From Manila to Manitoba Series: 

Volumes two and three to be released soon

The latest volumes in the five volume series, From Manila to Manitoba, is set to be released soon. Drawing from research in the 2010 oral history exhibit at the Manitoba Museum in Winnipeg, the series continues with new research exploring emigration from the Philippines to Winnipeg during the 1970s and 1980s. It offers a unique look into Winnipeg's diverse history, a history in which the Filipino-Canadian experience is only beginning to come to light.
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"It has taken us a while to get this series moving through the years. I realize that seven years has passed since the exhibit was first made public, but with the ever changing political landscape in the Philippines and Canada it was important we include how this history is being revisited today," said Darlyne Bautista, the series author. "I hope our readers can appreciate the time and care we've put into getting the information balanced and just right."
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Referring to the legacy of the Philippines' early "labour export" policies under the Marcos Administration during the 1970s and 1980s, Bautista notes how these policies influenced Canada's Manpower and Immigration program. The program is responsible for recruiting hundreds of Filipina/os to work in Winnipeg's garment industry.

Bautista notes how oral histories ANAK researchers collected in 2009 revealed that repression found under Martial Law also played a role in personal decisions to ultimately leave the Philippines. "When discussing Martial Law today, it's no longer a matter of referring to the texts that are out there. In recent years, with a new wave of revisionism, we see a 'white-washing' and 'sanitizing' of what atrocities happened in the past. In November 2016, Marcos was buried in the Cemetery of Heroes despite public protest. A dictator turned hero that is both reviled and praised in the mere decades since his death is something that needs to be explored carefully as it relates to our history here in Canada."