In recent days, there was so much buzz about a beloved Manila structure, the Manila Army and Navy Club. Apparently, there has been some activity going on in the area as it looked like there was part of the building that is going to be taken down. For a city that is still reeling from the loss of a number of heritage structures, not to mention the existing ones being endangered, questions and concerns have arisen: what is going on at the Army and Navy Club? Why is there a secrecy it seems? Is it going to be demolished as well? We cannot blame people from expressing these thoughts and concerns…
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For God and Country: Iglesia Filipina Independiente And Its National Cathedral
August 3, 1902 was a significant event in the annals of Philippine religious history, and of the greater history of the country as a whole. On that day, a group of nationalists led by labor leader Isabelo de los Reyes sought to proclaim a new church as an answer to the issues of corruption, discrimination, and other abuses being committed by the Roman Catholic Church in the country, especially against Filipinos. It would be a church by Filipinos and for Filipinos, especially at a time when the ideals of the Philippine Revolution have taken a hold of the country that was struggling to find its own identity, especially in terms…
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Mabini150: The Mabini Shrine and Museum
Today marks the commemoration itself of Apolinario Mabini’s 150th birth anniversary. What better way to close off this special than a feature on the house that has long been talked about: Mabini’s Nagtahan house now known as the Mabini Shrine in its new and permanent “home” right at the Polytechnic University of the Philippines’ (PUP) main campus, which is also known as the Mabini Campus. (even before the move of the shrine) While it may seem odd to find such a house looking out of place in the middle of a busy campus, it does seem to complement the campus in a way, serving as a sort of a quiet spot…
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Mabini150: Mabini and Nagtahan
If there is one place in the metropolis that has a solid association with Apolinario Mabini, it would be the road and the neighborhood called Nagtahan which straddles between the present-day districts of San Miguel and Santa Mesa in the City of Manila. Nagtahan got its name from a word in Tagalog which means to stop or end. It was named so because in the olden days, Calle Nagtahan was a dead end, ending a few meters before the bank of the Pasig River. Despite that, it grew as a rural suburb of Manila during the late Spanish colonial period as some decided to take residence in the area. One…