Renato Constantino | |
|---|---|
| Born | Renato Reyes Constantino March 10, 1919 |
| Died | September 15, 1999 (aged 80) Quezon City, Philippines |
| Alma mater | University of the Philippines Manila (BA) New York University (MA) |
| Occupation(s) | Historian, educator |
| Spouse | Letizia Roxas (m. 1943) |
| Children | 2, including Karina Constantino David |
Renato Reyes Constantino Sr. (March 10, 1919 – September 15, 1999) was a Filipino historian known for being part of the leftist tradition of Philippine historiography. Apart from being a historian, Constantino was also engaged in foreign service, working for the Philippine Mission to the United Nations and the Department of Foreign Affairs.
He is the father of former Civil Service Commission Chairperson Karina Constantino-David and father-in-law of University of the Philippines Diliman sociology professor emeritus Randy David.
Constantino attended the University of the Philippines where he became the youngest editor of the university's student publication, The Philippine Collegian . He wrote editorial columns criticizing President Manuel Quezon, which earned the attention of the President by responding to the article in one of his speeches. It was also in UP where he co-founded the Alpha Phi Beta Fraternity, alongside 17 other students; professor and future Senator Ambrosio Padilla served as their Charter Adviser.
When the Second World War erupted, Constantino fought in Bataan and was a member of an intelligence team spying on the Japanese. He also worked as a journalist during the war.
At the conclusion of the war, Constantino joined the Philippine Mission to the United Nations from 1946 to 1949 as its Executive Secretary. He worked as a counselor for the Department of Foreign Affairs from 1949 to 1951. These exposures to foreign service became the foundations of a book he wrote about the United Nations.
Constantino held professorial positions at the University of the Philippines (Diliman and Manila), Far Eastern University, Adamson University, and Arellano University. He was also a visiting lecturer in universities in London, Sweden, Japan, Germany, Malaysia and Thailand. He served as a member of the Editorial Board of the Journal of Contemporary Asia, and Trustee of Focus on the Global South in Bangkok.
He wrote around 30 books and numerous pamphlets and monographs. Among Constantino's well-known books are A Past Revisited and The Continuing Past. He also wrote The Making of a Filipino (a biography of Claro M. Recto), The Essential Tañada (On Statesman and Senator Lorenzo M. Tañada), Neo-colonial Identity and Counter-Consciousness, and The Nationalist Alternative. Several of his books have been translated into Japanese and The Nationalist Alternative has a Malaysian translation.
Constantino earned various distinctions for his historical work. He received nationalism awards from Quezon City in 1987, Manila in 1988, The Civil Liberties Union in 1988, and the University of the Philippines Manila in 1989. Constantino was also the Manila's Diwa ng Lahi awardee in 1989. He was conferred the Doctor of Arts and Letters (honoris causa) from the Polytechnic University of the Philippines in 1989 and a Doctor of Laws (honoris causa) from the University of the Philippines Diliman in 1990.
For his academic contributions to the struggle against the Marcos dictatorship, his name is inscribed on the Wall of Remembrance at the Philippines' Bantayog ng mga Bayani (Monument of Heroes). [1]
Today, Constantino is regarded as one of the leading Filipino nationalist historians of the mid-20th century, who advocated for a Filipino-centric view of the country's history, alongside his contemporaries Teodoro Agoncillo and Horacio de la Costa.
Claro Mayo Recto Jr. was a Filipino politician, jurist, writer, and poet known as one of the most prominent statesmen in Philippine history. Referred to as the "Great Academician", he is remembered for his nationalism, for "the impact of his patriotic convictions on modern political thought", and has been seen in the same class as Dr. Jose Rizal, Sen. Jose W. Diokno, and Sen. Lorenzo Tañada. He is the grandfather of representative and former senator Ralph Recto.
Jovito Reyes Salonga, KGCR also called "Ka Jovy," was a Filipino politician and lawyer, as well as a leading opposition leader during the regime of Ferdinand Marcos from the declaration of martial law in 1972 until the People Power Revolution in 1986, which removed Marcos from power. Salonga was the 14th president of the Senate of the Philippines, serving from 1987 to 1992.
Francisco "Franz" Arcellana was a Filipino writer, poet, essayist, critic, journalist and teacher.
Néstor Vicente Madali González was a Filipino novelist, short story writer, essayist and, poet. Conferred as the National Artist of the Philippines for Literature in 1997.
Haydee Bofill Yorac was a Filipina public servant, law professor and politician.
Lorenzo Martinez "Ka Tanny" Tañada Sr. was a Filipino Statesman, Lawyer, Human and Civil rights defender and national athlete. He served as Solicitor General from 1940 to 1941 and again from 1945 to 1947. Serving in the Philippine Senate for 24 years beginning in 1947 up until 1971, he is the longest-serving senator in Philippine history, and is referred to as the "Grand Old Man of Philippine Politics."
Leandro "Lean" Legara Alejandro was a student leader and left-wing nationalist political activist in the Philippines.
