Forum	Title	Content	Member	Sex	Country	Date/Time
Philippines	I passed my interview	QUOTE (Candy_Vince @ Jun 25 2009, 05:48 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}> hi guys , i just want to share to everyone that i passed my interview this morning , thanks God...everything is all worth the wait.... to those who are still waiting for their approvals and interview appointment , have faith.. you'll get yours soon..have faith... God Bless us all.... interview no sweat huh!	Rocky_nBullwinkle	Female	Philippines	2009-06-25 12:29:00
Philippines	Philippine TV Channels	QUOTE (devil @ Jun 21 2009, 07:48 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}> DirecTV is great stay away from comcast they will drain your wallet every month. Yup. We got Direct TV. No TFC or Pinoy TV. We got TV Patrol only. We wanted to subscribe to ComCast, but when Bill told the ComCast rep that he has a business, the guy wanted to charge us more. Bummer! No way Jose!	Rocky_nBullwinkle	Female	Philippines	2009-06-23 21:30:00
Philippines	Illinois man married to a Filipina complains of bias by neighbors	Sourgraping?	Rocky_nBullwinkle	Female	Philippines	2009-06-25 12:47:00
Philippines	Illinois man married to a Filipina complains of bias by neighbors	QUOTE (charles! @ Aug 22 2008, 05:25 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}> i'm not really seeing the bias in the story. Me neither. This Illinois guy can't make any legitimate excuse. Puhhleeeeeez! Edited by Rocky_nBullwinkle, 25 June 2009 - 11:45 AM.	Rocky_nBullwinkle	Female	Philippines	2009-06-25 11:44:00
Philippines	Tourist Visa	QUOTE (Marina-Del @ Jun 25 2009, 08:10 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}> No, having a denied tourist visa is not going to affect the K-1, assuming she is not denied for a reason that automatically disqualifies her from the K-1 as well (ie. some past conviction or something). If she is denied for the normal reason like insufficient funds or no clear ties to her home country, then it wont make any different for the K-1. They will probably ask her about it though, in which case she should just say she was trying to get a visa to visit you, meet your family or whatever. Most important thing here is NOT TO LIE. When they ask if she has a denied visa in the past, say yes (assuming she is denied!) I hope she gets it though! It is being asked in the DS Forms he is going to fill out.	Rocky_nBullwinkle	Female	Philippines	2009-06-25 11:51:00
Philippines	The Journey to Forever	You're gonna start with your journey to forever soon with him. Congratulations and best wishes. Love conquers all!	Rocky_nBullwinkle	Female	Philippines	2009-06-27 20:49:00
Philippines	interview passed today	QUOTE (rizamike1 @ Jun 11 2009, 02:25 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}> hi! just to let you know that your friends here passed the interview this morning at US Embassy Manila. will post details on embassy review later. thanks to all our well wishers and to your prayers. God bless you all and good luck to everyone. Wow, pink slip!	Rocky_nBullwinkle	Female	Philippines	2009-06-11 13:15:00
Philippines	Pinay Ako!	Trinidad Pardo De Tavera Trinidad Hermenegildo Padro De Tavera (b. April 13, 1857- d. March 25, 1925) was a man of vast learning and probably the most versatile of the Filipino writers of his time (except for Rizal). He wrote on many subjects, from medicine to paleography, linguistics, numismatics, cartography, history, metrical romances, education, and social problems. A Family Tragedy Paz marriage to Juan Luna has become problematic when Luna in a fit of jealousy or anger would physically harm Paz. Juan Luna also frequently accused Paz of having other men. He falsely suspected that a certain Monsieur Dussaq had an amorous relations with Paz and threatened that he would kill Paz if he ever caught her with another man. Trinidad Hermenegildo, her brother Felix and their mother Doña Julian combined all their efforts in preserving the marriage but due to the increased physical abuse suffered by Paz, they decided that divorce was the only choice left. In September 21, Doña Julian frantically telegraphed Trinidad Hermenegildo and Felix to immediately come to Paris to save their sister. The two brothers together with Antonio Regidor went to the house of Juan and Paz. Upon seeing Antonio Regidor and explaining that they have come to dicuss the terms of separation, Juan Luna was became angry and went upstairs alone. To defuse the situation, the two brothers together with Antonio went to a nearby cafe but before they were served, the maid came running and told that something terrible was going to happen. Upon arriving at the house, Luna was now brandishing a revolver in the first floor while Paz, her daughter and Doña Julian are in a room in the second floor. When Trinidad, Felix and Antonio started to approach the house, Luna fired a shot that hit Felix in the chest. Then before Trinidad could rush to the house, he heard three shots. When Trinidad entered the second floor room, he found his mother and sister shot in the head, his mother dead and his sister barely alive but unconscious. Paz died on October 8 at 6:15 pm without regaining consciousness. Luna then handed his revolver to the maid and was promptly arrested by the police. Charges were filed against Juan Luna and in February 8, 1893, the court released the following decisions: Juan Luna is not guilty and that he is acquitted in any charges brought against him. Juan Luna was ordered to pay a one franc fine Juan Luna must pay Trinidad Pardo de Tavera and Felix Pardo de Tavera the sum of one thousand six hundred fifty-one francs and eighty-three cents, plus twenty-five francs for postage in addition to the interest of damages. After his acquittal, Juan Luna, his son Andres Luna and her brother Antonio left Paris and went to Madrid. Return to Manila To escape the bitter memories of Paris, Trinidad and his brother together with their families left France. Felix and Doña Agustina Manigot settled in Buenos Aires while T.H. and his wife together with their sons, Carlos and Alfredo settled in Manila. In Manila, he joined the faculty of Medicine of the University of Santo Tomas and other governmental advisory boards. When the 1896 Philippine Revolution broke out, T.H. Pardo de Tavera was spared from the similar fate shared by his uncle during the 1872 Cavite Mutiny. Unlike his uncle, his liberal ideas were not amalgamated to his official and scholarly work. His writings maintained a scholarly and intellectual discussion free of any liberal or reformist agendas or ideas. When fighting between Filipinos and Spanish forces broke out, he was commissioned as a major but he resigned from the army in April 1897. When the Americans declared war against Spain, Pardo de Tavera was one of the leading citizens in an consultative assembly seeking an alliance with the Filipinos against the Americans. In 1899, he launched the newspaper entitled La Democracia that advocated peace, the separation of the church and state, granting of autonomy to the Philippines and representation to US Congress and the eventual admission of the Philippines to the United States Union. In January 1923, he was appointed as director of the Philippine Library and Museum. Also during that year, he formed the Philippine Library Association and became its first president. After serving in various government positions, Trinidad Hermenegildo Pardo de Tavera died in his sleep on March 25, 1925. Source	Rocky_nBullwinkle	Female	Philippines	2009-01-30 20:38:00
Philippines	Pinay Ako!	Benito Legarda Birth: Sep. 27, 1853 Manila, Philippines Death: Aug. 27, 1915, France Philippine Statesman. Also known as Benito Legarda Y Tuason, he was a member of one of Manila's richest and most prominent families. He received a law degree from Manila's Saint Thomas University and became a successful businessman. Legarda was a cabinet member and member of the legislature during Emilio Aguinaldo's Revolutionary Government, and he was a member of the first US-Philippine Commission appointed to administer the Philippines when they became a US territory. In 1907 he was elected as one of the Philippines first two Resident Commissioners to the US House of Representatives. Legarda was reelected twice, and served from November, 1907 to March, 1912. He did not run for reelection and returned to the Philippines. Legarda died in Evian les Bains, on Lake Geneva in France's Haute-Savoie Department, while traveling on business in Europe just three years after the completion of his service in Congress. Source	Rocky_nBullwinkle	Female	Philippines	2009-01-30 20:33:00
