The Forgotten War: Philippine-American War, 1899-1902

How many of you (who are 50 years old or younger) have heard of the Philippine-American War, 1899-1902? Here's a video for your information and perhaps wonderment!
You will enjoy this video if you love history. As the saying goes, you will never know your Future if you do not look back to your Past.


A more detailed description of this war can be found in Andrew J. Birtle book " US Army Counterinsurgency and Contingency Operations, 1860-1941.

Restaurant that Feed the Soul in the Philippines

"Sister Evangeline Paras head chef of the Ristorante delle Mitre (Restaurant of the Mitre) shows a roasted chicken dish for customers in the Philippines’ only Catholic-themed restaurant

The following is an article from the Gulf Times, Qatar dated June 8, 2011. It is titled Philippine restaurant seeks to feed the soul. I found it very interesting and a unique concept worthy of reprinting in one of my blogs. Here's the article:

"In the Philippines’ only Catholic-themed restaurant, Sister Evangeline Paras aims to enrich the soul as much as excite the palate. As head chef, the Theresian nun oversees operations at the Ristorante delle Mitre (Restaurant of the Mitre) and a menu made in honour of the Catholic church’s bishops but priced to suit all members of the flock.

The restaurant, which opened last year, aims to bring the church closer to the people in Asia’s bastion of Catholicism at a time when controversies such as sexual abuse scandals have alienated many believers.

“We want to show the positive side of the church... I consider this another ministry of the church,” Paras said amid frenzied cooking by her five assistants in the well-lit kitchen.
“It also gives you a glimpse of how the priests and bishops live, what they do and how they eat.”
In the dining area, waiters move quickly between tables, explaining the story behind each dish on the menu to an eclectic crowd, from labourers and unionists in casual clothes to smartly-dressed bankers.
Several hearing and speech-impaired workers under the restaurant’s equal opportunities programme also engage diners with animated hand gestures.
Hanging on the walls are photographs in sepia of the church’s past and present bishops and cardinals, as well as various memorabilia celebrating Catholicism in the Philippines.
A pianist plays “Amazing Grace”, a popular Christian hymn written by English clergyman John Newton in the 18th Century.
The soothing music envelopes the restaurant in a religious ambiance that is occasionally broken by the clanking of utensils and the muffled voices of orders being barked in the kitchen.
The name of the restaurant is derived from bishops’ hats that are their symbol of authority. The glass-encased mitres of three late Filipino prelates nominated for beatification are displayed in a corner, while a bookcase full of religious tomes offers diners a history of the Catholic Church in the Philippines.
A life-sized mannequin in a cardinal’s vestments stares from a corner, towering over an altar with statues of the baby Jesus and Mother Mary.
“There is a certain charm to the idea that you are eating at a blessed place,” said Marissa Castro, 28, a banker based in Australia who was paying her third visit to the restaurant since coming back home for a holiday.
“It certainly is a unique restaurant.”
Businesswoman Elvira Go, who collaborated with the church to put up the restaurant, said the place was conceptualised when she and some bishop friends went on a pilgrimage to the Vatican several years ago.
They had frequented a small cafe where the clergy went, and the idea of putting up a similar place in Manila stuck.
The Philippines is the most obvious place in Asia to set up such a restaurant, with about 80% of the country’s 94mn people Catholic thanks to its former status as Spanish colony.
Go’s intention was just to put up a small canteen at the Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines building located inside the old Itramuros Spanish fortress of Manila.
But the plan soon got the endorsement of the bishops conference’s 120 members, some of whom asked friends to donate their time and services to the project. With no previous experience running a restaurant, Go said the biggest challenge was the menu -- the bishops stated that the food must be affordable to the common labourer without sacrificing quality.
“But one night when the bishops were having dinner, the holy spirit suddenly gave me inspiration,” Go said.
“So I went around the table and asked everyone what their favourite dishes were, and I was struck at how simple and doable they were.”
The result was an interesting mix of dishes with diverse influences, from Italian-inspired pasta to a fusion of Asian, Western and uniquely Filipino food.
Among the favourites is salmon in tamarind stew, crispy pork legs deep fried to a golden brown and other Filipino fare with prices ranging from 100 pesos to 500 pesos.
A 35-peso (less than a dollar) budget meal set is also offered, which will give one two dishes plus rice and the day’s chosen drink. But there are also pricey set meals which include a selection of soups, salads, steaks, pasta and seafoods from prawns to lobsters.
Ice creams, breads, pizzas and pastries are also freshly made in a backroom bakery.
Overseeing all the food is Paras, formerly the personal cook of Archbishop Ricardo Cardinal Vidal, one of the country’s most senior spiritual leaders, who agreed to place her on loan to the restaurant.
The portly nun with an easy-going manner came from a small family in the impoverished island province of Marinduque, where she earned a degree in home economics from a local college.
Paras, 37, became a nun in 1991 and a decade later was asked to manage a religious retreat house, where her impressive cooking skills caught the attention of the cardinal.
“Cooking for God’s people has always been my calling,” Paras said.
She honed her craft by poring over cookbooks and experimenting on a fusion of local and international dishes.
“You just have to cook with passion, with your whole heart and prepare every dish as you would for your loved ones,” she said ".

