Stories

We Can Choose Honor

A sense of honor is one of the simplest lessons our nation’s mightiest heroes can impart. But it’s a teaching we can absorb only by remembering better, by wielding our usable past.

This month marks the 114th year since Jose Abad Santos, the nation’s fifth Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, passed the Bar Exams in October 1911. The occasion is an auspicious reminder, for we cannot avoid the subject of law given fresh revelations of plunder perpetrated, yet again, by the country’s so-called lawmakers, in connivance with criminals in the bureaucracy and private contractors.

Part of a storied family in Pampanga, at 10 years-old Jose Abad Santos served as a courier to the fledgling forces of the Philippine Republic during the Philippine-American War. His father, Don Vicente, was tortured and killed by Spanish authorities, who dragged his lifeless body from town to [READ]

RENATO2025-10-02T12:19:37+08:00October 1, 2025|

Mark Your Calendars: A Past Revisited Book Launch & History Forum – October 3!

As part of the preparations for the arrival of Severe Tropical Storm Opong—with classes and government work in several areas of Luzon already suspended for Friday and Saturday, September 26–27—the Book Launch of The Philippines: A Past Revisited (50th Anniversary Special Edition) and the History Forum scheduled for tomorrow, September 26, 2025, at UP Manila will be postponed.

🗓️ New Date: October 3, 2025 (Friday)

⏰ Time: 3:00 PM – 5:00 PM

📍 Venue: Little Theater, Rizal Hall, College of Arts and Sciences (CAS), UP Manila

👉 We encourage everyone to register early.

👉 Those who have already registered are requested to register again to confirm attendance.

We apologize for the inconvenience and thank you for your understanding. Please stay safe, and we hope to see you on October 3rd!

RENATO2025-09-30T21:00:03+08:00September 25, 2025|

“The Philippines: A Past Revisited” at Fifty: From Rolling Stone Philippines to the Frankfurt Book Fair 2025

The Philippines: A Past Revisited by Renato Constantino and Letizia Roxas Constantino is featured in the September 2025 print edition of The Rolling Stone Philippines (Arts & Culture Issue), coinciding with the book’s 50th anniversary.

First published in 1975, the volume has been described as “a landmark text in Philippine historiography”, one that “moves beyond colonial narratives” and “foregrounds the struggles of ordinary Filipinos.” Through its framing of history as “a usable past,” it continues to serve as a critical resource for understanding the present through the lens of the past.

This feature precedes the book’s presentation at the Frankfurt Book Fair 2025, where the Philippines is Guest of Honor. The international stage offers an important platform for revisiting the Constantinos’ contribution to historical scholarship and for situating Philippine history within broader global conversations on memory, nationhood, and cultural identity.

Fifty years after its publication, A Past Revisited endures as a key reference [READ]

RENATO2025-11-15T00:30:49+08:00September 25, 2025|

You’re invited!

Join us for the launch of the 50th anniversary edition of The Philippines: A Past Revisited—a landmark work by Renato and Letizia Roxas Constantino, whose partnership shaped generations of critical historical thought.

🗓️ September 26, 2025

⏰ 3PM–5PM

📍 Little Theater, UP Manila (Rizal Hall, College of Arts and Sciences, Padre Faura St., Ermita, Manila)

UP students, faculty, and alumni may present their UP ID at the venue. All other guests are requested to register via this link:

🔗https://forms.gle/8zbDqtbp338ULqyf8

Please see the attached materials for full event details and registration instructions.

RENATO2025-09-22T23:51:14+08:00September 22, 2025|

TIMELESS INTELLECT: Constantino foundation reissues late historian’s book on 50th year

by Eneri Eidref Trinidad and Karyl Alexandra Ipac

Honoring the legacy of the late Filipino historian Renato Constantino and his infl uence in the study of Philippine history, the Constantino Foundation kicked off a history forum and launch of the 50th anniversary special hardbound edition of The Philippines: A Past Revisited held in Rosh Hotel Manila on August 26.

