Publications

The Marcos dictatorship has long been an object of discussion both in the halls of the Philippines’ premier universities and in public spaces. Among the topics that have been a crucial subject of inquiry are the human rights abuses during the Martial Law years. However, while there has been substantial research on the abuses of the Marcos regime, some aspects beg further inquiry. In particular, there are still relatively few studies that try to understand the massacres during the period.

Given this context, this paper looks into the Sag-od Massacre in Northern Samar. Utilizing reports from major newspapers, human rights organizations, and first-hand accounts, this study aims to reconstruct the events of the Sag-od Massacre and contextualize it within the broader framework of Marcos’s repressive regime. Through historical inquiry, it examines the identities of the victims and perpetrators, the manner of death of the victims, and the motivations behind the massacre. Ultimately, this research seeks to contribute to Martial Law historiography by foregrounding the narratives of the massacre victims.

When a regime is perceived to be in crisis, speculation about its end begins to circulate. In the Philippines under Ferdinand Marcos, the early 1980s marked a period when signals of decline intensified, prompting key actors, from foreign intelligence officials to academics and opposition leaders, to project competing futures for the country. This paper analyzes these speculative discourses not as straightforward diagnoses but as strategic interventions shaped by political position, ideological commitment, and historical memory. The scenarios envisioned—ranging from communist takeover to transitional authoritarianism to democratic restoration—reveal how crisis reconfigures the boundaries of political possibility. These discourses offer insight into how authoritarian collapse becomes legible not only through institutional change, but through the ways people in the past imagined, and attempted to shape, what came next.

This article examines the factors that explain the present status of the Philippines as one of the two remaining countries, alongside Vatican City State, where absolute divorce (marriage is dissolved; can remarry) is not legally recognized. After gaining independence, the Code Commission (1947) was formed to create a new Civil Code of the Philippines, intended to reform civil law, align it with the nation’s emerging identity, and depart from colonial legal legacies. Absolute divorce was removed from the original draft of the Civil Code during its deliberation in the First Congress in 1949. The Civil Code was enacted as Rep. Act 386 on June 18, 1949, which took effect in 1950. Unknown to many, however, the Philippines had two absolute divorce statutes: Act No. 2710 (1917) during the U.S. colonial regime and Exec. Order No. 141 (1943) under the Japanese occupation. Through examining a range of archival materials from congressional records to print media sources, this article demonstrates that Filipino lawmakers held complex and diverse opinions on absolute divorce, yet their arguments were commonly framed in terms of Catholic morality and preserving domestic happiness in Filipino families. It also argues that high divorce incidences (both during the Japanese period and in global divorce trends), election politics (1949 Philippine general elections), alongside the opposition coming from the Catholic church and Filipino women, served as decisive factors to abrogate absolute divorce. Instead, Congress institutionalized legal separation (marriage is not dissolved; cannot remarry)—a framework of marital separation that has endured from 1950 to the present.

This paper surveys the early history of the National Center for Mental Health, a psychiatric institution in Mandaluyong City, Metro Manila, which was founded in 1928 as the Insular Psychopathic Hospital during the American colonial rule. As a historical inquiry, this study collects information from a range of primary sources, including government reports, statistical data, bulletins, and correspondences. The study also focuses on three chronological themes: the circumstances surrounding the hospital’s establishment in the late 1920s; the efforts by colonial and later Commonwealth authorities to expand its capacity during the 1930s; and the state of the institution during and after the Second World War. As evidenced by enduring problems such as chronic overcrowding and inadequate facilities, this paper contends that the various initiatives aimed at developing the Insular Psychopathic Hospital into a modern psychiatric facility were largely unsuccessful. However, this failure was not specific to the hospital or the Philippines; rather, it reflected the trend of mental health facilities declining in different areas of the world, which subsequently caused mental health professionals to reconsider the asylum model as an effective approach in treating mental diseases.

Sa kasaysayan ng historiograpiyang Pilipino, malaon nang sinalungguhitan ang puwang ng kasaysayang lokal sa pagpapayaman ng mga salaysay ukol sa iba’t ibang kaganapan at karanasan sa Pilipinas. Mula 1970s, pinaksa ng mga historyador ang kasaysayang lokal bilang paraan ng pagbubuo ng kasaysayan ng mga Pilipino. Gayunpaman, hanggang sa kasalukuyan, nananatili pa rin ang mga hamon sa pananaliksik at pagsusulat ng kasaysayang lokal na una nang binanggit ng mga historyador gaya nina John Larkin (1972), Leslie Bauzon (1978), Romeo Cruz (1984), at Jaime Veneracion (1992).

