#OnThisDay: Selected Historical Events in the month of March

March
In March 1609, a peace agreement between Maguindanao and Spain was made, a pact that was honored for at least the next 25 years.

Earlier, the 60-ship fleet of Maguindanao ruler Kapitan Laut Buisan and his Caraga allies was unable to carry on their planned raid after being cornered by a Spanish fleet under Juan Gallinato at Panguil Bay. The resulting impasse convinced Buisan that his massive fleet, which has successfully attacked Spanish seas and coastal towns for a decade, was rendered ineffective by the numerically inferior Spanish fleet. Thus, in an agreement witnessed by some 2,000 Muslim warriors, Buisan and Rajah Sirungan (Sirongan) made peace with Spain.

At about the same time, Sirungan had been negotiating with the Dutch, who had been showing interest in nearby Borneo. In October 1614, future Dutch East Indies Governor General Laurens Reael met with Sulu and Maguindanao rulers in Zamboanga who sought an alliance with the Netherlands to fight Spain. While Buisan was likely elated with Dutch recognition of his rule in Maguindanao, he was less convinced about their actual capacity to send assistance, as he saw with the case of Sulu Sultan Muwallil Wasit (Rajah Bongsu).

Nonetheless, Buisan's diplomatic ties with the Dutch carried over to his son, Sultan Kudarat (Qudarat, Guserat). In 1619, shortly after Buisan's death, Kudarat sought the help of the Dutch to resolve internal conflict in the realm. However, the Dutch did not see real advantage in supporting one Muslim ruler over the other, especially if both of them were potential antagonists of Spain. Instead, they attempted to broker peace between the two in 1621.

The apparent neutrality of the Dutch gravitated Kudarat to Spain, which proved to be more generous by loaning him an artillery piece. In exchange, Kudarat opened up commercial relations with the Spanish government, allowed Christian missions, and even offered the Spanish to build a fort in his territory. It was not the end, however, of Kudarat's troubles in keeping Buisan's empire together.

1st March
On March 1, 1888, some 300 demonstrators led by a group of gobernadorcillos, among which was a certain Doroteo Cortes, presented their petition to Manila Civil Governor Jose Centeno. Supposedly having 810 signatures, the petition was entitled “Viva España! Viva el Rey! Viva el Ejercito! Fuera los Frailes!” The document was believed to have been penned by Cortes and Marcelo H. del Pilar.

Demanding the expulsion of friars and the secularization of parishes, the petition failed to reach Madrid. After Centeno's resignation, Governor General Emilio Terrero himself ended his service in April 1888. Terrero, whose liberal and Mason background appealed to Filipinos, was unable to maintain his policies intact. His successor Antonio Molto quickly overturned a number of his key reforms, particularly those which went against friars in the Philippines.

Cortes was banished to La Union in 1893 (some sources say it was in Principe and Bontoc), while del Pilar left for Spain in 1888 after being issued a warrant of arrest. Nonetheless, the reformist struggle against the friars continued.

1st March
On March 1, 1896, the Katipunan Supreme Council appointed Emilio Jacinto, Mariano Crisostomo, and Jose Dizon to form a committee tasked to negotiate with the Japanese. By this time, the victory of Japan over Qing China in the First Sino-Japanese War in 1895 was still fresh in the minds of Filipinos, who hoped that an Asian nation would sympathize to their cause. The Katipuneros, including Jacinto and Andres Bonifacio, would have their opportunity to discuss with Japanese military personnel when the ironclad corvette Kongo docked in Manila two months later as part of its training mission after the said war. However, details on this meeting and its implications to the Philippine Revolution remain unclear and diffuse to this day.

For instance, there was no ranking officer in the Kongo to be called an admiral, despite accounts such as Pio Valenzuela's claiming there was indeed an admiral in the ship. The Kongo was also too small to qualify as a Japanese cruiser. At 67 meters long and weighing 2,248 tons, it was not comparable to contemporary Japanese cruisers such as the Naniwa-class (91 meters long, weighing 3,650 tons) and the Suma-class (94 meters long, weighing 2,657 tons). The highest ranking officer in a corvette would likely be a captain.

In addition, there was also no Kanimura nor Hirawa commanding the ship, contrary to what the Filipino accounts might say on the matter. While there was Captain Hikonojo Kamimura being in service at the time of the First Sino-Japanese War, he was commanding the cruiser Akitsushima (92 meters long, weighing 3,107 tons). Kamimura would not be a rear admiral until 1899, and a full admiral by 1910. Meanwhile, a possible interpretation for Hirawa was a certain Hirayama Shu, one of Mariano Ponce's shishi connections in Japan who offered his help for the Filipino cause.

Yet neither Hirayama nor Hikonojo were aboard the Kongo at the time. The corvette was then commanded by a certain Captain Tasuku Sera.

The meeting supposedly produced a document appealing for assistance from the Emperor of Japan, "with the hope that the light of liberty in Japan will also shed its rays in the Philippines," as well as a planned purchase of 100,000 rifles, 150 cannons, and their accompanying ammunition for the Revolution. However, while the Japanese captain seemed to have expressed solidarity with the Filipino cause, it also appeared that he was less than enthusiastic to actually help. He only received a copy of the document, but never got in touch with the Katipuneros thereafter. Later interpretations of the account even argue that the captain refused to accept the document at all, if there was any. Yet even as late as the start of the Revolution in August 1896, there were still expectations that the meeting at the Kongo produced substantial results.

1st March
On March 1, 1919, millions of Koreans in over a thousand demonstrations across the peninsula called for independence from the Empire of Japan, which has formally annexed Korea in 1910. This became known as the March 1st Movement or Samiljeol (삼일 운동).

Inspired by global developments after the First World War, a core group of 33 independence activists convened in Seoul and provided the Japanese Governor General Yoshimichi Hasegawa (長谷川 好道) a copy of the Korean Declaration of Independence (조선 독립 선언), believing that freeing Korea would be an "indispensable step toward the stability of East Asia, which will in turn contribute to the attainment of world peace." Subsequently, some 21,000 copies have been distributed nationwide. What was planned to be a peaceful demonstration erupted into a large-scale movement. The Japanese, anticipating that they may be unable to control the crowds, resorted to violent suppression of the Koreans.

The Japanese placed the death toll at around 533, but Korean estimates range in the thousands. Both North and South Korea commemorate the March 1st Movement, although how it developed historically differed. For one, North Korea claims that it was in Pyongyang, not Seoul, where the protests began. The brutal outcome of the Korean experience, meanwhile, stood in contrast with the quest of the Philippines for independence.

In 1919, independence missions to the United States began, riding on the promise of the Jones Act to grant independence "as soon as a stable government can be established." Manuel Quezon, who would later become president of the Filipino Commonwealth, implored the United States Congress to grant independence.

"You have recognized the independence of countries of Europe which have been under the control of autocratic powers; who have had no opportunity of exercising the powers of self-government, and to these countries you were not pledged to give independence, you were not in any way related, you were not tied by bonds of long association and affection."

"How can you afford not to recognize the independence of the Filipino people whom you have solemnly promised independence, whom you have helped to acquire the science and practice of self-government, and who are bound to you by ties of affection, friendship, and eternal gratitude? The granting of our national freedom will be at this time the object lesson that you could give to the world that this country can give of her belief in democracy and in the rights of every people to be free and to govern themselves."

The political path taken by Filipinos to attain sovereignty, however, would not result to immediate independence from America.

3rd March
On March 3, 1945, the Battle of Manila was officially declared over. An estimated 100,000 Filipinos were killed in the month-long fighting, as compared to 1,100 American soldiers and over 16,000 Japanese. Despite being left by the bulk of Japanese forces under General Tomoyuki Yamashita, who decided to establish his forces north of the city, the ferocious battle destroyed much of Manila - one of the most devastated during the Second World War.

A week later, on March 10, President Sergio Osmeña issued Proclamation No. 6, s. 1945 declaring that "the City of Manila has been freed from enemy occupation and control as of the date of this Proclamation, and that the debt moratorium will not apply to debts and monetary obligations contracted in said City after the date of this Proclamation."

3rd March
March 3 is also known as Samgyeopsal/Samgyupsal Day. The date is derived from the name of the food itself, 삼겹살, which literally means "three layer meat."

While it is uncertain when samgyeopsal was first introduced, its first documentation was said to be through a Korean newspaper in 1934. One theory postulates that the practice of eating samgyeopsal came from Korean miners who believed in its health benefits. During the Japanese occupation from 1910 to 1945, Korea experienced massive industrialization, but at the expense of its people to sustain this new economy. Mining was one of the industries which saw growth during the colonial period.

