THE CONSTITUTION OF THE PHILIPPINE COMMONWEALTH
by: Quennie Ann J. Palafox

      The Constitution, whether written or unwritten is recognized as the supreme law of the land as it serves as the basis for the legitimacy of any governmental acts necessary for its existence.  It is a codified law that determines the powers and duties of a government and it embodies certain rights of the people.

       Right after the signing of the Treaty of Paris in Washington D.C in 1898 that ceded the Philippines to the US paying the amount of $20, 000, 000 to Spain in the process, and the eruption of Filipino-American War in 1899, our country was placed under a military government until 1901 with the passing of the Spooner Amendment, putting an end to the military rule in the Philippines and replacing it with a civil government with William H. Taft as the first civil governor.  The ratification of the Philippine Bill of 1902, which called for the creation of a lower legislative branch composed of elected Filipino legislators, and the Jones Law in August 1916 gave the Filipinos the opportunity to govern themselves better.  The First Philippine Assembly, which convened on October 16, 1907, was composed of educated Filipinos from illustrious clans such as Sergio Osmeña and Manuel L. Quezon, who revived the issue of immediate independence for the Filipinos and this was expressed by sending political missions to the US Congress.

     Controversy divided the Philippine legislature with the debate on the acceptance or rejection of the Hare-Hawes-Cutting Bill brought home by Osmeña-Roxas mission from the US Congress in 1931, which provided for a 10-year transition period before the granting of Philippine independence. The passage of the independence bill resulted in the splitting of the Democrata Party and Nacionalista Party into two factions; the Pros and Antis. Majority in the legislature led by Quezon and Recto rejected the said bill, thereby composing the Antis, while the Pros became the Minority under Osmena, Roxas and others.

On October 17, 1933, Quezon and others triumphed in this battle as the Philippine legislature rejected the bill. Quezon eventually brought in from the United States the Tydings-McDuffie Act (Public Law 73-127) authored by Sen. Millard Tydings and Rep. John McDuffie, a slightly amended version of the Hare-Hawes-Cutting bill signed by President Franklin Roosevelt on March 24, 1934. The bill set July 4 after the tenth year of the commonwealth as date of Philippine independence. This was accepted by the Philippine Legislature on May 1, 1934.

      The organization of constitutional Convention that would draw up the fundamental law of the land based on the American model was one of the salient provisions of the Tydings-McDuffie Act. Delegates to the convention were subsequently elected in 1934. In the first meeting held on July 30 at the session of the House of Representatives, Claro M. Recto was unanimously elected as its President.

      Salient features of the 1935 Constitution include the following: a bicameral legislature composed of a senate and House of Representatives. The President is to be elected to a four-year term together with the Vice-President without re-election; rights of suffrage by male citizens of the Philippines who are twenty-one years of age or over and are able to read and write; extension of the right of suffrage to women within two years after the adoption of the constitution.

       The draft of the constitution was approved by the convention on February 8, 1935 and ratified by Pres. Roosevelt in Washington D.C on March 25, 1935. Elections were held in September 1935, Manuel L. Quezon was elected as the president of the Commonwealth. The 1935 Constitution provided the legal basis of the Commonwealth Government which was considered a transition government before the granting of the Philippine independence with American-inspired constitution; the Philippine government would eventually pattern its government system after American government. It has been said that the 1935 Constitution was the best-written Philippine charter ever.

FROM REDACTION TO SUBVERSION: A STUDY OF THE EVOLUTION OF THE HILIGAYNON CORRIDO

      History is the master of destiny when properly accounted and remembered, she guides us home to peace, progress and harmonious relations between man and nature. It engenders upon us an unequivocal hatred of all things evil.

      But History, when misunderstood and manipulated offers a destiny of cyclical social misery; guiding the nation to endure prolonged economic hardship, corrupt and inefficient government, never ending rebellion, environmental degradation, joblessness, high cost of living, low salaries, poverty, increasing cost of basic goods, social apathy, soaring crime rates, etc.

        A nation so antipathetic to its heritage must endure the unendurable, and bear the unbearable.

      We in the NHI have found out long ago that history holds the secrets for everlasting peace, sustainable progress and workable social justice. We also found out that these secrets are zealously protected and hidden by traditional beliefs, rigid social norms, exclusive educational system and severely restricting laws and bureaucracy created to enforce a status quo of a rich and powerful few and a dominated and silenced majority. A formula imparted to us by our colonial heritage, formula negated by the Katipunan. Today, the memory of the Katipunan is revered and respected in Philippine history, but the core of its being, that of militant agitation against oppression, is being curtailed by the government.

      The book “From Redaction to Subversion A study of the Evolution of the Hiligaynon Corrido” by Ma. Cecilla Nava, an NHI grantee is a story about Hiligaynon Corrido.

      Hiligaynon is the predominant dialect in Iloilo, (a pronouncement of the times challenged by many a Kinaray-a speaker, but that’s another story).

      Corrido is an enduring fore in literary influence. A story of romance told in metrical cadences, they are mostly about chivalrous knight and damsels in distress, love and loyalty, villainy and betrayal, monsters and magic and divine intervention.

        That the Hiligaynon Corridos were reflection of European romantic tradition was never questioned and most of the time these Corridos have their counterpart in Tagalog, with similar theme and content. It was the infusion of Hiligaynon sensibilities into the Corridos that the book focused its contention that the Hiligaynon Corridos acquired its unique presentation in a conscious effort to dramatize an oppressive colonial era.

        There are seventy something corridor summaries in the book. European flavor is readily discernible, but strange twist of plots and locally derived literacy additives decidedly give the Hiligaynon Corrido a distinctive identity. Also, anachronism are a plenty, a reader might be thrown of the track upon reading an Egyptian Pharaoh giving away haciendas. A good scholar of history might be tempted to say that Hiligaynon corrido is stranger than fiction. But then the book has a resounding repartee about this.

