Hi Everyone!

Today, we will pick up our story of a great modern day hero of the Philippines - Ninoy Aquino. Mama will continue with the story.

Our story continues with Cory Aquino running for president of the Philippines. During the voting, American observers witnessed many irregularities. Afterward, the two monitoring bodies, one sponsored by a U.S.-based group and the other an official government commission, reported contradictory election results. Both candidates claimed victory, but the national assembly recognized Marcos as the winner. The Catholic Church in Manila issued a statement claiming the election had been “a fraud unparalleled in history.” Marcos’s claim of victory rang hollow.

On February 22 two of Marcos’s key military supporters publicly turned against him. Secretary of Defense Juan Ponce Enrile and Deputy Chief of Staff Fidel Ramos (later to be President of the Philippines) staged a military mutiny, seizing two vital military installations in suburban Manila. This mutiny presented Marcos with an immediate challenge that his cousin General Fabian Ver, the armed forces chief of staff, wanted to meet with decisive force. Cardinal Sin, using the catholic radio station Radio Veritas, summoned the Philippine people into the streets to block General Ver’s tanks. Thousands of civilians flocked into the streets and formed a human barricade on Epifanio de los Santos Avenue (EDSA), the main boulevard between the two military bases. Marcos’s troops lacked either the brutality or the political will to attack unarmed civilians, and they were effectively immobilized by the strong show of what Filipinos called “people power.”

Despite these events, Marcos insisted on being inaugurated president in a private but purely symbolic ceremony on February 25. The next day the Marcoses and their family and close associates fled the Philippines for Hawaii on two aircraft supplied by the U.S. Air Force. Aquino became president.

Benigno S. Aquino never lived to lead the Philippine nation but has been honored in the renaming of Manila International Airport to Ninoy Aquino International and his image appears on a 500-peso note with his most famous quote “The Filipino is worth dying for”. A gold coin was issued to commemorate the 20th anniversary of his death.

Jovito “Jovy” Reyes Salonga, a Filipino senator, statesman, lawyer, and a leading oppositionist to the Marcos regime later to become President of the Senate of the Philippines said it best in a speech, when he said of Ninoy Aquino: “…The Greatest President , We never had…” Ninoy Aquino will live in the hearts of Filipinos for generations to come as the father of Philippine democracy.

In closing I would like to leave you with a poem that Ninoy Aquino wrote to his wife, Cory, while he was imprisioned by the dictator Ferdinand Marcos:

I have fallen in love
with the same woman three times;
In a day spanning 19 years
of tearful joys and joyful tears.

I loved her first when she was young,
enchanting and vibrant, eternally new.
She was brilliant, fragrant,
and cool as the morning dew.

I fell in love with her the second time;
when first she bore her child and mine
always by my side, the source of my strength,
helping to turn the tide.

But there were candles to burn
 the world was my concern;
   while our home was her domain.
    and the people were mine
    while the children were hers to maintain;

   So it was in those eighteen years and a day.
’till I was detained; forced in prison to stay.

Suddenly she’s our sole support;
source of comfort,
our wellspring of Hope.
on her shoulders felt the burden of Life.

I fell in love again,
with the same woman the third time.
Looming from the battle,
her courage will never fade

Amidst the hardships she has remained,
undaunted and unafraid.
she is calm and composed,
she is God’s lovely maid.

Filipino composer and singer Jose Mari Chan later set the piece into music and included it in his album, Constant Change.

Thank you, Mama, for all your help telling the story of a wonderful true modern day hero of the Philippines and the Philippine people. It is so nice to have people, in history, to “look up” to as role models.

Thank you for your visit. Have a great and safe weekend!  

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Technorati Tags: Ninoy Aquino, Philippine History, Philippine modern day hero, Philippines

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 Hi Everyone!

I hope that everyone had a great weekend.

Today, we are going to start a new series highlighting filipinos that have made our country very proud. These people will come from all walks of life and all professions. They will be people from the past, present and, hopefully, future greats. I will highlight these people from time to time in my daily postings.

