Conversations Across Continents: Philippine Histories and Memories in the Manuel L. Quezon Papers

跨大洲的对话：曼努埃尔·L·奎松档案中的菲律宾历史与记忆 本次研讨会回顾了菲律宾自治领总统曼努埃尔·L·奎松（Manuel L. Quezon）个人档案的流转历程，详细介绍了这些文献如何在战乱、仓库水浸、地震中幸存，以及菲律宾国家图书馆与密歇根大学在1968至1969年开展的微缩胶卷联合拍摄项目。该项目唯一健在的编目员Fe Angela Verzosa讲述了破译电报密码、打字转录残损手稿的技术难关，以及家族和财务等琐碎文献被排除在微缩拍摄之外的情况。历史学家Francis Gealogo和Veronica Sison分析了冷战时期的区域研究与编目层级如何塑造历史认知，阐释了现代研究人员如何通过挖掘精英通信来还原被边缘化的农业、地方及底层民众声音。专题研讨最后探讨了奎松对菲律宾庇护政治和行政权力的深远影响，以及在第9470号共和国法案框架下建立集中化总统档案馆所面临的持续困境。 密歇根大学推出了数字化的曼努埃尔·L·奎松档案，对最初在1968至1969年与菲律宾国家图书馆合作项目中制作的微缩胶卷提供开放数字化访问。 (0:00) 地下室水浸、虫蛀以及20世纪70年代马尼拉地震造成的历史损毁，使奎松的档案从估计的60万份锐减至18万份，其中仅约四分之一被选中制成微缩胶卷。 (33:02) 历史学家强调，总统精英阶层的往来信件中包含底层历史的关键基层证据，包括关于萨克达尔派（Sakdalistas）、科洛鲁姆运动（Colorums）、土地起义和妇女参政权的记录。 (66:58) 尽管颁布了第9470号共和国法案，菲律宾仍缺乏集中化的总统档案体系，致使现代总统档案分散于私人基金会、家族产业以及资源匮乏的公共文献库中。 (94:33)

The digitization of the Manuel L. Quezon Papers highlights how historical narratives are governed by the material survival, institutional curation, and selective preservation of archival records. Panelists argue that while the collection underpins modern understandings of Philippine statecraft, researchers must navigate significant physical losses and archival gatekeeping to uncover marginalized voices. Preservation Hazards and Selective Microfilming (35:57) Although Manuel L. Quezon was the only Philippine president to formally bequeath his official and private papers to the nation—executing a will in Bukidnon in 1942—the collection suffered severe post-war attrition. The records survived repeated basement flooding at Malacañang Palace and four distinct physical transfers, including interim storage at Old Bilibid Prison, before arriving at the National Library in 1962. Consequently, an archive originally occupying 36 filing cabinets (typically holding 600,000 documents) had shrunk to roughly 180,000 items, indicating that over half of the collection was lost. A 1967 cooperative agreement between the National Library and the University of Michigan funded the processing and microfilming of the collection. Archivist Fe Angela Verzosa explains that due to financial and time constraints, the team microfilmed only about one-fourth of the surviving papers across 54 reels, prioritizing major political correspondence and speech files while excluding family records and minor exchanges. Preservation was further complicated by having to decode confidential telegraphic ciphers, prepare typewritten 'true copies' of faint documents, and reckon with documents scattered when shelving toppled during the 1970 and 1972 Manila earthquakes. Historiographical Gatekeeping and Subverting Elite Archives (61:55) Historian Francis Gealogo describes the Quezon archive as a 'snapshot of snapshots,' noting that historians are inherently constrained by what was documented, what survived, and what earlier archivists chose to film. Rooted in Cold War area studies and the emerging nationalist historiography of the 1960s and 1970s, cataloging decisions established rigid separations between 'major' national elites and 'minor' correspondents, often reflecting leader-centric and colonial assumptions. Gealogo argues that critical historians can subvert these elite frameworks by mining peripheral correspondence for grassroots history. Letters directed to Quezon from agrarian leaders like Benigno Ramos, as well as routine administrative exchanges from provincial regions like Ilocos, contain vital records of the Sakdal and Colorum peasant movements, women's suffrage campaigns, and local social conditions. In addition, the physical trauma endured by the collection itself provides a tangible basis for researching the environmental history of Philippine disasters. Archival Geographies and Cross-Repository Research (78:27) Veronica Sison emphasizes that historical interpretation has historically been structured by the geographic location of the archive. American scholars working with the microfilm copies at the University of Michigan’s Bentley Historical Library frequently read Quezon in dialogue with U.S. colonial administrative files, such as the Leonard Wood diaries, orienting scholarship toward colonial governance and area studies frameworks. Conversely, researchers working with the National Library of the Philippines in Manila consulted Quezon alongside collections such as the Philippine Insurrection Records and the papers of contemporaneous leaders like Manuel Roxas and Elpidio Quirino. Ricky Punzalan and Gealogo note that the collaboration maintained archival reciprocity: in exchange for microfilming rights, the National Library secured copies of the papers of American jurist George A. Malcolm, ensuring that intellectual exchange operated bilaterally rather than as an extractive relationship. Systemic Deficits in Philippine Presidential Recordkeeping (94:33) The panel underscores that the Quezon Papers remain an anomaly in Philippine archival history because later administrations lacked institutionalized preservation programs. Verzosa notes that historically, outgoing chief executives treated official records as private property, removing them upon leaving office. While Republic Act No. 9470 was enacted in 2007 to regulate public records management, preservation has remained overwhelmingly fragmented across private family foundations and commemorative presidential museums. These privatized arrangements present significant access barriers, as seen in the restricted custody of the Diosdado Macapagal papers and the international dispersal of Ferdinand Marcos Sr.'s records across the Presidential Commission on Good Government and U.S. federal custody. Gealogo highlights that these institutional barriers disproportionately disadvantage provincial scholars and regional state university faculty who lack travel grants to visit centralized repositories in Metro Manila or foreign institutions. While the digital release of the microfilmed Quezon Papers broadens global access, the panel stresses that online availability risks perpetuating historical biases if researchers mistake a curated, 25-percent sample for the complete historical record. A comprehensive understanding of the Commonwealth era continues to require engagement with unfilmed physical holdings in Manila alongside systematic institutional reform for preserving modern presidential archives.

[18:25] Fe Angela M. Verzosa: I find MLQ as the most colorful. And his papers definitely are the most interesting. [27:32] Veronica Sison: the history of knowledge production is also a history of material acquisition. [35:57] Theodore Friend: furious disorder [35:57] Theodore Friend: blackened and compressed in lumps, partially eaten by white ants, or were simply degenerating as poor paper in tropical conditions. [52:46] This is only a true copy of the original. [57:17] Fe Angela M. Verzosa: In hindsight, I still think we should have microfilmed the entire. Even the family papers... half of them were just receipts of the financial nature, records of financial nature. To any archivist and even scholars, they would find interesting tidbits of information even from family papers, I'm sure, you know? [70:00] Dr. Francis A. Gealogo: Those who were voiceless, powerless, nameless, literally nameless, can really be named by utilizing the Quezon Papers... we should never surrender and simply, you know, disregard: 'Oh, it's an elitist, it's oligarchic, it's a national perspective, leader-centric.' [82:42] Dr. Francis A. Gealogo: In my classes, for example, when I was referring to the Osmeña-Quezon rivalry, I was not giving any names and were saying, 'Oh, we have a president and a vice president. They were initially together united in one team, and then they separated and became rivals, and then they unified again.' [105:46] Fe Angela Verzosa: lost in transit

[0:00] - Welcome, thank you all for joining us today [0:05] for Conversations Across Continents: Philippine Histories [0:09] and Memories in the Manuel Quezon Papers. [0:12] We are really excited to have this great group of panelists [0:15] here with us today. [0:17] And we're going to be talking about the sort of long path, [0:20] the long journey of this really important [0:22] archival collection from physical originals [0:25] at the National Library of the Philippines [0:27] and to this brand new collection online [0:32] that results from those originals. [0:33] And we'll talk much more about the details of that process. [0:37] We are happy to be joined by people that participated, [0:40] both in preparing the materials [0:42] and people who will speak with us about [0:44] how these materials can be used, how important they are, [0:47] and what this new collection presents [0:49] in terms of possibilities for that use. [0:52] We are sort of on an auspicious date. [0:55] This is Quezon's birthday. [0:57] That's why we chose the date, so we're happy [0:58] that you're all here with us to celebrate today. [1:03] Dr. Ricky Punzalan will be leading the conversation. [1:06] And at the end, we'll have a little bit of a chance [1:09] to do some Q&A. [1:10] So if questions bubble up for you [1:12] as the speakers are speaking, jot them down. [1:15] Feel free to share them through the Q&A or the chat with us, [1:18] and we will, as time permits, [1:20] ask those of the panelists at the end. [1:23] At this moment, I would like to welcome Alexis Antracoli, [1:27] who is the director at the Bentley Historical Library [1:31] to say a few words to you. [1:36] - All right. Well, thank you so much, Megan. [1:39] And thanks to Ricky [1:43] and to all our panelists for joining us today. [1:46] We're really delighted to be hosting this event, [1:51] and also thrilled [1:53] to have made this digital collection available. [1:57] It was created from the microfilm [1:59] of the original Manuel Quezon Papers. [2:04] And what you're going to hear about today [2:07] is the result of decades of partnership [2:09] between the Bentley Historical Library [2:13] and the National Library of the Philippines, [2:16] including the work of many archivists. [2:19] Some of them are here with us today, [2:21] and we're really grateful for their work. [2:23] The original papers are housed [2:25] at the National Library of the Philippines. [2:29] And after Quezon passed away in 1944 [2:35] the papers went there [2:37] and a formal finding aid was created [2:40] for the collection in 1968. [2:43] And this happened to be at the same time [2:45] that the University of Michigan [2:47] was developing its Philippines collection, [2:51] recognizing the research value of the material here [2:55] that documented the US colonial period [2:59] in the Philippines, [3:01] and what are deep and complex relationships [3:05] between the United States and the Philippines, [3:07] as well as the University of Michigan. [3:12] The microphone project was completed in 1969, [3:17] and it was the result of a partnership [3:19] between the National Library of the Philippines, [3:21] the Bentley Historical Library, [3:23] and the University of Michigan's [3:26] Southeast Asian Studies Center. [3:29] And the partnership took shape [3:31] because all the parties understood [3:33] how internationally significant this collection would be. [3:36] And they took what was at the time a really unusual step [3:40] to ensure the broadest possible access across the world [3:44] in the way that was in the best possible way [3:48] in the late 1960s. [3:50] That was microfilm. [3:52] So today, the newly digitized collection [3:54] is available for researchers now [3:58] and in the future in their homes around the world, [4:01] and we're really eager to see what comes next. [4:04] And so I'm going to pass it back to Megan [4:08] to get us started [4:10] on the panel. [4:15] - Okay, I will introduce Dr. Punzalan, [4:18] and he will then introduce our panelists more specifically. [4:21] A little bit more information about Ricky. [4:24] He's an associate professor of archives [4:25] and digital curation in the School of Information [4:28] at University of Michigan. [4:29] He holds a PhD in information [4:31] from the University of Michigan, [4:33] along with graduate certificates in science, [4:35] technology, and society and museum studies [4:38] and earned his BLS and MLIS degrees [4:40] from the School of Library and Information Studies [4:42] at the University of the Philippine Silliman. [4:45] He previously taught at both [4:46] the University of the Philippine Silliman [4:49] School of Library and Information Studies [4:51] and