        A stranger story, and I am really wondering how it was turned into some kind of metrical romance is the Hiligaynon corrido about King Solomon who had three hundred wives. He then falls in love with Queen Sheba who possesses three magic golden pubic hairs. Sheba is kidnapped by a Muslim king who then becomes her husband. Queen Sheba then give her three golden pubic hairs to Solomon. The pubic hairs have the power to shave off hunger even if one does not eat for a week. After a while Solomon find two soon beautiful women and forgets the queen.

MUSIC FOR THE NATIONAL SOUL
By Peter Jaynul V. Uckung

Julian Felipe thought of himself as a Filipino patriot first and a composer second. However, it is for his music that he will always be remembered.

     In 1896 Felipe was enjoying life as a composer and keyboard artist of some repute. However, with the outbreak of hostilities, he decided to abandon the piano and learn to fight instead. The Philippine revolution had begun and Julian Felipe, for love of country, joined the fight.

     His military career was cut short, however, when he was arrested by the Spanish authorities and thrown into prison at fort San Felipe in Cavite City. He missed being executed only because the Spaniards had no proof to convict him of any serious crime. Instead he was jailed for about a year at Fort Santiago and then released on June 2, 1897.

     Meanwhile, the leader of the revolution, Emilio Aguinaldo, who was exiled to Hong Kong after signing the Pact of Biak-na-Bato, returned to the Philippines on May 1, 1898. Now allied with the Americans, he was ready to continue the revolution.

     The two men were destined to cross paths on June 5, 1898. Bearing a letter of recommendation from his friend, Mariano Trias, Felipe sought out Aguinaldo who was at the time in Cavite City at the home of Maximo Inocencio. In a good mood after the recent victories against the Spaniards, Aguinaldo and his generals were planning the course of the war when Felipe arrived. Recognizing the young man’s skill as a pianist, Aguinaldo asked him to play a march composed by a Filipino in Hong Kong. The Musician complied. 

      Upon hearing it, Aguinaldo was not satisfied with the music. He described it as good but obviously it was not good enough. It was not emotionally appealing. He wanted a more serious melody that will instill courage and patriotism in the hearts of every Filipino Aguinaldo then asked Felipe if he could compose a more soul-rousing tune, one which will reflect the nation’s ideals. It was more of a command than a request. He was being commissioned to compose the nation’s anthem. The pianist, although awed by the challenge, said that he would try. 

      Felipe returned to his home and immediately began the composition. On June 11, 1898, the composer returned to Aguinaldo’s home in Kawit Cavite with a finished work. With Aguinaldo were some of the revolutionary generals. Felipe had walked in on a meeting. Despite the fact that he was interrupting, Felipe was greeted warmly and was duly asked to play his composition.

       Everybody froze and listened as the pianist played out the anthem’s stirring chords and haunting melody. Here was an artist at his finest moment. Felipe had managed to draw upon his own patriotism and channel it into his music. He consciously incorporated some tonal characteristics of the Spanish Royal March to remember the passing of an era. 

      As the last tones vanished into the air, Aguinaldo and his generals, including Generals Mariano Trias and Baldomero Aguinaldo, applauded Felipe’s creation. They initially titled it Marcha Filipina Magdalo, after Aguinaldo’s original Katipunan faction during the first phase of the revolution. They then unanimously approved it to be the national anthem of the country.

       Aguinaldo decided that Felipe would teach his score to the members of the band of San Francisco de Malabon (now General Trias) so that it could be played the next day for the declaration of Philippine Independence here in Kawit.

      Composing a national anthem was tough enough, but teaching it to a band he hardly knew which was tasked to play it the next day it the next day was another matter. Fortunately, Felipe had experience teaching, he once taught music to earn money.

       The following day, June 12, 1898, Julian Felipe’s masterpiece accompanied the hoisting of the new Philippine flag during the historic Declaration of Philippine Independence. It has been played at all gathering ever since, becoming the national anthem of the Philippines now known as the Marcha Nacional Filipina.

        In August of 1899 the anthem was given lyrics, written by post Jose Palma who titled it “Filipinas”. The original words were in Spanish. During the American regime they were translated into English by American Mary A. Lane and Camilo Osias and were adopted by the Philippine Commonwealth as a national symbol. The Filipino version was penned by Ildefonso Santos and Julian Cruz Balmeda in the 1940’s. This was proclaimed as the official Filipino version on May 26, 1956.

       And it has been as sine this national Anthem of the Philippines or “Lupang Hinirang”.

      As for Julian Felipe, the Philippines legislature passed an Act on December 4, 1924 for the government by him P 4,000 for his contribution to the creation of the National Anthem.

55TH DEATH ANNIVERSARY OF JOSE M. NAVA – FOUNDER OF FEDERACION OBRERA DE FILIPINAS AND WORLD WAR II VETERAN
by Quennie Ann Palafox

      He gained distinction for leading one of the largest strikes in the history of the country’s labor movement and as a journalist stirred the workers’ clamor for improvement of their conditions through labor unions. In his native town, Nava built the Federacion Obrera de Filipinas (FOF) to be the Philippines largest trade union. Unlike other labor leaders, he was born with a silver spoon in his mouth, yet he made major alteration of the then existing social contract between the country’s stevedores and sugar brokers.

      The most powerful labor leader of his time- Jose Maria Nava was born to a wealthy family on July 31, 1891 in Iloilo City. His father was Mariano Nava y Legaspi of Binondo, Manila, and mother Estefa Nuñal of Iloilo City.

