Mariano Ponce was born in Baliwag, Bulacan where he completed his primary education. He later enrolled at the Colegio de San Juan de Letran and took up medicine at the University of Santo Tomas.

In 1881, he travelled to Spain to continue his medical studies at the Universidad Central de Madrid. There he joined Marcelo del Pilar, Graciano López Jaena and José Rizal in the Propaganda Movement which espoused Filipino representation in the Spanish Cortes and reforms in the Spanish colonial authorities of the Philippines. He wrote in the propaganda publication La Solidaridad. (more…)

WHO among the Catholic religious orders in the world have been the most despised and often expelled from countries they serve? The answer: The Order of the Society of Jesus, popularly known as the Jesuits.

In almost all the nations where Jesuit missionaries were sent to educate and to win souls, invariably these Jesuits got to be envied by local authorities leading to their expulsion — some with the encouragement of the diocesan clergy of that country. (more…)

(Editor’s note: This is a brand new series starting this issue.)

Treasure talk in the Philippines dates back to World War II.

February 1942

Most countries tried to hide their wealth when they realized that the enemy was about to attack. Spain shipped all of its gold reserves to Russia for safekeeping. (Guess who never saw their gold again?)

In the Philippines, while the Americans and Filipinos were holding off the Japanese at Bataan, President Quezon had twenty tons of the treasury’s gold bullion and silver pesos loaded on the submarine USS Trout and taken to Australia. Another 350 tons of silver pesos, worth more than USD 8 million was dumped in the waters off southern Corregidor in May 1942 and several million dollars in paper currency were burned after the serial numbers were noted and radioed to Washington. (more…)

February 25, 1986. Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos talked to US Senator Paul Laxalt, asking for advice from the White House. Laxalt advised him to “cut and cut cleanly”, to which Marcos expressed his disappointment after a short pause.

In the afternoon, Marcos talked to then Defence Secretary Enrile, asking for safe passage for him and his family. Finally, at 21:00, the Marcoses were transported by four American helicopters to Clark Air Base in Pampanga, before heading on to Guam, and finally to Hawaii. (more…)