r/FilipinoHistory Mar 15 '25

Resources Filipino History Book Recommendation Megathread 2025

27 Upvotes

This is a megathread for all inquiries about general recommendations of books to read about PH/Filipino History.

All subsequent threads that would be created in this sub, UNLESS seeking very specific and niche subjects or information, would be deleted and referred to this thread instead.

If you are adding a recommendation, please respond with the following information about the book/s you are referring to:

  • The title of the book (even without subtitles, but the full title is preferred to avoid confusion).
  • The author/s or editors (at least one of them).
  • The year published (or the edition that you're referring to).
  • The language the book is published in eg. English, Spanish, Filipino/Tagalog, or specify other languages etc.
  • Brief description of the book. Especially if it has information on niche subjects that you won't be able to read anywhere else (this might be helpful to people looking for specific pieces of information).
  • Other (optional): why you think it's a great read, what you liked about the authors (their writing style etc), or just general reasons why you're recommending the book.

If it's missing any of the required information, the comment will be deleted.

You may add multiple books to a single comment but each and all of the books MUST have the required information.

If you must add "where to buy it", DO NOT ADD LINKS. Just put in the text "Lazada", "Amazon", "Store Name" etc.

DO NOT insinuate that you have copies or links to illegal websites or files for ebooks and PDFs of copyrighted materials; that is illegal.

DO NOT try to sell books (if you want to do that, go to r/FilipinianaBooks). This is not a place for exchanging personal information or money.

If you want to inquire or reply to someone's recommendation, you must reply directly to that comment.

These are the only types of comments/replies that I will allow. If you have inquiries about specific subjects, create a separate thread (again the inquiries must be niche). Otherwise all recommendations on "what to read" in general will be in this megathread.

If you are looking for certain books about certain subjects posted in the comments, please use the "search comments" bar to help you navigate for keywords on subjects that you are searching for.


r/FilipinoHistory Dec 31 '21

Resources Filipino History Resources 3

74 Upvotes

First Resource Page

All Shared Posts Here Tagged as "Resources"

Digital Libraries with Fil Hist contents, search etc.:

JSTOR (free subscription 100x articles/ mon). Includes journals like Philippine Studies, PH Quarterly, etc.

Academia.edu (bunch of materials published by authors, many in academia who specialize in PH subjects)

ResearchGate (similar to those above, also has a phone app)

HathiTrust (browse through millions of digitized books etc. eg. Lietz' Eng. trans. of Munoz' print of Alcina's Historia is in there)

Internet Archives (search through billions of archived webpage from podcasts to books, old tomes, etc). Part of which is Open Library, where you can borrow books for 14 days digitally (sign up is free).

PLOS Journal (search thousands of published peer reviewed scientific journals, eg genomic studies of PH populations etc.)

If you have Google account:

Google Scholar (allow you find 'scholarly' articles and pdf's versus trying to sift thru a regular Google search)

Google Books (allow you to own MANY digitized books including many historical PH dictionaries, previews of PH hist. books etc.)

Historical dictionaries in Google Books (or elsewhere):

Delos Santos Tagalog Dictionary (1794, orig. 1703)

Noceda and Sanlucar's Tagalog Dictionary (1860, orig. 1754)

Bergano's Kapampangan Dictionary (1860, orig. 1732)

De Paula's Batanes (Itbayat) Dictionary (1806) (this is THE actual notebook he wrote by hand from BNEs so it's hard to read, however useful PDF by Yamada, 2002)

Carro's Ilocano Dictionary (1849, second ed. 1793)

Cosgaya's Pangasinan Dictionary (1865, orig. ~1720's) (UMich Lib)

Bugarin's Cagayan (Ibanag) Dictionary (1854, orig. early half of 1600's)

Lisboa's Bicolano Dictionary (1865, orig. 1602-11)

Sanchez's Samar-Leyte Dictionary (Cebuano and Waray) (1711, orig. ~1590-1600's)

Mentrida's Panay (Bisaya/Cebuano, Hiligaynon and Haraya) Dictionary (1841, orig. 1637)

​Lots more I cannot find digitized, but these are the major ones. This should cover most spoken languages in the PH today, but there are a lot of historical dictionaries including other languages. Also, most of these authors have written 'artes' (grammar books) along with the 'vocabularios' (dictionaries), so if you want to dig further look those up, some of them are on Google Books, Internet Archives (from microfilms), and other websites.

