History Comes Alive 2: Mukhang Pera

History Comes Alive 2 follows the huge success of History Comes Alive 1. Huge success means, in movie’s definition, a BLOCKBUSTER HIT that when I arrived on the venue, a large group gathered near the entrance and more overwhelming crowd in the lobby. Fortunately, I bought ticket earlier and saved me a side-front seat.

His first lecture entitled “Mukhang Pera! Banknotes and Nation” explores, as explained by the lecturer himself, why particular individuals are chosen and not chosen as the face on the banknotes and how banknotes reflect the history, ideals and culture of a nation. As his lecture poster aptly describes:

“Banknotes are so common, we see and use them daily, but we rarely notice the pictures and text that are on them. After this lecture, you will never look the money the same way again.”

Philippine Banknotes

A professor known for his humor, he didn’t let this opportunity slip away without starting his lecture with a hearty laugh. During his stint as Chairman of National Hysterical Commission, as he fondly calls the National Historical Commission (NHI), the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas once sought his opinion regarding a request from a group who pride themselves as “Pangitiin si Ninoy Movement”. They were requesting the BSP to change Ninoy's unsmiling photo, which the group thought to be unlucky, to a smiling photo in the 500 peso bill.  Did BSP heed their request? Yes! BSP yielded to their request that our new 500 peso bill bears both Ninoy and Cory smiling.

Old 500 peso

New 500 peso

On the side note, Professor Ambeth added that BSP could be sued for copyright infringement because the old Ninoy Photo was taken from Asiaweek Magazine cover photo without any permission. Former President Cory Aquino handed the magazine cover to BSP Officials when they requested her photo of him. Cory quipped it was her favorite photo. As the Philippines just started rebuilding herself after Marcos regime, the BSP took no effort to get permission to print the unsmiling photo.

These are the interesting facts surrounding the old and new 500 peso bills shrouded by the error on the bird's beak color found at the back of new 500 peso bill, which I wouldn't learn if not for this lecture or Professor Ambeth himself.

Professor Ambeth also made us noticed this interesting fact on our 200 peso bill. The 200 peso bill has an image of a living President at the back of it. It simply show how money reflects the current situation of our country. It was around this time that Gloria took the position of a President via People Power 2. She wasn't the original. Trying hard, Copy cat. Another former President had taken this route and placed his inauguration photo, at the historical Barasoain Church, at the back of of his newly created denomination - the 2000 peso bill. The 2000 peso bill wasn't circulated because he was overthrown by the same person who followed his ludicrous idea.

 The succeeding anecdote is totally unrelated to banknote but I ought to share it to everyone because of its importance and relevance to history. He shared to his audience the unreliability of Philippine History textbook, which from time to time, I hear Mr. Antonio Calipjo Go's call for action to correct wrong grammar and erroneous information found in most Philippine textbooks. It has been known, since elementary, that Philippines has 7,107 islands but according to Professor Ambeth, he could not find any reference materials to support it. That's when he called NAMRIA (National Mapping and Resource Information Authority) and asked the general knowledge question "how many islands are in the Philippines?" NAMRIA has no definite answer on this question. In short, where do we get the idea that Philippines has 7, 107 islands when the people or agency who are expected to know this fact do not have answer or clue.

Old Philippine Backnotes

What makes his lecture engaging was the way he presented it. He started most of his discussion with a funny anecdote then relates it to the discussion. This is a classic example of Filipinos who love to laugh. If you want to capture the Filipino audience, you must learn to make intellectual jokes, not dirty jokes.

The following anecdotes were selected because it would take so much space if I included everything besides the point, I am writing this from memory. The first anecdote refers to the early forms of money in the Philippines, involving an old rich woman who wore golden accessory of our ancestor as earrings or necklaces in one event. Unknown to the old woman, those golden accessory are used by our male ancestor as an accessory for their private organ. If the woman knew the former usage, I doubt that she would wear it as earring or necklace.

Another anecdote involved two government officials who on separate occasions demanded the removal of foreign influence/object on our money. One demanded the removal of US Flag in our 100 peso bill while the other demanded the removal of Gen. McArthur in newly released 50 peso bill. Professor Ocampo defended that:

1.  Philippine and US flag found on 100 peso bill symbolizes the American’s recognition of Philippine independence wherein Philippine flag flies higher than the American flag;
2. and Gen. McArthur should not be taken a single entity on the 50 peso bill because it symbolizes the historic event - Leyte Landing.

