Today is the twelfth anniversary of the conspiracy that ousted Former President Joseph Estrada from Malacañan Palace and put Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo in the helm of power in January 2001. We commonly know it by the name of EDSA Dos. And no one seems to give a damn to throw a celebration.
I…
UST Circa 1940
UST, 1945
UST, 1970
UST, 1940
Colegio de San Juan de Letra, 1906
El Colegio de San Beda, 1940
El Colegio de San Beda, Mendiola, 1945
San Sebatian College-Recolletos, Manila, 1947
San Sebastian Church, Manila, 1900’s
Adamson University, 1946
De La Salle College, Manila, 1930’s
De La Salle College, Manila, 1925
Ateneo de Manila University, Intramuros, Manila
Ateneo Blue Eagle, Circa 1949
Far Eastern University, Manila, 1946
Far Eastern University, 1960
(Source)
1. Old regrets and excuses.
You can’t always choose what happens to you, but you can always choose how you feel about it and what you do about it. You don’t have to be defined by the things you did or didn’t do in the past. Don’t let yourself be controlled by regret. Maybe…
RIZAL BURIED WITHOUT A COFFIN
Rizal had left the following instructions in an undated letter to his family, written in Fort Santiago before he was executed on Dec. 30, 1896: “Bury me in the ground, place a stone and a cross over it. My name, the date of my brith and of my death. Nothing more. If you later wish to surround my grave with a fence, you may do so. No anniversaries. I prefer Paang Bundok (where Manila’s North Cemetery now stands).”
None of these final instructions were followed except for the construction of a fence around his grave —the Rizal monument at the Luneta park in Manila.
Aside from this non-compliance with Rizal’s wish, what happened to his remains after he was shot in Bagumbayan field on 30 December 1896? Rizal’s remains were secretly buried without a coffin. Hereunder is what happened according to Rizal’s biographer Jose Baron Fernandez*:
The body of Rizal was placed in a van and with utmost secrecy and then buried in the old and unused Paco cemetery. Sra. Teodora, the mother of Rizal, wanted to comply with the last wish of her son, that the family take charge of his remains. After serveral objections on the part of some Spanish officials, Civil Governor Manuel Luengo agreed to the petition of Sra. Teodora. However, when the funeral coach left, they had already secretly taken the body away and Rizal’s sister, Narcisa, went to all the cemeteries of Manila looking for the remains of Rizal in vain. On the way back, she saw, through the open gate of the Paco cemetery, some guardia civiles. This gave her a hint. She entered the cemetery and after much searching found a freshly dug-in grave covered with earth. She gave the gravedigger some money and placed a plaque with the initials of her brother in reverse, R.P.J., which means Rizal, Protacio Jose.
There were no funeral ceremonies for Rizal, but on the 11th day after his death, the family was informed that early the next day a Mass was to be said for the eternal repose of his soul. Rizal’s family arrived at 6:00 a.m., but after waiting for two hours, they were informed that the Mass had been celebrated already at 5:00 a.m.
A few days after the Americans took Manila in August 1898, Rizal’s sister Narcisa asked permission of the new authorities to exhume the remains of Rizal. Permission was granted. When the body was exhumed, it was discovered that Rizal’s body had not even been placed in a coffin. The shoes were identified, but whatever had been hidden inside them had already disintegrated. The remains were placed in appropriate condition and reinterred in the proper manner at the Paco cemetery . Then the sepulchre was well-tended.
In 1911, the remains of Rizal were transferred from the Paco cemetery to the base of the monument which had earlier been erected at the Luneta (Now Rizal Park). His aged mother was still alive and able to attend the ceremonies. A few weeks later, she died. It would seem that Rizal’s mother made an effort to survive her son, to go on living until the time that her son’s memory would officially be vindicated.
(*Please see “Jose Rizal, Filipino Doctor and Patriot” by Jose Baron Fernandez, pp.370-71 & pp.392-93.)/Rudy Arizala
pepediokno: “Bourne Legacy” director Tony Gilroy once said of Manila, “It’s just so colorful and ugly and gritty, raw and stinky and crowded.”
It’s the kind of statement that you’d expect would land Gilroy before a mob of angry Filipinos, but the quote, which was uttered on PBS’ “Charlie…
Keeping history alive is apparently more fun in the Philippines, with Vigan City bagging a United Nations award for world heritage site management.
The UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) has recently given the city in Ilocos Sur its first-ever “Best practice in World Heritage Site Management” award as the international body ended the 40th World Heritage Convention in Japan Thursday.
