Badoc, Ilocos Norte—The National Historical Commission of the Philippines (NHCP) through the Museo nina Juan at Antonio Luna will commemorate Roque Ablan Sr. through a webinar entitled “Roque B. Ablan, Sr.: A Hero Wherever Buried” on 18 February 2023, Saturday, 10:00 AM. 

Ablan’s life and legacy will be discussed by Jayson L. Antonio, history researcher and Secretary to the Sangguniang Bayan of Piddig, Ilocos Norte. 

While Ablan was serving as Governor of Ilocos Norte, the Japanese began occupying the Philippines in 1941. Rather than cooperate with the invading forces, he chose to join guerrillas in Ilocos Norte and Apayao who were loyal to the Philippine Commonwealth. He was last seen during the Battle of Bumitalag in Piddig, Ilocos Norte on 5 February 1943. 

The webinar will be broadcast live on the Facebook page of the Museum, as well as the pages of the NHCP and the following Museums: 

– Museo ni Jesse Robredo, Naga City, Bicol 

– Museum of Philippine Economic History, Iloilo City 

– Museum of Philippine Maritime History, Iloilo City 

– Museo ng Pamana at Kasaysayang Boholano, Loay, Bohol 

– Museo ni Jose Rizal Dapitan, Dapitan City, Zamboanga del Norte 

The NHCP is the national government agency mandated to promote and preserve Philippine history and heritage through its administration of national shrines, museums, research and publication, heraldry works, conservation, and marking of historic sites and structures. 

For inquiries, contact: 
Mr. Angel A. Raguindin, Jr. 
Shrine Curator II 
NHCP Museo nina Juan at Antonio Luna 
09175536084 | mjal@nhcp.gov.ph 

This Bid Bulletin is issued to modify, amend or clarify items in the issued Bidding Documents for the project:  

1. Supply, Delivery and Installation of Window Blinds at NHCP Main Office  

Please be advised of the following information and clarifications:  

1. Attached in a separate document herein are the (1) location plans with dimensions (open for adjustments upon site inspection) and (2) swatch specifications of the window blinds.

2. Amendments to Section VII (Technical Specifications) are as follows: 

3. For the Statement Single Largest Completed Contract (SLCC), the BAC will accept at least one (1) completed contract similar to:  

Supply, Delivery and Installation of Window Blinds, equivalent to at least fifty percent (50%) of the approved budget to contract (ABC).  

For this purpose, the BAC will also consider contracts supplying office furniture if the component for blinds is equivalent to 50% of the ABC of this project. The BAC will also consider contracts supplying any type of blinds. 

 4. Prospective bidders may conduct on-site inspection during regular office hours. Please coordinate with the end-user’s representative through the details below: 
Ar. Dan Paul Awarayan 
Architect II, Historic Preservation Division 
Contact No.: 09618217958 
Email: nhcpawarayan@gmail.com   

5. Please be notified that the supplier with the lowest responsive bid will have their stockroom or factory inspected to ensure that the blinds proposed to be provided are of sufficient quality. 

 For the guidance of all concerned.  
 

ALVIN R. ALCID 
NHCP – BAC Chairperson 

Click to download Bid Bulletin No. 01

1. The National Historical Commission of the Philippines, through the 2023 General Appropriations Act, intends to apply the sum of Four Million, Five Hundred Twenty-Nine Thousand, Nine Hundred Thirty Pesos and 68/100 (₱4,529,930.68) being the Approved Budget for the Contract (ABC) to payments under the contract for Structural Refurbishment of Museo nina Marcela Mariño at Felipe Agoncillo (MMMFA) in Taal, Batangas. Bids received in excess of the ABC shall be automatically rejected at bid opening.

2. The National Historical Commission of the Philippines now invites bids for the above Procurement Project. Completion of the Works is required within one hundred fifty (150) calendar days.  Bidders should have completed a contract similar to the Project.  The description of an eligible bidder is contained in the Bidding Documents, particularly, in Section II (Instructions to Bidders).

3. Bidding will be conducted through open competitive bidding procedures using non-discretionary “pass/fail” criterion as specified in the 2016 revised Implementing Rules and Regulations (IRR) of Republic Act (RA) No. 9184.

4. Interested bidders may obtain further information from the National Historical Commission of the Philippines and inspect the Bidding Documents at the address given below from 8:00 AM to 5:00 PM or via bac@nhcp.gov.ph.

5. A complete set of Bidding Documents may be acquired by interested bidders on 8 February 2023 from given address and website/s below and upon payment of the applicable fee for the Bidding Documents, pursuant to the latest Guidelines issued by the GPPB, in the amount of Five Thousand Pesos (₱ 5,000.00). The Procuring Entity shall allow the bidder to present its proof of payment for the fees via a photocopy of the receipt included in the submitted bid or via e-mail (bac@nhcp.gov.ph).

6. The National Historical Commission of the Philippines will hold a Pre-Bid Conference^[1] on 16 February 2023, 9:30 AM at 1/F Finance and Administrative Division (FAD) Conference Room, NHCP Building, T.M. Kalaw Avenue, Ermita, Manila, and/or through videoconferencing/webcasting via Microsoft Teams App, which shall be open to prospective bidders. To access the Pre-Bid Conference, click this MS Teams Link: https://bit.ly/3jyVvPO.  

7. Bids must be duly received by the BAC Secretariat through (i) manual submission at the office address as indicated below, (ii) online or electronic submission as indicated below, on or before 28 February 2023, 9:30 AM. One (1) original and two (2) additional copies of the technical and financial proposals must be provided. Late bids shall not be accepted.

8. All bids must be accompanied by a bid security in any of the acceptable forms and in the amount stated in ITB Clause 16.

9. Bid opening for the technical and financial proposals shall be on 28 February 2023 at 9:30 AM and 10:30 AM, respectively at the given address below and/or through Microsoft Teams App. Bids will be opened in the presence of the bidders’ representatives who choose to attend the activity. To access the opening of the technical and financial bid proposals, click this MS Teams link: https://bit.ly/3RDDZGD.       

10. All bidders are reminded that each and every page of the Bidding Documents submitted should be duly signed by the bidder’s authorized representative/s and that all legally executable documents (e.g., Omnibus Sworn Statement) are duly notarized. Submitted bids which have unsigned pages and/or unnotarized legal documents shall be considered non-responsive.

11. All bidders are advised to adopt the new, revised format of the Omnibus Sworn Statement issued pursuant to GPPB Circular No 4-2020 as adopted by GPPB Resolution No. 16-2020. The revised format of the OSS consists of 10 articles/paragraphs (with two new additional provisions since the previous 2016 edition), a template of which may be downloaded from the GPPB website thru this link https://www.gppb.gov.ph/downloadables.php.

