:: About MUFASA ::

MUFASA is McGill University's Filipino-Asian Student Association. Established in 1999, MUFASA's main goal was to inform, educate and promote the Filipino culture. Since then, MUFASA has continued to develop and expand each year. MUFASA is the only active organization in the Montreal area on a university-level that caters to the Filipino community. With activities such as a weekly radio show, Sigaw ng Bayan, and an annual culture show, Pista sa Nayon, (just to name a few) MUFASA works to connect the communities in McGill, Montreal, and the surrounding region with the culture and issues of the Philippines.

:: MUFASA IN THE NEWS ::
>> Article on MUFASA tutoring Kabataang Montreal in the March 2003 Filipino Forum.

>> Article on MUFASA in the October 2, 2003 McGill Daily.

Some 50 million years ago, the archipelago was formed by volcanic eruptions. But, the first inhabitants of the Philippines didn’t arrive until 300,000 years ago, probably migrating over a land bridge from the Asian mainland. Early inhabitants were of Mongoloid descent, along with other groups including: Negritos or Aeta, whose origin is unknown; Chinese traders in the tenth century; Indonesian and Malayan immigrants; and in 1380, the Arab-taught Makdum arrived in the Sulu archipelago and began to establish an Islamic influence in the South.
     

In 1521, Ferdinand Magellan arrived and claimed the archipelago for Spain. Local chiefs disapproved of this notion and killed Magellan, but Ruy Lopez de Villalobos followed in 1543 and named the territory Filipinas after Philip II of Spain. The Spanish occupation began in 1565, and by 1571 the entire country, except for the strictly Islamic Sulu archipelago, was under Spanish control. Missionaries introduced Christianity and attempted to unify the many peoples and islands under a central government. The prosperity of the Philippines depended on the exchange of New Spain's (Mexico) silver for silk from China. Chinese entrepreneurs and Spanish officials were lured to Manila for the prospect of wealth.

     In the 1700s, the empire of Spain crumbled. Open trade was available and led to the emergence of a local wealthy class. For its education, the wealthy class went to Europe where liberal philosophies taught them the idea of national identity. In the 1860s, there was discontentment with the Spanish rule. Jose Rizal started a peaceful reform under colonial rule but was later executed. His death started a revolution under Andres Bonifacio. In 1898, Filipinos fought with the United States during the Spanish-American War. When the Spanish were defeated, General Aguinaldo declared the Philippines independent (Emilio Aguinaldo was the first president of the Republic of the Philippines), BUT Spain sold the islands to the United States for $20 million US).

     Americans had to fight Filipino rebels, but they eventually recognized the Filipinos’ desire for independence. With the United States’ help, the Philippines stabilized their currency, built more roads, and established better health care and sanitation. In 1935, the Filipino people accepted an U.S. offer of sovereignty to follow a 10-year interim under a commonwealth status. The president of the Commonwealth of the Philippines was Manuel Quezon. Japan invaded the Philippines in 1942, and ruled until the USA re-invaded two years later. The Philippines finally received full independence in 1946. After the Philippine independence on July 4, 1946, President Manuel Roxas tackled the devastation left by World War II. After the war, landlords demanded back rents which pushed the tenant farmers rebellion. President Ramon Magsaysay started rural reform, which was defeated by the landlords.

     Ferdinand Marcos was elected president in 1965. Marcos refurbished public works but failed to reconstruct the economy, along with widespread inequities, corruption and social injustice. Benigno Aquino, Marcos’ rival, led public protest for reform and brought hope to the Philippines’ economic situation. Aquino was assassinated in 1983, outraging the Filipino people. Public pressure compelled Marcos to hold an election in 1986. He claimed victory but was forced into exile, and Aquino’s widow, Corazon Aquino was electred president of the Philippines (the first female president).

     Aquino re-established the democratic institutions of the country, but failed to tackle economic problems or win over the military and the powerful Filipino elite. After surviving seven coups in six years, Aquino was succeeded by her Defence Minister Fidel Ramos in 1992. Ramos attempted to revitalise the economy, attract foreign investment, cleanse corruption and expland provision of utilities.

The Philippines government and the Moro National Liberation Front signed a peace accord in September 1996, ending (formally at least), the MNLF’s 24-year struggle for autonomy in Mindanao. The peace agreement foresaw the MNLF being granted considerable autonomy in many of island’s provinces. Peace remains elusive however following the rise of a splinter group, the militant Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF), which opposes the agreement. The government continues to conduct military operations in MILF-held areas in Basilan and Sulu.

     In 1998, Joseph Estrada, a former movie star, was elected with little political experience. He promised a lot economically and delivered it to his own pocket and not to the general population. He was impeached and brought to trial in late 2000 on charges of taking bribes from gambling syndicates, and using the proceeds to line his own dens and to build extravagant houses for his mistresses. When Estrada and his allies tried to derail the trial by blocking prosecutors’ access to financial accounts, the Filipino people decided they’d had enough and staged mass demonstrations in the streets of Manila.

     On January 19, 2001, Estrada threw in the towel, and his former Vice President, Gloria Arroyo was sworn in as the new president.