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 ...

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...

The Wellness Vault Facebook Page This should be another wake-up call. Many years ago, the Vizconde Massacre happened (and honestly, it's still an unsolved case ). The crime happened at night, and until now, the suspects haven't been identified. It may no longer be the case with the late Sophia Marie G. Coquilla in Tagum City of Davao Del Norte . The incident happened on July 9, 2025 .  On July 11, 2025, Mayor Rey Uy of Tagum City, Davao, expressed his condolences . This should be a wake-up call that R.A. 9344 may have one serious flaw . This was also expressed in Sun Star from the same link I shared some time ago: “Hi Sen. Kiko Pangilinan author of Juvenile Justice and Welfare Act 2006 . Ang suspek 14 ug 17-anyos, unya unsaon naman ni ron? What the f**k gyod kaayo ng balaod nimo (Hi Sen. Kiko Pangilinan, author of the Juvenile Justice and Welfare Act of 2006. The suspects are 14 and 17 years old — what now? Your law is so f***ed up),” said one Leizel in a Facebook post capt...

Some people on Facebook are posting, "No to parliamentary system because we had it during Marcos' time." For the nth time, do I need to keep pointing out the facts that we never had a real parliamentary system? As for those anti-reform advocates who say, "The parliamentary system will worsen the Philippines", I would like to ask, "How is the Sara Duterte impeachment going?" The complaints were passed last December 2024 and again, I would like to ask in Tagalog, "How's the Sara Duterte impeachment going"?  If we look at the definition, the Encyclopedia Britannica gives this definition of impeachment: impeachment, in common law, a proceeding instituted by a legislative body to address serious misconduct by a public official . In Great Britain the House of Commons serves as prosecutor and the House of Lords as judge in an impeachment proceeding. In the federal government of the United States, the House of Representatives institutes impeachm...

Kuwento ni Kapitan Kokak Being a Chinese Filipino can be a complicated thing. It took me years to figure out my place in the Philippines. It wasn't until I was in my fourth year high school (in 2001-2002) that the Filipino teacher spoke about Jose Rizal being Chinese by blood . The Filipino teacher asked if one had to be born ethnically Filipino (though it's best to view Filipino as a race, and most Filipinos are of Malay-Indo descent) to be a true Filipino patriot. The answer was no, where she cited several Filipinos of Chinese descent. However, seeing Communist China progress over the Philippines, tends to be my favorite justification whenever I become unreasonable. I even blamed democracy (rather than its misuse, or a wrong notion of it) for the ills the Philippines suffered. An irony is that Communist China should become more powerful than the Philippines. It's easy to brag about the EDSA 1986 Revolution and how it influenced the world. However, take note that the EDSA ...

Mistakes like these are common. It's probably because Malaysians are too accustomed to the term "prime minister" than president. Malaysia's Head of State is a monarch, not a president , compared to its former territory of Singapore. In fact, some Filipinos have referred to prime ministers as "presidente" (president) on social media. It's probably because Filipinos are too accustomed to the term president, to refer to any head of the country. I find this mistake rather funny. Honestly, someone in charge should've double-checked before even addressing President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr.. Marcos is a president, belonging to a presidential system. Also, not every prime minister belongs to a parliamentary system . I just pray that Raissa Espinosa-Robles doesn't take advantage of this situation to demonize the parliamentary system (read here ). However, I'm also anticipating that Mrs. Robles will, so I could at least, fire another shot!  Some prime m...

April 30, 2025, would be 50 years since the Fall of Saigon. Ho Chi Minh (real name, Nguyen Sinh Cung), who also used the pseudonym Nguyen Ai Quoc, while in Paris, died before the reunification. This was pretty much the reverse of what happened between East Germany and West Germany, years later, on November 9, 1989. This event is when North Vietnam finally triumphed over South Vietnam. The democratic South Vietnam fell into the hands of the Communist North Vietnam, which was a totalitarian state. The event was the triumph of the Communist Party of Vietnam (CPV) and its armed wing, the Vietnam People's Army (VPA). Communism won, and the CPV still occupies Vietnam to this very day. The Fall of Saigon proved that Communism can win . True enough, dictatorships do get toppled but not all dictatorships get toppled. The 1986 EDSA Revolution and the 1989 Berlin Wall proved that dictatorships can fall. However, Vietnam is still under a dictatorship. In fact, the reunification created a refug...