Another theory argues that samgyeopsal was derived from the Japanese yakiniku or "grilled meat," a dish actively promoted by the Meiji government since 1873. In turn, it was said that modern yakiniku traces its history from the Korean bulgogi and galbi.

Despite the lack of clarity in its provenance, samgyeopsal remains a favorite delicacy, especially among Filipinos through Hansik, the Korean food wave that probably came even before Hallyu during the 1990s.

4th March
On March 4, 1879, Filipina educator and suffragist Rosa Sevilla de Alvero was born in Manila. In her early career, she served as a journalist, including in the revolutionary paper La Independencia and the Spanish publication La Vanguardia. In 1900, she founded Instituto de Mujeres, the first school for women in the Philippines to be headed by Filipinos. It is now known as the Rosa Sevilla Memorial School.

She also contributed to the establishment of the Liga Nacional de Damas Filipinas (National League of Filipino Women), which campaigned for the women's right to vote. She died on May 11, 1954.

On March 4, 2021, she was featured in a Google Doodle for her 142nd birth anniversary. Among other commemorations, Rosa Alvero Street in Quezon City was named in her honor.

7th March
On March 7, 1521, the expedition under Ferdinand Magellan (Fernando de Magallanes) reached Guam. They called the area Isla de Ladrones (Island of Thieves) because they were supposedly boarded and robbed by the locals when they tried to replenish their resources. This negative image was see as one of the reasons why Guam was left largely unexplored by Europeans until at least 1668, essentially more than a century later.

Meanwhile, there were some perspectives which doubt this documented incident. Guam, for one, came from the Chamorro word Guahan, which meant "place of resources" or "place that we have." This suggested that the Chamorro may have not really seen their islands as lacking at least at the time of first contact with the Europeans. The later contact in 1668 with Chief Kepuha (Quipuha) also pointed to a Chamorro people who welcomed the foreigners. Were there some political dynamics in Guam that the Magellan expedition did not fully understand, as they also did later in Cebu?

7th March
On March 7, 1885, the Madrid Protocol was signed by representatives of Spain, Great Britain, and Germany, deciding on the issue of the Sultanate of Sulu. As a result of their negotiations, the Spanish government renounces "all claims of sovereignty" over Borneo, particularly Sabah, including the islands of Balambangan, Banguey, and Malawili. Freedom of commerce and navigation was also established in the area. In exchange, the British and the Germans recognized Spanish sovereignty over Sulu.

While the earlier 1851 treaty between the two established the sovereignty of Spain over Sulu, mandated that Sulu raise the Spanish flag, and provided for the integration of the sultanate in the Philippines (the Spanish governor of Sulu assumed office thereafter), the 1878 treaty signed after years of warfare between Spain and Sulu Sultan Jamal ul-Azam went further by detailing which lands would be effectively occupied by the Spanish and which would be retained by the Sultan. Annual compensation was also provided for the Sultan and his officials "for the losses they incurred" during the conflict. These two treaties posed an issue on the international status of Sulu, and were taken into consideration in the protocol.

For one, Britain did not recognize Spanish sovereignty over Sulu, as did any other European nation at the time. They earlier made an agreement of "permanent lease" (pajak) with the sultan in 1878, and if Sulu loses its sovereignty over Borneo, so would the agreement be put into serious question. However, when the British established their North Borneo Company by 1881, and the British realized the military victory of Spain over the Sultan of Sulu, they soon expressed interest to discuss with Spain provided they will "renounce" all claims over Borneo territories. Germany, which ships also went to Sulu, followed suit. British and German recognition of their sovereignty over Sulu was decided regardless of actual Spanish occupation status within the sultanate.

Notably, neither the Sultan nor any of his datus were party to the negotiations. In the long term, Spain honored this protocol. When the 1898 Treaty of Paris was concluded, the territory of the Philippines ceded to the United States stopped at Sibutu Island, with no inch of North Borneo territory included. This was reinforced by the subsequent Treaty of Washington. The issue over sovereignty, however, did not cease.

In 2022, an arbitration ruled by Dr. Gonzalo Stampa in Paris, France stated that Malaysia should pay the heirs of the Sulu sultan some USD 14.9 billion by virtue of the 1878 agreement with the British. It was lower than the initial claim of over USD 32.2 billion, which included estimates from oil income in the region, but it was nonetheless viewed as a legal victory within the sultanate. Malaysia reportedly stopped its "annual payment" of RM 5,300 after the 2013 Lahad Datu standoff, a payment supposedly seen as "cession money."

The Malaysian government, however, have publicly stated that they reject the decision. They added that Malaysia was not part of the proceedings. The decision supposedly violates their sovereign immunity, arguing that the 1878 agreement did not contain any provision regarding arbitration, and should therefore be decided in a Malaysian court, following a 2020 ruling by the High Court of Sabah and Sarawak.

Malaysia's bid in the Spanish High Court of Justice at Madrid to recognize the local decision which argued against the arbitration court's jurisdiction is pending to this day.

8th March
On March 8, 1942, the surrender of Java was announced over radio. The reported last words of the final news broadcast were as follows:

"Wij sluiten nu. Vaarwel tot betere tijden. Leve de Koningin!" (We are closing now. Farewell till better times. Long live the Queen!)

Dutch General Hein ter Poorten, commander of the land forces of the unified American-British-Dutch-Australian Command (ABDACOM), met with Japanese General Hitoshi Imamura thereafter to arrange the capitulation. By March 10, Imamura assumed the military governorship (軍政官) of the Dutch East Indies. With this, the so-called "Malay Barrier" collapsed and the focus of Allied defense shifted to Australia, which received Japanese attacks as early as February 1942.

Meanwhile in the Philippines, the course of the war in the Dutch East Indies worried military planners about their supply lines. By March 2, it was recommended to supply the Philippines directly from the United States through Hawaii. Despite their best efforts, however, it proved difficult to transport the badly needed supplies. Even interisland opportunities, such as taking routes through Visayas and Mindanao, were eventually blocked by the Japanese.

8th March
First law approved during the administration of President Ferdinand Marcos, Sr. (8 March 1966): Republic Act No. 4643, also known as An Act to Amend Republic Act Numbered Three Thousand Four Hundred and Fifty-Two, Entitled "An Act to Adopt a Program to Stabilize the Price of Palay, Rice and Corn, to Provide Incentives for Production and to Create the Rice and Corn Administration to Implement the Same, and to Provide Funds Therefor"

9th March
On March 9, 1891, Jose Paciano Laurel was born in Batangas. Known for his service as President of the Second Philippine Republic (1943-1945), Laurel later struggled to shed the shadow of Japanese collaboration in his postwar political career. In his own words, "Everyone was a collaborator," emphasizing that his actions in general were meant to ensure the safety and the survival of those who were left to live in the Philippines under Japanese rule during the Second World War.

Despite having to work in a government sponsored by the Japanese, his best efforts attempted to keep Filipinos from being overly exploited for Japan's war effort. This included his refusal of Filipino conscription for the Japanese military. Reforms were also implemented in the midst of wartime conditions, including the reopening of schools and taking steps to ensure food sufficiency. The push for a national language was also clear during the Second Republic, with the 1943 Constitution having a provision on the matter. Filipino classes were also mandated in government offices, and lessons were broadcasted over radio, i.e., distance learning.

In 1951, Laurel topped the senatorial election with more than 2 million votes, the first former president to win a Senate seat in the Philippines. This was seen as a political vindication for Laurel, who lost his bid for the presidency in 1949 against Elpidio Quirino.

Before the war, he was appointed as Secretary of the Interior in 1922. Three years later, he was elected to the Senate. When he lost in a reelection bid in 1931, Laurel would hold no public office until 1936, when he was appointed as Associate Justice of the Supreme Court. Laurel had a Doctor of Juridical Science from Yale University, Master of Laws from University of Santo Tomas, and Bachelor of Laws from the University of the Philippines.

10th March
On March 10, 2016, Jovito Salonga died of cardiac arrest in Quezon City. The son of a Presbyterian pastor, Salonga would be imprisoned by the Japanese in 1942. He was pardoned a year later, and he would top the bar exam in 1944 with Jose Diokno.

After the Second World War, he took a master's degree in Harvard and a doctorate in Yale. He returned to the Philippines in 1949, when he would be engaged in private practice until he ran for public office as representative of his home province Rizal four years later. He would not win the post, however, until his bid in 1961.

