Iglesia Filipina Independiente Diamond Jubilee Year

The events commemorated in my  stamp is the “Diamond Jubilee Year” of the IGLESIA FILIPINA INDEPENDIENTE  (1902-1977). The personality in my stamp is  Gregorio Labayan Aglipay (May 5, 1860 – September 1, 1940). He  was the first Filipino Supreme Bishop of the Philippine Independent Church. On January 18, 1903, Aglipay was appointed Supreme Bishop of the Philippine Independent Church by the bishops of Manila, Cavite, Nueva Ecija, Isabela, Cagayan, Pangasinan, and Abra.

Port Del Pilar, Zamboanga City

Shown in my stamp is one of the beautiful place in Zamboanga City, Philippines whereas, ancient Spanish cannon can be seen in Fort Del Pilar.  In the background were the traditional Moro Vintas used by our brother Muslim in the said area.

Muhammad Dipatuan Kudarat

The personality in my stamp is Muhammad Dipatuan Kudarat (also spelled Qudarat or Corallat) (1581–1671) He was a Sultan of Maguindanao in the Philippines. During his reign, he successfully opposed the Spaniards who attempted to conquer his land and hindered the Christianization of the island of Mindanao. He was a direct descendant of Shariff Kabungsuwan, a Muslim missionary who brought Islam to the Philippines between the 13th and 14th century.^[1] The Philippine province of Sultan Kudarat is named after him.

Col. Jesus Villamor

Shown in this stamp is a pilot  and known for his  ingenuity  as an intelligence officer. He fought bravely with the Japanese aces during World War II. President Ramon Magsaysay, awarded Col. Jesus Villamor the Medal of Valor, the highest Philippine military bravery decoration, on January 21, 1954. The Philippine Air Forces principal facility in Metro Manila Metro which was first known as Nichols Field then later Nichols Air Base was renamed Col. Jesus Villamor Air Base in his honor.

Bonifacio Monument

Shown in this stamp the “Andres Bonifacio Monument” located in Monumento, Caloocan City. It is a monument dedicated to the lifework of Gat. Andres Bonifacio , a Philippine hero known for his role in inciting the Revolutionary War against the Spanish colonizers. This monument is the masterpiece of sculpture, Guillermo E. Tolentino , one of the National Artist of the Philippines.

This place is very memorable to me because I  lived in Caloocan for almost 13 years where this Monument is erected. 

Evangelization of the Philippines

The oldest stamp I had in my collection is the commemoration of the “400 years of Evangelization of the Philippines since 1565”. It is the oldest since it is my only stamp using the word “F” as the first letter of Filipinas. What commemorated here is a very important event in Philippine history because we learned the teaching of Christ and made our country the only Christian nation in the far east.

Collecting Stamps as my Hobby

As a hobbyist, I am fond of collecting stamps. It began when I was still in my young age. Those were the times where the only source of communication were letters we’ve send thru mail. But time changed. We are now living in a world with high tech gadgets which made this old type of communication obsolete. These are the times where we can easily send messages to our friends and love ones in every corner of the world by just pounding the keyboard of our computers at home, laptops, cell phones, etc. 

Although it is not yet a dead form of communication, it is still exist, unlike that of a telegram. Using pen, papers, envelopes, stamps etc, were now scarcely used. Sometimes even in some letters and packages, using stamps is no longer a practice. It is substituted by a metered stamps.

So, the one thing I’ve really missed now is the stamps. For me, it is a history in the making. The imaged we saw therein are the reflection of our own country, people, places and events.  It show how we valued our government, our people, our institutions, our heroes, our achievements, our pride as a nation and our culture. It is also an outlet how we commemorated some important events and  occasions that transpired  in the past and present years, months, weeks and days.

The stamps I’ve collected were just a few compared to those who are old collectors of this stuff but I am happy to share it to everyone.