They said it couldn’t be done. It was martial law, after all, and among many freedoms suppressed by Ferdinand Marcos Sr.’s repressive regime (1965-1986) was the right to organize a legitimate union. Strikes were banned, and only government-friendly unions were recognized. But a hardy group of journalists at the Journal group of publications (Times Journal,...
Category: History
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Barbie’s story in the Philippines is not all glamour and glitter
The pink, sparkly dress of the Barbie doll has been veiling something much less glamorous—the loss of thousands of jobs when the company that manufactured the toy in the Philippines closed shop. It is now a blurry episode for most Filipinos, but it may still be fresh in the memory of the workers, mostly women,...
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Film continues to help Filipinos remember the sins of martial law
Shortly after World War II, many survivors of the attempted annihilation of Jews by Nazi Germany and its allies recalled the final plea of their fellow prisoners while being herded to impending death: “Remember! Do not let the world forget!” It was in honoring that anguished plea that Holocaust survivors set up exhibits and scholarly...
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Edsa 1: Democracy and disappointment
Feb. 22-25, 1986, were “four days that shook the world”—the words used by the late journalist and press secretary Teodoro C. Benigno to describe the history of the Edsa People Power Revolution that ousted the dictator Ferdinand Marcos. The peaceful revolt was the culmination of a pent-up desire to get rid of Marcos short of...
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Doing justice to Ninoy Aquino’s memory
EDITOR’S NOTE: The following message was delivered on Sunday, Nov. 27, 2022, by Kiko Aquino Dee, son of Viel and Dodo Dee and one of the eight grandchildren of the late opposition leader Benigno “Ninoy” Aquino Jr., to mark his 90th birth anniversary. Ninoy Aquino, then a senator, was one of the first to be...
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Remembering: the rock that grew into an island
Last of five parts The rock lay rooted deep on top of a mountain/ A stone’s throw away stood our little farm hut/ The farm was the homestead father acquired in 1940/ The mountain was broken by two rivers/ From the north and from the south/ The two rivers intersected at the east/ Beyond the...
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Remembering: From Cavite to Upi to greener pastures
(Fourth of five parts) We were 11 in the family. Our tatay, Deogracias, was born in 1902 and died in March 1986; our nanay, Obdulia, was born in 1908 and died in April 2006. We were nine children—two daughters (my eldest sister and the eighth) and seven sons. The eldest was born in 1927 and...
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Remembering: ‘Tao po’ and invitations to a ‘pintakasi’
EDITOR’S NOTE: CoverStory is running the life story of historian and peacemaker Rudy Buhay Rodil in five parts, in an effort to contribute to “a deeper understanding of Mindanao society, history and culture,” a lifelong advocacy that he has pursued with fervor and vigor. Mr. Rodil, now 80, has much to say about what he...
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Remembering: logging concessions brought drastic change
EDITOR’S NOTE: CoverStory is running the life story of historian and peacemaker Rudy Buhay Rodil in five parts, in an effort to contribute to “a deeper understanding of Mindanao society, history and culture,” a lifelong advocacy that he has pursued with fervor and vigor. (Second of five parts) Between Upi and myself, I think change...
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Remembering: Growing up in ‘Little Baguio’ in Mindanao
EDITOR’S NOTE: The historian and peacemaker Rudy Buhay Rodil, now 80, has much to say about what he called, in the Conversation on the Integration of Mindanao History into the Philippine Educational System held at Ateneo de Davao University on Aug. 8, 2018, “my personal story in the advocacy of the history of Mindanao-Sulu.” His...