Al Perez (FWN100 Keeper of the Flame) and Ruth Asmundson (Global FWN100™ '14) Joins Delegation in Fight to Include Contributions of Filipinos in WWII into California Education Curriculum
The 17-person delegation that trooped to Sacramento recently to press for the inclusion of the role of Filipino soldiers in World War II in California’s school curriculum hoped to get good news. They were somewhat disappointed. The delegation led by the Bataan Legacy Historical Society (BLHS) included Filipino American Arts Exposition President and FWN100 Keeper of the Flame Al Perez; Ruth Asmundson (Global FWN100 '14); BLHS board members Major (Retired) Rick Villarina (Air Force) and Robert Hansen; former Lowell High School Dean Ray Cordoba; retired Judge Betty Bucat and Consul Reginald Bernabe, among others.
The Filipino delegation to the History-Social Science Subject Matter Committee (SMC) of the Instructional Quality Commission (IQC) in Sacramento led by Bataan Legacy Historical Society executive director Cecile Gaerlan and Filipino American Arts Exposition President Al Perez, among others. (Left-Right) Rick Villarina, Cecilia Gaerlan, Manuel Bella, Al Perez, Gemma De Ocampo, Robert Hansen, Ray Cordoba and Jeanette Adi. CONTRIBUTED PHOTO. Courtesy of The Inquirer.net
The 17-person delegation that trooped to Sacramento recently to press for the inclusion of the role of Filipino soldiers in World War II in California’s school curriculum hoped to get good news. They were somewhat disappointed.
The delegation led by the Bataan Legacy Historical Society (BLHS) was ready to defend its prepared and submitted comments on the History-Social Science Framework Second Field Review Draft approved by the Instructional Quality Commission (IQC) on November 2015.
It planned to have its presence felt and its voice heard, especially as the 74th anniversary of the Fall of Bataan neared.
The delegation included Filipino American Arts Exposition President and FWN100 Keeper of the Flame Al Perez; Ruth Asmundson (Global FWN100 '14); BLHS board members Major (Retired) Rick Villarina (Air Force) and Robert Hansen; former Lowell High School Dean Ray Cordoba; retired Judge Betty Bucat and Consul Reginald Bernabe, among others.
Suggested changes not taken up
As later recounted by BLHS Executive Director Cecilia Gaerlan, to California Appointments Secretary Mona Pasquil (U.S. FWN100™ '07), the meeting “was a complex discussion of the recommended changes and there was not much deliberation by the committee and the CHSSP about the changes that we requested.”
Gaerlan reported though that “the Committee recommended two salient points: that the phrase ‘American soldiers and their Filipino allies’ be changed to ‘American and Filipino soldiers of the U.S. Army’ and to include the word ‘strategic’ before the word ‘retreat’ in lines 705-706 as this was part of War Plan Orange 3.”
The BLHS educational steering committee had recommended seven changes, including the statement that “Despite suffering from massive diseases and starvation and fighting without any air support, the USAFFE troops performed a delaying action that disrupted the timetable of the Imperial Japanese Army of 52 days, defending Bataan for 99 days,” and that “on March 12, 1942, General MacArthur left the Philippines for Australia,” with the deletion that MacArthur uttered the words “I shall return” that they claim “does not add value to the framework and only continues to mystify General MacArthur.”
These recommendations were given letters of support by Mayor Ed Lee of San Francisco, Hydra Mendoza, Commissioner, San Francisco Board of Education, Fiona Ma, Chairwoman, State Board of Equalization and one of the sponsors of AB199, Philippine Consul General Henry Bensurto, Jr., Major General Antonio Taguba, Major General Eldon Regua, among other personalities, community leaders and organizations.
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Revolution Revisited: Remembering People Power Through Photographs
Pulitzer Prize winning photojournalist Kim Komenich presented Philippine Ambassador to the U.S. Jose L. Cuisia, Jr. with his new book Revolution Revisited, a compilation of photographs from the 1986 EDSA People Power Revolution in Manila.
Photo release: Embassy of the Philippines, Washington D.C.
PRESS RELEASE
WASHINGTON, D.C. – As the Filipino nation commemorates the 30th Anniversary of the EDSA People Power Revolution this month, Philippine Ambassador to the United States Jose L. Cuisia, Jr. welcomed the news that Pulitzer Prize-winner photojournalist Kim Komenich will launch his book, “Revolution Revisited”.
“The 1986 People Power Revolution was not only a turning point in Philippine history but also a source of inspiration for oppressed peoples everywhere. It was an unequivocal proof that a nation’s yearning for freedom and democracy could never be totally suppressed and that it could give the people the courage to rise above their fears and pessimism. This is the story that Kim Komenich’s photographs eloquently tell,” Ambassador Cuisia said.
“Revolution Revisited” is a compendium of photographic images of the days leading up to, during, and after the EDSA People Power Revolution, which is considered the first peaceful and bloodless revolution launched by the people against their autocratic government. Komenich won the Pulitzer Prize in 1987 for his extraordinary coverage of the historical event. The photographs were also exhibited in a show of the same title at the Ayala Museum and other parts of the Philippines in 2011, and in the Philippine Embassy in Washington, D.C. in 2015.
“While I was working, I kept history in mind,” Komenich said while explaining the measures it took to protect and preserve the quality of the photographs.
“On one level, I was just photographing the day-to-day life in the Philippines, but on another, I was watching some of these things happening behind the scenes. What a gift it was to be a witness to this,” Komenich further remarked.
To find out more about the book and how to get a copy, please visit revrev.com/blog.