Good day.

It is my pleasure and honor to greet the participants of the Symposium on the theme “The young generation establishes relations between the Philippines and Japan in the 21st century - Touching the Philippines and Learning in the Philippines” at the School of International Relations of Tokyo International University on Dec. 15, 2001.

I was invited by Prof. Tomoe Shitaba to write a paper for your symposium, and this I very happily obliged.

In my paper, I would focus on two issues:

I. Philippine Study Tours in Leyte (1996-2001)

In addressing the first issue, I printed out the reflections of six batches of study tour participants found in the “Reflections of Young Japanese” section in my website (the URL: www.oocities.org/rolborr/japreflect.html ).

All in all, I reviewed 40 pages of text written by a total of 27 student-participants since 1996.

In previous years, I had provided copies of the reflections to academic colleagues and hosts of the tour participants in the different areas visited. Many of them were fascinated by the depth and maturity of the observations and insights derived by the students, which were much more than were ordinarily expected of them.

While reading the reflections again, I took notes of the relevant meanings and insights mentioned by the participants themselves, and later categorized them into seven key areas of interest. The areas of interest were derived from the reflections and were not outlined beforehand.

The narrations by areas of interest below, which I provided with some context and running commentaries, do not follow a strict order. They could be interchanged. My comments as tour coordinator and facilitator are provided at the end.

A. The climb to Hill 522

A permanent item in the Philippine Study Tour itinerary in Leyte since 1997 is the climb to Hill 522 in Palo town. The name is an American military designation of this hill based on its elevation (i.e., 522 feet above sea level). The local name is Guinhangdan (lit., “Looked up to”) Hill.

In recent decades, a large cement Christian cross was erected on top of the lower crest of the hill overlooking the town proper of Palo. This cross becomes a shrine for Catholic religious pilgrims during Holy Week, particularly on Good Friday.

During World War II, Hill 522 was a battlefield, a Japanese-occupied high ground nearest the spot where Gen. Douglas MacArthur landed in Palo, Leyte on Oct. 20, 1944. Fierce fighting for the control of this strategic hill lasted two days (Oct. 20-21, 1944) and cost the lives of about 50 Japanese soldiers and at least three American soldiers.

At present, Hill 522 provides a scenic view of Leyte Gulf, with the southwestern part of Samar Island across the sea, and the northeastern part of Leyte. It has also provided solemn moments for reflection by the study tour participants.

In 1997, Chitose Yamasu wrote, “The climb to Hill 522 was very, very hard. But after we had climbed the view was very nice. I think that the Japanese soldiers’ experience here during the war was harder than what we went through.

“I could not believe that Leyte was a battlefield … In World War II, many people died here. We must not forget that. It is necessary to live.”

On her part, Chisato Takeishi wrote, “When I went to Hill 522 to see the Japanese wartime bunkers, the day was too hot for me. At that time, I thought about the Japanese soldiers during the war. They were tired and hungry. It was hard for them to climb this mountain and to hide from the U.S. soldiers.

“We must not have war! No more wars! People do not have to hide in bunkers. They do not have to kill each other.”

In 1998, Noriko Ono, who had lost a granduncle in Leyte during the war, wrote, “We went to Hill 522. It was a very hot day. So when I climbed to the top, I got so tired. But the soldiers had fought here in similar situation. I thought they must have been thinking, ‘Why do we fight here? What for?’ I do not know the answer, probably no one knows.”

In 2001, Yumi Fujiwara wrote, “I went up Hill 522, and I thought of how hard it was to get food and water up there during the war. I felt that many soldiers had difficulties because of the extreme heat of the sun. I also felt that both American and Japanese soldiers were fighting with their own selves rather than against each other.

“I really think that to create peace, people have to know what war is … I could feel how important peace is after visiting Hill 522.”

Back in 1997, Naotaka Kawamura, on his first visit to Leyte, provided an early summary of the above insights. He wrote, “The most important thing is to view history from the citizens’ point of view. During the war, many Filipinos were killed by the Japanese and by the Americans. Some Japanese were also killed by Americans and Filipino guerrillas. If we know these facts that a lot of people had to kill each other, we will not be able to hate each other. Instead, we will be able to consider how terrible the war was for all citizens. We will also be able to become kind to everyone.”

