Spotlight
Commemorating the ‘Forgotten’ Philippine-American War & Honoring Heroes
"Dén é la sásáup. Sásákup la," the immortal words of the great Kapitan Bikong del Rosario. They are not here to help us, they are[READ]
spot.ph reissued: Kara David & Karmina Constantino on the Lola Who Taught Them the Power of Words
(SPOT.ph) Before they were household names, they were simply Hochi and Minh—cousins who spent a lot of time together, little children running around during Sunday[READ]
A Source of Pride
February 4, 2026 marks the 127th anniversary of the beginning of the Philippine-American War, a badly remembered chapter in our history. We don’t know[READ]
Spotlight
Six Years Later: Mounting the UP Manila Exhibit at Last
We count more than just activities such as an exhibit the public can enjoy. What matters to us as well is the experience of working with institutions and building lasting friendships—comrades, if you will—in the shared work of advancing historical thinking.
We had a meaningful and memorable collaboration with UP Manila, working closely with the Museum of a History of Ideas. The exhibit was originally scheduled for March 10–21, 2020, but was put on hold and eventually cancelled due to the pandemic. It came as a pleasant surprise when, six years later, we were able to mount the exhibit on almost[READ]
Pasts Revisited
Pedro Abad Santos
“If freedom is to be preserved, fascism must be destroyed at all costs.”
These are the timeless words of the hero Pedro Abad Santos, born 150 years ago on 31 January 1876. He was a fighter for the welfare of his people even early in his life.
Abad Santos stopped going to school to join the Katipunan, where he eventually held the rank of komandante or major. He fought in 1899 as the aide-de-camp of the great Gen. Maximino Hizon in the war against the invading American forces.
Pedro Abad Santos was “an elderly nationalist lawyer” from a landowning family in Pampanga. He was called “Don Perico” by his clients, “a term of both respect and endearment, the formality of ‘don’ and the familiarity of the nickname.” He offered “his legal expertise pro bono to protect the rights of peasants and workers, which composed a third of all his cases.”
Don Perico founded the Socialist Party of the Philippines. As the history book A Past Revisited tells us, “From 1935 up to the outbreak of the war, the recognized leader of the peasantry in Central Luzon, center of the deepest unrest and the highest militancy, was Pedro Abad Santos.”
Don Perico was the older brother of the patriot Jose Abad Santos who, though not a radical like his kuya, was “the attorney for [the Indonesian communist] Tan Malacca in deportation proceedings” and who, as Chief Justice of the Supreme Court and head of the caretaker Philippine government, was executed by Japanese fascists for refusing to cooperate with the occupiers.
Don Perico recoiled at hero worship. “We believe in mass action,” he said, “to secure our end, the welfare of the masses.” The mass action he envisaged did not include armed struggle, which he considered suicidal having witnessed the tragic revolt of the Sakdalistas, which was led by a fascistic demagogue.
“If the masses are to be saved it . . . [should be] “by their own efforts to organize, to unite, and their only weapon is [to] Strike,” said Don Perico. “Every strike must be a school, even if it is lost.”
A longer more detailed version of this post can be read here.
Events
Videos
Stories
HEROES IMMORTALIZED – Manila Times
People visit a comic art exhibit featuring Filipinas who transform into powerful modern-day superheroes. Dubbed 'Alas ng Bayan 2.0,' the stories reinterpret the legacy of Filipina resistance—from the 19th century to the present. The free admission exhibit opened at the Tandang Sora Women's Museum in Quezon City on Oct. 17 and would[READ]
Alas ng Bayan 2.0 Opening
𝐀𝐥𝐚𝐬 𝐧𝐠 𝐁𝐚𝐲𝐚𝐧 𝟐.𝟎 𝐄𝐱𝐡𝐢𝐛𝐢𝐭 𝐎𝐩𝐞𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠 📍 Tandang Sora Women’s Museum | October 15, 2025 📸 Photos by Bernard Testa A powerful launch honoring the unbroken line of Filipina heroism—from Gregoria de Jesus, Apolonia Catra, Remedios Gomez-Paraiso, Lorena Barros, to Gloria Capitan. Curated by Rio Constantino and illustrated by Billy Pangilinan,[READ]
“We almost did not go to the Frankfurt Book Fair, but we decided we must because our voices must be heard even if many choose not to listen..”
"We almost did not go to the Frankfurt Book Fair, but we decided we must because our voices must be heard even if many choose not to listen. Still we were a bit afraid; if we introduced ourselves as Ukrainian we knew Germans would welcome us, but once they find out my[READ]
“Hindi krimen ang maging makabayan.” – Judy Taguiwalo
Mensahe sa Pasinaya sa Exhibit ng Alas ng Bayan 2. O Tandang Sora Women’s Museum Oktubre 15, 2025 Makasaysayan ang buwan ng Oktubre sa maraming dahilan. Para sa akin dalawa ang may katuturan sa hapong ito: Sa Oktubre 28 ay 42 taong anibersaryo ng Filipino Women’s Day of Protest noong 1983 para[READ]
