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.

“Beyond the Currents: The Culture and Power of Sulu,” an ongoing exhibit at the Yuchengco Museum, studies the political, economic, and social tapestry of the Sulu sultanate.

Located at the crossroads of maritime trade and international politics, the Sulu archipelago bridged two worlds: Mindanao, the Philippines, and China in the north, and Borneo, the Celebes, and the Moluccas in the south.  Commerce, treaties, and intermarriages further strengthened the sultanate, also contributing to Sulu’s hybrid culture. Traces of Chinese, Hindu, and Arab influence are manifest in the customs, languages,  arts, arms, and clothing of the people of Sulu.

Children of the diaspora they are: This historical photo is part of the recently released book Filipinos in the East Bay.

A new historical book by Arcadia Publishing documents the migration …

Sports champion Manny Pacquiao becomes the first Pinoy athlete to be immortalized in a Philippine stamp, says this report from Philboxing.com. Regular and special edition versions will be issued this week by the Philippine Postal …

Binondo Church in 1905: One of the oldest places of Christian worship in the Philippines, this structure was devastated in WWII and has undergone major restoration. Today, what remains of the original structure is the eight-sided bell tower.

Mention Binondo and the first thing that comes to mind is the kidnapping of Filipino Chinese. There’s more to Manila’s Chinatown, however, as shown in the ongoing exhibit, “Binondo: Pride of Place,” at the Yuchengco Museum.

Assembled by the UP Manila Young Curators Program, the exhibit takes us through Binondo’s historic past in rare photographs, maps, and prints from the 1900s, secured from the Lopez Memorial Museum and Library.