People Power?

Residents of Maragondon on strike after two civil leaders were detained

The nation recently celebrated the 28th anniversary of the People Power Revolution, and its memory was being recalled in the streets of Maragondon, that morning as I was readying to bike up to Mt. Nagpatong. It was quite a curious thing, how people know were reminding the government of who they are, shouting out to the people in the offices of the town mayor just meters away and they were crying out how they, like in the times of President Marcos, were still being persecuted by the wealth and powerful men that managed to latch on to the wells of influence.

"We are being forced by this government to be NPAs. The government is the one that makes NPAs! People with No Permanent Address!" shouted one of the civil leaders, calling the people to rise up and rattle the walls of the city hall. They were being forced out of their homes, to relocate from the places where they earn a living for the sake of a resort. Two men, people who once served as leaders for the people, were arrested, apparently for no real reason. They were illegally detained.

And now the question being asked now is, what power? What power does the people have? 

Technically speaking, the nation is commemorating the day a coup overturned the national government and left it in the shambles that it is now. Just like the coup staged by Emilio Aguinaldo. He crafted a plan by which they would be the big shots of the Republic, overthrowing and killing the man who deserves to be called the First President, Supremo Pangulo Andres Bonifacio. We still live in the echoes of the past, forever repeating our mistakes like a broken vinyl. 

May real democracy haunt us. Now. 

Face Value

President Andres Bonifacio first appeared in Philippine Money when the Philippine Health Service minted the 10 Centavo coin for the Cullion Leper Colony, Palawan in 1930. The coins were exclusively used by the patients within the colony and was not legal tender outside the island. Bonifacio (together with Gen. Emilio Jacinto) next appeared on the Twenty Peso bill which was circulated in 1949 until the bill's devaluation in 1969. As part of the celebration of his birth, Andres Bonifacio was also feature in the one peso coin that was minted in 1963.

The Supremo also appeared in the Pilipino Series (circulated, 1968) and the Bagong Lipunan Series (Pilipino Series with "Ang Bagong Lipunan" overprint and with slight color scheme changes), both on the Five Peso Bill, a spot that was later on held by the man who had him killed in the mountains of Maragondon.

In 1983, the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas minted the Flora and Fauna series, featuring Andres Bonifacio on the decagonal Two Peso coin with Coconut Tree (Cocos Nucifera) on the reverse. The Central Bank of the Philippines released the "improved" Flora and Fauna series in 1991, with all of the coins now made smaller and in a uniform circular shape. To commemorate the centennial of Bonifacio's execution, the BSP minted a 500 Peso coin bearing Andres Bonifacio's likeness, together with a sun with a Ka written in the old Tagalog script in the middle, in 1997.

In 1998, Andres Bonifacio was also featured in the Ten Peso bill alongside Apolinario Mabini, the adviser of Captain Emilio Aguinaldo. Andres Bonifacio also appeared on the 100, 000 Peso Bill, the largest legal tender banknote to be printed in the world. The banknote was released in 1998 as part of the celebration of the Centennial of Aguinaldo's declaration of Independence in Cavite. The likeness of the two heroes were minted alongside each other in the New Generation of coinage which was circulated in 2000. Recently, the Central Bank of the Philippines released a commemorative Ten peso coin celebrating the 150th Anniversary of Bonifacio's birth.

Manila by Night

"Everything looks different at night. The city adopts a spirit of its own and removes its mask, revealing a face totally unknown to many and revealed only to those who are brave enough to venture in the unknown."

Axl Powerhouse Production Inc. and Heritage Conservation Society Youth's yearly event showing the different side of the metropolis: a city of contrasts.

Capping off the year 2013, it also shows what has changed for the city in one year and the state of the capital's heritage while giving photographers, bloggers and adventurers alike a chance to explore the city at night, showing what remains of the beauty of the distinguished and ever loyal city.

Sta. Cruz - Escolta - Binondo - Rio de Pasig - Puente de Espana - Metropolitan Theater - Intramuros - Rizal Park

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