasants’ movement represented about 500,000 members. The PKM,

as part of the left-wing Democratic Alliance, which also included other groups, had supported Sergio Osmeña as the Nacionalista Party’s presidential candidate against Manuel Roxas during the 1946 election campaign. Osmeña was the president of the Philippine Commonwealth, who replaced President Manuel Quezon after he died in the U.S. in 1944.

Osmeña got the support of the labor movement. He promised the farmers that a new law giving 60 percent of the harvest, instead of the then 50 percent or less, would be passed. At that time, Taruc, who was released from jail, and five other candidates of the Democratic Alliance won congressional seats during the 1946 elections which elected Roxas to the presidency.

However, Taruc and the other Democratic Alliance winners were not allowed to be installed into their positions. They were accused of having used terrorist acts during the campaign. Violence by landlords with the help of the police worsened against peasant activities. In August 1946, Juan Feleo, a PKM leader was killed, resulting in the rebellion of the Huks in central Luzon. The People’s Liberation Army (Hukbong Mapagpalaya ng Bayan) became the new name of the People’s Anti-Japanese Army.

© Enday of
Students blog Kwentong Pinas
& Enday Socialize

Pre-hispanic Culture

The Filipinos lived in settlements called barangays before the colonization of the Philippines by the Spaniards. As the unit of government, a barangay consisted from 30 to 100 families. It was headed by a datubarangay came from the Malay word balangay, a boat that transported them to the islands.) and was independent from the other groups. (The Tagalog word

Usually, several barangays settled near each other to help one another in case of war or any emergency. The position of datu was passed on by the holder of the position to the eldest son or, if none, the eldest daughter. However, later, any member of the barangay could be chieftain, based on his talent and ability. He had the usual responsibilities of leading and protecting the members of his barangay. In turn, they had to pay tribute to the datu, help him till the land, and help him fight for the barangay in case of war.

In the old days, a datu had a council of elders to advise him, especially whenever he wanted a law to be enacted. The law was written and announced to the whole barangay by a town crier, called the umalohokan.

The People’s Commandments.

Pre-college Filipino textbooks teach that the only written laws of pre-colonial Philippines that have survived are the Maragtas Code and the Code of Kalantiaw, both prepared in Panay. Some historians believe that the Maragtas Code was written by Datu Sumakwel, one of the chieftains from Borneo who settled there. As for the Code of Kalantiaw, it was said to have been promulgated by the third chief of Panay and possibly a descendant of Datu Sumakwel, Rajah Kalantiaw, in 1433. W. Henry Scott, however, has disputed the authenticity of the Code of Kalantiaw.

Classes of Society.

There were four classes of society. They were the ruling class (datu), the freemen and notable persons (maharlika), the commoners

(timawa), and the dependents and slaves (alipin). The alipin were of two kinds: the aliping namamahay, who were

household servants, and the aliping

saguiguilid, who were slave workers.

Clothing and Ornaments.

The natives already wore clothes and personal ornaments. The men wore short-sleeved and collarless jackets, whose length reached slightly below the waist. The color of the jacket appeared to indicate the position of the wearer in society, e.g., red for the chief, and blue or black for those below him, depending on the societal class. For the lower part, they wore a bahag, a strip of cloth wrapped around the waist, passing between the thighs. Their thighs and legs were left exposed.

A piece of cloth wrapped around the head, called a putong, served as a head gear. The kind of putong one wore was important. For example, a red putong meant the wearer had killed a man in war while one who had killed at least seven people signified so by wearing an embroidered putong. They also wore necklaces, armlets or kalombiga, earrings, rings, and anklets, usually made of gold and precious stones.

The women’s upper garment was a sleeved jacket, called a baro. Over their skirts (saya or patadyong) was wrapped a strip of cloth called tapis. They also wore gem-studded bracelets, necklaces, rings, and gold earrings.

Tattoos were part of the body ornaments of pre-Hispanic Filipinos, men and women alike. These were also sported as war “medals.” The more tattoos, the more impressive was a man’s war record.

The Filipinos from the Visayas Islands were the most tattooed, which was why early Spanish writers referred to them as Pintados or painted people. The writers referred to their Islands as Islas del Pintados or Islands of the Painted People.

Rice and More Rice. Agriculture was the early Filipinos’ main means of livelihood. They also grew an abundance of rice, sugarcane, cotton, hemp, coconuts, bananas, and many other fruits and vegetables. Land cultivation was by tilling or by the kaingin system. With the kaingin system, the land was cleared by burning the shrubs and bushes. After that, it was planted with rice and other crops, which were watered by irrigation ditches.

The world-famous Ifugao rice terraces of Mountain Province, which have stone walls and run for thousands of feet on the mountain sides, are irrigated by a system of ditches. From afar, the terraces seem to be a giant stairway leading to the sky. From end to end, the length could be about 12,000 miles or halfway around the Earth.

There were public and private lands. Those along the mountainsides and less arable lands were public property. They were open to everyone who wanted to till them. Private lands were usually exclusively for nobles and datus.

Philippines

The Philippines is the third largest English speaking country in the world. It has a rich history combining Asian, European, and American influences. Prior to Spanish colonization in 1521, the Filipinos had a rich culture and were trading with the Chinese and the Japanese. Spain’s colonization brought about the construction of Intramuros in 1571, a “Walled City” comprised of European buildings and churches, replicated in different parts of the archipelago. In 1898, after 350 years and 300 rebellions, the Filipinos, with leaders like Jose Rizal and Emilio Aguinaldo, succeeded in winning their independence.