the University of Maryland College of Information. [4:54] He served on the Society of American Archivist Council [4:57] from 2018 to 2021, [4:59] and again in 2025 to 2026. [5:02] He served as chair of the Native American Archive section [5:05] from 2017 to 2018 [5:07] and co-chair of SAA's Archival Repatriation Committee [5:10] from 2022 to 2025, where he led the drafting [5:13] of the Principles in Indigenous Archival Repatriation [5:16] in 2025. [5:18] He's currently the board of trustees [5:20] of the Library of Congress American Folklife Center. [5:24] Ricky Punzalan's scholarship on indigenous community access [5:26] to digitized archives through virtual reunification [5:30] has improved archival practices [5:32] toward more ethical relationships [5:33] between indigenous peoples and heritage institutions. [5:36] He has significantly shaped the field [5:38] of critical archival studies, [5:40] community-centered archival practice, [5:42] and reparative approaches to archives and museums. [5:44] In 2023, he was inducted as a fellow of the United, [5:47] or sorry, of the Society of American Archivists, [5:50] and the highest honor bestowed on individuals by SAA [5:53] for outstanding contributions to the organization [5:56] and to the archives profession. [5:58] I'll pass it over to you, Ricky. [6:02] - Thank you, Meghan. [6:05] If you are in the Philippines, good evening. [6:07] And if you are somewhere in the United States [6:11] and elsewhere, perhaps good morning [6:14] or wherever you are. [6:16] I hope you're having a great day. [6:18] I'm currently in Bagyo where it's raining a lot [6:23] and but nevertheless I have a beautiful scenery [6:27] of the mountains in the Philippines. [6:30] So before we begin, [6:33] I'd like to introduce our panelists. [6:36] You know, this is going to be a conversation [6:39] of colleagues across disciplines [6:44] and areas all connected [6:48] by their interest, scholarship, [6:52] and work pertaining to Demanuel Quezon Papers. [6:57] And this is quite auspicious [6:59] because this is the, I think, the 140th birth anniversary [7:03] of the former president. [7:05] So our first speaker [7:09] is Dr. Francis A. Gealogo. [7:13] He is a Horacio de la Costa SJ Professor of History [7:18] and Former Chair of the Department of History [7:22] at the Ateneo de Manila University. [7:25] He obtained his bachelor's degree in history, cum laude, [7:29] master's degree in history [7:30] and doctoral degree in Philippine studies [7:32] from the University of the Philippines Diliman. [7:35] He was a Fulbright Senior Fellow [7:37] at the Center for the History of Medicine [7:39] at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, [7:42] and was Rene Descartes Senior Fellow [7:45] for History and Philosophy of Science [7:49] and the Humanities at the Utrecht University Netherlands. [7:53] He served as editor of "The Diliman Review." [7:57] and Managing Editor of "Philippine Studies" [7:59] Historical and Ethnographic Viewpoints," [8:02] and was associate director [8:03] for research at the Ateneo Institute of Philippine Culture. [8:08] He is currently the chair of IBON Board of Directors, [8:12] Chair of the Glila Filipina Support Foundation [8:15] Board of Directors, [8:17] Chairman of ACT Teachers Partylist, [8:20] and lead convener of Tanggol Kasaysayan, [8:23] an organization of historians, researchers, [8:25] and professors of history [8:27] campaigning against negative historical revisionism. [8:32] Our next speaker is Veronica Sison. [8:39] Born and raised in the paddy fields of Central Luzon, [8:43] Veronica is currently pursuing a PhD [8:46] in the Department of South and Southeast Asian Studies [8:50] at UC Berkeley, where her research focuses on [8:53] the history of the Philippines and of Southeast Asia [8:57] with an emphasis on knowledge production [8:59] during the region's Cold War era. [9:02] Before attending UC Berkeley, she studied history [9:06] at the University of the Philippines Baguio [9:08] and Diliman campuses. [9:10] Veronica has worked as researcher [9:12] for the Carlos Bulosan Museum Project [9:15] of the Municipality of Binalonan, Pangasinan [9:19] from 2018 to 2021, [9:22] and as an overseas research assistant [9:24] for the Reconceptualizing the Cold War Project: [9:27] On-The-Ground Experiences in Asia [9:29] under Professor Masuda Hajimu [9:32] of the National University of Singapore in 2020. [9:35] She was also a Cold War Archives Research Institute fellow [9:40] at the Wilson Center's Public Policy and History Program [9:44] from '21 to '22. [9:46] In her free time, Veronica enjoys biking, hiking, [9:49] and taking long afternoon naps, in that order. [9:52] I'd like to aspire to that, Veronica. [9:57] And finally, our third speaker is [10:02] Fe Angela Manansala-Verzosa. [10:07] She has 40 years spent [10:12] a career as an organizer of heritage collections, [10:15] particularly the papers of Philippine presidents [10:17] Quezon, Laurel, Quirino and Garcia, [10:21] and special collections such as the Carlos Romulo Papers, [10:25] the Hokbalahap Records, [10:27] and the Lorenzo Tanada collections [10:29] among many others at the De La Salle University Repository. [10:34] She's a graduate of AB history [10:37] and a master's degree in library science [10:40] at the University of the Philippines Diliman. [10:42] She took up graduate training courses in archival management [10:46] at the Modern Archives Institute in Washington, DC, [10:50] and modern librarianship at the University of Wales [10:53] in Aberystwyth United Kingdom, [10:55] thus contributing to her expertise in the twin areas [10:59] of archiving and librarianship. [11:02] Known for her reputational leadership, [11:05] having served as president [11:07] of two national professional organizations of librarians, [11:11] namely the Philippine Librarians Association Incorporated [11:14] or PLAI, [11:15] and the Philippine Association of Academic [11:18] and Research Librarians, or PAARL. [11:23] She was honored [11:25] with a 2006 outstanding professional librarian award [11:28] given by the Philippine Regulation Commission, [11:31] PAARL's Academic Librarian of the Year in 1996, [11:36] Tagahabi Nankase Science Centennial Award, [11:39] and Lifetime Achievement Awards by PLAI and PAARL, [11:42] and the UPAA Alumni Association Award [11:44] for her exemplary achievements [11:47] in the advancement of her profession. [11:50] Retired as former Library Director [11:53] and University Archivist of De La Salle University. [11:56] She remains a lifetime member [11:58] of the DLSU Faculty Association [12:00] where she was ranked associate professor. [12:04] Appointed as a temporary historiographer [12:09] for this joint microfilming project [12:12] of the National Library of the Philippines [12:13] and the University of Michigan, [12:16] Fe Angela Manansala is the only survivor of the team [12:20] that worked on the two-year project. [12:23] Dr. Serafin D. Quiason, then National Library Director, [12:27] passed away in 2016, [12:29] while Isagani Medina passed away in 2004. [12:33] Ms. Ursula Vellarino left the project a year [12:36] after the project began, [12:38] leaving only Fe Manansala-Verzosa [12:41] to complete it in September 1969. [12:44] So there you go. [12:47] You know we have a good [12:52] set of speakers. [12:56] And I've always framed this conversation [13:00] as, you know, kwentuhan, among colleagues [13:04] sharing of stories so to speak. [13:08] So I'd like to, you know, encourage [13:13] the speakers to, you know, ask questions as well [13:18] and also ask clarificatory points [13:22] amongst each other so forth and so on. [13:24] So I see myself as, you know, merely asking [13:28] the first questions, and then we can proceed as we go. [13:33] So I guess, you know, understanding [13:38] that we have a diverse audience tuned in today, [13:42] we have Filipinos in the Philippines [13:44] as well as in the diaspora, also students, historians, [13:48] archivists, and librarians. [13:51] So a wide range of viewers or listeners. [13:56] For the benefit of our younger [13:59] and also non-Filipino audiences [14:01] who might have limited familiarity with Manuel L. Quezon, [14:05] my first question is more on asking you [14:09] how you'd introduce Manuel Quezon, [14:15] this towering figure in Philippine history. [14:18] I guess I'll start with Francis [14:21] because he's, you know, the historian in the group. (laughs) [14:25] - Yeah, I may be the odd person out in this [14:30] very honorable panel of archivists and librarians. [14:34] But Manuel Quezon was, as you mentioned, [14:38] a towering figure in Philippine political history, [14:42] but maybe we can also contextualize [14:47] his period [14:48] and his presidency of the Commonwealth [14:52] as part and parcel of a very long [14:57] what one may consider [14:59] the long lineage of Philippine colonial history. [15:02] And Quezon was somewhat instrumental in defining [15:06] the impact and the consequences of that colonial history [15:13] coming from [15:15] the remaining years of the Spanish Colonial Administration. [15:21] He served as initially a [15:26] revolutionary middle ranking officer [15:31] of the revolutionary movement against Spain. [15:34] But when the Americans came [15:37] he became one of those prominent politicians [15:40] who were integrated into the political establishment [15:47] coordinated by the Americans. [15:49] He became one of the early leaders [15:53] of the American-sponsored legislature [15:57] called the Philippine Assembly, [15:59] eventually becoming a national figure [16:05] becoming a Senate President, President Commissioner, [16:09] and eventually Commonwealth President. [16:12] But what I think should be remembered [16:16] of Quezon was his impact in terms of how local [16:20] and national leaders interacted with one another. [16:25] Because coming from provincial town [16:29] in Tayabas, now Quezon Province, he rose to prominence [16:34] as a national figure, [16:36] eventually becoming a top political figure [16:43] in Philippine colonial politics. [16:47] So that particular context somewhat defined [16:50] and determined the contours of Philippine political history, [16:54] even post-Quezon period, how the national leaders [16:59] were reacting with or coordinating with [17:03] what's going on in the localities, [17:05] in the provinces, in the countryside, [17:08] and vice versa. [17:10] What some historians would rather conveniently call [17:14] as the patron-clientelist relations [17:19] between and among the local elites. [17:21] Somehow Quezon was instrumental in defining that era, [17:25] and somewhat that particular relation [17:30] between local and national leadership [17:33] resonated even the post-Quezon, post-war era. [17:37] So maybe we can leave it at that. [17:41] And Ma'am Fe may also add to some of the information [17:46] regarding Quezon or Veronica. [17:49] Oh, by the way, congratulations. [17:51] This is just, you know, an appreciation of [17:55] how representative the generations were [17:58] in terms of scholarship and production [18:02] and the use of the Quezon Papers. (laughs) [18:06] - Yeah, thank you. [18:07] Who'd like to follow, you know, [18:10] how would you introduce Manuel Quezon [18:13] to this diverse audience? [18:15] Perhaps, I can't remember the order, [18:20] but probably Fe, would you like to say something? [18:25] - Among all the presidents [18:29] whose papers I have organized, [18:35] I find MLQ as the most colorful. [18:41] And his papers definitely [18:45] are the most interesting. [18:48] As you can see, having spent [18:51] 13 years organizing Laurel Papers, [18:56] you wouldn't want to call Laurel as, you know, [19:01] he's not in the caliber of Quezon [19:07] when it comes to being colorful, you know? [19:10] The character and personality [19:13] will not describe Laurel. [19:17] And so with Quirino, and of course, Garcia. [19:22] So among all those presidents I have dealt with [19:26] and whose papers I know, you know, [19:29] there would be controversial [19:32] and very interesting aspects of their lives, [19:36] I find MLQ as really [19:40] on the top of my list as the most colorful character [19:46] in among our leaders in history. [19:50] And, you know, he had many firsts. [19:54] Of course, he was the first president [19:57] to be elected in a national plebiscite. [20:05] Elected as [20:09] unlike Agnaldo, he was