Gamit ang halimbawa ng Zambales, layunin ng papel na ito na lumahok sa talastasan kaugnay ng kasaysayang lokal sa pamamagitan ng pagsusuri sa mga naisulat nang kasaysayan ng lalawigan at pagtukoy sa mga suliranin sa pagbuo ng isang kasaysayang lokal. Sa pamamagitan ng pagsusuring historiograpikal sa mga nailimbag na mga akda tungkol sa Zambales, nais patunayan ng artikulong ito ang pangangailangan ng higit na masusing pagsasakasaysayan sa lalawigan sa pamamagitan ng angkop na metodolohiyang pangkasaysayan.

Works on the Propaganda Movement have given us many examples of individuals whose lasting friendship with each other transcended geographical and ethnic boundaries. We know of the deep friendship between Jose Rizal and the Austrian scholar, Ferdinand Blumentritt. Another example can be seen in the close working partnership between Marcelo del Pilar and Mariano Ponce as the two province mates worked tirelessly over the newspaper, La Solidaridad. On the other hand, history also speaks of the friendship that dissolved between two of the movement’s leading individuals, Jose Rizal and Marcelo del Pilar.

Despite all these examples, we know little of what friendship actually meant for the propagandists themselves. How did they define friendship? What qualities constituted a friend for these young Filipino men? More importantly, how did they utilize these friendships in their struggle for reforms in the country? In this paper, I explore the concept of friendship from the points of view of the propagandists. I maintain that friendship for these young men was linked intimately with their love for the Philippines, and subsequently, it became an integral component in their work for reforms. I argue that if not for the networks of friendships that the propagandists established across transnational boundaries, the whole business of propaganda may not have even been possible in the first place.

Sa pamamagitan ng magkasalikop na historiograpiko at semiotikong lapit, sinusuri sa artikulong ito ang ‘1872’ bilang sagisag ng mga kaganapan at pangyayari, nang may diin sa dalawang ‘kaganapang di-naganap’ na mababasa sa mga pagwiwika nina José Rizal noong 1889 at Teodoro Agoncillo noong 1958. Kabilang sa pagbasa ang pagkasangkapan sa konsepto ng ‘sagisag,’ gayundin ang pagdadalumat sa ‘pangyayari’ at ‘kaganapan,’ na iisa lamang sa pagwiwikang Ingles, kung hindi man Kanluranin—event.

In 1698, Chinese mestizo chiefs in the town of Bacolor, Pampanga petitioned the Spanish colonial government for relief from tribute collection duties, citing the financial burden imposed by the composición de tierras—a land regularization policy requiring payment to legalize land tenure. Their appeal triggered an investigation that revealed the complex social and economic roles of Chinese mestizos in 17th-century Pampanga. Using archival sources, particularly the composición dossier from the Archivo General de Indias, this study traces how Chinese migrants and their mestizo descendants acquired land through pioneering settlement, intermarriage with local women, inheritance, and financial instruments like the pacto de retroventa. Despite being considered as legally different from natives, the Chinese mestizos were recognized by native elites as legitimate members of the pueblos, largely due to their maternal lineage and social integration. This recognition proved crucial during the composición proceedings, helping mestizos retain their land and status. By the end of the 17th century, Chinese mestizos had emerged as landowner and creditors—roles that laid the foundation for their enduring influence in Pampanga’s colonial society.

This article analyses how American colonial-era cabotage laws (1899–1946) entrenched monopolies in the Philippine maritime industry, exemplified by firms like Compañía Marítima. Despite partial liberalization via Republic Act No. 10668 (2015), protections for domestic operators persisted until 2024, when foreign vessels were first permitted on domestic routes. Through an examination of colonial and legislative records, this study reveals how post-colonial elites perpetuated colonial institutions under the guise of nationalist rhetoric, sustaining high costs, weak competition, and a recurring pattern of maritime disasters. Institutional mechanisms such as the 1936 Public Service Act reinforced this path dependence. Applying the framework of Acemoglu and Robinson's ‘Colonial Origins of Comparative Development’ (2001), the article argues that the Philippine cabotage regime evolved from an extractive colonial institution into a rent-seeking system protecting elite interests. In doing so, it contributes to broader debates on the persistence of colonial economic structures in South East Asian maritime policy.

The Nutribun, a ready-to-eat meal developed by a United States Agency for International Development program, became tied to Ferdinand E. Marcos when his administration claimed credit for its nationwide distribution through feeding programs. His children later used nostalgia for the Nutribun to cast the Marcos years positively, aiding their political rise. This article reframes nostalgia politics by tracing the Nutribun's changing political and emotional meanings. It shows how the bun functioned as a symbol for reimagining authoritarian rule as a time of prosperity and national pride, and how nostalgic health messages were used to deflect attention from present problems. The study links public health communication, nutrition policy, and political memory to show nostalgia's role in shaping historical narratives.