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Showing posts with label New. Show all posts
Showing posts with label New. Show all posts
Friday, March 21, 2008
Wednesday, February 6, 2008
The Battle for Manila: Tragic February
Tragic February
The Battle for Manila which took place in the whole
month of February in 1945 was fought by the advancing
armed forces of the United States of America and the
defending Japanese Imperial forces toward the end of
World War II. That infamous battle killed one hundred
thousand (100,000) non-combatant civilians and
destroyed almost the whole of the city of Manila,
then considered the "Pearl of the Orient."
For many decades, that battle was referred to as the
Liberation of Manila but a few years ago, the National
Historical lnstitute officially changed that to the
"Battle for Manila." Although that was a historically
and politically correct decision, many Filipinos still
do not appreciate its importance, nor comprehend the
difference between "liberation" and "battle for (not of)".
Manila is fortunate to have a mayor who has a sense
of history and who respects history. Mayor Alfredo S.
Lim has assigned the Manila Historical and Heritage
Commission, headed by Mrs. Carmen Guerrero-Nakpil, to
organize the formal commemoration of the 63rd
Anniversary of the Battle for Manila. During the
meetings of the ad-hoc committee, it was evident that
the tragic February in 1945, after more than half a
century is still an extremely emotional and
controversial issue. Should the commemoration be a
memorial to a nation's profound bereavement or should
it be a festive accolade, an amnesiac embracing of
former foes in the spirit of globalization?
Let us forgive but never forget!
What we seem to have forgotten, or more precisely,
what we have systematically been made to forget is
another tragic February of more than a century ago. On
4 February 1899, the Philippine-American War broke out,
lasted for thirteen years during which a million
Filipinos died and the first republic in Asia was crushed.
It can be argued that both Februaries were
devastating to the life and future of the Filipino
nation. We lost lives in the most horrendous fashion
during the Battle for Manila and the
Philippine-American War , not only that, we also lost
heritage structures, public works painstakingly built,
entire towns and cities disfigured by hamletting
and "reconcentracion"; we also lost institutions, the
"brains of the nation", " la crema y nata" or the
best and the brightest.
Most painful is our memory loss, national
amnesia now chronic and in epidemic proportions.
Very few Filipinos do not even know what they should
remember of the two tragic Februaries. Let us
commemorate both.
Gemma Cruz Araneta gemma601@yahoo.com
The Battle for Manila which took place in the whole
month of February in 1945 was fought by the advancing
armed forces of the United States of America and the
defending Japanese Imperial forces toward the end of
World War II. That infamous battle killed one hundred
thousand (100,000) non-combatant civilians and
destroyed almost the whole of the city of Manila,
then considered the "Pearl of the Orient."
For many decades, that battle was referred to as the
Liberation of Manila but a few years ago, the National
Historical lnstitute officially changed that to the
"Battle for Manila." Although that was a historically
and politically correct decision, many Filipinos still
do not appreciate its importance, nor comprehend the
difference between "liberation" and "battle for (not of)".
Manila is fortunate to have a mayor who has a sense
of history and who respects history. Mayor Alfredo S.
Lim has assigned the Manila Historical and Heritage
Commission, headed by Mrs. Carmen Guerrero-Nakpil, to
organize the formal commemoration of the 63rd
Anniversary of the Battle for Manila. During the
meetings of the ad-hoc committee, it was evident that
the tragic February in 1945, after more than half a
century is still an extremely emotional and
controversial issue. Should the commemoration be a
memorial to a nation's profound bereavement or should
it be a festive accolade, an amnesiac embracing of
former foes in the spirit of globalization?
Let us forgive but never forget!
What we seem to have forgotten, or more precisely,
what we have systematically been made to forget is
another tragic February of more than a century ago. On
4 February 1899, the Philippine-American War broke out,
lasted for thirteen years during which a million
Filipinos died and the first republic in Asia was crushed.
It can be argued that both Februaries were
devastating to the life and future of the Filipino
nation. We lost lives in the most horrendous fashion
during the Battle for Manila and the
Philippine-American War , not only that, we also lost
heritage structures, public works painstakingly built,
entire towns and cities disfigured by hamletting
and "reconcentracion"; we also lost institutions, the
"brains of the nation", " la crema y nata" or the
best and the brightest.
Most painful is our memory loss, national
amnesia now chronic and in epidemic proportions.
Very few Filipinos do not even know what they should
remember of the two tragic Februaries. Let us
commemorate both.