      He attended the Iloilo Central School, the Iloilo Normal School, and the Iloilo High School, for his secondary education.  At a young age, Nava already knew what he wants – the arts. Nava attended private lessons in art and music and he engaged much of his time reading Spanish and American novels. Jose Nava first showed his talent for acting back in high school days when in 1905, he was noted for being the only Filipino student chosen to act with Spanish dramatic artists. This success was followed by his role in the December 1907 as Mr. Longhead, President of the Company in C.T. Denison’s play The Great Doughnut Corporation.  He quitted high school as he was bored with his studies and decided to pursue a career in the arts in Manila, a place far from his home. In Manila, he enrolled in painting at the school of Fine Arts first at “Raspall’s Studio”, and later in “Antonio Torres’ Studio”. He was so fascinated with literature that he wrote notable dramas such as “Luding”, “Colintas nga Saway”, and “Datu Palau”. His desire to go back to theater life led Nava to return to Iloilo in 1914.

       He married Adela Carineta, a principal soprano of the “Nasalbanti Company” in Pulupandan, Negros Occidental.  He had 11 children but his wife died in 1929. He married again this time to Adelina Aldeguer who bore him 7 children. In 1922 he won the shooting championship and was given medal as a sharp shooter by the Philippine Rifle and Pistol Association and by the War Department of USA.

       He reunited with his childhood friends in Iloilo and in 1917, with Vicente Ibiernas, they organized the first labor organization in Iloilo, the Union Obrera de Iloilo.  Apart from theater, he began a career in editorial in 1915 when he served as a correspondent for El Tiempo, a local Spanish paper, and later became its editor. Nava opened his own newspaper, the La Prensa, when El Tiempo closed down in 1922. This newspaper closed down in 1925 and was succeeded by Prensa Libre in which he served as the editor.

       He dedicated long years of his life to the theater but two major setbacks at the peak of his career ended his theatrical profession. In 1917, a fire destroyed his scripts, and a certain Julio Peña from Negros Occidental came to the fore accusing him of plagiarism. Between 1919 and 1931, he tried his luck in politics when he ran for Iloilo’s Municipal council five times, but he won only twice. Although a failure in the field of politics, he gained success as newspaper editor for his daring campaign against corruption in the government.

        Nava becoming a labor leader was only accidental. It all started when a man with a bandage over one eye came into his office in 1928 who sought his help. The man lost the sight of one eye due to accident from his work. The man was able to claim compensation from the Visayan Stevedoring Company through the help of Nava. This news reached the knowledge of peasant workers, thus on July 31, 1928 a group of workers from the district of Lapus petitioned Nava to organize a labor union. Right on that day, the Federacion Obrera de Filipinas was born.

       The FOF as a labor group introduced itself in the industrial arena when it organized a major strike in 1930 involving some 3000 stevedores. He also organized strikes at plantations and mills in Negros. In 1938, he was elected the National Chairman of the Collective Labor Movement (CLM) the biggest organization of labor before the outbreak of the war.

       During the Japanese occupation, he took the pro-American position and organized the Sabotage and Guerilla Unit in Panay after contacting Major Quimbo and Gen. Bradford Chynoweth, local commander of the USAFFE. On December 1, 1941, Dr. Caram appointed Nava as his deputy governor. He was commissioned Captain of the USAFFE and become the Chief of the Propaganda Unit and Intelligence Unit under Peralta. His 8 sons and daughters were all commissioned in the USAFFE as captains, lieutenants and privates. He made the first encounter against the Japanese at Alimodian, Iloilo on April, 1942. When the local USAFFE surrendered to the Japanese after the fall of Bataan and his friends collaborated with the Japanese, Nava remained in the mountains with his anti-Japanese resistance ideology until 1945.

        Local politics was already in his system that he made a come back just after the liberation. Despite the fact that he was recognized for his post in the US army when he served in the USAFFE, he was now more radical and allied himself with the leftists, Guillermo Capadocia. Through Capadocia, Nava became involved with the Communist Party and the Huk guerilla army. Nava’s alliance with the leading communist leaders along with his involvement in national issues broke his relations with the groups that were vital to his success before the war. The Provincial chapter of FOF refused to remit money as their contributions to the national office with resulted to the FOF being short of funds.

       In 1947 Pascual Espinosa, a former vice president of FOF, broke his ties with the group and accepted the leadership of the Consolidated Labor Union of the Philippines. The two unions became bitter rivals that resulted in armed confrontations. In the 1949 presidential elections, Nava aligned himself with the Huks because of the political violence that took place involving him. Nava’s role in the execution of alleged spy, Capt. Parreño, by the Huk guerillas was unveiled as evidences were obtained. The militia accused him as the man behind Parreños death in 1950. As more violence erupted, Constabulary troops placed in detention the then already weak Jose Nava, his son Ricardo, and son-in-law Alfredo Palmejar at the provincial jail on charges of subversion in 1951. In April 1952, Judge Magno Gatmaitan sentenced Nava to death. After conviction he was transferred to Muntinlupa Prison where he spent his remaining time writing and reflecting. His health suffered more due to imprisonment and his properties were sold because of the lengthy trial. On January 14, 1954, while on a hospital leave from Muntinglupa Prison, Jose Nava died in the Manila Sanitarium.

THE FIRST PHILIPPINE REPUBLIC

       Though short-lived, the First Philippine, nonetheless catapulted the Filipino nation onto the world’s consciousness carving not only a place among the family of nations but also a distinct niche as the first republic in Asia.  While much of the world was oblivious to its birthing, the First Republic proved that Filipinos were capable of self-rule and deserved their longed-for freedom after more than 300 years of colonial bondage- a bondage shaken time and again by sporadic revolts, whose disparateness precluded ultimate victory.

