Filipino - Common Family Traits

Filipinos highly value the presence of their families more than anything. Despite the liberal influence they have gotten from the west, the family remained the basic unit of their society. This trait clearly shows among Filipinos abroad who endure homesickness and tough work just to support their families back home.

In a traditional Filipino family, the father is considered the head and the provider of the family while the mother takes responsibility of the domestic needs and in charge of the emotional growth and values formation of the children. They both perform different tasks and being remarked separately by the children. Children see their mothers soft and calm, while they regard their fathers as strong and the most eminent figure in the family.

Because of this remarkable closeness, parents sometimes have difficulties letting go of their children and thus results to having them stay for as long as they want. For This somehow explains why grandparents are commonly seen living with their children in the Philippines. Unlike the way people grow old in the west where they are provided with outside homes and care giving, Filipino elderly enjoy their remaining lives inside their houses with their children and grandchildren looking after them.

Another trait Filipinos made themselves exceptional from others is their strong respect for elders. Children are taught from birth how to say “po” and “opo” to teach them as early as possible how to properly respect their elders. These words are used to show respect to people of older level. Even adults will be criticized for not using these words when speaking with their parents or people older than them. Inside the family, the parents are expected to receive the highest respect from the children along with the elder siblings; as they are given more responsibilities to look after younger siblings when parents are not around.

Children fighting back or addressing parents or elder siblings with an arrogant tone is not at all tolerated. They are also not allowed to leave the house without their parents’ permission. Upon arriving home, conservative families expect children to practice the kissing of hands or placing their parents or elder family members’ hand to their foreheads with the words “mano po” as a sort of greeting.

Even after finishing school, Filipino children are not obliged to get out of their homes unless they want to. In fact, most of them keep close relationship to their parents by staying at least before they get married. Leaving them only happens when they really have to, but usually, at least one child, depending on his willingness and financial capabilities, stay even after marriage to support and look after their aging parents.

Moreover, Filipinos keep close connection with other relatives. They recognize them from 2nd degree to the last they can identify. As Filipinos say, “not being able to know a relative is like turning their backs from where they come from".

Filipinos as Christians

The Philippines in general has the strongest Christian influence in Asia. Majority of Filipinos are Catholics and most are fanatically involved. Lives of Filipinos evolve on their religious beliefs. They believe that God and its saints are the ones responsible for what they are and how they live. This is evident in their celebrations of town fiestas and festivals every year.

Pahiyas is one example that brings out the fanatic practices of the Filipinos wherein a particular saint is believed to nourish a town’s harvest by offering it a colorful festival related to the town’s main source of living. Fruits, rice, vegetables or any product related to their livelihood are lavishly decorated on to their houses. Bizarre, but the festivity transforms the whole town into an explicit sight of creativity from the colors and textures of natural ornaments.

The most popular custom that regards the strong influence of Christianism to the Filipinos is the yearly commemoration of holy week, which features the sufferings and death of Christ. Several activities within the month of celebration are performed including the recital of passion, reenactment of Jesus sufferings and death (practiced on a real cross, with real nails pounded on their hands and even the make up that resembles the looks of the Christ), processions and more prayings. This unusual practice made people around the globe wonder and smile, but the significance it brings to the lives of every Filipino in reuniting their families and comemorating their traditions is enough for the world to understand. Such cultural traits they inherited from the west that Filipinos brought it to its own uniqueness.

FIlipino - On Sensitivity and Morality

Filipinos are very sensitive to other people’s feelings. Strong words are avoided and directed to 3rd party to avoid awkward conversations. Women are expected to be modest for them to be treated with proper respect. This is observed mostly during courtship. Parents would rather propose the boys to have their young ladies visited at home than being followed or courted in the street.

Traditionally, wherever they are and regardless of their foreign liberal influences, most Filipinos still observe the "no touch" policy, which means no sexual interaction before marriage, a trait that emphasizes conservatism and strong religious seal between a young couple. Even nowadays, some Filipino parents avoid their daughters to have close contact with their suitors until they get married. This is commonly observed in the province and most tribal communities in the country.

Philippines - The Filipino Hospitality

People who have experienced being with Filipinos find them very hospitable. A common trait Filipinos are known to most foreigners who have traveled around the country. Although they are not the only people in the world who can be friendly and welcoming, their attitude towards other people is said to be exceptional. Even the humblest home along the road can serve as a shelter for a stranger who has lost his way. For Filipinos, serving other people the best of what they have leave them an honor and a promise of true friendship. A typical Filipino house is not completely called a home without any facility ready for unexpected visitors. It is filled with

It is filled with new and lovely items reserved only for them while ordinary ones are for everyday use. They welcome guests with the phrase “feel at home” to make them comfortably at ease. Arriving at your host’ house during mealtime may be awkward but if its in a Filipino house, you will be asked to sit down and share with what they have on the table. Because eating alone without asking others according to Filipino customs is considered rude. These manners picture how Filipinos accept and properly respect the presence of their visitors. A form of hospitality that comes truly from the heart like how the country made its image as the land of true smiling people. considering the struggling economy, political confusions and the rising poverty in the country, anyone will be surprised seeing how Filipinos handle such situations. It is like taking everything from them but not their love of joking. Joking and laughing at everything perhaps give them relief and make them see things more positively.

Traveling in this country means more of building rapport with its people and understanding their customs. Filipinos love entertaining foreign visitors; as to help, or for whatever reasons, interacting with them is unavoidable. Hence, aside from the country’s stunning natural assets, meeting the Filipinos gives a promise of a true friendship and memories to keep.

Philippines - The FIlipinos

The locals of the Philippines are called Filipinos. Their primary ancestors are the Malays who came from the southeastern Asian country or what is now called Indonesia. Even before Ferdinand Magellan, a Spanish explorer who discovered the country in 1521, the Philippines was already inhabited by Chinese businessmen, which resulted in a mixed Chinese-Filipino descent. During the Spanish colonial period, inter-racial marriages brought forth the emergence of the country’s Spanish-Filipino group, commonly referred to as mestizos/mestizas. A small percentage of Filipinos are also part American and part Japanese respectively, as a result of the American and Japanese occupations of the Philippines in World War II. Arab and Indian blood have also been slightly added to the racial mixture of the Filipinos, due to trade that took place between the different cultures.

