RENATO, Author at Constantino Foundation

Leonard Co: Bayani Ko

Commemorating 15 years of Elusive Justice, Celebrating the Life of the People’s Botanist

Organized by the Justice for Leonard Co Movement, Institute of Biology-UP Diliman, Philippine Native Plants Conservation Society, Inc., Green Convergence, and the Constantino Foundation

The 15th of November marks the 15th anniversary of the murder of Leonard Co, known as the People’s Botanist. The occasion will be marked with several activities and announcements at the Institute of Biology in UP Diliman, concluding with a 1:00-3:00 PM press event that will provide a legal update on the case. Just as compelling will be the release during the event of a huge number of new and rescued images documented from Leonard’s field work, downloaded to a hard drive just before his horrific death. The images, rescued from a data storage unit thought to have been lost to rust [READ]

RENATO2025-11-15T00:20:24+08:00November 7, 2025|

LAKAMBINI: When History Refuses to Stay Silent, by Cardinal Pablo Virgilo David (on a movie the Constantino Foundation encourages you to watch).

I must confess, when I sat down to watch Lakambini, I thought I was merely revisiting a historical figure I already admired — Gregoria de Jesús, the Lakambini ng Katipunan, wife of the Supremo. But I wasn’t prepared for what the film stirred in me. It felt less like watching history and more like being confronted by history — by the unfinished work of a nation still struggling to rise from betrayal and broken dreams.

Bakit ako interesado sa pelikulang ito? Dahil tubong Kalookan si Oryang, and I am presently the bishop of Kalookan. Ang Kalookan, para sa akin ay “bayan ng mga bayani” — and now, painfully, also bayan ng mga dukha, at simbahan din ng mga dukha. Our diocese became ground zero during the darkest days of the drug war. And in those years, I met women who reminded me of Oryang — widows like Mary Ann and Grace, [READ]

RENATO2025-11-15T00:29:52+08:00November 3, 2025|

Buga-Buga and the Burauen History Club By Bernard Karganilla

May the caves and slopes of Buga-Buga, once places of conflict, now echo prayers of harmony.’

AT the commemorative luncheon for the Leyte Gulf landings anniversary, Gregoria Equipaje Badeo shared her personal experience and her historical notes during the Japanese Occupation: “In Barrio Santa Ana, 13 men were burned to death…Luckily, one man (half-burned) was able to escape the torture and narrate the news to the neighborhood. But this man died, also.”

“The Guerrillas, very much in rage at the cruelties of the Japanese, paved their way to the Japanese garrison at Burauen North Central School. This encounter started in the last week of October 1942 and lasted for almost a week. Soldiers and guerrillas surrounded the garrison and blockaded the Japanese forces.” Mrs. Badeo’s testimony at the Leyte Convention Complex, Barangay Pawing, Palo is part of the permanent record of the Burauen History Club and the commemorative luncheon was sponsored by [READ]

RENATO2025-11-15T00:29:52+08:00October 24, 2025|

“The true Filipino is a decolonized Filipino.” — Renato Constantino

???????????????? | Echoing the powerful statement, Day 2 of PADAYON PAGBUKWAT HAN ATON MGA KAAGI: An International Lecture Series on World War II Leyte explored stories of heroism, resistance, and the enduring impact of World War II on the Filipino identity.

Broadcast journalist Anna Karmina B. Constantino-Torres, granddaughter of nationalist historian Renato Constantino, was among the keynote speakers. Representing the Constantino Foundation Inc., she emphasized the importance of historical truth, research, and the unending pursuit of facts, for the love of the Filipino people and the country. She also led the launch of the 50th Anniversary Edition of The Philippines: A Past Revisited by Renato Constantino and Letizia Roxas-Constantino, the famous Philippine History textbook written from a Filipino point of view.

Meanwhile, UP Manila Professor and writer Bernard Leo M. Karganilla introduced Guerilla Warfare 101: The Hunters-ROTC Guerillas to an audience composed mostly of students and educators. Prof. Marcelino M. Macapinlac Jr. [READ]

RENATO2025-11-15T00:29:52+08:00October 22, 2025|

Revisiting the Past: Karmina Constantino-Torres Launches 50th Anniversary Edition in Tacloban

Journalist and Constantino Foundation Trustee Karmina Constantino-Torres spoke at the history forum in Tacloban last October 18, where she delivered a paper and launched the 50th anniversary edition of The Philippines: A Past Revisited.

The event was organized by the Leyte-Samar Heritage Society, Inc., in partnership with the Republic of South Africa Embassy in the Philippines, Hunters-ROTC Historical Society, UP Tacloban, History NGO Forum for Peace in East Asia, the Province of Leyte, DOT–Eastern Visayas, the Office of Rep. Anna Veloso Tuazon, and the Constantino Foundation.

