Publications

While the start of wars are well defined and documented, the actual end of wars are less clear. This paper looks into the processes by which World War II came to an end in the Philippines. Beyond the official cease fire declared on August 15, 1945, Japanese units in various parts of the Philippines surrendered at different dates, some more informally than others. The formal end of the war through the signing of surrender documents in Baguio was just one of many official ceremonies in the Philippines, carried out on different dates and places.

The foundation of pueblos in the province of Laguna began as early as 1571 in the Spanish colonial era as soon as the Spaniards ventured into Manila and the surrounding areas. The foundation of pueblos in native settlements around the lake of Bay was inextricably linked to the work of Augustinian and Franciscan missionaries. Credit has been given to them for instituting the pueblos. However, this would not have happened without the collaboration of the native elite, the principalía of Laguna. The natives of the pueblo through the principalía were responsible for sustaining the church and the work of the missionaries. They built the churches and funded their decorations, supported the missionaries, and worked in Laguna. The principalía therefore played a significant role in the establishment of Christianity and the propagation of Christian practices in the pueblo. However, this role did not mean an indiscriminate support of all the demands of the missionaries, leaving no latitude for the principalía to negotiate that support. There were times when the principalía also challenged the missionaries and directed the course of religious life in their pueblos. This paper examines their role in this dynamic in the 17th century, the time that saw the establishment of Christianity in pueblos and the natives’ gradual assimilation of the new religion.

Ang papel na ito ay naglalayong magsuri sa kahalagahan ng saplot o kasuotan sa kabuuan bilang isang anyo ng pamanang kultural at sining ng mga Pilipino. Sa pamamagitan ng isang historiograpikal na pagsipat, tatalakayin sa papel ang pangkasaysayang kahalagahan kaugnay ng pagbabago at pag-unlad ng tradisyon ng pananamit at istilo sa iba’t ibang panahon sa kasaysayan ng Pilipinas.

Nais na ipakita ng may-akda sa papel ang isang historiograpikong pag-unawa at bigyang halaga ang kasuotan sa pangkalahatan bilang isang cultural currency at kaparaanan sa paglikha ng panlipunang identidad ng mga Pilipino. Sa pamamagitan ng gagawing pagsusuri sa pamanang saplot o kasuotan at platapormang artistiko ng moda sa partikular, titingnan sa papel ang tradisyon ng pananamit sa nakaraan hindi lamang bilang ekspresyong kultural, kundi isang mahalagang batis ng impormasyon sa pagsasakasaysayang Pilipino.

Sa pag-aaral, ang mga di-kumbensyonal na mga batis na ginamit mula sa UP College of Home Economics, National Museum of the Philippines, at Aga Khan Museum ng MSU – sa Lungsod ng Marawi, ay walang pag-aalinlangang repositoryo o baul ng mga pangmodang ekspresyon, di dokumentaryong mga batis, at nagtatampok kung gayon ng ideyang meta-komunikasyon na dinalumat ni Gregory Bateson at ng meta-naratibo na ipinalaganap naman halimbawa sa kabilang dako nina E.P. Thompson, Michel Foucault, at Jean Scott. Mahalaga ang paghahango ng mga meta-mensahe sa pagsasakasaysayan gamit ang platapormang modang sining ng mga Pilipino.

Sa akda, ginamit na conceptual tool ang linggwistiko konstrak ng “ka-suot-an” upang bigyang halaga ang ideya ng “saplot” sa katawan na organikong nakaugnay sa gawain ng mga Pilipino ng “pagsu-suot,” “pagbi-bihis,” at “pagda-damit.” Makabuluhan ang gawaing ito sa pagsilip sa pagpapasundayag moda upang makabuo ng kaalamang pangkasaysayan mula sa nasabing pamanang saplot o kasuotan at modang sining. Sa pag-aaral, ginamit ng may akda ang Teorya ng Pamanang Kultural (TPT) upang sipatin ang kahalagahan ng kasuotan bilang bahagi ng yamang kultural at pinaghanguan ng artistikong platapormang moda na ginamit ng mga Pilipino. Sa pamamagitan TPT, napansin sa isinagawang pag-aaral ang saysay ng pagkakaugnay ng kasuotan sa tradisyon, kultura, at identidad ng mga Pilipino sa paghahango ng mga meta-mensaheng mapagsasampayan ng mga meta-naratibong pangkasaysayan.