Inside the Filipinos’ diverse society, anyone who has not seen Filipinos will be surprised by how unique and heterogenous they are as a group of people. From their physical appearances, to their cultural practices and beliefs, one can see a truly diversified blend of people and customs. In effect, Filipinos take pride in the ability to naturally adapt to any given cultural circumstance.

THE MODERN PHILIPPINES

Today, the Philippines, an independent nation of about 70 million people, is becoming one of the most progressive countries in Asia. The Philippines has rebounded from the economic debacle that former dictator Ferdinand Marcos had put her into. Investors from the United States, Japan, Malaysia, and other nations in Asia are bringing in millions of dollars as investment in factories, recreation establishments, and other businesses.

The “States” of the Philippines. A “state” in the Philippines is called a province. The Philippines has 72 provinces and 61 chartered cities.

Manila and Its Satellites. Metro Manila is the political, economic, social, educational, cultural and recreational hub of the Philippines. It comprises the city of Manila, Quezon City, Makati, and other suburban cities.

Malls, boutiques, flea markets, and other shops abound in Manila and its environs. You’ll be amazed at beautiful attractions in Manila itself, like the Intramuros, the old walled city, and Chinatown. Here you’ll see a number of McDonald’s, Burger King, Wendy’s, and Kentucky Fried Chicken. When you’re inside the malls and you don’t concentrate on the crowd, you’d think that you were somewhere in America.

Manila: Where Admiral Dewey Met His Destiny. A long time ago, Manila was a small tribal settlement on the banks of the Pasig River near Manila Bay. On May 1, 1898, Dewey’s naval fleet destroyed the Spanish Fleet on Manila Bay.

It was on May 24, 1570, when Spanish Marshall Martin de Goiti’s expedition reached Soliman’s settlement. On June 24 of the following year, Adelantado Miguel Lopez de Legazpi founded the city of Manila, which he called the “distinguished and ever loyal city” of Manila. He proclaimed it as the capital of the islands.

During the old times, in the suburbs or arabales, such as Quiapo, Tondo, Santa Cruz, and Malate, the Filipinos, then known as indios, lived and worked together with the so-called mestizos (of mixed Filipino and foreign descent). The Chinese merchants called Sangleys, lived in a district called parian, which now comprises an area known as Binondo. Intramuros, which means within the walls, was the original Walled City. It was the site of the native settlement called Maynilad, ruled over by Rajah Soliman. It was at that time the center for the trade of goods from Asia. It was in this walled city where the Spaniards sought refuge when the American troops came during the Spanish-American war. It was also here that the so-called “mock battle” took place between the Spanish and American forces, where Filipino troops were excluded from participating.

Intramuros is now a tourist attraction. Local and foreign tourists have the option of enjoying walking tours from 30-minute to 2 hours. Among the attractions in Intramuros are Fort Santiago, Rizal Shrine, Casa Manila Museum, San Agustin Church, Intramuros Walls Museum, and San Agustin Museum.

Moreover, performances such as Serenata sa Fort Santiago and the Marian Procession are held in Intramuros. The Serenata sa Fort Santiago is performed as an open-air band concert in the tradition of the outdoor concerts in the paseo of the Old Luneta. It is held every Sunday from April to mid-May. On the other hand, the Marian Procession is held annually in December. This procession is in commemoration of the 400-year-old celebration of the Feast of the Immaculate Concepcion. The activity is a grand display of various images of the Virgin Mary.

There are also other activities in Intramuros.

Where to Go. What to See. There are a lot of tourist attractions in the Philippines. Here are some suggested destinations by the Philippine Department of Tourism:

Boracay. Made up of three little communities, Boracay, a “paradise island,” is at the northwestern tip of Panay Island in the West Visayas region. The communities are Yapak in the north, Balabag in the middle, and Manocmanoc in the south. About a dozen beaches dot the island. Bamboo outriggers ferry visitors. There are also horses and bicycles for riding.

Night life is fun. Avail yourself of bars and discos up to the wee hours of the night. Or take a stroll in the beach by the moonlight. At Yapak, with an experienced guide, you may wish to explore the bat caves.

Windsurfing and parasailing gear are readily available in the 2,000-hectare area of Boracay. You can enjoy sailing with the help of local sailors to make your stay enjoyable and memorable.

Boracay is an international place. When you’re there, you’ll hear different languages: English, Pilipino, German, etc. Foreign cuisine such as French, Belgian, German, Thai, Spanish, and Australian are available, together with native cuisine. What a wonderful life!

If you’re going there from Manila, you can go to Boracay by taking a 50-minute Philippine Airlines flight to Kalibo, Aklan Province. From there, you’ll take another 2-hour inland ride via bus or jeepney to Caticlan. (Or you may take a flight straight to Caticlan). At Caticlan, you may be asked to complete forms with regard to travel information. From there, you you’ll reach Boracay via outrigger boats.

Banaue/Mt. Data, Saga-da. The natives of Banaue are called Ifugaos or rice eaters. The attractions there are the Banaue Rice Terraces, which were carved out of the mountain about 2,000 years ago. These rice terraces are called the “magnificent stairway to the god’s domain.” They rise up to 1,500 meters high and extend to over 20,000 kilometers. The ideal visiting time to see them is between March and June, when the terraces are green with shoots or golden with ripe rice seeds.

PRE-HISPANIC CULTURE

The Filipinos lived in settlements called barangays before the colonization of the Philippines by the Spaniards. As the unit of government, a barangay consisted from 30 to 100 families. It was headed by a datu and was independent from the other groups. (The Tagalog word barangay came from the Malay word balangay, a boat that transported them to the islands.)

Usually, several barangays settled near each other to help one another in case of war or any emergency. The position of datu was passed on by the holder of the position to the eldest son or, if none, the eldest daughter. However, later, any member of the barangay could be chieftain, based on his talent and ability. He had the usual responsibilities of leading and protecting the members of his barangay. In turn, they had to pay tribute to the datu, help him till the land, and help him fight for the barangay in case of war.

In the old days, a datu had a council of elders to advise him, especially whenever he wanted a law to be enacted. The law was written and announced to the whole barangay by a town crier, called the umalohokan.

The People’s Commandments. Pre-college Filipino textbooks teach that the only written laws of pre-colonial Philippines that have survived are the Maragtas Code and the Code of Kalantiaw, both prepared in Panay. Some historians believe that the Maragtas Code was written by Datu Sumakwel, one of the chieftains from Borneo who settled there. As for the Code of Kalantiaw, it was said to have been promulgated by the third chief of Panay and possibly a descendant of Datu Sumakwel, Rajah Kalantiaw, in 1433. W. Henry Scott, however, has disputed the authenticity of the Code of Kalantiaw.