12. The National Historical Commission of the Philippines reserves the right to reject any and all bids, declare a failure of bidding, or not award the contract at any time prior to contract award in accordance with Sections 35.6 and 41 of the 2016 revised Implementing Rules and Regulations (IRR) of RA No. 9184, without thereby incurring any liability to the affected bidder or bidders.

13. For further information, please refer to:
    Engr. Benjamin T. Paulin II
    BAC Secretariat Head
    National Historical Commission of the Philippines
    T.M. Kalaw Ave., Ermita, Manila 1000
    E-mail Address: bac@nhcp.gov.ph
    Telephone No.: (02) 5335-1212
    Facsimile No.: (02) 8536-3181
    Website: http://www.nhcp.gov.ph 

14. You may visit the following websites: 

For downloading of Bidding Documents:
 http://nhcp.gov.ph/category/nhcp/procurement/bid-opportunities/

 For online bid submission:
https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSc3KboP7KFWN4OnmvK25MDcRk9BkrYnoDww5g9HLyMOEw8G5w/viewform

  ALVIN R. ALCID
  BAC Chairperson

^[1] May be deleted in case the ABC is less than One Million Pesos (PhP1,000,000) where the Procuring Entity may not hold a pre-bid conference.

Download bidding documents here.

1. The National Historical Commission of the Philippines, through the 2023 General Appropriates Act, intends to apply the sum of One Million, Six Hundred Fifty Thousand Pesos (₱1,650,000.00) being the ABC to payments under the contract for Supply, Delivery and Installation of New Airconditioning units and Repair/ Relocation and Reinstallation of Existing Airconditioning units at NHCP Building. Bids received in excess of the ABC shall be automatically rejected at bid opening. 

2. The National Historical Commission of the Philippines now invites bids for the above Procurement Project. Delivery of the Goods is required by within forty-five (45) calendar days. Bidders should have completed, within Three (3) years from the date of submission and receipt of bids, a contract similar to the Project.  The description of an eligible bidder is contained in the Bidding Documents, particularly, in Section II (Instructions to Bidders).

3. Bidding will be conducted through open competitive bidding procedures using a non-discretionary “pass/fail” criterion as specified in the 2016 revised Implementing Rules and Regulations (IRR) of Republic Act (RA) No. 9184. 

   Bidding is restricted to Filipino citizens/sole proprietorships, partnerships, or organizations with at least sixty percent (60%) interest or outstanding capital stock belonging to citizens of the Philippines, and to citizens or organizations of a country the laws or regulations of which grant similar rights or privileges to Filipino citizens, pursuant to RA No. 5183.

4. Prospective Bidders may obtain further information from National Historical Commission of the Philippines and inspect the Bidding Documents at the address given below between 8:00 AM to 5:00 PM.

5. A complete set of Bidding Documents may be acquired by interested Bidders on 8 February 2023 from the given address and website(s) below and upon payment of the applicable fee for the Bidding Documents, pursuant to the latest Guidelines issued by the GPPB, in the amount of Five Thousand Pesos (₱5,000.00). The Procuring Entity shall allow the bidder to present its proof of payment for the fees in person or via e-mail at the e-mail address indicated below.

6. The National Historical Commission of the Philippines will hold a Pre-Bid Conference^[1] on 16 February 2023 at 1:30 P.M. at 1/F Finance and Administrative Division (FAD) Conference Room, NHCP Building, T.M. Kalaw Avenue, Ermita, Manila, and/or through videoconferencing/webcasting via Microsoft Teams App, which shall be open to prospective bidders. To access the Pre-Bid Conference, click this MS Teams Link: https://bit.ly/3wYD3Du.

7. Bids must be duly received by the BAC Secretariat through manual submission at the office address indicated below, on or before 28 February 2023 at 1:30 P.M. One (1) original and two (2) additional copies of the technical and financial proposals must be provided. Late bids shall not be accepted.

8. All Bids must be accompanied by a bid security in any of the acceptable forms and in the amount stated in ITB Clause 14.

9. The opening of technical and financial bid proposals shall be on 28 February 2023, 1:30 P.M. and 2:30 P.M., respectively at 1/F Finance and Administrative Division (FAD) Conference Room, NHCP Building, T.M. Kalaw Avenue, Ermita, Manila, and/or through Microsoft Teams App. Bids will be opened in the presence of the bidders’ representatives who choose to attend the activity. To access the opening of the technical and financial bid proposals, click this MS Teams link: https://bit.ly/3RzANM9.

10. All bidders are reminded that each and every page of the Bidding Documents submitted should be duly signed by the bidder’s authorized representative/s and that all legally executable documents (e.g., Omnibus Sworn Statement) are duly notarized. Submitted bids which have unsigned pages and/or unnotarized legal documents shall be considered non-responsive.

11. All bidders are advised to adopt the new, revised format of the Omnibus Sworn Statement issued pursuant to GPPB Circular No 4-2020 as adopted by GPPB Resolution No. 16-2020. The revised format of the OSS consists of 10 articles/paragraphs (with two new additional provisions since the previous 2016 edition), a template of which may be downloaded from the GPPB website thru this link https://www.gppb.gov.ph/downloadables.php.

12. The National Historical Commission of the Philippines reserves the right to reject any and all bids, declare a failure of bidding, or not award the contract at any time prior to contract award in accordance with Sections 35.6 and 41 of the 2016 revised IRR of RA No. 9184, without thereby incurring any liability to the affected bidder or bidders.

13. For further information, please refer to:
    Engr. Benjamin T. Paulin II
    National Historical Commission of the Philippines
    T.M. Kalaw Ave., Ermita, Manila 1000
    E-mail Address: bac@nhcp.gov.ph
    Cellphone No.: (02) 5335-1212
    Facsimile No.: (02) 8536-3181
    Website: http://www.nhcp.gov.ph 

14. You may visit the following websites: 

For downloading of Bidding Documents:
 http://nhcp.gov.ph/category/nhcp/procurement/bid-opportunities/ 

For online bid submission:
https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSc3KboP7KFWN4OnmvK25MDcRk9BkrYnoDww5g9HLyMOEw8G5w/viewform

ALVIN R. ALCID
 BAC Chairperson

^[1] May be deleted in case the ABC is less than One Million Pesos (PhP1,000,000) where the Procuring Entity may not hold a Pre-Bid Conference.

Download bidding documents here.

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 95^th 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 14^th 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.

MENSAHE
Nanunungkulang Opisyal Carminda R. Arevalo,
Tanggapan ng Patnugot Tagapagpaganap
Araw ng Paggunita sa Digmaang Pilipino-Amerikano
4 Pebrero 2023

Magandang umaga po sa ating lahat.