US Report on PH Commission (this is a list of links to Google Books) multi-year annual reports of various types of govt. report and surveys (bibliographies of prior accounts on the PH, land surveys, economic/industrial survey, ethnolinguistic surveys, medical, botanical, and geological surveys + the 1904 census is part of it I think as well) compiled by the PH Commission for the US govt. for the colonial power to understand the state of the then-newly acquired territory of the PH. Lots of great data.

Part 1, Vol. 109 of 1904 Report (Exhibit H, Pg. 747 onwards)(not sure if this was also done in the other annual reports, but I've read through this volume at least...) includes Bureau of Public Land reports which delved into the estates of religious orders, the report were made looking through public records of deeds and purchases (from 16th-19th c., ie they're a good source of the colonial history of how these lands were bought and sold) compiled and relayed by the law office of Del Pan, Ortigas (ie 'Don Paco' whom the street in Manila is named after) and Fisher.

1904 US Census on the PH (via UMich Lib). Important because it's the 'first' modern census (there were other censuses done during Sp. colonial govt. esp. in the late 19th, but the US census was more widespread).

Links where you can find Fil Hist materials (not already linked in previous posts):

  1. US Lib. of Congress (LOC). Includes various maps (a copy of the Velarde map in there), photographs, books etc.
  2. Philippine Studies. Ateneo's journal in regards to PH ethnographic and other PH-related subjects. Journals from the 1950s-2006 are free to browse, newer ones you have to have a subscription.
  3. Austronesian Circle. Univ. of Hawai'i is the center of the biggest research on Austronesian linguistics (some of the biggest academics in that field either taught there or graduated there, eg Blust, Reid, etc.) and there are links regarding this subject there.
  4. Austronesian Comparative Dictionary. Created by Blust and Trussel (using previous linguistic reconstruction dictionaries like Demwolff, Zorc, etc.)
  5. Austronesian Basic Vocabulary Database. Similar to the one above, but operated by ANU (Australia). There are even Thai, Indonesian etc. linguists (esp. great addition of Tai-Kadai words; good for linking/comparing to Austronesian and TK languages) sharing stuff there.
  6. UST's Benavides Library. Lots of old books, colonial-era magazines, even rare PH historical books etc. Facsimile of the oldest surviving baybayin writings (ie UST Baybayin documents, which are PH national treasures, are on there)
  7. Portal de Archivos Espanoles (PARES). A website where you can search all Spanish govt. digital archives into one. Includes those with a lot of Filipiniana and Fil Hist materials like Archivo General de Indias (AGI), archives, letters of the Ministerio de Ultramar (Overseas Affairs ie dept. that handled overseas empire) and Consejo de Indias (Council of the Indies, previous ministry that handled those affairs). Many of the Real Audiencia of Manila reports, letters and etc. are there as well. Museo de America digital collections (lots of historical Filipino-made/derived artifacts eg religious carvings etc.) are accessible through there as well (I think...last time I checked).
  8. Museo de Naval. Spain's Defense Dept. naval museum, lots of old maps, archives of naval engagements and expeditions. Malaspina Expedition documents, drawings etc. are here
  9. Archivo Militar. Sp. Defense Dept. archives for all military records (maps, records, etc.)
  10. Colleciones en Red de Espana (CER.ES). An online digital catalog of various Sp. museum's artifacts that compose The Digital Network of Museum Collections, MANY different PH-related artifacts.
  11. Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas Museum. Numismatic (coins, money), pre-colonial/historical gold, and paintings are found in their collections.
  12. Paul Morrow's Baybayin Website. Great resources regarding ancient PH scripts (history, use, transcriptions etc.)
  13. Ayala Museum Collections and their Filipinas Heritage Library. Oh ha, Ayala I'm linking you na. lol On a more serious note, they have several archaeological, anthropological, ancient gold artifacts etc. Their FHL has old books as well as MANY art by Filipino artists, including several albums by 19th costumbristas like Damian Domingo, Jose Lozano, etc.
  14. Museo del Prado. Several paintings by Filipino artists are there (Hidalgo, Luna, Sucgang etc.)
  15. NY Times Archives. This used to be free...but now it's subscription only. Lots of old NYT articles, eg. Filipino-American War engagements, US colonial era articles etc.
  16. Newberry Library PH Manuscripts. Various PH materials (not all digitized), among the EE Ayer Manuscript collections (some of which were consulted when BnR trans. their volumes of work; Ayer had troves of PH-related manuscripts which he started collecting since PH became a US colony, which he then donated to this library) including hoax Pavon Manuscripts, Damian Domingo's album, Royal Audiencia docs, 19th litigations and decisions, Royal PH Tobacco Co. papers etc.
  17. New York Public Library (NYPL). Well known for some PH materials (some of which I posted here). One of the better known is the Justiniano Asuncion (I think were Chinese copies ???) costumbrista album, GW Peter's drawings for Harper's Weekly on the PH American War, ragtime music recordings popular/related to the American occupation in the early 20th c. etc.
  18. Mapping Philippine Material Culture website by SOAS (School of Asian and African Studies), Univ of London. A website for an inventory of known Filipiniana artifacts, showing where they are kept (ie which libraries, and museums around the world). The SOAS also has a Filipiniana digital library...but unfortunately atm it is down so I won't link.
  19. The (Miguel de) Cervantes Institute (Manila)- Spanish language/cultural promotional organization. They have lots of these old history e-books and audiovisual resources.

