The Philippines Today, Yesterday, and Tomorrow
On this day, May 17, in 1897, newly appointed Governor-General of the Philippines Fernando Primo de Rivera issued a decree granting a general amnesty to all Filipino revolutionaries who would surrender to the Spanish government. Most of the revolutionaries ignored the decree, prompting Rivera to launch a major offensive against them in Cavite. Emilio … Read more
On this day, May 16, in 1584, Santiago de Vera, the first president of the Real Audiencia, began his term as the sixth Governor-General of the Philippines after his appointment following the death of his predecessor Gonzalo Ronquillo de Peñalosa. During his term, the wooden palisade that protected Manila from foreign incursions was rebuilt … Read more
On this day, May 14, in 1850, Filipino dentist, reformist, and patron of the arts Bonifacio Flores Arevalo was born. He learned dentistry from his uncle and foster father Don Jose Arevalo (also known as Capitan Cheng-Cheng), the first Filipino dentist. He was elected treasurer of La Liga Filipina and founder of the Sociedad … Read more
On this day in 1818, Filipino merchant and sharecropper Francisco Mercado was born in Biñan, Laguna. Educated in Latin and philosophy at the Colegio de San Jose in Manila, Mercado settled in Calamba in 1830 to be a sharecropper in the newly opened Dominican estate there. In 1848, he married Teodora Alonso Realonda, daughter of … Read more
On this day, May 12, in 1964 the Philippines established diplomatic ties with the European Economic Community (EEC). The European Economic Community was a regional organization which aimed to bring about economic integration among its member states. It was created by the Treaty of Rome of 1957. Upon the formation of the European Union … Read more