May 124 taon na ang nakararaan, isang hindi pagkakaunawaan sa pook na ito ang naging mitsa ng digmaan sa pagitan ng pilipinas at ng Estados Unidos. Kapapanalo pa lamang natin ng ating kasarinlan mula sa pananakop ng mga Espanyol at kalahating buwan pa lamang din noon nang ipagdiwang sa Malolos ang pagpapasinaya ng isang republikang konstitusyonal.

Sa gitna ng paghahanda ng ating bansa sa ika-125 anibersaryo ng pagpapahayag ng ating kalayaan mula sa pananakop—anibersaryong ipagdiriwang natin nang buong galak at rangal—ang araw na ito ay nagpapaalalang hindi natatapos ang kuwento ng ating paglaya sa pagwagayway ng Pambansang Watawat at pagtugtog ng Pambansang Awit.

Sa pamamagitan ng araw ng paggunita sa Digmaang Pilipino-Amerikano o Philippine-American War Memorial Day, ginugunita natin at pinagpupugayan ang mga ninuno nating ipinagtanggol ang ating kasarinlan kahit may kakulangan sa sandata, pagkain, gamot at iba pa.

Sinasamahan din natin ang ating mga ninuno sa paninindigan nila para sa kalayaan at kasarinlan, at hindi lamang sa larangan ng pakikidigma kundi sa pamamagitan ng panitikan, musika at sining.

Kahit nadakip na si Pangulong Emilio Aguinaldo at sumuko na ang ilang mga heneral, ipinagpatuloy ng marami pa nating kababayan ang laban. Kabilang sa kanilang pangkat sina Macario Sakay at Luciano San Miguel, mga katutubo sa Cordillera, mga kilusang milenaryo sa Visayas, at mga Moro sa Mindanao. Ito ang dahilan kung bakit kinikilala natin ang taong 1913 at hindi 1902 bilang wakas ng Digmaang Pilipino-Amerikano.

Sa panahong iyon, kahit sa mga pook na sakop ng mga dayuhan, pinatunayan ng ating mga ninuno ang kakayahan nilang mamuno sa sariling bayan, kakayahang pinatunayan na natin sa Malolos. Hindi tayo umatras sa mga pagkakataon na umokupa ng espasyo sa pamahalaang kolonyal at ipinagpatuloy ang panawagang ibalik ang kasarinlan.

Matapos ang isandaan at dalawampu’t apat na taon, patuloy ang ating pakikibaka upang ang mga benepisyo ng kalayaan at kasarinlang ating nabawi ay maramdaman ng lahat ng pilipino. Upang matupad ito, kailangang sariwain sa ating isip ang giting ng ating mga ninuno at ang halaga ng kalayaang kanilang ipinagtanggol.

Sa tunguhing ito, kaagapay ninyo ang Pambansang Komisyong Pangkasaysayan ng Pilipinas hindi lamang sa mga ritwal ng paggunita at sa pagpapatakbo ng mga museo at dambana para sa mga bayani ng panahong iyon, kundi pati na rin sa patuloy na pananaliksik at pagpapalaganap ng kaalaman at kamalayang pangkasaysayan.

Mabuhay ang alaala ng ating mga bayani.

Mabuhay ang pilipinas. Mabuhay po tayong lahat.

Eufemio Agbayani III
Historic Sites Development Officer II

Last year, the National Historical Commission of the Philippines unveiled a historical marker on the corner of Silencio and Sociego Streets where it was believed that the first shot of the Philippine-American War was triggered.

The text of the marker and the special working holiday on which it was unveiled is the culmination of more than a century’s worth of advocacy to recognize the conflict between the Filipinos and Americans as a war between an independent nation and another trying to conquer it.

Dr. Ma. Sheilah Lacuna-Pangan, then-Vice Mayor of Manila, salutes the historical markers commemorating the Philippine-American War on the corner of Silencio and Sociego Streets, Manila on Philippine-American War Memorial Day, 4 February 2021

The Label

The war that ensued was referred to merely as an insurrection by the Americans who thought that as of 10 December 1898, sovereignty over the country had been transferred to them by Spain through the Treaty of Paris. The Americans were conscious of the existence of a Filipino government which exercised control over large portions of the country, but they refused to recognize it. The term ‘Philippine Insurrection’ stuck for a long while, appearing in official records and even books. For a long time, the collection of documents captured from the Philippine Republic by the Americans were even referred to as the Philippine Insurgent Records.

However, people long desired to call the conflict a war between two nations. The term “Filipino-American War” had been used abroad as early as 1900 in Richard Brinsley Sheridan’s The Filipino Martyrs: A Story of the Crime of February 4, 1899 and by Filipinos as early as 1916 in the book The Case for the Filipinos by Maximo M. Kalaw. By the time the Philippine Historical Committee drafted in 1940 the text of a marker remembering the events of 4 February 1899, it had been labelled “First Shot in Filipino-American War.”

1941 Marker by Philippine Historical Committee
currently installed at the corner of Silencio and Sociego Streets, Sampaloc, Manila

Despite the term “Filipino-American War” being made official through the historical marker, efforts had to be made to raise awareness about the War. In his columns in the Daily Globe in 1988, historian Renato Constantino criticized the national government’s seeming lack of awareness of the War and encouraged commemorating it as “a fight for the defense of an independence already won.” After all, it was a time when tensions were high in connection with calls for the United States to return their military bases in Subic and Clark to the Philippines and the prevailing consensus that the Americans came to educate Filipinos was being questioned.

Thankfully, efforts were made to recognize the legacy of the War which included demands for an official apology, phasing out the term “Philippine Insurrection” in the U.S. Library of Congress, and a corrective plaque installed at the Minnesota State Capitol on 4 February 2002.

The Location

It is not exactly known when the first marker was placed on the bridge of San Juan. As early as November 1940, Philippine Historical Committee Chairman Eulogio B. Rodriguez knew that the first shot happened along Sociego Street, at least according to a report.

As early as 1988, historian Dr. Benito Legarda Jr. published columns in Mr. & Ms. Magazine disputing that the War began at the San Juan Bridge. Perhaps heeding this call, the national government commemorated the centenary of the first shot both on Silencio street and the San Juan Bridge.

Meanwhile, the National Historical Institute formally received a report from Dr. Legarda a month later and began thorough discussions which led to a Resolution on 27 January 2003 resolving to remove the 1941 marker from the bridge and placing it on the corner of Sociego and SIlencio Streets.

