PHA PRO talks on hero’s life; Bulakenyos commemorate Plaridel’s 117th death anniv
by Jessa Grace T. Olesco
PRO of the Philippine Historical Association Michael Charleston “Xiao” Chua highlighted some of Marcelo Del Pilar’s life, works, and writings in commemoration of the said hero’s 117th death anniversary in San Nicolas, Bulakan, Bulacan last Thursday, July 4.
Chua began the discussion with a sense of humor and jokingly talked about the common misconceptions in the Philippine history and on the Filipino heroes including Jose Rizal and Andres Bonifacio.
“Bagaman isang subject si Rizal sa ating bansa sa kolehiyo, isang nakalulungkot isiping ay ito. Hindi pa rin natin kilala si Rizal... Pag tinanong mo ang mga bata ngayon sa Recto sino ang nanay ni Rizal ang isasagot Melchora Aquino. Iyon ang problema. Sino yung kapatid ni Jose Rizal? Paciano ang sagot pero Graciano ang sagot nila. Mga kapatid, malaki ang problema nating mga Pilipino... Para tayong nagka-amnesia... Si Andres Bonifacio ay hindi ipinanganak na sobrang hirap. Ang kanya pong tatay ay tinyente-mayor, ibig sabihin, isa ito sa mga assistants ng gobernadorcillo. Ang kanya ring tatay ay may patahian... Matatandaan nating si Andres Bonifacio ay nag-aral kay Guillermo Osmeña, ibig sabihin, meron po siyang tutor. Ang nanay ni Andres Bonifacio na si Catalina De Castro ay half-Spanish... How can you say that Bonifacio is bobo if he was a clerk messenger to two international companies in Manila? Nung siya ay naging bodegero, nagamit niya ang pagiging messenger niya para ikalat ang Katipunan,” he explained.
Chua, the same guest speaker of the event the previous year, shared Del Pilar’s journey of becoming a hero—from his mockery against friars to his struggles in Barcelona, Spain away from home and his family being the running force of La Solidaridad—through the theme “Plaridel at Supremo: Huwaran ng Galing at Talinong Inialay sa Bayan Tungo sa Daang Matuwid.”
“Last year kasi, noong ginawa ko ang talk kong ito, ako po ay wala pang masyadong alam tungkol kay Marcelo at ang nakakatuwa dito noong nagbabasa ako para sa lecture na ito last year, masyado akong natuwa kay Marcelo H. Del Pilar. At nanghihinayang ako kung bakit si Jose Rizal lang ang kinikilala natin bilang bayani... Noong una mas sikat pa ito[ng si Del Pilar] kay Rizal. In fact, mas takot sila[ng mga Kastila] kay Marcelo Del Pilar kaysa kay Rizal... Alam natin na siya ay La Solidaridad editor. Kung minsan ang mga Pinoy, ang alam lang nila kay Del Pilar, dakilang propagandista. Si[na Bonifacio at] Del Pilar ay [mga] simpleng taong ibinigay ang [mga] sarili sa [kanilang] kapwa in a very extraordinary time at [dalawang miyembro rin na] nag-isip na pwede tayong maging bansa sa panahon noong yung maisip mo lang na boss ka ng isang kumpanya at ikaw ay isang indio ay hindi pwede,” told Chua.
“[Hin]di sila naging bayani dahil namatay sila. [Hin]di rin dahil sa naging spectacular sila. Naging bayani sila dahil sa naging buhay nila,” he said in his ending statement.
Chua is currently a Ph.D Anthropology student of UP Diliman where he also finished his BA (2005) and MA (2010) in History. He is the Deputy Commander of the International Order of the Knights of Rizal, Sucesos Chapter and a professor at the De La Salle University-Manila. He appears onscreen as a TV historical commentator of the segment Xiao Time at the news programs News@1 and News@6 on PTV Channel 4 and one of the panelists in the reality political talk show The Bottomline on ABS-CBN Channel 2.
Inside the Program
The event started 8 in the morning with flag raising ceremony, oath of loyalty, and giving of flowers in front of the Del Pilar’s Monument followed by the program proper 8:30am inside the Del Pilar Museum and Library.
200 students from the Bulacan State University taking the courses Bachelor of Arts in Journalism and Bachelor of Science in Tourism from the Main Campus and Bachelor of Science in Education from Meneses Campus were present in the commemoration. BulSUans from the Main Campus were under the supervision of Carmela Reyes-Estrope (BA Journalism) and Shane Frias-Velasco (BS Tourism), respectively.
Several eminent figures and government officials also attended the said celebration. Bulacan Governor Wilhelmino Sy-Alvarado, Bulakan, Bulacan Councilor Jeff Tansinsin and Piccolo Meneses gave their speeches for the program. Tansinsin served as a proxy to Bulakan Vice mayor Alberto Bituin and the younger Meneses to his father Bulakan Mayor Patrick Meneses.
The event concluded with the handing of certificates to the visitors and thanksgiving from the Philippine Historical Commission. The event was made possible under Lester Francia as the emcee of the program.
An on-the-spot essay writing with the topic entitled “Paano maging isa sa isandaang Del Pilar?” was conducted after the seminar. Winners of the contest were Minde Nyl dela Cruz grabbing the topnotch, Nikky Pasana and Annejoyce Raymundo tying in the second spot, all from BAJ 3A, and a BSEd student from Meneses Campus garnering the third place.
