Will withhold comment on the move to gut the college curriculum of the remaining general education (GE) courses legislators consider “useless.” I’m still figuring out the “public consultation” on the issue held online last Tuesday, which is just that—consultative, not...

Former Sorsogon 1st District Rep. Salvador H. Escudero III opposed the addition of two years to our 10-year basic education. Escudero was on the congressional committee on education, whose opposition was economic, arguing that K-12 was an added financial burden on...

One hundred twenty-eight years ago, the United States Asiatic Squadron under the command of Commodore George Dewey slipped into Manila Bay under the cover of darkness, avoiding fire from the batteries of Corregidor. He did not go undetected and was shot at from El...

Historians often complain when there is not enough primary source material for their research, writing, or lecturing. Sometimes, they also complain when there is too much material. I planned today’s column on the tragic death of Aurora Aragon Quezon on April 28, 1949....

For some years now, Instituto Cervantes de Manila has successfully organized Dia del Libro (Book Day) at the Ayala Triangle Gardens on a Saturday closest to April 23. Unlike in temperate zones, where April 23 falls in the spring, in the cool window between winter and...

When my freshman students read Antonio Pigafetta’s account of the Magellan expedition in the Philippines, many are surprised that Magellan was killed by a group of angry Mactan warriors. Some ask, “Where was Lapulapu?” Returning to the primary source teaches them that...

Paco Park, under the National Parks and Development Committee (NPDC), is a declared heritage site. It is a scenic place to chill or enjoy alfresco concerts under ancient trees, its many dark corners providing ample cover for couples making out. Effective rebranding...

Did you know that during the Spanish colonial period, rice was not just the staple food of the Philippines? Rice had little-known medicinal qualities. Warm rice, made into a poultice, was prescribed as a surefire cure for swollen testicles. For modesty, I left out...

As a collector of Filipiniana since the 1980s, one of the books I lusted after but never acquired due to its rarity and exorbitant price was the set of Fr. Manuel Blanco’s six oversized volumes known as “Flora de Filipinas.” These books are highly sought after, not so...

Walking in the mall yesterday, I wondered if young people enjoying the school holiday truly appreciate Araw ng Kagitingan (Day of Valor). We commemorate the day the combined United States and Filipino troops surrendered to the invading Japanese Imperial Forces. April...