In 2014, another attempt to verify the location was done by overlapping existing maps from the period and studying them considering contemporary accounts. It affirmed that the first encounter happened along Silencio Street, although the exact location where the first shot was fired could not be determined definitively.

2004 marker by the National Historical Institute
formerly installed at the corner of Silencio and Societo Streets, Sampaloc, Manila

To clarify the old Spanish-era San Juan Bridge’s role in national history, a marker was inaugurated in 2009. The text juxtaposes two events that occurred there: it was where a conference between the Filipino and American commanders, Col. Luciano San Miguel and Col. John Stotsenburg, was held and it was also where Filipino and American soldiers clashed after the onset of the Philippine-American War.

2009 marker by the National Historical Institute on San Juan Bridge

The Date

The Americans sought to nip what they saw as an insurrection in the bud by capturing President Emilio Aguinaldo in March 1901, and a proclamation he released the following month led to a series of capitulations by Filipino military leaders. Satisfied with their so-called pacification, the Americans declared the war officially over on 4 July 1902.

However, clashes continued throughout the country even after that date. Hence, placing the end of the war in 1902 has been questioned by Filipino historians who wanted to include as part of the War, movements such as the Republikang Tagalog by Macario Sakay which lasted until his surrender in 1906; armed religious and peasant movements in Luzon and the Visayas which lasted until 1911; the continuation of the Moro Wars lasting until the Battle of Bud Bagsak in June 1913, and indigenous resistance in the Cordilleras, which also ended in a battle in the same year. These activities were labelled by the American authorities as rebellions and brigandage, excluding them from the usual understanding of the so-called ‘Insurgency’.

In his A History of the Philippines (1987), former National Historical Institute Chairman Samuel K. Tan called the period of 1898 to 1913 as the “military phase” of the American occupation. He later authored a book entitled The Filipino-American War, 1899-1913 (2002). Meanwhile, in the posthumous eighth edition of Teodoro Agoncillo’s History of the Filipino People (1990), the period of 1901 to 1913 was called “The Continuing Resistance” for the Filipino masses.

All these are enshrined in the historical marker unveiled last year. It ends with a brief but meaningful sentence recognizing that the War ended on 15 June 1913. It also moved the focus of the remembrance away from the American soldier who fired the first shot and highlighted the response by Filipino troops.

The most recent marker asserts the position that it was the First Philippine Republic which was at war with the United States. It reminds us of Emilio Aguinaldo’s message after he was inaugurated as President on 23 January 1899:

Tayo’y hindi na insurrecto, hindi na revolucionario, sa macatuid baga’y mg̃a tauong nanandata upang lansaguin at inisin ang caauay.–Mg̃a republicano na ng̃a tayo buhat ng̃ayon, alalaong baga’y mg̃a tauong may catouiran, at maituturing nang capatid ng̃ lahat ng̃ ibang lupa, sa pamamaguitan ng̃ matuid na paggagalang̃an at pagtiting̃inan. Ganap nang̃ang lahat upang tayo’y maquilala at matangap na Nacióng malaya at nagsasarili.

(We are no longer insurgents, nor revolutionaries; rather, we are people who bear arms to dismantle and frustrate the enemy. We are indeed republicans from now on, people who have justice, and a brother to other lands, through mutual respect and affection. We have done everything to be recognized and accepted as a free and independent Nation.)

2022 marker by the National Historical Institute
currently installed at the corner of Silencio and Societo Streets, Sampaloc, Manila

The law creating Philippine-American War Memorial Day and the marker unveiled last year are a culmination of advocacy, lasting more than a century, to recognize the independence won and defended by Filipinos at the turn of the 20^th century. The challenge for us today is to learn and re-learn lessons from it as we continue to defend and preserve the freedoms our ancestors won and regained for us in the context of an ever-connected world.

Sources:

Agoncillo, Teodoro A. History of the Filipino People, 8^th edition. Quezon City: Garotech Publishing, 1990.

Atencio, Joel C. “Fil-Am War centennial today.” Manila Bulletin, 4 February 1999.

Bankoff, Greg and Weekley, Kathleen. Celebrating the Centennial of Independence: Postcolonial National Identity in the Philippines. Manila: De La Salle University Press, 2004.

Bankoff, Greg. “Selective Memory and Collective Forgetting: Historiography and the Philippine Centennial of 1898.” Bijdragen tot de Taal-, Land- en Volkenkunde 157(3), pp. 539-560.

Blanco, Ariel C., Escalante, Rene R., and Encarnacion, Emmanuel N. “Geospatial Analysis of the First Shot of the Philippine-American War.” Paper presented at the Esri User Conference on 14-18 July 2014.

“Book on Fil-Am war.” Philippine Daily Inquirer, 20 August 2001. Retrieved from https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=2479&dat=20010820&id=CVU1AAAAIBAJ&sjid=bSUMAAAAIBAJ&pg=358,36980575. Accessed on 30 January 2023.

Constantino, Renato. History: Myths & Reality. Quezon City: Karrel, Inc., c. 1992.

Couttie, Bob. Fool’s Gold: Fraud, Fallacy and Fable in Philippine History, vol. 1. Quezon City, Central Book Supply, Inc., 2020.

Cruz-Araneta, Gemma. 50 Years in Hollywood: The USA Conquers the Philippines. Makati City: Cruz Publishing, 2019.

Heraldo Filipino. 2 February 1899. Copy retrieved from the website of the National Library of the Philippines.

Kalaw, Maximo M. The Case for the Filipinos. New York: The Century, Co., 1916.

Kasaysayan: Journal of the National Historical Institute 1(3), September 2001.

Legarda, Benito R. Jr. The Hills of Sampaloc: The Opening Actions of the Philippine-American War, February 4-5, 1899. Makati City: Bookmark, 2001.

Legarda, Benito R. Jr. “The Road to Blockhouse 7.” Paper submitted to the Board of the National Historical Institute, c. 4 March 1999.

Lorenzo-Abrera, Ma. Bernadette. Kasaysayang Bayan: Bayan: Sampung Aralin sa Kasaysayang Pilipino. Manila: National Historical Institute and ADHIKA ng Pilipinas, 2001.

Medina, Isagani R. May Tainga ang Lupa: Espionage in the Philippines, 1896-1902, and other essays. Manila, Philippines: UST Publishing House, 2002.

NHCP Board Resolution No. 9, s. 2013 (12 August 2013). Copy retrieved from the NHCP Serafin Quiason Resource Center.

NHI Board Resolution No. 7, s. 2003 (27 January 2003). Copy retrieved from the NHCP Serafin Quiason Resource Center.