Gemma Cruz Araneta gemma601@yahoo.com
Thursday, January 31, 2008
PHILIPPINE ECONOMY SOARS TO 7.4% GDP GROWTH
4th Quarter 2007
PHILIPPINE ECONOMY SOARS TO 7.4% GDP GROWTH 
Posted 31 January 2008
The seasonally adjusted GDP, now on its 27th quarter of positive growths, accelerated to 1.8 percent from 1.0 percent in the previous quarter. Likewise, the seasonally adjusted GNP, which has also been on positive territory since the second quarter of 2003, sped up to 1.4 percent from 0.9 percent in the third quarter.
On the production side, the sustained GDP growth in the fourth quarter was bolstered by the fast expanding Services sector whose growth of 9.0 percent from 8.4 percent in the same quarter last year is the highest since 1982. Likewise, Industry went up too at a higher pace of 5.8 percent from 3.6 percent the previous year, albeit slower than during the first three quarters, mainly because of the deceleration of Manufacturing. With favorable weather conditions during the quarter, Agriculture, Fishery and Forestry (AFF) also accelerated to 5.8 percent from its year ago rate of 1.7 percent.
The following were the contribution of the three major economic sectors to the GDP growth in the quarter: Services, with 4.4 percentage points; Industry, 1.8 percentage points and AFF contributing the least with 1.2 percentage points.
On a seasonally adjusted basis, AFF contracted by 0.1 percent in the fourth quarter after three quarters of robust growths while Industry rebounded to a 0.5 percent expansion after suffering a 0.4 percent contraction last quarter. The positive growth was attributed to the strong growths of Construction, Mining and Quarrying, and Electricity, Gas and Water. Services sector came in strongest as it posted an all time record growth of 3.3 percent. The phenomenal growth was brought about by the brisk retail trading during the fourth quarter combined with the strong performances of Private Services and Finance.
The economy continued to keep pace with the population growth in the fourth quarter of 2007 as per capita GDP grew by 5.3 percent from 3.4 percent, per capita GNP by 4.4 percent from 4.0 percent, and per capita PCE by 4.2 percent from 3.8 percent.
NFIA in the fourth quarter declined however, by 3.0 percent from a 12.4 percent gain in the same quarter last year as compensation inflow declined anew by an even higher rate of 3.3 percent from only 0.2 percent in the third quarter. This was aggravated by the deceleration in Property Income from 32.0 percent last year to 18.9 percent, and the growth in Property Expense by 4.4 percent. The fourth quarter recorded the first quarter of negative growth of NFIA since the fourth quarter of 2002.
On the expenditure side, consumer spending grew by 6.3 percent from 5.8 percent a year ago. Food expenditure, which accounted for 56.1 percent of the Personal Consumption Expenditure (PCE), grew by 6.6 percent from 6.8 percent in the previous year while Miscellaneous expenditures accelerated to 7.8 percent from 5.7 percent last year. Meanwhile, Transportation/Communication and Clothing & Footwear both turned in lower growths as they decelerated to 8.2 percent from 8.3 percent and 2.4 percent from 6.5 percent, respectively. The other sub-sectors that contributed to the growth of PCE were the following: Household Operations, up by 2.7 percent from 1.9 percent; Beverages grew by 4.7 percent from 6.6 percent; Fuel, Light & Water, up by 4.3 percent from 1.4 percent; and Household Furnishings, which recovered from a negative 2.5 percent growth last year to positive 5.0 percent this year.
Government Consumption Expenditure (GCE) accelerated to 10.8 percent from a growth of 9.9 percent last year with the disbursement of government funds for infrastructure project.
Investments in Fixed Capital Formation expanded by 10.3 percent from last year’s growth of 2.2 percent on account of vigorous investments in construction. Construction grew by 17.6 percent from 5.7 percent with the hike in national government’s capital expenditures and capital transfer to LGU’s resulting in the 33.4 percent growth in public construction from 39.6 percent in the previous year. On the other hand, investments in private construction rebounded to 7.4 percent from negative 8.7 percent in 2006. Meanwhile, Durable Equipment sustained a positive growth of 4.9 percent from negative 0.5 percent in the same period last year.
Reeling from the crisis faced by the US economy, total Merchandise Exports skidded to negative 3.7 percent from a growth of 2.2 percent in the same quarter last year.
The top five Merchandise Exports were: Finished Electrical Machinery, which bounced back to a 19.5 percent gain from a 14.0 percent decline; Crude Coconut Oil, which recovered from negative 39.7 percent to positive 9.6 percent; Semiconductors and Electric Microcircuits, which expanded to 1.7 percent from negative 4.3 percent; Canned Pineapple, which rebounded to 29.3 percent from negative 7.3 percent; and Prepared Tuna, which grew by 69.1 percent from 48.9 percent. Exports of Non-Factor Services, on the other hand, accelerated to 6.4 percent from 2.9 percent in the previous year.