Held in commemoration of the 81st anniversary of the Leyte Landing, the forum featured international and Filipino speakers presenting lectures on World War II history and resistance narratives

[READ]

RENATO2025-11-15T00:29:52+08:00October 22, 2025|

HEROES IMMORTALIZED – Manila Times

People visit a comic art exhibit featuring Filipinas who transform into powerful modern-day superheroes. Dubbed ‘Alas ng Bayan 2.0,’ the stories reinterpret the legacy of Filipina resistance—from the 19th century to the present. The free admission exhibit opened at the Tandang Sora Women’s Museum in Quezon City on Oct. 17 and would run until Nov. 23, 2025. PHOTOS BY JOHN ORVEN VERDOTE

Read Original Story Here

RENATO2025-11-15T00:29:53+08:00October 18, 2025|

Alas ng Bayan 2.0 Opening

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???? Tandang Sora Women’s Museum | October 15, 2025

???? Photos by Bernard Testa

A powerful launch honoring the unbroken line of Filipina heroism—from Gregoria de Jesus, Apolonia Catra, Remedios Gomez-Paraiso, Lorena Barros, to Gloria Capitan. Curated by Rio Constantino and illustrated by Billy Pangilinan, the exhibit opened with reflections from the artist, curator, and families of the heroines.

Presented by the Constantino Foundation, in partnership with 350 Pilipinas and the Quezon City Tourism Department.

Open to the public Oct 16–Nov 23, 2025 | Tues–Sun | 9AM–4PM [READ]

RENATO2025-10-18T14:58:20+08:00October 18, 2025|

“We almost did not go to the Frankfurt Book Fair, but we decided we must because our voices must be heard even if many choose not to listen..”

“We almost did not go to the Frankfurt Book Fair, but we decided we must because our voices must be heard even if many choose not to listen. Still we were a bit afraid; if we introduced ourselves as Ukrainian we knew Germans would welcome us, but once they find out my sister and I are also Palestinian doors will close. But we are so happy we went; we were lost and just stumbled into the Philippine Pavilion, and we thank you, all of you. Here we are seen! Here we are embraced! The Philippines is our safe space! I saw Renato yesterday wearing a kuffiyeh in the open and I knew this pavilion is a safe place for my sister and me. Here our voices are heard and we are seen!”

That was Zoya, in the [READ]

RENATO2025-11-15T00:29:53+08:00October 18, 2025|

“Hindi krimen ang maging makabayan.” – Judy Taguiwalo

Mensahe sa Pasinaya sa Exhibit ng Alas ng Bayan 2. O

Tandang Sora Women’s Museum

Oktubre 15, 2025

Makasaysayan ang buwan ng Oktubre sa maraming dahilan. Para sa akin dalawa ang may katuturan sa hapong ito:

Sa Oktubre 28 ay 42 taong anibersaryo ng Filipino Women’s Day of Protest noong 1983 para manawagang wakasan na ang diktadurang Marcos, sarhan ang Bataan Nuclear Power Plant at palayain ang mga bilanggong pulitikal.

Oktubre 15, ngayong araw, ay Pandaigdigang Araw ng Kababaihan sa Kanayunan o International Rural Women’s Day. Binibigyang halaga nito ang papel ng kababaihang magbubukid sa produksyon sa agrikultura laluna ang pagkain habang dinadanas nito mabigat na pasanin ng gawaing bahay at pag-aruga sa pamilya. Mahalagang bahagi sila sa pakikibaka ng masang magbubukid para sa tunay na repormang agraryo.

Narito tayo ngayon sa tanging museo ng kababaihan sa buong Pilipinas para bigyang pugay ang limang kababaihang Pilipina na naging bahagi sa paglikha sa kasaysayan: Gregoria de Jesus, [READ]

RENATO2025-11-15T00:29:53+08:00October 17, 2025|

Opening Remarks and Reflections by Atoy M. Navarro | Area Studies Week 2025, UP Manila

Pambungad na Pananalita

Atoy M. Navarro | UP Manila | 3 Oktubre 2025

Sa ating mga panauhin mula sa Constantino Foundation at Knights of Rizal at sa kaguruan at mga estudyante ng Area Studies Program (ASP), Master of Management (MM) Program, at Department of Social Sciences (DSS), isang malaya at mapagpalayang hapon sa ating lahat!

Matapos ang ilang postponement dahil sa mga bagyo, sa wakas, dumating na tayo sa closing event ng ating Area Studies Week 2025 na may temang “BA Social Sciences @ 55: Kritikal at Makatuturang Agham Panlipunan para sa Bayan.” Nagkaroon tayo ng Area Studies Exhibit, Area Studies Practicum Conference, Organization of Area Studies Majors (OrgASM) Application Program: Eryamazing Race, OrgASM Career Talk: Area Studyakan, Book Talk ng mga librong “Beauty Spectacle” at “Visual Culture in the Philippines,” Commemorative Lectures, Brown Bag [READ]

RENATO2025-11-15T00:29:53+08:00October 17, 2025|

RENATO

About RENATO

Commemorating 15 years of Elusive Justice, Celebrating the Life of the People’s Botanist