Classes of Society. There were four classes of society. They were the ruling class (datu), the freemen and notable persons (maharlika), the commoners (timawa), and the dependents and slaves (alipin). The alipin were of two kinds: the aliping namamahay, who were household servants, and the aliping saguiguilid, who were slave workers.

Clothing and Ornaments. The natives already wore clothes and personal ornaments. The men wore short-sleeved and collarless jackets, whose length reached slightly below the waist. The color of the jacket appeared to indicate the position of the wearer in society, e.g., red for the chief, and blue or black for those below him, depending on the societal class. For the lower part, they wore a bahag, a strip of cloth wrapped around the waist, passing between the thighs. Their thighs and legs were left exposed.

A piece of cloth wrapped around the head, called a putong, served as a head gear. The kind of putong one wore was important. For example, a red putong meant the wearer had killed a man in war while one who had killed at least seven people signified so by wearing an embroidered putong. They also wore necklaces, armlets or kalombiga, earrings, rings, and anklets, usually made of gold and precious stones.

The women’s upper garment was a sleeved jacket, called a baro. Over their skirts (saya or patadyong) was wrapped a strip of cloth called tapis. They also wore gem-studded bracelets, necklaces, rings, and gold earrings.

Tattoos were part of the body ornaments of pre-Hispanic Filipinos, men and women alike. These were also sported as war “medals.” The more tattoos, the more impressive was a man’s war record.

The Filipinos from the Visayas Islands were the most tattooed, which was why early Spanish writers referred to them as Pintados or painted people. The writers referred to their Islands as Islas del Pintados or Islands of the Painted People.

Rice and More Rice. Agriculture was the early Filipinos’ main means of livelihood. They also grew an abundance of rice, sugarcane, cotton, hemp, coconuts, bananas, and many other fruits and vegetables. Land cultivation was by tilling or by the kaingin system. With the kaingin system, the land was cleared by burning the shrubs and bushes. After that, it was planted with rice and other crops, which were watered by irrigation ditches.

The world-famous Ifugao rice terraces of Mountain Province, which have stone walls and run for thousands of feet on the mountain sides, are irrigated by a system of ditches. From afar, the terraces seem to be a giant stairway leading to the sky. From end to end, the length could be about 12,000 miles or halfway around the Earth.

There were public and private lands. Those along the mountainsides and less arable lands were public property. They were open to everyone who wanted to till them. Private lands were usually exclusively for nobles and datus.

Other Industries. Other industries were fishing, mining, lumbering, poultry raising, shipbuilding, and weaving. Fishing was particularly thriving for the settlements along rivers and seas.

Domestic trade existed among the barangays and the islands. The Filipinos’ foreign trade was with China, Japan, Siam (now Thailand), Borneo, Sumatra, Cambodia, and other islands of old Malaysia. The barter system was used in business transactions because there was no currency.

Their God. Bathala was the supreme god of the pre-Spanish Filipinos. They attributed to Bathala the creation of the heavens, Earth, and man. There were lesser gods and goddesses, like a god of death, a god of agriculture, a goddess of harvest, sea gods, river gods, and the like. It was also believed that things found in nature were full of spirits more powerful than man. Spirits of dead relatives were also revered. Sacrifices were offered to all of them.

The ancient Filipinos believed in the immortality of the soul and in life after death. Disease or illness was attributed to the whims of the environmental spirits and the soul-spirits of the dead relatives.

The pre-Spanish Filipinos also revered idols, called anitos in Tagalog and diwata in Visayan. These seem to be the counterparts of the present saints, to whom Filipinos offer prayers and food, much like their ancestors did.

How Islam Conquered Parts of the Philippines. The Islamization of Southeast Asia was generally accomplished by peaceful means through Muslim traders, missionaries, and teachers. They went to Java, Sumatra, Jahore, Malacca, Borneo, and nearby islands to conduct their mission. To speed up the conversion process, these proselytizers usually married into the families of the rich and ruling class.

By the 13th century, most of the lands in Southeast Asia were Islamized. From there, Islam filtered to Mindanao and Sulu, the southern part of the Philippines, in the 14th century. In 1380, an Arab teacher, Mukdum, arrived in Sulu from the Malay peninsula to preach Islam. He built the first mosque in Simunul, Sulu. Around 1390, he was followed by Raja Baginda, a minor ruler of Menangkabaw, Sumatra. About 1450, Abu Bakr, a Muslim scholar, came to Sulu and married Paramisuli, the daughter of Raja Baginda. After Baginda died, Abu Bakr established a sultanate form of government with himself as sultan. Islam then spread rapidly to all parts of Sulu.

Serif Kabungsuan was responsible for the spread of Islam in Mindanao. He led a force of Muslim Samals from Jahore that conquered the natives of what is now Cotabato and converted them to Islam. He also married into an influential family and founded the first sultanate of Mindanao, with himself as head.

On the other hand, Muslim Malay traders from Borneo spread Islam to the natives in Manila and in the provinces of Batangas, Mindoro, and Pampanga. When the Spaniards arrived in the Philippines during the first half of the 16th century, many parts of Luzon, including the large native kingdoms of Manila and Tondo, had already been Islamized.

However, the further spread and influence of Islam were cut short by the conquest and Spanish colonization of the Philippines starting in 1665.

Chinese and Indians. Chinese influences on Filipino life were mainly economic. However, at the same time, cultural influences were inevitable. Many words in the Philippine language have Chinese origins. The Chinese also taught the ancient Filipinos the use of gongs, umbrellas, lead, and porcelain, as well as the manufacture of gun powder, and metallurgy and mining methods. Filipinos also adopted customs from the Chinese.

Many words in the Philippine language also appear to have Sanskrit origins. In addition, ancient religious beliefs of the Filipinos show Indian influence. It is said that some elements of the Indian culture reached the Philippines through the Hinduized Malays who settled in the country permanently.

FLASHBACK: THE EARLY FILIPINOS

The Philippines, scientists believe, once was a part of Mainland China. According to the scientists, during the Ice Age, the waters surrounding the Philippines dropped to about 156 feet below the present levels, exposing large bodies of land. These became land bridges connecting the Philippines to the Asian mainland.

