Gemma Cruz Araneta | LANDSCAPE

Last 23 January, we should have celebrated the 123rd anniversary of the First Philippine Republic with fireworks, parades, platitudes and flowered wreaths. You may have noticed that we have never done that, not even in Manila, the seat of government. Bulakeños call their province the nation’s cradle; they do commemorate the Malolos Congress and Constitution … Read more

Mariano Ponce always kept a low profile probably because he was the tallest among the Filipino expats in Europe. In that iconic Gomburza-like “triumvirate “ studio photo with Jose Rizal and Marcelo del Pilar, Mariano Ponce had to sit down sideways on a stool with legs outstretched in front of his two shorter companions. In … Read more

Jesus Christ was not black, so why is the Nazarene black?– a lady friend asked me during a recent zoom session. Neither was he white, quipped another; He was a Jew and they are olive-skinned. Before things got racial, I said there are legends that explain why the Nazarene is black. The wooden statue crossed … Read more

With Secretary Fortunato de la Peña at the helm, the Department of Science and Technology (DOST) commemorated the 125th anniversary of Jose Rizal’s execution in a profound and meaningful manner. It all began in 2019, during the Rizal Day breakfast at the National Historical Commission of the Philippines (NHCP) where the DOST Secretary and members … Read more

The “Protocol of Agreement “signed by Spain and the USA in Washington on 12 August 1898 brought about  a lull. But, the  USA  kept sending troops to the Philippines. The USS Arizona arrived with 4 companies of the 18th Infantry, detachments of the Ist  Nebraska, 1st  Colorado  and   10th Pennsylvania Volunteers Infantries.  A day  after, … Read more

Treaties are contracts between two or more States, but before these are signed elaborate negotiations take place between or among its signatories.  Demands and counter demands are embodied in Protocols. According to lawyer-historian Saul Hofileña, Jr: “Protocols serve as reliable evidence of the hidden motives and interests bitterly disputed by the signatories…” In his best-selling … Read more

You may have noticed that our young people are being corrupted in so many despicable ways. They are deliberately being taught to lie which will surely lead them astray. That is why the anguished words of Padre Florentino often comes to mind. Here they are, from the last chapter of El Filibusterismo: “Where are the … Read more

Most of my friends cannot believe that I am living happily ever after with three puspins, pusang pinoy, all rescued from different parts of the city by two other cat lovers of the family.  Five years ago, my niece, Carmen, rescued four grubby kittens one of which was a three-colored calico.  She asked me to … Read more

That was what National Artist Rio Almario declared, once upon a Bonifacio commemoration organized by the Manila City Hall when Alfredo S. Lim was Mayor. His seemingly heretical pronouncement shocked us all; jaws dropped; eyebrows arched; teachers and barangay officials gasped audibly. But that morning Mr. Almario was irrepressible: Bonifacio never held a gulok, bolo … Read more

As two political dynasties, each with a pervasive air of privilege, act out a tragic-comic zarzuela, the Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry (PCCI) averts its eye and points a moral compass towards pivotal issues concerning the nation’s future.   Last week, the PCCI invited the presidentiables to ask each one what he/she intends to do … Read more