     After the failure of the reformist movement led by Rizal and Del Pilar, Andres the 1896-98 Philippine Revolution, culminated with the inauguration of the Republic on January 23, 1899 at Barasoain Church in Malolos, Bulacan.  Though besieged and eventually thwarted by the United States army, the Republic had earned the loyalty of the Filipino people and deserved the recognition of foreign nations.

     When General Emilio Famy Aguinaldo returned to the country from his exile in Hong Kong in May 1898, the truce signed between Filipino revolutionists and  Spaniards at Biak-na-Bato, San Miguel de Mayumo, Bulacan in December 1897 had been broken in many parts of the country.  Upon advice of Ambrosio Rianzares Bautista Aguinaldo, established a dictatorial government of the Philippines on May 24.   Four days later, the Filipino rebels routed the Spaniards in Alapan, Cavite, a victory celebrated by Aguinaldo with the first, albeit informal, waving of the National Flag on Philippine soil.  The event preempted the May 31st launching of the second phase of the revolution.  By July 1898, the Filipinos liberated the provinces of Cavite, Laguna, Batangas, Pampanga, most of Bulacan and the suburbs surrounding Manila.

       On June 12, 1898, Aguinaldo proclaimed Philippine independence from the window of his house in Kawit, Cavite, and waved the Philippine Flag officially for the first time to the martial strains of the new national anthem.

       Mabini’s plan to establish a grassroots government was realized towards the latter half of June 1898.  Aguinaldo issued several important decrees reorganizing the government in the liberated provinces: the decree of June 18 reorganized municipalities and provinces, through the election of Popular Assemblies, whose heads the town chiefs then elected the provincial councils.  The decree also provided for the election of delegates to the Revolutionary Congress by the town chiefs.  To Mabini, the latter were Aguinaldo’s direct link to the masses and on August 1, 1898, these town officials assembled at Bacoor, then the seat of the Revolutionary government, and ratified the newly proclaimed Philippine independence.

      On June 20, Aguinaldo issued a decree organizing the judiciary, and on June 23, again upon Mabini’s advice, major changes were promulgated and implemented: change of government from Dictatorial to Revolutionary; change of the Executive title from Dictator to President; the establishment of four major departments including that of foreign affairs, navy and commerce; war and public works, police and internal order; and finance, agriculture and manufacture industries (this was later expanded to six departments with addition of welfare and treasury departments); the appointment of delegates to the Revolutionary Congress from the non-liberated provinces, to ensure wider representation, and the creation of the Executive Board of the Revolutionary Committee at Hong Kong, which served as the diplomatic and international propaganda arm of the Republic.  Two underlying principles motivated the establishment of a revolutionary government: to help the country achieve true independence and pave the way towards the formation of a “true republic”.

      As Mabini envisioned it, the Revolutionary Congress created by the June 18 decree had several aims: to promote the interest of the Filipinos through the passage of relevant laws and to serve as the Executive’s advisory body.   On September 15 Aguinaldo formally opened the revolutionary congress at the church of Barasoain in Malolos.  Later the representatives elected their officers: Pedro Paterno, president; Benito Legarda, Vice President; Gregorio Araneta, First Secretary and Pablo Ocampo, Second Secretary.  It was not long after their first convening that the Malolos Representatives ran into conflict with Mabini, who believed that the times demanded not the writing of a supreme law, which required the luxury of time, but an executive made strong by congressional support.  In the end Congress prevailed over Mabini, and began their constitutional work.  There were three draft constitutions presented: one authored by Mabini, another by Paterno and a third drafted by Felipe Calderon, a Cavite lawyer.  The latter’s draft, influenced by constitutions of various South American nations, was eventually chosen.

      Despite its brief existence, the Malolos Congress earned its place in Philippine history if only for two achievements: the ratification of the declaration of independence on September 29, 1898 and the framing of the Malolos Constitution, which was promulgated by President Aguinaldo on January 21, 1899.  To its eternal credit, the Malolos Congress, transcended its elite background by producing a supreme law distinguished for its democratic and pluralist ideals.  These were embodied in the following provisions: the distribution of power in three separate branches of government: a legislature which was unicameral- the “Assembly” of elected representatives; the Executive branch, represented by the President supported by a Cabinet; and the Judiciary composed of the Supreme Court, headed by a Chief Justice to be elected by the Assembly, and lower courts. The Constitution likewise protected the people against the abuse of power with a registry of individual and national rights.  Most important, it was imbued with the principle that sovereignty resides in the people.

        The Repubic was inaugurated on January 23, 1899 at Barasoain Church, Malolos, in ceremonies marked by the reading of the whole Constitution, by Secretary Ocampo; proclamation of the Republic of the Philippines by Congress president Paterno, followed by the proclamation of Aguinaldo as the elected President of the new Republic, and speeches by Aguinaldo and Paterno.

The Central government of the new Republic was constituted in part as follows:
President-        Emilio Aguinaldo
Department Secretaries- War – Baldomero Aguinaldo
Interior- Leandro Ibarra
Foreign Affairs- Cayetano Arellano (later replaced by Mabini)
Finance- Mariano Trias
Justice-   Gregorio Araneta
Welfare- Felipe Buencamino

       Even as it battled a new enemy disguised by US President William McKinley’s “Benevolent Assimilation” proclamation, the new government suffered dissension within its ranks.  The Mabini Cabinet was replaced by the Paterno Cabinet around May 9, 1899.

     Meanwhile, Felipe Agoncillo, foremost Filipino diplomat, exerted all efforts to obtain European and American recognition of Philippine independence and sovereignty, especially after the signing of the Treaty of Paris in December 1898 ceded the Philippines to the United States.   In January 1899 he tried every means to prevent the ratification of the Treaty of Paris by the US Senate, knowing this would seal the fate of the Filipinos, again to no avail.