Salonga later aspired for a national office, successfully campaigning for a Senate seat in 1965 wherein he topped the polls with 3.6 million votes. When he ran for reelection in 1971, he was among the candidates who were injured during the Plaza Miranda Bombing in August. He lost an eye, but he won the election, again as topnotcher. His new term, however, would be cut short by the declaration of Martial Law in 1972. Salonga worked for the release of political prisoners during the Marcos administration, including that of Benigno "Ninoy" Aquino, Jr. He did not join Ninoy, however, when Lakas ng Bayan (LABAN) challenged the dominant party Kilusang Bagong Lipunan (KBL) in the 1978 elections.

In the succeeding administration of Corazon Aquino, Salonga would again run for the Senate, wherein he topped the polls for the third time with almost 13 million votes. During the same tenure, he served as Senate President. Among the major issues during his presidency of the upper house was the extension of the Military Bases Agreement with the United States, which was rejected by the Senate. Three months later, Salonga himself was removed from the Senate's top post.

 
Salonga's service in public office would meet its end in the 1992 presidential election. With Aquilino "Nene" Pimentel as his running mate, Salonga garnered only a little over 2 million votes, the second lowest in a roster of seven presidential candidates. He was also the oldest candidate in the said election, being 71 years old by Election Day.

12th March
On March 12, 2011, evacuation of residents within the 10-kilometer radius of the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant (福島第一原子力発電所) began, hours after the magnitude 9.0 Tohoku earthquake forced the disabling of the plant. The earliest an incident occurred in Fukushima Daiichi was reported in 1978, when a 7-hour criticality surfaced in 2007. A similar incident happened in 1999.
Also in 2007, scientists have raised the concern that Fukushima Daiichi's sea wall might not be strong enough against a tsunami.

Having six boiling water reactors (BWR) and a capacity of some 5,000 megawatts (MW), it is regarded as one of the largest nuclear plants in the world. It was operated by Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO). Also on March 12, 2011, explosion and increased radioactivity from the Unit 1 reactor was reported. Eventually, Units 1 to 4 released radiation.

The 2011 Fukushima Daiichi has since been ranked along with 1979 Three Mile Island and 1986 Chernobyl, among others, as one of the worst nuclear incidents in modern history, and have raised doubts about operating nuclear power at all. World nuclear power production slipped from 2,681 terawatt-hours (TWH) in 2010 to 2,398 TWH in 2012. As of 2020, global nuclear power production is at 2,553 TWH, which is still lower than its pre-2011 peak.

Meanwhile, nuclear studies in the Philippines began in 1955 when it became the first nation in Asia to commit to America's "Atoms for Peace" program. The culmination, it was hoped, was the actual building of a nuclear power plant. After two decades, construction for the Bataan Nuclear Power Plant began in 1976. Using pressurized water reactor (PWR) technology, it differed from either Fukushima Daiichi or Chernobyl, but it was similar to the one used in Three Mile Island.

And thus, President Ferdinand Marcos, Sr. issued Letter of Instruction No. 957, s. 1979, concurring with the findings of the Commission on Nuclear Plants that "the Bataan Nuclear Plant is not safe, and therefore is a potential hazard to the health and safety of the public." Marcos also announced the cessation of the construction of the plant "unless the contractor, Westinghouse, introduces fundamental changes in design and adapts additional, adequate and acceptable safeguards to ensure its safety and protect the health of the public." Before the Three Mile Island incident, Marcos considered cancelling the construction of the nuclear plant twice.

In 1976, six months after the contract with Westinghouse was signed, the magnitude 8.0 Moro Gulf earthquake compelled Marcos to require the National Power Corporation (NAPOCOR) to prove that the chosen location in Bataan can withstand both tsunami and earthquake as strong as that in Mindanao. Later in 1978, the Union of Concerned Scientists sent their concerns to Marcos about the alleged deficiencies of the plant which might endanger the surrounding areas. Following this, the Marcos administration commissioned an American assessment to evaluate the feasibility of continuing the plant.

When the Philippine Atomic Energy Commission recommended the resumption of the Bataan Nuclear Power Plant in 1980, the construction cost increased due to the additional safety measures instituted to ensure the plant will not suffer a similar fate as Three Mile Island. However, when the plant was declared complete as of December 1985, Marcos postponed the grant of license to operate to "extensively investigate and assess the safety." Energy Minister Geronimo Velasco, however, mentioned that Marcos was requested by the United States government to conduct another assessment. Although Velasco advised to start the plant anyway, citing plans in nuclear fuel transport in place, Marcos heeded the US request and intended to wait until after the February 1986 elections.

Additional costs to the project amounted to over USD 840 million, on top of the USD 1.2 billion loan dedicated for its construction. Around half of the loan came from the United States Export-Import Bank (Eximbank).

In May 1986, following the Chernobyl incident, President Corazon Aquino decided against operating the nuclear power plant. Succeeding administrations also have not commissioned the plant, even after it survived both the 1990 Luzon earthquake and the 1991 Pinatubo eruption. To this day, the Bataan Nuclear Power Plant had not provided a single watt of electricity. However, proponents of reviving nuclear technology in the Philippines persisted.

On February 28, 2022, President Rodrigo Duterte signed Executive Order (EO) 164, mandating a nuclear power program that "shall ensure the peaceful use of nuclear technology anchored on critical tenets of public safety, national security, energy self-sufficiency, and environmental sustainability."
Korea Hydro and Nuclear Power Co. Ltd. (KHNP) estimated the rehabilitation cost of the plant to amount to USD 1 billion, while Rosatom State Nuclear Energy Corporation placed the estimate at USD 2 billion.

13th March
On March 13, 1637, Spanish Governor General Sebastian Hurtado de Corcuera personally led the military campaign against Maguindanao. Starting with some 800 troops, Corcuera succeeded in taking Lamitan, the capital of Maguindanao Sultan Kudarat (Qudarat, Guserat, Corralat), and destroying the Maguindanao fleet of at least 100 vessels, including five to six "large ships" from Java.

Since at least 1609, Kudarat and his father Kapitan Laut Buisan had been at peace with Spain. The Spanish even helped Kudarat in resolving internal conflict after Buisan's death, particularly with Buayan and Sarangani, among others. When the Spanish began to build what would become Fort Pilar in Zamboanga, however, Kudarat saw this as a threat to his realm. He regarded many of the datus in Zamboanga under his influence, as he once claimed in a 1628 conference with the Dutch that he controlled all of Zamboanga with the exception of Dapitan, a Christian settlement.

Thus, Kudarat authorized his admiral Tagal and some 300 warriors to attack the Zamboanga fort in 1636, only to be defeated by the Spanish. With this, Corcuera saw the necessity to check the power of Maguindanao, as well as that of their ally Sulu, if they could hope in establishing Spain's sovereignty over Mindanao. Corcuera's offensive against Lamitan, however, made him realize that Kudarat did not mean to fight in the capital. The sultan had already retreated inland with 2,000 troops to three strong forts in Ilihan, where Kudarat had his 35 cannons prepared. It was said that Kudarat had advance information from his allies in Basilan about the offensive.

After waiting for reinforcements, Corcuera went on to pursue Kudarat on March 17. In the ensuing battle, which saw both sides using muskets and arquebuses, Kudarat was supposedly wounded and had to be taken away from the fighting, while a grandson of his was killed in action. One account even said that Kudarat was covered in mud to avoid detection. It would later be revealed that the Spanish had their own Muslim spy named Sosocan (Susukan) giving their valuable information.

The victorious Corcuera would leave for Zamboanga, and then for Manila, by March 24, 1637, but not before recognizing Buayan's Datu Maputi as the "paramount ruler" of Mindanao - a calculated move to pit one Muslim ruler against the other. Corcuera's predecessor Pedro de Acuña also made a similar political recognition with Maputi's own predecessor, Rajah Sirungan (Sirongan). In 1638, Corcuera would return, this time to campaign against Sulu. As for Kudarat, he recuperated in Iranun territory, which datus still recognized his leadership. The defeated Kudarat, seeking to recover his lost power, would later find allies among the Maranao, and build a force of 6,000. Meanwhile, the Spanish placed a bounty on the sultan's head: that is, 2,000 pesos if brought dead, and 4,000 pesos if brought alive.
Corcuera's focus in conquering Mindanao, however, caused the Spanish government to neglect their territories in Taiwan (Isla Hermosa in Spanish). The governor general ordered the withdrawal of Spanish forces in Taiwan, leaving a core of 20 Spanish officers and 200 Filipino soldiers in Fort San Domingo. The price to pay for his success in Mindanao.

