The Philippines Today, Yesterday, and Tomorrow
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 Dental … 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 in … Read more
On this day, on May 10, 1956, the Reparations Agreement between the Philippines and Japan was signed in Manila. Under the agreement, $550-million worth of Japanese goods and services will be delivered to The Philippines, as Japan’s reparation and settlement of claims for damages caused by World War II. 1897 On this day … Read more