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PRO of the Philippine Historical Association Michael Charleston “Xiao” Chua highlighted some of Marcelo Del Pilar’s life, works, and writings in commemoration of the said hero’s 117th death anniversary in San Nicolas, Bulakan, Bulacan last Thursday, July 4.
Chua began the discussion with a sense of humor and jokingly talked about the common misconceptions in the Philippine history and on the Filipino heroes including Jose Rizal and Andres Bonifacio.
“Bagaman isang subject si Rizal sa ating bansa sa kolehiyo, isang nakalulungkot isiping ay ito. Hindi pa rin natin kilala si Rizal... Pag tinanong mo ang mga bata ngayon sa Recto sino ang nanay ni Rizal ang isasagot Melchora Aquino. Iyon ang problema. Sino yung kapatid ni Jose Rizal? Paciano ang sagot pero Graciano ang sagot nila. Mga kapatid, malaki ang problema nating mga Pilipino... Para tayong nagka-amnesia... Si Andres Bonifacio ay hindi ipinanganak na sobrang hirap. Ang kanya pong tatay ay tinyente-mayor, ibig sabihin, isa ito sa mga assistants ng gobernadorcillo. Ang kanya ring tatay ay may patahian... Matatandaan nating si Andres Bonifacio ay nag-aral kay Guillermo Osmeña, ibig sabihin, meron po siyang tutor. Ang nanay ni Andres Bonifacio na si Catalina De Castro ay half-Spanish... How can you say that Bonifacio is bobo if he was a clerk messenger to two international companies in Manila? Nung siya ay naging bodegero, nagamit niya ang pagiging messenger niya para ikalat ang Katipunan,” he explained.
Chua, the same guest speaker of the event the previous year, shared Del Pilar’s journey of becoming a hero—from his mockery against friars to his struggles in Barcelona, Spain away from home and his family being the running force of La Solidaridad—through the theme “Plaridel at Supremo: Huwaran ng Galing at Talinong Inialay sa Bayan Tungo sa Daang Matuwid.”
“Last year kasi, noong ginawa ko ang talk kong ito, ako po ay wala pang masyadong alam tungkol kay Marcelo at ang nakakatuwa dito noong nagbabasa ako para sa lecture na ito last year, masyado akong natuwa kay Marcelo H. Del Pilar. At nanghihinayang ako kung bakit si Jose Rizal lang ang kinikilala natin bilang bayani... Noong una mas sikat pa ito[ng si Del Pilar] kay Rizal. In fact, mas takot sila[ng mga Kastila] kay Marcelo Del Pilar kaysa kay Rizal... Alam natin na siya ay La Solidaridad editor. Kung minsan ang mga Pinoy, ang alam lang nila kay Del Pilar, dakilang propagandista. Si[na Bonifacio at] Del Pilar ay [mga] simpleng taong ibinigay ang [mga] sarili sa [kanilang] kapwa in a very extraordinary time at [dalawang miyembro rin na] nag-isip na pwede tayong maging bansa sa panahon noong yung maisip mo lang na boss ka ng isang kumpanya at ikaw ay isang indio ay hindi pwede,” told Chua.
“[Hin]di sila naging bayani dahil namatay sila. [Hin]di rin dahil sa naging spectacular sila. Naging bayani sila dahil sa naging buhay nila,” he said in his ending statement.
Chua is currently a Ph.D Anthropology student of UP Diliman where he also finished his BA (2005) and MA (2010) in History. He is the Deputy Commander of the International Order of the Knights of Rizal, Sucesos Chapter and a professor at the De La Salle University-Manila. He appears onscreen as a TV historical commentator of the segment Xiao Time at the news programs News@1 and News@6 on PTV Channel 4 and one of the panelists in the reality political talk show The Bottomline on ABS-CBN Channel 2.
Inside the Program
The event started 8 in the morning with flag raising ceremony, oath of loyalty, and giving of flowers in front of the Del Pilar’s Monument followed by the program proper 8:30am inside the Del Pilar Museum and Library.
200 students from the Bulacan State University taking the courses Bachelor of Arts in Journalism and Bachelor of Science in Tourism from the Main Campus and Bachelor of Science in Education from Meneses Campus were present in the commemoration. BulSUans from the Main Campus were under the supervision of Carmela Reyes-Estrope (BA Journalism) and Shane Frias-Velasco (BS Tourism), respectively.
Several eminent figures and government officials also attended the said celebration. Bulacan Governor Wilhelmino Sy-Alvarado, Bulakan, Bulacan Councilor Jeff Tansinsin and Piccolo Meneses gave their speeches for the program. Tansinsin served as a proxy to Bulakan Vice mayor Alberto Bituin and the younger Meneses to his father Bulakan Mayor Patrick Meneses.
The event concluded with the handing of certificates to the visitors and thanksgiving from the Philippine Historical Commission. The event was made possible under Lester Francia as the emcee of the program.
An on-the-spot essay writing with the topic entitled “Paano maging isa sa isandaang Del Pilar?” was conducted after the seminar. Winners of the contest were Minde Nyl dela Cruz grabbing the topnotch, Nikky Pasana and Annejoyce Raymundo tying in the second spot, all from BAJ 3A, and a BSEd student from Meneses Campus garnering the third place.
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