There is nothing I can add to the above article but will definetly visit the restaurant the next time we are in the Philippines. Oh yes, I almost forgot to congratulate fellow Marinduqueno Sister E Paras on her culinary expertise and job well done!

Bullfighting and Cockfighting in Manila in the 1890s

While doing a web search on the Philippine-American War of 1899, two items attracted my attention, bullfighting and cockfighting. The first item is gone in the Filipino lives and culture for quite a long time. However, cockfighting remains ingrained into the Filipino mind, that is why it very popular gambling activity for a lot of Filipinos today. It is almost a national sport in the country side. A lot of money is lost or won every weekend in almost all towns and cities in the Philippines from cockfighting festivities. I wrote an article on my first cockfighting experience along with my two American-born kids, 2 grand kids and son-in-law about two years ago in this blog (see below for a short excerpt). That first cockfight experience in Marinduque will be the last time, I will put myself near a cockfighting arena. Here's a short paragraph on bullfighting in Manila in the 1890s.

"The bull ring was located in Paco district. An American writer who was in the Philippines in 1898-99, Joseph L. Stickney, described the state of the sport in the country: "Neither Spanish bull-fighters nor Spanish bulls are brought to the island, so that native talent has to be obtained to play both roles. The bulls are timid and lazy, the bull-fighters are little better, so that the traveler does not see bullfighting of the same sort that he would in Spain, Cuba or Mexico."

Here's a reprint of my first cockfighting experience in Marinduque

I grew up in the Philippines, until I was 25 years old. But I have never attended a cockfighting tournament. When I was growing up my parents instructed me never to go inside the arena or else I get a beating in the buttocks. However, without my parents knowledge, my friend and I were outside the arena a number of times where there are stalls selling merienda's( Filipino cakes and balot) and other goodies. So outside the arena, I could still remember the noise and commotion inside when the winner is announced in my mind even until today.

It was only two years ago, when we celebrated our Golden wedding anniversary that I attended a cockfighting tournament in Marinduque. This was the first request of my two sons, nephew to be (boy friend of my niece) and son-in-law who all grew up in US. They have heard and read about it, so they were really curious. So the first Sunday of their visit in Marinduque, I took them to my first cockfighting experience. We were accompanied by a local relative who was a cockfighting enthusiast and a semi-addict of this bloody sport and gambling activity in the Philippines.