Philippines	Pinay Ako!	Testimony (1) Legarda stated that: A curious fact that must be noted was that a friar, who was the priest of Tondo, was the cause of its breaking out; for Gen. Blanco knew of this movement of the people and what was going on, and was in favor of making concessions to the people. This friar denounced the society, for he had a very intimate friend who was a filipino, and he caused this friend to be introduced into the Katipunan society, and this friend afterwards became the leader of the revolution himself. This filipino was named Andres Bonifacio, and later on he was chief of the revolution and chief of the Katipunan society. He took refuge in Cavite, and all that province rose up. Aguinaldo who was Municipal Captain in Cavite Viejo that time, was also a member of the Katipunan.' When he heard that the civil Guard was going to arrest him, he revolted too. He met a man who was his superior in the society — that is, Bonifacio — and as his ambition was his moving spirit, he caused Bonifacio to be shot.' Testimony (2) Tavera gave his opinion as follows: One day the priest of Tondo, Padre Gil, through the confession of a woman. learned of the existence of the Katipunan society, for the woman's husband was a member. This Father Gil informed the General, so the Katipunan society was discovered. I like my story better. These two testimonies tell the version from completely opposite biases, one a supporter of Aquinaldo, and the other, a supporter of Bonifacio. Source	Rocky_nBullwinkle	Female	Philippines	2009-01-30 18:33:00
Philippines	Pinay Ako!	QUOTE (pepe N pilar @ Jan 30 2009, 11:54 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}> QUOTE (Anna and Jeff @ Jan 30 2009, 08:15 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}> QUOTE (Bésame Mucho @ Jan 19 2009, 04:25 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}> José Rizal was a good man compared to Padre Gil. The bad ones, I think, were the armed rebels like Bonifacio and Aguinaldo. Diego Silang was a Spanish Ilocano mestizo like yours truly, so he should have been okay. (I love my own!). I wonder why Mother Spain abhored Rizal so much. Imo, Bonifacio (never mined about Aguinaldo) aimed to liberate Philippines from spain. And I think that was a good thing to do. To the history class ..... who was Padre Gil? Rebellion of 1896. — A general attack and slaughter of the Spaniards was planned for the 20th of August, 1896. The plot was discovered by the priest of Binondo, Padre Gil, who learned of the movement through the wife of one of the conspirators, and within a few hours the government had seized several hundred persons who were supposed to be implicated. The arrests included many rich and prominent Filipinos, and at the end of some weeks the Spanish prisons contained over five thousand suspects. Over one thousand of these were almost immediately exiled to far- distant Spanish prisons — Fernando Po, on the west coast of Africa, and the fortress of Ceuta, on the Mediterranean. Story goes, the good father had as consort, one of the wives of the KKK. She told of the plot in a moment of passion, pleading mercy for her family. --Bullwinkle	Rocky_nBullwinkle	Female	Philippines	2009-01-30 16:43:00
Philippines	Pinay Ako!	My past sets the standard for my actions in the future. Instead of organizing fresh uprisings I shall seek the means to avoid them, for that, it seems to me, is the duty in times of peace of every honest citizen who truly loves his country. The same tenacity with which I defended our natural rights during the war is now called for by the conviction that the recognition of those rights by the United States constitutes the surest guarantee of peace and the most trustworthy safeguard against future insurrections. Fighting to the limits of our strength and of reasonableness, all we have accomplished has been to show our love of freedom; now that the United States have seen fit to recognize we are entitled to a measure of that freedom, guaranteeing to each citizen the exercise of certain rights which make our communal life less constricted, it is incumbent upon us to show that all we want are those rights, that all we desire is freedom of action to increase our treasury of culture and welfare, thus accrediting the capacity which justifies our claim to the promised recognition of the remainder of our freedom. I can avow that the United States will very probably try to fulfill their pledges inasmuch as they know: (1) that their sovereignty has not been sought by the Filipinos but rather has been imposed upon them; (2) that whether the present cessation of hostilities is to become a true peace or a simple. truce, more or less extended, will depend on their treatment of, the Filipinos; (3) that Spain, in prohibiting in the Philippines the organization of associations or political parties to prevent their becoming spokesmen of. the desires of the people, fomented the organization of partisan bands, and, in proscribing the Liga Filipina, opened the way for the Katipunan; and (4) lastly, that any colonial regime, which does a not know how to adjust itself to the needs aroused by, the ever increasing culture of the colonized and by their ever easier and more intimate intercourse with civilized countries, encourages the separation of the colony and, at the same time, political corruption and decadence in the metropolis. If we should add to these counsels of reason and lessons of history the pride of a people that knows its own power and greatness and thinks it knows the way of the world, we could well affirm that there is-no reason for mistrust at this time when we should forget past grievances and sacrifice them for the sake of the reconciliation and brotherly union of Americans and Filipinos. Not only have the United States assured that this union is the most certain guarantee of our happiness but, by making themselves the arbiter of our fate, they have compelled us perforce to think it so. So be it, then but meantime let us labour to make our minds and hearts fit for whatever is worthy and honourable in life in the expectation that time will lift the veil of the future to show us the true way of our progress and happiness. Now, since my illness requires a less strenuous life, I return, driven by circumstances to the obscurity, from whence I came in order to hide my shame and sorrow, not at having. acted dishonorably, but at not having rendered better service. It is not for me, of course, to say whether, I have acted well or badly, correctly or mistakenly. However, I cannot close without saying. that I have no other balm to sweeten the bitterness of a harsh and melancholy life than the satisfaction given by the conviction of having always done what I believed to be my duty. God grant that I can say the same at the hour of my death. Ap. Mabini Source	Rocky_nBullwinkle	Female	Philippines	2009-01-30 11:33:00
Philippines	Pinay Ako!	QUOTE (Anna and Jeff @ Jan 30 2009, 04:15 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}> QUOTE (Bésame Mucho @ Jan 19 2009, 04:25 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}> José Rizal was a good man compared to Padre Gil. The bad ones, I think, were the armed rebels like Bonifacio and Aguinaldo. Diego Silang was a Spanish Ilocano mestizo like yours truly, so he should have been okay. (I love my own!). I wonder why Mother Spain abhored Rizal so much. Imo, Bonifacio (never mined about Aguinaldo) aimed to liberate Philippines from spain. And I think that was a good thing to do. Aguinaldo may have been the face of the Revolution, but Rizal and Bonifacio were the heart and soul. Apolinario Mabini was the brains of the Revolution. --Rocky	Rocky_nBullwinkle	Female	Philippines	2009-01-30 11:28:00