When the Dutch learned from their Chinese allies of the weakened Spanish position, they successfully invaded the northern portion occupied by the Spanish (including what is now Taipei) with 369 troops in 1642. The combined Filipino and Spanish forces did put up a fight, wherein they even managed to sink an enemy ship, but they were unable to sustain their defense. As for Corcuera, he was later put to trial, and despite the fiscal logic of his actions, he was declared guilty in 1645. He was imprisoned, and charged a penalty of 827,007 pesos, presumably the cost of Taiwan's loss from the Philippines.

14th March
On March 14, 1947, the Military Bases Agreement between the Philippines and the United States was signed. Regarded as one of America's longest standing allies in Asia, the United States Congress authorized the American president via resolution on June 29, 1944 to acquire bases for "mutual protection" of the Philippines and the United States. Notably, this was approved after the Battle of the Philippine Sea, which ended on June 20, 1944. Following this, the Filipino Congress also passed a resolution on July 28, 1945 to negotiate the establishment of the said bases.

In his message to the Filipino Senate three days later, on March 17, 1947, President Manuel Roxas defended this agreement:

"There was no feeling of being imposed upon. We did not feel that any infringement of our forthcoming sovereignty was involved. We recognized that the purpose of the bases was to protect our sovereignty, a protection which would be furnished by American forces in a degree and in a manner of which we ourselves were incapable. We reasoned at the time, that as long as we were to have naval bases and fueling stations here, we should welcome a more elaborate military establishment to serve as a true guarantee of our security and national integrity. Naturally such an arrangement would be impossible with any other country. We would not dream of it; we could not conceive it. It was only the very unique relationship between our country and the nation which was about to grant us independence and which had liberated us that permitted the base arrangement. That arrangement was not at all inconsistent with our independence."

14th March
On March 14, 1983, the first Mario game with his name on the title (Mario Bros.) was released. Using Game & Watch as its platform, it supposedly preceded both the arcade version and the Family Computer/NES version of the game. Since then, some 85 Mario games have sold over 1 million in sales.

15th March
On March 15, 1899, the Battle of Pasig saw the victory of American troops under General Loyd Wheaton. Three of their regiments, supported by a gunboat and the 6th Artillery, faced some 2,000 Filipino soldiers. Four to six casualties were reported in the US side, while as many as 1,000 Filipinos were killed, wounded, or captured. Initial dispatches indicated that in Pasig alone, 100 Filipinos died in the fighting.

The Battle of Pasig was also said to be one of the first engagements in the Philippines where the Americans used rifles with smokeless powder, an innovation which reduced the amount of smoke emitted when firing volleys.

This followed the American campaign against Guadalupe Church (in Makati) and Pateros on March 13 and 14, respectively, resulting to around 34 American casualties. Filipino losses, meanwhile, were not clear at this juncture.

16th March
On March 16, 1899, the Battle of Cainta followed the American triumph at Pasig. The 20th Regiment under the command of General Loyd Wheaton proceeded from Pasig to secure the lines of the Pasig River, and fought some 1,000 Filipino soldiers entrenched in Cainta.

At the time, Cainta was administered by Municipal President Exequiel Ampil, who was formerly involved as an agent in the Katipunan. Ampil urged the Filipinos to surrender, but they shot him instead. He survived the incident, and continued to campaign for the United States. In 1902, a Filipino guerrilla group captured Ampil, but he would find the opportunity to escape. After his service in Cainta, Ampil will become Municipal President of Taytay (1904-1907).

Some 17 casualties were reported in the US side, while the Americans reported 100 casualties among the Filipinos.

Three days later, on March 19, some 1,000 Filipinos (a count that reportedly included women and children) were killed in nearby Taytay on Wheaton's orders, supposedly in retaliation to the "murder of an American soldier," whose stomach was found cut open.

Also on March 19, 1899, General Elwell Otis reported that operations in this sector have been completed. The campaign from Manila to Morong (now Rizal Province) to secure the Pasig River lines took only a week, giving them access to Laguna de Bay while dividing the Filipino forces north and south. The initial American victory, however, did not seem to completely break the resistance east of Manila.

Knowing the importance of the Pasig River sector to their logistical operations, Filipino troops attempted a counterattack on March 18 and 19 to recapture Pasig and Cainta. They were eventually repulsed. Some 200 Filipino casualties were reported by the Americans, while suffering 22 on their side. Recognizing the continuing threat, an American expedition under General Henry Ware Lawton would return to clear Cainta (June 2, 1899), Taytay (June 3, 1899), and Antipolo (June 4, 1899) before shifting his offensive to the south.

16th March
On March 16, 1960, the Araneta Coliseum in Quezon City was inaugurated, hosting the world junior lightweight title fight between Filipino boxer Gabriel "Flash" Elorde and American boxer Harold Gomes. It was reported that some 25,000 people went to see the bout, which was sanctioned by the National Boxing Association (now World Boxing Association / Asociación Mundial de Boxeo).

Elorde won the fight by Round 7, starting his 7-year reign in the junior lightweight division. He would lose the WBA belt and the lineal championship to Japanese boxer Yoshiaki Numata at the Kokugikan in Tokyo, Japan. The majority decision after 15 favored Numata.

The coliseum, meanwhile, continued to become a venue for national and international events, including the "super fight" called Thrilla in Manila between Muhammad Ali and Joe Frazier on October 1, 1975, as well as Manny Pacquiao's defense of the WBC International junior lightweight title against Oscar Larios on July 2, 2006, billed as Thrilla in Manila 2.

The seating capacity varies depending on the event hosted. The official website cites the following seating figures: basketball (14,429); boxing (12,990); center stage (15,244); proscenium (9,513); off center (15,082).

17th March
On March 17, 1001, the first recorded mission from what is now the Philippines arrived in China. Initiated by Butuan's King Kiling (Qiling), it appears the intent was to negotiate directly with China than having to rely on Champa (now Vietnam) to handle its trade.

17th March
On March 17, 1957, President Ramon F. Magsaysay died with 24 others in a plane crash at Mount Manunggal in Cebu, ending the hopes for unification between the two major political parties in the Philippines. The Douglas C-47 Skytrain aircraft used, named Mt. Pinatubo, was newly acquired by the Philippine Air Force, having less than 100 hours of logged flight.

Meanwhile, 1957 was an election year, with leaders from the Liberals and the Nacionalistas coming up with plans of a unified ticket with Magsaysay running for reelection. Magsaysay was a Nacionalista at the time, but had formerly been a member of the Liberal Party.

What followed his death was the most divided presidential election yet in Filipino history. Shortly after Magsaysay's burial, then Ilocos Norte Representative Ferdinand Marcos, Sr. approached Manila Mayor Arsenio Lacson to form a "dream ticket" with Lacson, a Nacionalista, as presidential candidate and Marcos, a Liberal, as vice presidential candidate. Despite being allegedly supported by Former President Jose P. Laurel, who still retained much of his influence in the Nacionalista Party, Lacson turned down Marcos's offer. Lacson would later recall that he expected Marcos to make moves in cutting his term short in order to succeed as president, provided that both of them win. Marcos, on his part, saw it as nothing more than Lacson's humor. As it is done today, the president and vice president were voted separately at the time. While the proposed Lacson-Marcos team failed to materialize, there were other political movements which shook the 1957 election.

The Nacionalista Party which adopted Magsaysay in 1953 as presidential candidate found itself uncertain about the chances of his successor, Vice President Carlos P. Garcia, in winning an outright term. Senator Claro M. Recto, dissatisfied with both Magsaysay and Garcia's policies, bolted from the party with his supporters and joined Lorenzo M. Tañada's Citizens' Party, established just years earlier. This union created the Nationalist Citizens' Party (NCP), with Recto as presidential candidate and Tañada as his running mate.

Some of Magsaysay's supporters, meanwhile, also left the Nacionalistas to form their own party. Calling themselves as Progressives, they fielded Presidential Complaints and Action Commission (PCAC) Head Manual Manahan as presidential candidate, while Vicente Araneta became their vice presidential candidate.

The oppositionist Liberal Party did not find themselves in better standing despite the fallout among the Nacionalistas. Judge Antonio Quirino, brother of Former President Elpidio Quirino and majority stockholder of television company Alto Broadcasting System (ABS), left the Liberals to run for president. The Liberals, on their part, nominated Chief Justice Jose Yulo as presidential candidate, and Pampanga Representative Diosdado Macapagal as his running mate.

The 1957 election saw the first Filipino president and vice president elected by a plurality instead of a majority vote. Garcia won a four-year term in his own right, the people giving him a chance to continue the presidency he succeeded. He garnered 41 percent of the vote. Macapagal won as vice president with 47 percent of the vote, making it the first time in Filipino electoral history that the elected president and vice president came from different political parties.