Total Merchandise Imports, which has been on a downhill since the first quarter of the year, continued to shrink by 3.2 percent in the fourth quarter from last year’s 0.3 percent growth.
Only three subsectors contributed positively to the growth of Merchandise Imports: Cereals and Cereals Products, with a hefty growth of 96.4 percent from a measly 0.8 percent last year; Mineral Fuels, Lubricants and Related Materials, up anew by 7.6 percent from 11.1 percent; and Dairy Products, which accelerated to 10.8 percent from 9.9 percent. On the other hand, imports of non-factor services slowed down to 11.1 percent from 17.6 percent due to the lackluster performance of Miscellaneous Services, which contracted by 0.4 percent from a 17.4 percent gain last year.
The terms of trade during the quarter resulted in a Trade Index of 104.2 percent from 109.2 percent in the same period last year. Trading Gains for the quarter amounted to P6.1 billion.
GNP Implicit Price Index (IPIN) stood at 497.1 from 478.6 in the previous year or a 3.79 percent inflation from 2006.
ROMULO A. VIROLA
Secretary-General, NSCB
Wednesday, January 23, 2008
2008 Little Manila Calendars
Just wanted to send out a reminder to pre-order your 2008 Little Manila Remember & Reclaim Calendar. The calendars are still on track for a mid-November release so now is the time to take advantage of our $15 special pre-order price. After the calendars come in, they will be $18 each. These unique Filipino American history calendars make a great gift for any occasion and will also look great in your home or office! Plus, the proceeds go to the efforts of the Little Manila Foundation and the Stockton Chapter of the Filipino American National Historic Society.
Just go to our online store located at:
Check out the cover for the calendar:
And a little sample of the inside:
Like what ya see? Then go to our online store to pre-order your calendar for $15 right now!
New Course - Multiracial Multiethnic Experience Ethnic Studies Program University of Oregon
New Course - Multiracial Multiethnic Experience Ethnic Studies Program University of Oregon
Spring Term MW 12-1:20pm Undergraduate and Graduate credit
Instructor: Anselmo Villanueva, Ph.D. anselmo.villanueva@gmail.com 541.485.1755 x202
COURSE DESCRIPTION
This course will focus on the multiracial multiethnic experience in
the United States, with particular emphasis on the Northwest. This
course will provide students with a framework to understand this
experience. The course will cover the history and background of the
mixed experience, anti-miscegenation laws and practices, research,
identity models, resources, and case studies.
Traditionally, the multiracial experience has been defined as "Black"
and "White" – people, relationships, and marriages that have been
between White and African American people. This course will also
include the experiences of multiple relationships and people, such as
Asian and Latino, Black and Asian, and so on.
Students will develop a broad understanding of the multiracial
multiethnic experience. In the process, students will also have the
opportunity to examine their own culture, ethnic identity, background,
attitudes, and beliefs.
GOALS and OUTCOMES
- Students will examine their own cultural and ethnic identity.
- Students will learn about the history and background of the mixed race experience.
- Students will appreciate the uniqueness of the multiethnic population.
- Students will understand the importance of learning about this growing population.
- Students will be exposed to resources and research related to this population.
Spring Term MW 12-1:20pm Undergraduate and Graduate credit
Instructor: Anselmo Villanueva, Ph.D. anselmo.villanueva@gmail.com 541.485.1755 x202
COURSE DESCRIPTION
This course will focus on the multiracial multiethnic experience in
the United States, with particular emphasis on the Northwest. This
course will provide students with a framework to understand this
experience. The course will cover the history and background of the
mixed experience, anti-miscegenation laws and practices, research,
identity models, resources, and case studies.
Traditionally, the multiracial experience has been defined as "Black"
and "White" – people, relationships, and marriages that have been
between White and African American people. This course will also
include the experiences of multiple relationships and people, such as
Asian and Latino, Black and Asian, and so on.
Students will develop a broad understanding of the multiracial
multiethnic experience. In the process, students will also have the
opportunity to examine their own culture, ethnic identity, background,
attitudes, and beliefs.
GOALS and OUTCOMES
- Students will examine their own cultural and ethnic identity.
- Students will learn about the history and background of the mixed race experience.
- Students will appreciate the uniqueness of the multiethnic population.
- Students will understand the importance of learning about this growing population.
- Students will be exposed to resources and research related to this population.
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