"Panahon pa ni Mahoma". "Panahon pa ng kopong-kopong"

Ever heard the saying: "Panahon pa ni Mahoma"?  This sentence is used when comparing how old the issue or a thing is.

Mahoma pertains to a person.  Who is Mahoma?  Searching for the answer I asked my old pal C3PO and surprisingly knows the answer. (droids are very handy for a Jedi like me who don't know everything)

Mahoma is actually Masaharu Homma.  A Japanese Imperial Army general.  He was well remembered for his role in the invasion and occupation of the Philippines during World War II.

With the start of the Pacific War, Homma was named commander of the 43,110-man IJA 14th Army and tasked with the invasion of the Philippines. He ordered his troops to treat the Filipinos not as enemies but as friends, and respect their customs and religion. In one instance, on his approach to Manila, Homma stopped his columns and ordered the men to clean up and tighten formations, knowing that unkempt soldiers are more likely to loot and rape.

This liberal approach towards Filipino civilians earned him the enmity of his superior, General Count Hisaichi Terauchi, commander of the Southern Army, who sent adverse reports about Homma to Tokyo from his headquarters in Saigon. There was also a growing subversion within Homma's command by a small group of insubordinates, under the influence of Colonel Tsuji Masanobo. In Homma's name, they sent out secret orders against his policies, including ordering the execution of Filipino Chief Justice Jose Abad Santos and attempted execution of former Speaker of the House of Representatives Manuel Roxas, which Homma found out about in time to stop.

Homma failed to give credence to the possibility that a retreat into Bataan Peninsula by Filipino-American forces might succeed in upsetting the Japanese timetable. By the time he recognized his mistake, his best infantry division had been replaced by a poorly trained reserve brigade, greatly weakening his assault force. Rather than waste his men in furious frontal assaults, he tried to outmaneuver the American forces. This brought criticism from superiors who believed he had been “contaminated” by Western ideas about conserving the lives of his men.

Worried about the stalled offensive in Luzon, Emperor Showa pressed Army Chief of Staff Hajime Sugiyama twice on January 1942 to increase troop strength and launch a quick knockout on Bataan.  Following these orders, Sugiyama put pressure on Homma to renew his attacks. The resulting Battle of Bataan commencing in January 1942 was one of the most intense in the campaign. However, the deteriorating relationship between Homma and Sugiyama led to the removal of Homma from command shortly after the fall of Corregidor, and he was thereafter commander of the 14th Army in name only.

The Imperial General Headquarters regarded Homma as not aggressive enough in war (resulting in the high cost and long delay in securing the American and Filipino forces' surrender), and too lenient with the Filipino people in peace, and he was subsequently forced into retirement, in August 1943. Homma retired from the military and lived in semi-seclusion in Japan until the end of the war.

Later after the war, Homma was extradited to face trial.  The rest is history folks.

What about the saying: "Panahon pa ng kopong-kopong" which also is used when comparing to old age and time.
"kopong-kopong" is coined from the year 1900 which has two "00" for old tagalog word "kopong" or double.

Now that we know who Mahoma is and what is kopong-kopong we will not be as dumb when we hear those sentences from someone.

Till then my Jedi friend.... I will talk about Limahong and Kulafu next time. May the force be with you....