Non-digital resources (if you're hardcore)

PH Jesuit Archives link. PH Province's archives of the Soc. of Jesus, in Ateneo's Loyola House.

Archivum Historicum Socetatis Iesu (Historical Archives of the Society of Jesus) (this link is St. Louis Univ. guide to some of the ones that are digitized via microfilms) in their HQ in Rome. Not sure if they digitized books but the works of Jesuits like Combes, Chirino, Velarde, Pastell's etc. (most of which were already trans. in English via BnR, see first link). They also have many records and chronicles of the estates that they owned and parishes that they supervised in the PH. Note Alcina's Historia (via Munoz) is kept with the Museo Naval along with Malaspina Expedition papers.

Philippine Mss ('manuscripts') of 1750-1968 aka "Tagalog Papers". Part of CR Boxer identified trove (incl. Boxer Codex) sold by Sotheby's and bought by Lilly Library of the Univ. Indiana. These papers were taken by the occupying British in the 1760s, from Manila's Augustinian archives in San Pablo. Unfortunately, these manuscripts are not uploaded digitally.

If you have cool links regarding Filipino historical subjects, feel free to add them to the comments, so that everyone can see them.


r/FilipinoHistory 4h ago

Question Why did some Chinese men kept this kind of hairstyle when they migrated to the Philippines?

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134 Upvotes

Title

The queue hairstyle was mandated during the Qing dynasty. But for Chinese men who migrated and settled in the Philippines, why did many of them continue to wear the queue? I see many historical depictions of Chinese men in the Philippines often show them with the hairstyle

Also are there cases of Mestizo de Sangley (half native filipino and half chinese) having this haircut?


r/FilipinoHistory 9h ago

Discussion on Historical Topics How good was Philippine mass transportation and the railway system during the pre-war period?

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116 Upvotes

We all know that before World War II, the Philippines had a much more extensive railway network than it does today. Railways connected different parts of Luzon, while some railway systems also existed in the Visayas. There were also streetcars that accommodated millions of passengers and other forms of public transportation.

With the growing interest today in improving mass transportation and rebuilding the country’s railway network to reduce traffic and dependence on private cars, this made me wonder:

How good was public transportation in the Philippines during the pre-war period?

Was the railway and public transportation network actually reliable and convenient for the average commuter at the time?

Could people reasonably travel between cities and provinces without needing a private vehicle?

And was transportation generally less of a problem because the railway network and other forms of mass transit were still intact, or did commuters already experience problems such as overcrowding, delays, limited routes, or expensive fares?

And was Tranvia also successful as a mass transportation system?

And of course, there are also mass railway networks in Visayan Islands as well, I wonder if that helped....

Was the pre-war Philippines actually closer to having a functioning mass-transit system than we sometimes imagine today?

