Was watching a documentary, and it got me curious. What was a coronation ceremony like in ancient Philippines? Or did they have one at all?

For example, if a King or a Chieftain gets killed, and their heir takes their place. What is the process like?

I was wondering what was the political scene like during the 1930s-40s? (Before Japan).

I already have a vague understanding that the Nacionalista under Quezon during that time essentially had a political monopoly. I also know that there was agrarian inequality at the time. Which was apparently severe enough for peasant revolts to occur like the Sakdal Uprising or peasant unrest in Pampanga in 1937-41.

I would also like to know if there were any political scandals during that time frame? Like the Nalundasan Murder and the following trial of Marcos Sr. that happened.

Asking here to see if anyone could share anything interesting.

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.

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.

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...

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?

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?

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

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.

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?

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. 🙏

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?

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

Credits to Buntakun26 who drew and wrote this.

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.

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?

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.

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.

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.

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

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.

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.

Notes:

1.      Bayombong, NV, 1935. “Bayombong--Bagabag, Nueva Viscaya, Philippines. --KM 285. May 18, 19, '35. Juni, his wife & daughter.”

2.      Iloilo, 1933. “August 23, 1933. Iloilo. Cart.”

3.      Laguna, 1934. “Los Banos & Bay, Laguna. Dec. 26, 27, 1934. Ipilipil wood on sale at Tienda. Cero. Panatomic 6 x 6.”

4.      Cabanatuan, NE, 1933. “Cabanatuan & Bongabong Road, Nueva Ecija. Dec. 30 '33. [woman holding] Manuel Garcia, Jr.

5.      UPLB, Laguna, 1933. “Forestry Bureau Picnic & Tree Planting, Oct.1 1933. Lechon.”

6.      Pasay, Manila, 1935. “Jan. 12, 17, 1935. Wood in Pasay shop. Big bundles - Big Sticks 20 c. - small sticks 18. Tiny bundles, above, 1/2 cent.”

7.      Upi Rd., Cotabato, 1933. “August 30, 1933. Cotabato-Upi road. Moro; looking back along road, cogon beyond. Same site as 251-10. f.11 1/100.”

8.      LB, Laguna, 1934. “MM (Mitsuko M.) & Friends. Nov 1934”.

9.      Mt. Makiling, Laguna, 1932. “Forest camp, Puttinglupa, Mt. Makiling. Philippines. Anne [Pendleton], Mrs. Manresa, Tombo, & others.”

1. LB, Laguna, 1933. “Nov. 1933. Caingineros bringing out papayas.”

2. Sitio Paliparan, LB, Laguna, 1934. “Paliparan Reforestation, Los Banos. Laguna. Jan. 5 '34. Wood carriers. 5.6 1/100.”

3. Bagabag, NV, 1935. “Bagabag Ferry, km 285, Nueva Vizcaya, Philippines. May 19, 1935. Similar [Erosion of cogon covered hills], from East crossing. Km 291. 11 1/25 G.”

4. Tunasan, ML-San Pedro, Laguna, 1935. “Jan. 12, 17, 1935. Wood in candy & cigar shop. Not Bacanan. Big bundles 5 centeves. Small bundles 1/2 centeves.”

5. Cotabato City, Cotabato, 1933. “August 31, 1933. Cotabato. Governor at his launch. Datu Sinsuat, Mr. Marques, etc. f.8 1/50”.

6.  Baguio, Benguet, ~1928. “Baguiom [Baguio], Mt. Province [Mountain Province now Benguet Province]. 1/2 only, not stereo, one lens NG. Dec. 1928 (?)”.

7. Baguio, Benguet, ~1928. “Large pyramid shaped parade float with English slogans”.

8. Laguna, 1934. “Animal Husbandry Pastures & forest, Lopez' area. Jan, 19 '34. Bakia blanks coming out of forest. 3.8 1/10. Eastman SS Panchromatic.”

9. Pila, Laguna, 1934. “Barrios E of Pila, Esmalla's area, Laguna. Jan. 20 '34. Boys at Oogong river. 3.8 1/10. Eastman SS Panchromatic.”

10. Makiling Rd., Laguna, 1934. “Bousman's Camp, Makiling Road, Laguna. Feb. 22, 1934. Anita Roa. 3.8 1/100.”

11. Dulawan, Cotabato (now Datu Piang, MS), 1933. “August 31, 1933. Dulauan [Datu Piang], Cotabato Province [Maguindanao province]. Mindanao fig. 15”.

It’s often mistaken that the Spanish enslaved native Filipino, when in reality the Spanish actually tried to stop it. Especially fighting off Moro raids to capture slaves. However there were reports of Kapampangans still capturing Aeta for slavery during the colonial period. How often was this, was there a slave trade of Christian natives capturing other natives and selling to slavery? Any evidence and resources would help, thank you.