This prayer, written by former president Corazon Aquino, was printed on the missalette given out during her burial mass last Wednesday.

By Corazon C. Aquino

Almighty God, most merciful Father
You alone know the time
You alone know the hour
You alone know the moment
When I shall breathe my last

So, remind me each day,
most loving Father
To be the best that I can be
To be humble, to be kind,
To be patient, to be true
To embrace what is good,
To reject what is evil,
To adore only You

Like 1986 all over again with yellow confetti and a sea of people, but no Cory to smile back and flash the Laban sign: Makati’s office workers flocked to Ayala Avenue at noon today …

Fil-Am authors Florante Peter Ibanez and Roselyn Estepa Ibanez sought out family albums, organizations records, personal stories, and more than 200 vintage images to write Filipinos in Carson and the South Bay.

Printed by Arcadia Publishing, the book ($21.99) traces the history of the Filipino community in this California city, where many Pinoys settled in the 1920s as farm workers, US military recruits, entrepreneurs, medical professionals, and laborers, to fill the economic needs of the Los Angeles region.

Florante, a library manager at Loyola Law School, and Rose, who chairs the board of the Filipino American Library, hope that the book will give readers “a more multidimensional view of Filipinos in America” and recognize them as “an eager, hardworking, and talented community that is proud to be part of the rich American tapestry.”

Mantons–those dainty embroidered silk shawls from China–found their way into the hands of sixteenth-century Filipinos through the Manila-Acapulco galleon trade. A Spanish colony back then, the Philippines was the port of call for many galleons that sailed to and from Mexico.

Aside from spices, porcelain, and ivory, silk shawls–which would later be known as Manton de Manila–were among the coveted merchandise that passed the Manila-Acapulco route. The Spanish adapted these shawls as part of their fashion and costumes for dance and music. The manton would also strongly influence Philippine embroidery.

Who was Ninoy? Tarlac-born Benigno S. Aquino Jr. was the leading opponent of President Ferdinand Marcos. Ninoy would have been president had Marcos not declared martial law and forced him into exile in the US.

Even as family and friends who were worried over his safety discouraged him from returning home, Ninoy came back on August 21, 1983, and was assassinated. His killing struck a chord in the consciousness of Filipinos and became one of the pivotal points that led to history turning with the 1986 People Power Revolution.

One fine example of architecture conservation in the Philippines is the first ever Fine Arts School of the University of the Philippines called the Escuela de Bellas Artes.

Built in 1867, the two-story stone structure was designed by Felix Rojas, the first Filipino to earn an architectural degree. Situated on R. Hidalgo Street in Quiapo, it served as the residence of the first dean of the school of fine arts. When the school moved to the Padre Faura campus of the University of the Philippines, the Bellas Artes building was left in a state of neglect, disrepair, and abandonment.