       Post Script to the Republic. February 4, 1899, less than two weeks after the Republic’s inauguration, an American soldier on Sociego corner Silencio Streets in Santa Mesa, Manila, fired a shot against Filipino patrols in the area, sparking the Filipino-American War.  The outbreak of hostilities between Filipino and American forces caused the imperialist agenda in the US Senate to gain the upper hand, resulting in the ratification of the Treaty of Paris on February 6, thus justifying the United States all-out pursuit of war against the fledgling Philippine Republic.

        On March 31 Malolos, seat of the Philippine Republic, fell into enemy hands, followed on April 26 by Calumpit, where the Filipino forces led by over-all commander Gen. Luna were also routed.

        On May 9, the Central government moved to Cabanatuan, Nueva Ecija, only four days after Congress convened at neighboring San Isidro town.   As the American army closed in on him Aguinald moved the government to Tarlac, and then to Bayambang, Pangasinan.  The latter fell on November 13.  In a final bid to swing the odds in their favor, Aguinaldo ordered the shift from regular to guerrilla warfare even as he began his exodus to the north.  It did not take long before the government of the Filipinos disintegrated with the capture of its officials Buencamino in November and Mabini in December 1899, Paterno in April 1900.  Aguinaldo himself was captured in Palanan, Isabela, on March 23, 1901, a day after his 32nd birthday.  When he took the oath of allegiance to the United States nine days later, the First Philippine Republic came to an end.

RAISING BONIFACIO
by Peter Jaynul Uckung

       Like an angry bolt of lightning, he electrified the humid colonial air of the Philippines then in the iron grip of Spain, and brought on the liberating storm of the revolution.

       Born on November 30, 1863, Andres Bonifacio, all fired up with ideas of reform and salvation, joined an organization established by Jose Rizal, the La Liga Filipina. Seeking reforms to better the country, the La Liga was extinguished when its founder and guiding light, Rizal, was deported to Dapitan. Apparently the Liga was considered a threat by the Spanish colonial government, which it was not. In so doing, it created the very thing it was afraid of- a covert organization vent on enforcing change by means of a revolution.

        Only July 7, 1892, the Katipunan was founded. And the Spanish colonial government came crushing down like a house of cards.

       Today the memory of Bonifacio evokes a feeling of intense nationalism and of courage against all odds. Bonifacio represents the unsheathed bolo of a long-suffering people pushed to the walls of social decadence. A people relegated to the lowest possible degree of human existence could only endure so much. A long abused society is bound to produce a leader, picked from among the picked, to spearhead the retaliatory strike of the aggrieved. Such a leader always comes from the masses, for it is the masses who always bear the brunt of social misery born out of willful misgovernance. It is those who were dwelling in the darkest of time, who knew the foulest stench of slavery and bondage, who were willing to gamble the very breathe of life to see the light of freedom and economic salvation.

       Bonifacio stood up, after Rizal was taken out. The banishment of Rizal to Dapitan ended the concentrated clamor for reforms. Like a field of makahiya being trampled, most of the Filipino men of reasons folded up. Not Bonifacio.

      In the shadows, hidden by the haze of carefully concocted ruse to mislead the authorities, the Katipunan was founded, recruits fielded, and principles espoused. Reform was no longer a target, absolute freedom by revolution was. Bonifacio was the main gear of the planned revolution. Losing the battle for reforms , the masses in a supreme effort to extricate itself from colonial social degradation finally produced one final ace, the Supremo Andres Bonifacio.

        He united the disgruntled, laid down the foundation of a truly Filipino government and thought of a plan to acquire arms, money and support of the upper class. With the idea of freedom firmly established as the goal of the struggle, Bonifacio, the man from the masses, was set aside, arrested, convicted of the crime of sedition, and executed. No, not by Spaniards, but by fellow Filipinos, some of whom he inducted into the Katipunan. Today, Bonifacio, still ever the enigmatic hero of the Revolution, is idolized, lionized and immortalized more than most of his contemporaries.

       Will we ever need him again? There is a tingling little bell of alarm in this era of globalization to warrant the return of men like him. Globalization may be a process of providing many opportunities, but this must be directed. Without direction, it may become a destructive process. The first signs of such destruction are already starting to show.

        Globalization is governed by limited system of governance enforcing the right of property while ruling that workers’ militant stand for their rights are absolutely against the law. Multinationals often mask as agents of prosperity and democracy in the newspapers, even as they subvert it at the workplace.

        Globalization does not assure freedom, social justice and the rule of law. What it guarantees are markets in which to pursue private interests, not the common interest. Government used to protect the common interest, but with the growth of global capital markets, the power of the state is shrinking. Since capital must be enticed, not discouraged by rules and regulations, the   government caters to its demand, often to the detriment of social goals.

      Theoretically, our entrance to the global market will provide us with economic opportunities; the truth is it is the more industrialized, more advanced countries which the global market favors to further increase profits and prosperity. The inequality of global income between rich and poor countries is so glaring. Today according to the International labor Organization, the rich countries account for about 60% of the world’s income but only 15% of the world’s population.

        The speed in which capital markets grow in developing countries, such as ours, is creating an era of takeover by larger foreign firms on the local business sectors, adding to the divergence of wealth from here to there.  Shades of colonialism. Moreover, problem on pollution, degradation of ecosystems encouraged by a spurred industrialization drive, undermine the foundation of sustainable development of Filipinos.

        Until the values to regulate the global markets is clarified, particularly the social, moral and ethical   ones centered on the dictum that all people are born equal in their rights and opportunities, the Philippines will join the global market and promptly race to the bottom of the lot.

        Misery and decadence, old Filipino chums, will then necessitate the resurrection of Bonifacio. 