Philippines	Pinay Ako!	QUOTE (mariquita linda @ Jan 29 2009, 06:26 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}> QUOTE (Rocky_nBullwinkle @ Jan 29 2009, 03:26 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}> My fellow students of history ... do you think this was in San Isidro, Nueva Ecija or in Pulilan (fka San Isidro), Bulacan? Rocky says it was San Isidro, Nueva Ecija. She visited that bridge many times, and says it is still a critical bridge, always under repair. --Bullwinkle	Rocky_nBullwinkle	Female	Philippines	2009-01-29 21:37:00
Philippines	Pinay Ako!	San Isidro, Luzon, Philippine Islands -- May 6, 1899 One month after the Spanish-American War began an expeditionary force sailed from San Francisco to the Philippine Islands. Because most of the Regular Army was in Cuba and Puerto Rico, three-quarters of the first 10,000 U.S. Army troops to arrive in the Philippines were National Guardsmen, most of them from the West and Midwest. The Spanish surrendered quickly, but the Guardsmen soon had another enemy: Filipinos fighting for their independence. In the spring of 1899 the 1st north Dakota Infantry was part of an expedition to clean our Insurgent strongholds north of Manila. When a civilian named Henry Young organized an elite scouting and reconnaissance force, 16 North Dakotans were selected for this detail, which also included four men from the 2d Oregon. Of Young and his 25 Scouts one historian wrote "Always in front of the main column, the scouts bore the brunt of the advance, reconnoitering and maintaining contact with the enemy." On May 13, a reconnaissance party ran into a band of about 300 Insurgents. Without hesitation 11 Scouts charged the Filipinos and routed them; Young himself was mortally wounded. Three days later, while reconnoitering for water, the Scouts discovered that the Insurgents had set an important bridge on fire. Knowing the river below as unfordable, the 22 Scouts rushed the bridge and put out the flames, despite an enfilading fire from some 600 Insurgents. Supported by the 2d Oregon, the Scouts then drove the Insurgents from their trenches. Fourteen Guardsmen were awarded the Medal of Honor during the first year of the Philippine Insurrection. Of that 14, ten were members of Young's Scouts, decorated for their actions on 13 and 16 May 1899. Seven men were from the 1st North Dakota and three from the 2d Oregon. Today, the 1st North Dakota is perpetuated by the 164th Engineer Group and the 141st Engineer Battalion North Dakota Army National Guard, and the 2d Oregon by the 162d Infantry Regiment Oregon Army National Guard. Source	Rocky_nBullwinkle	Female	Philippines	2009-01-29 14:26:00
Philippines	Pinay Ako!	VIII. EPILOGUE It took the United States more than three years to defeat the army of the first Philippine Republic. However, the outcome of the war was never in doubt, mainly because the United States enjoyed tremendous military advantages. In numbers alone, the U.S. was superior. Although there were only 20,032 enlisted men and 819 officers in the U.S. Expeditionary Force in the Philippines as of January 31, 1899, more troops arrived in subsequent months. By April 16, 1902, more than 120,000 American soldiers had fought or served in the Philippines. Even more superior were the arms used by the Americans, who were well-equipped. U.S. warships were on the coast, ready to fire their big guns when needed. In contrast, the Filipino arms were a motley of rifles. Some had been supplied by the Americans during the Spanish-American War, others smuggled in by Filipino patriots, seized from the Spanish army, or taken from American soldiers. Artillery was likewise limited. Most of their cannons were captured from the Spaniards. Many Filipino soldiers did not even have guns, but used spears, lances and bolos (big knives) in fighting. Filipino soldiers also lacked military training. They did manage to win some small battlefield encounters, but these only delayed the ultimate victory for the Americans. Their resistance did not arouse public opinion in America against the U.S. military campaigns in the Philippines to the same degree that American public opinion forced the United States to withdraw from the Vietnam War more than 70 years later. Nevertheless, the United States had to pay a very high price, more than 4,000 American soldiers' lives. One of them was Major General Henry C. Lawton, who was killed in the Battle of San Mateo on December 23, 1899. He was the highest-ranking U.S. military officer to be killed in action in the Philippine-American War. The U.S. government also spent about $600 million in all. Souce	Rocky_nBullwinkle	Female	Philippines	2009-01-29 14:20:00
Philippines	Pinay Ako!	QUOTE (pangga @ Jan 28 2009, 08:27 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}> The flag is displayed with the blue field on top in times of peace, and with the red field on top in times of war. Thank you very much pangga for your contribution. That is something I never would have thought of, had you not brought the subject to mind. We know about flying the US flag upside down, to signify distress, but a symmetrical layout allows you to signify something else when the flag is inverted. Blue for peace, red for war. Do you know if the war flag has been displayed since WWII? --Bullwinkle	Rocky_nBullwinkle	Female	Philippines	2009-01-28 16:05:00
Philippines	Pinay Ako!	Very interesting, Anna and Jeff. Very interesting, indeed! --Bullwinkle	Rocky_nBullwinkle	Female	Philippines	2009-01-27 21:14:00
Philippines	Pinay Ako!	Thanks for the post, mariquita linda. Good stuff! Any more? --Bullwinkle	Rocky_nBullwinkle	Female	Philippines	2009-01-27 18:44:00
Philippines	Pinay Ako!	II. IN THE UNITED STATES The American people, however, received a different version of how the war started. Newspaper reports made it appear that the Filipinos had started the fighting. This was the time when the Treaty of Paris was pending ratification in the U.S. Senate. Previously, because of strong public opinion against the U.S. annexation of the Philippines, ratification of the treaty was uncertain. But the distorted news that reached the United States, specifically that the Filipinos were the ones who started hostilities, changed the minds of several U.S. senators to vote for ratification. On February 6, 1899, the U.S. Senate ratified the Treaty of Paris. Philippine Insurrection? Ouuuccccch. The Americans viewed the fighting as an insurrection, not a war. Hence, Americans refer to this episode as the Philippine Insurrection, not the Philippine-American War. The Spanish-American conflict that lasted only three months, is referred to as the Spanish-American War. But the Philippine-American conflict officially lasted three years and is known only as the Philippine Insurrection by America. Actually the fighting between American and the remaining armed groups of Filipinos, whom Americans branded as “bandits,” lasted 16 years (1899-1914). James Loewen, a Washington, D.C.,-based scholar and author of a forthcoming book titled Lies Across the Landscape: What Our Historical Markers and Monuments Get Wrong, said, “What we call the Philippine Insurrection should be called the Philippine War. We had never conquered the Philippines, so you can’t call it a revolt.” Loewen’s comment was mentioned in an article published in the Star Tribune in Minnesota, in its issue of November 15, 1997. Source	Rocky_nBullwinkle	Female	Philippines	2009-01-27 17:47:00
