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Pre-Claveria surname usage in Cebu

by Todd Sales Lucero - November 13, 2024 - 12:00am

Continuing our discussion on the Claveria surname decree of 1849, today we examine the use of "surnames" in some towns of Cebu Province before the decree.

Filipino surnames as status indicator

by Todd Sales Lucero - November 6, 2024 - 12:00am

November is always special for Filipino genealogists.

Filipino funerarias and Feast of the Dead

by Todd Lucero - October 30, 2024 - 12:00am

Each year on November 1 and 2, Filipinos visit their departed loved ones in memorial gardens and cemeteries.

Pinoy DNA and citizenship through bloodline

by Todd Lucero - October 23, 2024 - 12:00am

October is Family History Month, meant to create awareness about family history.

Names and Filipinos

by Todd Sales Lucero - October 16, 2024 - 12:00am

Recent events have proven that Filipinos are not new to “reinventions”.

Spies, secrets, and the Senate

by Todd Sales Lucero - October 9, 2024 - 12:00am

A recent documentary of an alleged Chinese spy in Thailand claims he had a list of other spies with one of them being Guo Hua Ping, known to most Filipinos as ex-mayor Alice Guo.

Rags to Riches: Reasons for running for office

by Todd Lucero - September 25, 2024 - 12:00am

Author Stephen Birmingham wrote in America's Secret Aristocracy that early American presidents died almost broke, having spent much of their fortune helping the government in the early decades of their nation.

Arrivals and departures in Philippine history

by Todd Lucero - September 18, 2024 - 12:00am

Newspapers recently featured the homecoming of former Presidential daughter and sister Kris Aquino, who has been living abroad for health reasons.

“Filipino” identity and Spanish citizenship

by Todd Sales Lucero - September 4, 2024 - 12:00am

A common query from prospective clients is assistance in retrieving documents to prove Spanish ancestry so they may apply for Spanish citizenship through the Ley de Memoria Democrática.

Quiboloy: From Pampanga to the Land of Promise

by Todd Sales Lucero - August 28, 2024 - 12:00am

When newspapers reported that the Philippine National Police who raided the Kingdom of Jesus Christ (KOJC) compound in Davao City recently “heard, using ground penetrating radar, the ‘heartbeat’...

Scandals and other salacious Phils. sports (his) stories

by Todd Sales Lucero - August 14, 2024 - 12:00am

Almost immediately after Filipino gymnast Carlos Yulo won two Olympic gold medals for his country, controversy erupted between Carlos (with his girlfriend) and his mother. Both went public with the feud, overshadowing...

Yulo’s victory, government’s neglect

by Todd Sales Lucero - August 7, 2024 - 12:00am

When I was just starting with my genealogy research, I discovered Bea Lucero. Back then, I had no idea about Claveria’s surname decree so like many Filipinos, I immediately claimed her as my cousin.

Of floods and falsehoods

by Todd Sales Lucero - July 31, 2024 - 12:00am

In his recent State of the Nation Address, President Ferdinand R. Marcos, Jr. boasted the completion of more than 5,500 flood control projects.

The Gumilas and the Climacos

by Todd Sales Lucero - July 24, 2024 - 12:00am

Today, July 24, 2024, in Katy, Texas, USA, a Requiem Mass will be held for Ramon Lucero Gumila Sr., who passed away on July 13, just nine days shy of his 103rd birthday. While I called him Tio Ramon, he was really...

Political dynasties: Rivals, romances, and realignments

by Todd Sales Lucero - July 17, 2024 - 12:00am

Recently, the country temporarily forgot about its problems and became obsessed about a photo of Josh and Bimby Aquino (sons of Kris Aquino) with First Lady Liza Araneta Marcos.

Lucio and Simplicio Godino: The Samar United Twins

by Todd Sales Lucero - July 10, 2024 - 12:00am

This week on July 13 in 1929, the Philippines’ earliest known and perhaps our most famous conjoined twins --or “Siamese” twins-- the Godino brothers, had a double wedding to Victorina and Natividad...

“Hilda” Marcos and name variations in birth records

by Todd Sales Lucero - July 3, 2024 - 12:00am

This week on July 2 in 1929, Imelda Romualdez was born in San Miguel, Manila.

Pride and discovery in Brunei

by Todd Sales Lucero - June 26, 2024 - 12:00am

I recently visited Brunei Darussalam which is, compared to its neighbors, a relatively young nation.

Jose Rizal and the month of June

by Todd Sales Lucero - June 19, 2024 - 12:00am

June holds a special place in Philippine history, not least because it marks the birth of the national hero, Jose Rizal.

Love, law, and liberation: The Philippine divorce debate

by Todd Sales Lucero - June 12, 2024 - 12:00am

While today is the Philippines’ celebration of its independence, many Filipinos are also preoccupied with another concept of “independence”: the legalization of divorce in the country.

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