On the side note, he added that the famous photo of Leyte Landing was a re-enactment because on the day of the landing, there was no available photographer to capture this historic moment, and Gen. McArthur, wanted to be part of Philippine history,  did the re-enactment the day after.

He also talked about an incident involving a BSP board member who said “Anong ginagawa ng dalawang tsonggong namamangka?” referring to two people on top of manununggul jar.

EU and Asian Banknotes

Euro Banknotes are perfect example on how money reflects the ideals and culture of one state or region. Professor Ambeth asked us to look closely the various images of doors and windows on the front side of Euro. He revealed that none of those images pertains to any landmark found in EU member countries. The door and window are chosen because it reflect openness - the idea the EU wants to project to the world. The back side shows bridges that relates to the connectivity of EU. Those images are pure product of imagination because Euro symbolizes EU member countries, hence, they must not patronize specific landmark. EU decided to imagine these symbols to prevent any national bias to associate EU to just particular country.

In some countries like Cambodia or Vietnam, money bore images of hammer and sickle, the symbol of communism. But when communism ended, the Cambodian and Vietnamese government simply removed the hammer and sickle design. On the other hand, Indonesian covered the head of a deposed leader with an Indonesian art.

Japanese Yen had old people ( I forgot the names) with big beard to serve as security feature and Thai Baht bore one image of ruler - Rama I to prevent any biases unlike Philippine money where some Presidents felt it as a privilege for money to bear an image of them.

Conclusion

Who would have thought that an ordinary thing like a money can reveal gargantuan information about the history, culture, ideals and future of a country or region. Those symbols and images found on the money are not simply placed because it will make the money look good. Instead, those symbols and images are products of various influences from Presidents to aspirations of the people.

In the Philippine case, through the anecdotes albeit funny, Money has revealed the saddening truth about the current state of Philippine History in Filipino minds. How most Filipinos are so ignorant with their history?  From someone who flaunts her golden accessory to someone ignorant on Manununggul Jar, I shouldn't wonder why our neighbors are leaving us all behind. History is not as ingrained to Filipino minds as compared to other countries. History is not considered an important identity to Filipinos.

As Wall Street Journal's Bret Stephens wrote in defense to media coverage and big expenditures on Royal Wedding:

"Royalty is the most venerable embodiment of British tradition, tradition is the lifeblood of identity, identity generates social cohesion without resort to force, and social cohesion is the sine qua non of a viable polity."

Similar to Royalty in UK, Philippine history is "lifeblood" of the Filipino people and this "lifeblood" is what "generates social cohesion without resort to force, and social cohesion is the sine qua non of a viable polity." Thus, Philippine History, as far as most students know, is and will remain forever a subject in school unless we, Filipinos, begin to appreciate and understand our Philippine History.

A Night in Venice Piazza

Located near the Libingan ng mga Bayani, McKinley Hill, touted as Little Venice in Metro Manila, is a relatively unknown place compared to its neighbor – the well-known Bonifacio Global City or BGC. Such reason compelled Megaworld Corporation, McKinley Hill’s developer, to promote the place through various promotions, one of which is Food Adventure in Venice Piazza.

Surrounded by Italian-inspired houses and buildings, Venice Piazza is the heart of McKinley Hill or I should say belly, or both. The Piazza, an Italian word for city square, is the center of public life in Italy . Hence, a fitting name to hold the Food Adventure as it houses gamut of palates and recreations.

The Food Adventure has been on foodie’s radar for the past few weeks. Fortunately, the management decided to extend its promo run and advertised it on Philippine Daily Inquirer. Food lovers or not are welcomed to sample 12 dishes from 12 restaurants. The mechanics is simple: one has to buy Food Adventure Passport near the Venice Piazza’s main entrance; get a schedule for your adventure; and present it to a participating restaurant. The promo is held at Venice Piazza every Saturday from May to July 30, 06:00 pm to 11:00 pm.

