Dr. Josette T. Biyo (née Talamera ; born 1958) is a Filipino educator and former executive director of the Philippine Science High School System . She has received international recognition for her contributions to science and education. A small planet has been named after her by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Lincoln Laboratory and USA.
A born soldier Gen. Mateo M. Capinpin was already a member of the Boy's Battalion organization at age ten. As a professional soldier, he belonged to the Company "I" of the 4th Infantry, the Pride of Fort Mckinley (now known as Fort Bonifacio ). He commanded the 21st division of the U.S. Armed Forces in the Far East (USAFFE) and received the general's star even before the start of World War II. Brig. Gen. Capinpin, a war time commander of the Philippine Army's famed 21st Division, was born in Morong Rizal on April 22, 1887. He grew up and took his elementary & secondary education in Laguna High School. After graduating from High School in 1906, at the age of 19, he joined and was enlisted in the Philippine Scouts where he started as a Private and was honorably discharged as a Major. During his itinerary with the Philippine Scouts from 1906 to 1918, Capinpin was acclaimed to be the only one who knew his Company Roster by heart. Stories have it that at ni...
Manuel H. Bernabe (1890-1960) “King of Balagtasan ” in Spanish was a poet, linguist and politician, Manuel Bernabe was born on February 17, 1890 to Timoteo Bernabe and Emilia Hernandez of Paranaque, Rizal . At the age of 10, he already started writing verses. He studied at the Ateneo de Manila where he finished his Bachelor of Arts degree with high academic standing in 1907, and then took up law at the University of Santo Tomas , but not able to took up the bar exams. In 1910, Manuel’s first poem was published in the Renacimento Filipino. In 1912, he translated Virgil’s Aenid from Latin to Spanish. In 1913, he received an award for his poems: “Himno al Sagrado Corazon de Jesus (Hymn to the Sacred Heart of Jesus ), “El Zapote,” and “Espana a Filipinas”. In 1912, he joined the staff of La Democracia and in 1918, of La Vanguardia of the Roces Publications . He was a columnist but from time to time he also published poems and short stories in the magazine Exelsi...
Brigadier General Vicente Lim (1889 – 1944) was a World War II general. He was born in Calamba City, Laguna, Philippines, which is also the birthplace of José Rizal, the country's national hero. Lim was the first Filipino graduate of the United States Military Academy (Class of 1914) at West Point , General Lim served as a 2nd Lieutenant during World War I. At the war’s end, he returned to the Philippines, where he continued his military career and quickly rose in rank (initially with the Philippine Scouts and later with the Philippine Army). By 1940, he was appointed to the post of Chief of Staff of the Philippine Army. When the Philippine Army was incorporated into the American Armed Forces on July 16, 1941, Lim was given the rank of Brigadier General and became the top–ranking Filipino under General Douglas MacArthur, placed in command of the 41st Philippine Division, tasked with the defense of southern Luzon. On April 9, 1942, the 41st surrendered on Bataan, along with al...
Francisco "Balagtas" Baltazar is known as the Prince of Tagalog Poets. A rival suitor for the favor of one Asuncion Rivera caused his imprisonment. It was during this confinement that he wrote his epic for which he is famous for, Florante at Laura. Francisco Balagtas, later Francisco Baltazar or nickname Kikong Balagtas or Kiko, was born on April 2, 1788 in the barrio Panginay in the town of Bigaa, now known as Balagtas in his honor, in the province of Bulacan. He was the youngest of four children: Felipe, Concha, and Nicholasa. His parents where a blacksmith, Juan Baltazar, and Juana de la Cruz. As a young boy, Balagtas loved to watch the land and hear the sound of the leaves. He saw beauty in the sparks caused by the pounding hammer of his blacksmith father. He even heard music in the sound of the horses' shoes. Balagtas studied in a parochial school in Bigaa, where he studied prayers and catechism during his elementary years. Once Baltazar was eleven he moved to To...
The kutiyapi or kudyapi, is a Philippine two-stringed, fretted boat-lute. It is the only stringed instrument among the Maguindanao people, and one of several among other groups such as the Maranao and Manobo . It is four to six feet long with nine frets made of hardened beeswax . The instrument is carved out of solid soft wood such as from the jackfruit tree. Common to all kutiyapi instruments, a constant drone is played with one string while the other, an octave above the drone, plays the melody with a kebit or rattan pluck (commonly made from plastic nowadays). This feature, which is also common to other related Southeast Asian "boat lutes", which were influenced by varying degrees by Indian concepts of melody and scale via the Malay archipelago . Among the T'Boli , Manobo and other Lumad groups, the instrument (known as Hegelung, Kudyapi or Fedlung) is tuned to a major pentatonic scale . Among groups like the Bagobo , the Kutiyapi (Kudlung) is also used as...
Maxcel Puentenegra Migallos is a painter who was born and grew up in Davao City . His is a of Fine Arts Major in advertising at the Philippine Women's University in Manila in 1980 where he was named Most Outstanding Art Student. In 1981, he was featured in the "Ten Young Artists" art exhibit at Greenhills Art Center . Barung-Barung sa Dagat, Watercolor, 2009 In 1983 he move to Cebu . However, a year later he pursued another discipline and took up Architecture and finished the course in 1987. He practiced architecture and taught at the University of San Carlos both in architecture and fine arts program of the University. He has participated in numerous group shows in and around Cebu as a member of the group first in Cebu Art Association and later Kolor Sugbu where he is currently its president. In 1997, he was featured as one of the five Visayan artists in the third part of Manuel Duldulao's art book "Century of Philippine Realism"....