Here you will find how we are today -- the rich diversity of our people, the land we call home. Home, where we remember the beginnings of our dreams, the innocence of our ideals. Wherever we are now, in this world, it beckons in our soul, make us remember the memories of simpler times, when love was the bossom of a mother and security was the clasp of a hand in the shoulder from a father. There live the memories of childhood friends who shaped the bonds into our first forays to society.
If you look deeper into our being, you will find the kinship that binds us -- you and I -- as peoples of these world. What only changes are the colors of the skin, the places and the time. We share the same longings and aspirations. We dread the same fears and dangers. We share the same hopes for our children and the future generations to come. In a global village that is becoming even closer each day, we share the same dream -- long for the day when we become "One World" and peace shall reign in the heart of every being.
The common bonds that tie us, you and I, are the day-to-day struggles of mankind; and, the universal quest -- the eternal search for "the good, noble, beautiful and true".
Major Sections
Notes:This and the other pages (linked to this) are concept pages, rather than how they would actually appear. My fervent hope is that the more artistic and computer savvy Filipinos will help improve the aesthetic design, as well as the technical architecture, to make the site more appealing, dynamic and interactive. There is also a need for writers, photographers and all sorts of volunteers (visit Likas-Philippines Team) to help create the various contents. The Filipino terms used are more symbolic sometimes rather than the actual equivalent of the English translations.
Balita at Pananaw (News and Views)
[Visit separate page(s).] Short reviews of selected news stories in the Philippines and around the world, that may have significant impact on you, your family and community.
Visit the news directory to learn more about events around the world and in your area.
Tambuli (Community Voices)
[Visit separate page(s).] This section will focus on issues and advocacy initiatives in various communities of the Philippines. This is about community empowerment. Share your concerns, ideas and dreams about and for your community. Every voice counts. Silence is the best ally of tyrants.
This is a planned project. With your help, we hope to develop this into a major section of Likas-Philippines. We invite aspiring writers, journalists, community activists, advocacy organizations including consumer advocacy groups, to helpt develop this initiative.
Bintana (Glimpses of the Philippines and Filipinos) Bintana, the Filipino term for window (an adaptation from the Spanish word, "ventana"), is used here symbolically. The window, is a way of looking in (from the outsider's perspective) and looking out (for the one inside the house); but, it is the person inside who decides how much is revealed. There are dynamics involved and a number of philosophical undertones that will be discussed in the future.
Bintana wil be part of the Filipiniana section of "Ang Pilipinas Ngayon". The featured photos and stories must be consistent with the months of the year, for each issue.
Cultural events and Festivals (Ati-atihan, Flores de Mayo, Pahiyas, Passion, Sinulog, etc.)
Correlate the featured events with the month of the year. Photo-essay format, see photos of Adlaw, Estan, others
Changing Philippines
e.g., Flicku's Retro Recto and Manila
Regional Snapshots (see regions)
Selected (best) photos that capture the people, places and events in the region
Visit the Philippines [Visit separate page(s).] This will focus on tourist destinations. While the main target audience are foreign visitors, this will be useful also for Filipinos -- to learn more about what other regions offer; thereby encouraging local tourism.
Start with Boracay, of course
Photo-essay (select representative photos from flickr contributor)
Lesser known destinations in various regions
Eco-tourism
Tips and advisories about visiting the Philippines
Common Filipino Terms
Customs and Traditions
Seasonal Events (Where to go and what to see)
Weather and Climate Advisories
Ako'y Pilipino (Filipinos Today) This section will feature Filipinos of today. A separate section will be devoted for "Filipinos in History" -- see Kasaysayan (Philippine History)
Feature specific Filipino ethnic groups and their community
This will use a photo-essay format. A good start would be "Ayeona's Home", since Ayeona already has a sizeable collection of photos and preliminary text. What would be needed would be more extensive and thematic write up, to integrate all the photos. There seem to be quite a number of Bicolanos, Cebuanos, Ilocanos, Tagalogs in flickr.com site, so these ethnic groups could be the next features. Find a way on how to reach out to other ethnic groups not currently active in the flickr.com -- perhaps through local universities(?)
Ordinary people
Feature an ordinary Filipino who has done something good for his(her) community. This need not be spectacular, just a model for trying some novel means to help people in the community.
