A Business Graduate's Reviewing History Blog

During the time when the controversial former mayor, Alice Guo, was summoned, some people referred to her as Alice Go . Some think that Guo is a variation of Go. However, it's Goh,  not Guo,  that's the common variation. I researched the Guo surname and found a character different from Go (which is Wu) in Mandarin. Guo is spelled out as "郭" (Pinyin: Guō), and the Hokkien variation is Keh or Que. The surname Go is 吳  (Mandarin Pinyin: Wú), which is a totally different character from Guo. It was easy to call Alice Guo as Alice Go . Also, the surname Guo is more common among Mainland Chinese (where the national language is Mandarin ), while Chinoys are either Hokkien or Cantonese speakers. I've known some people with Cantonese surnames like Chan and Wong. I've known some Chinese Filipinos with the surname Chan (which is Tan in Hokkien), but they never spoke Cantonese.  Alice's Chinese name is apparently written as 郭華萍 (Guō Huápíng), not 吳華萍 (Wú ...

Does one have to be born Filipino to be truly Filipino? That was a question my Filipino teacher asked to provoke the mind, back when I was in the Fourth Year of High School. Chinoys may have their identity crisis. It can be like, "If Chinoys are already Filipinos, why are they forbidden from marrying Filipinos?" The term huan-a can be derogatory . The term huan-a is also used in Malaysia and Indonesia, referring to anyone of Malay-Indo descent. In the Philippines, huan-a refers to Filipinos of Malay-Indo descent.  Back in college, I researched and stumbled on the name Jose Ignacio Paua , a Filipino who was actually born in China . Jose Ignacio was born in Lao-Na in Fujian Province. His real name would've been Lâu Hingpua̍h (劉亨賻) or Liú Hēngfu in Mandarin. It was at that time when I realized that several Filipino heroes, were actually Chinese by blood such as Jose Rizal, Emilio Aguinaldo (though this is debatable since he did questionable stuff), Vicente Lim, Lorenzo Ruiz ...

As it's Buwan ng Wika or Buwan ng Kasaysayan, I'm tempted to dig into some of my high school Filipino lessons. Right now, I have no idea where my former Filipino teachers are teaching. I recall being told that, since I'm a good writer, I should focus on peaceful resolutions rather than following the path of hatred and violence. I watched the Jose Rizal film back when I was in college. I was asked a provocative question: why Rizal never made Simoun (who was actually Crisostomo Ibarra from Noli Me Tangere ) succeed in the violent revolution.  Casa Grande Vintage Filipino Cinema Facebook Page I noticed some people tell me El Filibusterismo was a boring book. However, I felt that something was wrong with the Philippines, and I felt that peaceful means weren't going anywhere. Where was my talent in writing heading? I was already more than desperate to move away from the Philippines. That's why I wanted to take Information Technology, even if I sucked at mathematics. It w...

It's August, meaning it's time for Buwan ng Wika . It's called the  Month of the Language in English. As always, please be reminded that I'm a Chinese Filipino. That means I'll be posting some videos in Tagalog (without subtitles), and I'll apologize in advance. August became the designated month for the celebration of Buwan ng Wika.  I'd like to recall how the Buwan ng Wika programs are being done. I remember being a participant (but never the star of the show) during my high school days. What happens is that Buwan ng Wika almost feels like a repeat performance of the National Heritage Month , which is done during May. Is it because of the schedule where children take their vacation from April to May? Well, there are college students and some of those who need to take summer classes, because they failed a certain subject. Cebu has the "Gabii sa Kabilin" or "Night of the Heritage" during May. However, I tend to overlook that, in favor of ...

Still defending the 1987 Constitution? Some time ago, I wrote asking about the current vice president,  Sara Duterte-Carpio's impeachment . I tagged a certain someone, and all he did was hurl more insults at my face. Eventually, that certain someone blocked me. A recent development of impeachment against Sara herself. What's really not too surprising is that the Supreme Court of the Philippines deemed the move unconstitutional . Still a problem of who runs the system than the system itself?! The lower house of Congress had impeached Duterte in February, accusing her of misusing public funds, amassing unusual wealth and threatening to kill Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr , the First Lady, and the House Speaker. The problem with the impeachment trial is that it's really cumbersome . Who can remember the impeachment proceedings done against former president Joseph Marcelo Ejercito aka Joseph "Erap" Estrada ? Who can remember the impeachment trial against th...

Philippine Japanese Journal Some advocates against charter change often cite that some countries have an older constitution. One example is the USA. The other example, surprise for some, myself included, is Japan. Some may say that a new constitution isn't needed because some countries have an older constitution. However, reading through the Constitution of Japan and comparing it with the 1987 Constitution of the Philippines , one can think about quality over quantity. The Philippines had changed its constitution from 1935, to 1973 (which I believe was illegal), and the 1987 version (which sprang out of a desperate need). I recommend reading both links that I just sent, to understand my point! Can a shorter vs. longer constitution be the reason? As I read both, the Constitution of Japan is  surprisingly  not-so-complicated. The Constitution of Japan would only be composed of  16 pages  (printed on short bond paper). Meanwhile, the 1987 Constitution of the Philippine...

July 16, 1997, was when the Chiong sisters, Jacqueline Jimenea Chiong and Marijoy Jimenea Chiong, disappeared. I still believe the body in Carcar was actually Marijoy. Jacqueline may have been the victim of a no-body found murder case (read here ). I don't believe the claims that either one or two sisters are actually hiding in Canada. The proof is still moot at best . It's safe to assume that both have died. I watched Give Up Tomorrow (read here )   and fortunately, GMA-7 had featured their case in Case Unclosed (read here ) , all before the documentary was finished. I've seen both documentaries. However, I may prefer to look into Case Unclosed due to its more direct approach in giving the details. I'm not a lawyer and I don't think I'm fit to handle such cases. However, I've actually talked with some people who personally knew the Chiong Sisters (such as their high school classmates) or someone who personally knew their youngest sister, Debbie Jane Jimenea...