Constantino Foundation – Page 2 – Dedicated to a usable history, where lessons from the past are used to shape the future.

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The Videos Are Now Available — Renato Constantino Revisited

Watch the full recording of the April 18 convocation, Renato Constantino Revisited — a forum on the role of dissent in development, the usable past,[READ]

Ang Gahum ng Katutubong Gubat

An overview and review of Philippine Native Trees 404: Rooted and Rising Renato Redentor Constantino, 28 April 2026, Club Filipino Patnubayan nawa tayong lahat[READ]

NATURE BEGINS IN THE MIND: Congratulations Angela!

Few people have ever seen the elusive Philippine mouse-deer in the wild. But chances are, if you’re old enough to read this paragraph, then[READ]

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We are thrilled to share this feature on our upcoming exhibit!

“Pasts Revisited: An Exhibit on a Usable History and the Romance of Renato Constantino and Letizia Roxas Constantino” opens this June 11 at 3 PM at Y Space, Yuchengco Museum, RCBC Plaza, Makati City — and runs until July 11.

For the first time ever, see rare letters, never-before-seen manuscripts, artworks gifted by National Artist Vicente Manansala and other celebrated painters, and photos with luminaries who shaped Philippine history. The exhibit also features Alas ng Bayan, a powerful tribute to five Filipino women who resisted oppression[READ]

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Pasts Revisited

Gregoria de Jesus

Ang kaarawan ni Gregoria de Jesus ay laging pagkakataong magnilay-nilay. Ang paraan kung paano naaalala si Lakambini ay salamin din kung paano natin tinuturing ang kababaihan. Dapat dinadakila si Oriang bilang rebolusyonaryong may sariling tindig, na may dangal at gumagamit ng dunong at tapang sa harap ng pananakot, kasakiman, at kalaswaan ng dayuhang kaaway at mga duwag na kababayan. Katuwang, kaibigan, at kadamay man ng mga mahal niya sa buhay tulad ni Andres Bonifacio at Julio Nakpil, babae siyang handang mamuhay ng nagsasarili, na may pananagutan sa kanyang sarili at sa kanyang bayan.

#LakambiningMandirigma #LakambiningDakila

#PastsRevisited

#FightLikeAGirl

May 9, 2026|

Events

Videos

Stories

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. Read Story Here

In Memory of Amadis Guerrero: Chronicler of a Nation’s Struggles and Joys

We mourn with the writing community the passing of Amadis Guerrero, who chronicled the travails and joys of this strange nation, such as this account we share on the sorrows and laughter of the Left, EDSA, and what the future - then - held for people active in the struggle for change.[READ]

ONLY 9 DAYS LEFT before the IYAS Homecoming and Literary Festival!

We celebrate the 25th year of the #IYAS National Writers Workshop, which is now well underway. The silver anniversary homecoming is just days away! This year's selected writers are once more having a grand time, because in #IYAS, they are challenged and encouraged, and their voices get even more lift using wings[READ]

Towards a Language of Estuaries: Cosmic Roots and Resilient Resistance

This event is tomorrow, a provocation we hope that is fit for the 25th year of such a generous, loving, fierce, and cerebral national writers workshop, one that covers writing in several languages, in poetry, essay, short story, and so on and on and on, organized by the University of St. La[READ]

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"... A Past Revisited sparked a different kind of revolution, one that urged Filipinos to view history through our own eyes and experiences. Thank you very much to our dear friend, ABS-CBN’s Karmina Constantino, a resident of San Juan, for inviting me to be part of this historic occasion."

Mayor Francis Zamora
San Juan City Governor , On his speech at APR 50th anniversary edition launch at NHCP Museo El Deposito
2025 August 29
"Thank you for having us ... We truly enjoyed ourselves. The exhibit was very inspiring, beautifully presented and so insightful. We were all so impressed. Hope we can use some of the material in our Women’s Museum. ❤️"

Mayor Joy Belmonte
Quezon City Governor, On her visit at Letizia: A Life in Letters Exhibit
2025 July 30
“Frequented the area in the early ’80s because of Popular Bookstore (small door, beside the gate of Mapua High School), the only one that carried engineering books required for our course. It was still Martial Law… One buys … dangerous reading materials afraid of the Secret Marshals who were then infamous for salvaging (tokhang in the time of tatay digong) petty criminals and activists. Across Mapua High then was a parking lot of mini buses – now the Manila Grand Opera.”

Melvin Purzuelo
Iloilo environmentalist, commenting on the foundation’s history article in BusinessMirror,
“Cycling through the fabled history of an opera house, now a hotel,” June 2024.
“Thank you very much, Constantino Foundation! It was a lovely afternoon spent learning about history, poetry, art, climate change, street names, the bicycles in revolution, kickass heroines, and much more! Renato Redentor Constantino’s talk and Renato Senior’s book A Past Revisited really got under my skin. Maraming salamat!”