Francisco "Soc" Aldana Rodrigo was a Filipino playwright, lawyer, broadcaster, and a Senator of the Philippines from 1955 to 1967.
Maria Lorena Morelos Barros was a Filipino activist. She founded the Malayang Kilusan ng Bagong Kababaihan or MAKIBAKA, a militant women's organization shortly before the Martial Law. When Martial Law was declared, she went underground, was later captured and was a top political prisoner. She escaped to the countryside as a guerrilla fighter and was killed during a military ambush at 28 years old.
The Free Legal Assistance Group (FLAG) is a nationwide organization of human rights lawyers in the Philippines. It was founded in 1974 by Sen. Jose W. Diokno, Lorenzo Tañada, J.B.L. Reyes, and Joker Arroyo during the martial law era under former President Ferdinand Marcos. It is the first and largest group of human rights lawyers established in the nation. They work on countering varied abuses against human rights and civil liberties. Its current chairman since 2003 is human rights attorney Chel Diokno, the founding dean of the De La Salle University Tañada-Diokno School of Law.
The Bantayog ng mga Bayani, sometimes simply referred to as the Bantayog, is a monument, museum, and historical research center in Quezon City, Philippines, which honors the martyrs and heroes of the struggle against the dictatorship of former President Ferdinand Marcos.
The Bulacan Martyrs of 1982 was a group of young activists who worked together to oppose the Ferdinand Marcos dictatorship and restore democracy in the Philippines. They were meeting at a farmer's residence on June 21, 1982, when the house was raided by 30 armed soldiers from the 175th Philippine Constabulary (PC) Company. They were arrested and were found dead the following day in another town 20 kilometers away.
Lourdes "Chit" Panganiban Estella-Simbulan was a Filipino journalist and professor, known for her critical writings on government repression, abuse, corruption and human rights violations.
Religious sector opposition against the dictatorship of President Ferdinand Marcos included leaders and workers belonging to different beliefs and denominations.
During the presidency of Ferdinand Marcos, Filipino workers in the labor industry experienced the effects of government corruption, crony capitalism, and cheap labor for foreign transnational industries, One of the objectives of Martial Law was to cheapen labor costs, in order to attract transnational corporations to export labor to the Philippines. Marcos signed many presidential decrees beneficial only to his associates, while allowing for the forced relocation of indigenous peoples, decreasing workers' wages, and murders of labor activists. Minimum wage was a fixed PHP8.00 per day. Many workers were unemployed or underemployed. It was also during the Marcos presidency when the practice of contractualization began, enabling managements to avoid giving regular, permanent status to employees after six months of work. Strikes were banned and the government controlled trade unions, leaving workers without effective protection against employers who had unfair labor practices and regulations.
José Mari Uhler Vélez was a Filipino lawyer, journalist, business executive, and activist best remembered for his long career as television newscaster anchoring The Big News on ABC 5 and for his service as an oppositionist delegate to the Philippine Constitutional Convention of 1971. He was one of the opposition delegates at the convention, which was why he was one of the first to be arrested when Ferdinand Marcos declared Martial law in September 1972. In April 1989, Velez became one of the first recipients of the Ninoy Aquino Fellowship Award for his accomplishments in journalism, with President Corazon Aquino stating that she believes he "share[s] in Ninoy's vision of preserving and strengthening our democracy."
Edgar Catacutan Ang Sinco was a student activist from the University of Mindanao (UM) in Davao City who was active in the years immediately prior to Ferdinand Marcos' declaration of Martial Law. He was shot down while giving a speech in front of the University' Main building on February 16, 1971 – one of several students gunned down during the events of the First Quarter Storm, but the first from the city of Davao. As such, he is considered Davao City's first martyr in the struggle against the Marcos dictatorship.
Manuel Candelaria Bautista was a Filipino student leader, campus journalist, and activist best known for his contributions as a student leader at the University of the Philippines Los Baños during the Martial Law dictatorship of Ferdinand Marcos.
Armando "Mandrake" Ducusin Palabay was a Filipino student leader and activist from San Fernando, La Union. He is best known for his work in organizing anti-Marcos campaigns during the first quarter storm and the early days of Martial law under Ferdinand Marcos. He was killed for the anti-Marcos cause while doing community work among the indigenous Tingguian people of Sallapadan, Abra, in 1974, and was honored in 2001 by having his name inscribed on the Wall of the Remembrance at the Philippines' Bantayog ng mga Bayani, which honors the martyrs and heroes who fought the dictatorship.
The September 1984 Welcome Rotonda protest dispersal was a landmark incident which happened on September 27, 1984, near the end of the administration of Ferdinand Marcos, in which pro-Marcos forces hosed down and fired tear gas on several thousand peaceful protesters gathered at Welcome Rotonda, a roundabout on the border between the City of Manila and Quezon City. They also fired into the crowd. Student leader Fidel Nemenzo was shot in the back, eventually recovering from the M-16 bullet that hit his liver, diaphragm and lungs.
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