Marvin Isidore "Sid" Macatol Weblog

Being someone from Mindanao, I cannot help but get concerned about the news of renewed hostilities between the government and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front. The question, "when will this end?" echoes through history in the Christian-Muslim confrontation in the South. I too ask that, when will this end? Honestly, I do not see an end to it. But I admit my vision is limited on this matter. There are seemingly irreconcilable forces at work here. The history of Christian-Muslim relationship that dates back to the middle ages in Europe has somehow translated itself into the southern part of the homeland. We honor Lapu-Lapu , who was Muslim, for slaying Magellan , who, incidentally, brought with him priests who introduced Christianity into the islands. We honor Sultan Kudarat for his sense of nationhood and his defiance against Spain, which ruled us for 400 years and brought the influence of the Catholic Church into our lands. See the conflict that is raging inside me. I...

I'm 39 years old. But have I grown wiser? If you rate me based on my knowledge about Philippine history, the history of my own beloved country, perhaps I have grown a measly three notches higher because of the three things I learned about Philippine history, which, strangely, I never learned in school! I plan to write about these lessons a long time ago, but I procrastinated. But after learning New Knowledge #3, I blew my top and here I am. New Knowledge #1. Our first "President," Emilio Aguinaldo, ordered the killing of Andres Bonifacio. I never knew that til I enrolled in the University of the Philippines and scoured its library. Did I sleep in my history classes, in all ten years I was in the elementary and high school? My God I could not believe it! I was Salutatorian in elementary and 5th Honorable Mention in high school and I didn't know this very important detail in Philippine history? Wow! Andres Bonifacio was an "illiterate" while Aguinaldo was a we...