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

Spotlight

Pasts Revisited Exhibit Extended Until July 31!

Thank you for the feedback. The Constantino Foundation and Y Space at the Yuchengco Museum have extended the #PastsRevisited exhibit to July 31. Come and find out more about[READ]

Diving into Renato and Letizia Constantino’s past lives and history

Rosalinda Ofreneo: The Constantinos’ romance went beyond the commonplace connection and encompassed the country in their advocacy of nationalism. They shared what Ofreneo called “usable[READ]

Landmark exhibit pays tribute to enduring romance, legacy of Constantino couple

Saturday, June 20, 2026 Seymour Barros Sanchez History, art, and intellectual resistance combine in an exhibit currently on view at YSpace at the Yuchengco[READ]

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FRIENDSHIP ACROSS GENERATIONS

The exhibit Pasts Revisited contains details about the intellectual collaboration and friendship enjoyed by Renato Constantino and Letizia Constantino with scholars over the years. One letter shows the humorous interaction of Letizia with one of the authors of Roots of Dependency, the seminal study on the political and economic revolution in 19th century Philippines published in 1979 by the Foundation for Nationalist Studies (FNS), which was established by Renato and Letizia. FNS would be later renamed the Constantino Foundation after the passing of Renato in 1999.

[READ]

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Pasts Revisited

Karina Constantino-David

Today, May 7, marks the passing of Karina Constantino-David in 2019. How is she remembered by so many? In the very words of a friend dear to her, Jurgette Honculada: “Karina Constantino David was blazing comet and blue flame, breaking ground in the 80s with Inang Laya songs, along with Becky Demetillo Abraham, that helped galvanize a generation of feminists and activists, lending form, structure and gravitas to NGO work through HASIK and its pioneering social action programs, infusing gender pedagogy with wit as in Peministang Pusoy (based on poker) and scalpel-sharp analysis as in the inverted cross encapsulating the varieties of female oppression or the typology of mushrooming NGOs which sifted chaff from grain, crossing over to public service in the late 90s, her NGO roots grounding her like a sixth sense, and, in the past few years, jolted out of retirement by a creeping and yet disarming malevolence, harnessing long-dormant reserves of power and creativity along with her fellow Lolas. . . Through song and thought, word and deed, you showed that love for one’s kabaro and kababayans is indivisible from love for Inang Bayan, honored only with a vow of forever.”

Image by Jaz Lopez Parado

#PastsRevisited #InangLaya

May 7, 2026|

Events

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Stories

The Snap Revolution: A Post Mortem

The past is always present, but often concealed or costumed. Letizia Roxas Constantino wrote this in March 1986, less than a month after EDSA:“The portentous events of February followed one another in rapid succession involving many millions of Filipinos in accustomed actions of commitment and courage and evoking in the whole nation[READ]

We’re in this month’s Enrich Magazine of Mercury Drugstore!

Hooray! We hosted the lovely Batch 68 of St. Theresa's High School in October 2024, and one of the participants (thank you, Eve Angcanan!) wrote an essay about the exchanges. The Foundation certainly had a great time, one made memorable because of a particular quality that stood out among the women[READ]

Revisiting February 4, 1899: The Philippine-American War in Historical Context

More than a date on the calendar, February 4, 1899 marks the beginning of the Philippine-American War. The conflict set in motion a new phase in Philippine history, one that continues to shape how this period is studied and understood. This year, the Pandesal Forum at Kamuning Bakery Cafe returned to[READ]

A panelist’s reflection on the historical discussions from recent Pandesal Forum sessions

We share here a panelist’s reflection on the historical discussions from recent Pandesal Forum sessions, including those on the Abad Santos family and the Philippine–American Memorial Day, and on the transmission of historical memory across generations. Eufemio Agbayani III has been a panelist in previous Pandesal Forums but was a guest[READ]

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“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
“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
“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
“My first brush with Renato Constantino was through Mr. Herman Rochester, our 4th year high school adviser, who lent me his Miseducation of the Filipino. From then on I was hooked. In college, I encountered Parents and Activists, which helped me understand my parents’ objections to my activism, then his books A Past Revisited and A Continuing Past which made me learn history in a way that I was never taught in my elementary and high school years. His and his wife Letizia’s many articles, pamphlets, books and publications were guiding lights that stirred up the makabayan and palaban in me. Theirs was a writing that was nakakapagmulat at nakakataas ng pag-unawa.”

Teddy Casiño
Former Bayan Muna Representative, Facebook post
11 June 2026
“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
“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.
"... 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
“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
“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
“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
“Renato and Letty kept the fire burning for country and people, fueled by their abiding love for each other and the cause they both pursued with single-minded devotion. In this sense, Renato and Letty may well be considered among the principal characters in one long epic love poem about the birthing of a free and caring society, still unfinished to this day.”

Dr. Rosalinda Pineda-Ofreneo
biographer, at the Pasts Revisited exhibit opening, Yuchengco Museum,
11 June 2026
“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
"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

Spotlight

The Foundation

Our Partners

Teacher Support

Spotlight

The Foundation

Our Partners

Teacher Support

Pasts Revisited

Karina Constantino-David

Events

Videos

Stories

“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."

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

“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!”​

“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.”

"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. ❤️"

“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!”