B. Sunset in Biliran

Two batches of study tour participants had visited Biliran Province, to trace places and some personalities mentioned in two books of memoirs of Mr. Kennosuke Nakajima, a Japanese radio operator stationed in Biliran town during World War II.

In 1999, Naotaka Kawamura, on his second visit to Leyte, commented on the tour’s theme: “When I (first) came here in 1997, I was very sad to know that many people were killed in Leyte during World War II. I thought that the war was really undesirable for every ordinary person.

“This time, I found another aspect of the war. In Biliran, the Filipinos had good relations with Japanese soldiers. It was very different from the situation in Leyte.”

Yasufumi Ueda went into specifics when he wrote, “Before I came here, I read Mr. Nakajima’s book and changed my mind about World War II. His book was written from a personal, not national, point of view. I was impressed by the book and was excited to come to Leyte and Biliran.

“When I talked to Mr. Sasaki’s fiancée, the Chinese lady, and Nene’s sister, I found many aspects of the war. The Chinese lady told us that the time of the Japanese occupation was great, but Nene’s sister had an unforgettable hardship at the same time. Everyone had their own history, and the war should not be judged from one point of view and value. This was the most important lesson I got from this study tour.”

In 2001, Yumi Murata wrote, “Biliran town was a very peaceful place during World War II. The symbol was a love story between a Filipina and a Japanese officer. When I listened to the story of Elsa and Mr. Nakajima and the story of Captain Sasaki, I was very happy. Because I understood that the opponents during the war were not different people. Both the Filipinos and the Japanese are the same human beings.”

On his part, Takaaki Tominaga wrote, “I read Mr. Nakajima’s books in Japan … And I actually met Captain Sasaki’s fiancée and Elsa, who were written about by Mr. Nakajima. I was surprised that Japanese soldiers and Filipinos in Biliran were very friendly with each other and had stories of love and friendships during World War II.”

Yumi Fujiwara had commented on the state of “peace during war” in Biliran and the personalities in Mr. Nakajima’s book that she had met. She wrote, “My image of World War II was changed. I felt that we have to focus on many facts and not only on one fact to study history. We cannot understand the war from one fact and viewpoint only. Through this study tour, I could see the war from a different perspective … Knowing the real facts is important to get rid of misunderstanding. I felt it is necessary to know the real facts for making peace.”

C. “Remember Balangiga!”

In 2000, the Philippine Study Tour itinerary brought us to Samar Island, to visit places and landmarks associated with the “Balangiga Massacre” and the bloody aftermath of that famous defeat of the U.S. military during the Philippine-American War at the turn of the previous century.

The “Balangiga Massacre,” as the Americans called the event, referred to the successful Sept. 28, 1901 attack by about 500 Balangigans mostly armed with bolos on a company of U.S. soldiers who had garrisoned their town.

The Filipinos fought to resist forced starvation after the U.S. soldiers had confiscated or destroyed their food stocks, to free about 80 male residents who had been rounded up and detained for days with little food and water, and to fight for honor after having been publicly shamed and provoked by these two military impositions. These motives of the Filipinos were ignored by American accounts that viewed the attack as “unprovoked.”

About 50 American soldiers and nearly 30 Filipinos were killed during the fighting. More than 20 American survivors, most of them wounded, escaped on native banca (small boats with outriggers) to the nearest U.S. Army hospital in Basey town.

The U.S. military authorities retaliated with a “kill and burn” policy to take back southern Samar, not only Balangiga. This was memorialized by the military battle cry, “Remember Balangiga!” The Samar campaign was blamed for the alleged disappearance of some 50,000 people in the island. This campaign also resulted in massive devastation of the rural economic base in terms of hundreds of burned houses, destroyed native boats, and slaughtered carabaos, and burned stocks of market-ready abaca (hemp), the main source of cash income.

The popular symbols of this event are three church bells taken by U.S. troops from Balangiga, the return of which has been demanded by the Filipinos for years now.

Given this historical background, Naotaka Kawamura commented, “This is my third time to participate (in the tour) … and every time, I am forced to reconsider the importance of politics … Our daily life is very much influenced by the political situation around us. This is my hypothesis that was proven by experience during the three tours.

“In Balangiga, I was so impressed by a love story between an American soldier and a native woman. If the U.S. had not invaded the Philippines and the Philippine-American War had not occurred, the two lovers would not have met each other and also did not have to fight for their respective causes later.