WOW! What an experience! The crowds were 99.9% male. There were only three women out of about 300 gamblers. My son-in-law and "nephew to be" were the only white-skinned males(gringos) in the crowd. Of course my son-in-law who is 6 feet and 6 inches tall stuck out like a sore thumb with his height and bald head. At first I really did not understand what was going on, as the attendees were all shouting their bets to the bet taker almost at the same time. But I heard the bet taker never makes a mistake. What a memory! There were two sides, MAYRON or WALA. When I was growing up, the two opposing sides were “ SA PULA and SA PUTI”.

MAYRON means you have something and WALA means you have nothing. PULA means red and PUTI means white, indicating the opposite color of the roosters. But sometimes the roosters have the same color, so this was abandoned to the current mayron or wala as the two opposing sides.

The noise was so deafening once a winner or a “kill” was declared. It sounded like a thousand males had an orgasmic experience all at the same time. It was so loud, that I had to cover my ears. I enjoyed more watching the antics of the crowd than the actual cockfights except for the moment of kill. After a few of these bouts, I got tired, so I went outside the arena. In the meantime, my guests were betting and enjoying themselves. We stayed for only about an hour since I was getting tired due to the noise, the heat and humidity in the arena. My son won about $10, but my son-in-law lost $15. They had a grand and fantastic time. I did not!

I will never attend a cockfighting tournament again, I just don't like the gambling atmosphere and the smell of the place(amoy pawis). My preference in gambling are the casinos not the cockfighting tournaments. It was however, an experience worthy of posting in this blog. Cockfighting also reminded me of bull fighting in Spain, that I attended about ten years ago. I loved the bull fights, not the cock fights.

Six Delightfully Named Places in US and other Parts of the World

1. No Name, Colorado
150 miles west of Denver along I-70 lies a tiny little town that people were too lazy to bother naming. Therefore, it is simply called No Name, Colorado. Population: a whopping 123.



2. Boring, Oregon
This is one of those unfortunate towns named after some old dude (W. H. Boring…really), long before the old dude’s name came to mean something else in the English language. Or at least, we’re going to give them the benefit of the doubt and assume that “boring” didn’t mean then what it does today. Otherwise that’s just stupid.



3. Hell, Michigan, which is about 15 miles from Ann Arbor, has been around for a long time. There are two predominant theories as to the origin of it’s unique name, and both are stupid. One theory holds that some German travelers were overheard saying “so schön hell” (“so beautifully bright”), so some stupid locals started calling it Hell. The other theory posits that, when the founder was asked what to call the town, he said “I don’t care. You can name it Hell for all I care.” So they did. Like I said, stupid theories.


4. Anus, France
If anyone in this little medieval town had a sense of humor or entrepreneurial spirit, they’d be selling “I Heart Anus (France)” t-shirts by the side of the road.

Fucking, Austria
5. Fucking, Austria
In 1070 this town was called Vucchigen. It was called Fukching in 1303, Fugkhing by 1532 and, finally, Fucking by the 1900s. So you see, it took a long, long time for the German language to evolve to the point where “Fucking, Austria” became totally hilarious. Today, the sign at the entrance of town is the most sought-after object d’art for Americans backpacking through Europe (because it looks sweet on dorm walls).

Bald Knob, Arkansas
6. Bald Knob, Arkansas
Coming in at #6 is Bald Knob, Arkansas. With a population of 3,210, this metropolis dwarfs the previous two poorly-named municipalities. I wonder what residents of this town call themselves—Bald Knobbers? Bald Knobbians? Bald Knobbites? Whatever it is, I bet it sounds dirty.

Besides the above six, I have posted short articles on Intercourse, PA, French Lick, Indiana and Dildo, Newfoundland, Canada.
I hope I made your day! Ha! Ha! Ha!

Note: This is #5 to #10 of a series of articles on delightfully named places in US and other parts of the world.

Frequently Ask Questions about Dual Citizenship( Filipino-American)

The other day, one of my long time friend here in Northern California was asking me how to apply and what are the advantages of dual citizenship.( Philippines and American). Here is my answer to her from the article Frequently Asked Questions Relating to the Reacquisition of Philippine Citizenship under Republic Act 9225, published by The Philippines Consulate General Office.