In 1898, the Philippines became the first and only colony of the United States. Following the Philippine-American War, the United States brought widespread education to the islands. Filipinos fought alongside Americans during World War II, particularly at the famous battle of Bataan and Corregidor which delayed Japanese advance and saved Australia. They then waged a guerilla war against the Japanese from 1941 to 1945. The Philippines regained its independence in 1946.

Filipinos are a freedom-loving people, having waged two peaceful, bloodless revolutions against what were perceived as corrupt regimes. The Philippines is a vibrant democracy, as evidenced by 12 English national newspapers, 7 national television stations, hundreds of cable TV stations, and 2,000 radio stations.

Filipinos are a fun-loving people. Throughout the islands, there are fiestas celebrated everyday and foreign guests are always welcome to their homes.

Philippines History

HISTORY
The history of the Philippines can be divided into four distinct phases: the pre-Spanish period (before 1521); the Spanish period (1521-1898); the American period (1898-1946); and the post-independence period (1946-present).

Pre-Spanish Period
The first people in the Philippines, the Negritos, are believed to have come to the islands 30,000 years ago from Borneo and Sumatra, making their way across then-existing land bridges. Subsequently, Malays came from the south in successive waves, the earliest by land bridges and later in boats by sea. The Malays settled in scattered communities, named barangays after the large outrigger boats in which they arrived, and ruled by chieftains known as datus. Chinese merchants and traders arrived and settled in the ninth century, sometimes traveling on the ships of Arab traders, introducing Islam in the south and extending some influence even into Luzon. The Malays, however, remained the dominant group until the Spanish arrived in the 16th century.

Spanish Period
Portuguese explorer Ferdinand Magellan reached the Philippines and claimed the archipelago for Spain in 1521, but stayed for only a few days. Christianity was established in the Philippines only after the arrival of the succeeding Spanish expeditionary forces (the first led by Legazpi in the 16th century) and the Spanish Jesuits, and in the 17th and 18th centuries by the conquistadores.

Until Mexico proclaimed independence from Spain in 1810 the islands were under the administrative control of Spanish North America, and there was significant migration between North America and the Philippines. This period was the era of conversion to Roman Catholicism. A Spanish colonial social system was developed with a local government centered in Manila and with considerable clerical influence. Spanish influence was strongest in Luzon and the central Philippines but less so in Mindanao, save for certain coastal cities.

The long period of Spanish rule was marked by numerous uprisings. Towards the latter half of the 19th century, European-educated Filipinos or ilustrados (such as the Chinese Filipino national hero Jose Rizal) began to criticize the excesses of Spanish rule and instilled a new sense of national identity. This movement gave inspiration to the final revolt against Spain that began in 1896 under the leadership of Emilio Aguinaldo (another Chinese Filipino) and continued until the Americans defeated the Spanish fleet in Manila Bay on May 1, 1898, during the Spanish-American War. Aguinaldo declared independence from Spain on June 12, 1898.

Oldest school in the Philippines

Excerpt:

The University of San Carlos (USC) in Cebu City is considered as the oldest school in the country and in Asia. Formerly known as the Colegio de San Ildefonso, it was founded by the Spanish Jesuits on August 1, 1595. This makes the Cebu-based university older than the University of Santo Tomas (1611) in Manila and Harvard University (1636) in the United States.

The University of Santo Tomas, however, contests this title. Formerly known as the Colegio de Nuestra Señora del Rosario, UST was the first school, which got a university status in 1645. USC became a university in 1948. UST also claimed that the original USC was closed in 1769 as a result of the expulsion of the Jesuits. It reopened in 1783 under a new name and ownership. But the USC officials stick to their claim. The university observed its 400th foundation day on August 21, 1995.

Did you know?

The balcony at the Aguinaldo Shrine used during Independence Day celebrations was added later.

The actual Act of Declaration of Philippine Independence was made from a window, not a balcony.

Philippines Geography

The Philippine Islands are an archipelago of over 7,000 islands lying about 500 mi (805 km) off the southeast coast of Asia. The overall land area is comparable to that of Arizona. Only about 7% of the islands are larger than one square mile, and only one-third have names. The largest are Luzon in the north (40,420 sq mi; 104,687 sq km), Mindanao in the south (36,537 sq mi; 94,631 sq km), and Samar (5,124 sq mi; 13,271 sq km). The islands are of volcanic origin, with the larger ones crossed by mountain ranges. The highest peak is Mount Apo (9,690 ft; 2,954 m) on Mindanao.

Philippines Time Line

* 1521 Magellan discovers the Philippine Islands March 15, tries to subdue the native chief Lapulapu, wades ashore on Mactan April 24 with 48 men in full armor, and is killed in a skirmish with Mactan warriors. Only three of Magellan’s original five ships have made the Pacific crossing, the other two have been lost, his men have come close to starvation, but survivors of the Mactan encounter sail on in two remaining ships to the Moluccas, or Spice Islands.

* 1524 Maize grows in the Philippines where Magellan’s men introduced the plant 2 years ago.

* 1543 Spanish conquistador Ruy Lopez de Villalobos is driven out of the Philippine Islands by the natives a year after discovering the islands and giving them their name. He is captured by the Portuguese.

* 1564 Miguel Lopez de Legazpe, 54, leaves New Spain with four ships to colonized the Philippines.