Philippines	Pinay Ako!	I. THE PHILIPPINE-AMERICAN WAR The Filipinos had become suspicious of the true motives of the United States in going to the Philippines. In fact, they were prevented by the Americans from entering Manila after its fall. Their suspicions were confirmed by the Treaty of Paris under which Spain ceded the Philippines to the United States. Neither Spain nor the United States gave Felipe Agoncillo, Aguinaldo’s special envoy, a chance to present the wishes of the Filipinos in the Paris peace talks. Suspicion turned to hostility, and war between the two sides became inevitable. The Filipinos were outraged when they learned that Spain, which no longer controlled the Philippines, had ceded the country to the United States. Benevolent Assimilation Proclamation. On December 21, 1898, President William Mckinley announced his decision to keep the Philippines as an American colonial possession. Entitled “Benevolent Assimilation Proclamation,” the McKinley proclamation was announced in the Philippines on January 4, 1899. It stated clearly the intention of the United States to stay permanently in the Philippines. The mission of the United States was described by McKinley as one of “benevolent assimilation.” In the same proclamation, General Elwell Otis was named the commander of American ground forces in the Philippines, which was to “extend by force American sovereignty over this country.” On January 5, 1899, Aguinaldo issued a counter-proclamation. He warned that his government was prepared to fight any American attempt to forcibly take over the country. This sounded like a declaration of war to the American military although Aguinaldo had no wish to get into a war with the United States. He knew that war would only cause untold suffering to the Filipino people. He was still hopeful that the situation could be saved by peaceful negotiations between him and the American military leaders in the Philippines. Aguinaldo wrote General Elwell S. Otis calling for peaceful negotiations. On January 9, 1899, Otis appointed three American officers to meet with three Filipino military officials appointed by Aguinaldo. However, they didn’t accomplish anything. “Halt!” Then Bang! Bang! Bang! The tension between the Americans and the Filipinos was so great that it was easy to precipitate a war. On the night of February 4, 1899, as described in Aguinaldo: A Narrative of Filipino Ambitions, (E. Wildman 1901, Norwood Press, Norwood, MA) an American sentry, Private William W. Grayson, with another soldier, encountered three armed Filipinos on a bridge in San Juan del Monte near Manila. Recalling the incident, Grayson said: About eight o’clock, Miller and I were cautiously pacing our district. We came to a fence and were trying to see what the Filipinos were up to. Suddenly, near at hand, on our left, there was a low but unmistakable Filipino outpost signal whistle. It was immediately answered by a similar whistle about twenty-five yards to the right. Then a red lantern flashed a signal from blockhouse number 7. We had never seen such a sign used before. In a moment, something rose up slowly in front of us. It was a Filipino. I yelled “Halt!” and made it pretty loud, for I was accustomed to challenging the officer of the guard in approved military style. I challenged him with another loud “halt!” Then he shouted “halto!” to me. Well, I thought the best thing to do was to shoot him. He dropped. If I didn’t kill him, I guess he died of fright. Two Filipinos sprang out of the gateway about 15 feet from us. I called “halt!” and Miller fired and dropped one. I saw that another was left. Well, I think I got my second Filipino that time.... The Filipino troops fired back at the American lines and before the night was over, fighting had broken out between Filipino and American forces. Most of the Filipino commanders at that time were attending a dance in Malolos, Bulacan Province. When told of the outbreak of hostilities, they rushed back to their units, which were already shooting it out with American troops. When war finally came, Aguinaldo still tried to stop it by sending an emissary to General Otis to appeal for an end to the fighting. But Otis responded, “fighting, having begun, must go on to the grim end.”	Rocky_nBullwinkle	Female	Philippines	2009-01-27 17:44:00
Philippines	Pinay Ako!	Mark Twain, The Greatest American Humorist, Returning Home, New York World [London, 10/6/1900] You ask me about what is called imperialism. Well, I have formed views about that question. I am at the disadvantage of not knowing whether our people are for or against spreading themselves over the face of the globe. I should be sorry if they are, for I don't think that it is wise or a necessary development. As to China, I quite approve of our Government's action in getting free of that complication. They are withdrawing, I understand, having done what they wanted. That is quite right. We have no more business in China than in any other country that is not ours. There is the case of the Philippines. I have tried hard, and yet I cannot for the life of me comprehend how we got into that mess. Perhaps we could not have avoided it -- perhaps it was inevitable that we should come to be fighting the natives of those islands -- but I cannot understand it, and have never been able to get at the bottom of the origin of our antagonism to the natives. I thought we should act as their protector -- not try to get them under our heel. We were to relieve them from Spanish tyranny to enable them to set up a government of their own, and we were to stand by and see that it got a fair trial. It was not to be a government according to our ideas, but a government that represented the feeling of the majority of the Filipinos, a government according to Filipino ideas. That would have been a worthy mission for the United States. But now -- why, we have got into a mess, a quagmire from which each fresh step renders the difficulty of extrication immensely greater. I'm sure I wish I could see what we were getting out of it, and all it means to us as a nation. Source	Rocky_nBullwinkle	Female	Philippines	2009-01-26 18:34:00
Philippines	Pinay Ako!	Sorry for the way that one looks. The editor would not let me back in to fix it. --Bullwinkle P.S. Thanks for the article pepe N pilar!	Rocky_nBullwinkle	Female	Philippines	2009-01-26 18:19:00
Philippines	Pinay Ako!	Effects of the Treaty of Paris: 1899 Summary Not surprisingly given the American anti-colonial, anti-imperialist tradition, the acquisition of territories and colonies as outlined by the Treaty of Paris caused considerable debate. An organization known as the Anti-Imperialist League arose in the US, standing in opposition to American expansion and imperialism. Some of the nation's most famous people, including the writer Mark Twain and the philosopher William James, were leading figures in the Anti-Imperialist League. This vocal minority had many points that still smack of good reason today. However, in the late 1890s, their view did not win out. Instead, pro-imperialism, backed by an ideology of jingoism, carried the day. The Treaty of Paris, though signed, still had to be passed by two-thirds of the Senate in 1899. The Democrats had enough votes to block passage of the treaty, and for a while it looked as if Senate deadlock was inevitable. Finally, William Jennings Bryan, a leading Democrat and constant opponent of President McKinley, decided to support the treaty. Convincing several of the Democratic senators to change their mind, Bryan barely got the treaty passed in the Senate on February 6, 1899. In supporting the Treaty of Paris, Bryan had a trick up his sleeve. He knew that if the treaty passed, the nation would see the Republicans, the majority party at the time, as responsible. In the election of 1900, Bryan hoped to run against McKinley on an anti-Imperialist platform, and by passing the treaty, he hoped to associate the Republicans with Imperialism. Bryan expected imperialism to quickly become unpopular, giving the Democrats an issue to criticize the Republicans over. Unfortunately for Bryan, not enough voters were upset about imperialism by 1900 to aid his cause: he still lost to McKinley. Bryan also appeared to vote as he did for ideological reasons reminiscent of British patriarchal colonialism: he suggested that the sooner the US annexed the Philippines, Guam, and Puerto Rico, the sooner the US could prepare them for independence. The annexation of the Philippines caused major problems, however. The Filipinos had fought with the Americans against the Spanish, thinking that the Americans were there to liberate the Philippines in the same way they were liberating Cuba. When hoped for freedom failed to materialize and the Americans did not go home, the Filipinos felt betrayed. On Jan 23, 