1. Who are eligible dual citizens? Natural-born Filipinos who have lost their Philippine citizenship by naturalization in a foreign country, and their unmarried children who are below 18 years of age are eligible under Republic Act No. 9225 or the Citizenship Retention and Reacquisition Act of 2003.

2. What is the procedure in applying and what documents are required in order to apply? (a) Applicant shall present a copy of his/her Birth Certificate issued or duly-authenticated by the National Statistics Office (NSO) in Manila.

(Note: applicants who are based in the United States can request for an authenticated birth certificate from the National Statistics Office on-line through the following website: www.ecensus.com.ph)

In case of no records found, applicant must present a Certificate of Non-Availability of Birth Record from the NSO and other secondary documentary proof of being a former natural-born Filipino citizen (e.g. old Philippine passport, baptismal certificate, marriage certificate of applicant’s parents)

(b) Applicant accomplishes form entitled “Petition for Dual Citizenship and Issuance of Identification Certificate (IC) pursuant to RA 9225” and attaches three (3) 2”x2” photographs showing the front, left side and right side views of the applicant.

(c) Applicant submits duly-accomplished petition to the Philippine Consulate General in Chicago together with the photos, birth certificate and a valid ID.

(Note: applicants who are married and who wish to use their married names must submit a copy of their marriage certificate).

(d) Applicant pays a processing fee of US$ 50.00 and is assigned a schedule for his/her oath of allegiance before a consular officer. Applicant takes his/her oath.

(e) Applicant is given the original copy of his notarized oath of allegiance together with an Order of Approval issued by the Philippine Consulate General.

(f) The Philippine Consulate General forwards to the Bureau of Immigration in Manila the petition, oath, order of approval, and other supporting documents for issuance of an Identification Certificate.

(g) The Bureau of Immigration issues an Identification Certificate (IC) and forwards it to the applicant through the Philippine Consulate General.

3. What rights and privileges will dual citizens enjoy? Those who retain or reacquire their Philippine Citizenship under RA 9225 shall enjoy full civil and political rights and be subject to all attendant liabilities and responsibilities under existing laws of the Philippines and the following conditions:

(a) Those intending to exercise their right of suffrage must meet the requirements under Section 1, Article V of the Constitution, Republic Act No. 9189, otherwise known as “The Overseas Absentee Voting Act 0f 2003” and other existing laws.

(b) Under the Act, the right to vote or be elected or appointed to any public office in the Philippines cannot be exercised by, or extended to, those who are candidates for or are occupying any public office in the country of which they are naturalized citizens and/or those who are in active service as commissioned or non-commissioned officers in the armed forces of the country which they are naturalized citizens.
(b) Those seeking elective public office in the Philippines shall meet the qualifications for holding such public office as required by the Constitution and existing laws and, at the time of filing of the certificate of candidacy, make a personal and sworn renunciation of any and all foreign citizenship before any public officer authorized to administer an oath.

(c) Those appointed to any public office shall subscribe and swear to an oath of allegiance to the Republic of the Philippines and its duly constituted authorities prior to their assumption of office: Provided, That they renounce their oath of allegiance to the country where they took that oath;

4. As a dual citizen, can I own land in the Philippines? Is there a limit as to the area or size of the land or real property which I could purchase under my name?As provided for under the 1987 Philippine Constitution, there is no limit as to the area or size of the land or real property, which a Filipino citizen may acquire or purchase under his/her name. Naturally, this principle applies to former Filipinos who reacquire their citizenship under RA 9225.

5. As a dual citizen, how long can I stay in the Philippines? Having reacquired your citizenship, you can stay in the Philippines for as long as you want without having to pay an immigration fees. You can even choose to retire or permanently settle back in the Philippines. As a Filipino citizen, you are subject to duties and other obligations imposed on other ordinary Filipinos, such as paying the necessary community tax residence and other tax liabilities in accordance with the tax laws of the Philippines.

