A Business Graduate's Reviewing History Blog

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...

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...

One look and one may think this is from the Bangsamoro Region. Instead, this is an Indonesian dance from Sumatra. A study of Filipino history reveals that Indonesians were among the settlers in the Philippines. That would explain why Muslim Mindanao would be like Malaysia and Indonesia in their culture. As I look at the gestures, I'm reminded of my high school Buwan ng Wika (Month of the Language) programs. Several Filipino dances in Mindanao are similar to those of Malaysia and Indonesia. After all, most Filipinos share the same direct ancestry as Malaysians and Indonesians.  As a Chinese Filipino, it's hard for me not to think of the Itik Itik dance. The two dances are similar yet different. 

Documentation Center of Cambodia Archives Two days ago, on April 17, 1975, marked the 50th year since Pol Pot (real name, Saloth Sar) rose to power. The Khmer Rouge only ruled for four years, but it showed one thing--a reign of less than six years isn't necessarily benevolent (read here ). A look at Pol Pot's past may show that he was the typical inggitero--the Filipino word for someone who's easily jealous of others! The History website reveals this brutal detail on Pol Pot's regime, which was most likely fueled by jealousy : Pol Pot was a political leader whose communist Khmer Rouge government led Cambodia from 1975 to 1979. During that time, an estimated 1.5 to 2 million Cambodians died of starvation, execution, disease or overwork. One detention center, S-21, was so notorious that only seven of the roughly 20,000 people imprisoned there are known to have survived. The Khmer Rouge, in their attempt to socially engineer a classless communist society, took particular ...

Credit: Jhonil C. Bajado's Facebook page Today is the Anniversary of the Titanic. However, I couldn't help but think of the even bigger disaster Doña Paz when the Titanic is remembered. The Doña Paz was called the Titanic of Asia--a disaster that had more victims than the already tragic, Titanic. The Pieta Park, a Catholic religious shrine, was also dedicated to the victims of the tragedy. I would search for "Dona Paz" on Facebook, and it's sad to know that some bodies were never found . Out of respect for them, I will choose to leave then Anonymous I'd like to cite this excerpt from the Daily Tribune: CATBALOGAN CITY – A plaza dedicated in memory of thousands who died in the sinking of passenger boat Doña Paz has been demolished, drawing outrage among the residents of this city. Catbalogan City Mayor Dexter Uy said the demolition of Pieta Park on Saturday shocked him, especially since the city has not issued any permit for the demolition or the planned constr...

As I look back on my college days, I recall learning more about Chinese history in a Chinese Language Class elective. Yes, it was going back to Grade 1 Chinese, but doing Grade 1 Chinese right. I looked at this video and thought of China's many dialects. A dialect is defined by the Oxford dictionary as, "a particular form of a language which is peculiar to a specific region or social group." The subject was taught in English, not requiring students to learn Hokkien first, and it was how the Chinese school system should've been. Most Chinese Filipinos (like myself) are Hokkien speakers. Amoy is known as Xiamen today, a coastal city of the Fujian Province. I was shocked to learn there are many different types of Chinese, such as Cantonese (used in Hong Kong), and I wasn't shocked to learn that Hainan and Hakka are other dialects in China. Similar to Filipino, China has several languages too! In the Philippines, we have Tagalog, Cebuano, Kapampangan, Waray, and Hilig...

Another 1990s tragedy that I remember hearing about was the Ozone Disco Tragedy . If I were teaching business ethics right now, I would use the Ozone Disco case as a case study. It deserves attention because of how tragic it was. I heard some bodies were never recovered. I watched this episode of the Ozone Disco Tragedy on Case Unclosed . Once again, I'll apologize if the videos I post don't have English subtitles. I may consider finding an application to provide a transcript soon, but that's no guarantee! Pretty much, if you're not a Filipino then just read through the blog entry without watching the video first!  I looked into an article from The   Flip Science called " Playing with fire: Understanding the Ozone Disco tragedy " which was written by Mikael Angelo Francisco, during the pandemic. The pandemic ceased several social gatherings, that included discos. Back then, I used the Ozone Disco tragedy as a reason to oppose dancing classes. However, dancing...

It's disheartening that the Facebook page Tuloy Lang Tayo (which fortunately only has 358 followers) said that Chinese New Year should be discredited. The page is also supportive of Atty. Maria Leonor "Leni" S. Gerona-Robredo. Does the owner of the page even know that the late Benigno Simeon "Noynoy" C. Aquino was the person who declared Chinese New Year, a holiday?  The Asia Society gives this detail on Noynoy's declaration: It was the very first time that the Chinese New Year was celebrated in the Philippines as a special non-working holiday which gave the opportunity to both Chinese-Filipinos and Filipinos in the country to enjoy the celebration. This became possible because of the Proclamation declared by President Benigno S. Aquino III , stating that this "is a manifestation of our solidarity with our Chinese-Filipino brethren who have been part of our lives in many respects as a country and as a people." Further details from Asia Society als...

An interesting tidbit about Chinese New Year is that, to no surprise, Chairman Mao Zedong had the festival banned under his regime. The World Treasures website gives this detail on Mao's banning of the said holiday: In 1912, the government abolished Chinese New Year and the lunar new year and adopted the Gregorian calendar which made January 1 the official start of the new year.  In 1949, under the reign of the Chinese Communist Party leader, Mao Zedong, the government outlawed the celebration of the traditional Chinese New Year.  At the end of the 20th century, Chinese leaders became more willing to accept the Chinese tradition.  In 1996, China instituted a weeklong vacation during the holiday which took the name of the Spring Festival.  During this week businesses come to a halt and people are given the chance to travel home and celebrate the new year with their family. Chinese New Year was a tradition brought by the Chinese. However, the Lunar New Year festival i...

It's the Chinese New Year once again. Some  ignorant people have their ill feelings towards Chinese Filipinos, never mind the long history of Chinese immigrants who have become Filipinos. A simple classroom history lesson to a Google search, will tell us what it meant to be a Filipino.  What does it mean to be a Filipino?  It's often said that Filipino is more of a nationality than a race. Here's the definition of what it means to be a Filipino: 1 : a native of the Philippine Islands 2 : a citizen of the Republic of the Philippines 3 : the Tagalog-based official language of the Republic of the Philippines Filipino adjective  According to the current constitution, these define what makes one a Filipino: Section 1. The following are citizens of the Philippines: [1] Those who are citizens of the Philippines at the time of the adoption of this Constitution; [2] Those whose fathers or mothers are citizens of the Philippines; [3] Those born before January 17, 1973, of Fili...