1899, the Filipinos proclaimed an independent republic and elected long-time nationalist Emilio Aguinaldo president. The US sent in reinforcements to put down this "rogue" government. Fighting against the Filipino nationalists they had fought alongside months earlier, the US endured two harsh years of battle. Aguinaldo's guerilla fighters put the US through a much more difficult and bloody conflict than the relatively easy Spanish-American War. Still, the Filipino's never had much chance against the superior force of the Americans. On March 23, 1901, the US finally put down the Filipino revolt by capturing Aguinaldo. After being forced to take an oath of loyalty and receiving a pension from the US government, Aguinaldo retired, and never led further revolutions. Commentary The founders of the United States, who fought a revolution to end its own status as a colony of Britain, probably never expected that a little more than a century later the United States would take colonies of its own. From this perspective, America's imperialism during and after the Spanish-American War is quite a shock, which some have called the "Great Aberration." It is therefore not surprising that a strong resistance movement, the Anti-Imperialists, would rise up. However, from another perspective, American imperialism in 1898 was not a sudden abandonment of anti-colonial tradition, but a was logical extension of commercial expansion, something the US had been doing throughout its history. The claim that the year 1898 was an aberration in American history are undermined by the facts. Today, the biggest colonialist of recent history, Great Britain, has relinquished its last colony, Hong Kong. Meanwhile, America still possesses the protectorates of Guam and Puerto Rico, and still has naval bases in Cuba and the Philippines. In this sense, the imperialist effects of the Spanish-American War remain alive even in the present. The Anti-Imperialist argument was as follows. Since the Filipinos wanted freedom, annexing their homeland violated the basic American principle that just government derived from the "consent of the governed." Second, and perhaps more practically, the Anti-Imperialists felt that American territory in the Philippines would make it likely that events in Asia would involve the US in more conflicts and more wars. The pro-Imperialist viewpoint succeeded because it appealed to the American public's sense of national honor and pride, as well as the jingoism taking hold in the period. From a business perspective, imperialists felt strongly that there were many opportunities for profit inherent in American possession of the Philippines. And of course, the imperialists proudly promised to "uplift" the "poor" Filipinos and satisfy the "white man's burden". (If only to simultaneously get something out of the bargain.) The conflict with Aguinaldo and his guerrilla fighters in the Philippines seems to offer some foreshadowing of the Vietnam War. In Vietnam, the US became so caught up in a large, geopolitical goal (fighting Communism) it failed to realize that in the pursuit of this larger goal it was harming a smaller country full of proud people who desperately wanted to govern themselves and who were willing to fight a long war to set up a unified, independent Vietnam. In annexing the Philippines, the US did much the same thing: looking towards large geopolitical goals like increasing the US commercial presence in East Asia, the US stopped the nationalist Philippines from pursuing its own independence. Not surprisingly, the Filipinos fought back. In fact, just as the Vietnam War became a subject of intense public dissent against illegal US infringement upon the sovereignty of a foreign nation, so too did the struggle in the Philippines have its Anti-Imperialists, who argued along similar lines. Source	Rocky_nBullwinkle	Female	Philippines	2009-01-26 18:08:00
Philippines	Pinay Ako!	QUOTE (Rocky_nBullwinkle @ Jan 26 2009, 07:55 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}> QUOTE (AJAnTESS @ Jan 25 2009, 08:27 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}> Erratum. Ciudad Fernandina was named in honor of Ferdinand, son of King Phillip II, the sovereign of Spain after whom our country was named, and not after Ferdinand Magellan. Sorry for the slip. Is Cuidad Ferdandina not also the hometown of a fellow Ilocano, Ferdinand E. Marcos? --Rocky (Marie) P.S. How is Tess doing with her SLEC? Sarrat, Ilocos Norte was the hometown of the former President. --Bullwinkle (Bill)	Rocky_nBullwinkle	Female	Philippines	2009-01-26 11:24:00
Philippines	Pinay Ako!	QUOTE (AJAnTESS @ Jan 25 2009, 08:27 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}> Erratum. Ciudad Fernandina was named in honor of Ferdinand, son of King Phillip II, the sovereign of Spain after whom our country was named, and not after Ferdinand Magellan. Sorry for the slip. Is Cuidad Ferdandina not also the hometown of a fellow Ilocano, Ferdinand E. Marcos? --Rocky (Marie) P.S. How is Tess doing with her SLEC?	Rocky_nBullwinkle	Female	Philippines	2009-01-26 10:55:00
Philippines	Pinay Ako!	QUOTE (Mister Fancypants @ Jan 25 2009, 07:47 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}> QUOTE (Bésame Mucho @ Jan 25 2009, 07:26 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}> Mira, perrita, you can do whatever your heart desires, you could even recall my just lifted suspension, I don't care. I don't get any benefit from VJ membership and am tired of dealing with half-witted destitutes like you. But I wish that VJ moderation be fair and equitable in treating members. I plead that penalties be imposed on those azzhole phantoms and trolls who consistently ridicule my fellow Filipinas. You know what I'm talking about and you know who are these idiots. ¡Salud! Mother Spain will save you. I think I will skip the translation for that one! Edited by Rocky_nBullwinkle, 25 January 2009 - 10:57 PM.	Rocky_nBullwinkle	Female	Philippines	2009-01-25 22:57:00
Philippines	Pinay Ako!	QUOTE (Mister Fancypants @ Jan 25 2009, 02:35 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}> QUOTE (Rocky_nBullwinkle @ Jan 25 2009, 10:52 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}> QUOTE (Mister Fancypants @ Jan 25 2009, 10:22 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}> Thank you for the translation. I know I tend to be argumentative, but honestly, the attitude that Spain be revered as the mother land of the Philippines is offensive to all that is Filipino. As Bonifacio said so eloquently, "The Philippines is but one heart, and you are no longer our Mother." May he, Rizal and other heroes be remembered for what they stood for, and may their deaths a reminder of what 'Mother Spain' did to it's 'child', the Philippines. I don't know if any other communities experience the same thing, but as our wifes become more "Kano", we husbands become more "Pinoy". Perhaps we just feel obligated to protect, what we hold so dear! Mabuhay! --Bullwinkle LOL...having an infant son who is half-pinoy and a stepson who was born and grew up in Cebu until he was 6 has something to do with it too. IMO, I think the Philippines is still feeling the after effects of 300 years of the Spanish Conquest....the political corruption and house helpers are just some examples, and I realize that not all of the influence was negative. For me, who is part English, I enjoy drinking tea, but I don't have the urge to colonize my neighbor's house and civilize him from his savagery. (must be the Native American in me who keeps the bloody English in me, in check) I am sure there are a few casual historians that will disagree with you, but that will take us way off topic. Suffice to say, the English settlers of our own (American) history, had no use for the native population at all, and rather than breed them out of existence, or convert them to the one true faith, we just exterminated them. Luckily, the Philippines faired much better that some of the world's other colonies: Mexico (Spain/France) and India (Great Britian) come to mind. I remember a British writer stating if the Irish can't feed themselves, they can always eat their children. There is plenty history for us all. I hope that does not take us too far off topic. --Bullwinkle	Rocky_nBullwinkle	Female	Philippines	2009-01-25 17:56:00