Young Pinoys
This section will feature poignant photos of young Filipinos (in the Philippines and around the world) some of whom may become our leaders in the future. The goal here is to show a diverse representation of young Filipinos, capture their innocence. Some of those featured may include a brief bio-interview, to have a glimpse of their hopes and dreams, as well as their anxieties about the future, etc.
To encourage excellence and civic mindedness, create a separate section to feature young Filipinos who excelled scholastically, in sports, arts, etc., as well as those who are doing community services. Some would be included in regional sections and a select few will be included in the main section.
Global Pinoys
Feature Filipinos who now live abroad (including those who were born abroad) who have done something good for his(her) community, won an accolade (thus serving as ambassadors of goodwill for the Filipino people) in their country of residence.
Feature a Filipino who has done something good for his(her) community, won an accolade in his(her) profession, e.g., TOYM, Ramon Magsaysay, Palanca, etc.
Feature Filipinos in public office, as well as those in business, industry, health, science and technology who are doing something innovative.
Celebrities
Feature a Filipino celebrity who has done something good for the country, won an accolade in his(her) profession, or for just looking good. As a poet once said: A thing of beauty is a joy forever.... [Note: Many Filipino magazines tend to focus on celebrities. While celebreties will be included here, it will not be the focus of this section. Also, to entice celebrities to be more involved in community activities, focus initially on those who are doing community related activities.]
Sining (Philippine Arts and Photography)
Photo selections of the month
This will be a selection of individual photos (chosen by popular vote?, e.g., by "Pinoys@flickr"; and/or curated selections by the Likas-Philippines Arts & Photography Editorial Board). There will be categories: Scenery, Moods, Still Life, Filipino Children, Young People, Old People, Abstracts, etc.
Art and Cartoons selections of the month
same rules as photo selections
Featured "Best Photo" Selector
This is the reverse of the other sections at the top. Here, an individual is chosen (maybe once a week, depending on the number of willing participants). (S)he has the task to select his(her) top photos (25 to 100) from around the world, excluding the Philippines this time and not from his(her) own work. The task will include asking the people for permission to have the photo (brief text of the photo and bio of photographer, if possible) for inclusion in the TOTI archives.
Rules: not more than one photo per person, not more than three per country and not more than five per category (Scenery, Moods, Still Life, Filipino Children, Young People, Old People, Abstracts, Nature and Wildlife). The next selector must try not to select the same set of people as the previous selectors.
The significance of this feature, in relation to the long-term goals of "One World", will be discuss in the future. [But, I would encourage the visitor to speculate why this very simple feature can have lasting impact, if each selector does his(her) job quite seriously and conscientiously, rather than just looking for the abstract "best photos".]
Free music
Explore if some Filipino groups or singers will do mp3 recordings of non-copyrighted Filipino songs, e.g., Ang Bayani (?), popular regional songs, or creations of lesser known Filipino musicians who want to publicize their work. [Note: While free, this will require sponsorship because of the high cost of bandwidth for downloads]
Free dance videos
Explore if some Filipino dance groups will do videos of dance performances
[Note: While free, this will require sponsorship because of the high cost of bandwidth for downloads, as well as cost for filming.]
"Photo-essay" contest
In the future, to encourage more widespread selections of photos from different provinces and regions of the Philippines, as well as instill Filipino pride, there will be a more publicized "photo-essay" contest. [This will require sponsorship, to cover the prizes and other expenses.]
Recent Masters
select works of "recent" masters: Abueva,
Historical Arts
works of Juan Luna, Amorsolo, etc.
Kasaysayan (Philippine History)
Philippine Archives
Sucesos de las Islas Filipinas (History of the Philippine Islands): Vol. 1 (of 15 volumes)
by Dr. Antonio de Morga; Mexico, 1609
Completely translated into English, edited and annotated by
E. H. Blair and J. A. Robertson with Facsimiles
Sucesos de las Islas Filipinas (History of the Philippine Islands): Vol. 2 (of 15 volumes)
by Dr. Antonio de Morga; Mexico, 1609
Completely translated into English, edited and annotated by
E. H. Blair and J. A. Robertson with Facsimiles
Panukala sa Pagkakana nang Republika nang Pilipinas (Tagalog)
by Apolinario Mabini
Contestaciones y Consideraciones Al Pueblo y Congreso Norte-Amercicanos (Spanish)
by Apolinario Mabini
Kartilyang Makabayan (Tagalog)
Mga Tanong at Sagot ukol kay Andres Bonifacio at sa Kataastaasan Kagalanggalangang Katipunan ng mga Anak ng Bayan
Lineage, Life, and Labors of Jose Rizal, Philippine Patriot (1913)
by Austin Craig
The origins of Filipino Surnames ()
Feature Hector Santos articles here
Photo documentary of "Filipinos in History"
Format: Interview, photo-essay. Note: The focus here would be to report the perspective of the person not to write a historical perspective by the interviewer. This means that the perspective of former President Aquino will be quite different from that of former First Lady Imelda Marcos.