“In reality, the U.S. decided to dispatch soldiers to the Philippines and to Balangiga. This was needed to satisfy their national interests, both economic and political …

“Until now, Balangiga is influenced by the political situation. The U.S. had not given any kind of development project to this area because of the massacre in 1901 …

“So, if we are always influenced by politics, it is very important to understand how politics work around us. What kind of power is effective or ineffective? Politics for peace, politics for ordinary people: ourselves. This is what we should pursue, what we should learn from experience in the tours.”

Mayuka Nakahira wrote, “I could understand the relationship between America and the Philippines through the Balangiga bells issue … America is at the top of the world, as world police … so he would not return the bells of Balangiga.”

Takashi Nishitate opined, “Human history is a dialogue between the past and the present. Because of its political history, Samar is among the poorest islands in the Philippines.”

Taeko Ikeda echoed, “I felt the importance of history and the flow of time. I thought the past was linked to the present, the global connects to the local, and the past influences the present.”

A side trip of the Balangiga study tour was a visit to the wartime U.S. Navy airport in Guiuan, Eastern Samar. It was from this airport that the “Enola Gay” took off and later dropped the atomic bomb over Hiroshima, Japan, on Aug. 6, 1945.

Very recently, two students from your school, Taeko Ikeda (on her second visit) and Hiroko Hatae, spent a longer home-stay in Balangiga. It would be interesting to get their impressions about Balangiga, its present situation and historical significance. Ikeda herself had covered the commemoration of the Balangiga centennial last Sept. 28. I hope she could produce a Balangiga travel documentary based on the footages she had taken.

Balangiga and Samar acquired contemporary meaning and significance in the wake of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks in the U.S. and the retaliation on Afghanistan. Whether in Samar in 1901 or Afghanistan in 2001, the bigger victims of war and the conflicting politics and ideologies are the poverty-stricken ordinary people. They suffer much from the adverse impact of the decisions of warmongers in the international arena.

D. Leyte environment and its threats

The natural environment of Leyte and its potential threats caught the attention of study tour participants from various batches.

In 1996, Kazue Saito observed, “(Barangay San Juan in Sta. Fe town) looked like my hometown where I spent my school days. There was a big rice field, river, and mountain, so I felt relieved looking at them.”

In 1997, Chisato Takeishi noted, “(Leyte) has many beautiful greens and the view is so nice. I do not want its nature to be destroyed.”

In 1998, the study tour group visited PASAR (Philippine Associated Smelting and Refining Co.) and the industrial estate in Isabel, Leyte. The visit raised the concern of Shuko Oikawa related to official development assistance (ODA) from Japan. She commented that “the projects should be implemented with due consideration for both environment and labor.”

About the problem of donor money helping only the “big fish” and not the “small fish,” Oikawa suggested that “the Japanese citizens should always check what the Japanese and Philippine governments are doing with the assistance given.”

On his part, Osamu Kishida noted, “I think the environment is very important. The Japanese environment is getting worse every year … I want you to improve the Philippine environment.”

In 1999, Kazue Kimura noted, “I really love this place, especially such a beautiful nature and friendly people.”

Mayuka Nakahira, on her first of two visits, echoed the same impression. She said, “When I arrived here, I got a lot of energy from people and from nature. Nature here is extensive and the people have large hearts. They have much energy to live.”

In 2001, Yumi Murata resolved, “I want to live with all my might like the Filipino, like nature in the Philippines. To live with all my might for myself and for others, for this may be the message from people who died or were killed during the war.”

Mizuho Azuma observed, “Leyte is just like paradise … Life is simple in Biliran. There are many nature scenes and a great ocean there. However, they have a lot of problems too.”

Fumika Watanabe, on a different trip to the Philippines, had visited the Smokey Mountain near Manila, one of the country’s problems known to the world. She commented, “I was not able to find a hint to its solution. (But) this time around (in Leyte and Biliran), I learned a lot of hints that I could concretely act on.”

Yumi Fuijwara was very much impressed by the environment in Leyte. She wrote, “A beautiful rainbow was waiting in the sky when we arrived in Leyte. I could see the sea, greenery and a lot of nature. They were just beautiful and I felt the earth was alive.”

Beauty is in the eye of the Japanese beholder in the present case. Because sadly, many Filipinos refuse to see the beauty of our nature and environment as other peoples see them. Environmental preservation is something that we have yet to develop into a wider societal value.

