Forty-seven years after the Datu Bago Awards was instituted in 1969, the book that deals with the life and times of the Moro datu after whom the annual recognition was named, is now off the press.
Written by Edge Davao, columnist-historian Antonio V. Figueroa, the book attempts to piece together the events that led to Datu Bago’s decision to challenge Spanish supremacy at a time when the Maguindanao sultanate was sealing peace accords with the colonial administration.
Included the book is the updated list of the Datu Bago Awards recipients (1969-2017).
Published through the support of Don Antonio O. Floirendo Foundation, the book, among others, also answers questions on Don Oyanguren’s life, the fate of the steamship Elcano, the role of the Samal natives in the conquest of the datu’s enclave, and the views raised by other researchers on the historicity of accounts about Datu Bago’s escape from the invaders.
The author, who studied Philosophy at Saint Francis Xavier College Seminary (SFXS) under the Brothers of the Sacred Heart (SC), is the founder of Philippine Industrial Archaeology Society (PIAS), a trustee of Manila Railroad Club (MRC), and an active member of the Philippine National Historical Society, Incorporated (PNHS) and the Davao Historical Society Foundation, Incorporated (DHSF). He is also a nationally awarded journalist.
Among the books he has published are The Polygon: East Asean Growth Area (1994), The Final Verdict: The First Mass Controversy on Philippine Soil (1999), Confluence of Two Rivers: History of Monayo, Compostela Valley Province (2003), The DANECO Story: A Coop That Powers, A Team That Lights (2004), Pinoy Socio-Cultural Dictionary (2007), Davao: Origin of Place Names (2010, USA), and First 50 Years: The History of the Brothers of the Sacred Heart in the Philippines (2014).
For more information, contact 0921-7887215 or email author at antonfigs@yahoo.com.