elected [20:13] to govern the entire country. [20:16] And then he was the first president, [20:23] the first Senate president, should I say, [20:27] to become a president. [20:32] There were many after him who became president, [20:36] but he was the first. [20:39] He was also the first majority floor leader. [20:44] And oh, I forgot a first. [20:48] He was the first president to deliver [20:51] the first SONA. [20:54] We always look forward to the state of the nation address [21:00] of our presidents. [21:01] So he was the first. [21:03] And then of course [21:08] Quezon has many legacies. [21:13] Right now, aside from being [21:24] named as a province, a major capital city. [21:30] There were many cities and streets [21:32] and parks named after him. [21:38] We remember him every day [21:40] because he's on our 20 peso bill. [21:46] And now he has [21:50] the face of the largest coin in our history, [21:54] the 20 peso coin [21:58] which was I think issued [22:03] before the pandemic, 2019 only. [22:07] And then of course, he's the father, [22:09] he's known as the father of the national language [22:13] because it was during his time when he promoted Tagalog [22:18] as our national language. [22:20] So every kid knows him as the, you know, [22:23] ask any kid in school right now, [22:26] and they will only tell you [22:28] that he's the father of the national language. [22:32] So I guess that's it. (laughs) [22:36] - Thanks, Fe. Veronica, how about you? [22:38] How would you introduce Manuel Quezon to this audience? [22:43] - Yeah, I have like a very long answer [22:46] if that's okay with everyone. [22:48] And I will also try to share [22:50] some slide just in case. [22:52] Is it visible? [22:54] - Yeah, it's very visible, yeah. [22:55] - Okay, so I will tackle, I suppose, [23:00] this issue from the perspective of Southeast Asian studies [23:04] and my interest in the Quezon Paper actually began [23:08] with my research when I was still a master's student [23:10] at the Department of History at UP. [23:12] And my broad research question back then was like, [23:15] how did the Cold War shape the way we write history, [23:19] at least within Philippine studies? [23:21] And I look into it during the rise of area studies [23:23] and later on the crisis period, like around the Vietnam War. [23:28] So I am interested in this knowledge production [23:31] and the infrastructure behind it. [23:33] And because scholarship also depends on [23:35] which sources are acquired [23:38] which collections are organized, [23:39] which documents are microfilmed, [23:41] and which archives become accessible [23:43] to particular community scholars. [23:47] Quezon Paper became a very important [23:49] project within this area of studies in the US. [23:54] So I first encountered Quezon Papers, [23:57] well, we all know Quezon is like a towering figure. [24:01] And I realized that it's not something that, you know, [24:06] just occurred in a vacuum. [24:07] It's something that was reproduced across time [24:09] by a particular generation of scholars. [24:12] So I first encountered the Quezon Papers [24:16] through a generation of Southeast Asianists [24:18] or Philippine studies specialists [24:20] who wrote their dissertations in the 1960s and '70s. [24:24] Like the focus of their research was [24:28] surprisingly focused on Quezon. [24:30] And I followed their citations, their work, [24:32] and their scholarship, and Quezon Papers kept showing up, [24:36] so it led me to kind of examine [24:39] the rise of this type of scholarship [24:41] and what kind of research they prioritize. [24:45] So no, the Quezon Papers are, [24:49] you know, important in the Filipino studies [24:51] for a very straightforward reason. [24:54] And my answer to that [24:55] is because of the sheer amount of scholarship [24:58] produced from that collection. [25:00] And these, you know, include works that help define [25:03] how generations of scholars [25:04] understood Philippine political history, colonialism, [25:07] nationalism, and state formation. [25:09] So I can [25:14] put a caveat here that I haven't done, [25:17] like a full digital humanities mapping [25:18] or anything like that of like these scholars work. [25:21] What I'm working more is, like interpretative, [25:24] like the structure of their argument, [25:26] tracing their citations, acknowledgement, et cetera. [25:29] So now I'm gonna go back to, [25:32] like who are these area specialists [25:33] who actually focused their research on Quezon Papers. [25:37] So my story started with this professor [25:41] at the University of Michigan back in the 1960s, [25:44] and his name is Professor David Joel Steinberg. [25:48] So he was hired fresh from his PhD at Harvard, [25:52] and he specialized on [25:54] the Philippine collaboration [25:56] in the Second World War in the Philippines. [25:58] So if you can see here, there's Steinberg. [26:01] He's very influential at least for, [26:03] like for Southeast Asian studies, [26:04] because they produced this landmark work [26:08] titled "In search of Southeast Asia," [26:10] which was like the definitive work [26:12] of the region's history around that time. [26:14] And so he collaborated with other area studies specialists [26:19] who conducted their own work in Indonesia, like John Smail, [26:24] Woodside, Chandler, Wyatt, et cetera. [26:26] So David Steinberg is the guy who's pointing [26:30] at the Philippines in this photo. [26:32] And another person who is also involved in... [26:37] I mean, this is something [26:38] that probably the Bentley Library knows. [26:41] His name is Robert Warner. [26:44] And Warner was apparently the classmate [26:48] of David Sturtevant, college classmates. [26:51] That's why when they found out that, you know, [26:53] there's a possibility of working on [26:56] microfilming Quezon Papers, [26:59] Robert Warner immediately [27:01] reached out to David Sturtevant, [27:02] who was then working on his research, [27:05] which would culminate in this book [27:07] "Popular Uprisings in the Philippines." [27:08] So there's this deep relationship [27:11] among scholars who are involved in the project, [27:13] which is very interesting at least within my research. [27:16] So other American-based area studies scholars [27:21] who used the papers extensively [27:23] were also like Theodore Friend, Alfred McCoy, John Larkin, [27:26] Peter Stanley, [27:28] where's the photo of Theodore Friend. [27:32] So that's Professor Theodore Friend. [27:35] And then I think almost everyone's familiar [27:38] with Peter Stanley's work, "A Nation in the Making." [27:41] So they're primarily male scholars [27:45] of that generation. [27:46] Well, it's also very contextual, [27:48] but I'm not gonna look into that. [27:50] So their works address, you know, different subject matters, [27:53] but if we zoom out a bit, these scholars actually help, [27:56] you know, establish some of the major questions that shape, [28:00] you know, post-war Philippine historiography. [28:02] So another question that I wanted to ask myself, [28:04] how am I supposed to introduce this? [28:08] And part of the reason why I wanted to say [28:12] that there's a deeper history to this [28:14] is because the history of knowledge production [28:17] is also a history of material acquisition. [28:21] And part of the reason why Quezon was pretty much accessible [28:27] to the scholars is because of Michigan, [28:28] but at the same time, [28:30] because of the historical context [28:33] when it was produced. [28:34] So why did it become so important to a generation [28:37] of area studies specialists? [28:39] And my answer to that is one reason was simply [28:42] because it was a different historical context. [28:44] Today, we may encounter a catalog collection [28:48] and assume that it's, you know, [28:49] its organization was already there. [28:52] But no, it was actually from the very effort of librarians [28:56] and activists who made that collection possible. [28:59] So in the 1960s, like Ma'am Fe generation, [29:03] the 1960s and '70s, much of this, [29:06] like, archival knowledge was still, [29:07] you know, being reassembled [29:09] and the National Archives was moving its, you know, [29:11] documents from the (indistinct) to (indistinct) [29:15] and lots of documents had to be rescued, relocated, [29:18] sorted, copied, and so on and so forth. [29:21] So 1960s and '70s was really a period, [29:25] not only of writing [29:26] pioneering history of precedents, [29:29] but also the active reordering [29:33] of archival foundations of Philippine history, [29:36] plus the invention of microfilming technology. [29:39] So these two coincided and became, [29:41] like, something very special around that time [29:43] that made this particular type of scholarship possible. [29:47] And before Quezon Paper one of the earliest attempts [29:52] also to microfilm documents to be transported to the US [29:55] was with Edgar Wickberg's copies of Chinese Mestizo papers, [29:58] which is now at UC Berkeley. [30:00] And I think this was the pioneering work in trying [30:03] to microfilm like a collection in the Philippines [30:05] and bring it to the US, but it's Quezon Papers [30:08] that successfully established this kind of like partnership [30:11] with the local institution. [30:14] And then I think [30:19] another part of like the reason why is this [30:22] scholarship was kind of important [30:27] around that time is because [30:29] the kind of intellectual trend was matched with this, [30:33] you know, archival expansion project in the US. [30:37] And one big project was [30:40] among area study specialists [30:42] was the study of Philippine political institutions [30:45] and political behavior, [30:46] which was briefly mentioned by Professor Gealogo. [30:50] Scholars around that time were basically trying [30:52] to figure out how the colonial state actually work [30:55] and how political elites accumulated power [30:58] and, you know, like why patronage, factionalism, [31:01] and the spoils system became so durable in the first place. [31:04] And this was like the kind of like scholarly trend [31:07] that they they had followed [31:09] like in the 1950s and '60s. [31:12] And the Quezon Papers [31:13] or Quezon himself was especially useful for these questions [31:17] because they gave an, well, honestly, [31:20] an unusually detailed view of political negotiation [31:24] during American colonial and Commonwealth periods. [31:26] So they let historians look not just at like political, [31:31] sorry, formal institutions, [31:32] but also at the personal correspondence rivalries [31:36] and day-to-day calculations through which, you know, [31:38] these institutions actually function. [31:40] And a second trend that made Quezon [31:44] a very special figure here [31:48] is because more or less [31:53] there was like a move towards like [31:55] what John Smail called autonomous history around that time. [32:00] And this was like a particular scholarship [32:03] within area studies in its effort [32:06] to write Southeast Asian history [32:09] from within the region's own historical experience [32:12] or what they call this like [32:13] from the indigenous point of view. [32:15] So instead of treating, you know, [32:17] Southeast Asians as just passive objects of Western actions, [32:21] Quezon Papers became a good resource material [32:25] for a Filipino elite point of view. [32:28] And before this shift, [32:29] scholars working on American colonial period [32:31] tended to rely heavily [32:32] on the records of American administrators. [32:35] And the Quezon Papers in a way complimented this offering [32:39] by offering us the perspective of [32:41] a Filipino political leader negotiating [32:44] with colonial officials, domestic rivals, [32:47] and it's also a good resource material [32:49] on how like a Filipino political elite navigated in a sense [32:52] helped construct the colonial and post-colonial state. [32:54] I can discuss more, but I will stop here [32:56] because there will be lots of questions [32:58] and I can like share more later. [33:02] - Thank you, Veronica, for that. [33:05] That's a really good, you know, [33:07] and comprehensive overview of [33:10] not just Quezon, but the intellectual history of, you know, [33:14] of what we know about this historical figure. [33:20] So I think I wanna move the conversation [33:25] towards more about the