The Philippines, Out from the Bottom of the Sea? In February 1976, Dr. Fritjof Voss, a German scientist who studied the geology of the Philippines, questioned the validity of this theory of land bridges. He maintained that the Philippines was never part of mainland Asia. He claimed that it arose from the bottom of the sea and, as the thin Pacific crust moved below it, continued to rise. It continues to rise today. The country lies along great Earth faults that extend to deep undersea trenches. The resulting violent earthquakes caused what is now the land masses forming the Philippines to rise to the surface of the sea.

Dr. Voss also pointed out that when scientific studies were done on the earth’s crust from 1964 to 1967, it was discovered that the 35-kilometer-thick crust underneath China does not reach the Philippines. Thus, the latter could not have been a land bridge to the Asian mainland.

When They Came, How They Came. The traditional teaching of Philippine history in Filipino schools today has early Philippine habitants coming in waves.

In 1962, it was concluded that about 250,000 years ago, primitive men came to the Philippines from the Asian mainland. Then about 25,000 years ago came the pygmies, the small, black-skinned, squat-nosed, thick-lipped, and kinky-haired people from the south over the still remaining land bridges. (They are considered the ancestors of the Negritoes, who are, in turn, regarded as the aborigines of the Philippines.)

Around 12,000 to 15,000 years ago, another Negrito (or Aeta) migration occurred. They reached Luzon from Borneo over land bridges in Palawan and Mindoro. The submergence of the land bridges when the ice melted with the passing of time did not prevent other people from inhabiting the Philippines.

5,000 to 6,000 Years Ago? The first Indonesians arrived by boat from Southeast Asia some 5,000 to 6,000 years ago. Much later, around 1500 B.C., a second wave of Indonesians arrived. Then came the Malays in two successive waves, the first between 800 and 500 B.C. and the second, between 300 and 200 B.C. From Borneo, they traveled by sailboats and settled in the three major islands of the Philippines: Luzon, Visayas, and Mindanao. Subsequent peoples who came from the start of Christianity until the present time include the Indians (Hindus), the Arabs, the Chinese, other Eastern Asians, the Europeans, and the Americans.

Who Came First? The matter of who the first settlers were has not been really resolved. This is being disputed by anthropologists, as well as the theory of Professor H. Otley Beyer that the first inhabitants of the Philippines came from the Malay Peninsula.

The Malays now constitute the largest portion of the populace and what Filipinos now have is a Malayan culture. Anthropologist F. Landa Jocano of the University of the Philippines contends that what fossil evidence of ancient men show is that they not only migrated to the Philippines, but also to New Guinea, Borneo, and Australia. He says that there is no way of determining if they were Negritoes at all. However, what is sure is that there is evidence the Philippines was inhabited as early as 21,000 or 22,000 years ago. In 1962, a skull cap and a portion of a jaw, presumed to be those of a human being, were found in a Tabon cave in Palawan Province.

The discovery proved that man came earlier to the Philippines than to the Malay Peninsula; therefore, the first inhabitants of the former did not come from the latter.

Jocano further believes that present Filipinos are products of the long process of evolutions and movements of people. This not only holds true for Filipinos, but for the Indonesians and the Malays of Malaysia, as well. No group among the three is culturally or racially dominant. Hence, Jocano says that it is not correct to attribute the Filipino culture as being Malay in orientation.

According to Jocano’s findings, the peoples of the prehistoric islands of Southeast Asia were of the same population as the combination of human evolution that occurred in the islands of Southeast Asia about 1.9 million years ago. The proofs of this are fossil materials found in different parts of the region and the movements of other peoples from the Asian mainland during historic times.

He states that these ancient men cannot be categorized under any of the historically identified ethnic groups (Malays, Indonesians, Filipinos) of today.

Some Filipino ethnic groups were pagans while others were Muslims. The pagans were converted to Christianity by the Spaniards. The Americans later arrived and introduced further cultural changes, which made the Filipinos more and more different from the peoples of other Southeast Asian countries.

LAND AND ITS PEOPLE

The Philippines is an archipelago of 7,107 islands and islets. The biggest islands are Luzon, with a land area of 40,530 square miles (105,000 square kilometers); Mindanao, 36,670 square miles (95,000 square kilometers); Palawan, 5,749.86 square miles (14, 896 square kilometers); Negros, 5,278.55 square miles (13,675 square kilometers); and Samar, 5,183.59 square miles (13,429 square kilometers). She has a rugged land mass and, similarly, she has an irregular coastline, which is twice as long as that of the continental U.S.A. This irregularity has resulted in numerous fine harbors and landlocked straights that can accommodate large ships. They can also be a refuge of ships in distress during stormy weather.

The land surface is 115,800 square miles (300,000 square kilometers). Land forms include hills, plains, valleys, and mountains. Her mountain ranges, which are volcanic in origin, are drained by small river systems. There are seven major mountain ranges. The largest and longest is Sierra Madre, which faces the Pacific Ocean on the eastern coast of Luzon. The highest peak is Mt. Apo, a volcano in Davao del Sur Province. It has an elevation of 9,691.60 feet (2,954 meters).

Three Major Islands. The three major geographical groups in the country are Luzon, Visayas, and Mindanao. Luzon comprises the northern portion of the archipelago. The Visayan region has about 6,000 islands including Leyte, Cebu, Samar, and Bohol. Mindanao is the second largest land and encompasses about 400 small islands.

These islands are divided into provinces, which are run like states in the United States. Each province is ruled by a governor, a vice governor, and members of the provincial board. Each province is composed of cities, towns, and barrios.

Several “Pinatubos.” There are several volcanos in the Philippines. These have been one of the natural causes of destruction to life and property for centuries. At least 10 are considered active. The most famous are Iraya on Batanes Island; Taal in Batangas; Banahaw in Quezon; Mayon in Albay; and Hibok-Hibok on the Camiguin Islands; Makaturing in Lanao; Apo in Davao, and Mt. Pinatubo in Zambales.

Mt. Pinatubo has gained notoriety as being the most destructive volcano in the world. It lay dormant before it erupted in June 1991. It directly and indirectly caused damage to public and private property in the provinces of Zambales, Bataan, and Pampanga, including the Clark Air Force Base in Angeles City, Pampanga Province. Its ashes spread all over the world, causing global warming, damage to the ozone layer, and adverse effects on communications.