Ocampo, Ambeth R. “The First Shot: Quiet, silence, and a bridge.” Philippine Daily Inquirer, 3 February 2021. Retrieved from https://opinion.inquirer.net/137453/the-first-shot-quiet-silence-and-a-bridge. Accessed on 30 January 2023.

Republic Act No. 11304 (16 July 2019). Copy retrieved from the website of the Official Gazette of the Republic of the Philippines.

Sheridan, Richard Brinsley. The Filipino Martyrs: A Story of the Crime of February 4, 1899. London and New York: John Lane: The Bodley Head, 1900.

Tan, Samuel K. A History of the Philippines. Manila and Quezon City: Manila Studies Association and the Philippine National Historical Society, 1987.

Teves, Oliver. “Filipinos Want Apology From U.S.” Associated Press. Retrieved from https://apnews.com/article/2104d8c58f994df3d79d4ab4ea5677af. Accessed on 30 January 2023.

“To Mark Historic Site in Baguio.” Tribune, 8 November 1940.

1. The National Historical Commission of the Philippines, through the 2023 General Appropriation Act, intends to apply the sum of Two Million, Fifty Thousand Pesos (₱2,050,000.00) being the ABC to payments under the contract for Provision of Termite, Wood Borer and Pest Control Treatment for Twenty-Nine (29) NHCP Museums. Bids received in excess of the ABC shall be automatically rejected at bid opening.

2. The National Historical Commission of the Philippines now invites bids for the above Procurement Project. Delivery of the Goods is required within twelve (12) months. Bidders should have completed, within three (3) years from the date of submission and receipt of bids, a contract similar to the Project. The description of an eligible bidder is contained in the Bidding Documents, particularly, in Section II (Instructions to Bidders).

3. Bidding will be conducted through open competitive bidding procedures using a non-discretionary “pass/fail” criterion as specified in the 2016 revised Implementing Rules and Regulations (IRR) of Republic Act (RA) No. 9184.
a. Bidding is restricted to Filipino citizens/sole proprietorships, partnerships, or organizations with at least sixty percent (60%) interest or outstanding capital stock belonging to citizens of the Philippines, and to citizens or organizations of a country the laws or regulations of which grant similar rights or privileges to Filipino citizens, pursuant to RA No. 5183.

4. Prospective Bidders may obtain further information from National Historical Commission of the Philippines and inspect the Bidding Documents at the address given below between 8:00 AM to 5:00 PM or via bac@nhcp.gov.ph.

5. A complete set of Bidding Documents may be acquired by interested Bidders on 3 February 2023 from the given address and website(s) below and upon payment of the applicable fee for the Bidding Documents, pursuant to the latest Guidelines issued by the GPPB, in the amount of Five Thousand Pesos (₱5,000.00). The Procuring Entity shall allow the bidder to present its proof of payment for the fees in person or via e-mail at the e-mail address indicated below.

6. The National Historical Commission of the Philippines will hold a Pre-Bid Conference1 on 13 February 2023 (Monday), 9:30 AM, at 1/F Finance and Administrative Division (FAD) Conference Room, NHCP Building, T.M. Kalaw Avenue, Ermita, Manila, and/or through videoconferencing/webcasting via Microsoft Teams App, which shall be open to prospective bidders. To access the Pre-Bid Conference, click this MS Teams Link: https://bit.ly/3Y7yYIy.

7. Bids must be duly received by the BAC Secretariat through manual submission at the office address indicated below, on or before 27 February 2023, 9:30 AM. One (1) original and two (2) additional copies of the technical and financial proposals must be provided. Late bids shall not be accepted.

8. All Bids must be accompanied by a bid security in any of the acceptable forms and in the amount stated in ITB Clause 14.

9. Bid opening for the technical and financial proposals shall be on 27 February 2023 at 9:30 AM and 10:30 AM, respectively at the given address below and/or through Microsoft Teams App. Bids will be opened in the presence of the bidders’ representatives who choose to attend the activity. To access the opening of the technical and financial bid proposals, click this MS Teams link: https://bit.ly/3wP2x62.

10. All bidders are reminded that each and every page of the Bidding Documents submitted should be duly signed by the bidder’s authorized representative/s and that all legally executable documents (e.g., Omnibus Sworn Statement) are duly notarized. Submitted bids which have unsigned pages and/or unnotarized legal documents shall be considered non-responsive.

11. All bidders are advised to adopt the new, revised format of the Omnibus Sworn Statement issued pursuant to GPPB Circular No 4-2020 as adopted by GPPB Resolution No. 16-2020. The revised format of the OSS consists of 10 articles/paragraphs (with two new additional provisions since the previous 2016 edition), a template of which may be downloaded from the GPPB website thru this link https://www.gppb.gov.ph/downloadables.php.

12. The National Historical Commission of the Philippines reserves the right to reject any and all bids, declare a failure of bidding, or not award the contract at any time prior to contract award in accordance with Sections 35.6 and 41 of the 2016 revised IRR of RA No. 9184, without thereby incurring any liability to the affected bidder or bidders.

13. For further information, please refer to:
Engr. Benjamin T. Paulin II
National Historical Commission of the Philippines
T.M. Kalaw Ave., Ermita, Manila 1000
E-mail Address: bac@nhcp.gov.ph
Cellphone No.:
Facsimile No.: (02) 8536-3181
Website: http://www.nhcp.gov.ph

14. You may visit the following websites:
For downloading of Bidding Documents: http://nhcp.gov.ph/category/nhcp/procurement/bid-opportunities/
For online bid submission: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSc3KboP7KFWN4OnmvK25MDcRk9BkrYnoDww5g9HLyMOEw8G5w/viewform

______________________________________
ALVIN R. ALCID
BAC Chairperson

Download bidding documents here.

Albert Vincent F. Barretto
Museum Researcher II

INTRODUCTION

A Filipino may encounter and use a green two hundred-peso banknote or the former brown ten-peso banknote, which both contain the image of a historic Catholic church – the Parroquia de Nuestra Señora del Carmen de Barásoain or simply known as Barasoain Church, built in 1885 by Augustinian Fr. Juan Girón, located in the present day Malolos, Bulacan. Most Filipinos from the generation of the 1980s and 1990s may remember their childhood days when they humorously ask to find a sleeping cat in the image of the Barasoain Church depicted on the reverse side of the old ten-peso bill. Little did Filipinos know, the Barasoain Church is not only a sanctified place of worship but also the sacred birthplace of the first constitutional republic in Asia – the Republica Filipina or the First Philippine Republic, which was inaugurated on 23 January 1899.

