Constantino Foundation – Page 5 – Dedicated to a usable history, where lessons from the past are used to shape the future.

Spotlight

PIA Covers Launch of 50th Anniversary Edition of The Philippines: A Past Revisited at Museo El Deposito

‘The Philippines: A Past Revisited’ Book Launch at Museo El Deposito By National Historical Commission of the Philippines (NHCP) | August 28, 2025 SAN[READ]

Museo El Deposito Hosts 50th Launch of A Past Revisited

Photos from the 50th launch of A Past Revisited, held on 29 August 2025 at Museo El Deposito. The event marked a significant milestone[READ]

“The Philippines: A Past Revisited’ book launch at Museo El Deposito” – The Manila Times

THE National Historical Commission of the Philippines (NHCP), together with the Constantino Foundation, the Masters of Management Program of UP Manila, the Hunters-ROTC Historical Society,[READ]

50th Anniversary Edition of The Philippines: A Past Revisited at the Polytechnic University of the Philippines

Join us as we celebrate the 50th Anniversary Edition of The Philippines: A Past Revisited at the Polytechnic University of the Philippines! Hosted by[READ]

The Foundation

Our Partners

Teacher Support

Spotlight

“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[READ]

The Foundation

Our Partners

Teacher Support

Pasts Revisited

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. Sakay carried on the fight against the American invaders until he was captured and imprisoned, a victim of American duplicity.

Less than a month after Sakay was hanged, United States officials gave the Philippines its first taste of “American democracy” when it inaugurated in October 1907 the “Philippine Assembly,” where the names of many political families prominent today can be recognized or traced.

Our first taste of U.S.-style elections came with curious rules: only men could nominate or vote. Only Filipinos who had held public office under Spain or the U.S. could nominate or vote; in other words, only Filipinos who had served foreign masters. One rule stood out: those who wished to nominate or vote needed to show evidence of properties they held. Without proof of wealth, they would not be eligible to join the country’s first taste of American democracy. The result: only 1.41% of the population participated in our so-called first democratic exercise.

If only Filipino male elites could nominate or vote, it is not surprising only elites were elected. Elite rule has an origin story. Think of this each time you watch hearings on corruption and maldevelopment in the House of Representatives, which always displays the seal that bears the year “1907.” It’s the year rich families began to cement their spot in our country’s economic and political governance, mere weeks after the last real Filipino resistance leader, Gen. Macario Sakay, was hanged. When you think of “flood control projects” today, think about the events of September 1907. Better yet, read A Past Revisited.

A festering problem that has an origin will also have an ending. Lahat ng kwentong masama, lalo na ang mga kwento ng kawatan, may wakasan. Kung kikilos ang mamamayan. Kung kikilos ka. #aPastRevisited #theContinuingPast #EndEliteRule

September 15, 2025|

Events

Videos

Stories

Museo El Deposito Hosts 50th Launch of A Past Revisited

RENATO2025-09-06T23:24:04+08:00September 6, 2025|

Photos from the 50th launch of A Past Revisited, held on 29 August 2025 at Museo El Deposito. The event marked a significant milestone in the public life of the text, reaffirming its role in shaping historical discourse and civic memory. First published in 1975, the book continues to challenge dominant[READ]

50th Anniversary Edition of The Philippines: A Past Revisited at the Polytechnic University of the Philippines

RENATO2025-09-04T15:03:50+08:00September 4, 2025|

Join us as we celebrate the 50th Anniversary Edition of The Philippines: A Past Revisited at the Polytechnic University of the Philippines! Hosted by PUP Samahan ng mga Mag-aaral ng Kasaysayan and the PUP Department of History, this special launch is part of the 2025 Research Colloquium and #BuwanNgKasaysayan2025. 🗓 September[READ]

50th anniversary edition of ‘The Philippines: A Past Revisited’ book launched

RENATO2025-09-04T15:03:23+08:00September 2, 2025|

Bernard Testa | September 1, 2025 | BusinessMirror Dr. Francis Navarro, commissioner of National Historical Institute and one of the events co-organizer told the historical importance of the book during its 50th anniversary. Photos: Bernard Testa/BM The event began half an hour past its schedule, but history never arrives too late.[READ]

Revisiting a past, reclaiming a future By Bernard Karganilla

RENATO2025-09-04T15:03:19+08:00September 2, 2025|

By Bernard Karganilla August 28, 2025 | Published on Malaya Business Insight ‘We shall create more opportunities to salute the intellectual legacy of Renato Constantino and facilitate engaging discussions on wicked Philippine problems (landlordism, usury, grinding poverty, regressive taxation, unjust enrichment, bureaucratism).’ The climax of this year’s History Month (Proclamation No.[READ]

Loading...

“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.
“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
“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
“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
“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
“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
"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
“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
“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
“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

Spotlight

The Foundation

Our Partners

Teacher Support

Spotlight

The Foundation

Our Partners

Teacher Support

Pasts Revisited

Renato Constantino

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!”​

“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."

“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!”

"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. ❤️"

“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!”