SENTIDO > CULTURE > TRAVEL > PHILIPPINES

Rizal's works are an integral part of late 19th century Philippine political and literary culture, and vital for understanding the era of the struggle for independence from colonial rule. [More...]

THE PRESIDENCY OF FERDINAND MARCOS
LEGACY OF ECONOMIC HARDSHIP, POLITICAL ABUSES STILL FELT
22 February 2007

Demand for land reforms by poor farmers led to another Huk uprising, and political turmoil continued to wreak havoc on Philippine society.  Social unrest eventually led the Marcos administration to tighten security measures and increase military campaigns to quash dissenters in 1969.  Marcos won re-election that year, and his new term began under great duress, as allegations of corruption began to surface. [Full Story]

PHILIPPINES: 'AROMA, LIGHT, COLOR, SONG'
THE 7,100 ISLANDS OF THIS PACIFIC RIM NATION ARE HOME TO A RICH CULTURAL HERITAGE, AMID STUNNING NATURAL BEAUTY
17 January 2007

"Tu atmósfera, tu espacio, tus valles cruzaré,
Vibrante y limpia nota seré para tu oído,
Aroma, luz, colores, rumor, canto gemido
Constante repitiendo la esencia de mi fe."
—José Rizal, "Mi último adiós"

A low mumbling of congestion, cars, buses, bikes and jeepneys harmonize with pedestrians in urban chorus.  Negotiating its way through a mixture of cooking smoke and tropical urban air, the salt of the seas soak clothes and voices alike.  Sounds hover through the air under a pungent midday sun that shines over this country of more than 7,000 islands.  Tempering brisk spirits and making strangers into instant friends, a humid atmosphere makes for willing faces, as a signature of Manila, the Philippines' capital city. [Full Profile]

NEW ANTHOLOGY OF RIZAL'S PLAYS, POEMS, IN ORIGINAL SPANISH
1 November 2006

José Rizal was the father of the Philippine cause for independence from Spain. His poetic works show a marked interest for the improvement of the human condition and serious politicla meditations. While confined to Fort Santiago, in Manila, he penned at the end of his life his last work in verse, "My Last Farewell", which is prized for its coherent and intimate look at the human condition. Now, a new anthology, created in collaboration between New Jersey-based publisher Casavaria and Barcelona-based publisher Linkgua, a new anthology contains both of Rizal's plays and a selection of his most prized poetry. [Full Story]

JAPAN TO AID IN SOUTHERN PHILIPPINES MONITORING TEAM
INT'L MONITORING TEAM (IMT) FOR MINDANAO PEACE PROCESS TO INCLUDE JAPANESE NEGOTIATORS, DEVELOPMENT PROJECTS
25 July 2006

Philippine president Gloria Arroyo's government announced Sunday from Malacañang presidential palace in Manila that Japan will be joining the International Monitoring Team officially aiding in the moderation of peace talks between the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF), which has been leading an insurrection on the large southern island of Mindanao. [Full Story]

ABANICO: PHILIPPINE IMPRESSIONS
TRAVELS IN METRO-MANILA, BATANGAS & LAGUNA, 1999
26 February 2006

Another current in time runs over this landscape, through the people. 'There is a different rhythm here'. This mantra greets me as I take my first breath of tropic metropolitan air. 'There is a different rhythm here'. This I hear from every quarter, from every mouth. It seems to be a national chorus, introducing me to the difference, without knowing how to describe it. 'It may take time', they tell me. I have already begun to succumb. [Keep reading]

REPORTS SUGGEST PHILIPPINE COUP PLOT WIDELY KNOWN
25 February 2006

According to the Houston Chronicle, media reports throughout the last week had given details of an alleged plot to use mass celebrations of the 1986 ouster of dictator Ferdinand Marcos, to stoke popular sentiment against Arroyo government, sway military officers to join in public demand she resign. [Full Story]

PHILIPPINES UNDER MARTIAL LAW AGAINST ALLEGED COUP
INCIDENTS COINCIDE WITH 20TH ANNIVERSARY OF 'PEOPLE POWER' REVOLUTION AGAINST MARCOS
24 February 2006

Philippines pres. Arroyo, has declared a state of emergency after police clashed with demonstrators at rally in Manila where thousands of Filipino citizens and a former president called for her to step down. Arroyo declared the efforts part of an attempted military coup d'état and a "threat to the nation". [Full Story]

1,800 FEARED DEAD AFTER LANDSLIDE IN LEYTE, PHILIPPINES
ILLEGAL LOGGING MAY HAVE DESTABILIZED MOUNTAIN TERRAIN, ALLOWING CATASTROPHIC RUNOFF, MUDSLIDES
18 February 2006

The mudslides began amid two weeks of torrential rains, which flooded and destabilized mountainside soils. Witnesses described the event as sounding "like the mountain had exploded". The entire village of Guinsahugon essentially disappeared beneath the heavy sheets of mud, leaving only 57 survivors. [Full Story]

Metro-Manila
Manila is no longer one city unto itself, but a collection of cities and municipalities of which Old Manila is but one district.

Taal Lake / Tagaytay
In the mountains of Laguna province, Taal Lake fills the caldera of an ancient super-volcano, and surrounds the small but relentless Taal Volcano. Nearby Tagaytay is a resort prized for its cool mountain breezes.

Boracay
A small island in the central Vizayas region of the Philippines, Boracay is known for the white coral-sand beach of its northern shore, one of the most breathtaking in the world.

Pagsanjan Falls
Impossible boatmen row and pull visitors up the rapids of the Pagsanjan River for a visit to the small but teeming falls. The trip back is easier and quicker going, the views of high cliff walls stunning.

Batangas
Along the southern coast of Luzon island, Batangas province boasts Anilao, one of the world's premier diving spots, along reefs in the South China Sea.

Banahue
Famed for its terraced rice fields, this remote province attracts more and more visitors, interested in the local indigenous culture and the architectural marvel of the terraces.