microfilming project [33:28] because, you know, this is like the main crux of, [33:31] you know, our conversation this evening [33:33] or this morning for those who are in Ann Arbor. [33:37] So I have a direct question to Fe which is, [33:42] you know, could you give us an overview [33:45] of the microfilming project? [33:47] Because, you know, you were really deeply involved [33:50] in the project. [33:52] What were your most important lessons, you know, [33:55] in processing the Quezon papers for microfilming [33:59] in the late '60s and early '70s? [34:03] And I believe you have a PowerPoint that I'd like to share. [34:06] - Yes, please do share. [34:15] - Let's see. [34:29] Yep. Can you see it? - Yep. Yes. [34:35] - Okay. - Let me start [34:38] with this statement, [34:42] which I forgot to mention [34:44] when I introduced MLQ [34:50] at the beginning. [34:53] One of his, [34:57] and not many people really realize this, [35:00] is that this president [35:06] to this day is the only Philippine president [35:12] to formally bequeath his official, [35:19] private and personal papers [35:24] to his country. [35:25] And this remains a unique aspect of his legacy. [35:31] Manuel Luis Quezon formally donated his papers [35:35] to the Philippine government [35:37] through his last will and testament [35:40] executed in Del Monte, Bukidnon [35:44] on March 26th, 1942. [35:51] Can we have the first slide? [35:57] From the account of Dr. Theodore Friend, [36:03] he described two transfers [36:06] of the presidential papers of Quezon [36:10] in his book "Between Two Empires." [36:13] But according to Librado Rodriguez, [36:17] who was then the records officer [36:21] of the National Library, [36:24] then known as the Bureau of Public Libraries, [36:28] there were four transfers. [36:32] When Quezon left to be exiled [36:37] to organize his government in exile in Washington, DC, [36:43] he left all his papers [36:45] in Malacanang basement. [36:49] And between 1943 to 1947, [36:54] these papers suffered from massive floods [37:01] which inundated the palace [37:05] before they were transferred [37:07] to the old Bilibid Prison in Oroquieta. [37:12] And this was after the war [37:15] while the government was waiting [37:18] for the new legislative building to be constructed. [37:24] From there, from Oroquieta, [37:28] the papers were transferred [37:30] to the new legislative building in 1950 [37:37] then they were again transferred [37:38] to the Bureau of Public Libraries [37:40] at the Arlegui Compound in 1955. [37:46] The next slide will describe... [37:50] Can we see the next slide? [37:53] Will describe the papers [37:55] as seen by Dr. Theodore Friend [38:00] and which he described in his book [38:03] "Between Two Empires." [38:05] The status and condition of the papers [38:07] were very vividly described [38:11] by Dr. Friend. [38:13] He says, and I quote, "When I examined it [38:17] in 1957 to '58 in the Bureau of Public Libraries," [38:22] he refers to the Arlegui compound, [38:25] "it consisted of 36 four-drawer filing cabinets [38:30] and six seven foot bookcases, [38:34] 40 of which were in Spanish and a small amount in Tagalog [38:38] and other indigenous languages, the rest in English." [38:44] Furthermore, he's quoted [38:46] as saying, "They were in furious disorder. [38:50] Many papers have been destroyed or lost in transfer, [38:55] and many of those which survived were blackened [38:59] and compressed in lumps, [39:02] partially eaten by white ants, [39:05] or were simply degenerating as poor paper [39:09] in tropical conditions." [39:14] Next slide, please. [39:20] Between 1962 to 1966, [39:23] the papers were housed on the fourth floor [39:26] of the Present National Library Building, [39:30] which was built, completed in 1962. [39:36] The papers were then housed at what we now called [39:40] the Quezoniana Room. [39:44] When we arrived in 1967 [39:48] to work on the papers, [39:53] little was done to organize them [39:56] except for 20% of the collection, [39:59] which was focused on the family correspondence [40:04] and newspaper clippings. [40:06] So about 80% remain unprocessed. [40:10] By 1966, according to the report [40:14] made by Dr. Isagani Medina [40:18] for the National Library Director, [40:21] he mentioned the papers were roughly sorted out by year. [40:25] Although a few remained in archival, [40:28] bundles wrapped in craft paper [40:32] and tied loosely, carelessly by string. [40:39] In the register [40:42] to the MLQ papers, [40:47] it was described that the papers [40:51] were about 259 cubic meters. [41:02] If you picture in your mind [41:08] 36 filing cabinets, [41:11] AI would tell you that [41:15] these 36 filing cabinets [41:18] would roughly consist [41:21] of about more or less [41:25] 600 documents, [41:30] 600 items. [41:32] But in the register, [41:36] it was described only [41:38] as about 259 cubic meters [41:42] and roughly about [41:45] 180,000 items. [41:48] So from there, [41:51] you can surmise [41:55] that the papers, [41:59] the content, the massive collection [42:01] was quite reduced in size [42:07] to maybe less than a half, [42:10] maybe even less than one half. [42:15] And that was due [42:17] to the four transfers [42:21] made during the lifetime of the papers. [42:26] Anyway, let's go to the next slide, please. [42:30] In 1967, the National Library undertook a joint project [42:35] with the University of Michigan, [42:38] and funding was approved at $10,000 [42:41] or roughly 32,000 pesos then, [42:44] to process and eventually microfilm [42:47] only the meat of the collection. [42:50] The terms of agreement [42:54] were made in a MOA signed by the director, [43:01] then Dr. Serafin Quiason, [43:05] and for the University of Michigan by Dr. Robert Warner. [43:11] Part of the agreement was for the National Library [43:15] to retain the negative copy while two positive copies [43:19] were to be sent to the University of Michigan. [43:22] And another copy was to be kept by the UP Maine Library. [43:28] The University of Michigan appointed [43:30] Dr. Isagani R Medina, [43:32] probably because he was an alumnus, to lead the project [43:40] while the National Library appointed two research assistants [43:44] who were then fresh graduates to assist him [43:47] and namely me [43:51] and Ursula Villarino. [43:55] Work began in September 1967. [44:02] Next slide, please. [44:11] In 1967, when I arrived [44:15] to work on the papers, the papers were already [44:20] moved from the Quezoniana [44:21] to the Rare Books and Manuscripts Room [44:23] of the Filipiniana division on the third floor. [44:27] And we proceeded to organizing them [44:31] into four record groups or what we call series. [44:37] One, the family correspondence and related material. [44:43] And as the record group suggests, [44:46] consists mostly of family matter, materials [44:53] ranging from 1918 to 1941. [44:58] The bulk of what we organized [45:04] was the general correspondence series. [45:09] Documents, mostly all kinds of communications [45:16] between Quezon and his correspondence [45:21] on matters relating to, at the time, [45:26] to the day-to-day operation of his activities, [45:31] starting from 1909 [45:34] when he became resident commissioner [45:37] until he became president of the Commonwealth in 1935, [45:42] until the government in exile, [45:44] or even before the government in exile [45:48] was organized in 1942. [45:53] The third record group was called [45:56] Speech, Article and Book File for short. [45:59] And this consisted mostly of speeches, articles, [46:04] statements, reports, [46:07] and the manuscripts, the handwritten, [46:12] typewritten, near print, [46:15] drafts of his book, "The Good Fight." [46:18] The documents span [46:22] 1910 to 1940. [46:25] And then the last series [46:27] or record group is called General Miscellany. [46:33] Mostly documents from 1907 to 1944, [46:37] which do not [46:42] relate to the three other series. [46:47] That's why we placed them [46:50] all under General Miscellany. [46:53] The papers were sorted by year [46:56] and later processed based on this series arrangement. [47:02] The papers of Quezon [47:06] after his death in 1944 were, [47:10] I forgot to mention this, were incorporated [47:14] with the bulk of his collections [47:19] before they were transferred to the National Library. [47:23] It was during that time in 1957 to '58 [47:27] when Dr. Friend [47:34] was introduced to the papers, [47:37] the bulk of the collection already included [47:40] the government in exile documents. [47:45] Next slide, please. [47:50] As a result of this two-year project, sometime in August, [47:55] I started sending the microfilm reels [48:00] to University of Michigan. [48:04] A total of 54 reels were completed. [48:09] And they contained only those that were [48:16] by agreement selected [48:20] because of their high research value. [48:25] And at the outset, let me say this, [48:31] only one-fourth of the entire collection was microfilmed. [48:38] The general correspondence, boxes '37 to '56, [48:44] the major correspondence file, [48:46] which originally was part of the general correspondence, [48:50] but we decided to arrange these subseries [48:56] differently because the general correspondence [48:58] was arranged strictly by chronological arrangement. [49:03] So the major correspondence file [49:05] became sort of like case files, [49:11] communications between Quezon and major correspondence, [49:16] mostly people who were [49:25] political leaders at the time, business leaders at the time, [49:29] and very known people at the time. [49:33] These were major correspondents with whom Quezon [49:38] regularly sent and received mail. [49:44] And most of the materials [49:48] in this file [49:51] were considered important, [49:58] but we could not put them under [49:59] the general correspondence series [50:01] because they did not involve the day-to-day. [50:05] They were not associated with the regular functions [50:08] of the office [50:10] that Quezon at the time held. [50:14] And then the third, which were microfilmed, [50:18] were the speech, article and book file, boxes 71 to nine. [50:25] I think there were about 57 boxes all in all. [50:29] And when I refer to boxes, they are archival boxes, [50:33] what we call bunkers box [50:39] sized 10 inch [50:42] by 12 by 15. [50:46] And each box would be containing [50:50] something between 2,000 to 3,000 pieces of documents. [50:56] Those left out were the family papers, [51:02] the minor correspondence file. [51:05] We called the minor correspondence file [51:09] from the general correspondence, [51:15] like the major correspondence file, [51:18] because these were communications [51:20] between Quezon and lesser correspondence. [51:26] So they were of minor importance. [51:30] And generally, the matters discussed in those communications [51:36] were not really significant. [51:42] Then of course, the general miscellaneous boxes 101 to 201, [51:47] which unfortunately contained the subject file. [51:52] All of these, including the boxes [51:56] of additional boxes from the speech, article and book file, [52:01] which contained only duplicates, [52:03] were left out from the microfilm version. [52:09] So in essence, [52:12] those that appeared in the microfilm version [52:15] and now available online [52:18] through this digitized version [52:21] consist only of one-fourth of the entire collection. [52:29] Is there more after this slide? Well, okay. [52:32] Now, let me, I think I have [52:35] more or less discussed some of the issues [52:38] we encountered [52:42] in the process of organizing the papers. [52:46] The very first real issue [52:48] was the pity poor condition of the papers. [52:52] As described by Dr. Friend, [52:57] some of the papers were really so difficult to read [53:00] that we had contracted [53:04] four clerk typists [53:07] to do the typing, [53:10] preparation of true copies of the hardly legible documents. [53:16] And if you see the digital version online now, [53:21] you will see that some of the materials [53:27] you will find would have some annotations [53:30] like "This is only a true copy of the original." [53:35] Meaning the original would be shown, [53:38] but you could hardly [53:42] read the original. [53:44] So many of those documents, [53:46] particularly in the 1929 [53:51] to the later period, [53:54] consisted mostly of illegible documents [53:57] that needed retyping. [54:03] And then another factor causing so much delay [54:06] was the decoding work done on the documents [54:10] from 1911 to 1930s. [54:13] These mostly were cable grams, telegrams, [54:18] radiograms, wherein Quezon [54:24] and his correspondence used codes. [54:31] Why did they use codes? [54:32] Because some of the documents were so sensitive [54:38] from the time he was resident commissioner, [54:41] when he would be communicating to Osmena [54:44] and the other political leaders, [54:48] he would use this code [54:55] to prevent [55:00] people who shouldn't be reading his communications. [55:05] So the sensitivity of the content necessitated [55:13] doing a lot of these communications in code. [55:18] And in the process of processing, [55:23] we discovered four code systems used. [55:27] Actually, Dr. Cullinan, I think, mentioned five. [55:34] But essentially, [55:37] we identified the four codes [55:41] as the Union Telegraph Code, [55:43] the War Department code, the Peterson Code, [55:46] and a unnamed private code [55:49] between Quezon and Osmena between 1911 to 1914. [55:56] Another challenge, of course, [55:58] and I think I mentioned this, was funding was so limited [56:03] that the microfilming could only be done [56:07] for the meat of the collection. [56:10] So we had to [56:13] gather only those considered of high research value [56:19] so we would be able [56:21] to meet the funding needs. [56:25] Staffing also was reduced after one year [56:29] because Ursula Villarino left for a training grant, [56:33] and unfortunately she never returned. [56:38] And the director, [56:42] Dr. Isagani Medina, [56:47] the head of the team, [56:50] was only on sabbatical leave at the time [56:54] from UP Main Library in Diliman. [56:58] So in June, he left the project to return [57:02] to his post at the UP Main Library. [57:06] So that left only me to work on the project [57:11] until it was finished in another year's time. [57:17] I added [57:21] this particular event, [57:25] two powerful earthquakes in April 1970, [57:29] and in April also 1972, [57:33] which caused heavy damage [57:34] on the National Library Building, [57:42] I mentioned this because it amplifies [57:47] my or our regret [57:49] that we did not microfilm the entire collection. [57:54] Because when these earthquakes happened, [57:59] the shelves [58:05] on the Rare Books and Manuscripts Room, [58:11] no, they did not collapse, they just toppled. [58:14] And through all the documents, [58:16] they were in boxes [58:20] now uncovered. [58:24] So they threw the documents in this disarray again. [58:28] And I don't know how [58:32] the staff who succeeded after me [58:36] were able to restore the documents [58:40] back to their original boxes. [58:42] I don't know how they would be doing that [58:44] because they were not familiar [58:46] with the way the documents were organized. [58:49] So the microfilm version [58:55] was easier. [58:57] Many researchers and scholars who worked on the papers [59:01] found this to be true. [59:03] Only the microfilm version [59:06] was well-facilitated research [59:10] because the order in the documents [59:14] were organized, contained, retained its integrity. [59:23] - Okay. - Very sad, huh? (laughs) [59:27] - Very sad. - In hindsight, I still think [59:32] we should have microfilmed the entire. [59:35] Even the family papers. [59:38] Even the family papers, half of them were just receipts [59:46] of the financial nature, records of financial nature. [59:51] To any archivist and even scholars, [59:55] they would find interesting tidbits of information [59:59] even from families papers [60:01] I'm sure, you know? [60:04] - Yeah. Thank you, thank you for that. [60:06] You know, as an archivist, I'm quite fascinated with, [60:08] you know, this historical perspective [60:13] and context on like the processing of the papers. [60:17] And my next question actually, [60:20] I think will heavily draw on, you know, [60:24] like this question of access and accessibility [60:28] and the conditions of the papers. [60:29] And this question is specific to Dr. Gealogo [60:35] which is more around as a scholar, as a historian, [60:39] you know, his use of the Quezon Papers, you know, [60:42] despite the conditions that Fe was describing. [60:47] How have you used the papers in your own research? [60:51] - Well thanks, Ricky. [60:53] By the way, you know just some words of appreciation [60:57] to Veronica and Ma'am Fe [60:59] because somehow it felt really nostalgic [61:02] listening to their stories. [61:06] I was a student of both Doctors Quiason and Medina [61:12] as a graduate student at UP Diliman in history [61:15] in the late '80s, early '90s, [61:18] before they retired eventually [61:21] from active professorial duties. [61:26] And somehow the presentation resonated [61:29] some of the questions, no, that my former professors [61:34] and my own experiences somehow defined [61:38] my approach to the Quezon Papers and the other archival [61:43] or library sources. [61:44] And that is really a very good lesson in historiography, [61:49] you know, because historians would really like to capture [61:52] what happened in the past in total, [61:55] but we are limited by the sources. [61:57] And the sources cannot really provide [62:00] what we want to write about [62:03] or somehow define what we have to write [62:07] because we cannot force the sources [62:11] to write for us or to give information that's not there. [62:16] So the very evolution of the Quezon Papers, for example, [62:19] as discussed by Ma'am Fe, [62:22] somehow gave us the lesson that what historians [62:26] are dealing with are actually snapshots [62:29] of what previously was defined [62:31] and determined not by the events, [62:35] but by the recording of the events themselves, no? [62:40] So we have the Quezon period [62:42] a very long period in Philippine political history, [62:46] and we have the sources of the Quezon Papers [62:49] as originally deposited in Malacanang. [62:52] And then what survived in the floods and the wars [62:56] and the others transferred to Bilibid [62:58] is just a portion of that papers, [63:01] which is a portion of the experience [63:04] of the Quezon period. [63:05] And what eventually survived [63:07] in all of these devastations and sorting [63:11] and organizing is not the entire Quezon Paper itself, no? [63:16] But as Ma'am Fe mentioned, just half of was cataloged. [63:20] And eventually half of that half was microfilmed, [63:24] and that's what we are talking about now. [63:27] And that's just one of the first take, no? [63:31] Maybe we can also appreciate the context [63:34] upon which all of these evolutions of the conditions [63:38] of the Quezon Papers together with the other sources [63:41] in Philippine historiography has come about, no? [63:43] I mean, we can appreciate, for example, [63:46] the efforts made by Ma'am Fe, Dr. Medina, [63:49] Dr. Quiason of the '60s and '70s. [63:52] But remember also the '60s and '70s [63:55] was also the period [63:58] from a Filipino historian's perspective, [64:02] the idea of the birthing [64:07] of what one may consider as nationalist historiography [64:12] putting forward, as Veronica mentioned, the indigenous, [64:16] the local voice and the Quezon Papers [64:20] was indicative of that attempt, [64:23] to make available sources in Philippine history [64:26] and historiography that will amplify local voices. [64:31] But the '60s and '70s also found it essential for us [64:36] to rediscover our own history from our point of view. [64:41] I was struck by what Veronica showed us [64:47] in the slides, [64:48] and I have a copy of that book when all of these [64:51] white Anglo-Saxon male historians were trying [64:55] to point an area in Southeast Asia [64:58] as if it's their area. [65:00] And the female voice was lost, [65:04] the indigenous voice was lost, the local voice was lost. [65:08] So it's another way of, you know, [65:11] regaining our own historiography from a local voice, [65:15] but by looking at these, no? [65:18] So if we are looking at, for example, everyday history, [65:21] history from below, social history, [65:25] history from a nationalist or from a local perspective, [65:29] then we can also [65:31] sort of subvert the very use of that voice [65:37] and that history by looking at the Quezon materials [65:41] like the Quezon Papers [65:42] from a different perspective. [65:45] You know, when Ma'am Fe mentioned, "Oh we have decided [65:48] that these are the major correspondents [65:50] and the other ones are minors," [65:52] no, these are important documents [65:54] and perhaps we can consider the others [65:58] are less significant, less important. [66:01] And the question raised by Veronica here, [66:04] in terms of archival collections [66:10] being sort of gate kept by the librarians [66:15] and the archivists that defined what is significant [66:18] and what's not significant, you know, [66:20] is also a case in point in dealing with [66:23] how historiography is to be well taken, you know? [66:26] So the history of social movements [66:28] and the mass movements of the '60s and '70s [66:32] somehow resonated that interest in research, [66:37] that even, you know, [66:38] a political figure, a local political figure, [66:42] a colonial oligarch like Quezon, [66:46] and the papers that he was able to produce [66:48] can still yield some significant information [66:51] if viewed from the history from the below, [66:54] history from the everyday life, [66:56] social history, and local history. [66:58] Sorry, that's a very long introduction. [67:01] Because my research interest [67:03] as a social historian is really that, no? [67:07] Well, I was a student of Medina and Quiason [67:10] and some other prominent Filipino historians [67:13] like Bernardita Churchill, Milagros Guerrero, [67:19] Napoleon Casambre, Bonifacio Salamanca, [67:22] and they were always pinpointing if I am writing [67:25] about the 1920s and the 1930s, [67:27] I should go to the Quezon Papers. [67:31] And lo and behold, I went, you know, [67:33] but not looking at the prism [67:36] or the perspective of the oligarch, [67:38] the political leader, you know? [67:39] So I tried to look at not the major correspondences [67:42] in the original, no, but the minor ones, no, [67:46] the local voices. [67:48] I worked as a research assistant of Dr. Digna Apilado. [67:51] She was writing about the local history [67:54] of the Ilocos region in the 1920s and the 1930s. [67:58] And Ilocos was, of course a marginal local, no, [68:03] in the world of Quezon, [68:05] but still you can find a great deal of voices, if you will, [68:09] of everyday history in that, you know? [68:11] And then later on, I also dealt [68:14] with history of social movements, the Colorums, the Sakdals, [68:18] despite the fact that all of these correspondences [68:21] were between and among the different political leaders, [68:25] the elites, you know, somehow even the correspondence [68:28] between Benigno Ramos and Manuel Quezon [68:32] somehow can yield some information [68:34] on the Sakdalista, for example, [68:36] or on what's happening from below the past century, [68:41] the women's suffrage campaigns [68:46] and other things. [68:48] So you can find the voices of women, of the indigenous, [68:52] of the local in utilizing these. [68:57] Despite the limitation, despite the disasters, [68:59] despite the very own history [69:02] of the history of the Quezon Papers, [69:04] it underwent a very long history by itself. [69:08] It has its own history, [69:10] but the history of the everyday, [69:12] the history from below, local history, history of women, [69:19] of peasant rebels, of indigenous peoples [69:23] can still be located [69:25] despite just the one force being microfilmed [69:30] and eventually now accessible digitally. [69:33] Perhaps to the researchers out there, [69:35] we can still find other [69:39] gold mines of information [69:42] despite the loss of a significant portion [69:46] of the original papers [69:49] that reflected the period. [69:51] And that's, I think, my appreciation [69:54] to the Quezon Papers itself. [70:00] The very fact that it can yield different perspectives, [70:04] different points of views, no? [70:09] Now after the upsurge [70:13] in the interest in nationalist historiography [70:16] in the Philippines in the 1960s, '70s, [70:20] and