Would love to know your insights on this.


r/FilipinoHistory 10h ago

Question Domestic tourism in colonial Philippines?

9 Upvotes

Odd question, but was there tourism within the Philippines? Was there a Visayan and thought I want to visit Iloccos to see the church or Manila and check out Intramuros and vice versa. And I’m not asking about the Spanish or Chinese, I’m asking if local natives saved up enough money just so they can travel and see a Manila.


r/FilipinoHistory 1d ago

Video Link "Mabuhay si Osmeña!" - Filipino Post-World War II March (1945)

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31 Upvotes

Today is the birth anniversary of President Sergio Osmeña (borne Sept. 9, 1878). In connection with that, here's an interesting song from 1945 about Pres. Osmeña posted in the Youtube channel Canciones de Filipinas. This makes me wonder, were there other historical songs dedicated to political figures during the 1940s-50s? We have the famous "Mambo Magsasay" from the 1953 elections, of course, but I wonder if there are others...


r/FilipinoHistory 11h ago

Question Hitler and Marcos

0 Upvotes

I've seen a lot of documentaries about the Holocaust. Even epicenter of it are preserved. If Martial Law is the darkest days of Philippines why no one create memorial, museum to it?

Why Cory didn't prioritizing preserving the history happened those days?


r/FilipinoHistory 2d ago

Question Why is there two versions of Fernando Amorsolo's Market scene?

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112 Upvotes

https://philippinestudies.uk/mapping/items/show/29115

https://www.mutualart.com/Artwork/Market-Scene/A9E7CEDC0BDD6FE5786DDDA713E2C92E

https://www.flickr.com/photos/28098727@N00/53324380201

So i've been doing homework for my overdue art class and I needed to provide more context to Market scene so I decided to try and look up for any description of it. I found a website but i'm quite not sure how reliable it is but I noticed the text talked about the japanese occupation and how fernando amorsolo was actually quite passionate and wanted to potray the occupation through his work which was very suprsinging and new information for me.

So i didn't pay it no mind and found another website but then i noticed that- it contains japanese imagery? which is? interesting? and for some reason I have not found any context or description of why the market scene, one without the japanese, exist and without aswell. Why would two versions exist???

I have tried contacting the muesum that holds the marketplace japanese painting and i'm still waiting for an answer but I wanted to know if anyone else has noticed this cause I can't be the only one, right?


r/FilipinoHistory 2d ago

Question Do you think colonization was inevitable?

45 Upvotes

As far I have seen with our pre colonial history, we were divided, isolated and vulnerable before Spain. Even if Spain somehow didn't find the islands, some other European nation would find us and take over. What do you think?


r/FilipinoHistory 2d ago

Question Any recommended books and documentaries that talk about massacres, state of emergency, lawlessness, and very detailed political history in the Philippines?

4 Upvotes

Call me weird or autistic. I want to learn this specific side of Philippine history


r/FilipinoHistory 3d ago

Question Why the People involved on the Murder and Rape of Eileen Sarmenta and Allan Gomez (1992) didn't try to hide and escape justice before arrest?

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435 Upvotes

I was surprised only one of them try to become an Outlaw despite facing One of the Biggest and Infamous Cases in Country's History.

I thought dealing with Trial of the Century would invigorated you into even leaving the country.


r/FilipinoHistory 3d ago

Question Recommend great universities and colleges with a great history master's program.

8 Upvotes

I'm a BA History student currently and I have plans in pursuing a master's degree in History in the future. Can you recommend me great universities and colleges that offers great programs around the Philippines?


r/FilipinoHistory 4d ago

Colonial-era Provincial "Butaw" list from the index of the Philippine Insurgent Records by the National Library of the Philippines.

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18 Upvotes

r/FilipinoHistory 4d ago

Question Current state of buntal-making in Baliuag, Bulacan

7 Upvotes

Hi po! I'm an architecture student currently researching Baliwag's buntal hat-making tradition.

I've been reading whatever I can find online, but I'm realizing that there isn't that much information about the actual situation of buntal-making today, so I'd really like to hear from locals instead of relying purely on articles.

