General Miguel Malvar as portrayed by Karl Medina in the National Historical Commission of the Philippines (NHCP) documentary.
The thirteen months that transpired between the capture of Aguinaldo and the surrender of Miguel Malvar are, without question, the most celebrated period in Batangas’ history. Long after most of the Philippines had been pacified, the Batangueño guerillas held out, sustained by a substantial sector of the non-combatant population. In that period, the province of Batangas came to symbolize the Filipino resistance, and the name Miguel Malvar became synonymous with Filipino defiance. But, as is always the case with lost causes, the price to be paid for valor of this kind was high. To quash the resisters of the southern Tagalog region, the U.S. Army resorted, in the end, to extreme measures. Had the Batangueños been less dogged, they would have suffered less.
- From Battle of Batangas by historian Glenn Anthony May
Guy Custodio. Restorer of Ecclesiastical Heritage.
I met Guy Custodio in 2013 in Albuquerque, Bohol. Back then, the renowned art restorer was rehabilitating the ceiling frescoes of Sta. Monica church. The original paintings, completed by Ray Francia, a Cebuano artist commissioned by the Archdiocese of Cebu to render the ceilings of over 20 churches throughout Bohol with ecclesiastical art in the 1920s to 30s, had seriously depreciated and were in need of restoration. He would patiently and methodically work on the original sheets that made up the ceiling one by one, aided by locals he would train to assist him.
Pangalay
Artistic expressions of the Tausug, Samal, Bajau and Jama Mapun, involving undulating arm gestures to music provided by the biyula, the kulintangan ensemble and bulah-bulah.
Governor Abdusakur Tan. Sulu
Governor Abdusakur Tan sits proudly during his investiture as official emissary of the Royal Council of the Sulu Sultanate and conferment of the Royal Title Datu Shah Bandar.
Sultan Phugdalun Kiram II
Sultan Phugdalun Kiram II. Royal Council of the Sulu Sultanate. A teacher by profession. Also known to referee basketball games.
Fu Yabing Masalon-Dulo. Blaan. National Living Treasure.
Fu/Bai Yabing Masalon-Dulo. National Living Treasure for ikat weaving. Polomolok, South Cotabato.
It was nice to meet and capture our Blaan treasure in her normal daily wear and disposition.
Ginggay Hontiveros-Malvar
As Managing Director of The Extra Mile Productions, Ginggay co-heads a team of film and video creatives that presents compelling visual narratives of the Philippines and the Filipino – from the northernmost to the southernmost reaches of the archipelago. As a project manager of various government-private sector partnerships in the Visayas and Mindanao, she helps concretize opportunities for hope, recovery and development among communities ravaged by natural calamities, burdened by poverty, and torn apart by armed conflict.
Underlying all these involvements is Ginggay’s belief that making a difference in the lives of others is essential. Thus, she sees compassion as the key ingredient for a fruitful exchange that goes beyond all borders – of geography, of society, of culture, of faith.
In her eyes, poverty is the root cause of Muslim Mindanao’s woes. She believes that now more than ever, in the face of material lack and ethnic quarrels, the values of mutual understanding and open-mindedness are required to seek solutions to the violence.
Haight's Place
Benguet is regarded as the salad bowl of the Philippines due to the massive production of vegetables in the area. It is not widely known that the beginnings of vegetable cultivation in the southern portion of the Cordilleras can be attributed to an American engineer working on Kennon Road, who was forced to retreat higher upland from Baguio because of health reasons.
In the early 1900s, American engineer Mr. Haight moved further upward from Baguio to Atok, Benguet for better climes to nurse a health condition rather than return to the U.S. He then started importing and planting vegetable seedlings in his properties. He married a local who bore him three sons and a daughter. He also adopted a boy named Aselo who helped him in the farm. As he became more prosperous, more entrepreneurs followed his lead.
It is due to Franklin Guy Haight's intervention that Benguet was transformed into a major vegetable hub. His great grandson Edward Haight and other progeny continue the farming tradition.
Rey Ucat. Graphic Designer.
Rey is a self-taught graphic designer from the Philippines. His passion for the arts in its many forms, enriched with a degree in philosophy, infuses his graphic work not only with creative merit but also with substantive insight – a unique aspect of his design process. He admits to being a fan of American art director and graphic designer, Paul Rand, who was himself self-taught.
From logos to t-shirts, posters and the entire range of marketing collaterals, Rey is able to capture what clients require, infuse his own artistic viewpoint, and then translate these into original designs that are distinctly clean, to-the-point and striking.
A staunch champion of the values of justice, courage and kindness, Rey hopes that adherence to the Golden Rule and the command to love will allow us all to clearly deliberate on proper courses of action to deal with the tumult in Mindanao.
