The Belgian Buyer

        A Belgian king almost bought the Philippines from Spain.

    King Leopold II of Belgium was passionate about geography and everything that had something to do with maps. He also loved to travel, and it was during one of his trips when he realized that he could turn Belgium into one of the world’s richest countries.

       To make this possible, he first need a colony. His focus then shifted to Asia, specifically the islands considered to be the gateway to other nearby countries: the Philippines.

       According to historian Ambeth Ocampo, most of the details of King Leopold’s quest to make Philippines a Belgian colony can be found in the 1962 book entitled A La Recherde d’un Etat Independent: Leopold II et les Philippines 1869-1875. 

       In 1866, a year after his accession to the throne, King Leopold II asked his ambassador in Madrid to negotiate with the Queen of Spain about the possibility of ceding the Philippines to Belgium.

The lost Silver Coins

        In 1942, almost 16 million pieces of silver coins were dumped near Corregidor. Some of it remains unretrieved.

    After the Fall of Manila in 1942, Filipino and American officials were thinking of ways to keep the Philippine National Treasury out of the enemy’s hands. At that time, the treasury was brimming with 70 million pesos in paper bills, 269 pieces of gold bars, and 16, 422, 000 pesos in silver coins.

        They’re running out of time so they had to move fast. After recording the serial numbers, a total of 20 million in 500-peso bills was burned from January 19 to 20, 1942. When the submarine U.S.S. Trout arrived in Corregidor in February 3, workers loaded it with 2 million dollars in gold bars and $360, 000 in silver which were eventually shipped to San Francisco. With no more time left, high court government officials decided to just dump the remaining 15, 792, 000 pesos in silver coins to Caballo Bay, a deep and rough location just off Corregidor.

Elpidio Quirino and the "White Russians".

       President Elpidio Quirino helped save the lives of almost 6,000 “White Russians.”

     President Elpidio Quirino (left) and photos showing Russian children (upper right) and a Russian wedding (lower right) in the refugee camp in Tubahao, Eastern Samar. Sources: “Tubabao Island 1948-1951: The last refuge of the Russian Far East emigration”.

     If President Quezon was the savior of the Holocaust Jews, President Quirino should be the unsung hero of “White Russians.” In 1948, China was on the brink of a total invasion by the Communists led by Mao-Tse-Tung. For this reason, Russian emigrants living in Peking, Hankow, Tiensin, and other nearby cities in northern China were forced to evacuate to

Colgante Bridge Tragedy

       Before martial law, there was the Colgante Bridge Tragedy.

       On September 16, 1972, a few days before the declaration of martial law, the Colgante bridge in Naga City collapsed, killing 114 Roman Catholic pilgrims who were celebrating the feast of their patroness, Nuestra Señora de Peñafrancia.

     Most of the victims were either drowned or crushed to death on boats beneath. The tragic incident happened when 1,000 faithfuls rushed to the 15-year-old bailey bridge to watch with

Leper Community

       Philippines’ leper colony had their own “Leper Money. “

    Leprosy is a communicable bacterial disease characterized by skin lesions and numbness. In 1633, it is said that a Japanese Emperor  sent a ship loaded with lepers to the Spanish missionaries based in the Philippines. He also instructed the ship’s captain to drown the lepers in case no one would receive them. Fortunately, the missionaries kindly welcomed the patients with open arms and even established the San Lazaro Hospital to take care of them. At that time, people had very little knowledge about the disease so it didn’t take long before leprosy started to afflict the Filipino populace.

      In 1906, Dr. Heiser, Director of Health for the Philippines, opened a leper colony in Culion, an island located north of Palawan. Lest they might continue spreading the disease, a unique monetary system separate from the rest of the country was established. These leper coins were only allowed within the colony and those who would leave the place had to convert the leper money into “government money.”

First American Hero in the Philippines

       The first American hero of World War II was killed in combat in the Philippines.

    A graduate of West Point, 25-year-old Capt. Colin P. Kelly Jr. became the first American hero of World War II when he bombed a Japanese cruiser three days after the attacks in Pearl Harbor.

        On December 10, 1941, Kelly and his crew were ordered to fly out of Clark Air Field and attack targets on Formosa (now Taiwan). He was forced to take off the B-17 with only three 600-pound bombs on board and with the plane partly fueled. On the way to Formosa, they saw a huge Japanese landing party with accompanying destroyers. Kelly ordered the attack on the Japanese fleet despite receiving no clear permission from base to engage the enemy.

       The crew dropped the bombs from 20, 000 feet. One bomb directly hit the target while the other two impacted the flank. With no bombs left, Kelly maneuvered the plane to go back to Clark Air Field.

Three Other Martyrs

        There were three other martyr priests aside from “Gomburza.”

    Mention the words “martyr priests” and most Filipinos will remember “Gomburza,” the three Filipino priests who were executed for their  alleged involvement in the 1872 Cavite Mutiny.But several years after their deaths, another three martyr priests would again shed their blood in Bagumbayan. Their names are much more obscure though, mainly because they were part of a group of Bicolano martyrs collectively known as Los Quince Martires.

    After the discovery of Katipunan in September, 1896, the Spanish government immediately ordered mass arrests of those who were connected to the secret organization. The wrath of Spaniards eventually reached Bicol and arrests were made between September and October in 1896.A total of 15 men were arrested, tortured, and sentenced to death. Out of these 15, three were secular priests from Nueva Caceres (now Naga City), namely: Fr. Severino Diaz, Fr. Inocencio Herrera, and Fr. Gabriel Prieto.