My Tribute to the EDSA People Power Revolution

The country never fails to celebrate the anniversary of the EDSA People Power Revolution that paved the way for the restoration of democracy in the Philippines. This peaceful revolution ended the Marcos dictatorship and catapulted Cory Aquino to the presidency.

On February 25, 2013, the whole nation remembered the heroism, sacrifices and unity of the Fiipinos. This is my philatelic tribute to the men and women who have risked everything for freedom. May the spirit of the EDSA revolution be always in the hearts of every Filipino.

01/14 During martial law, Senator Benigno Aquino Jr. was imprisoned by President Ferdinand Marcos. In 1980, he was allowed to leave for the United States for a heart operation. He came back to the country but was assassinated in the tarmac of the Manila International Airport (now Ninoy Aquino International Airport) on August 21, 1983...

02/14 Soon after, Ninoy's widow Cory will carry on the fight he wasn’t able to finish. The death of Ninoy was the beginning of the end of the Marcos regime..

03/14 After Ninoy’s death on August 21, 1983, Corazon Cojuangco Aquino returned home to continue her husband's fight for freedom and democracy. A plain housewife, Cory became the unifying force of the opposition. She ran against Marcos in the 1986 Snap Presidential Elections. Marcos defeated her but his victory was marred with widespread gross fraud, intimidation, ballot box stuffing, and falsified tabulation..
 

04/14 Cory Aquino and Fidel Ramos, the heroes of EDSA  are featured in this stamp issued by the Philippine Postal Corporation.

05/14 In 1992, with the support of President Cory Aquino, Fidel V. Ramos became the country's 12th President.

06/14 Jaime Cardinal Sin was then Roman Catholic Archbishop of Manila. An influential and charismatic leader of the Filipino people, he played a very crucial role in the People Power Revolution. His appeal to the masses drove multitudes of people to come out of the streets and protect the soldiers led by General Fidel Ramos and Secretary Juan Ponce Enrile, who defected from the Armed Forces. Tanks, armored vehicles and troops stopped as people went on their knees to pray the rosary while others sang sacred hymns. Soldiers left their posts to join the marchers..

07/14 The People Power Revolution also known as the EDSA Revolution and the Philippine Revolution of 1986 was a popular nonviolent revolution and prayerful mass street demonstration in the Philippines that occurred in 1986. It restored the country's democracy and became a subsequent inspiration for the Revolutions of 1989 that ended communist dictatorships in Eastern Europe..

08/14 The People Power Revolution forced President Ferdinand Marcos and his family to flee the country and went on an exile in Hawaii. Cory Aquino became the new president on February 25, 1986. Her presidency was the start of the transition from authoritarian rule to democracy.

09/14 This one of two pre-stamped envelopes highlighting the 25th Anniversary of the EDSA People Power Revolution of 1986 was released on February 25, 2011 by the Philippine Postal Corporation.

10/14 The EDSA Revoluton continues to be an inspiration for people in other parts of the world. After the fall of communism and the rise of free nations in the former Eastern Europe bloc, the countries in the Middle East staged their own people power to topple oppressive presidents and regimes.

11/14 The only son of Senator Ninoy and President Cory Aquino, President Benigno Aquino III continues the legacy of EDSA.
 

12/14 This is the latest set featuring the EDSA People Power Revolution released by the Philippine Postal Corporation (Philpost) on August 1, 2011. The stamps featured President Cory Aquino and Jaime Cardinal Sin.

13/14 Today, February 25, 2013, President Benigno "Noynoy" Aquino III leads the nation in celebrating the 27th anniversary of the EDSA People Power Revolution...

14/14 Last year, after the flag raising ceremony and the salubungan, a statue of Manila Archibishop Jaime Cardinal Sin was unveiled by President Aquino at the Rizal Park.

 

Philpost Postage Prepaid Postcards

A few years ago, the Philippine Postal Corporation came out with these postage prepaid postcards to highlight the 1998 Philippine Centennial Celebration. Different scenes of the Philippine Revolution were used. Photo above shows the Founding of the Katipunan and the Cry of Pugadlawin.

Click this Cebu Stamp Club Facebook link to see more images of the postcards from my personal collection. 

Ina Kapatid Anak in Cebu

The cast and crew of ABS-CBN's Ina Kapatid Anak came to Cebu to tape the early scenes of the teleserye in July of 2012.

My sister Debbie, her husband Charles Mark Uybengkee, daughter Duchess together with my son Jerald Kervin and I went to the ABS-CBN Cebu complex to audition for some of the roles. It was a panel audition headed by director Don Cuaresma and some production people from Manila. Good for us, we all got the roles we auditioned for. I played the role as a priest, Mark as the school principal, Debbie as a market shopper, Duchess as Kim Chiu's classmate and Jerald Kervin as one of the passersby in a scene at the Magellan's Cross.

