A Mission

Hold high the brow serene,
O youth, where now you stand;
Let the bright sheen
Of your grace be seen,

Fair hope of my fatherland!

José Rizal, “To the Filipino Youth” (A la juventud filipina, November 1879); a translation from the Spanish by Nick Joaquin

As long as the centuries continue to unfold, the number of books will grow continually, and one can predict that a time will come when it will be almost as difficult to learn anything from books as from the direct study of the whole universe. It will be almost as convenient to search for some bit of truth concealed in nature as it will be to find it hidden away in an immense multitude of bound volumes.

Denis Diderot, Encyclopédie, ou Dictionnaire raisonné des sciences des arts et des métiers: textes choisis

I endeavor to popularize significant Filipino writers, scholars, artists, activists, political leaders, and their works and achievements. A Wikipedia page in English will be invaluable for that project.

I am saddened by the fact that there are more Wikipedia article pages for Filipino celebrities than those who have contributed far more in my country in terms of scholarship and historiography, the arts and sciences, public policy and social reform, or in mobilizing civil society, etc. And being celebrities they easily pass the notable person criteria of Wikipedia.

I hope a high school or senior high school student with Internet access in the provinces or in poorer neighborhoods in the cities will be able to read an article about a significant Filipino and learn about their contributions and be encouraged to do the same, to learn more and research on their own, to one day write.

So far I’ve published articles on:

human rights activist Edmundo Garcia;
historian Reynaldo Clemeña Ileto;
anthropologist Fernando Nakpil Zialcita;
Jesuit and Rizal scholar Raul Bonoan;
Jesuit philosopher Roque Ferriols;
peasant activist Jaime Tadeo;
Jesuit historian John N. Schumacher; and
Jesuit anthropologist, activist, and Tagalog poet Albert Alejo

In the coming months, I am planning to write on the following:

historian and social scientist Filomeno V. Aguilar;
the 2007 Sumilao farmers' march;
the Philippine peasant movement;
historian Milagros Guerrero;
Filipinization; and
Filipino Social Democracy

At the moment, I hope to contribute in writing about our scholars (including foreign scholars) who have written extensively about Philippine politics, society, and culture; local and international political movements and campaigns; and Philippine civil society.

I endeavor of course to remain objective in my writing and I welcome editors' comments.

Wikipedia is Revolutionary

Wikipedia is revolutionary. I admire all those who have made this online platform into a credible and comprehensive collection of knowledge; and one that continues to be a non-profit.

I thank the founders, all the editors, all the writers, all those volunteer contributors and enthusiasts—both experts and amateurs—who have made it their mission to disseminate information to all people. Creating a free and accessible wellspring of all that there is to know about our world is truly a most worthy vocation.

Let us remember Diderot and his hope “that our descendants, by becoming more learned, may become more virtuous and happier."