End of Term Reflection Paper

History I is a course on Philippine history discussing the political, economic, social, and
cultural development of the Philippines. It had the objectives to create an impact on the students
to develop a wider perspective in understanding the history of our Filipinos, develop a sense of
nationalism.
I learned a lot of things in the whole course from the history of our history to the point of
Martial law. The first lecture was about history of Philippine history. During the time of Spanish
occupation they considered us as having no form of history and that they have made way to the
existence of our history, but they do not realize that we already had it even before they arrived.
We had history in form of an oral tradition and we called it kasaysayan. We pass on stories and
epics to the next generations. The difference with history can be identified in three forms:
etymology, concept of time and use of resources.
Then we discussed how people arrived here in our country and what influences have been
made between the Southeast Asia and the World. Compared to other areas in Southeast Asia, we
are placed in a very strategic position in which we can still identify the geographic influences on
the development of our history and culture. We were observed to have had a maritime culture
according to findings and the cultural implications of the relics. We had the manunggul jar which
was the most symbolic representation of our maritime culture. It can be observed how the top has
a figure of a boat with a passenger and someone rowing the boat. It is believed that to arrive in
the afterlife we must travel by a boat. Until now we still have this in our culture.
Then the pre-colonial, Spanish occupation, Fil-Am war, and the post war. This was a time
when we were at war with the colonizers but also with our fellow countrymen. They were
fighting a war they can only win with the full support of our country but instead many chose to
flee and prioritize their personal interests. This continued for a long time, betrayal, greed, and
corruption. Even our heroes, they were killed when we really needed them. Bonifacio and Luna
were two important people in the history of our revolution against colonizers, and they were
killed when we had the chance to save our freedom. Considering the fact that they were the best
military leaders we had and they were really fighting for our cause, some people see them as
lunatics or crazies that just want to rule but General Luna could have pursued his medical career,
and Bonifacio could have surrendered easily but they didnt because it was in their hearts, it was

clear to them how important regaining our freedom is. Dr. Jose Rizal and the GOMBURZA, men
who were killed that led to the uprisings and gave our fellow countrymen the will to fight against
the oppressors. This goes on with the rest of our history where we wait for people to die to before
we move, we let our greed and personal interests get in the way of our goals as a country and in
turn create chaos all over again.
Last is the Marcos regime and the martial law. Today our generation has took the idea
that what we need to improve our countrys current status is the iron fist of government, the same
kind which President Marcos used. All of this is wrong, we need to first remember and
understand what the martial law has brought upon the Filipinos in time of its implementation. It
is true that President Marcos has done a lot of stuff and he is very much qualified in becoming
the president of the country, but during his term only the elites and his circle of relatives or any
beneficiaries of the regime were happy or living a safe life while everyone else was silenced by
fear and brutality of the government. Now some of us might see his regime as one of the most
prosperous times weve had due to the establishments built by his government and the
improvement of the so called economic status of the country, but in truth our country was deep in
debt from $2 billion to $30 billion. The current generation is being blinded by the ideas of an
ideal form of government where anyone can be punished and tortured if willed by the people in
power, but before they start choosing the idea they must first learn what happened in history and
ask themselves if they would want to experience the same events.
In the age of social media we can now spread information or retrieve them from anyone
including unreliable sources. Many of social media users tend to create false reports or ideas
about our history, and cause a widespread of misleading information affecting many users.
Without proper knowledge or even studying history, people will keep believing these information
and they will keep changing the ideas of our history by creating their own interpretations on how
it impacted society. The best example to this is the Marcos regime and martial law. The present
generation keeps on sharing ideas on how Marcos helped the country and then became an enemy,
no amount of historical evidence or proof of buildings or establishments will amount to the fact
that during that time people felt fear, pain, suffering and torture to the extent of death. Enemies
of the government were captured and were silenced, while anyone cooperating with them
experienced a comfortable life. This is the social injustice that people of our generation do not

remember, they only see the ideas that support their claims without even analyzing the truth
about them. That is why we need to learn our history before we believe claims spread around the
internet because its credibility will always remain unknown for information spread in social
media are not always accurate or true even. With all of that our history plays a vital role to keep
us in our tracks. It teaches us of everything that happened and how we should take on the
challenges of the future with the knowledge of the past; and with what has happened in the past,
one martial law is enough.
The educational tour is one of most memorable experiences Ive had in this course. Being
able to stand on the place where it all happened, it gives you a deeper appreciation of those
historical places. Sometimes visiting those places limits our attention to what is beautiful than to
what is important. We often times ignore the important events that happened and focus simply on
what we can capture with our cameras, or see with our eyes. That is why we also need to take in
the knowledge and the information of why it is considered a historical landmark so we can
understand what we have now in the present. All the things weve seen in the museums and in
the tours gave me a clearer picture of what life was before. It serves as a supplement to what
weve already learned in class, in a way giving us not just a mental picture but an actual picture
of the important objects and places where our history happened. As discussed in our first lecture
there are 3 ways to access the past: memory, history, and relic. The first two can be observed
inside the four walls of a classroom but only in visiting this places can we access history with
relics.
We had two tours one in Vigan and one here in Manila. Both were very memorable even
if it was exhausting, being in those places with someone who shares passion in sharing our
history it always turns out to be interesting. It feels as if everything just comes to life. The best
part of the Vigan tour was being able to visit all those places again and being able to learn
something new about them. The walking tour here in Manila was also very memorable, without
Sir passion for teaching and all his knowledge, all of those places would only be seen as a
beautiful site. We saw the stories behind every building, every landmark. The dents and
scratches, an example was when an American destroyed the faade of the original wall of Fort
Santiago, by trying to use a tank to enter a very small opening. How the walls had holes because
of the fights that transpired. The most memorable experience for me is standing in the place

where Rizal was killed. Ive heard stories of how Rizal faced his execution. He stood tall in the
face of death and died a hero. Ive been to Luneta before but I have never noticed the marker not
until this tour.
Before I had this Histo I class there were things that I felt were unimportant or
insignificant especially to our generation. I was not really interested with History, I thought of
history as something that only talks about dates and people who have done some important
things in their lifetime. But since day one of this course, the way how history was presented it
hooked my attention and taught me how history is really different from what we were taught
before. Every lecture became a story and with every story comes a lesson. It gave me the reason
to appreciate our culture and become aware of what has happened in the past. It challenges me to
do something for our country and serve it in any way I can. It opened me up to the ideas of
nationalism, and understanding our history and as a student of the University of the Philippines I
have realized the need for us to serve our country, because if we dont then who will? Would we
need to experience another occupation before we unite ourselves as country? And in the end of
our course I have learned how important history really is, we are taught history to learn from the
past, to appreciate what we have and to develop a sense of nationhood for the future.