After six years of eruption, the lahar deposits along the volcano still cascade down the slopes after heavy rains. They continue to take lives, destroy bridges and roads, and defy billion-peso dikes built to contain lahar flows. These lahar flows are expected to last for five or more years, according to volcanologists. The Philippines lies within the Pacific seimic belt, which is why she experiences severer earthquakes.

Christian Groups. The people of the Philippines number about 73,265,584 (July 1995 estimate).

There are several ethnic groups and more than 65 so-called cultural minorities in the Philippines, which speak their own dialects or languages. Among these ethnic groups are the Tagalog, the Ilocano, the Pangasinanian, the Pampangue?o, the Bicolano, the Cebuano, the Ilongo, and the Waray-Waray. They comprise more than 90 percent of all Filipinos and are the Christians. About 84 percent of Filipinos are Roman Catholics.

The Tagalogs live in Manila and in central and southern Luzon. Although they speak Tagalog, they have intonations of their own, as do the Batangue?os from Batangas Province. The Tagalogs mostly live in such provinces as Nueva Ecija (the Ilocanos also live in some towns in the northern part of the province), Bulacan, Rizal, Batangas, Quezon, Laguna, and Mindoro (Oriental and Occidental). The Tagalogs dominate the people in Manila. There are, however, many people in the city who have come from different parts of the country, including Luzon, to live in the big city. Many also have come from the Bicol region and the Visayan islands.

The Ilocanos live in the Ilocos region in northern Luzon, particularly Ilocos Sur and Ilocos Norte, but many of them have migrated in large numbers to central Luzon, and, of course, to the United States. Most of the oldtimers in the United States in the late 1920s and early 1930s came from the Ilocos region. The Ilongos live in western Negros, in southern Mindoro, and on the island of Panay. The Cebuanos predominate in Cebu, western Leyte, Bohol, eastern Negros, and in some coastal areas of Mindanao.

The Bicolanos are in the southeastern Luzon and nearby islands, including the provinces of Albay, Camarines Norte, etc. The Pampangue?os or Kapampangans live in central Luzon, particularly in Pampanga Province. The Pangasinanians live in the Lingayen Gulf region of Luzon, including Pangasinan Province; however, many Pangasinanians have migrated into other towns in central Luzon. The Waray-Warays are in the provinces of Samar and eastern Leyte.

Other Groups. Chinese and other groups also live in the Philippines. The Chinese comprise 1.5 percent of the population, and are active in business.

Cultural Minorities. There are more than 65 cultural minorities, similar to the Indian tribes in the United States, who live in reservations and in the mountains.

They include the Muslim groups, which are comprised of the Maranao, the Samal, the Maguindanao, the Tausug, etc. They live in the Sulu Archipelago and southern Mindanao.

There are also the so-called upland tribal groups who live in the mountain regions of the country, such as in the Mountain Province of Luzon. In northern Luzon, the other ethnic groups include the Bontoc, the Kalinga, the Ifugao, the Kankanay, the Ibaloi, the Isneg, the Ilongot, the Tinguian, and the Gadang.

The Mangyan group lives in Mindanao and the Batak and the Tagbanua live in Palawan. In Mindanao there are groups known as the Tiruray, the T’Boli, the Bagobo, the Mandaya, the Bukidnon, the Subanun, and the Manobo. The Negritoes, popularly known as the Agta or the Aeta live in the mountainous areas of Luzon, Negros, Panay, and Mindanao.

“I love You! Iniibig Kita!” Yes, “I love you” is said in about 87 dialects or languages in the Philippines. These include Tagalog, Kapampangan, Ilocano, Cebuano, Pangasinanian, Bicolano, Hiligaynon, Chabacano, and the different dialects spoken by other ethnic groups such as Muslims and cultural minorities.

The Filipino dialects belong to the so-called Malayo-Polynesian language family, which is said to be the largest language family throughout the world. Pilipino (not Filipino), which is based on Tagalog, is the national language in the Philippines, but both English and Pilipino, are the official languages in schools, in government, and in private institutions, especially in urban places. English serves as the official language used in communications and in business meetings, especially by Rotarians, Jaycees, and other organizations. That is, English and Pilipino both serve as the media of communications among the people who also speak their own dialects.

It is common that when a Filipino in the Philippines and a Filipino in America write to each other, they communicate in English. But in daily conversation, English and Pilipino are combined, which is called Taglish (meaning Tagalog (Pilipino) and English. For instance, one may say, “Pupunta ako sa Maynila, to enroll at the University of the Philippines, (I’ll go to Manila to enroll at the....) or “Okeng, okey ka, you’re so sweet!” (You’re okay and you’re so sweet!”)

So whenever you meet Filipinos in the United States, they may be speaking their own dialects when not speaking in English. However, these groups know Pilipino. So if you want to know a Filipino language, it should be Tagalog or Pilipino so that you’ll have more people whom you can converse with.

Government.The Philippines has a democratic form of government, like that of the United States. The government is divided into executive, legislative, and judicial branches.

Have Pesos and Enjoy! If you have the dollar, you can have it changed to the Philippine peso. The dollar when this book was about to go to press was equivalent to forty pesos (P40.00). The Philippine currency consists of the peso (P) and the centavo. One hundred centavos equal P1. Coin denominations are 1, 5, 10, 25, and 50 centavos, and P1, P2, and P5. Bill denominations consist of 5, 10, 20, 50, 100, 500, and 1,000 pesos. Foreign currency may be exchanged in banks, hotels, and most large department stores, which have authorized money-changing shops.

Charge It! Charge It! Most large hotels, stores, restaurants, and resort areas accept major credit cards, including Visa, Mastercard, and American Express. At hotels and other large stores, traveler’s checks are accepted, preferably American Express.

How’s the Weather? The weather in the Philippines is tropical, the country having only two seasons, the dry and rainy seasons. It’s usually hot from April to July. The dry season is between November and June and the rainy season is between July and October. Filipinos consider December, January, and February as the cool months. But they may not be considered as winter without snow as in the United States; maybe it’s milder or like spring or fall.

Proclamation of Philippine Independence and the Birth of the Philippine Republic

With transportation provided by the Americans, Aguinaldo and his leaders returned to Cavite. They resumed their war offensive against Spain and reestablished the revolutionary government. Because of the exigencies of the time, Aguinaldo temporarily established a dictatorial government, but plans were afoot to proclaim the independence of the country especially since the Spaniards were reeling from defeat one battle after another.