THE CONCEPTION OF THE FIRST PHILIPPINE REPUBLIC

Between 1889 to 1890, Jose Rizal wrote a socio-political essay entitled “Filipinas Dentro de Cien Años or “The Philippines a century hence” which envisions the political condition in the Philippines for the next one hundred years. Rizal leaves a question on what will be the future of the Philippines from Spain when he asked:

Will the Philippine Islands continue to be a Spanish colony, and if so, what kind of colony? Will they become a province of Spain, with or without autonomy? And to reach this stage, what kind of sacrifices will have to be made?

Will they be separated from the mother country to live independently, to fall into the hands of other nations, or to ally themselves with neighboring powers?

The query made by Rizal was gradually answered within a decade after it was written. The decade was the 1890s when the Philippines witnessed historic events such as the banishment of Rizal to Dapitan, which led to the founding of the secret organization Katipunan by Andres Bonifacio and other Filipino patriots in 1892. Four years later, the Katipunan was compromised after it was discovered by the Spaniards which sparked the 1896 Philippine Revolution that triggered Spanish authorities to execute Rizal who was unjustly accused as a conspirator of said revolution. The revolution in the Philippine archipelago was briefly paused due to the Pact of Biak-na-Bato in December 1897. Five months later, revolutionary leader Emilio Aguinaldo returned to the Philippines from his exile in Hong Kong to take advantage of the losing grounds of the Spaniards against the Americans which subsequently led Aguinaldo to continue the revolution and declare Philippine independence from Spain on 12 June 1898 in Kawit, Cavite.

To further legitimize the independence of the Philippines, Aguinaldo’s leadership exercised what a democratic free country does – the representation of the masses in the government, thus, eminent and dignified men from different corners of the Philippines convened inside the Barasoain Church which became known as the Malolos Congress held on 15 September 1898. The Malolos Congress ratified the Philippine Declaration of Independence on 29 September 1898 and drafted the constitution in the latter part of 1898. The drafted constitution was finally approved by the Malolos Congress on 20 January 1899, sanctioned by General Emilio Aguinaldo on 21 January 1899, and promulgated on 22 January 1899.

On 23 January 1899 inside the motherly womb of Barasoain Church, after long years of conception, the Malolos Congress formally inaugurated the very first constitution in Asia called the Malolos Constitution, and General Emilio Aguinaldo was sworn in as the president, which gave birth to the democratic nation of the First Philippine Republic. Like other republican countries, the First Philippine Republic exercised its powers on fiscal policy, budget allotment for public works and welfare, and the judiciary system. The First Philippine Republic even had its own postage and currency which further established its tangible existence as a republic. 

Americans on the other hand did not recognize the First Philippine Republic which prompted them to enter the Philippine-American War on 4 February 1899. Merely a month old after its inauguration, the young Philippine Republic was baptized by fire by the Americans. Due to the Americans’ edge in military tactics and weapons, President Emilio Aguinaldo together with the Republican army was forced to retreat to the mountains of Palanan, Isabela, and faced their defeat on 28 March 1901 after Aguinaldo was captured by American forces. Aguinaldo appealed to the Filipinos to accept the sovereignty of the United States over the Philippines, when he took allegiance to the United States of America in April 1901 which ceased the First Philippine Republic.

In the first half of the 20th Century, the Philippines was colonized by the Americans and occupied by the Japanese. Nevertheless, the Americans acknowledged the independence efforts of the Filipinos encapsulated by the spirit of the First Philippine Republic. On 4 July 1946, the Philippine Republic was reborn and internationally recognized.

REMEMBERING THE FIRST PHILIPPINE REPUBLIC THROUGH CURRENCY

As Filipinos enjoy their sovereignty over their own islands, Filipinos paid homage to the First Philippine Republic by placing the image of its cradle – the Barasoain Church on Philippine currency. Upon the establishment of the Central Bank of the Philippines in 1949, they released the first set of designs of Philippine currency called the English Series. Featured in the one-peso banknote was the portrait of Apolinario Mabini who was known as the “sublime paralytic.” He introduced amendments to the draft Malolos Constitution that was accepted by its delegates. The reverse side of the one-peso English Series features the image of the Barasoain Church where the Malolos Constitution was promulgated.

In 1969, the Central Bank of the Philippines responded to nationalistic sentiments and redesigned the Philippine banknotes by primarily using the Pilipino language (now called the Filipino language), thus the series was called the Pilipino series. In the series, Apolinario Mabini appeared on the obverse side of the ten-peso banknote while the Barasoain Church was depicted on its reverse.

By the presidential decree issued by Ferdinand Marcos, Sr. in 1973, the Central Bank of the Philippines redesigned the banknotes and added the slogan Ang Bagong Lipunan, thus the series was called Ang Bagong Lipunan Series. The Barasoain Church image remained on the reverse side of the ten-peso note. 

The Central Bank of the Philippines released a new set of banknotes called the “New Design Series” in 1985. Barasoain Church remained together with Apolinario Mabini in the ten-peso note. In 1997, the ten-peso banknote was revised, adding Andres Bonifacio together with Apolinario Mabini on the obverse side while the blood compact of the Katipuneros was added alongside the Barasoain Church. The last sets of ten-peso notes were issued in 2001 after the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas popularized the use of ten-peso coins that was first issued in 2000. However, the ten-peso notes remained legal tender until 2017. 

In 1998, the Philippines celebrated the Centennial of Philippine Independence by issuing one hundred thousand peso banknotes, and two thousand peso banknotes. The two-thousand-peso banknote measures 216 mm x 133 mm and features the Barasoain Church, the Malolos Constitution, and the oath-taking of President Joseph Ejercito Estrada on the obverse side, while the reverse side features the celebration of the Centennial of Philippine Independence led by President Fidel V. Ramos.

The current “New Generation Currency” series was released in 2010 with the portrait of former president Diosdado Macapagal, the Barasoain Church, Aguinaldo’s Mansion, and the oath-taking of former president Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo depicted on the obverse side of the two hundred-peso note. In 2017, the two hundred-peso note design was revised. The current design features the scene of the declaration of Philippine Independence from Aguinaldo’s Mansion, and the scene of the Opening of the Malolos Congress held inside Barasoain Church.

CONCLUSION

It may be remembered that the First Philippine Republic issued its own currency but as the nations’ destiny brought them to the pantheons of our sacred memory, unbeknown to them that they would someday be immortalized on Philippine currency. The First Philippine Republic may be a short-lived republic but will forever live in our nationhood.

