Today in History : February 8th

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1890: Claro Mayo Recto was born , in Tiáong, Tayabas (now known as Quezon province) of educated, upper middle-class parents, namely Claro Recto [Sr.] of Rosario, Batangas, and Marcela Mayo of Lipa, Batangas. He studied Latin at the Instituto de Rizal in Lipa, Batangas from 1900 to 1901. Claro Recto was a Filipino politician, jurist, poet and one of the foremost statesmen of his generation. He is remembered mainly for his nationalism, for "the impact of his patriotic convictions on modern political thought".

1915: The UP College of Dentistry was established as part of the UP College of Medicine and Surgery, is the premier educational institution in the field of dentistry in the Philippines. It is located at the corner of Taft Avenue and Pedro Gil Street, within the U.P. Manila Campus.

1990: An earthquake with several after-shocks rocks Cebu and Bohol. It causes considerable damage on Bohol (but not to the extent that the Chocolate Hills became mousses).

1939: Jose Maria Sison was born in Cabugao, Ilocos Sur, Philippines. Jose Maria is a writer and activist who reorganized the Communist Party of the Philippines and added elements of Maoism to its philosophy. He is the founder of Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) and other young intellectuals of the Kilusang Makabayan (Nationalist Youth), the youth organization of the old Communist Party.

1977: Christian Vásquez was born in Bacolod City, Philippines. Christian is a Filipino actor, model and a former housemate of ABS-CBN's Pinoy Big Brother: Pinoy Big Brother: Celebrity Edition. During his stint at Pinoy Big Brother, he was one of the comedian housemates. He graduated from high school at the University of St. La Salle-Integrated School Batch 1994 in Bacolod City.

1982: Carlene Ang Aguilar was born to her parents Raul Aguilar and Catharin Ang. She has 2 brothers and a sister, all raised in the heart of Quezon City, Philippines. Carlene studied at the Immaculate Conception Academy-Greenhills for her elementary and high school education. She is currently (2005) taking up her Bachelor of Arts in Art Studies course in the University of the Philippines, Diliman. Carlene is a Filipino beauty queen. Aguilar is a former Miss Philippines Earth and a former Bb. Pilipinas World.

1998: Imelda Marcos, who has been convicted of graft and faces 12 years in jail, formally filed today her bid for the Philippine presidency, vowing to bring ``decency'' to the office, along with the Marcos wealth to ease the country's economic slump.

Today in History : February 7th

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1980: Adrian Louis Alandy, better known as Luis Alandy was born in Manila, Philippines. Standing 5'8", and 150 lbs. has a 31-inch waistline and wears medium-sized shirt and size 9 shoes. Filipino actor and model.

1986: A presidential election is held with Corazon Aquino , the widow of the assassinated opposition leader Benigno Aquino, Jr, running against Marcos. Salvador Laurel is her candidate for Vice-President. During the official counting of votes, Marcos retains a lead. However, this lead lacks credibility as widespread cheating is reported. Marcos is not believed to be more popular with the Philippine electorate than Cory.

1990: General Alfredo M. Santos died. Alfred was Chief of Staff of the Armed Forces of the Philippines in 1962 to 1965, making him the first four-star general of the Philippines' armed forces. Engineer turned soldier, General Alfredo M. Santos is one of the most notable "Freedom Fighters" of the Philippines with a heroic war record. His outstanding achievements proved his selfless dedication to the service of his country and people, thereby bringing distinct honor to the Armed Forces of the Philippines.

Today in History : February 6th

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1931: Ricardo Jamin Vidal was born in Mogpog, Marinduque, Vidal studied at the Minor Seminary of the Most Holy Rosary and the San Carlos Seminary in Makati City, Metro Manila. Ordained as a priest on 17 March 1956, Vidal became the spiritual director of the local Seminary of Mount Carmel. Ricardo is a Filipino Cardinal Priest and Archbishop of Cebu in the Roman Catholic Church.

1964: Emilio Aguinaldo died of coronary thrombosis at the Veterans Memorial Hospital in Quezon City. He was 94 years old. His remains are buried at the Aguinaldo Shrine in Kawit, Cavite. When he died, he was the last surviving non-royal head of state (self-proclaimed) to have served in the 19th century.