THE PALARIS REVOLT OF 1762 

A revolt presaging the Ilocos Revolt led by Diego and Gabriela Silang, and unique in the history of Pangasinan for being led for the first time by the common people broke out in Binalatongan, on November 3, 1762.  It spread to the other towns of the province including Paniqui (then still a part of Pangasinan), Malasiqui, Bayambang, Manaoag, Santa Barbara, San Jacinto, Dagupan, Calasiao, and Mangaldan.  Prior to this, uprisings in the province of Pangasinan including the Malong Revolt, which had been carried out against the Spanish government, were conceived and led not by the heretofore silenced masses but by the principalia, or the native officials, as well as the local aristocracy. 

But whereas before, the common people found allies and even leaders, such as Andres Malong among the native officials, this time the 1762 revolt of the people of Binalatongan found very little sympathy among their local native officials.  Their leader, though the son of a cabeza de barangay, turned out to be someone described as being of the timaua class- the ordinary people—Juan de la Cruz Palaris. 

        Several factors brought about the Palaris Revolt.  Whereas the Malong Revolt, which occurred in 1660-61, had the Spanish-Dutch War as background, this time the Palaris Revolt not only transpired on the heels of British victory over Spanish Manila, then as now the center of national government, but can be said to have been facilitated by the same event.

The revolt sprang directly from the unmet demands of the common people: relief from compulsory labor1; the return of the already collected tributes; the banning of foreigners from holding local office; removal from office of civil and police officials- including the provincial governor, and the appointment of natives in their place2.  The people considered the Spanish and Spanish-appointed officials as abusive and burdensome to them.  The heaviest burden however was the payment of the tribute— in the form of rice harvests.  For over 200 years from the onset of Spanish colonization, the farming folk of Pangasinan had reeled under the onus of paying the tribute which continually became harder to bear for even as the amount of harvests remained niggardly or at subsistence levels for the ordinary people, the tributes were regularly increased by the colonial masters in order to sustain the ever rising needs of both the church and the government.3  Thus by the time the British had invaded Manila, the spark of rebellion had long been lit among the simple folk of Binalatongan.  News of British victory over the Spaniards in Manila merely turned the spark into a burning torch.

Immediately prior to the event, Manila had sought reinforcements from the provinces, and while the rest of Pangasinan was unable to make a quick response, a battalion of over a thousand men from Binalatongan was immediately formed upon the governor’s orders and dispatched to Manila.  It was on their way there that the Spanish debacle at the hands of the mightier British occurred and news of this reached the troops.  When the latter returned to Pangasinan the people interpreted the event as the end of Spanish reign that for them translated in turn into the end of their sufferings.  In time there grew within the people’s hearts the resolve to finally end their misery by refusing to pay the tribute and to demand redress of their other long-held grievances.

The spirit of rebellion began to spread in Pangasinan, prompting the provincial governor to vacate the capitol and make ready for his and his family’s quick evacuation at a moment’s notice.  An intermediary between the governor and the people came in the person of the province’s Vicar.  He tried to convince the governor to continue in office and resume his round of the various towns and attempt a mutually satisfactory compromise with the people.  He refused to heed the advice of the vicar constituting instead a commission that would embark on the year’s collection of taxes.  This commission began to carry out its job smoothly throughout the towns until it came to the town of Binalatongan, whose people refused to pay the tribute, their town mates’ suffering at the march to Manila still a rankling wound.  After several days they went out of their houses and began congregating to plan their next moves.

A leader arose in the person of Palaris, who was aided by one named Colet (which some accounts say was his brother); the Hidalgo brothers and Juan de Vera Oncantin.  He led the people in assailing the Spanish officials headed by the governor and forcing him to give in to their demands.  Aided by his town mates, he was able to seize the arsenal and get hold of the arms.  Fortunately, the vicar and the priests managed to temper the fire of rebellion, but only for a while.  In the meantime the demand of the people to have only native Pangasinenses to serve as local officials was granted; thus from 1762 to 1763, only the priestly profession was open to Spaniards.

Meanwhile, as the Spanish-British conflict came to an end with the signing of a peace treaty in Paris, the Spaniards reclaimed Pangasinan from the natives, the tribute system was re-imposed, and their military campaign against the rebels resumed.  This final phase of the rebellion turned out to be the bloodiest, the rebels led by Palaris standing their ground employing “scorched-earth”4 tactics to inflict the greatest toll on the Spaniards– at one point burning the town of Binalatongan, and the Spaniards unleashing all their military might upon the rebels.  In the end the rebels were routed, forced to escape into the forests, hunted down and captured.  Many of them were executed, their bodies cut into pieces and exhibited to serve as warning and strike fear upon the people, the better to quench any future uprising.  Said to have been betrayed by his own sibling, Palaris was caught and hanged on February 26, 1765.  His hometown Binalatongan was later transferred and renamed San Carlos in the hope of erasing all memory of the Palaris revolt, but his legacy of fighting for justice and freedom lived on in the hearts of the Pangasinenses, spreading to the rest of his countrymen, and forming ‘another step in the right direction’5 towards the Revolution of 1896.

