Note the "wagasa" the japanese oil painting umbrella used by the policeman 1943 (credit Presidential Museum) Manila.
Wednesday, September 14, 2016
Monday, August 8, 2016
Japanese Te-Ke Tanks along Luneta - 1942!
The Type 97 Light armored car Te-Ke (九七式軽装甲車 テケ Kyū-nana-shiki kei sōkōsha Teke?) was a tankette used by the Imperial Japanese Army in the Second Sino-Japanese War, at Nomonhan against the Soviet Union, and in World War II. It was designed as a fast reconnaissance vehicle,[1] and was a replacement for the earlier Type 94 TK.
Wednesday, June 15, 2016
1920 Ford Vehicle Advertisement, Manila Philippines.
1920 Ford Vehicle Advertisement by Manila Trading & Supply Company at Escolta, Manila.
Friday, June 3, 2016
1945: Liberation of Baguio City.
American Sherman tank near the Our Lady of a Atonement Cathedral of Baguio city during the Liberation of Baguio, Baguio City 1945.
Wednesday, June 1, 2016
1930s: Mayon Volcano.
Mayon Volcano .....showing the old Spanish stone bridge at Legaspi City, Albay 1930s.
June 14,1941: Ma Mon Luk (Mami King) Donates Rice to Tondo Fire Victims.
Ma Mon Luk and his son with their donation of 40 sacks of rice for Tondo fire victims - 1941
Friday, May 27, 2016
August 2, 1942: Manila Traffic Motorcycle Constabulary During Japanese Occupation of the Philippines!
August 2, 1942: Traffic Motorcycle Constabulary in Manila during the Japanese Occupation of the Philippines. Note the imposed speed limit during that time.
General MacArthur and Marcos War Medal Photo Controversy- True or Fake?
It is alleged that the famous picture above of General MacArthur personally decorating a World War 2 War medal to then Filipino Soldier/Leader/War Hero Ferdinand Marcos Sr. is a FAKED reproduction of an actual picture for another Filipino soldier.
It is claimed that the left is the real picture and the right one showing Marcos was "edited".... How true? You be the judge.
1968: Volkswagen Beetle Police Cars in Manila!
In 1968 the Volkswagen Beetle was used as Mobile Cars in Metro Manila.
September 13,1907: Macario Sacay hanged by American Soldiers during the Phil-Am War!
On September 13,1907 Macario Sacay was hanged by American Soldiers during the Phil-Am War. Sacay was the leader of a Filipino rebel group during the Philippine-American War.
Sunday, May 22, 2016
1962: Quiapo Underpass Construction near Quiapo Church-Aerial View.
Aerial View of Quezon Boulevard, Quiapo, Manila, showing the on-going construction of Quiapo underpass (and overpass as well) near Quiapo Church. Circa 1962. 
Monday, May 2, 2016
1890s: Bullfighting in Manila!
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| Bullfighting in Manila in the 1890s. |
There was Bullfighting in Manila in the 1890s and the bull ring was located in Paco district. An American writer who was in the Philippines in 1898-99, Joseph L. Stickney, described the state of the sport in the country: "Neither Spanish bull-fighters nor Spanish bulls are brought to the island, so that native talent has to be obtained to play both roles. The bulls are timid and lazy, the bull-fighters are little better, so that the traveler does not see bullfighting of the same sort that he would in Spain, Cuba or Mexico."
During the 1953 Manila International Fair, bullfighting made a brief comeback. The event was held at the sunken gardens outside Intramuros and featured bulls and matadors from Spain.
Although it was a big hit, the bloody sports failed to return in 1999 after a group rallied to block its comeback.
Sunday, May 1, 2016
Wednesday, March 16, 2016
March 12, 1972: First Ever Philippine Made Rocket Launched- How TRUE?!