Potential living subjects: former Presidents Corazon Aquino; Fidel Ramos, Joseph Estrada, etc.
Other Filipinos who are part of recent history: former First Lady Imelda Marcos (and the children of the Marcoses), prominent senators and public officials.
Student and "common tao" leaders during various stages in our recent history: Marcos era, 1st People Power, 2nd People Power, etc.
Retrospectives
Benigno Aquino
Carlos P. Romulo
Renato Constantino
Online "Presidential Archive"
Explore the possibility of creating sort of online "Presidential Archives". In the US, there are Presidential libraries, but since this is not practical at present in the Philippines, the next best thing would be online "Presidential Archives"
Recent History
These will be regular sections to gather as much information and different perspectives from diverse groups of Filipinos from different walks of life and regions of the country; as well as from available archive documents.
People Power and the Administration of President Corazon Aquino
President Ferdinand Marcos: Early Years and Martial Law
President Joseph Estrada
Sabah Incident
Hukbalahap
World War II
Long term projects include the creation online documentations from the Philippine Archive, major universities and institutions in the Philippines and abroad (e.g., US Library of Congress, those in Spain)
Request from authors (through universities) the potential for online publication of unpublished post-graduate dissertations.
Katha (Philippine Literature) set up Likas-Philippines Editorial Board for the Arts and Literature
Works of Palanca Award Winners and other recognized publications
contact Ian Rosales Casocot and other active editors of online Filipino literature
Contributions (Contemporary)
e.g., dumpling-disasters (flickr); contact others who are involved in writing, journalism and communications. Eventually, a Likas-Philippines Editorial Board for the Arts and Literature will be established to select those that will be featured. All that will me a set of criteria will be archived under the name of the contributor.
"Recent past" Literature
Explore with UP Press and other publications (e.g., Free Press magazine, Liwayway-Bannawag-Hiligaynon, etc.) and contact the authors (or heirs of authors, e.g., Carlos P. Romulo, Renato Constantino, Villa, etc.) whether they will allow "free" online publications of the writings of Filipino authors whose works are no longer in print
Historical Literature
Writings of Jose Rizal
La Indolencia de los Filipinos (The Indolence of the Filipino)
by Jose Rizal; English translation by Charles Derbyshire
Noli Me Tangere (The Social Cancer)
by Jose Rizal; English translation by Charles Derbyshire
El Filibusterismo (The Reign of Greed)
by Jose Rizal; English translation by Charles Derbyshire
Other writings (Project Gutenberg releases)
The True Decalogue
by Apolinario Mabini
Florante
Francisco Baltazar (AKA Francisco Balagtas); Spanish translation by Epifanio De Los Santos
Other authors in Tagalog, Ilocano, etc. (Project Gutenberg releases)
Explore with Philippine Archives, and universities such as University of Santo Tomas, Ateneo de Manila, University of the Philippines, and perhaps other older regional universities whether they will consider having their older books scanned.
Filipino Myths and Mythologies
Health, Science and Technology
Featured Filipinos
Dr. Baldomero Olivera
Dr. William Padolina
Former owner of Beatrice Foods
Fund Manager of Clemente Investment Funds
Health?
Technology
Recent developments
Feature organizations, educational institutions, corporations, government agencies that have introduced innovative ideas and/or programs in health, science and technology.
Include recent government policies and regulations affecting health, science and technology.
Featured technology:
Example: The state of 2-D and 3-D animations in the Philippines
get suggestions from 4pao, Gani, zuman (Non Clemente), and the teachers among to group to suggestions prominent scientists and technologists in various regions who can become part of the Editorial Board for Health, Science and Technology
Use Likas-Philippines and Treasures of the Internet websites to showcase the capabilities of Filipinos in internet architecture design (PHP, Perl, databases, CMS, etc.), development of new (software) applications, and webpage layout design. Examples include:
A good example of this would be the work of Raymond Chua Sing, to create a more radical version of the existing community Calendars for Treasures of the Internet and Likas-Philippines.