E. Poverty and the rich-poor divide

The economic poverty and the wide gap between the rich and the poor in the country had alarmed and caught the concern of most if not all batches of study tour participants.

In 1996, Nanayo Iwabuchi noted, “I was most disappointed by the big difference between rich people and poor people. When I walked and looked around, I found rich people who have a big house, car and wear good clothes. Opposite to this, I also found many people who cannot get adequate and clean water. In Japan, we do not have that much difference among people.”

On her part, Hikari Koizumi commented, “I was bothered by the differences between rural areas and urban areas. The rural areas are mostly in poverty, no toilets and water supply.”

In 1997, Chitose Yamasu wondered, “I think there are many people in the Philippines. Some are rich, but some are poor. Why is there such a socio-economic distance within the same country?”

In 1998, Shuko Oikawa asked, “How can we keep their children smiling? They are full of energy, smile and love. However, they are faced with poverty.”

In 1999, Kazue Kimura provided some insight into the causes of poverty and some solution. She wrote, “In a farming area, I did not see any job opportunities but agriculture and fishery. Creating job opportunities is one key to vitalize the area’s economy.”

In 2000, Kayo Nagazono felt inconvenienced by the water supply system in Balangiga. She noted, “It seems to me that Balangiga lacks support for minimum basic needs because of their history. Filipinos attacked American soldiers and the ‘kill and burn’ revenge happened. I suppose this is the reason why Balangiga remains poor.”

In 2001, Tamami Osawa noted, “I could feel the difference between developing and developed countries, the Philippines and Japan. The biggest difference is poverty. In Barangay Caraycaray (in Naval, Biliran), the people can eat three times a day. But they do not have many job opportunities and their salary is low.”

However, despite the serious poverty situation, the study tour participants noticed some bright side among the people they have met.

In 1996, Kaori Sugiyama commented, “In Japan, we cannot smile like the Filipinos I met. Because we are too busy to have free, relaxed time.”

On her part, Shizuko Komori noted, “We met many kinds of people. They were very friendly and positive, even if there was a wretched history of World War II between us Filipinos and Japanese.”

Both Komori and Hikari Koizumi noted the positive role of “women power” as an important component of development work.

In 1997, Yuko Sekisawa observed, “All Filipinos have big smiles and they seem happier than the Japanese. Why? I think the Philippines lack medicines, money, engineers, ambulances, water, bathrooms and so on. But their hearts are very warm and their eyes are too bright. So I think all Filipino people have ‘a richness of heart.’ It is more important than richness of money.”

In 1999, Rie Imai noted, “What I actually saw was beyond my expectations. Despite being ruled by other countries, they (Filipinos) are not only strong. I also observed their kindness.”

F. ODA and its prospects

The study tours started in 1996 with the participants having largely negative views about Japanese official development assistance (ODA). While the skepticism has remained, the tour participants from various batches have also acknowledged the usefulness of some Japanese ODA to the Philippines.

In 1996, Nanayo Iwabuchi noted, “When I went to the barangay (San Juan) in Sta. Fe town, I learned the importance of supplying clean water. To do this, the biggest problem is money. If money and proper technology are available, the people will be able to get clean water … When I return to Japan, I will write a letter or go to JICA (Japan International Cooperation Agency) to request their support.”

In 1997, Chitose Yamasu commented, “I thought ODA was bad. But now I think some ODA is bad and some ODA is good. I think ODA is necessary for the Philippines. But I think the extension of ODA alone is not good. It is also important that we study and learn together. We Japanese can learn from the Filipinos.”

On her part, Chisato Takeishi observed, “I thought the implementation of Japanese ODA projects must be done with care. I am so happy that the Marcos (San Juanico) Bridge is useful to the people of Leyte. According to a book I read in Japan, ODA is really bad and just interrupts other countries’ lives. But there are some ODA projects that make Leyte’s people happy. That is the good point. I discovered it.”

In 1999, Kazue Kimura noted, “I have studied ODA since last year, and I found some criticisms of Japan’s ODA, including claims that it is not used properly for people living in the recipient area. Some articles mentioned that ODA is ‘tied’ and that the assistance is for the Japanese company or multi-national company rather than for the Filipino people.