6. Will I have to pay income taxes for my earnings here in the United States?In accordance with current tax laws of the Philippines, all income derived by Filipino citizens from sources abroad are not subject to income taxes.

7. As a dual citizen, am I allowed to practice my profession in the Philippines (e.g. doctor) ? Under the law, those intending to practice their profession in the Philippines shall apply with the proper authority for a license or permit to engage in such practice.

8. After I reacquire my citizenship, are my minor, unmarried children also considered as Filipino citizens? Under Section 4 (Derivative Citizenship) of Republic Act 9225, the unmarried child, whether legitimate, illegitimate or adopted, below eighteen (18) years of age, of those who re-acquire Philippine citizenship shall also be deemed citizens of the Philippines. Applicants who have unmarried minor children should submit copies of the birth certificates of their children upon filing of the petition.

9. If I need to get more details on the rules and procedures for the implementation of RA 9225, which government office do I contact in the Philippines? Under Administrative Order No. 92 Series of 2004 dated 12 January 2004, the Bureau of Immigration has been designated as the government agency in charge of formulating the rules and procedures for the implementation of Republic Act No.9225. The contact details of Immigration Commissioner Alipio F. Fernandez are as follows: Office of the COmmisioner, Bureau of Immigration, Magallanes Drive, Intramuros, Manila, Philippines. (Tel. No. (63)2 527-3265 / Fax No. (63-2) 527-3279)

Little Manila in Stockton, California

There is section in downtown Stockton( China Town), California called Little Manila. Macrine and I had been to this historic site a number of times when we were still residing in Modesto, way back in the late 1970's. It is a historic site and the video below shows that a group of Filipino-American residents in the area are working hard to preserve this section in the City of Stockton. Do not forget to view the related videos illustrating the struggles of Filipino workers and immigrants in the early 1930's in Stockton, California.

Preserving Little Manila in California

Dildo, Newfoundland, Canada

Dildo, Newfoundland, Canada

Not only does this town have the #1 most unfortunate/awesome name in the entire history of the world, but it is surrounded by other incredibly unfortunate/awesome place names. For example, due south of Dildo, Newfoundland, there is South Dildo. Then, just across the bay from Dildo, you’ll find the town of Spread Eagle. Finally, and best of all, just south of South Dildo is Dildo Pond, which bears a striking resemblance to—what else!—a freaking dildo. So, yeah, no other crazy town name even come close to Dildo, Newfoundland, Canada.

Note: This is #4 of a series of articles on delightfully named places in US and other parts of the world.

Do You Know How Many Filipino Immigrants Are in US Today?

This week, my curiosity was aroused when my next door neighbor ( white Anglo-Saxon ancestry) asked me, how many Filipino-Americans are now residing in US. I was not able to answer him, so I told him I do some google search on it. I ask him why he asks the question. He replied, that last month he was in Daly City, CA at the mall. He observed that about 90% of the shoppers were Filipino-looking. That day, he was also invited by his Filipino-American friend to their house in Hercules, CA. About 75%of the residents in Hercules are Filipino-American according to his friend.

The following article "Filipino Immigrants in the United States" is by Aaron Terrazas and Jeanne Batalova of the Migration Policy Institute dated April, 2010

The United States is home to about 1.7 million Filipino immigrants, making them the second-largest immigrant group in the United States after Mexican immigrants.

The Filipino immigrant population grew rapidly during the 1970s and 1980s and has continued to grow (although at a slightly slower pace) since then. In addition, the United States is home to about 1.4 million native-born US citizens who claim Filipino ancestry.

Heavily concentrated in the western United States, the Filipino born account for almost half of all immigrants in Hawaii (for more information on immigrants by state, please see the ACS/Census Data tool on the MPI Data Hub). Compared to other immigrant groups, Filipinos are better educated than the immigrant population overall, and Filipino immigrant women are more likely than other immigrant women to participate in the civilian labor force.