even up to the '80s, the yearning for, [70:25] you know, the history from the margins, [70:29] those who were voiceless, powerless, nameless, [70:33] literally nameless can really be named [70:38] by utilizing the Quezon Papers. [70:42] I experienced that because when I was [70:46] doing some data gathering for Professor Digna Apilado [70:50] about the local conditions [70:52] of the Ilocos utilizing the Quezon Papers, [70:55] I found a great deal of local names, [71:00] not necessarily leaders, no, [71:03] but those whom we consider as nameless, faceless, [71:07] those in the margins can still be named [71:10] even by utilizing a highly elitist oligarchic [71:15] presidential papers like Quezon Papers. [71:17] And I think that's one lesson that should be learned [71:22] as a value from a historian's perspective, no, [71:26] that we should never surrender [71:28] and simply, you know disregard, oh, it's an elitist, [71:33] it's oligarchic, it's a national perspective, [71:36] leader-centric from the type [71:40] of historiography, you know? [71:42] You may have a project [71:46] that looks at the other side of history, [71:50] the other side, the underside as Reynaldo Ileto [71:54] would like to point out, and still find resonance [71:58] and significance in a collection [72:00] like the Quezon Papers, you know? [72:03] So it may be, you know, [72:04] my personal experiences in the '80s and the '90s [72:09] as a researcher. [72:10] And when I went to Michigan I was telling Ricky, you know, [72:14] it has been quite a long time, I realized. [72:17] I went to Bentley long time ago [72:19] and tried to compare what's in the microfilm then, [72:24] and what we have at UP [72:26] and what I examined at the National Library [72:30] and not only the physical state of the libraries [72:35] and the collections, you know, [72:37] and how the librarians were reacting with, you know, [72:41] the researchers, you know, [72:43] that personal interaction may also be [72:46] equally significant in narrativizing the experience [72:49] and the history of the Quezon Papers. [72:51] That's another story, but perhaps Ma'am Fe [72:54] can also write about that, you know, [72:57] the librarian researcher relation. [73:00] But also equally important is how the physical state [73:03] of this collection, of the libraries [73:08] or the special collections that house the papers [73:14] may also be something worth noting, you know? [73:18] Sometimes the air conditioning system [73:20] in the special collections [73:23] of the Filipiniana in the National Library will break down [73:26] and we will all worry about the physical state [73:30] of the original Quezon Papers that were that microfilmed. [73:34] It will definitely be challenging to preserve [73:38] some of the papers if temperature, humidity [73:41] and the like are not controlled, what will happen to them? [73:45] So what we are being exposed to now, [73:48] given the digitized version, [73:52] it's just a snapshot of history. [73:54] But despite that, we can still find treasure [74:00] in that particular snapshot. [74:02] So going back to my question, who defines what is of value? [74:08] Who defines what is of significance? [74:10] I think we are appreciative of the work by the librarians [74:15] and the archivists, [74:17] but also the context upon which the people, the scholar, [74:21] the academic community work, [74:24] the appreciation of the '60s and '70s [74:27] regarding the papers may be different [74:29] from the appreciation of the current generation. [74:33] So what may be significant to a previous generation [74:39] or insignificant to the previous generation [74:41] may be totally front and center and highly significant [74:45] to the current generation. [74:47] Ma'am Fe was mentioning about the receipts, [74:50] the expenses and all, [74:52] and that's a dissertation by itself [74:55] in terms of reconstructing a family history, [74:59] but that's relegated to a different [75:05] or physical state of the collection precisely [75:10] because they were not regarded in the '60s and '70s [75:14] as a major or significant, [75:17] and therefore they were not integrated [75:20] into what may be microfilmed eventually [75:23] and what we have now. [75:25] So there's still a need for us to go back [75:28] to the original National Library [75:32] paper type of collection. [75:34] But the digital version [75:39] will really open the doors to further the access [75:45] of the papers to a larger audience. [75:49] So who defines? [75:51] It's the librarian, the historian, [75:55] but more importantly, the context of the generation [75:58] that is doing research [76:01] on a paper like the Quezon Papers. [76:06] - Well, thank you, Francis, for that. [76:09] You know, you mentioned [76:12] like the importance of access as a historian [76:15] and the role of librarians and archivists in the process. [76:19] I have a question specific to Veronica. [76:26] Because you've studied the patterns of access [76:29] of the microfilm papers between the Bentley [76:33] and the National Library of the Philippines. [76:36] How would you characterize the historian's use [76:39] of the microfilms between these two institutions? [76:46] - Thank you, Dr. Ricky. [76:48] Yeah just a minor caveat. [76:50] I did not do a thorough [76:51] digital humanities mapping. [76:54] I just check mostly the acknowledgements and all. [76:57] And I work with a particular generation of scholars. [77:01] So this might not reflect [77:03] the contemporary scholar generation, [77:08] at least within the Philippines [77:09] or those working on like local history [77:12] or like nationalist historiography. [77:14] And I would like to thank Professor Francis for [77:17] that very elaborate, you know, [77:21] understanding of what have been produced [77:25] by local scholars as well. [77:27] Because one thing that I did not particularly mention [77:30] earlier is that there was a huge tension [77:34] between these American-based area specialists [77:38] and their use of Quezon Papers, [77:40] and also the nationalist historians [77:43] based in the Philippines. [77:46] And the portrayal of this scholarship can be best read in... [77:53] This is actually illustrated in Ileto's piece [77:57] "Orientalism and the study of Philippine Politics [77:59] and Society." [78:01] People can check the piece [78:02] and then, you know, you can see [78:05] the different debates surrounding scholarly production [78:08] in the Philippines and how, you know, [78:10] politics was read from the area studies point of view. [78:13] You can read the sources now, like the Quezon Papers, [78:16] and, you know, make your own judgment, (laughs) [78:19] like what kind of perspectives have been built across time, [78:22] like from different cohorts. [78:27] So based on my study [78:35] I actually noticed [78:37] that many US-based scholars consulted the microfilm copies [78:40] at the national libraries [78:42] instead of traveling to Michigan. [78:44] And there is a practical explanation for this, [78:47] which I can expand on later, [78:49] and it has something to do with their funding situation. [78:53] But also consulting the papers locally was, you know, [78:56] less expensive and more accessible than traveling [79:00] to the US, when most of them, this particular generation, [79:05] was forced to relocate to Australia [79:08] back when there was already a funding drought [79:10] in area studies in the US in the 1980s. [79:14] So I can talk more about this, [79:18] but then I will stop there. [79:19] And I think as far as I know, [79:22] Michigan originally held the exclusive rights to the papers, [79:26] so the collection could not be readily duplicated [79:29] and distributed besides like in Bentley or in UP. [79:32] You can probably explain more about this Dr. Ricky. [79:36] So I think the pattern that I mostly notice [79:40] among researchers working at the Michigan collection [79:45] this is just like a tendency, not really like a, you know, [79:48] like a formulaic reading of their works. [79:51] But when scholars working on the Michigan papers, [79:56] sorry, on Quezon Papers at Michigan [80:01] when they do their research there, they tend to compare it [80:05] with the records of American colonial officials. [80:08] And while those working on the Philippine version [80:12] place them alongside the papers [80:14] of other Philippine presidents [80:16] or like Philippine politicians. [80:18] So proximity-wise, there is a tendency [80:20] to compare Quezon alongside Manuel Roxas papers [80:23] or Quirino papers [80:26] and other, like the Philippine insurrection records, [80:30] the national libraries. [80:32] So one, I think example that I noticed [80:36] where Quezon Paper was used alongside Manuel Roxas Papers [80:39] were like the work of Dr. Yusuke Takagi from Tokyo [80:45] who tried to reconstruct the history [80:47] of central banking in the Philippines. [80:49] And then from Michigan, there was I remember [80:54] Leia Castaneda Anastacio [80:56] who read the Quezon Papers alongside Leonard Woods' diaries [81:00] and American Administrative and Constitutional Records. [81:03] There's also work of Professor Julian Go, [81:06] who look into the educational institutions. [81:09] And the one that I was like reading recently [81:13] was like a good combination of both sources [81:17] from the NLP, Bentley like combined together [81:21] to produce like a creative exploration [81:26] of Philippine history. [81:27] It's like Dr. Mike Pantas, [81:29] like a capital city at the margins. [81:32] He used both the NLP, the National Library, [81:35] and then the Bentley copies together [81:37] with like other Philippine and Michigan collections. [81:40] And that is to write like urban history of Quezon City, [81:45] which I really enjoyed reading. [81:49] I think we can do like more study about this topic, [81:54] but I also forgot to mention earlier [81:58] that something that we should also like highlight [82:00] is Dr. Mila Guerrero's work, who was supposed [82:03] to be like Steinberg advisee at Michigan, [82:06] but then because Professor Steinberg left Michigan, [82:11] Norman Owen, who was also an advisee of Steinberg, [82:14] became like Dr. Guerrero's advisor [82:17] and also Dr. Anita Churchill, [82:19] who I think the main proponent of the proposal [82:23] to make the Quezon Papers like a UNESCO heritage collection. [82:29] So the female scholars are like advancing the field. [82:34] And I think we should probably, yeah, mention, you know, [82:37] what kind of work they did in order for us [82:39] to drive at this period. (laughs) [82:42] - Thank you for that, Veronica. [82:44] I think I will have to exercise my decision as moderator [82:48] to skip some questions [82:50] because we're bumping towards, [82:55] you know, like the time allotted for audience questions, [82:57] and I do want to encourage audience questions. [83:00] So I might skip some questions if others don't mind. [83:07] But I don't want to skip this particular one, [83:11] which is, you know, the... [83:14] And I think partly Francis mentioned this earlier, you know, [83:18] the relevance of the Quezon Papers [83:20] in contemporary audiences, you know? [83:23] Are there new research uses of the Quezon Papers, [83:26] particularly now that, you know, [83:29] we have the digital versions of the microfilm? [83:34] Yeah, this is for anyone. [83:45] Francis, would you like to go ahead [83:47] and, you know, expand on the new research uses? [83:52] - Yeah, well, of course, [83:54] the digitization initiative [84:00] carries with it a new weight for scholars. [84:06] Now there's no reason for anybody to say, [84:10] "Oh, we were not able to have access to some of the papers [84:15] because it's available digitally." [84:18] But I think what's important now [84:20] is the use of the Quezon Papers [84:26] and other presidential papers perhaps [84:31] as rather more introspectively significant [84:36] and important for us [84:39] to realize what's going on in the contemporary world. [84:44] Because in my classes, for example, [84:47] when I was referring to the Osmena-Quezon rivalry, [84:52] I was not giving any names [84:54] and were saying, "Oh, we have a president [84:56] and a vice president." [84:58] They were initially [85:01] together united in one team, and then they separated [85:06] and became rivals, and then they unified again. [85:09] And, you