1 National Historical Institute, Filipinos in History, Vol. IV, Manila, 1994, P. 82.
2 Rosario Cortes Mendoza, Pangasinan, 1572-1800, Quezon City: U.P. Press, 1974, P.178.
3 Ibid., P. 179.
4 National Historical Institute, Filipinos in History, Vol. IV, P. 82.
5 Reynaldo C. Ileto, Pasyon and Revolution Popular Movements in the Philippines, 1840-1910. Quezon City: Ateneo de Manila University Press, p. 7.
(by Ma. Cielito G. Reyno)

Resolving A Contentious Issue:
An Overview Of The NHI’s Position On The First And Official Flag Raising In Mindanao

      When the centenary of the country’s independence was celebrated in 1998, a plethora of emotions were felt in each and every hearts of Filipinos.  The centennial anniversary on June 12, 1998; indeed, was a remembrance of the Filipinos’ struggles for freedom and justice more than a century ago.  While the event generated interest in the study of Philippine history, it also produced a great number of issues that needed utmost attention.  One of those was the controversy on the first and official flag raising in Mindanao.  Three contenders: Surigao, Butuan and Cagayan de Oro claimed that the raising of the Philippine tricolor took place in their jurisdiction.   Their claims, in a way, were not unfounded for based on available documents and accounts, these areas were the first ones to hoist the country’s flag in Mindanao.   As a background, the province of Mindanao was the last province in the country evacuated by the Spaniards.  The withdrawal of the last colonial authorities and the establishment of the revolutionary government and the raising of the flag clearly signified the country’s independence.

The National Historical Institute (NHI) of course, has taken note about the controversy.  It was imperative for the Institute to resolve the dispute.  As former NHI Chairman Dr. Pablo Trillana once said, the flag raising in Mindanao is important because the event has a certain relationship to the birth of the nation.  So as a fitting end to the raging controversy, the NHI initiated a two-day round table discussion on the controversy, held on the 2nd week of January 2000.  The deliberation conducted by the panel of experts determined the area in Mindanao where the first and official flag raising happened.  While the primary concern was to end the dispute, the NHI, through the round-table discussion, was also able to gather more information on the significant personages and circumstances connected with the event.

      The conference was convened by a panel of distinguished members known for their wisdom and fairness.  The panel included Justice Camilo D. Quiason; Dr. Sabino G. Padilla, Jr.; Professor Talampas and Dr. Jaime B. Veneracion. 

      Meanwhile, representatives from the contending areas defended their claims using primary documents or secondary sources of sound probative value.  The NHI for proper evaluation adopted these principles.  The speakers considered experts on their localities’ history were Mr. Gregorio Jose Palma Hontiveros and Rev. Fr. Joesilo C. Amalla for Butuan; Mr. Antonio J. Montalvan II and Ms. Agnes Paulita R. Roa for Cagayan de Oro and; Mr. Fernando A. Almeda Jr. and Atty. Jose C. Sering for Surigao.

Surigao’s Stand

      The Surigao representatives used the diary of Fr. Alberto Masoliver, S.J., the parish priest of Surigao in 1898, for supporting their case.  The diary, entitled Diario dela Casa de Surigao, is currently kept in the Jesuit archives at Centro Borja, San Cugat del Valles, Spain.  The accounts of Fr. Masoliver are cited in the book Angry Days in Mindanao by Fr. Peter Schreurs.

      Summarizing the position of the Suriganons, “The Philippine Flag was raised in Surigao in the morning of December 26, 1898 at the Casa Real (town hall), which also housed the Tribunal (courthouse).  Surigao then was the cabecera and the seat of government of the province of Caraga which had jurisdiction over Surigao, Butuan and Cagayan de Misamis.” The president of the Junta Provincial of Surigao, as of 26 December, was Alejandro (Jantoy) Gonzales.

Butuan’s Position

      To bolster their claim, the representatives of Butuan, meanwhile cited the documents from the Philippine Insurrection Records, Angry Days in Mindanao by Fr. Schreurs and, Mision dela Compania de Jesus en Filipinas en el Siglo XIX by Fr. Pablo Pastels.

      The position of the Butuan side was that the tricolor was raised in Butuan on 17 January 1899, with Governor Wenceslao Gonzales personally presiding over the flag-raising ceremony in full regalia.  The governor later reported the event to President Emilio Aguinaldo on February 2, 1899.

The Case of Cagayan de Oro (de Misamis)

      On their part, the Speakers from Cagayan argued that the flag was raised on January 10 1899 when the five-man Concejo Provincial of the revolutionary government assumed office.  The members of the Concejo were chosen in accordance with Aguinaldo’s decree of June 18, 1898.  On that occasion, the newly installed municipal head, Toribio Chaves y Roa recited the poem “Pinahanongod”, and explained the meaning and symbols of the flag. 

      The Bautista Manuscript, and the Report to the President of the Revolutionary Government by Jose Roa y Casa were used to by the representatives of Cagayan to strengthen their case.

The Panel’s decision

      Summarizing the findings of the panel and the comments of some experts from the history department of UP such as Dr. Evelyn Miranda, Professor Digna P. Apilado and Dr. Eden Gripaldo, it was recommended that the first and official flag raising occurred in Surigao.  Surigao’s arguments were able to satisfy the criteria set by the panel.  The information that they gave which states that the tricolor was raised on the 26th of December 1898 as against 10 January in Cagayan and 17 January 1899 in Butuan is or was recorded in the diary of Fr. Alberto Masoliver, now kept in the Jesuit Archives in Spain.  Aside from this, no one from the Butuan and Cagayan sides refuted the entry in Fr. Masoliver’s diary.  Regarding if the flag raising was official, the panel, relied on the second criterion set by the rules of the Competition: whether the event was in clear identification with, and in pursuance of the aims and struggles of the revolutionary government.  This criterion was used since all three contenders were unable to show any proof, based on the first criterion, that the raising of the flag was sanctioned by the Philippine Revolutionary Government of Aguinaldo. 