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| The Bongbong Rocket. Photo courtesy of Mitch Romero thru Youtube. |
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| On March 12, 1972, a Philippine made rocket named "Bongbong I" reportedly launched at Caballo island near Corrigedor in the Manila Bay and retrieved from the South China Sea. |
It was a Rocket program which used an artillery with no guidance system involved- a technology that has long been in use around the world way before the 1970s. This was supposed to be a part of the Philippine Military experiment to produce its own ballistic missiles researched and developed by a group of Filipino and German engineers and scientists.
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| The Bukang Liwayway Rocket Launcher. Photo courtesy of mitch romero thru Youtube. |
The following year, the rockets were featured during the 1973 Independence Day Parade at the Luneta Grandstand (see video below).
According to reports, the missile tested were of different configurations of a 180 MM liquid-propellant rocket: short version with fixed fins, long version with fixed fins, long version with folding fins, and the Pressure Assisted Take Off type. The launchers tested were the Fixed-Open Frame (short), Fixed-Open frame (long), Truck-mounted tube launcher, truck-mounted open frame, and the Submerged Launcher for underwater firing.
Notes and Controversy:
- Evidences for these rockets are found only on a few news articles and still pictures like the ones posted here. Only one video was known to exist with only one public demonstration known to have been made.
– No videos of the launches are known to exist which puts into doubt IF the program was successful and if the Program itself was used mainly for Propaganda purposes,
– The rockets were never mass produced. No surviving samples of the Bongbong and SB110 rockets nor of the Bukang Liwayway Rocket Launchers are known to exist.
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| Front view of the locally made Sumpak Rocket Launcher. Photo courtesy of Wikimedia Commons. |
– The only surviving sample of the program is the Sumpak launcher . This launcher was originally named “Mk 40 Mobile Assault Rocket Combat Operational System (MARCOS)” but was later changed to “Sumpak” (Filipino for “Blowgun” “Improvised Gun”). Note that it does NOT use locally made rockets.
Project Santa Barbara was discontinued after the Marcos administration.
Tuesday, March 15, 2016
1903 Kennon Road Construction.
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| Benguet Road construction crew near Camp 5, Tuba, Benguet ca1903 setting explosives into a sheer cliff of the Bued River Canyon. |
''Kennon Road''' (formerly the '''Benguet Road''' and also known as the '''Rosario–Baguio Road''') is a roadway in Benguet provincein the Philippines connecting the mountain city of Baguio to the lowland towns of Rosario and Pugo in La Union province. The project was begun in 1903 and opened for travel on January 29, 1905. It was originally called the Benguet Road and later renamed in honor of its builder, Col. Lyman Walter Vere Kennon of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.
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| Lyman W.V. Kennon-1917 |
For travelers coming from Manila or the provinces in the central plains of Luzon, it is the shortest route to Baguio.
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| Vintage vehicles on their way up to Baguio City. Kennon Road was then known as Benguet Road. |
Tuesday, February 16, 2016
September 8, 1929: First Igorot Beauty Contest!
According to this picture found on line (from Facebook Group Memories of Old Manila), on September 8, 1929 the first Igorot beauty contest was held at old capitol of Mountain Province....The handwritten caption reads:
"The first Igorot beauty contest held at Bontoc (Capital of Old Mountain Province) September 8, 1929. They belong to different ethnic tribes of the Cordillera including the Bago people of the Ilocos Sur."
True or not about the the picture and the "first Igorot beauty contest" caption, it is true that Bagos are the hill tribe dwellers and original inhabitants in the border regions between Ilocos and Cordillera mountains different from their neighboring tribes and other adjacent ethnic groups whose ancestors are early inhabitants of the country prior to colonization.
Saturday, February 13, 2016
Tuesday, February 9, 2016
February 9, 1945-Battle for Manila: US Troops Retake Far Eastern University!
Battle for Manila. February 9, 1945. American troops successfully retake Far Eastern University and advancing to the south of Pasig River. FEU was a garrison during Japanese occupation and heavy gunbattle ensued to liberate the campus and the Japanese massacred all their captives including FEU founder Nicanor Reyes Sr. and some members of his family. Josefa Llanes Escoda - founder of Girl Scout was brutally tortured and killed inside the campus.
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| Remembering Liberation and the death of the FEU founder |
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