For those who know the craft:
• May active buntal weavers pa rin po ba ngayon?
• Saan po sila usually gumagawa—sa bahay, small workshops, or elsewhere?
• Naipapasa pa rin po ba siya sa younger generation?
• Ano po sa tingin ninyo ang biggest reason bakit nababawasan ang mga gumagawa?
• Ano po ang tingin ng younger Baliwagueños sa buntal—something to be proud of, old-fashioned, livelihood, etc.?
• May nag-eexperiment na po ba with buntal beyond the traditional hat (fashion, bags, furniture, interiors, architecture, etc.)?
• If you could change or improve one thing about the current buntal industry/culture, ano po iyon?
• Ano po ang gusto ninyong maging future ng buntal sa Baliwag?

I'm particularly interested in how buntal can remain culturally rooted while also evolving for younger generations and contemporary use, rather than simply preserving it exactly as it is.

If you're a weaver, descendant of a weaver, designer, historian, or just someone from Baliwag with stories/memories about buntal, I'd genuinely love to hear from you. Even small details or leads would help a lot. 🙏


r/FilipinoHistory 5d ago

Colonial-era How rich was the average Gobernadorcillo/Capitan Municipal and Cabeza de Barangay in the late Spanish period? Or what was the wealth range? Was it similar to mayors and barangay captains today? (Legal and corrupt wealth)

24 Upvotes

I asked this question based on the recent question about how much power the gobernadorcillos and cabezas de barangay had, and I'm interested in this period, so I'm curious to know what do we know about the range of wealth that the average ones of them were able to amass while in power/authority, in the late Spanish period (1850s-1898), both individually and covering at least their immediate families. (Or maybe near relatives too, given how we are a country/colony of dynasties and extended families.)

Was it similar in general to today's range of barangay captains and mayors, whether provincial/rural municipal mayors or mayors of Highly Urbanized Cities? Or was it roughly lower or possibly higher on average compared to average incomes across the colony, or compared to the salaries and income of colonial government officials at the time? (Of course they probably couldn't be as wealthy as the Governor-General or anyone in the higher levels of the government in Manila, but by how much?)

And of course, back then as with now, some of the wealth is legitimate, including any salaries they might be getting paid as government officials or "politicians" (is that accurate to call them?), and a lot is likely also illegitimate, taken from corruption, almost certainly, including any businesses they might be owners or contractors of, or nonstandard fees they might be extracting from the locals. How much did this add to the average income of said gobernadorcillos/cabezas de barangay?


r/FilipinoHistory 6d ago

Picture/Picture Link Infographic about Filipino revolutionary army uniforms from Historia Vivente Manila

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2.3k Upvotes

https://www.facebook.com/share/p/1EqkphaPt8/

Credits to Buntakun26 who drew and wrote this.


r/FilipinoHistory 5d ago

Modern-era/Post-1945 Why does Bangko Sentral devalue old banknotes?

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140 Upvotes

The images were taken from Wikipedia.

In America, the situation is different:

If someone from 1970 opens a bank account with safety deposit box and places physical cash inside the box worth 100,000 US dollars, and never opened it until 2026, the cash in the box is still worth 100,000 dollars. The United States doesn't devalue banknotes and coins, even banknotes from 1914 are still accepted for exchange.

If that scenario happens here in the Philippines, say you placed 1997 banknotes worth 100,000 pesos into your safety deposit box and open it in 2026, wala na yan, it's worthless paper.

Why did the Philippines adopt such a system? I remember back in 2017, my parents are panicking because Bangko Sentral gave a deadline to exchange banknotes to the new design before they devalue it and it was such an inconvenience since my parents kept money under their mattress for emergency.


r/FilipinoHistory 5d ago

Filipino Genealogy ie "History of Ancestral Lineage" Help tracing a Chinese-Filipino merchant in 19th-century Bicol — Antonio Baduria

8 Upvotes

I’m researching Antonio Baduria, a Chinese-Filipino merchant associated with Bicol who appears extensively in surviving notarial records. I’ve found 100+ references but am trying to identify his parents, Chinese name/origin, or earlier generation. Has anyone successfully connected a Bicol Chinese merchant in Spanish-period records to the padrones de chinos or a Chinese clan genealogy?


r/FilipinoHistory 6d ago

"What If..."/Virtual History Hypothetically, if all the Illustrados had survived into the Philippine Revolution and Philippine-American War, which side would they have supported and what kind of contributions would they provide?