18th March
On March 18, 1899, the Battle of Taguig began. The US 1st Washington Volunteers was attacked by Filipino troops under General Pio del Pilar, formerly involved in the Filipino militia organized by Spanish Governor General Basilio Augustin against the United States.

To aid the engaged American troops, the US 22nd Infantry under the command of General Loyd Wheaton joined the battle to repulse the Filipino soldiers. Some 20 casualties were reported in the US side, while Filipino losses were not reported. By March 19, 1899, the battle was over, and General Elwell Otis reported the completion of their military operations to secure the Pasig River lines. Wheaton's expedition left Manila on March 13. This win gave them access to Laguna de Bay.

18th March
On March 18, 1965, cosmonaut Alexei Leonov successfully completed the first recorded spacewalk by a human being, a feat that lasted 12 minutes, aboard the Voskhod 2 (Восход-2).

Leonov's spacewalk, however, was not without issues. His suit ballooned to the point that he could not fit in the airlock, forcing him to release some of the pressure. Soviet broadcast reportedly stopped when they already realized that the mission was experiencing difficulty.

The spacecraft landed around 386 kilometers from its supposed landing site, caused by a failure in the navigation and breaking system. It took hours before aircraft were able to locate them. A 400-meter walkway has been built to commemorate the landing site of Voskhod 2.

The American Gemini IV followed later, on June 2, to conduct the first spacewalk for the United States. The feat was done by Edward White, a spacewalk which lasted around 20 minutes.

Nonetheless, there are believers to this day which argue that Leonov's spacewalk was faked. The cosmonaut died October 11, 2019.

18th March
On March 18, 1996, the Ozone Disco fire in Quezon City killed at least 150 people, making it one of the worst club fires in the world. The site was never used for commercial purposes until it was demolished 19 years later, giving way for a food chain.

19th March
Regarded as one of the foremost Filipina heroines to this day, "La Generala" Gabriela Cariño Silang was born in Santa, Ilocos on March 19, 1731 to a Spanish father and an Itneg (Tinguian) mother. Raised as a Roman Catholic, she would be married off at the age of 20, only for her husband to die three years later. She would eventually meet the Aringay-born Diego Silang, who at the time was a courier serving Ilocos and Manila. They would marry in 1757 after years of courtship.

At the advent of the Seven Years' War in the Philippines by 1762, an international conflict which saw Spain on the opposing side against Britain, the British were quite intent to enlist local assistance in the archipelago. At the outset, Diego was offering his help to organize Ilocano volunteers for the Spanish cause, but with rumors of Ilocos being turned over to the British, and the Spanish rejecting Diego's proposal, he turned against Spain and sought an alliance with Britain.

Fresh from his victory in Vigan, Diego sent emissaries to various areas to rise up as well, stirring not only hatred of the Spanish, but also of the local elites (babaknang). The British, meanwhile, had not ignored Silang's exploits. When Silang sent a delegation to them, the British granted him weapons and a new title, the governorship of Ilocos. Diego's creation of a new government, however, was abruptly ended by his assassination on May 28, 1763 in the hands of Miguel Vicos and Pedro Becbec. His reported last words were to his wife, "Matayakon, Gabriela!" (I am dying, Gabriela)

Gabriela, who played an active part throughout Diego's campaigns, gathered her husband's followers and fled to Abra. From there, she consolidated what was left of Diego's forces and continued the crusade of her husband.

On September 10, 1763, Gabriela Silang and her army of around 2,000 laid siege on Vigan, Ilocos. However, miscalculation on their part, supposedly caused by an optical illusion, led to Gabriela's ranks being reduced significantly. Scouts had mistaken Vigan's groves to be Spanish troops. Meanwhile, the delay on Gabriela's eventual offensive allowed the Spanish to assemble a massive force, sufficient to overtake Silang and her followers. The religious attribute this victory to La Virgen de la Caridad (Our Lady of Charity), which image was housed in nearby Bantay Church.

Gabriela was made to watch the death of her remaining followers, with herself being executed last. On the other hand, those allowed to live were punished with 200 lashes.

19th March
On March 19, 1922, Japanese Lieutenant Hiroo Onoda (小野田 寛郎) was born in Kainan, Wakayama Prefecture, Japan. It was during his studies at Kainan Middle School, a school that included military training, where he learned kendō - the modern style of Japanese swordsmanship developed in the Meiji period.

In 1939, Onoda took a job at a lacquerware company called Tajima Yōkō in hopes of being sent to its branch at Hankou (Hankow) in the Republic of China. Hankou was captured after the Japanese victory at the Battle of Wuhan in 1938. At the time, Onoda sought to participate in economic activities supporting Japan's war against China. During his stay, he learned Chinese. In May 1942, Onoda passed his military exam, his reported height being 5 feet 4 inches. He was scheduled to report for the 61st Infantry Regiment at Wakayama by December. Ten days after being inducted, he was transferred to the 218th Infantry Regiment. He was ranked a private first class.

By January 1944, Onoda entered officers' training, but instead of being sent to Nanjing (Nanking), they were trained at Kurume in Kyushu Island. His expectations to return to China, however, was not realized when he was assigned to the 33rd Squadron in Futamata.

It turned out to be a branch of the Nakano School (陸軍中野学校), a training center for Japanese intelligence officers specializing in unconventional tactics and "secret warfare." The school also taught foreign languages. Organized in Nakano, Tokyo, the school produced more than 2,500 graduates, a roster which included Onoda himself. According to him, they experienced what may be compared with "liberal education," molding them to think critically, challenge traditional knowledge, and make decisions when no rules existed.

In engaging with "secret warfare," they were allowed to be captured, if it meant gathering information on the enemy and sabotaging their operations with false intelligence, but they were not allowed to die in vain. The dagger given to him by his mother was regarded as a "last resort" weapon to commit suicide. It was inherited from his great grandmother. Onoda, however, had another idea for the dagger - use it to defend himself in case bullets ran out.

Onoda and 43 others were sent to the Philippines after their graduation at the Nakano School in December 1944. In Manila, they were gathered at a building called the "Institute of Natural Science." After receiving his orders from his immediate superior, General Shizuo Yokoyama, he left for Lubang Island with 5,000 yen, and loads of ammunition and explosives on December 30, 1944 aboard Seifuku Maru. His rank by this time was second lieutenant.

He found Lubang's garrison commanded by similarly ranked officers: Lieutenant Hayakawa led a platoon attached to the 357th Infantry Regiment, Lieutenant Suehiro commanded the Lubang airfield, Lieutenant Tategami led the radar squad, and Lieutenant Tanaka the air intelligence squad. There was no navy officer even though navy personnel were also present.

Hayakawa and the other officers, however, misunderstood the orders Onoda brought with him. They made Onoda's mission difficult to carry out, as his own rank was not higher. To make matters worse, each Japanese unit made moves to demand more assistance from the people of Lubang, an unreasonable state of affairs that increased enmity with the Filipinos.

The Americans landed on Lubang on February 28, 1945. After reducing much of the Japanese garrison in the island, American patrols frequented Lubang until August 1945. Unknown to the remaining Japanese, the Americans already announced that they have completed their operations in Lubang by April.

Onoda's first clear hint that the Second World War already ended would come in October 1945, when a Japanese attempt to take a cow from Filipinos caused them to find a leaflet bearing General Tomoyuki Yamashita's order to surrender. To recall, Yamashita was captured by Filipino and American troops on September 2, 1945 at Kiangan, Ifugao. A printing error, however, led Onoda and the remaining Japanese in Lubang Island to believe that it was Allied propaganda. As leaflets continued to be dropped, so did they continue to hear gunfire, usually from aircraft. Onoda would attest that by January 1946, they saw an aircraft carrier by the coast. This reinforced their belief that the war was still going on.

In April 1946, the Japanese holdout in Lubang was reduced to four. By this time, the search parties believed they have finished their work. In reality, besides Onoda, he was accompanied by Private Yuichi Akatsu (surrendered 1950), Corporal Shoichi Shimada (shot 1954), and Private First Class Kinshichi Kozuka (shot 1972). During their straggler days, they built temporary shelters they called "bahay" in different locations, taking them down once the wet season was over. They charted the entire island, naming key sites after familiar names such as Wakayama Point. To help keep the peace between them, they adopted the Filipino words "ikaw" and "ako" to refer to each other. Onoda noted that using the Japanese "omae" or "kisama" may sound rude depending on the context, whereas the Filipino words felt neutral.

