The Philippines under Spanish colonial rule (1521–1899)

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A new angle on a national hero: How a warts-and-all tribute to Jose Rizal got the Philippines talking
By Ruel De Vera, Manila, Asia Week, [March 1999]. A blockbuster movie about independence hero Jose Rizal, the 19th-century renaissance man whose death at the hands of the Spanish military spurred Filipinos to freedom. The movie reinvents a national icon for an entirely new generation of Filipinos.
Rizal, in Asia Week, 10.III.1999 (#1999-69)
By Vincent K Pollard, Southeast Asia Discussion list, 11 March 1999. A comment on the De Vera review above. De Vera has avoided some more serious issues. Rizal aimed at more national autonomy within the Spanish empire, not constitutional independence. Despite his ilustrado social class, he consistently protested Spanish policy. He was a consistent reformist.
Flag raising and parades launch two weeks of independence revelry
AP, Hong Kong Standard, [13 May 1998]. Flags were raised nationwide yesterday in rites kicking off two weeks of revelry, culminating in the 12 June centennial of the country's declaration of independence from 300 years of Spanish colonial rule. Before the Philippines could gain its independence, however, the United States acquired it after winning the 1898 Spanish-American War.