Philippines	Pinay Ako!	Treaty of Paris of 1898 (Spanish American War) Commissioners from the United States and Spain met in Paris on October 1, 1898 to produce a treaty that would bring an end to the war after six months of hostilities. The American peace commission consisted of William R. Day, Sen. Cushman K. Davis, Sen. William P. Frye, Sen. George Gray, and the Honorable Whitelaw Reid. The Spanish commission was headed by Don Eugenio Montero Rios, the President of the Senate. Jules Cambon, a French diplomat, also negotiated on Spain's behalf. The American commissioners negotiated in a hostile atmosphere because all Europe, except England, was sympathetic to the Spanish side. Although the Conference discussed Cuba and debt questions, the major conflict concerned the situation of the Philippines. Admiral Dewey's victory had come as a great surprise and it marked the entrance of the United States into the Pacific. Spanish commissioners argued that Manila had surrendered after the armistice and therefore the Philippines could not be demanded as a war conquest, but they eventually yielded because they had no other choice, and the U.S. ultimately paid Spain 20 million dollars for possession of the Philippines. The islands of Puerto Rico and Guam were also placed under American control, and Spain relinquished its claim to Cuba. The treaty was signed on December 10, 1898. Source Timeline	Rocky_nBullwinkle	Female	Philippines	2009-01-25 15:57:00
Philippines	Pinay Ako!	QUOTE (Mister Fancypants @ Jan 25 2009, 10:22 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}> Thank you for the translation. I know I tend to be argumentative, but honestly, the attitude that Spain be revered as the mother land of the Philippines is offensive to all that is Filipino. As Bonifacio said so eloquently, "The Philippines is but one heart, and you are no longer our Mother." May he, Rizal and other heroes be remembered for what they stood for, and may their deaths a reminder of what 'Mother Spain' did to it's 'child', the Philippines. I don't know if any other communities experience the same thing, but as our wifes become more "Kano", we husbands become more "Pinoy". Perhaps we just feel obligated to protect, what we hold so dear! Mabuhay! --Bullwinkle	Rocky_nBullwinkle	Female	Philippines	2009-01-25 13:52:00
Philippines	Pinay Ako!	QUOTE (Mister Fancypants @ Jan 25 2009, 07:26 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}> Katapusang Hibik Ng Pilipinas Andres Bonifacio Sumikat na Ina sa sinisilangan ang araw ng poot ng Katagalugan, tatlong daang taong aming iningatan sa dagat ng dusa ng karalitaan. Walang isinuhay kaming iyong anak sa bagyong masasal ng dalita't hirap; iisa ang puso nitong Pilipinas at ikaw ay di na Ina naming lahat. Sa kapuwa Ina'y wala kang kaparis... ang layaw ng anak: dalita't pasakit; pag nagpatirapang sa iyo'y humibik, lunas na gamot mo ay kasakit-sakit. Gapusing mahigpit ang mga Tagalog, hinain sa sikad, kulata at suntok, makinahi't biting parang isang hayop; ito baga, Ina, ang iyong pag-irog? Ipabilanggo mo't sa dagat itapon; barilin, lasunin, nang kami'y malipol. Sa aming Tagalog, ito baga'y hatol Inang mahabagin, sa lahat ng kampon? Aming tinitiis hanggang sa mamatay; bangkay nang mistula'y ayaw pang tigilan, kaya kung ihulog sa mga libingan, linsad na ang buto't lumuray ang laman. Wala nang namamana itong Pilipinas na layaw sa Ina kundi pawang hirap; tiis ay pasulong, patente'y nagkalat, rekargo't impuwesto'y nagsala-salabat. Sarisaring silo sa ami'y inisip, kasabay ng utos na tuparing pilit, may sa alumbrado---kaya kaming tikis, kahit isang ilaw ay walang masilip. Ang lupa at buhay na tinatahanan, bukid at tubigang kalawak-lawakan, at gayon din pati ng mga halaman, sa paring Kastila ay binubuwisan. Bukod pa sa rito'y ang mga iba pa, huwag nang saysayin, O Inang Espanya, sunod kaming lahat hanggang may hininga, Tagalog di'y siyang minamasama pa. Ikaw nga, O Inang pabaya't sukaban, kami'y di na iyo saan man humanggan, ihanda mo, Ina, ang paglilibingan sa mawawakawak na maraming bangkay. Sa sangmaliwanag ngayon ay sasabog ang barila't kanyong katulad ay kulog, ang sigwang masasal sa dugong aagos ng kanilang bala na magpapamook. Di na kailangan sa iyo ng awa ng mga Tagalog, O Inang kuhila, paraiso namin ang kami'y mapuksa, langit mo naman ang kami'y madusta. Paalam na Ina, itong Pilipinas, paalam na Ina, itong nasa hirap, paalam, paalam, Inang walang habag, paalam na ngayon, katapusang tawag. Saturday, October 01, 2005 Bonifacio, Andres. "The Last Appeal of the Philippines." In The Writings and Trial of Andres Bonifacio, trans. Teodoro A. Agoncillo and S. V. Epistola. Manila: Antonio J. Villegas; Manila Bonifacio Centennial Commission; University of the Philippines, 1963. 9-11. [9] The Last Appeal of the Philippines* Mother, in the east is now risen the sun of the Filipinos' anger that for three centuries we suppressed in the sea of suffering and poverty.** We, your children, had nothing to shore up against the terrible storm of suffering, the Philippines has but one heart, and you are no longer our Mother. *Katapusang Hibik ng Pilipinas. **"Sa dagat ng dusa ng karalitaan" in the original, which is absurd. "Dusa at karalitaan" are the words most frequently used by poets in describing sufferings. [10] Other mothers cannot compare with you: your children's comfort are poverty and sorrows, when they, in appealing to you, prostrate themselves, your proferred balm is exceedingly painful. The Filipinos are bound tightly,* they but moan when kicked, boxed, and hit with the butt of of the gun, they are tortured with electric wires, hung like an animal,** is this, Mother, your love? You order them imprisoned and thrown into the sea, to be shot, poisoned to eradicate us, to us Filipinos is this the decision of a Mother affectionate to her vassals? We suffered all this even unto death, we are almost dead yet you don't stop your punishmen, so that when you throw us into our graves, our bones are broken, our flesh smashed. The Philippines has not received any legacy of comfort from the Mother, nothing but sufferings; our suffering continues, patents abound, new charges and imposts are made. Various ways of cheating us are devised at the same time compelling us to give in, we pay for illumination, although we do not see even one light. The land and the house we live in, the field and farm so wide, and so also the trees and plants -- to the Spanish priest we pay taxes. Aside from this, the rest need not be recited, O Mother Spain, we follow all this to the last breath, still, the Filipinos are considered bad. You, O negligent and malevolent Mother, we are no longer yours whatever happens, prepare, then, Mother, the grave where many dead bodies will find rest. *In the original, the first word of the line is "Gapuring", which has no meaning. The word must have been Bonifacio's error in spelling, and must have been "Gapusin", which fits with the meaning of the second and third lines. **We took the liberty at translating "makinahi't" (makinahin at) as "tortured with electric wires". Some of the veterans of the Revolution and many old men and women testified that during that time to be tortured with live electric wires was described as "makinahin". [11] In the world today will explode guns and cannons like lightning, the terrible storm of blood that will flow from their bullets in the struggle. It is no longer necessary that Spain be pitied by the Filipinos, O traitorous Mother, it is our glory to die, it is your glory if you defeat us. The Philippines bids you farewell, Mother, Mother, farewell, this one who is suffering, farewell, farewell, pitiless Mother, farewell now, the last appeal. Translation	Rocky_nBullwinkle	Female	Philippines	2009-01-25 11:01:00