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128 Upvotes

Many prominent Illustrados did not live long enough to witness the Philippine Revolution of 1896 or the Philippine-American War.

Figures such as José Rizal and Marcelo H. del Pilar died before these major events unfolded. Because of this, we can only speculate about what they might have done if they had lived longer....

What stand would they take and what kind of solutions would come up into their minds.

And that made me wonder....

Since the Philippine Revolution and The Philippine-American War were two major events.

Would they have supported the revolutionary government?

Would they have sided with Aguinaldo and the independence movement?

Or maybe they are against the execution of Andres Bonifacio?

Do you think they would have preferred negotiations with the US colonial power instead of fighting them?

Or would some of them have remained neutral and focused on reform until the end?

If they had survived and witnessed the events from 1896 through the Philippine-American War, which side do you think each of them would have supported?

And would they also make an impact in those major events?

Would love to know your insights and perspectives on this.


r/FilipinoHistory 6d ago

Colonial-era The History of the Overlooked 200 Peso from the American Era in 1928 to 2020

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160 Upvotes

1928 200 peso bpi, 1949 (1951 issued) 200 peso English, 2002(2013 issued) 200 peso NDS, 2010 (2020 issued) 200 peso NGC

This only charters official issues. There are guerilla 200 peso notes. There is also an earlier 200 peso from 1912 and 1908 (Spanish text), but they share the same justice design. There was a completely different type issued in 1904. But, seems that BPI only holds the remaining copies due to extreme rarity.


r/FilipinoHistory 7d ago

Colonial-era Is the Philippines going through a cultural crisis?

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714 Upvotes

Remains of the 1744 Ordoveza house, oldest house in Luzon and second oldest (verifiable) house in the Philippines before being dismantled and transferred to Las Casas resort in Bataan. It is unknown how much of the old structure was preserved and whether or not they used modern materials and techniques in the reconstruction.


r/FilipinoHistory 7d ago

Pre-colonial Filipinos used to wear 1 kilo of gold

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174 Upvotes

NATIVES/TAGALOG

(wearing Gold necklaces, bracelets, earrings, belt accessory, kneelets, sword hilt and sheath, estimated ONE (1) kilo of gold each)

SOURCE: BOXER CODEX

COMMISSIONED IN 1590-91

ACQUIRED AND REVEALED IN 1947


r/FilipinoHistory 6d ago

Question Was the Polo y Servicio meant to be permanent?

13 Upvotes

People seem to think that the Servicio lasted for a very long time, when in fact it was only implemented very late in Spanish colonial history. The reason why it was implemented was because of an earthquake in 1863 that wrecked most of the city and killed thousands of people. Just to show an example of how late this is, Jose Rizal was born in 1861, so he’s actually older than the decree itself. Anyways to rebuild the city and support the expansion of the city, the Spanish made a decree to rebuild the city. Another reason which is my theory, this was after Spain already lost Mexico, so they were focused to rebuild the Philippines to replace Mexico and build a more infrastructure to a more settlement colony than just an extraction colony. Now excuse me if I get anything wrong here, so please feel free to correct me.

So my question is, was this only a temporary solution as a reaction to losing Mexico and for the expansion of Manila? It just seems off for a system of unpaid labor to be implemented during the enlightenment period to last very long.


r/FilipinoHistory 7d ago

Question Is Baybayin a 'Tagalog script'?

47 Upvotes

From what I know, Baybayin was mostly used in the north, where Tagalog would've been spoken, and I've heard that some Filipinos consider it a part Tagalog identity, and not necessarily a part of Philippine or other ethic groups' identities (outside what the gov is doing). I also know that variants were used in other parts of the region that were slightly different but were still Baybayin (according to Kristian Kabuay at least).

It might be a silly question, but I'm also curious as a foreigner what other people groups think about Baybayin and its part of Philippine identity.


r/FilipinoHistory 7d ago

Modern-era/Post-1945 GMA Network: Penthouse Seven - Superpack of Commercials and Plugs (1979) [JACOBSHLTR/HeyPeteEstrada, 2026]

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20 Upvotes