“However, I noticed that the criticism is not always true, because the money from ODA plays an important role in developing areas … Even though Japan’s ODA has some problems, I realized that we need to continue this assistance (program) to have good relations with developing and advanced countries. I think what we can do about the ODA criticisms is to monitor what JICA does and to have communication with local people to find out what they really need for their living.”

Still in 2000, Takashi Nishitate had noticed, “ODA seemed to have worked well in infrastructure projects such as roads, but not in addressing basic needs … They love big projects such as making dams and roads, which offer bigger profits.”

G. Confronting one’s self, transforming into a “global citizen”

The study tours provided opportunities for the participants to confront their own selves and examine their own personal values, limitations and motivations in a different socio-cultural context. In the process, they were able to generate insights for attitudinal change and for more focused future directions as “global citizens.”

In 1996, Kazue Saito wrote, “When I came here, I knew just a little about the Philippines from reading books and newspapers or watching TV. So this country was far from me. But after I came here, I visited many places and met and talked with a lot of people. My idea of the world has widened and the Philippines has become close to me.”

In 1997, Yuko Sekisawa wrote, “I learned about ‘having a richness of heart’ from the people of Leyte. I want to be a ‘true rich woman’.”

In 1998, Osamu Kishida noted, “I think I got an important ‘something’ in Leyte. I am influenced by this ‘something’ because I am taught by this ‘something.’ It is environment, Philippine lifestyle, and English.”

Faced with the language barrier, Ryota Asuma wrote, “I cannot speak, hear and understand English very well … so I think I did not get very much from the interactions. But I tried to ‘see’ and ‘feel’ very hard, using my five senses … I am disappointed that I was shy because I cannot speak English very well.”

I hope Asuma has overcome or coped with this expressed limitation by now.

In 1999, Yasufumi Ueda narrated, “I was confused (during the first of two visits) because I did not know what I could do to help improve and develop the Philippines. After I went back to Japan, I learned more about citizens’ movements, the construction of the world of capitalism, and Japanese domestic politics, and I came to conclusions of my own … To solve the problems of the world, I believe that everyone should become a ‘global citizen.’

“A ‘global citizen’ thinks and acts globally and locally and his/her conviction is based on living people’s benefit. This is not based on nationality or religion but on one’s value as a human being. This might sound like an ideal state, but I think it is important.

“So I would like to support the education of ‘global citizens’ in my life. Education makes people and people form societies, so I think we need to improve education to reform societies. This is what I found after I came to the Philippines.”

In 2000, Takashi Nishitate provided specifics to Ueda’s proposal. He wrote, “Our seminar activities and grassroots-level interactions can help change the situation not only in Japan, but also in the Philippines. In particular, our publications have messages for people in Japan and the Philippines as they focus on the importance of ordinary people’s viewpoints in the field of International Politics.

“Our seminar activities are also getting involved in the improvement of municipal communities … In such situations, what we have done and continue to do is to contribute to Peace Development Fund (PDF).”

H. Comments

I published my first academic journal article in 1985. Entitled “Community Experience-Based Education in the Field of Health,” the article appeared in ICMR Annals (Vol. 5, 1985), of the International Center for Medical Research of Kobe University School of Medicine in Kobe, Japan.

In that paper, I presented the concept of “community-based education” as we practiced it at the School of Health Sciences (SHS), University of the Philippines, in Leyte.

I wrote then, “Because of its setting, classroom-based education generally adopts a ‘teach by talking, learn by listening’ approach. In comparison, community-based education promotes a ‘teach by showing, learn by doing’ approach. At (S)HS, community-based education complements classroom-based education. It is difficult to translate community-based educational activities into specifics found in a lesson plan or course syllabus. The framework of the community experience should be left as flexible as possible to allow for maximum interaction and creative problem-solving between the students, teachers and the community in the context of the community’s reality … To generate common insights and lessons from these diverse experiences, semi-structured small-group sharing sessions are regularly conducted during which students share their personal feelings and insights about their community work, after which facilitating faculty members assisted them in searching for and/or formulating theoretical frameworks that could explain or rationalize their experience.”

It was this same concept of “community-based education” that guided my coordination and facilitation of six Philippine Study Tours of the School of International Relations of Tokyo International University in Leyte, and which I hope was found meaningful. I hardly acted at all like a traditional teacher. (I performed this role only during the documents preparation and the preparation of the learning sites, not during the tour proper.) Rather, I acted more like a fellow student, exploring the same ideas and possibilities during the community exposures in Leyte, Biliran, and Samar.