Philippines	Pinay Ako!	QUOTE (Magenta @ Jan 25 2009, 07:38 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}> Any more personal attacks will result in action being taken by VJ moderation. Just because it isn't in English doesn't mean we can't read it or get it translated. We have been providing translations to keep the air clear. Before closing the thread, however, consider the benefit here of a living example of some of the historic dialectic that results from deep seated feelings of persecution and neglect. It has not got out of hand yet, and this how the Filipino community "discusses" issues among themselves. We are quick to take to offense, reluctant to let sleeping dogs lie, but at the same time, try to maintain our composure. Rocky and Bullwinkle	Rocky_nBullwinkle	Female	Philippines	2009-01-25 10:56:00
Philippines	Pinay Ako!	QUOTE (AJAnTESS @ Jan 24 2009, 09:07 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}> My fiancee, Señorita Teresita, could not respond to your inquiry as she is currently on her way to Manila from Davao for her medical exam. Hence, I'll speak what's in her mind. It's of course natural for a Spanish Filipino to bestow his devotion to the land of his ancestors. And it's true that not many Mexicans truly revere Spain because not too many Mexicans are of Spanish lineage. What, do you expect the Mayans or the Aztecs or the Tapatios to allude to Spain as their mother land? Ah, good luck to you both, A.J.! We will have to find you both in Santa Ana next trip south! Bill and Marie	Rocky_nBullwinkle	Female	Philippines	2009-01-25 00:19:00
Philippines	Pinay Ako!	QUOTE (SenoritaTeresita @ Jan 24 2009, 06:12 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}> ¡Comadre, te felicito por tu convicción y por tu amor ardoroso por la patria de nuestros antepasados! (Sister), I congratulate you for your conviction, and for your fiery love for the motherland of our ancestors! --Bullwinkle How about some stories of the Manong ninyo? We have some strong feelings here from the descendents of Imperial Spain. From the other side, how about mga kuwento ng pamilya ninyo, pakiusap? Pero sa Ingles! --Bullwinkle	Rocky_nBullwinkle	Female	Philippines	2009-01-25 00:06:00
Philippines	Pinay Ako!	QUOTE (RickMj @ Jan 24 2009, 07:51 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}> The Philippine Declaration of Independence occurred on June 12, 1898 in the Philippines, where Filipino revolutionary forces under General Emilio Aguinaldo (later to become the Philippines' first Republican President) proclaimed the sovereignty and independence of the Philippine Islands from the colonial rule of Spain after the latter was defeated at the Battle of Manila Bay during the Spanish-American War. The declaration, however, was not recognized by the United States or Spain, as the Spanish government ceded the Philippines to the United States in the 1898 Treaty of Paris, in consideration for an indemnity for Spanish expenses and assets lost. While the Philippines first celebrated its Independence Day on June 12, 1898, its independence was not recognized by the United States until July 4, 1946. After that date, Independence Day was observed on July 4 until, in the name of nationalism and upon the advice of historians, President Diosdado Macapagal signed Republic Act No. 4166 into law on August 4, 1964, designating June 12, which had previously been observed as Flag Day, as the country's Independence Day. We can throw another date out there. If you look at Emilio Aquinaldo speech before the Malolos Congress when he becomes the first (disputed) President of the Philippines, he fully expected the 23rd of January to be the day of celebration. Why June 12th? It is as arbitrary a date as any other. It was not until Merrit's forces routed the Spanish months later, that as uneasy truce developed between the Filipine forces surrounding Manila, and the American forces occupying Manila. The Spanish still occupied the southern islands. --Bullwinkle Edited by Rocky_nBullwinkle, 24 January 2009 - 11:22 PM.	Rocky_nBullwinkle	Female	Philippines	2009-01-24 23:20:00
Philippines	Pinay Ako!	QUOTE (Bésame Mucho @ Jan 24 2009, 04:18 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}> QUOTE (Mister Fancypants @ Jan 23 2009, 09:50 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}> Mother Spain and the ugly Americans.... Your Spanish arrogance is outdated but amusing as hell. Please continue. Hail Spain! ¡Callate la boca, pobre desgraciado! ¿Por qué cambiaste la palabra? La palabra no es "ugly" sino "Ugly". Parece que tu cerebro esta vacío igual que los otros ... For those that forgot all that Spanish: Shut up, you poor wretch! Why did you change the word? The word is not "ugly", it's "Ugly". Looks like your brain is just as empty as the others... --Bullwinkle	Rocky_nBullwinkle	Female	Philippines	2009-01-24 19:41:00
Philippines	Pinay Ako!	During the inauguration of the First Philippine Republic at the Barasoain Church in Malolos, Bulacan, Pres. Emilio Aguinaldo congratulates the members of the Malolos Congress for drafting the Constitution of the Philippine Republic. He expresses his gratitude to the revolutionary troops for winning national independence through a revolution and to the Filipino nation, which is now free and independent, for its support. On this day, President Aguinaldo formally proclaims the birth of the Philippine Republic, the culmination of the Philippine Revolution against Spain. The parliamentary and constitutional labors of the Malolos Congress are manifestations that the Filipinos are a civilized nation, where Western precepts are known, worthy of being admitted into the concert of independent nations. He recognizes the presence of a national spirit which unites the Filipinos into a single aspiration-to live under the democratic regime of the Philippine Republic, free from foreign domination. Aguinaldo ends by expressing utmost pride for the newly established Philippine Republic, for the Constitution, and for the members of the Malolos Congress. Representatives: I congratulate you upon having concluded your constitutional labors. From this date, the Philippines will have a National Code (=Malolos Constitution), to the just and wise precepts of which we each and everyone of us owe blind obedience, and whose liberal and democratic guaranties also extend to all. Hereafter, the Philippines will have a fundamental law which will unite our people with the other nations by the strongest of solidarities, that is the solidarity of justice, of law and right, eternal truths which were the basis of human dignity. I congratulate myself on seeing our constant efforts crowned, efforts which I continued from the time I entered the field with my brave countrymen of Cavite, as did our brothers in other sections with no arms, but bolos, to secure our liberty and independence. And, finally, I congratulate our beloved people who from this date will cease to be anonymous and will be able with legitimate pride to proclaim to the Universe the long desired name of PHILIPPINE REPUBLIC. We are no longer insurgents, we are no longer revolutionists, that is to say armed men desirous of destroying and annihilating the enemy. We are from now on, Republicans, that is to say, men of law, able to fraternize with all other nations, with mutual respect and affection. There is nothing lacking, therefore, in order for us to be recognized and admitted as a free and independent nation. Ah, Representatives! How much pain and bitterness do those passed days of the Spanish slavery bring to our minds and how much hope and joy do the present moments of Philippine liberty awaken in us. Great is this day, glorious is this date; and this moment when our beloved people rise to the apotheosis of independence will be eternally memorable. The 23rd of January will be for the Philippines hereafter a national feast day, as is the Fourth of July for the American nation. And thus, in the same manner as God helped weak America in the last century when she fought against powerful Albion [England], to regain her liberty and independence. He will also help us today in the identical undertaking, because the ways of Divine justice are immutably the same in rectitude and wisdom. A thousand thanks, Representatives, for your parliamentary labor, which ennobles us and established in a public and authentic manner that we are a