Stories

Vaya con Dios, Resil: A Nation’s Gratitude

We mourn with a grateful and forgetful nation the passing of a giant. Resil Mojares helped tell the story of who we are and who we ought to be. That we are not so easily blown away because we are grounded, with evident roots, and that we remain grounded as well, thrashing angrily in place and stuck in ahistorical sterile amber, factual like flightless birds unable to take to the air.

For everything he has left behind, we have only gratitude for the sense of gravity shared by Resil – the rediscovery of the continuing gift of the past, which is a constant reminder of how elusive the act of remembering remains for our people.

Vaya con Dios, Resil. Thank you.

Photo from Leigh Mojares

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RENATO2026-09-08T02:37:20+08:00September 5, 2026|

Lakbay Talakay: The Montalban Leaders Youth Forum

The Knights of Rizal – Blumentritt Chapter, in cooperation with and through the gracious support of the municipal government of Bayan ng Montalban, the Montalban LYDO – Local Youth Development Office, the Montalban Municipal Education Development Office (MEDO), the Montalban Municipal Public Information Office (MPIO) and the [READ]

RENATO2026-09-04T15:37:13+08:00September 1, 2026|

Paalam, Marra PL. Lanot

Taos-puso kaming nakikiramay sa pamilya ng makatang Marra PL. Lanot. “Hanggang sa kahit mayanig sa hiyaw / Ang ugat ng mga bulaklak, / Hinding-hindi kakalas / Ang hamog sa mga talulot” – mga salitang alay mula sa kanyang tula para sa pinaslang na botanistang Leonard Co. Paalam, Marra, paalam. Hinding-hindi mabibilang ang nagluluksa.

RENATO2026-08-20T03:46:39+08:00August 17, 2026|

Maligayang Kaarawan, Batang Katipunan at Ka Bobby!

Maligayang ligaya, Batang Katipunan at Ka Bobby! Ika-140 araw ng kapanganakan ng manunulat na si Antonio Kabigting Abad ngayong Agosto 13, at ika-92 kaarawan din ni Senador Wigberto Tañada. Muhon ng makabayang kilusan si Ka Bobby, sa lansangan at sa pamahalaan, at si Abad ay intelektwal na nagtapos sa Philippine School of Commerce – dating pangalan ng PUP, ang #SintangPaaralan – na nagsulat ng mga makasaysayang sanaysay, pati na ang talambuhay ng bayaning si Macario Sakay. Nagpapasalamat ang malilimuting bayan sa lahat ng inyong inambag at patuloy na inaalay para sa sambayanan.

RENATO2026-08-20T03:42:16+08:00August 13, 2026|

Bakit wala pa ang Pilipinas sa world cup? Isang Tanong sa Kolonyal na Isipan

(Alay sa mapanuring diwa ng mga makabayang historyador na sina Renato at Letizia Constantino. Ang eksibit tungkol sa kanilang buhay at kaisipan sa Yuchengco Museum ay bukas hanggang Hulyo 31.)

May mga pangarap na isinilang upang lumipad, Ngunit itinurong gumapang sa sariling bakuran. Kaya’t muli nating itanong— Bakit wala pa ang Pilipinas sa World Cup?

Bakit hanggang ngayon, wari’y mailap ang pangarap? Bakit sa basketbol lamang halos umiikot ang gunita, Samantalang napakalawak ng mundo at pag-asa, At napakaraming landas tungo sa tagumpay?

Hindi kasalanan ng basketbol—marangal ang laro. Ngunit bakit iisa lamang ang ating pinupunlang turo? Kapag iisang binhi lamang ang ating dinidiligan, Paano uusbong ang iba pang halamang kailangan?

Marahil may anino pa ng lumang kaisipan; Humanga bago magsuri, sumunod bago lumaban. Gumaya bago lumikha—iyan ang lumang aral; Kaya madalas ang pangarap ay nauuwi na lamang sa dasal.

Para tayong nagtatanim ng punla sa lilim na walang sinag, Saka nagtatakang bakit hindi sumisibol ang [READ]

RENATO2026-07-20T15:05:34+08:00July 20, 2026|Tags: PastsRevisitedExhibit|

Renacimiento Manila (RM) at the Linangan Gallery of the Constantino Foundation

Yesterday, Renacimiento Manila (RM) held their general assembly at the Linangan Gallery of the Constantino Foundation. RM is a heritage advocacy group comprised of young Filipinos determined to protect our nation’s legacy, propagate awareness of the colorful past in our natural and built urban environment, and promote historical thinking. They conduct some of the most compelling, interactive, and informative tours in Manila today and they run campaigns as well to care for historic structures, native trees and plants, and the memory of our people’s patrimony.

They are truly radical, if [READ]

RENATO2026-06-10T14:10:54+08:00June 8, 2026|

Philippine Native Trees 404: Rooted & Rising has been featured in the Philippine STAR Lifestyle section dated June 1, 2026.

Distinguished poet and SEAWrite awardee Alfred A. Yuson (Krip) writes about the book in his column “Marvelous Life Forms” — and we couldn’t be more grateful for his beautiful words about this labor of love.

Nearly 1,000 pages. 445 tree features. Eight years in the making. This book is a tribute to the Philippines’ forests and the botanists, tree lovers, and conservationists who refuse to let them be forgotten.

“Each new discovery is a reminder that the forest still holds many secrets. We still have trees to discover, re-discover, name, conserve, and cherish.”

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RENATO2026-06-02T19:35:37+08:00June 2, 2026|

Rommel Banlaoi on Constantino’s Urgent Diagnosis of the Filipino Condition

Written over six decades ago, Renato Constantino’s The Miseducation of the Filipino remains one of the most urgent diagnoses of the Philippine condition. This piece by Prof. Rommel Banlaoi revisits its core arguments — colonial mentality, elite capture, and the failure of education as a tool of genuine national formation — and asks: what has actually changed?

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RENATO2026-06-02T19:32:14+08:00June 2, 2026|

Constantino Foundation Donates Philippine Native Trees 404 to the University of Antique

The Constantino Foundation thanks Prof. John Iremil Teodoro, Director of the Bienvenido N. Santos Creative Writing Center (BNSCWC), for facilitating the Foundation’s donation of Philippine Native Trees 404: Rooted and Rising to the University of Antique.

An award-winning writer, poet, and cultural worker, Prof. Teodoro has long been a valued partner of the Foundation in advancing environmental writing and literary advocacy through various academic and cultural initiatives.

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RENATO2026-06-02T19:29:42+08:00June 2, 2026|

What would Bob Dylan write?

“Surely not hymns praising nations that treat the Philippines as either a military outpost, geopolitical chessboard, or obedient pawn.” Do read this lovely essay by Wilson Flores.

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RENATO2026-05-25T19:16:39+08:00May 25, 2026|