From the balcony of his house in Kawit, Cavite, Aguinaldo declared on June 12, 1898 the independence of the Filipinos and the birth of the Philippine Republic. For the first time, the Philippine flag, sewn in Hongkong by the womenfolk of the revolutionaries, was unfurled. Two bands played Julian Felipe’s Marcha Nacional Filipina which became the Philippines’ national anthem. The declaration further emboldened the fighting Filipinos.

On June 18, 1898, Aguinaldo passed a decree calling for the reorganization of the provincial and municipal governments. In her article, Guerrero claims that following the liberation of Luzon from the hands of the Spaniards, elections were held in Cavite, Bataan, Batangas, and Pampanga in June and July; in Manila, Tayabas (now Quezon), Pangasinan, Ilocos Norte, and Ilocos Sur in August; in Abra, Camarines Norte, Camarines Sur, and Nueva Ecija in September; in Nueva Vizcaya and La Union in October; and in Isabela, Catanduanes, Albay, and Sorsogon in December. The elected provincial and town officials were mostly the same local officials during the Spanish period. This was because the requirements for voting and nomination to public office were restricted to those who were "citizens of 20 years of age or above who were ‘friendly’ to Philippine independence and were distinguished for their ‘high character, social position and honorable conduct, both in the center of the community and the suburb’."

These provisions automatically excluded the masses in the electoral process, and insured continued elite supremacy of local politics, even by those who were Spanish supporters and sympathizers during the early phase of the Revolution. Since the ilustrados had exclusive control of the electoral process, the provincial and municipal reorganization merely resulted in perpetuating elite dominance of society and government. Guerrero claims that records of the period reveal the composition of the municipal elite was unaltered and local offices simply rotated within their ranks.

But not all areas of Luzon came under the control of the ilustrados during the Revolution. In some towns, "uneducated" and "poor" masses were elected by an electorate who most probably did not meet the qualifications stipulated in Aguinaldo’s decree. Guerrero claims that the principalia or ilustrado local officials of Solano in Nueva Ecija and Urdaneta in Pangasinan complained over the election of the "uneducated and ignorant" who they argued were "totally incapable" of governing. But this was more of an aberration since the general picture was one of elite dominance and the alienation of the masses. Despite Aguinaldo’s order abolishing three hundred years of Spanish polo or forced labor, the local elite persisted in demanding personal services from the people, on top of the taxes levied against them. In some towns and provinces conditions were even worse as the elite wrangled among themselves, especially since Aguinaldo did not clearly delineate the responsibilities of the elected civilian and appointed military officials. This leads some historians to conclude that the masses in towns and countryside were the eventual victims of what transpired during the Revolution.

The American entry into the picture convinced the remaining fence-sitting ilustrados to support the Revolution. When rumors of an impending Spanish-American War were circulating in April 1898, several noted ilustrados led by Pedro Paterno offered their services to the Spanish governor-general. Yet when Aguinaldo returned from exile, several ilustrados serving in the Spanish militia, like Felipe Buencamino, abandoned the Spaniards and announced their "conversion" to the revolutionary cause. Indeed, the resumption of the revolution brought an electrifying response throughout the country. From Ilocos in the north down to Mindanao in the south, there was a simultaneous and collective struggle to oust the Spaniards.

Months later, when the Filipino-American War commenced, many ilustrados played the middle ground, i.e., on one hand, they sent words of support to Aguinaldo and, on the other, started contemplating on an autonomous status for the Philippines under the United States. An example was the Iloilo ilustrados who eventually sided with the Americans since their economic interests - sugar production and importation - dictated collaboration with the new colonizers. Indeed, in the parlance of contemporary Filipino political culture, the ilustrados were the classic "balimbing" or two-faced.

Despite the constant vacillation of the elite, Aguinaldo and his advisers tapped on their services in organizing the Philippine Republic. Aguinaldo was eager to prove that the Filipinos could govern themselves, and in the process it would legitimize the Philippine Republic. Moreover, since he and his advisers were ilustrados, Aguinaldo only trusted his own kind - the wealthy, educated, and politically experienced - in the matter of governance. Thus, he called on them to convene and create a Congress which would draft a constitution. He wanted a Philippine constitution to complete the required trimmings of a sovereign, nation-state - flag, army, government, and constitution. In his actions, Aguinaldo was advised by Apolinario Mabini who became known as the "Sublime Paralytic" because his spirit was not deterred by his physical handicap, and the "Brains of the Revolution" due to his intellectual acumen. On January 21, 1899, Aguinaldo proclaimed the Malolos Constitution which was drafted by the ilustrados of the Malolos Congress. Two days later, the Philippine Republic was inaugurated in Malolos, Bulacan, the new capital of the fledging government.

The Philippine Republic was, however, short-lived. From the start, Aguinaldo’s forces were fighting the Spaniards without military assistance from the Americans. Except for the Battle of Manila Bay, the United States was not a major force in the fighting. The American troops did not arrive in the country until late June, and they saw no military action until August. But events starting with the Spanish surrender of Manila on August 13, 1898, doomed the end of Philippine independence.

Although the Spanish troops had been routed in all fronts by the Filipinos, the continuing presence of the Americans was unsettling. Questions on actual American motives surfaced with the continuous arrival of American reinforcements. It did not take long for the Filipinos to realize the genuine intentions of the United States. The precarious and uneasy Philippine-American alliance collapsed on February 4, 1899, when the Philippine-American War broke out and threatened to annihilate the new found freedom of the Filipinos.

Truce of Biak-na-Bato and the Betrayal of the Revolution

The death of Bonifacio was a turning point in the Revolution. The stewardship of the Revolution was left to Aguinaldo and the elite. But the Filipinos and the Spaniards faced a long haul. Aguinaldo’s troops were being routed in Cavite and, thus, his revolutionary government moved to the more secluded Biak-na-Bato in Bulacan. At this time, Aguinaldo’s commitment to the revolutionary cause became suspect. His military advisers persuaded him to issue a declaration that his Biak-na-Bato government was willing to return to the fold of law as soon as Spain granted political reforms. These reforms included the expulsion of the hated Spanish friars and the return of lands they appropriated from the Filipinos; Filipino representation in the Spanish Cortes; freedom of the press and religious tolerance; equality in treatment and payment for both peninsular and insular civil servants; and equality for all before the law. This pronouncement by Aguinaldo proved that he and the ilustrados were willing to return to the Spanish fold provided there were reforms and the ilustrado interests were met.