Gege Cruz Sugue
Flips Flipping Books book club, 12 August 2024
“At a low point in my life, I received a note from Letizia Constantino, unsolicited advice that encouraged me to keep writing. I never got to thank her personally for that pat on the back; this column is belated gratitude.”

Ambeth R. Ocampo
Historian, An excerpt from his column in Philippine Daily Inquirer
"Letizia Roxas Constantino, historian", 2025 June 06
“Good read. At aliw. Ito ang kahapon na masarap balikan!”

Cherylle Lara Raguini
Subic civic leader, commenting on the foundation essay in ABS-CBN,
“Street names and the persistence of memory,” June 2024
“A Past Revisited was both a revelation and a challenge. It made us see the familiar narratives of Philippine history in new and unsettling ways. It invited us to ask deeper questions—about power, about colonial legacies, about the struggles and aspirations of our people. And it also gave us a sense of responsibility: to carry history forward not just as memory, but as a guide for action and transformation.”

Dr. Chas M. Navarro
Commissioner, National Historical Commission of the Philippines (NHCP)
On his remarks at the launch of the 50th Anniversary Special Edition of The Philippines: A Past Revisited
2025 Aug 29
“Yes, third time [sila/Inang Laya] pumunta at kumanta sa rally sa Dasmarinas town plaza, sa parish church sa our Lady of Perpetual Help sa Dasmariñas Bagong Bayan and sa martsa rali ng mga maralitang lunsod from Dasmariñas to Bacoor na hinarang sumama at di sya [Karina Constantino-David] umalis hanggang kinabukasan.”

Ian Yaun
March 19, 2024
“Taos pusong pagpapasalamat ng angkang Orosa for your inclusion of our Beloved Maria Y. Orosa in this PUP mural. Renato Redentor Constantino, we are ever grateful for this honor and recognition. Our forebears knew each other. Mine spoke highly of the Constantinos!”

Evelyn Orosa del Rosario Garcia
Great grand niece of Maria Y. Orosa and author of National Book Award winner
Appetite for Freedom: The Recipes of Maria Y. Orosa, with Essays on Her Life and Work.
“One of the most towering texts of nationalist historiography — co-authored by Letizia Constantino, whose voice carried the struggle for true independence into classrooms and beyond.”

Michael “Xiao” Chua
Historian , On his column at The Manila Times
“Letizia Constantino: Nationalist historian, wife and mother” 2025 June 17
“We have been so wonderfully blessed in the past week by the presence of tremendously inspiring people, one of them, the one who likes to “shake trees”, is Sir Renato Redentor Constantino who moved the entire plenary to feel, think, and act… people couldn’t help but share and talk about the presentation. I told Sir Red that by the second day of the event, people realized there were ‘deeper commitments than professionalism.’”

Floraime Pantaleta
Executive Director, Ateneo Zamboanga-Mindanao Institute
“Mabuhay ka RC. Patuloy namin ikaw inaalala at ipinagdadasal sa lakbay mo ngayon. We will continue our conversations with family, even while you have left us. You will forever live in our hearts and we celebrate your life fully!”

Loretta Ann Rosales
Former member, House of Representatives
and former chair of the Commission on Human Rights

Spotlight

The Foundation

Our Partners

Teacher Support

Spotlight

The Foundation

Our Partners

Teacher Support

Pasts Revisited

Gregoria de Jesus

Events

Videos

Stories

"... A Past Revisited sparked a different kind of revolution, one that urged Filipinos to view history through our own eyes and experiences. Thank you very much to our dear friend, ABS-CBN’s Karmina Constantino, a resident of San Juan, for inviting me to be part of this historic occasion."

"Thank you for having us ... We truly enjoyed ourselves. The exhibit was very inspiring, beautifully presented and so insightful. We were all so impressed. Hope we can use some of the material in our Women’s Museum. ❤️"

“At a low point in my life, I received a note from Letizia Constantino, unsolicited advice that encouraged me to keep writing. I never got to thank her personally for that pat on the back; this column is belated gratitude.”

“Good read. At aliw. Ito ang kahapon na masarap balikan!”

“Taos pusong pagpapasalamat ng angkang Orosa for your inclusion of our Beloved Maria Y. Orosa in this PUP mural. Renato Redentor Constantino, we are ever grateful for this honor and recognition. Our forebears knew each other. Mine spoke highly of the Constantinos!”​

“One of the most towering texts of nationalist historiography — co-authored by Letizia Constantino, whose voice carried the struggle for true independence into classrooms and beyond.”

“Mabuhay ka RC. Patuloy namin ikaw inaalala at ipinagdadasal sa lakbay mo ngayon. We will continue our conversations with family, even while you have left us. You will forever live in our hearts and we celebrate your life fully!”

“Taos pusong pagpapasalamat ng angkang Orosa for your inclusion of our Beloved Maria Y. Orosa in this PUP mural. Renato Redentor Constantino, we are ever grateful for this honor and recognition. Our forebears knew each other. Mine spoke highly of the Constantinos!”