First, for my friends who are not Filipino, I would like to explain the meaning of the word Pinoy. Pinoy is a term used by Filipinos for their compatriots in the Philippines and around the world. Filipinos usually refer to themselves informally as Pinoy or some times feminine: Pinay. The word was coined by expatriate Filipino Americans during the 1920s and was later adopted by Filipinos in the Philippines. It is sometimes used to display Filipino pride. Pinoy is a term of endearment.

Our first honoree is a person who has entertained people around the world for more than 20 years: Lea Salonga.

 Dada has watched Ms Salonga’s career from the time he, personally, saw her 5th performance as Kim in  Miss Saigon in London in 1989. She was 18 years old at the time. Over the years, Dada has seen her perform 8 different times on the stage in London and New York. Dada said that he thinks that she has the purest voice he has ever heard.

Lea Salonga was born Maria Lea Carmen Imutan Salonga to Feliciano Genuino Salonga and Ligaya Alcantara Imutan. She spent the first six years of her childhood in Angeles City, Pampanga, before moving to Manila. Ms Salonga entered show business as a child star. At the age of seven, she made her professional debut in the Philippines by performing in the musical The King and I by Repertory Philippines. She became the lead star of ‘Annie’ and joined other productions, such as: Cat On A Hot Tin Roof, Fiddler on the Roof, The Rose Tattoo, The Sound Of Music, The Goodbye Girl, Paper Moon and The Fantasticks. At age 10, she began her recording career, eventually receiving a gold record for her first album, Small Voice, and at age 13, she won three Aliw Awards for Best Child Entertainer during the years 1981, 1982, and 1893.

From London to Broadway. Ms Salonga played the role of Kim in Miss Saigon in performances in London, where she won the Laurence Olivier Award. From London, she went to Broadway in New York City, where she garnered the Tony, Drama Desk, and Outer Critics Circle Awards. She also won the Theatre World Award.

Ms Salonga’s theater performances include: Miss Saigon, Les Miserables, Grease!, Into the Woods, My Fair Lady, The Fantasticks, Annie, Paper Moon,; The Goodbye Girl, The Rose Tattoo, Fiddler on the Roof, Cat On a Hot Tin Roof, and The King and I. The performances were held in Manila, London, Singapore, and New York City. Television Movie in the United States: Redwood Curtains telecast on national television (ABC) on April 27, 1995.Filipino Films: Sana’y Maulit Muli, (”May It Be Repeated), Bakit Labis Kitang Mahal (Why I Love You So Much), and others. Her major recordings include:The Nutcracker, Les Miserables 10th Anniversary Concert, People, Lea Salonga, The Little Tramp, The King and I, One Earth, Aladdin, Miss Saigon, Lea Salonga Christmas Album, Lea, and Small Voice.

Ms Salonga’s Disney film credits include the singing voice of Princess Jasmine for Aladdin (1992), and Fa Mulan for Mulan (1998) (one of my personal all time favorite movies!), as well as the voice of Mrs. Kusakabe (Satsuki and Mei’s mother) in Disney’s 2005 English dub of Hayao Miyazaki’s My Neighbor Totoro. 

Ms Salonga performed three times for U.S. Presidents (she was invited twice to the White House and the other one was on President Bush’s state visit to the Philippines) and once for Her Majesty, Queen Elizabeth II. In the field of theater, no other Filipino has achieved greater international recognition than Salonga. She is the only one to ever win a Tony.

Referring to her greatest achievement, Ms Salonga says, “That through whatever I’ve done, the image of the Filipino was made a little more positive, and that somehow, the Filipino was given the chance to smile and be proud. Hopefully, the world’s awareness of the Filipino artist remains.”

I hope that you have enjoyed this visit with a Pinoy legend.

Thanks for your visit. See you tomorrow!

Technorati Tags: filipino values, lea salonga, Philippines, pinoy pride

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Hi Everyone!