“Proto-modern astronomy” in the Philippines pertains either to an astronomical paradigm or a historical phase that mediates the “pre-modern” (i.e., indigenous Austronesian, since the 3500 BCE) and the “modern” (i.e., brought about by the Eurasian “scientific revolution,” 16th century CE). Among the Philippine communities, the existence of proto modern astronomy implies linguistic contact and socio-cultural interaction with Sanskrit, Arabic, and Malay speakers. Moreover, it shows the Philippine reception of foreign astronomical knowledge and practices before the advent of Euro-American colonialism.

To isolate the proto-modern elements, a discussion on pre-modern Austronesian astronomy is provided. Basic astronomical words can be reconstructed into the following protoforms: PAn *laŋiC ‘sky, heaven,’ PAn *qajaw ‘day, sun,’ PMP *qalejaw ‘day, sun,’ PAn *bulaN ‘moon,’ PAn *bituqen ‘star,’ PMP *talaq₁ ‘star,’ PPh *bulalákaw₂ ‘meteor, shooting star,’ PPh *dúlis ‘meteor, shooting star,’ and PPh *dúlit ‘meteor, shooting star.’ By identifying the foundational elements, we can now recognize the latter additions, marked by Sanskrit-Arabic influences through Malay. These additions appear in the form of words for ‘astral science/scientist,’ ‘heaven/hell,’ ‘deity/spirit,’ ‘eclipse,’ ‘Milky Way,’ ‘comet,’ ‘fixed star,’ and ‘planet,’ as well as cosmological, mathematical, and astrological ideas and practices. The period of the study begins in the 10th century CE, the time of the Laguna Copperplate Inscription, which contains the important word jyotisha ‘astral science; astrologer’ and ends in the 19th century, when the Spanish intrusion of the Pulangi Valley, mainly through the Jesuit missionaries, led to the documentation of Maguindanaon, whose astronomical loanwords were clearly from Sanskrit-Malay and Arabic-Malay.

During the American colonial period in the Philippines, Americans from different backgrounds made the upland trip to Baguio, the sole colonial hill station in the colony, primarily because of its cooler climate. Through an analysis of American travel accounts, I will show that the pace of traveling to Baguio had a particularly profound influence on American travelers’ multisensory experiences while in transit. Before the Benguet Road was completed and opened in 1905, travelers endured slow and difficult travel conditions, so they saw themselves as resolute individuals who were worthy of the sensory delights that the highland environment offered. When the Benguet Road was opened and motorized vehicle transportation to Baguio was introduced shortly afterward, the faster pace of travel made American travelers captivated by the experiences of an easier and more sensorily overwhelming climb to the hill station.

In 1586, Governor Santiago de Vera (1584-1590) wrote a request to Felipe II of Spain for the pacification of Isla Hermosa (Formosa; modern-day Taiwan), and the King responded by instructing Governor Perez Dasmariñas to pacify the island for the benefit of its people and the safety of the Spaniards in Manila. However, no military expedition commenced in the sixteenth century; and only in 1626 did the governor of Manila send a force to occupy North Hermosa as a response to the Dutch occupation of the South. Half, if not most soldiers that were sent to occupy Hermosa were local soldiers of the archipelago. These indigenous soldiers, who participated in the establishment and maintenance of Spanish Taiwan from 1626 to 1642 when they were expelled by the Dutch, will be the focus of this paper. Examining the Spanish use and mobilization of local soldiers to expand the Spanish empire in Asia will serve as the objective of this research.

Kabilang sa mga kilalang pananaliksik tungkol sa kasaysayan ng polisiyang pangkagubatan sa Pilipinas ang mga pag-aaral nina Ma. Florina Orillos, Inspeccion General de Montes: Isang Institusyonal na Kasaysayan (1999); Ma. Luisa de Leon Bolinao, Perhutanan: Mga Patakarang Kolonyal Hinggil sa Kagubatan ng Malaya at Filipinas, 1900-1940 (2005); at ni Nathan E. Roberts, U.S. Forestry in the Philippines: Environment, Nationhood, and Empire, 1900-1937 (2014). Gayunpaman, pawang sumasaklaw ang mga nasabing pag-aaral sa pambansang konteksto ng mga polisiyang pangkagubatan. Mayroong puwang kung gayon sa pagsusuri ng mga usaping pangkagubatan sa lokal na konteksto ng mga bayan at lalawigan.