The relaunch of A Past Revisited drew a crowd of invited guests, some of whom are undergraduate students of the University of the Philippines-Manila (UPM), in the Colleges of Pharmacy and Public Health.

Originally published in 1975 during the Martial Law regime, the book tackles Philippine history in a nationalist stance, focusing on the Filipino struggle during the Spanish and American colonial rule.

Bernard Karganilla, a history professor at UPM and a close colleague of Constantino, formally opened the event with a warm welcome and delivered [READ]

RENATO2025-11-15T00:30:49+08:00September 18, 2025|

Renato Constantino

The historian Renato Constantino passed away 26 years ago on 15 September, the very birthday of his son, RC, who designed the iconic cover of The Philippines: A Past Revisited. The book continues to be a mirror, a hammer, and a torch, as an academic recently noted. Indeed, the concept championed by Constantino – a usable past – is most useful today as we witness open thievery on display alongside the dominance of greedy dynasties treating the country’s treasury as their private piggy bank.

Where did all this begin? In many places, for sure, but there’s also one occasion that should always pop out. On 13 September 1907 the American forces occupying the Philippines hanged the last great resistance leader, the Filipino revolutionary Macario Sakay. He was a Katipunan original who fought Spanish colonialists alongside Andres Bonifacio. [READ]

RENATO2025-09-22T23:37:40+08:00September 15, 2025|

An abundant harvest of books that includes a special edition of Renato Constantino’s ‘A Past Revisited’

September 13, 2025 | Cover Story PH | Liana Garcellano

The 50th-anniversary special edition of “A Past Revisited”

The current harvest of books is particularly abundant, and includes a special hardbound edition of Renato Constantino’s “A Past Revisited” as well as Atom Araullo’s “A View from the Ground,” Benjamin Pimentel’s “UG: The Life and Struggle of Edgar Jopson,” and Roderick Toledo’s “The Ruminant Ant & Other Essays.”

“A Past Revisited” was first published in 1975—a feat at the time for two reasons. First, it came three years into the martial law era and, second, in those early days when the effects of climate change had yet to be fully felt worldwide, Renato Constantino was already advocating for a rapid transition to renewable energy. He wrote: “The acceleration of efforts towards developing [READ]

RENATO2025-11-15T00:30:50+08:00September 14, 2025|

MIBF 2025 — Day 3!

The Constantino Foundation continues at the Manila International Book Fair with our history titles, including the 50th anniversary edition of The Philippines: A Past Revisited with a new introduction.

Find us at Booth 2-156, in partnership with Boox That Leave a Mark, on the second floor of SMX Convention Center (very near the first entrance).

After the strong turnout from Days 1 and 2, we’ve restocked for Day 3 to make sure more readers and history enthusiasts can bring home our books.

[READ]

RENATO2025-09-13T10:03:09+08:00September 12, 2025|

History in the Spotlight: Constantino Foundation at MIBF 2025

Exciting news! Constantino Foundation history books, including the new 50th anniversary edition of The Philippines: A Past Revisited, with a new intro and layout, are featured at the Manila International Book Fair 2025. Visit us at Booth 2-156, in partnership with Boox that Leave a Mark, at the second floor of SMX Convention Center. We’re very near the first entrance.

So many visited on Day 1 and purchased copies of the books so we have to restock by tomorrow; It was also [READ]

RENATO2025-09-13T09:55:09+08:00September 11, 2025|

Student Reflections on A Past Revisited following the 50th Anniversary Launch

These visual essays and testimonials capture how A Past Revisited continues to resonate with a new generation of learners. From critical insights on historical distortion to personal reflections on civic responsibility, each piece affirms the enduring relevance of Renato Constantino and Letizia Roxas Constantino’s work in shaping historical consciousness and public engagement.

We commend the contributors for their thoughtful participation and for advancing the discourse on historical truth and public memory.

RENATO2025-09-09T18:28:24+08:00September 11, 2025|