The UST Main Building during its early years (1920s-1930s).
The University of Santo Tomas is one of the oldest existing universities and holds the oldest extant university charter in the Philippines and in Asia. It was founded on April 28, 1611, by the third Archbishop of Manila, Miguel de Benavides, together with Domingo de Nieva and Bernardo de Santa Catalina. It was originally conceived as a school to prepare young men for the priesthood. Located Intramuros, it was first called Colegio de Nuestra Señora del Santísimo Rosario and later renamed Colegio de Santo Tomás in memory of Dominican theologian Saint Thomas Aquinas. In 1624, the colegio was authorized to confer academic degrees in theology, philosophy, and arts. On November 20, 1645, after representations by Vittorio Riccio, Pope Innocent X elevated the college to the rank of a university and in 1680 it was placed under royal patronage.
Apolinario de la Cruz (July 22, 1815 – November 4, 1841), better known as Hermano Pule (Spanish:[eɾˈmanopuˈle], Spanish for "Brother Pule"; also spelled Hermano Puli), was a Filipino religious leader who founded and led the Cofradía de San José (Confraternity of Saint Joseph). The cofradía was established in 1832 in response to the racially discriminatory practices of the Catholic Church in the Philippines. During the Spanish colonial period, Catholic religious orders refused to admit native Filipinos as members. In retaliation, Pule established his own religious order that was exclusive for native Filipinos. During its peak, the cofradía had 4,500 to 5,000 members from the provinces of Tayabas, Batangas, and Laguna. Fearing an armed rebellion, the Spanish colonial government sent military forces to suppress the cofradía, an attack that was resisted by Hermano Pule and his followers on October 23, 1841. However, more troops were sent and the cofradía was finally quelled by the colonial military forces on November 1, 1841. Pule was then captured, tried, and executed. (Full article...)
The Philippine Army has killed Nawapi Abdulsaid, an Abu Sayyaf militant, during a shootout two days ago in Hadji Mohammad Ajul, Basilan, Philippines. Abdulsaid was involved in fifteen beheadings, including those of ten marines in Al-Barka in 2007 and two Vietnamesesailors near Sumisip in 2016. He was also involved in attacks against government forces in 2022 and a bombing in November 2023 that killed two pro-government militiamen and wounded two others in Basilan. (AP)
... that the Isla dela Victoria resort and casino under construction in Kawit Island, Cebu City, Philippines, is named for a city officer murdered for his role in the fight against illegal fishing?
... that a 1945 ordinance by the Cebu City Council was the first to regulate cockfighting venues in the Philippines?
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