Constantino Foundation – Page 29 – Dedicated to a usable history, where lessons from the past are used to shape the future.

Spotlight

Now Available: 50th Anniversary Edition of The Philippines: A Past Revisited

Here's the new book! It can be purchased at Popular Bookstore by August 26, as well as at the book launch in Rosh Hotel[READ]

Book launch alert!

There's a new introduction and new layout, but it's still the same hard-hitting narrative of our history by the champions of a usable past,[READ]

Major Joy as Mayor Joy and QC Councilors Visit the Exhibit

It was a delightful Wednesday afternoon as the Constantino Foundation received the Quezon City Mayor Joy Belmonte and Councilors Wency Lagumbay, Doray Delarmente, and[READ]

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State of the Nation ni Allan Popa

Ikalawang tula mula kay Allan Popa sa isang linggong serye ng berso bilang paggunita sa ika-40 anibersaryo ng aklasang EDSA. Nagsimula nang dumagsa ang mamamayan. Tanging armas na bitbit – tapang, galit, dasal, at pag-ibig sa tinubuang bayan.

Malaki ang utang na loob ng bayan sa mga makatang tulad ni Popa, na patuloy na nag-aalay ng kanilang panula sa mga bagay na karaniwan na mangangailangan ng maraming pahina ng sanaysay para lang maipinta ang saloobin ng taumbayan. Kasama man ang 𝕊𝕥𝕒𝕥𝕖 𝕠𝕗 𝕥𝕙𝕖 ℕ𝕒𝕥𝕚𝕠𝕟 sa koleksyong 𝔸𝕟𝕘[READ]

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Pasts Revisited

Karina Constantino David

Nina to friends and family, and to her parents Renato and Letizia who together established the Constantino Foundation, Karina Constantino-David passed away on 7 May 2019. She is sorely missed. #aPastRevisited #InangLaya #ConstantinoFoundation

May 7, 2025|

Events

Videos

Stories

Tagteam for Nationalism: Popular Book Store and the Constantino Foundation

If you are looking for books by Renato Constantino or Letizia Roxas Constantino, Popular Book Store is your main shop. Popular remains the main distributor of the Constantino Foundation, thanks to decades of friendship between the book store’s founder, Joaquin Po, and the historian Renato Constantino [...]

Renato Constantino Jr: The man who ‘apcet’ the world about East Timor

MUCH has been written about the courage, rock-steady principles and tireless activism of Renato Constantino Jr., “RC” to most, since he died on April 5 at the age of 79.He was, after all, present — nay, taking a key role though much of the time behind the scenes unless truly needed — in most of the game-changing campaigns of the last five decades.Think September 1991, when the Philippine Senate voted to end the US bases treaty. [...]

PUP marks 120th founding year with climate, mobility, history ride

The Polytechnic University of the Philippines (PUP) launched Sintang Lakbay today, a pioneering initiative integrating inclusive mobility, culture, and history. The move highlights the school’s resolve to demonstrate the relevance of its academic philosophy in the face of current climate-constrained realities. [...]

What remains of Carlos Fressel?

What remains of Carlos Fressel? There are several answers to the question. Among them is a reminder to Filipinos about the value of our fascinating past and why history should not be treated as the domain of historians alone. At the base of an elegant pillar in the parish of the Sacred Heart of Jesus in Sta. Mesa Manila, a curious churchgoer will find an interesting marking [...]

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“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.
“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
“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
“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
“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.
“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
“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
"... 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 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
"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
“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
“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

Spotlight

The Foundation

Our Partners

Teacher Support

Spotlight

The Foundation

Our Partners

Teacher Support

Pasts Revisited

Karina Constantino David

Events

Videos

Stories

“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!”​

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

“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!”

"... 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.”

“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.”

“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!”