They were not entirely isolated from postwar innovation either. In 1965, Onoda and Kozuka acquired a transistor radio. When they run out of batteries, they take flashlights from the Filipinos and repurpose the batteries (which could not fit in the pocket-sized radio) by using wires. They also managed to get a waterproof tent made by "Mitsubishi Trading Company." They patched their tattered uniforms with synthetic fabric they gathered from residences. Every New Year, they faced to the direction of the Imperial Palace to bow to their emperor.

While Akatsu was eventually convinced to surrender, Onoda and those who remained with him continued to believe the war was still going on, coming up with the fantastic theories on how Japan was carrying out the fight based on the limited information they could gather from newspapers and radio broadcasts. They even once dreamed of building an "atomic submarine base" in Lubang when the "secret agent" finally made contact with their party.

Except that there was no secret mission.

To add to Onoda's sense of caution, the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) began to use Lubang as a training ground against rebel forces. For years after the war, the remaining Japanese could hear bombs and gunfire. Aircraft activity also increased in Lubang. In Onoda's own estimation, from two aircraft in the 1940s, around 10 aircraft used Lubang by the 1950s. They also suspected the search parties, especially those who came after Akatsu's surrender and Shimada's death, since they were accompanied by armed Filipino soldiers. In their minds, if the Filipinos were still allied with the Americans, they were also enemies.

Kozuka's death in October 1972, however, changed the general picture for Onoda. When he learned that Kozuka received a grand funeral in Manila, he began to entertain thoughts that the Philippines may have become allied with Japan. Exercising restraint to avenge Kozuka until he gathered sufficient evidence of this idea, he stumbled upon a Japanese tourist named Norio Suzuki in February 1974. Unlike the previous search parties, Suzuki was alone and was clearly unarmed. As it turned out, Suzuki was in fact aiming to meet Onoda.

Suzuki was surprised at Onoda's knowledge of modern technology such as the transistor radio, which was mass produced after the war. Without new orders, however, Onoda refused Suzuki's appeals to come with him. Taking photos as his proof, Suzuki went back to Japan and sought help for Onoda's return. While General Yokoyama was already dead (1961), another superior officer, Major Yoshimi Taniguchi, was still alive. Taniguchi went with Suzuki to bring "oral orders" to Onoda, the only kind of order which he believed an intelligence officer would acknowledge. On March 9, 1974, Onoda laid down his arms. He arrived in Manila two days later, where he was received by Filipino President Ferdinand Marcos, Sr.

In his nearly three decades in Lubang, Onoda estimated he used some 30 bullets a year. At that rate, he believed he could still have held out for another 20 years with his ammo supply. He also repurposed machine gun ammo for his rifle, hiding stocks of bullets in various points.

Unlike other Japanese holdouts such as Sergeant Shōichi Yokoi (Guam, 1972) and Private Teruo Nakamura (Indonesia, 1974, born Attun Palalin in Taiwan), who were quite convinced that the war was over and perhaps decided to stay out of embarrassment to return, Onoda was genuinely mad to find out that Japan was not victorious: "We really lost the war! How could they have been so sloppy?"

Contrast this to Yokoi's words: "I am ashamed of myself for having clung to survival for so long. On top of this, because the heroic spirits of my dead comrades still continued to haunt Guam, I have assembled them and have brought them back to our homeland." It was said that Yokoi forgot his statement later on.

Onoda was always on the move, whereas Yokoi holed inside a cave, while Nakamura lived in a hut that was discovered by Indonesian aircraft.

Yokoi and Nakamura were hospitalized after their surrender, but Onoda startled doctors for being in "better physical and mental shape than Japanese living in modern urban affluence" after undertaking some 200 tests. Nakamura died in 1979, while Yokoi in 1997.

Also unlike the last Japanese holdouts who were found starving as their weapons were beyond repair, Onoda still had his Arisaka Type 99 rifle in working order. His sword and his dagger were still sharp enough to cut, while his patched uniform resembled that of an active soldier. In fact, Onoda's calendar was only six days behind the actual date, as compared to Yokoi's being ahead by over six months.
While Yokoi and Onoda both used the lunar cycles to keep their calendars in check, Onoda also used radio broadcasts, the planting and harvesting seasons (they make fires during harvest as some sort of "beacon raids"), and even their haircut routine for timekeeping.

Onoda's equipment would later be on display at the Philippine Air Force Aerospace Museum.

During their life in Lubang Island, Onoda said they were branded as "mountain bandits", "kings of the mountain", and "mountain devils." He did not deny the Filipinos had reason to hate them, but he was largely silent about the people they killed through the years. An estimate of 30 deaths and 100 injuries, relatives of whom still remember, were sustained due to Onoda and his group.

Later in life, Onoda returned to Japan where he was received with a hero's welcome, but he refused to receive his back pay. He donated them instead to Yasukuni Shrine. Unlike Yokoi, who failed to win a seat in the 1974 elections, Onoda resisted calls to enter politics. Onoda would go back to Lubang Island in 1996, this time to provide aid and grant a scholarship for the local school. He died on January 16, 2014.

From 1947 to 1974, at least 147 Japanese holdouts have been recorded in Asia-Pacific.

22nd March
On March 22, 1863, Mariano Ponce was born in Bulacan. A medical doctor serving as secretary of the Asociacion Hispano-Filipina in Spain, Ponce would also work with La Solidaridad under a number of pseudonyms, including Kalipulako, one of the names being attributed to the Mactan ruler Lapulapu.
When the Philippine Revolution broke out, Ponce was imprisoned for 48 hours, after which he went to France, and eventually to Hong Kong, where he would be advocating the Filipino cause, raising funds along the way for the sustenance of the revolution. Later, Ponce would be in Japan, working with fellow Filipinos such as Jose Ramos, and fellow revolutionaries such as future Chinese president Sun Yat-sen. Ponce and Sun, who were both physicians, developed close friendship in the coming years. While in Japan, it was said they discussed in English. Historian Ambeth R. Ocampo would reiterate E. Aguilar Cruz in introducing a famous photo of the two in Yokohama. The seated man in Western wear was revealed to be Sun, while the standing man in Japanese clothes was Ponce.

Sun would be instrumental in helping Ponce secure 10,000 rifles, ammunition, and at least 10 artillery pieces for the Philippines. However, it met ill fate aboard the steamship Nunobiki Maru, which was lost off Shanghai due to a typhoon. Undaunted by this debacle, they would arrange for another delivery later on, but this time the United States intervened. The shipment of weapons did not materialize.

Also during Ponce's diplomatic stint in Japan, even though he initially had no mastery of the Japanese language (Nihongo), immense efforts were made to appeal the Filipino cause to the Japanese government. These included press coverage, made possible through the translation services of a certain Fujita Sonetaka. Next to Filipinos, most of his correspondence were addressed to Japanese. Ponce was also in contact with Koreans, notably Prince Uihwa (의친왕 이강), son of the Emperor Gojong, who Ponce called as "Iwo." Apparently, the Korean was impressed of with his progressive ideas. The prince was initially assigned as Korea's ambassador to Japan, where he studied for a year in 1899.

After the Filipino-American War, Ponce would return to the Philippines with his Japanese wife. He would later run for a seat in the Philippine Assembly, becoming representative of Bulacan's Second District in 1909. He would die overseas in 1918. Ponce was on the way to visit his friend Sun when he met his demise in Hong Kong, then a British possession.

22nd March
On March 22, 1869, Emilio Aguinaldo was born in Cavite. Officially regarded as the first president of the Philippines, his political and military career had been subject of intense debate throughout the years. Unable to finish his studies due to a cholera outbreak, his entry into politics would be as capitan municipal (mayor) of Cavite el Viejo (Kawit) in 1895. In the same year, he would join the revolutionary society Katipunan, using the call sign Magdalo, apparently inspired by the Biblical figure Mary Magdalene.

At the outbreak of the Philippine Revolution in 1896, Aguinaldo and the Caviteño revolutionaries recorded a number of victories against the Spanish, notably the Battles of Binakayan and Dalahican in November, which involved over 10,000 troops from each side. Notable in Aguinaldo's military tactics was the use of trench warfare, a type of land warfare employed during the American Civil War and World War I, among others. With the revolution taking shape in regional terms, a convention was organized at Tejeros in March 1897 to resolve issues of factionalism in the Katipunan. Instead, it went on to elect a set of government officials, with Aguinaldo emerging as president. The Katipunan's overall leader and Supremo, Andres Bonifacio, was relegated to the position of Director of the Interior. This cemented the rivalry of factions, culminating with Bonifacio's death and the retreat of Aguinaldo from Cavite to Bulacan two months later.