The first taping day was on July 9, 2012. We were instructed to go to the Cebu Metropolitan Cathedral where some scenes will be taken focusing on Cherry Pie Picache carrying a baby and one with Ronaldo Valdez. A day earlier, ABS-CBN Cebu's Athena Cabanero requested Debbie if she can help look for an infant who will be the baby Celine, Kim Chiu's role in the TV series. This child was the niece of Debbie's client in Himlayang Pilipino Life.
  

Immediately after the cathedral scenes were done, the next location shoot was at the Magellan's Cross where Celine (Kim Chiu) in a high school uniform will be walking together with her classmates played by my niece Duchess Uybengkee, Filconey Rose Camado and Noelle Salvador. Jerald Kervin Uy was the son of a young couple who will pass by Celine and her friends.

In the afternoon, we convoyed to a school in Talisay City where the recognition day is set to be taped. Blythe, Jayson Gainza's daughter played the role as the little Celine where she will be recognized as the first honor of her class by the school principal played by Charles Mark Uybengkee. Cherry Pie Picache, Ronaldo Valdez and Jayson Gainza were also there. Here in Talisay, the crowd was so large that we were concerned with the security of the stars.

The following day, we were at the Taboan Market in Cebu City where Debbie and my scene will be shot. I got a bit tense because the person in charge of my script failed to give it to me the day before. I had to memorize my line a few minutes before the take.

The Taboan Market scene was not an easy one for the cast and crew. The smell of dried fish all over the place cannot be tolerated by the senses but I admire the professionalism of everybody. Everything went smoothly as expected.

My scene with award winning actress Cherry Pie Picache was a memorable one. I still remember the part where I played the role of Fr. Rich, a Cebuano priest who bought all the slippers peddled by award winning actress Cherry Pie Picache (Theresa Apolinario) so she, together with Ronaldo Valdez (Zacharias Apolinario) and Jayson Gainza (Oscar) can return to Manila to be with Kim Chiu (Celine Buenaventura/Marasigan) again. What's funny because everyone thought I was a real priest. Cherry Pie even asked me if I was really one.

Debbie's scene was also with Cherry Pie Picache where she walks in as a market customer who ignores and snubs Cherry Pie's invitation to buy her stuff.  More shots were taken inside and outside the market involving Kim Chiu, Cherry Pie, Ronaldo, Jayson and Blythe. 

At the end of the day, me, Mark and Debbie decided to have dinner at Carlito's Way, a diner at the Persimmon in Mabolo where we celebrated the success of the day's taping.
  
Charles Mark Uybengkee, Debbie Uy, Duchess Uybengkee and Jerald Kervin Uy are all lifetime members of Cebu Stamp Club.  

Ina Kapatid Anak is ABS-CBN's primetime teleserye that has continued to be a top-rater since its pilot episode in October. The powerhouse cast is composed of Kim Chiu, Maja Salvador, Xian Lim, Enchong Dee, Cherry Pie Picache, Janice de Belen, Ronaldo Valdez, Eddie Gutierrez and Jayson Gainza. 

Click here to view the Ina Kapatid Anak (Cebu Taping) in YouTube. Read the synopsis of Ina Kapatid Anak here.                       

Cebu Stamp Club's February 2013 Meetup

Once again, Cebu Stamp Club members gather for the February 17, 2013 stamp meetup at Eyan Yu's house in Talamban, Cebu City. 

We have held our meetings in his house for quite a number of times in the past and he never ceases to amaze us with what he has to show and offer. He has come up with a very nice stamp and coin collection since the last time we were in his place. The food that he cooks are delicious!

Dinah and Steve Potolin were the early birds who brought along an album of their latest collection. I came on time with my son Jerald Kervin bringing along my 2011 complete Philippine mint stamp collection and the Japanese Occupation mint album.

Aileen Liwat, Marvin Bonjoc (who gave us some mint definitives featuring fishes from the Philippine Marine Biodiversity issues), Janus Barinan and Julia Daven came on time too. Club Secretary Sharee Ann Trapa called us asking to be excused as she has to attend to a family gathering in an out-of-town location. We miss though the presence of Kenneth and Gina Turner, Edmund Gruenbaum and Richard Guimbarda who are the meetup regulars.