1949 – 1974 English Series, One Peso
Dimension: 162 × 67 mm
Obverse: Apolinario Mabini
Reverse: Barasoain Church
Courtesy of Numista

1969 – 1974 Pilipino Series, 10 Peso (White Border)
Dimension: 160 × 66 mm
Obverse: Apolinario Mabini
Reverse: Barasoain Church
Courtesy of Numista

1969 – 1974 Pilipino Series, 10 Peso (With Border)
Dimension: 160 × 66 mm
Obverse: Apolinario Mabini
Reverse: Barasoain Church
Courtesy of Numista

1973 – 1993 Ang Bagong Lipunan Series, 10 Peso
Dimension: 160 × 66 mm
Obverse: Apolinario Mabini
Reverse: Barasoain Church
Courtesy of Numista

1985 – 2017 New Design Series, 10 Peso (Version 1)
Dimension: 160 × 66 mm
Obverse: Apolinario Mabini, and El Verdadero Decalogo
Reverse: Barasoain Church
Courtesy of Numista

1985 – 2017 New Design Series, 10 Peso (Version 2)
Dimension: 160 × 66 mm
Obverse: Apolinario Mabini, Andres Bonifacio, Kartilya ng Katipunan, and El Verdadero Decalogo
Reverse: Barasoain Church, and the blood compact scene of the Katipuneros
Courtesy of Numista

1998 Centennial Note, 2000 piso
Dimension: 216 × 133 mm
Obverse: Barasoain Church, Malolos Constitution and the Oath-Taking of President Estrada
Reverse: Celebration of the Centennial of Philippine Independence lead by former President Ramos
Courtesy of Numista

2010 – present New Generation Currency Series, 200 Piso (Version 1)
Dimension: 160 × 66 mm
Obverse: Diosdado Macapagal, Barasoain Church, Aguinaldos’ Mansion, and EDSA People Power II
Reverse: Tarsier (Tarsius Syrichta), Bohol Chocolate Hills, and native Philippine textile design.
Courtesy of Numista

2010 – present New Generation Currency Series, 200 Piso (Version 3)
Dimension: 160 × 66 mm
Obverse: Diosdado Macapagal, scene of the declaration of Philippine Independence from Aguinaldo’s Mansion, scene from the Opening of the Malolos Congress held inside the Barasoain Church and EDSA People Power II
Reverse: Tarsier (Tarsius Syrichta), Bohol Chocolate Hills, and native Philippine textile design.
Courtesy of Numista

References:

The Laws of the First Philippine Republic, National Historical Institute, 1994
Epifanio de Los Santos’ The Revolutionist, National Historical Institute, 1993
Philippine Presidents 100 Years, The Republic Against American Imperialism 1898 – 1902, Philippine Historical Association, 1999
The Philippines a Century Hence by Jose Rizal, edited by Austin Craig, 1912.

Francis Kristoffer L. Pasion
Senior History Researcher

“Work and study hard. Be ready to offer all you have in the service of humanity and of our poor country.” – Doña Librada Avelino

PORTRAIT OF LIBRADA AVELINO, c. 1930s

It was an exhilarating yet turbulent time to live in the Philippines near the turn of the 20th century. As the Spanish colonial administration at its near end became overburdened by its own excesses and corruption, the ideas of liberty, civil rights, and equality were beginning to seep through the cracks of Spain’s farthest colony, the Philippines, brought about by the regime changes and power struggle between the liberals and the monarchists in Spain. While the uproar of this liberalism was muffled for a time with the execution of the three secular priests Mariano Gomes de los Angeles, Jose Apolonio Burgos, and Jacinto Zamora y del Rosario in 1872, liberal ideas remained and even thrived. And yet for a colonial society in the Philippines, it was even more difficult for Filipino women, owing to the rigid social expectations on their gender and their inaccessibility to education.

Beginnings

Librada Avelino Mañgali was born on 17 January 1873, almost a year after the execution of the Gomburza. Born in Quiapo, Manila to the couple Pedro Avelino, a pharmacist and entrepreneur, and Francisca Mañgali, housewife, “Ada” would grow up in a family home in Pandacan where inquisitiveness was the way of life. The father, although limited in his station, was able to invest enough for books–not the regular ones at the time that were mostly religious, but one replete in the stories of the human condition, through good literature. From her father, Ada became a voracious reader, having this insatiable thirst for learning. Such freedom of the spirit and thought, implicitly discouraged by the colonial regime, naturally leads to self-discovery, awareness of the issues in society, empathy, and a growing insistence of what is right and just.

Ada Avelino’s first exposure to a classroom was when she was aged 5 or 6. Her parents sent her to an all-girls’ school in Pandacan run by maestra Luisa Bacho, a passionate educator who early on recognized Avelino’s potential. One biographer noted that there was one time the Spanish Governor-General visited the school, and it was protocol to have all the students lined up for the official’s usual recitation exercise to test the students. Since Avelino was the brightest in her class, Bacho had her approach the official, who tested her in the “four principal tables” which she has already mastered. The governor-general was notably impressed.

Her mother’s death left a lasting impression on her. Three years later, Avelino’s father remarried. Paula Arcilla, determined as a stepmother to be as loving and as caring like her birth mother, took on this bright child as her own. Ada found an advocate in her stepmother, as she became supportive of her learning pursuits. In Pandacan, she studied Spanish under Fermin Raymundo, and soon, music from Ladislao Bonus, who, aside from having been consulted by Rizal with his poetry compositions, was said to have been involved in the musical productions in Manila and was able to assemble an orchestra composed fully of women. From these luminaries, Ada gained a greater appreciation of education. She learned the basic principles of the Spanish language, and was in her own right, a good pianist.

But she was discontented. As her dream began to take shape, Avelino saw that if she wished to take on the path of an educator, she would not be able to achieve it in the normal collegiate track among the private religious schools normally taken by women. Even in the incessant urging of her stepmother to go to Colegio de Santa Rosa or La Concordia, Avelino refused to do so. The public school track and the freedom of inquiry it promised was better.

The Dream Realized 

Avelino’s learning pursuits led her to the private school of Dona Margarita Lopez, at her house in Tondo, where Avelino was in rubbing elbows with the rising nationalist feminist leaders of the time such as Rosa Sevilla de Alvero and Florentina Arellano, and poets such as Jose Palma. From there, she set her sights on training for the teacher’s examination to earn a license to teach. She passed with flying colors at the teacher’s civil licentiate examination at the Ayuntamiento de Manila in 1889, the first woman to do so. While running a school from her father’s house, she took up an additional course from the Assumption sisters who could give her the training necessary to teach secondary education. She finally earned this teaching license in 1893.

Jose Rizal’s article in La Solidaridad in February 1889, written for the Women of Malolos who pushed to have a night school for them to learn the Spanish language, had such an impact on her. In her reading of Rizal’s novels, it strengthened her resolved that her chosen path, to become a teacher, was a noble aspiration, and one that could help her fellow women and her country. As discontent brewed around her, with some relatives joining the Katipunan, and the specter of revolution was felt, Avelino continued to educate those who would come to her and trust her with their children.