know, the type of patronage politics, [85:13] bureaucratic capitalism, and all of those social issues [85:18] and problems that we are confronting now. [85:22] I was not referring to the contemporary period, [85:25] but somehow my students appreciated [85:28] that we may be discussing Quezon in Osmania, [85:33] but somehow our appreciation [85:34] of what's going on in the present [85:37] may be informed by what went on in the past, you know, [85:44] the rivalries and the negotiations [85:49] between and among the different [85:52] groups of political families in the Philippines, you know? [85:59] There are still continuing patterns of political structures [86:06] and socioeconomic conditions [86:11] that remain to be very relevant to the present. [86:17] And the use of the Quezon Papers [86:23] and the other papers that may be of a similar type [86:27] may be given more value [86:30] and weight even now than before, you know? [86:33] The fact that we are asking different types of questions, [86:41] we are being forced to look into other conditions [86:45] and issues that perhaps [86:49] the generation of historians and archivists [86:53] of the '60s and '70s may not be asking, you know. [86:58] Ricky, you were mentioning about the heavy rains [87:01] and the floods, you know, environmental history is one. [87:06] History of disaster is one area [87:09] that's really very important in the Philippines right now. [87:13] You know, at face value, we cannot find anything [87:15] of significance in the Quezon Papers, [87:18] but if you dig deeper into the papers themselves, [87:22] somehow you can also find some relevant information [87:28] regarding some of these things. [87:31] Even the very history of the Quezon Papers themselves, [87:37] inundated by floods, [87:41] disorganized by a series of earthquakes, you know, [87:44] these are part and parcel of the impact of the history [87:49] of disasters to knowledge production [87:52] and intellectual history. [87:54] And I think that should also be foregrounded [87:56] as part and parcel of the narrative, you know? [88:01] - Yeah. Thanks for that, Francis. [88:04] I think I have to in the interest of time, [88:07] I may need to skip ahead into like our last question, [88:10] which is this discussion [88:15] is inspiring all of us to think about the importance [88:18] of preserving presidential papers, not just of Quezon, [88:21] but all other presidents of the country. [88:25] What are your recommendations to ensure [88:28] that these records are preserved [88:31] and accessible for future generations? [88:35] Now, like I'm asking like a bigger question, you know, [88:37] not just centered on the Quezon Papers, [88:40] but largely inspired by the fact [88:43] that these records were preserved. [88:45] You know, what about other presidents, [88:46] I guess is the question. [88:50] - Maybe Ma'am Fe can also elaborate on her experiences [88:54] on the other presidential papers. [88:56] - Yes. Ma'am Fe, you have to unmute. [89:03] You have to unmute. [89:29] I think we need to unmute her, [89:34] but I don't know how to do it. [89:35] - Yeah, it seems like it only will allow me [89:37] to ask to unmute. - Yeah. [89:43] - Just press the unmute button, Ma'am Fe? [89:48] - It's at the bottom left should be. [89:57] - While she's figuring it out, [89:58] like how about, you know (indistinct). [90:01] - Yeah, well, there were early attempts [90:06] to establish a presidential papers program [90:10] in the 1960s, [90:13] even earlier than 1960, [90:15] because I remember the Magsaysay Foundation [90:21] was beneficiary to a land donation [90:28] from the government. [90:30] By virtue of a congressional act, [90:33] the land on which the Magsaysay Center now stands on, [90:39] that huge 18-story building, iconic building [90:42] along Grass Boulevard, [90:45] very close to Pedro Gil, [90:51] was a fulfillment [90:55] to the obligation of the government [91:01] to do something about the presidential papers [91:05] of Magsaysay. [91:11] There was a series of columns in "The Manila Chronicle" [91:17] written by Vicente Albano Pacis, [91:21] a famous journalist, [91:24] and his writings were [91:30] criticizing, were mostly critical of the inadequate [91:33] preservation of presidential papers [91:37] and the treatment made by people [91:42] who stepped down from Malacanang, like former presidents [91:45] who took all their papers with them [91:48] upon leaving Malacanang. [91:50] So with these [91:57] advocacies, it helped [91:59] in another congressional act [92:04] passed in 1968, [92:07] which authorized the government to donate the land [92:10] right at the corner of Pedro Gil and Roxas Boulevard [92:13] to the Joseph Laurel Memorial Foundation. [92:16] And that is how the foundation was able [92:19] to fund many of its activities [92:24] because they rented out space on the ground floor [92:27] while keeping the entire mezzanine floor to operate [92:32] a presidential archives library and museum. [92:38] Now, aside from the Laurel Memorial Foundation, [92:42] no other strictly private presidential memorial foundations [92:47] received an identical congressional [92:50] public land grant since then. [92:55] So Parang, everything was at a standstill. [93:00] Nobody, the government wasn't doing anything [93:03] much about the presidential papers program [93:07] that was initially developed into a plan [93:12] by director, then National Library Director [93:16] Dr. Serafin D. Quiason. [93:18] Sometime after [93:23] the completion of the University of Michigan [93:27] and National Library Project, he tried to push [93:32] for his own presidential papers program, [93:37] but nothing really materialized. [93:42] In March 1976, I took note of this. [93:46] He submitted a 25, Director Quezon, [93:50] submitted a 25-year development plan [93:54] for 1976 to the year 2000 [93:57] to include a presidential papers program to be funded [94:02] by a 2.3 million, which is not really practical [94:06] or feasible at that time. [94:09] And the plan was to include the creation [94:12] of a presidential papers room at the National Library, [94:17] the appointment of a program director, [94:21] the organization [94:22] and arrangement of presidential collections, [94:26] the preparation of finding aides [94:28] and the eventual microfilming. [94:31] Nothing happened. [94:33] And then lately, sometime in 2007, [94:40] Republic Act 9470, [94:43] or what you are aware of this, Ricky, [94:46] the National Archives Act of 2007 [94:53] established the legal framework [94:55] for the management administration and preservation [95:00] of Philippine presidential papers. [95:07] But what has it done since 2007? [95:17] I'm throwing it back [95:21] to the other panelists [95:24] because right now I don't see much of... [95:27] I mean, you know, aside from the private initiatives [95:32] of the heirs of former presidents [95:38] let's see, Macapagal, right? [95:45] Cory Aquino. [95:49] And they have their own private initiatives. [95:52] They established their own presidential museum. [95:56] Maybe it's not the kind of presidential archives [96:01] that you would want [96:06] established similar to [96:07] the US presidential library system. [96:12] But on their own initiatives, they tried to do that, [96:16] but to preserve the papers of the former presidents. [96:21] But considering these [96:26] private initiatives, nothing is done [96:29] to make them accessible to the public. [96:33] Because I think for [96:36] the Macapagal papers, they were only accessible [96:41] to the biographers, the official biographers [96:45] or writers on Macapagal, just that the Macapagal. [96:50] For Marcos, the Marcos Sr. [96:55] the papers were scattered all over [96:57] because part of the papers that he brought [97:02] with the family in Hawaii [97:05] were captured by the US government. [97:11] So I'm not sure [97:14] if the US National Archives would have them, [97:18] but they would be under strict censorship [97:22] because, I mean, under very restrictive access [97:29] because of the nature of the Marcos, [97:32] the Senior Marcos Papers. [97:34] - They were not during (indistinct). [97:36] - Yeah, and then the ones in the custody [97:41] of PCGG, right. [97:44] But they were mostly photo duplicates. [97:48] The originals were [97:53] supposedly brought to Hawaii. [97:58] So anyway, after Marcos, we had Fidel Ramos. [98:02] Now, Fidel Ramos also, the family, [98:07] the heirs made their own initiative. [98:09] But who has had access [98:13] to Ramos papers? [98:15] And then of course, Estrada. [98:17] And then... [98:19] No, before Estrada, yeah, Estrada. [98:21] And then after Estrada, Arroyo. [98:24] The Arroyo Papers are still in the residence of, I think, of [98:30] Congresswoman GMA right now. [98:36] So, you know, [98:38] access to these presidential papers [98:41] are very, very, very limited, [98:47] if at all there is. [98:50] - Yeah, so Veronica, Francis, [98:53] would you like to say something about that question [98:55] or should we open this conversation [98:59] to like our wider audience? [99:04] - I think I also mentioned a very significant point [99:09] on the part of scholars and academics, [99:12] and that is not only the physical [99:17] or even right now, no, virtual [99:19] or digital access to these materials, [99:23] but more importantly, how scholars from various localities [99:28] are somewhat defined by the funding [99:33] that they were receiving from the grants [99:35] and the programs, you know, [99:37] so that some of the research agenda are actually not solely [99:43] nor exclusively defined by their own research interests, [99:49] but on the availability of the programs [99:52] that they were entering into. [99:56] That's one. [99:57] And therefore some of those, [100:00] you know, we may be speaking about [100:06] having been a student of the University of the Philippines, [100:10] having limited access. [100:11] No, but I can just imagine if you are, you know, [100:15] a scholar from a far-flung province, [100:19] or a state university elsewhere outside of Manila [100:26] it becomes even more problematic to have access [100:29] to some of the funding grants that may give you access [100:35] to some of the papers. [100:38] If you can hurdle that, then you have to [100:43] contend with what Ma'am Fe was mentioning, [100:46] whether or not even the very presence of a collection [100:51] of a presidential paper, you know, [100:53] if you're pursuing a particular topic [100:56] under a specific presidency, [100:59] whether it's readily available, that's one, [101:02] whether it's organized or publicly accessible, you know, [101:06] that's another thing. [101:08] And if you have funding to have access to those materials, [101:13] that's another thing. [101:16] - Yeah. Thank you for that, Francis. [101:20] Megan, do we have questions from the audience [101:22] that, you know, you could - [101:23] - Yeah, I have a few. [101:24] If anyone wants to submit additional questions, [101:27] feel free to do that in the Q&A. [101:30] So it seems like some of our participants are curious [101:34] about the political aspects [101:36] the sort of world around the collection. [101:38] And one of the questions that was asked given the timeline [101:42] for the Quezon Papers project in the 1960s and 1970s [101:46] did President Marcos Sr. [101:48] have any involvement in the process at all? [101:50] And if so, what was that involvement? [102:02] - I guess Ma'am Fe would know [102:03] if a former a President Marcos Sr. [102:07] was at all involved. [102:13] - What was the question or what was the... [102:18] If he was involved in what? [102:21] - If he influenced the processing project [102:25] and the microfilming project originally [102:26] in the '60s and '70s? [102:32] - Oh, I wouldn't be [102:36] privy to that, you know? [102:39] The terms of agreement were [102:44] at the time I was doing my master's thesis [102:47] on the on the presidential papers, [102:53] I was able to take a peek into the MOA [102:58] and the correspondences relating [103:02] to some changes in the terms of the MOA, [103:06] but they were kept in the director's office, [103:10] director's files. [103:12] And since then, I think they have been [103:16] so restricted [103:18] that any inquiry [103:24] into the terms and agreement [103:30] regarding the microfilming project [103:36] would be highly classified, I think, [103:40] because