The first phase of the revolution would end with the Pact of Biak-na-Bato, brokered between Aguinaldo and the Spanish in December of the same year. This led to Aguinaldo's exile to Hong Kong. However, both sides did not seem to honor the agreement, with the Spanish withholding the full amount of indemnification, and the Filipinos continuing the fight in some sectors. While in exile, Aguinaldo would meet the Americans, who by 1898 had been in shaky relations with Spain, especially after the mysterious explosion of USS Maine at Havana, Cuba. Through American assistance, Aguinaldo returned to the Philippines in May, setting up a dictatorial government and launching the second phase of the revolution. A month later, on June 12, Philippine independence was declared. Thereafter, the dictatorial government was transformed into a revolutionary government, paving the way for the inauguration of the First Republic by January 1899. Thinking that the Americans would apply the Teller Amendment to the Philippines, which provided for the non-annexation of Cuba, the Aguinaldo administration did not hinder the Americans from landing troops in Manila, the colonial capital. It would not be long until the American motives were clear, and Filipinos would again find themselves fighting against another world power for independence.

The Philippine-American War, commenced on February 4, 1899, would dash the hopes of Filipino sovereignty. Aguinaldo himself would be captured by March 1901. After the war, he would help organize the Asociacion de los Veteranos de la Revolucion for former revolutionaries who would need assistance. Aguinaldo would also remain active in public life. For one, he rallied for support to Governor General Leonard Wood at a time there was a crisis in the Cabinet, and Filipino leaders such as Manuel Quezon and Sergio Osmeña were at odds with the American governor. Aguinaldo also challenged Quezon and Gregorio Aglipay in the 1935 presidential elections, wherein he obtained 18 percent of the vote as standard bearer of the National Socialist Party. His career during the Philippine Revolution, including the deaths of Bonifacio and General Antonio Luna, became election issues that Aguinaldo had to face.

During the Japanese occupation, Aguinaldo was among the Filipinos who "collaborated" with the Japanese sponsored government. He was seen at this time making exhortations on the futility of resisting Japan and supporting the new administration. He justified that surrender would be the non-violent means to restore order and peace. When the Japanese provided for Philippine independence in 1943, a little over a year since their occupation of the archipelago began, Aguinaldo would raise the flag with fellow revolutionary Artemio Ricarte, who was returned from his life of exile in Japan. His inputs for the 1943 Constitution, however, did not seem to be appreciated, prompting Aguinaldo to even resign from the Preparatory Committee that designed the said charter. After the war, Aguinaldo would be charged for his collaboration with the Japanese, only to be freed by amnesty of President Manuel Roxas. Aguinaldo's stance on Japan, however, may also be taken into proper context. Prior to the revolution, the Katipunan had been looking towards Japan as an ally for its inevitable struggle. While Aguinaldo would indeed disavow his wartime activities as being "helplessly used" by the Japanese, it might not also be farfetched to observe why revolutionaries of past, Ricarte for instance, would tend to gravitate towards Japan's promises instead of America's, which eventually took 48 years to grant Filipinos independence.

By 1950, he would become part of the Council of State, the President's advisory body. Aguinaldo met his demise in 1964, living long enough to see Philippine Independence Day officially moved from the American-given date of July 4 to the revolutionary date of June 12. At the age of 94, Aguinaldo remains as the longest living Filipino president in history, closely followed by Fidel Ramos who also died at age 94 in 2022.

23rd March
On March 23, 1983, US President Ronald Reagan delivered a speech on national security to introduce the Strategic Defense Initiative (SDI), a concept which also became known among critics and doubters as "Star Wars", believing it was impractical and expensive, perhaps even bordering the realm of fiction.
Aimed to derail the principle of mutually assured destruction (MAD), a military doctrine which involved nuclear weapons, SDI is designed to use laser and kinetic weapon systems to deter enemy missiles while they are in space. To recall, missiles will have to reach the territory of space in order to cover longer distances, crossing the border called the Karman line - 100 kilometers above sea level.

The concept of SDI, however, did not seem to deter the Soviet Union to craft more nuclear weapons, at least at the initial phase. The Soviet stockpile grew from 30,000 in 1980 to nearly 40,000 by 1985, almost double that of the United States. This race to increase their defense capacity, however, was seen by some as contributory to the economic challenges of the Soviet Union. For one, the Soviets also worked on laser and energy weapons then. This likely helped in inspiring Tom Clancy's 1988 novel "The Cardinal of the Kremlin."

While SDI was never fully realized even after the Reagan administration, some of the technical aspects of the defense program seemed to make sense years later. For instance, the Laser Weapon System (also called XN-1 LaWS) was successfully tested by the US Navy in 2014. The anti-ballistic missile system Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD), deployed since at least 2008, also benefited from technologies connected to SDI.

American futurist Alvin Toffler, among others, have a more optimistic view on SDI - theorizing that it could have covered at least half the world with a protective shield against missiles. The succeeding administration of President Bill Clinton, however, scaled back the objectives of US missile defense from global to regional by forming in 1993 the Ballistic Missile Defense Organization (BMDO) to replace the SDIO.

23rd March
On March 23, 2016, the Philippines launched its first artificial satellite, the 50-kg Diwata-1, also known as PHL-Microsat-1. The success of the Diwata series, which boosted Filipino surveillance and imagery capacities, set the stage for the establishment of the Philippine Space Agency on August 8, 2019.

24th March
On March 24 ,1897, the Battle of Pasong Santol saw the death of General Crispulo Aguinaldo and around 300 other revolutionaries as the Spanish forces under General Jose de Lachambre overwhelmed Filipino trenches.

Emilio Aguinaldo, who had just been elected as president at Tejeros, was persuaded to leave Pasong Santol to assume his new office. However, he believed that the defenders of Pasong Santol did not receive sufficient reinforcements to stem the Spanish offensive. Apparently, some Magdiwang leaders such as Mariano Alvarez had misgivings about sending troops to fight in Magdalo territory. As to whether Andres Bonifacio, who was also in Cavite at the time, had any hand in this remains to be determined. Aguinaldo, nonetheless, believed in Bonifacio's alleged involvement.

Shortly after the Tejeros Convention, Bonifacio and his supporters issued the Acta de Tejeros, which aimed to nullify the election "taken away by fraud." As political divisions riddled the Filipino leadership, the Spanish continued their gains. By March 25, Imus fell to Spanish hands at the cost of some 800 Filipino casualties. Spanish Governor General Camilo de Polavieja commended Lachambre's feat, declaring that the capture of Imus has been symbolic of the "uninterrupted successes" of the Spanish army.

Polavieja also issued an amnesty program which ran until April 11, 1897. Meanwhile, Magdalo troops transferred their center of operations from Imus to Tejeros.

25th March
On March 25, 1986, President Corazon "Cory" Aquino issued Proclamation No. 3, s. 1986, creating a provisional constitution which adopted certain provisions of the 1973 Constitution to remain in force and effect while a constitutional commission, formed within 60 days from issuance, would draft a new charter. This also became known as the 1986 Freedom Constitution. Until a new charter was ratified and a new legislature elected under its provisions, the President continued to exercise legislative powers. This effectively abolished the Batasang Pambansa. In the reorganization of the government, priority would be given to measures to promote economy, efficiency, and the eradication of graft and corruption.

Among the options available for the Aquino administration at the time was to restore the 1935 Constitution, to continue operating under the 1973 Constitution, and to create a new constitution. It was also proposed prior to issuing the Freedom Constitution that the Batasang Pambansa (national legislature) be retained at the least to counter the "absolutist" criticism from some of the Filipino leaders. Notably, Aquino herself refrained from using the term "revolutionary", and had instead preferred to cite "People Power." As it was stated in her proclamation, "the heroic action of the people was done in defiance of the provisions of the 1973 Constitution."

The Aquino administration was hoping to finish the new constitution in 90 days, and elections be held as early as November 1986. Doubts were raised, however, as to the implications of the so-called "interim" constitution. Interior Minister Aquilino "Nene" Pimentel, Jr., for one, expressed his confidence that the Philippines could have still made it work to retain the Batasang Pambansa, which until the EDSA People Power a month earlier was dominated by the Kilusang Bagong Lipunan, the umbrella party of Former President Ferdinand Marcos, Sr. Labor Minister Blas Ople, meanwhile, worried about the range of powers made available at Aquino's disposal, which some media outlets at the time have compared to the powers Marcos wielded during Martial Law. Nonetheless, Ople would later be part of the Constitutional Commission organized in 1986.

Justice Minister Neptali Gonzales, Sr., for his part, denied that Aquino would have used her powers as Marcos did, citing how "full judicial protection" was made available with the rights and freedoms enshrined in the provisional constitution. Earlier, Aquino restored the privilege of writ of habeas corpus via Proclamation No. 2, 1986, a privilege Marcos suspended before declaring Martial Law.