Today in History : February 5th

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1899: Emilio Aguinaldo, president of the First Philippine Republic, declared war against the United States. General Arthur MacArthur ordered his troops to advance without investigating the incident. The Battle of Manila was fought on February 4 and February 5, 1899 between 12,000 Americans and 15,000 Filipinos, and was the first and largest battle fought during the Philippine-American War.

1962: Martin Ramon Razon Nievera was born in Manila, Philippines with twin sister, Victoria, to Bert Nievera and Conchita Razon. Nievera spent most of his childhood in Hawaii with his father as his father sang for the group Society of Seven. The Nievera family also took up residence in the Bay Area in California for a short time in the late '70s. Martin attended high school in Walnut Creek, California.. He is a singer, songwriter, and actor from the Philippines. Martin Nievera is currently working as one of the mainhosts of musical variety show ASAP in ABS-CBN.

1989: Ara Christine Pascual Klenk Enriquez was born in Marikina City, Metro Manila, Philippines. Cristine Reyes is a Filipina actress. She has starred the reality TV show Starstruck. On 2008, Reyes decided to transfer to ABS-CBN where she has received more starring roles. She is best known on television shows such as Banana Split, Kahit Isang Saglit and Eva Fonda.

2005: Wowowee premiered on a Saturday. Wowowee is one of the top-rated noontime television variety and game shows in the Philippines that awards cash and prizes to contestants playing various games. The show is produced in Studio 3 at the ABS-CBN Broadcast Center in Novaliches, Quezon City, Philippines.

Today in History : February 4th

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1899: Hostilities broke out after two American privates on patrol killed three Filipino soldiers in San Juan, a Manila suburb. This incident sparked the Philippine-American War, which would cost far more money and took far more lives than the Spanish–American War. Some 126,000 American soldiers would be committed to the conflict; 4,234 Americans died, as did 16,000 Filipino soldiers who were part of a nationwide guerrilla movement of indeterminate numbers. At least 34,000 Filipinos lost their lives as a direct result of the war, and as many as 200,000 may have died as a result of the cholera epidemic at the war's end. Atrocities were committed by both sides.

2001: The town officially became a component city following the ratification of Republic Act 8990 authored by Pampanga Second district Rep. Oscar Rodriguez in a plebiscite from the previous day. Dr. Rey B. Aquino was the city's first mayor. The ratification of Republic Act 8990 made the City of San Fernando the 99th city of the Republic of the Philippines.

2006: About 30,000 people had gathered outside the PhilSports Stadium to participate in the first anniversary episode of the popular ABS-CBN early afternoon television game show, Wowowee. It was scheduled at 1 pm. The soccer stadium was supposed to be the viewing area of people who were not able to enter the basketball stadium, where the program was supposed to be staged. The size of the crowd was significantly larger than the usual 5,000 who attended previous recordings. At about 6 am, the stampede started when organizers of the show began handing out tickets to people in the crowd, many of whom had been camping outside the stadium for days to acquire them. The stampede killed 71 people and injured some 392 people. Most of the victims were middle-aged or elderly women.

Today in History : February 3rd

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1933: Mayon Volcano erupted without warning sending a plume of gritty ash three miles high and tons of boulders down onto farmers. Pyroclastic flows killed 77 people, mainly farmers, 19 were injured and 24 were missing.

1970: eSPALEKLEK FRATERNITY was founded, University of the Philippines at Los Banos (UPLB). A group of intelligent, inclined to music, sports-minded, fun-loving, academically excellent, good looking young men, who found a need to formalize their barkada, hence, the espaleklek.

Today in History : February 2nd

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1921: Mindoro was founded by a group of Spanish mission. During the early years, the Spanish administer Mindoro as a part of Batangas that was then called Bonbon. It was only in the 17th century that Mindoro was separated from Batangas with Puerto Galera as its capital. Mindoro is considered to be the 7th largest island of the Philippines.

1987: Philippine voters went to the polls in a nationwide plebiscite to approve or reject a proposed new constitution that was supported by Pres. Corazon Aquino and opposed by the far right and the radical left. With early returns indicating overwhelming approval of the charter, Aquino?s government was assured of a momentous victory in most regions of the country. The new constitution replaced the 1973 constitution, which Aquino had abolished after defeating Pres. Ferdinand Marcos in the February 1986 election.