The Adventure Begins

We arrived too early for the Food Adventure so we resigned ourselves to picture taking, a required activity for Filipinos. One joke said that when you see a group of people going gaga over poses and taking pictures of everything around him/her, then you definitely have Filipinos in the house. After posing for the camera a la modele, my nephew and niece went hurriedly towards the playground and gazed occasionally in the sky whenever they hear the airplane’s engine passing by.

Ten minutes before six o’clock, I heard whining from my big fat nephew. He was hungry. Who wouldn’t be? Someone who spent playing for almost an hour will surely feel hungry. However, we couldn’t start claiming our food because the clock hadn’t strike 6 o’clock yet. We asked him to wait and, good thing, he considered our suggestion and waited. As soon as the long hand reached 12, I went quickly inside the Old Vine’s Grille Restaurant to claim the Salmon Carpaccio. We decided to choose this first because it is not very often that we get to eat salmon at a very cheap price, only to be told to wait because the waitress was waiting for the signal to begin. Nonetheless, we were the second group so we didn’t have to wait very long. We also ordered Kuse’s Beef Rib Adobado, another cheap find.

While waiting for our order, we turned our attention to Sol Gelato to assuage my nephew’s growing hunger. I couldn’t give any comment about the gelato because I didn’t get to taste it. Nonetheless, my nephew was satisfied so gelato passed the mark. When our orders arrived, we started feasting ourselves with salmon and beef. I’m not good at critiquing food so I could only give general remarks. The Salmon Carpaccio was delicious. If you are used to eating sushi then salmon Carpaccio will surely pass your mark. Beef Ribs Adobado, let’s just say, we ordered it again as a take home food. Do I need to add more?

Our next stop was the Red Crab Alimango House that serves Butter Ginger Crab Claws. One thing about Venice Piazza, all the participating restaurants are located at the ground floor and beside one another. I didn’t like the crab much because it tasted bland for me.

The Empire Deli Restaurant served us Baked Macaroni with Orange Summer Salad. Nothing spectacular about the dish so I share the same sentiment of Our Awesome Planet Blogger Anton Diaz who said that some participating restaurant s should have offered their best dishes because, as I mentioned earlier, food adventure is created to attract customers and visitors. What makes visitors become loyal customers? It is the sumptuous food.

Beside Empire Deli is Pinchos Restaurant and Bar that served Baked Oysters. It was my first time eating baked oysters because I am used to eat blanched oysters and dip it in vinegar with chopped white onions. But the oysters were delicious, though, a bit salty. The Blackwood Bistro presented Crab and Mango Salad. I had the same reaction from Empire Deli. I wished the organizers thoroughly check the list of dishes. We would love to see a variety of dishes.

We decided to give our stomach a ten minute. We didn’t want to suffer indigestion. Minutes later, we proceeded to Sweet Pea. They served Quesadillas and Buffalo wings. The Buffalo wings had subtle spiciness which was good and quesadillas dipped with cheese neutralized the remaining spiciness of Buffalo wings, in short, a perfect combination.

We were so full, we had difficulty walking. But nothing beats my nephew who finished the remaining serving of Buffalo wings on his own. That’s why we brought him together with us because we knew he has a big appetite.

On Little Asia, we were asked to pick either Minced Chicken with lettuce or Vietnamese Spring Rolls. Since our stomachs were sending signals to our brains that we should stop eating, we claimed one serving of Minced Chicken and Spring Rolls. We hardly touched the food that we told the server that we wouldn’t take the next serving because we didn’t want to waste food. The server made an instant choice to pack our servings and whispered to us to keep quiet because the server was not allowed to pack the food.

Then we claimed our Yo Swirl’s Ice cream to remove our “suya” and took another break. We still had another restaurant to visit. On the other hand, my nephew and niece seemed not getting tired because they immediately went back to the playground as soon as my sister exclaimed that we were taking break. After break, we proceeded to our final stop, the Ramen Bar. We were served with Kaarage (Japanese-style fried chicken) paired with Kakuni Buns or Siopao without the filling. We liked the taste. But I was hoping for a serving of Ramen. But it did not materialize because it was not the promo dish. We decided to make Ramen Bar our final stop instead of Pho Hoa because we already had our serving of spring rolls.