The standoff in the battlefield prompted both sides to agree to an armistice. The Truce of Biak-na-Bato stipulated that Spain would pay financial remuneration to the Filipino revolutionaries in exchange for the surrender of arms and the voluntary exile abroad of Aguinaldo and the other leaders. Toward the end of December 1898, Aguinaldo and the other revolutionary leaders went into voluntary exile in Hong Kong and they were given the initial sum of 400,000 pesos, most of which were deposited in a Hongkong bank and used later on to purchase more weapons. Distrust on both sides resulted in the failure of the truce. Both sides were only biding time until they could launch another offensive.

The coming of the Americans marked the second phase of the Philippine Revolution. In Singapore, Aguinaldo met U.S. consul Spencer Pratt who persuaded him to cooperate with the Americans. In February 1898, the American warship Maine was mysteriously sunk in the waters of Havana, Cuba. This incident was the immediate cause of the Spanish-American War. Admiral George Dewey who was stationed in Hongkong received a cable on April 25 announcing that war had commenced between the two countries. He was ordered to retake the Philippines and, on May 1, 1898, his flagship U.S.S. Olympia defeated the Spanish fleet in the Battle of Manila Bay at a cost of eight wounded Americans and around five hundred casualties on the Spanish side. Back in Hongkong, Aguinaldo was told by U.S. consul Rounsenville Wildman that Dewey wanted him to return to the Philippines to resume the Filipino resistance. Aguinaldo claimed that the American officials prodded him to establish a Philippine government similar to the United States, and that they pledged to honor and support the Filipinos’ aspiration for independence. Spencer, Wildman, and Dewey would later deny having made any promise or commitment to Aguinaldo.

Struggle Between the Masses and the Elite

Aside from ethnicity and gender, class conflict was central to the Revolution. In the aftermath of the outbreak of the revolution, most of the ilutstrados or the nineteenth century middle class denounced the Katipunan and renewed their loyalty to Spain. Many ilustrados immediately condemned the revolution as an irrational action of uneducated masses. Some, like Rizal, believed that it was an ill-timed and ill-prepared struggle. But many did so out of allegiance to Spain. Later when the Katipunan was winning battles, some ilustrados gradually turned around and embraced the revolution. These ilustrados, though driven by nationalism like the masses, fought to preserve their social status and economic wealth. Their interests and agenda vastly differed from the objectives of the Katipuneros. Other ilustrados preferred to remain fence-sitters until the tide of the Revolution was clear. In a study of the municipal and provincial elite of Luzon during the Revolution, Milagros C. Guerrero concluded that well-to-do Filipinos as well as municipal and provincial officials refused to join the Revolution during 1897 and early 1898. There was even hesitancy even after they did join.

Many history books assert that class conflict was symbolized by the leadership struggle between Bonifacio and Aguinaldo. In contrast to the working class background of Bonifacio, Aguinaldo was an ilustrado and a former gobernadorcillo or town executive in his home province of Cavite. Aguinaldo’s ascendance to prominence as a result of his strategic victories in battles naturally brought him into conflict with Bonifacio over the leadership of the Revolution. In a sense, their bitter struggle reflected the falling out of the masses and the ilustrados during the Revolution.

It started as a result of the intramural between the two factions of the Katipunan in Cavite - the Magdiwang and Magdalo. Their conflict had deteriorated such that each one refused to assist the other in battles. Moreover, in one of the battles in Manila, the Caviteno forces even failed to provide assistance to the revolutionaries of Manila. Bonifacio as Supremo of the Katipunan was invited to Cavite to resolve the factional differences and thus ensure a united front against the Spaniards in the province. Once in Cavite, the ilustrados maneuvered to ease Bonifacio from the leadership. In the Tejeros Convention of March 22, 1897, they voted to supersede the Katipunan with a revolutionary government and an election of the officers of the new government was conducted. Aguinaldo was elected as President while Bonifacio lost in several elections for key posts before he finally won as Director of the Interior. But a Caviteno, Daniel Tirona, immediately questioned his lack of education and qualification for the post, and insisted that he be replaced instead by a Caviteno ilustrado lawyer, Jose del Rosario. Insulted and humiliated, Bonifacio as Supremo of the Revolution declared the election and the formation of the new government void. What followed was a black mark in the history of the Revolution.

Aguinaldo, upon the prodding of his fellow, ilustrados, ordered the arrest and trial of Bonifacio on the grounds of treason. A bogus trial found Bonifacio and his brother, Procopio, guilty, and they were sentenced to death. Aguinaldo gave his approval and the Bonifacio brothers were shot on May 10, 1897, at Mt. Tala, Cavite. In rationalizing the fate of Bonifacio, Aguinaldo and his men claimed Bonifacio was establishing his own government which would have subverted the revolutionary cause. His elimination was necessary to maintain unity under Aguinaldo’s leadership. Ironically, Bonifacio, the father of the Revolution, became a victim to the ambition and self-serving interests the ilustrados as personified by Aguinaldo.

Ethnicity and the Creation of National Identity

Initially, the Revolution appeared to be an entirely Tagalog affair. The first eight provinces to rise in arms were all in the Tagalog region and its adjacent areas: Bulacan, Nueva Ecija, Tarlac, Pampanga, Manila, Laguna, Cavite, and Batangas. Even among these provinces, fighting was minimal except for Cavite, Bulacan, and, of course, Manila. Most of the principal revolutionary leaders were Tagalogs, and their initial appeal of support was directed towards the Katagalugan or the Tagalog people. This was not surprising since prior to the Revolution, Filipinos did not think of themselves as one homogenous race. Identity was instead linked with regional ethnicity. The Spanish policy of divisiveness aimed at effecting colonial rule promoted and encouraged regional isolation and ethnic distinctions. By the nineteenth century the term "Filipino" referred to the Spanish insulares or those born in the Philippines. The Filipinos in general were loathingly called indios and their identity was rooted on their regional origin or ethnic affiliation: Tagalog, Kapampangan, Cebuano, Ilocano, Ilonggo, etc.