In the end, the participants derived the meanings and insights from their own experiences during the tours by themselves, with minimum intervention from the tour facilitator. There was also much fun during the process. And what had been learned or gained were as diverse as the participants’ own personal styles, outlooks, and preferences. This much is allowed by “community-based education” as a learning methodology.

II. Peace Development Fund (PDF)

In 1999, three years after the start of your school’s annual Philippine Study Tour in Leyte, the Shitaba Seminar started a complementary activity which purpose is to contribute to the improvement of the Eastern Visayas (Leyte-Samar) region of the Philippines. This was the evolution of the Peace Development Fund (PDF) as a non-government organization (NGO) to be managed by this writer.

As envisioned, the PDF sought to address specific local, national and global problems and issues affecting the Leyte-Samar region through the promotion and support of peace development efforts in the area. The PDF would receive funding from royalties of books and publications of the Shitaba Seminar and from personal donations. The remitted funds are deposited in a bank in Tacloban City, Leyte.

In recent months, the thrust of the PDF was further clarified to focus on the development of “peace learning bases or sites” in the Eastern Visayas (Leyte-Samar) region, similar to Hiroshima and Nagasaki in Japan. The identified initial areas for development are Biliran Province, the Tacloban-Palo-Sta. Fe area, and Balangiga in Eastern Samar.

The PDF would highlight local and regional experiences during the Philippine-American War at the turn of 1900 and/or World War II in the 1940s, by providing the knowledge and information database and promoting the educational value of each event.

The initial activities of the PDF in Japan and in the Philippines have been described in greater detail in the booklet “Striving for Peace in Asia and the World: The Seminar Activities as an International NGO,” issued by the Shitaba Seminar in March 2001.

A. Balangiga research and centennial commemoration

The centennial of the “Balangiga Massacre” in Eastern Samar was commemorated last Sept. 28, 2001. This was probably the lone sub-national historical anniversary in the Philippines that received the greatest bulk of publicity in 2001.

With funding support from the PDF, this writer played a key educational role that helped bring prominence to the Balangiga centennial commemoration. The PDF support assured his creative contribution as member of the three-person -- one Filipino, one American, and one British -- Balangiga Research Group (BRG) that has been conducting basic research on the Balangiga conflict since 1998.

The BRG provided updated data and information to writers of most of the Balangiga-related articles that appeared in U.S. and Philippine publications from Aug. to Oct. 2001. A summary of the group’s contribution is found in the document “The Balangiga Centennial in the Print Media”
(www.oocities.org.rolborr/balprimedia.html ).

Aside from having published three major Balangiga-related articles in the Philippine Daily Inquirer in Aug. and Sept. 2001, this writer also acted as host and local coordinator of the visit during the centennial week of the two other BRG members, one of whom is Jean Wall, the daughter of Pvt. Adolph Gamlin, the first American soldier attacked in Balangiga on Sept. 28, 1901. Jean came all the way from the U.S. to attend the centennial commemoration together with her younger brother, Richard Adolph Gamlin.

This writer organized a press conference on the Balangiga conflict at the Leyte Park Resort Hotel last Sept. 26, 2001, attended by the two Gamlin siblings as resource persons. He also collaborated in the preparation of the BRG’s 48-page document, “A Summary Interim Report of Inquiry” into the Balangiga conflict, the abstract of which and several latest articles by BRG members were included in the press kit.

The free e-book of the interim report may be downloaded from the restored website, Balangiga (balangiga.bobcouttie.com ). This website contains scanned primary sources and links to Balangiga-related articles in other websites and constitutes the on-line version of the Gamlin-Couttie-Borrinaga Archives on the Balangiga conflict.

The BRG has planned to publish a book containing the final report of their Balangiga inquiry (including some primary source documents) by the middle of 2002.

The BRG members also graced the opening of the PDF-supported “Echoes of Balangiga” art exhibit of the Atitipalo Visual Arts Group of Palo, Leyte in Tacloban City last Sept. 25, 2001. Leyte Gov. Remedios L. Petilla and Jean Wall cut the ceremonial ribbon.

At present, this writer is conducting further research into the Balangiga conflict for his doctoral dissertation. He has proposed to write the most comprehensive and definitive account of the Balangiga conflict by a Filipino. Earlier, he had completed a research paper titled “100 Years of Balangiga Literature: A Review,” which has been accepted for publication in the graduate school journal of the Catholic seminary in Palo, Leyte.

