MOURNING HENERAL MIONG: The Father of the First Brown Nation
Sarah Jane N. Estubo
“Jose Rizal and Marcelo H. Del Pilar were the precursors of the Philippine Revolution which Andres Bonifacio launched, but it remained for Emilio Aguinaldo to give it body and substance. Had it not been for Aguinaldo, our libertarian struggles would indeed have been of brief moment, leaving no impress on our history.” – President Diosdado Macapagal.
General Emilio Aguinaldo y Famy, “Heneral Miong” as he was reverently called, was a statesman, a Filipino Revolutionary leader, and the president of the First Republic of the Philippines- the first constitutional republic founded in Asia. He led the victorious Filipino revolutionary forces against Spain during the Philippine Revolution and fought the American forces in the Philippine-American War.
Time and time again, General Emilio Aguinaldo remains one of the most controversial figures in Philippine History. More than a century after he survived the dark chapters of the turbulent revolution, the accusations toward the general persist– a former president who had no mind of his own and was unfit to run the affairs of the revolutionary government, a murderer, and a docile commander who quickly succumbed to the sovereignty of the succeeding colonial power
Aguinaldo’s family cries beside his lifeless body
THE MANILA TIMES, 7 FEBRUARY 1964
MUSEO NI EMILIO AGUINALDO, NHCP
MOURNING A GENERAL
On 6 February 1964, precisely fifty-nine years ago, General Emilio Aguinaldo died of coronary thrombosis at the Veterans Memorial Medical Center in Quezon City. He was confined for 489 days at the hospital, where he spent most days of his last four years due to his fragile condition before his death. Lolo Miong was forty-five days short of his 95th birthday then.
Announcement of Aguinaldo’s death
by the Asociación de los Veteranos de la Revolución
THE MANILA TIMES, 7 FEBRUARY 1964
MUSEO NI EMILIO AGUINALDO, NHCP
The Philippine flag at the Malacañan Palace is flown at half-mast
MUSEO NI EMILIO AGUINALDO, NHCP
As news of General Aguinaldo’s demise was made public, President Diosdado Macapagal proclaimed 6 – 20 February 1964, as a fifteen-day national mourning period to honor the departed president. Flag installations in government buildings in the Philippines and overseas were flown at half-mast. President Macapagal ordered the renaming of Camp Murphy, the headquarters of the Armed Forces of the Philippines, to Camp Aguinaldo. This change was made official by virtue of Republic Act 4434, enacted on 19 June 1965. He also issued an administrative order creating a committee tasked with conducting the official necrological services and state funeral arrangements for the late general “commensurate with the esteem and respect in which he is held by the Filipino people, and with the everlasting debt of gratitude we owe him.”
Aguinaldo’s remains are brought to his home in Kawit, Cavite
NATIONAL LIBRARY OF THE PHILIPPINES
Aguinaldo’s remains lie in repose at the sala of his home in Kawit, Cavite
NATIONAL LIBRARY OF THE PHILIPPINES
Following the state funeral arrangements for President Aguinaldo, his remains were transferred to the historic Aguinaldo residence in Kawit, Cavite, where the public was allowed to pay their last respects. The influx of mourners crowded the area. Surviving veterans of the revolution wept and saluted as his casket passed them on his way home and as they viewed Heneral Miong clad in rayadillo. These gestures spoke volumes about their high respect for the grand old man. Under the auspices of the Veterans Federation of the Philippines, the veterans held a four-day vigil from 8 – 11 February in the mansion apart from the necrological services for the general.
Aguinaldo’s remains lie in repose at the Manila Cathedral
NATIONAL LIBRARY OF THE PHILIPPINES
The general’s remains arrived at Malacañan Palace to lie in state and for public viewing on 11 February. His remains left Malacañan for Manila Cathedral on the 14th of February, where a Requiem Mass was held by His Eminence Rufino J. Cardinal Santos.