In the first two years of the Revolution, battles raged mainly in the Tagalog provinces. Outside the Katagalugan, responses were varied. Pampanga, which was close to Manila, was uninvolved in the Revolution from September 1896 to the end of 1897, perhaps because the conditions which drove the Tagalogs to rise in arms were not totally similar in Pampanga. For instance, friar estates or church monopoly of landholdings which triggered agrarian unrest in Tagalog areas was not pervasive in Pampanga. Besides apathy, there were those, such as some Albayanos of Bicol, who were even apprehensive of rumors of a "Tagalog rebellion" aimed at ousting the Spaniards and exercising Tagalog hegemony over the non-Tagalog ethnic groups. Historian Leonard Andaya claims that what brought the Revolution to the non-Tagalog areas was Aguinaldo’s policy of encouraging his military officials to return to their home province and mobilize local support. For instance, the Revolution came late in Antique, and it was due to General Leandro Fullon, an Antiqueno principalia general of Aguinaldo, who went to his home province to spread the Revolution. Even after the Revolution spread to the rest of Luzon and the Visayas, there were still suspicions as to the real motives of the Tagalogs. For example, the Iloilo elite changed the name of their provisional revolutionary government and called it the Federal State of the Visayas since they did not want to recognize the supremacy of Aguinaldo and the Tagalogs. They preferred instead a federal arrangement composed of the three main island groups - Luzon, Visayas, and Mindanao.

These reservations and suspicions by non-Tagalogs were somehow reinforced by the initial writings and proclamations of key Tagalog personalities of the Revolution. Bonifacio wrote a revolutionary piece which he entitled "Ang Dapat Mabatid ng mga Tagalog" or "What the Tagalogs Should Know." Aguinaldo, in his memoirs, wrote chapters entitled "The Tagalog Government Begins" and "Long Live the Tagalogs." But in the absence of a general, generic term to collectively refer to the inhabitants of the archipelago, Filipino being a term originally reserved for the Spanish insulares, Tagalog may have appeared to the leaders of the Revolution as a logical substitute because of its indigenous element.



In due time, however, Aguinaldo’s proclamations gradually introduced the idea that all the inhabitants of the Philippines are Filipinos. Tagalog became less used and in its place Filipino was increasingly mentioned. The Revolution likewise assumed a national character. The declaration of Philippine independence was both significant and symbolic in the imagining and forging of a Filipino nation-state. Although there was a gradual acceptance of the term Filipino, nonetheless up until the early American period, Tagalog was still occasionally used. General Macario Sakay, a Tagalog general who continued the war against the Americans even after Emilio Aguinaldo was captured, called his government in 1902 the Tagalog Republic, although its charter noted that Visayas and Mindanao were included in his Republic.

The Philippine Revolution Against Spain

1996 is a significant year for Filipinos all over the world. It marks the centennial of the Philippine Revolution, which started in 1896 and officially ended in 1902. The amount of literature generated during and after the Revolution, coupled with the continuing fascination on this period by historians and alike which have produced an infinite number of scholarly works, have validated the widespread perception that this was the most glorious page in the history of the Filipino people. The Philippine Revolution ended more than three centuries of Spanish colonial rule which began when Miguel Lopez de Legazpi founded the settlement of Cebu, the oldest Philippine city, in 1565. The Revolution is also heralded as the first anti-colonial independence movement in Asia. The Filipino proclamation of their independence two years after the outbreak of the Revolution was a momentous event for Filipinos of all persuasion. The Revolution began with the masses through the Katipunan, a secret, revolutionary, mass-based organization, and was later embraced by the middle class.

The Katipunan

The Katipunan (meaning "Association") planned and initiated the Philippine Revolution. It was founded in Tondo, Manila, by Andres Bonifacio and a few other fellow urban workers on July 7, 1892. Its full Tagalog name is Kataastaasan Kagalang-galang na Katipunan nang manga Anak ng Bayan (Highest and Most Venerated Association of the Sons and Daughters of the Land). From its inception, Katipunan was forged by blood, with all its members enacting the traditional blood compact and signing their names with their own blood. The foremost goal of the Katipunan was political, the separation of the Philippines from Spain. Its members also recognized and performed a civic duty which was mutual assistance and the defense of the poor and the oppressed.

The Katipunan was steered by Bonifacio, who became known as the Supremo (Supreme) of the Katipunan, and he was ably supported by Emilio Jacinto, who emerged as the "Brains of the Katipunan." Philippine historians regard Bonifacio as the "Great Plebeian" because he came from a poor family in Tondo and worked as a warehouse clerk. Despite his poverty, Bonifacio was able to educate himself by reading the works of Rizal and the French revolutionists.Because of its brotherhood appeal, Katipunan was swift in recruiting members from the peasants and the working class. Philippine historian Reynaldo Ileto points out that the Katipunan belonged to a long tradition of social movements in Philippine history which fortunately have been disparaged and branded by authorities and the elite as "illicit associations" and its members as bandits. Like most of these popular movements, the Katipunan was clothed in millenarianism. In their writings, Bonifacio and Jacinto described the pre-Spanish period as an era of kasaganaan (great abundance) and kaginhawaan (prosperity). The demise of this glorious era was a result of the tyranny of Spanish colonial rule. The Katipunan then envisioned the future as one marked by kalayaanliwanag (knowledge) and kasaganaanKalayaan would mean a return to the pre-Spanish condition of prosperity, bliss, and contentment. But it entailed cutting ties with the colonial mother, Spain, and the birth of a nurturing real mother, Inang Bayan (independence), a state of being where there would once again be (prosperity). or Motherland, meaning Philippines.

From the start, the Katipunan drew inspiration from Jose Rizal, whose nationalist writings stirred an oppressed nation into action. His two novels, the Noli Me Tangere El Filibusterismo (The Subversive), denounced the decadent colonial order presided by the incompetent and abusive colonial officials and the backward and immoral frailocracy. In the 1880s, Jose Rizal and his fellow ilustrados (Touch Me Not) and the launched the Propaganda Movement in Europe where they vigorously campaigned for the implementation of the much needed reforms in the Philippines. Their failure to force Spain to institute reforms convinced the Katipunan that the call must be for revolution and not reform. In 1892, Bonifacio sought the counsel of Rizal on their planned revolution and the latter cautioned them because of its untimeliness and the people’s unpreparedness.

Events forced Bonifacio and the Katipunan to launched the revolution. On August 23, 1896, the Katipunan was discovered by the Spanish authorities, prompting Bonifacio and the Katipuneros to tear their cedula (identification card), which symbolized their colonial oppression, and to declare in Pugad Lawin the beginning of the Philippine Revolution. The Spanish execution of Rizal on December 30, 1896 further emboldened the religious Filipinos who saw Rizal’s martyrdom as similar to the crucifixion of Jesus Christ, i.e., to redeem his people