Spotlight
Manila Bulletin takes a closer look at the immersive ‘Letizia: A Life in Letters’ exhibit!
"LOOK: People visit the immersive exhibit "Letizia: A Life in Letters," which showcases the preserved writings, personal journals, and memorabilia of Letizia Roxas Constantino;[READ]
Philippine Star extends an invitation to the exhibit
"Individuals can visit an immersive exhibit titled “Letizia: A Life in Letters,” which showcases the preserved writings, personal journals, and memorabilia of historian Letizia[READ]
Acclaimed journalist Ces Drilon visited the Letizia exhibit, took lovely photos, and posted her reflections on what she encountered. Enjoy!
"Letizia: A Life in Letters is an inspiring and moving exhibit at the Linangan Gallery of the Constantino Foundation. Leticia Roxas Constantino’s letters and journals[READ]
Spotlight
The Continuing Past of Pedro Abad Santos
by Renato Redentor Constantino
(The essay was published first in ABS-CBN.)
“If freedom is to be preserved, fascism must be destroyed at all costs.”[1]
These are the timeless words of the hero Pedro Abad Santos, born 150 years ago on 31 January 1876. He was a nationalist, a revolutionary, and a fighter who lived by the principles of the Katipunan’s Kartilya. To forget Abad Santos is to forget who we are and who we can still be as a people. Perhaps this is why so many feel so restive yet so lost today, adrift in a brutal ocean[READ]
Pasts Revisited
Pasts Revisited
True nationalism, as espoused by Renato Constantino who passed away 25 years ago on this day, 15 September 1999. The cover of many of his books, like #aPastRevisited, was designed by his son, RC. (15 Sept. 2024)
Stories
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“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 -
“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 -
“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. -
“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 -
“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. -
“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 -
"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 -
“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 -
“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 -
“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 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
