Armed Forces of the Philippines renders its final salute to Aguinaldo’s casket
before it is transferred from the Manila Cathedral to the Legislative Building
(now the National Museum of Fine Arts)
BULLETIN, 15 FEBRUARY 1964
MUSEO NI EMILIO AGUINALDO, NHCP
At the necrological services held in the Session Hall of the House of Representatives on 15 February 1964, President Aguinaldo’s legacy as a soldier, nationalist leader, revolutionary general, and stateman was immortalized in the eulogies delivered by the country’s leaders. Justice Sabino Padilla affirmed that it is Rizal and Aguinaldo who constitute the main pillars of our independence. He said that while it was through Rizal’s writings that the spirit permeated in passive people “to aspire for freedom and human dignity,” it was General Aguinaldo who released that spirit “until it found its fulfillment in the birth of a unified, sovereign, and independent country.”
On his speech, House Speaker Cornelio T. Villareal expounded that the sense of responsibility discharged by General Aguinaldo during the revolution became resultant of “our people’s proud legacy from the life of devotion that he led and gave so that we could be what we are today: A Republic, a dynamic, revolutionary yet stable member of the free world”.
“…they scoffed at his scars- scars not only of the body but the heart. And they scoffed at his scars. They scoffed at a young soldier of 29 who sought to build a new Republic.
It mattered not that this soldier was the leader of the men that (beat) the path for Asian nationalism… For while Rizal was the prophet, while Bonifacio had organized the Katipunan, while Mabini built the political frame and Luna wielded the sword of combat, there was only one leader and that leader was Aguinaldo. It mattered not for he was a soldier.” –
Senate President Ferdinand Marcos, Sr.
Senate President Ferdinand Marcos Sr. honored the life of the late President Aguinaldo as a victorious, great, and humble soldier whose labors and sacrifices unchained the country from tyranny. He deemed him worthy of the grand public acclamation and recognition at his funeral and undeserving of the pillories and malignation from his people. He also underscored how Aguinaldo lived through the frustrations he suffered and bore in silence as his countrymen renounced and aggressed him while the leaders of the foreign government that succeeded his revolutionary government humiliated and maligned him. He reckoned how Emilio Aguinaldo had lived almost unhonored and unsung while he had witnessed the nation commemorate the births of Rizal and Bonifacio, and monuments rose for Gregorio Del Pilar and Antonio Luna. When, according to him, it was with Aguinaldo’s own hands and blood that the brown people established the First Republic in Asia after the arrival of the West in the region.
In his speech, Senator Marcos Sr. recalled asking the late president at his residence in Kawit if he, in his retirement, ever felt he had been forgotten by the people whose welfare he had fought for. He remembered he answered, “After the battles are won, and the dream of liberty attained, the people for whom the war was fought soon look to new leaders and soon readily consign the soldier to beggary and mendicancy. For such is the fate of the soldier. And a true soldier must accept the fate.”
In his turn, President Diosdado Macapagal declared that for him, Emilio Aguinaldo was second to Rizal as the country’s greatest Filipino hero. He dubbed him the Father of the Philippine Republic and revered Aguinaldo as a successful leader who led the nationalist revolution that freed us from Spain. He honored Aguinaldo and the other revolutionists in their struggle for freedom, culminating in the independence we now enjoy.
When he touched on the controversy of rivalry in the revolution’s leadership between Aguinaldo and Bonifacio, President Macapagal lamented that it was inevitable that one between the two would rise predominantly. “It would have been disastrous to the revolution to have two competing leaders,” he said. He added that the vindication of General Aguinaldo does not diminish the merits of Bonifacio’s acts of heroism. He regarded Bonifacio, along with Rizal and Aguinaldo, as the third of the great triumvirate of heroes of the revolution against Spain.
MESSAGES OF CONDOLENCE TO THE AGUINALDO FAMILY
“Dear Mrs. Herrera,
Our sympathy for you and your family in this time of stress.
The life of General Aguinaldo is a heritage for the people of the Philippines. Among the old books on the Philippines in the current French Exhibit at the National Library is a copy (an original) of one of the earliest biographies of the general. It was written in 1900 and published in Paris, Aguinaldo et Les Philippins, by Henri Turot. The author lived here during the Revolution. How fitting to have the book open on the title page with a fresh black ribbon bow lying over it.
Our best wishes,
Sincerely,
Wallace & Eleonor Waldorf
Sympathy card from Wallace and Eleonor Waldorf
addressed to Ameurfina Melencio-Herrera, granddaughter of Emilio Aguinaldo
MUSEO NI EMILIO AGUINALDO, NHCP
While Filipinos mourned the death of General Aguinaldo, local and foreign luminaries issued tributes and messages of condolence in the form of cards and letters poured in to condole with the Aguinaldo family.