To cap our adventure, we got more than what we paid. My niece and nephew enjoyed the surrounding because of the playground and the airplanes hovering above us. While we, the older members of the group, were fully satisfied till the last end of this adventure. We feasted our eyes and satiated our stomachs. It was undeniably a lively night at Venice Piazza and definitely brought life back to us. Venice Piazza has not only lived up to its namesakes – the Italian City of Venice and the Piazza but also stayed true to what Italy stands for – that is life. As attested by Ms. Lavish, a character from E.M. Forster’s novel “A Room with a View”, once said, “One doesn’t come to Italy for niceness. One comes for life.”

Taken using Sony Ericsson Satio

2011 Pasig River Run

Yesterday marked the slashed of “Marathon” in to do list before I turn 35. I joined the 2011 Pasig River Run because I always wanted to join one but couldn't find someone to join me. Fortunately, my Present Company decided to join the run and ask its employees to willingly join the race for a good cause – Pasig River Clean-up. I didn't think twice and emailed my quick “yes” response besides the point that I didn't need to pay anything. The Present Company shouldered the registration, company shirt and food expenses. I’ll get anything valuable as long as it’s FREE.

According to the brochure, the gun start was at 04:45 am. I left the house at 03:30 am with our helper Ayat, short for “Payat”. My Tatay gave her the nickname because she’s so thin and also not to confuse her with my mother, who both share the same name. I was not allowed to leave on my own because few people were on the street during that time. We arrived at Monumento and were surprised to see groups of young students eager to join the race. It was pretty obvious they were joining the race because they were in shirts, joggings pants and rubber shoes. They were waiting for a ride and busy giggling with one another which brought memories of student days. How time passed by quickly. I was once a student and now a full-pledged employee.

As soon as jeepney arrived, the passenger seats were mostly occupied by students and adults who were joining the race. There were students, me and our helper, father and daughter, and one female student who didn’t belong to a group of students I saw earlier. The students were joining the 5k race because they got off at Lawton while I was joining the 3k race and got off at Vito Cruz (formerly Pablo Ocampo Sr). This was my first race and didn’t want to strain myself and ended unable to work the following day.

As we grew nearer to the venue, I told Ayat that my father didn’t have to worry because there were many people out of the streets. I didn’t think something bad will happen. Nevertheless, I appreciated my father’s effort. At least I had someone to talk share my excitement or I would just burse out of my protective self-bubble if I didn’t get to share it to anyone. We arrived at the venue at 5:00 am and the race hadn’t started yet. I texted and looked for my colleague who was standing on the other side of the island (check name).

Fifteen minutes later, the race began. I shouldn’t call it race because I was walking and not running due to huge volume of people joining the race. Then people started running and spreading out by jumping on the other street across our lane because some people wanted to run and not walk. This gave space enough for those, including me who was left on legal course to freely run as fast as I can.  I asked my colleague if I could go ahead because I was so excited I wanted to run to ease the tension. I never told my colleague the reason.  I ran and walked, run and walked. Oh! I never felt this good since my childhood days. I’m so overwhelmed that I plan to run every Sunday at UP Oval.

Before I reached the finish line, security personnel were blocking people who bore no race number on their shirt because the official counting of participants began after passing those security personnel and free goodies awaited those who bought tickets. Participants were given a pack of Champion detergent powder, champion t-shirt, C2 fruit drink and boardwalk rubber bands. I arrived first among my colleagues under the 3k race category. While waiting for them, I noticed people queuing at St. Luke’s Medical Center booth. As soon as I understand the commotion, I dashed off quickly and claimed my reusable bag. Whew!

Finally, after 30 minutes, my colleague arrived well. We proceeded to Jollibee near Blue wave to get our free Jollibee breakfast provided by the company. We ate and chat, then left to give place for the next batch of eaters.

I never felt this good. I mean my body never felt this good for a long time. I should make it a habit to run once a week. My sold felt renewed, too. To learn that you have shared something for a good cause specifically the Pasig River Clean-up is amazing. I really wish to see the old Pasig River, Rizal was talking about. 

2 Weeks later, the certificates were released. Unfortunately, 2011 race did not break its 2010 Guinness World Record of over 100,000 runners in a single race.