Creation of a basic CMS that will integrate robust open-source applications (databases, images, directories, forum, etc.)
Inovative use of Flash and other technologies to improve interactivity and educational use of the internet as a supplement rather than a substitute for formal education.
Greater involvement in open-source movement and the Wiki movement
Internet technology for the "common tao"
Visit the innovative collaborative works of Indians and groups in Cambridge to provide internet technology for developing countries.
Creation of online databases
A modified Wikipedia format (see GetWiki) will be adapted for Treasures of the Internet and Likas-Philippines, for this format
This will be a proposed collaborative projects with universities, professional associations, to explore the possibility of tapping student manpower to create online databases for health, science and technology. Innovative ideas would include special projects (in lieu of term papers) for motivated and gifted students (undergraduate and graduate level) to prepare focused and extensive reviews of specific subjects in health, science and technology.
The focus of each review would be the identification of seminal papers (and people involved) that led to the discovery or evolution of specific topic or field in health, science and technology. [Note: This is a good project for students who want to pursue graduate studies abroad, to demonstrate the depth of their understanding in the field they plan to pursue.]
An "Editorial Board" comprising of volunteer professors will help review the merit of each credible report prior to online publication.
Registered (and verified) users may help critique each publication to further improve it, point out inaccuracies, lapses, etc., that will then be incorporated, in succeeding revisions.
Creation of online directories
Certified individuals, organizations, departments in universities and colleges, corporations and businesses. government institutions, etc.
Pagkaing Pilipino (Filipino Cuisine)
Photo essays on Pagkaing Pilipino
This section will explore origins and staples of Filipino cuisine (see examples in old Likas-Philippines)
Feature distinct regional Filipino Cuisine
Feature kakanins
see photos of Aileron, Keren
Issue "Editorial Management" Team
The early issues will be a collaborative effort by all. When the number of volunteer grows, the succeeding issues will be the work of specific "Issue Editorial Management Teams", each team is assigned an issue to develop well in advance.
Webdesign and Scripting
Invite 4Pao, Bonsag (?), Djanggo, ICON, kevinv033, Litratista, Muning, Robyn's Nest, Roro Fernandez, Stitch, Yohanna and others if they might be interested to help in this endeavor or seek their assistance in suggesting people they know who might be willing to participate.
Langniappe. Each issue of "Ang Pilipinas Ngayon" will have defined specifications (e.g., Vol. I No. 1: Ang Pilipinas Ngayon: July - September 2005) and archived accordingly. This will be important for literature citation. The dream here is that while the earlier versions may be amateurish, the layout and infrastructure gets refined in due course and more vital, the future contributions are prepared well in advance so that the contents can past muster scholarly and artistic scrutinies.
But, more important, when this dream becomes reality and endures, "Ang Pilipinas Ngayon" would become a historical record of the evolution of the Philippines and Filipino people.
Towards this goal, it would be desirable to have "pdf format" version of each issue, but the "pdf format" takes too much space to be feasible, under very limited financial and manpower resources of Treasures of the Internet, at the moment. The alternative option would be to "create self-contained" static html version of each archived issue.
Hypothetically, if I have all the money in the world (to hire people to work for me), and could devote my whole life to make this reality, it is possible that I would be able to create quite a respectable "Likas-Philippines" and "Ang Pilipinas Ngayon".
But, such strategy will be sheer vanity.
It will also fail to realize the most important goal of this dream -- that "Likas-Philippines" and "Ang Pilipinas Ngayon" be the embodiments of all that is "good, noble, beautiful and true" about the Philippines and Filipino people.
The realization of this dream will require the collective vision and perspective of Filipinos, and those who come to love the Philippines and her people.
For this dream to become reality, I have to keep faith that the spirit of "bayanihan" still lives in the heart of every Filipino.
What are at stake include our fate as a people, the legacy we leave behind to the next generations of Filipinos, and the role we play as a people in the larger world.
Therefore, while the vision may be noble and ideal, it is also selfish and utilitarian. You will be doing it, not only for a noble cause and dream, but also to ensure that your children and their children, and the other future generations to come will have a country and a community that they will feel safe and comfortable to live in; as well as provide them with a solid socio-cultural foundation that will steel them for any challenges they may face, in the future.
Customize this section for the Philippines. If possible, correlate this also with the photos or works of art shown.
Visit the History & Culture Calendars, for other significant events of the day.
