PARADOXICAL

The faith chronicles

Sunday, November 02, 2025

Quezon on Our Mind

Manuel Luis Quezon is on everyone's mind these days. Unfortunately for me, I haven't read much about former Philippine president Manuel Luis Quezon, so my knowledge about him is limited to his being "Ama ng Wikang Pambansa" and that "run-like-hell" statement of his that is often quoted out of context and assumed as a national curse whose ill effects are allegedly felt by one and all up to this day. And the man who saved a lot of Jews, not to mention the man after which a capital city and an entire province was named. And a host of Quezon Blvds. around the country. And an institute for TB patients.

But nowadays, his name is suddenly on everyone's lips, for a different reason: the way he is depicted in the latest film about him.

Walang puknat ang kontrobersiya ukol sa "Quezon" film dahil sa negative 'reacts' ng mga kaanak niya at ng mga historyador na naiirita o disappointed sa pagkakagawa ng pelikula. The bone of contention is the questionable framing of the story, the dubious approach it was told. Simply put, there was inadequate accounting for the complex political environment of his time under colonial rule, which necessitated someone or anyone of his position to do a complex dance of relating.

Lesson learned: When you view, review, or depict the life of historical figures like Rizal, Bonifacio, Aguinaldo, Luna, Del Pilar, et al., don't forget the context -- i.e., the realities of the time in which they operated, the most significant incidents and details (not the trivialities) within that context. Otherwise, you end up with misrepresentation, if not defamation.

Here's a contrarian opinion I tend to agree with:

https://www.manilatimes.net/.../the-historical.../2212475

Nevertheless, one good thing to come out of it is we are talking seriously at all about MLQ and reviewing his legacy. Caution, however, is needed in treading this street, just so we don't end up demeaning real people who don't deserve such treatment because we were unfair to them.

Speaking of historical trivia, here's one that is never mentioned in books about MLQ: Did you know that the surname Quezon is not Spanish in origin, but Chinese? Shocking, right? When I learned this just recently, my reaction was, "So, what else is not Chinese?"

Perhaps it wouldn't be farfetched to conjecture that MLQ is related to Dolphy, who is a Quizon? Remember that historical documents like Civil Registrar papers can contain errors, with an underpaid and overworked registrar turning letter 'e' into 'i' by accident, and so on.

posted by Resty Odon # 2:00 AM 0 Comments

Saturday, November 01, 2025

November 2025 Recap

In the Netherlands, a train, speeding like a bullet, rammed into a huge delivery truck, crushing it instantly and sending its content flying in all directions.

posted by Resty Odon # 4:13 PM 0 Comments

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