The execution of Jose Rizal was personally devastating for her. On the day of Rizal’s execution on 30 December 1896, Avelino had her students attend mass, upon which she wept openly. Rizal’s demise only emphasized that the cause of the Revolution was just.

Hearing her friends become writers in Antonio Luna’s La Independencia, Avelino wanted to join the plans for a university being established by the Revolutionary Government in Malolos in 1898, but her students needed her in Pandacan. American soldiers, who at first presented themselves as allies of the revolution, soon changed tune. As American troops kept passing by Pandacan, Avelino was urged by her father to go to Manila. It was here that Pandacan was burned to the ground, with all the family’s house, possessions, and Ada Avelino’s school materials.

Rising from the Ashes

From the devastation, even when her spirit was crushed, Avelino learned to be as hardy as her father. In the new dispensation opened by the Americans in the Philippines, American English was the required medium of instruction. Her private school, amid difficulty and new standards imposed, was soon dissolved. This did not quell Avelino’s spirit, but rather, it spurred her on to train, and even volunteered to teach the language to fast track her own learning process. She took up private lessons from Mauricio Somosa, a known English-speaking friend.

There was one time when her American proctor, Prescott F. Jernegan, author of an English textbook on Philippine history used in the American curriculum, mentioned in her class that Emilio Aguinaldo, president of the capitulated Philippine Republic, was “chief of the Cavite bandits.” She never took that in stride and instead rebutted the proctor in his class, to her classmates’ applause:

“Mr. Jernegan, Aguinaldo was not a bandit chieftain. Our revolutionaries were not bandits. They were patriots just like the Americans who revolted against England in 1776.”

Avelino’s efforts and achievement were acknowledged by the American administration in public instruction. David Prescott Barrows, the American superintendent on education, made Avelino principal of a public school for girls in Pandacan in 1901. Recognizing her further need to master English, Avelino asked for leave to go to Hong Kong, to train in English. This was cut short after six months due to an illness of one of her companions. Upon her return, she resumed her post, only to encounter opposition.

Amid the interference of American officials in the Bureau of Education, and her resistance to such interference, Avelino tendered her resignation in 1906, despite the pleading of superintendent G.A. O’Reilly not to resign. Her work as a good educator and school administrator had made a mark on the public school system.

Forging a New Path

The dream of starting a new school was always there. Avelino already had the training, the know-how, the experience under the new colonial dispensation. She kept to heart the essence of education, as it had always been advocated by Rizal, and all the teachers she was privileged to be trained under– and that is to emancipate the mind and feed the spirit, to dignify Filipino’s humanity and equip the person with the skills and the heart to achieve his/her potential. 

LIBRADA AVELINO AND CARMEN DE LUNA, 1911, COLORIZED BY ADRIAN NAVARRO

It was from two of her close friends, Fernando Salas, and her classmate from her studies with the Assumptionists, Carmen de Luna, that Avelino got the encouragement she needed. They altogether financially invested in the dream of opening a school, which finally came to fruition in April 1907. They named it Centro Escolar de Senoritas (Central School for Ladies), the first non-sectarian school in the Philippines, which soon became Centro Escolar University in 1932.

In 1929, it was no less than the University of the Philippines, under its president and fellow nationalist, Rafael Palma, who conferred to Librada honoris causa Master in Pedagogy, in acknowledgment of her pioneering work in Philippine education and the advancement of women’s rights.

When Avelino died of cancer on 9 November 1934, with her dream fully realized, it was on her birth anniversary on 17 January 1935, short of a few months before the independence timetable for the Philippines would begin in November, that the new university cancelled their classes, for the women students to visit the grave of their fallen founder, whose final resting place was at La Loma Cemetery. Students poured in at the cemetery, all with gratefulness and admiration.

LIBRADA AVELINO MONUMENT IN THE CAMPUS GROUNDS, CENTRO ESCOLAR UNIVERSITY

In Memory of a Life Well-Lived

Avelino’s legacy goes beyond the still existing university that she founded in Mendiola, Manila. Education today, based on metrics and research, is lacking, and amid the socio-political climate, seems powerless. And perhaps the same discontent that we feel are the same ones she felt, looking at the colonial education that she aspired to change. The challenge is daunting. Yet Ada’s tenacity, her drive, her will to make her vision become a reality, was driven not by self-ego but by the very reason why we educate– to forge a new kind of Filipino, one who will take on the leadership mantle with all knowledge, humility, and beating heart for the welfare of their Nation.

The closing scene of Rizal’s El filibusterismo, which no doubt, was read by Avelino, still resonates:

“Where are the youth who will dedicate their innocence, their idealism, their enthusiasm for the good of the country? Where are they who will give generously of their blood to wash away so much shame, crime and abomination? Pure and spotless must the victim be for the sacrifice to be acceptable. Where are you, young men and young women, who are to embody in yourselves the life-force that has been drained from our veins, the pure ideals that have grown stained in our minds, the fiery enthusiasm that has been quenched in our hearts? We await you, come for we await you!”

Bibliography:

Alzona, Encarnacion. A History of Education in the Philippines, 1965 – 1930. Manila: University of the Philippines Press, 1932.

Alzona, Encarnacion. Librada Avelino: A Biography. Manila: Centro Escolar University, 1974.

The Philippine Teachers’ Association. The Filipino Teacher: A Monthly Journal of the Philippine Teachers’ Association, Vol. 1. No. 3, June 1907.

Varona, Francisco, & De La Llana, Pedro. Ada: The Life of Librada Avelino or the Development of the Soul. Manila: P. Vera & Sons Co., 1935.

In light of Presidential Proclamation No. 115 dated 22 December 2022 (Declaring Monday, 26 December 2022, as a Special Non-Working Day throughout the Country), the deadline for the submission of bid proposals and opening of bids for the project Supply, Delivery, Configuration and Installation of Structured Cabling, Network Attached Storage and Server for the National Historical Commission of The Philippines (NHCP) is hereby postponed, with the revised schedule as follows:

For the guidance and information of all concerned.

ROSARIO V. SAPITAN
Chairman, BAC

This Bid Bulletin is issued to modify, amend or clarify items in the issued Bidding Documents for the following project:

1. Supply, Delivery, Configuration and Installation of Structured Cabling, Network Attached Storage and Server for the National Historical Commission of the Philippines (NHCP)

Please be informed of the following information and clarifications:

1. The following items are hereby added in Section VII (Technical Specifications) of the Bid Documents:

For the guidance of all concerned.

ROSARIO V. SAPITAN
Chairman, BAC

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