B. “Biliran Province” and specific PDF-supported websites

The PDF does not only promote peace development efforts in the print media, like what has been pursued for the case of Balangiga. It also promotes its peace development efforts and activities in the Internet.

This writer has a website, Rolly’s Vintage View (www.oocities.org/rolborr/ ), with separate sections that present identified thrusts and issues of PDF. The website was created by, and is being maintained and updated with the help of, the writer’s son, George Emmanuel R. Borrinaga, now a freshman university student in Cebu City. He has been provided some scholarship assistance from PDF in exchange for his efforts.

Biliran Province (www.oocities.org/rolborr/official.hmtl ). This section has evolved into a comprehensive general site for Biliran Province and is probably the most extensive provincial website in the Philippines. This site was originally created in Sept. 1999 as a volunteer effort of a native of Biliran Province (the writer) to provide a one-stop, on-line forum for presenting the policies and official views of the Biliran Provincial Government on political, socio-cultural, tourism, and economic development issues.

Hometown Naval (www.oocities.org/rolborr/naval.html ). This section treads the less beaten path by presenting the unique history and culture of a remote provincial town (the writer’s hometown) rather than the usual beaches and nature sights. This was aimed to provide Navalians in diaspora with a cyberspace forum to bond with their cultural roots and find links with fellow Navalians and their kin in other parts of the country and around the world.

Homepage for UP-SHS (www.oocities.org/rolborr/shshome.html ). Created for the School of Health Sciences (SHS), University of the Philippines, home institution of the writer. Contains information about SHS and full reports of most of the primary health care (PHC) researches of the writer.

Sunset in Biliran (www.oocities.org/rolborr/sunintro.html ). This section about World War II in Biliran town and nearby areas contains a translated chapter from the memoirs of Mr. Kennosuke Nakajima and counterpart accounts from the Filipino side, including the article about the doomed love affair between a Japanese officer and a local woman.

Reflections of Young Japanese (www.oocities.org/rolborr/japreflect.html ). This section contains reflections about the Philippine Study Tour by participants from six different batches (the source of the text reviewed for the first part of this paper).

Balangiga Massacre and Leyte Landing (www.oocities.org/rolborr/baleyte.html ). This section contains the writer’s articles about the Balangiga Massacre and Leyte Landing. The Balangiga Massacre subsection contains the writer’s latest articles about that event. This is separate from the restored Balangiga website of the BRG.

C. Bankaw News and a general website

Bankaw News (www.oocities.org/bankaw/), the first and only weekly Internet magazine in the Leyte-Samar region that is partly subsidized by the PDF, is now into its 17th month and 73rd issue. It is being patronized by information-hungry natives of Leyte and Samar based in more than 30 countries around the world.

This website now receives more than 50 hits everyday.

This Internet publication was envisioned as a volunteer public service, providing news and opinions about home to overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) and immigrants from the Leyte-Samar region, people who are virtually subsidizing the local economy through their dollar remittances to their relatives.

Bankaw News is not expected to become commercially viable. But it is addressing a important mental health need of a grateful expatriate audience, and also serves as forum for free expression for the different advocacies of its writing staff.

This writer contributes a weekly column and occasional feature articles to this on-line publication that he had co-founded, of which he is also the opinion editor. This website is being maintained by Emil B. Justimbaste, the editor-in-chief based in Ormoc City. The news is gathered and edited in Tacloban City by Phillip Ting. They coordinate their efforts through e-mail.

The writer’s website also include another section, Leyte-Samar Shadows (www.oocities.org/rolborr/shadows.html ), which explores the “underside” of Leyte-Samar history and culture. This is a growing database of articles about little known facts and events and socio-cultural practices of Leyte and Samar. Papers on historical and cultural issues that had been presented by the writer in various conferences and forums may be accessed from this section.

D. PDF grants

As of Dec. 3, 2001, PDF grants had been disbursed to various recipients, mostly for direct or indirect peace development education and awareness activities. The major recipients are as follows:

E. Comments

On behalf of and with funding support from PDF, the writer is still pursuing aggressive research and knowledge- and information-generation and dissemination activities in line with the PDF goals and objectives. The formal registration of PDF as a Philippine NGO would be attended to at the proper time and opportunity, hopefully soon.