Telegram from Former President and Mrs. Carlos P. Garcia
MUSEO NI EMILIO AGUINALDO, NHCP
Telegram from General Alfredo M. Santos, AFP Chief of Staff
MUSEO NI EMILIO AGUINALDO, NHCP
Former President Carlos P. Garcia sent a telegram addressed to the children of the general, and he wrote, “We join you in mourning the death of your illustrious father whose heroism in war and statesmanship in peace makes him one of the Greatest Asians, we pray the Almighty received his soul with His infinite mercy.”
In a letter addressed to Carmen Aguinaldo de Melencio, the daughter of Aguinaldo, AFP Chief of Staff General Alfredo Santos expressed that the institution shared the sorrow caused by the death of the general.
In a statement issued by United States President Lyndon B. Johnson, he said, “We are confident that his struggle for Philippine Independence, his love of freedom, and his devotion to country will continue to inspire his people. His monument is the Republic of the Philippines.”
General Douglas McArthur also issued a tribute expressing his sadness about the death of General Aguinaldo, whom he considered a lifelong friend. He described the general as “the very incarnation of the Filipino desire for liberty and freedom, and his country owes him much.”
President Soekarno of Indonesia expressed his shock and lamented the news of the passing of General Aguinaldo. He said of this sad incident, “the Philippines have lost a great son and great leader who was fighting for the liberation of his people and country.”
Japan’s Crown Prince Akihito conveyed their sympathy and condolences to the Filipino people and the family members on the demise of General Aguinaldo, whom he described as a “great and courageous leader of the Philippine Republic.”
President Diosdado Macapagal stands near the Aguinaldo family
as they look at Aguinaldo’s casket for the last time
NATIONAL LIBRARY OF THE PHILIPPINES
The casket of President Aguinaldo is carried to his crypt
BULLETIN, 17 FEBRUARY 1967
MUSEO NI EMILIO AGUINALDO, NHCP
THE STATE FUNERAL
After the necrological services in the House of Representatives, the remains of the General were transferred to St. Mary Magdalene Parish Church, where a vigil was held. On the following day, the funeral procession proceeded to the residence of the late general. He wished to be buried under the balcony of his mansion, where he historically proclaimed Philippine Independence on 12 June 1898. Due to lack of space, his request was disregarded by the Malacañang Burial Committee. He was laid to rest in the backyard of his mansion.
Though he had not always fared well with his critics, the public acclamation and recognition, the outpouring of messages of condolence, tributes, and praises from ordinary people, politicians, statesmen, and other personages here and abroad, and the national honors accorded to him upon his funeral, attest and resonate his achievements and lasting contribution as a statesman, a Filipino Revolutionary leader, and the president of the First Republic of the Philippines.
His ideals of freedom and democracy had led a people with aroused consciousness yearning for their sovereignty and dignified existence and had transpired into the founding of the first independent nation for the Filipino people. It cannot be denied that General Emilio Aguinaldo y Famy – the first president of the Philippine Republic, gave us the Philippine Flag and the Lupang Hinirang, as symbols of our nation. He is one of the most distinguished and he certainly ranks among the greatest of this nation’s roster of heroes. His name, “Heneral Miong,” as he will always be reverently called, is enshrined and deathless in the golden pages of our history as the first brown leader whose libertarian struggles and acts of heroism, shared with the ablest generals of the revolution, freed the country from the mighty European power whose foreign dominance lasted more than three centuries.
References:
Program of the Necrological Services in Honor of the Late General Emilio Aguinaldo. Malacañang Burial Committee, 1964.
Aguinaldo Dies, 94; Led Filipino Revolts. (1964, February 06). New York Times, 1.
Filipinos Mourning Death of Aguinaldo. (1964, February 07). New York Times, 32.
Mulles, N. (1964, February 07). Veterans pay homage to the chief. The Newsday, Vol. I No. 10, 1.
RP Mourns the Death of Aguinaldo. (1964, February 07). The Newsday, Vol. I No. 10, 1.
Death of a Hero: Nation Mourns Aguinaldo. (1964, February 07). The Manila Chronicles, 1.