This spotlight focuses on Filipino immigrants residing in the United States, examining the population's size, geographic distribution, and socioeconomic characteristics using data from the US Census Bureau's 2008 American Community Survey (ACS) and 2000 Decennial Census, and the Department of Homeland Security's Office of Immigration Statistics (OIS) for 2008.

Size and Distribution

•There were about 1.7 million foreign born from the Philippines residing in the United States in 2008.
•Nearly half of the Filipino born resided in California.
•The Filipino born accounted for a large share of all immigrants in Western states.
•Between 2000 and 2008, three states saw the size of their Filipino immigrant population grow by 25,000 people or more.
•More than one-third of Filipino immigrants resided in three metropolitan areas.
•Filipinos were two of every five immigrants in Honolulu.
•There were 2.9 million members of the Filipino diaspora residing in the United States in 2008, including 1.4 million native-born US citizens of Filipino ancestry.
Demographic and Socioeconomic Overview
•Over one-quarter of all Filipino foreign born in the United States arrived in 2000 or later.
•Almost two-thirds of Filipino immigrants in 2008 were adults of working age.
•Filipino immigrant women outnumbered men in 2008.
•Filipino immigrants were much more likely than other immigrant groups to be naturalized US citizens.
•Less than one-third of Filipino immigrants in 2008 were limited English proficient.
•A minority of limited English proficient Filipinos did not speak Tagalog, one of the national languages of the Philippines.
•Over three-quarters of Filipino foreign-born adults had some college education or higher. •Filipino immigrant women were more likely to participate in the civilian labor force than foreign-born women overall.
•Almost one-third of employed Filipino-born men worked in health-care support or in construction, extraction, and transportation.
•Nearly one of every four employed Filipino-born women worked as a registered nurse.
•Filipino immigrants were far less likely to live in poverty than other immigrant groups.
•Filipino immigrants were more likely than other immigrants to own their own home, but they were also more likely to have a mortgage.
•One in 10 Filipino immigrants did not have health insurance.
•About 87,000 Filipino immigrants have served in the US Armed Forces.
Legal and Unauthorized Filipino Immigrant Population
•The Filipino foreign born accounted for about 4.5 percent of all lawful permanent residents living in the United States in 2008.
•More than half a million Filipinos gained lawful permanent residence in the United States between 1999 and 2008.
•Over half of Filipino-born lawful permanent residents in 2008 were admitted as the immediate relatives of US citizens.
•Filipino-born lawful permanent residents made up 3.7 percent of all those eligible to naturalize as of 2008.
•In 2009, 2 percent of all unauthorized immigrants in the United States were from the Philippines.
•The number of unauthorized immigrants from the Philippines increased by one-third between 2000 and 2009.

Definitions
The US Census Bureau defines the foreign born as individuals who had no US citizenship at birth. The foreign-born population includes naturalized citizens, lawful permanent residents, refugees and asylees, legal nonimmigrants (including those on student, work, or certain other temporary visas), and persons residing in the country without authorization.

The terms foreign born and immigrant are used interchangeably. Here's an interesting video about Filipino-Americans.



Addendum to this Video: In 1990, I was the first Filipino-American Review Chemist hired by USFDA, Center of New Drugs Evaluation and Research, Silver Spring, MD. In 1996, I was promoted to Chemistry Team Leader. As far as I knew, I was the first Filipino-American Chemistry Team Leader and so far the only one in the history of the USFDA Center of New Drugs. In 2002, when I retired there were several Filipino-Americans working as Medical Reviewers, in Project Management and in the Administrative Offices, but none in the Chemistry Division of New Drugs. I know I was the only Filipino-American Chemist out of more than 100 chemistry Reviewers in the Center of New Drugs, because we have meetings every month and I know all of the Chemistry Reviewers and Team Leaders at that time. For details on my professional career in FDA,see chapter 14 in this site: http://theintellectualmigrant.blogspot.com