I myself couldn't get more. [103:44] - Ma'am Fe, Ricky, can I ask something? (laughs) [103:48] - Yeah. - No, Ma'am Fe, [103:51] just out of curiosity [103:53] because almost at the same time, [103:57] that Tadhana project of the Marcos government [104:03] was already being implemented. [104:07] And of course, you have scholars trying to [104:11] put some of the historical revisionist tendencies [104:15] of the older Marcos presidency [104:21] particularly regarding the Nalundasan case, [104:24] the World War II medals and the like. [104:28] Did you have any particular sense [104:31] that somehow some of these concerns of history [104:35] of the former President Marcos of historical significance [104:40] or, you know, the creation of a narrative [104:43] that may reflect his own version of history, [104:47] did it impact at all on [104:50] the collections like the Quezon Papers? [104:52] - Not on the papers of Quezon. [104:56] - Not on the paper. - Not on the papers of Quezon. [104:57] Any intervention from Marcos at the time would not be, [105:03] well, justifiable [105:05] because there would be nothing much [105:11] from the Quezon collection. [105:15] There would be nothing much to reveal on him [105:19] or his family's history or concerns. [105:24] I think that particular question [105:29] would be more appropriate to the Laurel Papers. [105:33] Because at the time I was organizing the papers [105:37] in the late 1970s, [105:40] from 1975 up to 1982 when we started microfilming them, [105:46] we even had bomb threats [105:49] because I refused to answer phone inquiries [105:54] about the existence of [105:59] any documents pertaining to the Nalundasan case. [106:04] And it was, remember, Laurel, [106:07] who was then the chief justice who [106:16] dismissed the case in his paper. [106:19] He was already in prison, you know? [106:22] And he even took the bar while he was in prison [106:26] and passed it with flying colors. [106:29] And we had inquiries, phone inquiries, [106:32] trying to ascertain, confirm, verify [106:38] whether there were documents we held in custody, [106:43] not only on the Nalundasan cases, [106:46] because we had phone inquiries also, mostly phone inquiries. [106:50] They were not formally submitted to us by written request [106:54] about some Davao land cases, [106:58] which also Laurel handled during that time [107:03] when he was serving as a lawyer [107:09] to many Japanese [107:11] business interests in Davao. [107:15] We even had a whole group record series [107:21] on the Davao Land cases, Mindanao. [107:27] Also, I think [107:32] at the time we were processing the papers, [107:37] we had some inquiries [107:44] through the director's office passed on to me [107:48] regarding any material [107:53] that would help in a biography [107:57] that was being funded by Malacanang at the time, [108:01] sometime in 1968. [108:04] I think Dr. Milagros Guerrero and Dr. Samuel Tan [108:12] were assigned [108:19] to do the write-up of an authoritative [108:24] biography of Marcos. (laughs) [108:28] I don't know what happened to that, [108:31] but there were attempts to look into the papers, [108:40] and not only the Quezon Papers or collection, [108:43] but other collections. [108:45] And the rumors came out [108:49] that many of the documents [108:52] were so-called pilfered out [108:57] and somehow lost in transit [109:03] and they were never found. [109:09] - Wow. - Wow. (laughs) [109:13] - But we were very- - Veronica, you are laughing. [109:17] - When we were processing the Quezon Papers, [109:19] we were very strict. [109:21] We made sure that the scholar [109:25] or researcher were officially allowed in writing [109:30] by the director himself. [109:33] Otherwise, they would not be able [109:35] to take even a peek into the Quezon collection at the time, [109:40] because we were still processing. [109:42] - Yeah, well, to go back to the question on whether Marcos [109:46] influenced any of the processing [109:48] or the representation of the collection, [109:51] Veronica and I probably were one of the few people [109:54] who looked at the records at the Bentley [109:57] and the negotiations behind the microfilming. [110:00] I did not see any kind of sense of any Marcos involvement. [110:06] A lot of the conversations were mostly, you know, [110:09] this kind of ambition by, you know, [110:14] the Bentley and the University of Michigan [110:16] to be the largest repository of Filipiniana archives. [110:21] In fact, at that time, there was aspiration to be, [110:26] you know, calling the Michigan Historical Collection [110:29] as the largest Filipiniana collection. [110:31] Like you can write Philippine history [110:34] by consulting, you know, it's more like that. [110:39] And then these other historians [110:43] supporting the project. [110:47] Now, I can't [110:51] answer whether, you know, for instance, [110:53] the hiring of Quiason, and other people were influenced [111:00] by Marcus, but none in the records at the Bentley. [111:06] Fe, you are muted. [111:07] - Yeah, yes, yes, yes, yes. May I say something? [111:12] I suspect that [111:17] the director Quiason, I'm referring to, [111:21] was hired particularly because he was a fraternity brother. [111:26] - Yeah, so that's the kind of... [111:28] If there's any impact, [111:30] that's probably the hiring of the director, which up to now, [111:34] as you know, is a presidential appointee. [111:37] So do we have one more question? [111:39] - We do, you know, I do want to say [111:42] we've had quite a few great questions. [111:44] We won't be able to get through all of them, [111:45] but one that I think is a good wrap up for us is [111:49] "How would the Quezon Papers help the current generation, [111:53] especially Filipino students, [111:55] in understanding Manuel Quezon himself? [111:58] And how did the papers help students understanding [111:59] the current political landscape?" [112:18] Any thoughts on that one? [112:21] - I think Sir Francis [112:24] provided, you know, like some of the answers to that, [112:28] but would you like to say more? [112:30] - I could ask a different one if, [112:32] yeah, if there's nothing to add. [112:33] - Yeah. Okay. - Okay. [112:36] So here's another one related more specifically [112:39] to the the papers themselves. [112:41] "So going back, are there any steps made [112:44] to reorganize the Quezon Papers that are still at the NLP? [112:48] And if known, are there any current efforts [112:50] to microfilm the remaining material [112:51] that's not in the microfilm [112:53] that the Bentley has recently digitized?" [112:56] - That's a good question for folks at the National Library. [113:00] - That's fair. That is fair. [113:03] Okay, here's one that's a little bit bigger. [113:08] "Do you think it's possible to study the Quezon material, [113:12] to study Quezon as a person in his own terms [113:15] taking into account local perspectives [113:17] without overlooking authoritarian character in his life?" [113:25] - I don't think we can divorce Quezon [113:29] from the context of the 1935 constitution, [113:32] the authoritarian structures [113:35] that were born out of the period [113:38] and the context that somehow defined [113:41] and determined the roots of Philippine authoritarianism, [113:44] which to some historians can be rooted [113:48] in the Quezon period. [113:50] And the appreciation really is that historically, [113:56] Quezon was also himself defined by his own context. [114:00] The way he was regarded by the Americans [114:05] and the way he regarded the Americans as a leader. [114:09] And somehow it resonated, [114:11] and going back to the earlier question, it resonated to, [114:15] for example, how contemporary leaders [114:19] were reacting with or dealing with American [114:23] or any foreign institution for that matter [114:25] or foreign forces for that matter, you know, how to balance [114:31] one's political agenda and career on the one hand. [114:35] And, you know, the idea that you are [114:37] a national public figure [114:40] and therefore you should represent [114:43] the interest of the nation. [114:46] But that idea of what is the interest of the nation [114:49] or the very notion of nation formation [114:53] is also at the heart and the front and center of, you know, [114:59] the development of collections, [115:00] presidential collections like the Quezon Papers, you know? [115:05] It is somewhat related with the idea [115:08] that nation state formation [115:12] can be represented through the archives, you know. [115:17] And the Quezon Papers is one of the best [115:19] and one of the earliest representations of that attempt [115:23] to define the nation state [115:26] via the institutionalization of the bureaucracy, [115:31] the economy, and foreign relations [115:35] as expressed and located in the presidential papers. [115:40] And therefore the need, for example, [115:42] when Ma'am Fe was discussing about [115:44] how somewhat relatively problematic [115:48] the development of presidential papers in the Philippines, [115:52] the conditions of that development [115:54] was somehow it was problematic [115:58] and it reflected the relatively problematic state, [116:02] of course, of the formation of the Philippine nation state, [116:05] you know, and how knowledge production [116:09] can best be represented in the presidential papers [116:12] and you know, the experience of state formation [116:17] can somehow also be uncovered in the use of these papers. [116:24] - Yeah, you know, one aspect [116:26] that we haven't fully discussed, which is like, [116:29] I think a little bit out of the range of our conversation [116:32] is, you know, the fact [116:34] that there was a kind of exchange [116:36] between the Bentley and the National Library [116:40] on the Malcolm papers basically saying, you know, [116:44] well, the National Library of the Philippines [116:47] has the papers of Quezon, [116:51] but the Malcolm papers are in the possession of the Bentley, [116:55] you know, that in exchange for that kind of microfilming [117:00] the National Library of the Philippines [117:02] actually ask for the Malcolm papers [117:05] to be microfilmed and be, you know, [117:08] and they've thus, you know, the library [117:11] received the Malcolm papers. [117:12] So in a way, you know, [117:15] the relationship of the Quezon Papers is not just, [117:19] you know, the question is not just about other presidents [117:21] and other, but, you know, these other colonial officials, [117:24] right, for example. [117:28] - The idea of reciprocity, [117:29] I think also is equally important in that. [117:32] - Yeah, and the reciprocity also from the angle [117:35] of knowledge production, you know, like if they did not [117:38] have this kind of quid pro quo relationship, you know, [117:43] which is really interesting to me because now I'm in Bagyo, [117:45] and I just realized that Malcolm actually wrote [117:49] the charter for Bagyo. (laughs) [117:53] So I was thinking, "Oh, maybe Bagyo needs to have a copy [117:56] of the Malcolm papers too because (indistinct) charter." [117:59] Anyway, just like looking at all those connections. [118:02] We are two minutes into the end. [118:06] And Megan, would you like to say something [118:10] to finish and end this fantastic panel? [118:15] - Sure, sirst of all, I want to say thank you so much [118:18] to all of our panelists and Dr. Punzalan. [118:21] We've been getting a lot of great messages from you all [118:23] in the chat about how much you're appreciating your work, [118:26] and we really are happy [118:27] to have your perspectives on these questions. [118:30] To wrap things up, I will say that [118:32] this recording will be available after the fact. [118:35] So you will get a follow-up message in your email [118:39] that provides some follow-up information [118:41] and the link once it's ready. [118:42] It won't be right after this. [118:43] We have to do a little bit of cleaning up [118:45] to make sure it's accessible. [118:47] But you will receive that in your email. [118:50] And we want to thank you all so much for joining today [118:52] to talk about this important collection. [118:55] We hope that you take a look yourself. [118:56] I will put in the chat a link there [118:59] to the digital collections in case you want [119:01] to wrap up this session by exploring some more. [119:05] Thank you all.