Freebies featuring packets of Denmark stamps were shared to everyone, Philippine stamp news and info were discussed that got everyone interested. We talked about our collections too. As always, our meetups continue to be fun and interesting. After the meeting, we drove together to a store located several blocks away from Eyan's place in search of interesting items from Japan. Although their Japanese postcards were all sold out, Eyan and Aileen managed to purchase Japanese ceramic items that are collectors items.   

More of our latest meetup photos in our official Facebook page. Click here to view them.

A Proud Dad I Am!

Today is card distribution day and the Parents' Council board meeting at the Colegio dela Inmaculada Concepcion - Mandaue.

Earlier this school year, the parents of more than 2,000 kids gave their full support by electing me as the president of the Parents' Council. My son Jerald Kervin happens to be in grade two.

After I adjourned the board meeting at 12 noon, me and my son decided to have lunch at an eat-all-you-can restaurant in a nearby mall. An hour later, we went back to the school to get his report card. As usual, the class adviser was all smiles and gave a very nice feedback on his progress. She then handed the card and told me that once again my kid is top 1 in class. She led me to the blackboard where I was shown the names of the top 10.

Seeing my son's name leading the rest once again made me proud even more. I really have to give my thumbs up to him knowing that after studying his lessons, he spends a lot of his time playing and making videos with his lego toys and uploading them to YouTube. I see a genius film maker on the rise! 

It's a wonderful feeling to be a dad with a son like him and I thank God for this blessing!

The R2-D2 Mailbox

 

I got this miniature version of the USPS R2-D2 Mailbox from Cebu Stamp Club member Dr. Vicente Avanzado Jr. as a birthday gift. The product is also called the R2-M8 Coin Bank.

In 2007, the United States Postal Service (USPS) installed 400 R2-D2 mailboxes in postal districts around the U.S. as part of the Star Wars 30th Anniversary celebrations. It also coincides with the issuance of the March 28, 2007 Star Wars stamp set.

The mailboxes have all long been replaced but the miniatures continue to remind people that long time ago, in a galaxy far away, the postal service came out with the Star Wars R2D2 mailboxes and stamps.

Thank you doc for this very unique gift!

Jump here to read my previous blog on the Star Wars stamps.

Happy Hearts' Day!

Today is Valentine's Day! Here's a stamp to remind us all of how special this day is.

This 10p stamp was released by the Philippine Postal Corporation (Philpost) on January 14, 2013. The design was done by Victorino Z. Serevo and Rey Anthony D. Alejandro, OJT from TUP.

The “Mahal Kita” 2013 Valentine’s Day Stamp is a stylized drawing of a couple holding hands, wearing traditional Filipino costumes who profess their love for each other. The man hands in a bouquet of flowers while the woman is shown holding a love letter. 

Philpost promotes this stamp with the following info: 

The Filipinos are really romantic and loving people. And no holiday brings out the romantic in us than Valentine’s Day. 

Nothing matters more than love on Valentine's Day. And nothing conveys love to your sweetheart better than a well-composed romantic letter. A beautiful love-letter has been known to win many hearts and seduce many souls. A powerful weapon in a lover's arsenal, a love-letter is an indispensable part of Valentine's Day celebrations. 

Come what may, romance will never be lost to Pinoys. As long as there are people falling in love, love letters will always be written, cherished and enjoyed forever by the grateful recipient. 

These cards and letters sent through mail, are most of the time kept through the years for sentimental reasons.

Pope Benedict XVI Resigns

 
The news that Pope Benedict XVI is resigning caught everyone by surprise including the Church. The 85-year old pope will leave the papacy on February 28 owing to his declining health and old age. A voluntary papal resignation is uncommon. Pope Celestine V abdicated the position in 1294 while Pope Gregory XII resigned in 1415 to end the western schism.

In a statement on February 11, the German pope said: "After having repeatedly examined my conscience before God, I have come to the certainty that my strengths, due to an advanced age, are no longer suited to an adequate exercise of the Petrine ministry.

"For this reason, and well aware of the seriousness of this act, with full freedom I declare that I renounce the ministry of bishop of Rome, successor of Saint Peter, entrusted to me by the cardinals on 19 April 2005, in such a way that as from 28 February 2013, at 20:00 hours, the See of Rome, the See of Saint Peter, will be vacant and a conclave to elect the new supreme pontiff will have to be convoked by those whose competence it is."

His successor will be elected possibly during the beginning of the holy week on 24 March.

Featured above are the Pope Benedict XVI stamps released in Germany and the Vatican.

I am glad that that I have a philatelic remembrance in the form of a postal envelope with a cachet bearing the pope's image. This envelopes were sent to me and Cebu Stamp Club by the Vatican Postal Administration in 2011 and 2012.

See my previous blog featuring Pope Benedict XVI. Jump here..