Layunin ng artikulong ito na punan ang nasabing puwang sa pamamagitan ng pagsusuri ng kasaysayang pangkagubatan sa halimbawang kaso ng Zambales. Nakatuon ang paksa sa nasabing lalawigan kung saan itinayo ang isa sa mga unang istasyong pangkagubatan sa unang taon ng kolonyal na pamahalaang Amerikano. Gayundin, tuon ng pananaliksik ang muling paggugubat at edukasyong pangkagubatan na naging malawak na programa ng Kagawaran ng Paggugubat at kung papaano naging bahagi sa mga programang ito ang lalawigan ng Zambales. Gamit ang mga opisyal na ulat at mga kaugnay na batis, sasaklawin ng pag-aaral na ito ang taong 1900 kung kailan itinatag ang Kagawaran ng Paggugubat (Forestry Bureau) hanggang 1939 kung kailan huling nagpatupad ng programang pangkagubatan ang pamahalaan bago sumiklab ang Ikalawang Digmaang Pandaigdig.

Current conversations around Philippine sports treat the 1980s as a ‘golden era’ of sporting achievement due to a marked increase in medals won internationally under Project: Gintong Alay, the Marcosregime’s elite sport development (ESD) program. Yet the nostalgia has yet to generate a critical assessment of the policy factors behind the program’s success. This article examines the meso-level policy factors and macro-level contexts that contributed to the Philippine sports achievements in the 1980s. Historical analysis of newspapers, magazines, and presidential documents between 1978and 1982 reveal how Gintong Alay’s success can be attributed to three (3) broad policies: 1) efficient funding allocation that prioritized sports with higher potential medal returns, 2) provisions for athletes’ basic needs in training camps, and 3) continuous exposure of elite athletes to international competition. However, the project’s success cannot be separated from the era’s legacy  and plunder. This article also argues that the conditions for the possibility of elite sport success rested on the centralization of authority under the executive director of Gintong Alay– presidential nephew Michael Keon – and the ill-gotten wealth of Marcos cronies who were tasked to finance the decade of Philippinesport’s revival

Prior to 1746, Samar and Leyte, along with the smaller islands of Biliran and Maripipi, were governed as a single political entity. However, in 1747, Samar and Leyte were officially separated into two distinct provinces, each with its own capital and provincial governor (alcalde mayor). However, just six years later, in 1753, authorities decided to revoke the partition. Throughout the latter half of the eighteenth century, the decisions made by the authorities, both in the Philippines and Spain, regarding the division or reunification of the two islands were continuously influenced by an interplay of political, economic, and religious forces.

This paper delves into the political and social history of Leyte during the latter half of the eighteenth century. It is structured into two primary sections. The first part explores the origins of Leyte and Samar as separate provinces in the mid-1700s and sheds light on the reasons behind the fluctuating territorial status of these islands until their final division at the end of the century. The second part documents the resistance of the local population to tribute payments in Leyte during the mid-century, a problem perceived by colonial authorities as stemming from the administrative reconfiguration. The colonial government viewed this unrest as a compelling reason to revert to the previous administrative arrangement for Leyte and Samar as one political jurisdiction. Drawing upon underutilized archival sources from the Archivo General de Indias (AGI), this paper aims to enrich the understanding of Leyte´s local history by utilizing eighteenth-century primary sources. Particularly noteworthy are the previously unused archival documents written in the local language, Bisaya Samar-Leyte/Waray.

Meteorology, as a science that has colonial roots, was cleverly devised to advance and increase the capabilities of colonies to be more beneficial for the state and the public. Its character as a public science was a by-product of a profusion of necessities—commercial demands, disaster mitigation mechanism, and scholarly pursuits.

The Philippine experience in the development of meteorology is reflected in the institutional progress of the Observatorio Meteorológico de Manila (OMM) and the Philippine Weather Bureau (PWB). Originating as an atmospheric observation facility of the Jesuit professors at a burgeoning secondary school in Manila in 1865, it was absorbed and expanded by various state regimes in the Philippines for governmental programs and activities. The OMM’s and PWB’s scientific activities offered a form of public engagement and service under the pretext of various state projects instigated by the Spanish, American, and Japanese regimes, as well as the postwar-era Filipino governments. Essentially, these regimes used meteorological science to harness the benefits of modern weather forecasting to serve imperial programs in various fields—from trade, shipping, and agriculture to civilizational and war efforts. In congruence with the period of birth and formation of the Philippine nation, the institutional development of meteorological science accorded further intricacies to an already convoluted national narrative. The project of a state bureaucracy with proactive Filipino presence and participation coincided with the development of meteorology as a primordial agent of scientific development.