civilized nation and also a brave one, worthy therefore, of being freely admitted into the concert of nations. You have justly deserved the gratitude of the country and of the Government, in that you showed the entire world by your wisdom, sound sense and prudence, that in this remote and heretofore unknown portion of the world, the principles of European and American civilization are known, and more than known, have for a long time been earnestly desired and very well felt; that there is a degree of intelligence and hearts here perfectly in accord with those of the most civilized nations; and that notwithstanding the calumnious voice of our eternal detractors, there is here finally, a national spirit, which unites and brings together all Filipino hearts into a single idea and a single aspiration TO LIVE INDEPENDENT OF ANY FOREIGN YOKE IN THE DEMOCRATIC SHADOW OF THE PHILIPPINE REPUBLIC For this reason, on seeing consecrated in our constitutional labor the eternal principles of authority, of liberty, or order and of justice, which all civilized nations profess, as the most perfect guaranty of their actual solidarity, I feel strength, pride and am sincerely impelled, from the bottom of my heart, to cry Viva the Philippine Republic! Viva the Constitution! Viva their illustrious authors, the representatives of the first Filipino Congress! I have concluded. Constitutional Convention	Rocky_nBullwinkle	Female	Philippines	2009-01-23 11:39:00
Philippines	Pinay Ako!	While American troops waited in Manila, the peace conference continued in Paris, and Imperial policy was debated in the U.S. Young Republican politicians, including Henry Cabot Lodge, Theodore Roosevelt and Albert Jeremiah Beveridge, worked for annexation of the Philippines. These Imperialists argued for an American Empire to provide markets for American goods, which were being excluded from European Empires. This appeal to materialism was leavened by an invocation of the ideals of expanding American liberty, justice and equality for all. The presence of foreign ships in Manila harbor raised the specter of the Philippines falling under other foreign domination, rather than independence, if U.S. forces were withdrawn. Anti-imperialists, primarily members of the Democratic Party, argued that the Constitution prevented the acquiring of territory not destined for statehood. Popular support for annexation revealed itself in Republican gains in the elections of 1898. These results stiffened the resolve of President McKinley to order the U.S. delegation at the Paris Peace Conference to demand the entire Philippine archipelago. After Spanish outrage and an American threat to restart the war, Spain agreed to sell the Philippines to the U.S. for $20 million. The annexation drove the Philippine Republican Army to prepare for war against the Americans. Philippine Republican Army Edited by Rocky_nBullwinkle, 21 January 2009 - 01:54 PM.	Rocky_nBullwinkle	Female	Philippines	2009-01-21 13:49:00
Philippines	Pinay Ako!	General Arthur MacArthur On June 1, 1898, MacArthur received notification of his appointment as brigadier general of volunteers. His assignment to the Philippines rather than Cuba came as a surprise. Much of the American public had assumed that Admiral Dewey’s victory in Manila Bay had placed the whole archipelago under American control. The truth was much more complex. The military situation was a three sided standoff. The American fleet blockaded the harbor, while the land was contested by 35,000 Spanish troops and the Philippine insurgents. MacArthur was to be one of the leading generals in the American Army charged with the completion of the conquest begun by Dewey and the Navy. The planning for this campaign began in the Palace Hotel in San Francisco. After training at Camp Merritt near San Francisco, MacArthur and his brigade sailed aboard six transports on June 26, 1898. After stopping in Honolulu, MacArthur and his men passed Corrigidor while entering Manila Bay on July 31. After conferences aboard ship, the landings were begun the next day and continued for a week. The first action was an assault on the Spanish blockhouses around Manila on August 13. The Spaniards, fearful of atrocities at the hands of the Filipinos, had arranged a token defense followed by a surrender to the Americans with Gen. Merritt, the American commander. To this end the Filipino Republican Army was ordered to stay out of the way, even though Merritt had not advised his subordinates of the deal. MacArthur’s brigade moved forward at about 10:30. As they advanced, the Americans were crowded by Filipino warriors. When the Spanish saw the Filipinos, resistance strengthened. The Spanish were fighting from a blockhouse from across the road from the American lines. MacArthur ordered the Astor Battery, which been equipped by John Jacob Astor, to open fire with its twelve-pound, mobile Hotchkiss guns. Like the Rough Riders, the men of the Astor Battery, which included many college graduates, had been specially selected. Ignoring orders to desist, the Filipinos charged along side the Americans, who soon found themselves in a crossfire between the Spaniards in front and the Filipinos in the rear. After a skirmish ended Filipino resistance, the Americans advanced along the road and into the old city of Manila. The fighting stopped the with Americans in control of Manila and with the Philippine army occuping the blockhouses surrounding the city. General Aguinaldo, Filipino commander, angered by the denial of Manila, ordered the Americans confined to the city. While awaiting action, the U.S. forces were put to the task of restoring order in Manila and maintaining themselves in fighting shape. Arthur MacArthur	Rocky_nBullwinkle	Female	Philippines	2009-01-21 13:40:00
Philippines	Pinay Ako!	The Battle of Manila Bay was one of two major American naval victories in the Spanish-American War, both of which were very decisive, and, in hindsight, very one-sided. The Battle of Manila Bay occurred on the morning of May 1, 1898, only days after war had been declared between Spain and the United States. The battle is notable for several reasons. First, it was a complete and final victory, ending any threat from the Spanish naval forces involved. All major Spanish ships were destroyed or captured, without any significant damage occurring to the American Forces. Secondly, technically no Americans lost their lives in the battle (two American deaths did indirectly occur which may be attributable to the battle), though the lives of many Spaniards were lost. The result is that Americans look at the victory as a "bloodless" battle, whereas the Spanish obviously do not. Thirdly, the American attack was very daring and dangerous, based on what the Americans knew at the time, but not as risky when looked at in hindsight. Many world powers, who were not aware of the American naval build-up over the past decade and a half, considered the United States Asiatic Squadron to be little or no threat to the Spanish naval forces. The Americans also over-rated the Spanish navy's ability and determination to fight, and many authorities considered the fleet to be sailing into a veritable deathtrap. In addition to the naval forces, many Spanish gun batteries existed in the fortifications around Manila Bay. These guns alone should have been enough armament to destroy the American squadron. Lastly, the American Asiatic Squadron was not sufficiently supplied with ammunition for wartime service and the nearest site for resupply was California, seven thousand miles away! By far, the most notable aspect of the battle was that, as a result of this battle, the United States became a recognized world power overnight. The U.S. Navy had been a subject of derision internationally for years. The United States had begun to change that with the advent of its new steel navy, but, in a time when a country's military was rated according to the strength of its navy, this was the first time that the ability of both the U.S. warships and their well-trained crews were shown to be an important world force. Battle of Manila Bay	Rocky_nBullwinkle	Female	Philippines	2009-01-20 11:57:00