Today is Filipino-American Friendship Day.

It is somewhat of an odd “holiday.” Filipino-American Friendship Day, July 4, is a day in the Philippines designated by then President Diosdado Macapagal to commemorate the liberation of the country by joint Filipino and American forces from the Japanese occupation at the end of World War II.

The Philippines was a U.S. territory from 1898 to 1942, when it was then occupied by Japanese forces, and again for a brief period after the war. The country gained complete independence on July 4, 1946.

Initially, the nation’s Independence Day holiday (Araw ng Kalayaan) was held on July 4. Former President Diosdado Macapagal moved it to June 12, the date on which the Philippines declared independence from Spain in 1898. Filipino-American Friendship Day was created in its place, and coincides with the United States’ July 4 Independence Day. Vivencio R. Jose, professor of comparative literature at the University of the Philippines, offered this perspective on Philippine independence: “We declared independence in 1898, established a republic in 1899, but in 1991, a certain part of the cycle was completed.” Jose insists that July 4, 1946, was also an important part of this cycle, but that the 1991Philippine Senate vote to remove the final control of the United States over its military bases in the Philippines demonstrated a sense of “self-determination” lacking in the U.S. grant of independence and has thus come to symbolize “the fulfillment of our national aspiration.”

In the Philippines, this day is celebrated in “mixed” ways. Many radical political groups protest against the United States in front of the US Embassy in Manila. By in large, the Filipino people are happy with their relationship with America and tend to celebrate the day with local American expat groups and remember the dead soldiers that fought in the Second World War side-by-side with Filipino soldiers. In the United States, there are parades in many cities that are heavily populated with Filipinos and Filipino-Americans. It is a day that all Filipinos remember America in their own way.

Have a happy Filipino-American Friendship Day and  for all our friends in the United States of America, have a very happy and safe Independence Day!

Technorati Tags: Filipino-American Friendship Day, Philippine Independence, Philippines

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Hi everyone!

Monday, in my daily posting, I said I would have Mama tell me the history of Philippine independence the next day. I wasn’t able to do that because of my trip to the dentist. Also, Tuesday was the first day of school for my big brother and sisters. Mama had to visit with their teachers and so we weren’t able to work on the story.

Mama said we will start the story tomorrow. So I will see you then!

Technorati Tags: History, independence, Philippines

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Hi Everyone!

This morning, Mama told me today is Independence Day. I asked Mama what is Independence Day? She said it is exactly 110 years ago that the Filipino people declared its independence from Spain. Actually, Independence Day is June 12th but we, now, celebrate it on the Monday before so it is a three day holiday. I asked Mama to tell me the story about how the Philippines grew into an independent country. She said it is an interesting story and she promised that she will tell me so that I can post the story to you. Tomorrow, we will spent the week exploring the history of the how the Philippines grew into an independent country.

Mama said that we should spend more time in our daily postings describing the Philippines and its people for all the children who visit especially the children from other countries so that they may better understand our beautiful country and its people. We will begin the trip though history starting tomorrow.

Last, I want to say how sorry I am for not posting the last few days. As you know, we had to change our Internet service and there were problems with the initial setup. Dada has all the problems corrected and it seems to be working well. This past weekend, I did not want to post as I wanted to spend the whole weekend with my big brother and sisters playing as they will be going back to school tomorrow. It makes me kinda sad that they will not be with me during the day anymore but, on the good side, I will have the Play Station to myself! Next year, I will be able to start school. I have much to learn before that time.

It would really make me happy to hear comments from all my visitors. I know that I have many visitors as Dada has a software program which tells him how many visitors come each day and from what country. Please do not be shy about posting even if it is to just say “hello.” I look forward to growing up making many friends around the world. Mama says that when we each make friends with other people from other countries, we will end the wars and conflicts and everyone will have a chance to live in peace and happiness.

Ok, enough for now. See you tomorrow!

Technorati Tags: culture, History, Independence Day, Philippines

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