Elections were eventually held in May 1987, after the new 1987 Constitution was ratified. It was only the second time since at least 1946 that Filipino elections were held in the month of May, the first time being the 1984 Batasang Pambansa elections. Until the Marcos administration, polls were done in November.

26th March
On March 26, 1899, the Battle of Tullahan River ended. In Malabon alone, the Americans suffered some 150 casualties. They also reported over 600 Filipino casualties. Meanwhile, the fighting in Meycauayan cost 90 Filipino casualties. In Malinta (now part of Valenzuela), the Americans reportedly had 25 casualties. While the Americans found the Filipinos well-entrenched and fiercely defending their lines, the American 11 infantry regiments were supported by 3 artillery units, which relentlessly bombarded enemy territory. Filipino troops were estimated to have 30,000.

The official US report in 1902 placed total American casualties at 229. Ten US regiments were engaged. Filipino losses are not reported.

The campaign against the Tullahan River area signals the northward advance of the American forces under General Arthur MacArthur, aimed at taking over the Filipino capital Malolos. At around this time, General Antonio Luna had already resigned his post in the Filipino military, supposedly out of protest from the reinstatement of the Kawit Battalion. This made President Emilio Aguinaldo personally in command of the front lines for the defense of Marilao, the next line of defense for Malolos.

27th March
On March 27, 1899, the Battle of Marilao River saw President Emilio Aguinaldo personally commanding Filipino troops for the first time since becoming president of the First Philippine Republic as the Americans, under General Arthur MacArthur, closed in to Malolos. Seven US regiments were reportedly engaged. General Antonio Luna, who had been in command of Filipino troops in this sector, resigned earlier out of protest on the reinstatement of the Kawit Battalion.

General Irving Hale was placed in charge of the 1st South Dakota Infantry and 3rd US Artillery to cross Marilao River and have a pontoon bridge prepared, while General Pantaleon Garcia and his troops reinforced Aguinaldo's.

Although the battle eventually resulted to a Filipino retreat, it reminded Filipinos and Americans alike of the military brilliance of Aguinaldo, who had built a reputation for himself since the early days of the Philippine Revolution in Cavite. Inflicting some 90 casualties against the Americans, the Filipinos reportedly lost 90 also of their own. In terms of proportion, however, the casualty rate appears to be 9 percent of the American force, as against less than 2 percent of the Filipinos. As one US newspaper described it, "Filipinos contest every inch of ground with Americans."

The main force of Aguinaldo seemed intact despite the retreat, for Filipino troops would counterattack later in the day, inflicting around 20 more casualties on the American soldiers. Effectively neutralizing the effect of American artillery, which swung on the right of the railroad, they had to rely on gunboats to bombard the entrenched Filipino troops.

The official US report in 1902 placed American casualties at 79, while Filipino losses were not reported, but if the casualties noted in earlier dispatches were correct, the Battle of Marilao might arguably be the first time since the war with the United States began that Filipino losses were equal or less than the Americans.

This in contrast with General Antonio Luna's battles with the Filipino armed forces, seeing 500 casualties in Caloocan (10 percent) and 200 casualties in Calumpit/Bagbag (7 percent). Only in the Battle of Santo Tomas did the casualty rate of Luna's fighting reach 2 percent, but part of it is attributed to Luna being shot by American fire. This caused Luna to retire from the field early, leaving command to General Venancio Concepcion. The Americans lost 15 that day, much less than the Filipino casualties. Whether it is a prudent choice or an unconscious instinct, Aguinaldo's strategy appear to be minimizing losses on his side.

Luna requested to be reinstated after Marilao.

To recall, the Battles of Binakayan and Dalahican in 1897, a victory also attributed to Aguinaldo's leadership, saw heavy Spanish casualties in the face of Filipinos suffering lower casualty rates. Elias Ataviado placed an estimate of 100 Spanish losses, but some accounts put it as high as 10 percent of the entire Spanish force, as against around 3 percent among Filipino revolutionaries. Some Spanish companies reported retaining only a fraction of their original force, evidence of how fierce the fighting was against Filipino troops who at this time had been using trenches.

28th March
On March 28, 1979, a reactor of Three Mile Island Nuclear Generating Station in Pennsylvania, United States suffered a partial core meltdown, causing the closure of Unit 2. Full decommissioning was expected to last until 2037. Meanwhile, Unit 1 continued operating until 2019. Fully decommissioning this unit is projected to last until 2079.

The prior release of the film "The China Syndrome" on March 16, 1979 helped form public opinion on nuclear incidents. The movie was named as such owing to the supposed misconception that melted components would reach the Earth's core, and eventually make its way to China. That is, the "Middle Kingdom."

The 1979 Three Mile Island ranked along with 1986 Chernobyl and 2011 Fukushima Daiichi, among others, as one of the worst nuclear incidents in modern history, and have raised doubts about operating nuclear power at all. World nuclear power production slipped from 2,681 terawatt-hours (TWH) in 2010 to 2,398 TWH in 2012. As of 2020, global nuclear power production is at 2,553 TWH, which is still lower than its pre-2011 peak. Despite the promise of nuclear power, the uranium being used as fuel is also a non-renewable resource. Some estimates place uranium lasting until 2095, in comparison to oil and natural gas lasting until around 2050, while coal is projected to last slightly longer until around the next century.

29th March
On March 29, 1994, Engr. Benjie Tan and the Philippine Network Foundation established the first link for internet connection in the Philippines with a speed of 64 kilobytes per second (kbps) through a Cisco 7000 router. As per the Philippine Statistics Authority, the digital economy driven by the internet savvy Filipino population had been growing by double digits since at least 2012.

31st March
On March 31, 1521, the first recorded Christian mass in the Philippines conducted on Easter Sunday was held in the island of Masaua (Mazaua) by the Magellan expedition. With them were two local rulers, namely Rajah Calambu (Raia Kolambo) and Rajah Siani (Raia Siagu), and their entourage. In 2020, the National Historical Commission of the Philippines reaffirmed the status of Limasawa in Southern Leyte as the true site of this event, but to this day, the debate on the location of Masaua remains.

31st March
On March 31, 1899, the Battle of Malolos in Bulacan saw the capture of the Filipino capital by American forces under General Arthur MacArthur. Eight US regiments were reportedly involved. Meanwhile, some 5,000 Filipinos were left to defend Malolos. By this time, President Emilio Aguinaldo had already withdrawn with his main force and moved the capital to San Isidro, Nueva Ecija. The house of Crispulo "Kapitan Pulong" Sideco was used as his temporary headquarters. Also by this time, General Antonio Luna was reinstated to his post, and his first command upon returning to the war would be the defense of Malolos.

The Americans opened the battle with artillery bombardment. After crossing the rivers at Bocaue and Guiguinto, Colonel Frederick Funston reported that fighting lasted for two hours before they managed to establish control of Malolos. As the Filipinos retreated, they burned buildings including Aguinaldo's official residence and the Hall of Congress.

The Chinese in Malolos, meanwhile, raised Chinese flags to signify their neutrality in the battle. Some of them offered their assistance to the Americans, particularly in logistics.

The Americans suffered 113 casualties, while the Filipino losses were not reported. The Hong Kong Junta would later justify that the fall of Malolos was part of the strategy to avoid the range of American gunboats. By further retreating inland, the American troops were also expected to be divided. For the meantime, MacArthur's forces rested in Malolos, but the speedy campaign for Malolos primarily failed in its objective to demoralize the Filipinos.

31st March
On March 31, 1899, the Battle of Nangka River (Rio Nanca) in Marikina saw the American advance to San Mateo under General Robert Henry Hall aborted. Two US regiments were reportedly involved. The Americans suffered 18 casualties, while Filipino losses were not reported. The thrust against San Mateo was supposedly aimed to prevent Filipino reinforcements for Malolos, which President Emilio Aguinaldo had already left to withdraw to his new capital at San Isidro, Nueva Ecija. The Filipino strategy, as affirmed by the Hong Kong Junta, was to abandon Malolos to distance the main force from gunboat fire and to further divide the American troops.

The successful defense of Filipino troops in Marikina to repel US troops, meanwhile, stood in contrast with the capture of Malolos, which was reportedly burned by retreating Filipino troops after offering fierce resistance.

The command of Malolos was tasked to General Antonio Luna, who by this time was reinstated to his post in the Filipino military.

San Mateo would not be captured by American forces until August 12, 1899 with seven companies under Captain James Parker, but they would have to evacuate the town the next day. As for General Hall, he would later join the expedition against Antipolo on June 4, 1899.

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