Without a doubt, the events in Butuan and Cagayan were official since both fell within the terms of reference set by rules of the competition.  However, Surigao was also able to satisfy this particular rule.  To quote the panel report: “The Aguinaldo proclamation of 18 June 1898, establishing a dictatorial government was made known to sympathizers of the revolution.  The news of the defeat of the Spanish armada… fanned the flames of rebellion, forcing Spanish officials and friars to abandon their posts… The Spanish governor of Surigao on 23 December 1898, and forthwith, a provisional junta assumed control of the government could take over.  Elected as Chairman of the Junta was Alejandro Gomez… So when Fr. Masoliver saw the Filipino flag flying at the Casa Real and the Tribunal of Surigao on December 26… the revolutionary government for the province, albeit provisional, was already in place… The Butuan Panel admitted that Alejandro Gonzales established an interim government in Surigao… There is no denying that the event was in clear identification of the aims and struggles of the revolution.”

(In 2001, the National Historical Institute published its first scholarly journal called Kasasaysan.  Included in this 100-page paper are the complete proceedings of the January Round Table Conference, papers presented by all three parties involved, comments of the Ad-Hoc Committee  and, the thorough Report and Recommendation of the Panel.  Copies are available at the Institute.)

A HISTORY OF NATIONAL MANIPULATION

      History keeps unfolding even as we keep on ignoring it. The answers to our social problems are there, reformatted and formulated by historians and delivered to us in blood and tears – splattered papers. With national memories made up of the likes of Lapu-lapu, Sultan Kudarat, Gabriela Silang, Jose Rizal, Andres Bonifacio, Apolinario Mabini, Ramon Magsaysay, Ninoy Aquino, etc. We should have long ago elevated the nation to the pinnacle of glorious existence.

      They say we wallow in social misery because we as a people never learn. That is not so true. We never really “never learn,” it’s just that we are being prevented from learning what should have been learned long ago.

      We are prevented by the government, by our traditional beliefs and social norms, themselves products of manipulation by those who benefit from the state of the nation being misled and misruled.

      The dominant mode of living is enforced upon us by a systematic education that provides the knowledge, skills and encouragement so we can adapt to a dictated destiny. The school curriculum is clearly constructed through a selective process of teaching methods and exclusive retelling of cultures and experiences. The discrediting of histories of most collective resistance that matter and the muffling of echoes of injustice by targeting non-critical issues in the classrooms are so subtle that students get so excited debating the intrigues of the revolution, instead of reflecting on the necessity of a radical change. Indeed, this nation celebrates and reveres the memory of the revolution, concluding its ending as successful. It is a glancing blow to the armored fortress of historical truth. The truth is the revolution was stopped dead in the night, not by the men who led it, certainly not by the men and women who fought for it, not even by the might of the armies that opposed it. The revolution stopped on its own accord. Like a living entity with a mind of its own, it stopped moving by its own decision. A revolution fathered by social injustice and incubated for centuries by malgovernance is a thing of beauty, like a heavenly symphony, it rolls on via a perfect combination of tone and timbre, and nothing less can make it play. Thus, a miscalculation, hesitation or discord among the revolutionists made the revolutionary process stop. But no true revolution is ever permanently stopped. It only hibernates, while generation of revolutionaries rally to find the perfect pitch of consciousness to bridge the revolutionary lull.

Life under colonialism is a life of hell. So true in Southeast Asia, Africa, North and South America, Australia, everywhere. Revolution against colonialism is never wrong. In fact, it is always moral. The oppression of people for the good of another nation is always wrong. The men who formed and joined the Katipunan certainly knew that. And the time of this realization was the defining moment of their existence. Our Muslim brothers have known that all the time, but their defensive measures for freedom have been deliberately misunderstood. 

      The conviction of the Katipuneros was not enough to carry on the revolution to its desired end. Contradictions among leaders, whom many were anxious to maintain  wealth and status quo, emerged. Resistance from the elite made it necessary for the Revolutionary leaders (who needed their prestige, influence and money for the consolidation of power) to entertain the mode of political accommodation and compromise. But political accommodation entails the preservation and continuation of social systems and entities being protested in return for social assistance, more often monetary. In the Philippines, political accommodation (or reconciliation) helped return to power persons representative of a much despised social system. Reconciliation is a favorite government slogan to preserve peace. It was also a very effective antidote to a budding revolution. To be sure, it ushered in development to the Philippines, but it did not alter the state of economic dependency of the Philippines nor the severely unequal distribution of wealth among the people.  This was very clear during the commonwealth era and the post-EDSA revolution period. These were the times when minute superficial social changes were encouraged and popularized as momentous and historic social transformation. This was to manipulate the sentiments of the people and convince them of the necessity and workability of rehashed political systems. It brought the people some kind of social diversionary role that gave them phantasmic participatory feelings in reworking the society. It was a masterful manipulation method of the politically inconsiderate. EDSA II was symptomatic of this. There was euphoria among the people who joined the rallies and demonstrations against President Estrada after he stepped down. But the real reason for his ouster was the political turnabout of the military.

      It was putting the revolution in high reversed gear.

      The persistent effort of those in power to preserve the status quo seesaws from the willing to bargain to the violently intolerant. The use of force to discourage a radical social or political change usually is the hallmark of a government employing oppression as the basis of its survival and to preserve a way of privileged life. This phenomenon may be sincerely believed by its enforcers as the only true way to live a manageable life. A divergent code of ethics antagonistic to its principle is usually responded to with persecution.

      To encourage people to live a way of life supportive to the survival of the rulers and in prolonging their dominance, the government issues grants and policies, devices laws and regulations, specifies the form of language, popularizes jobs and social conditions, decrees education and learning methods to conform and convince people of the rationality of the kind of life being enforced upon them.

      To persuade the people never to struggle in the interest of their liberation, the rulers oftentimes obscure the skies for any sign of hope that despair becomes convincingly permanent. The strategic softening of the will readies the people to accept their role in the tragedy of life, and supposedly make them feel heroic that through their miseries others could live a fuller, more comfortable life. These subtle twistings of national occurrences to entrap the people to unresisting servility are not so hard to detect and expose by the inquisitive mind.

This is the real function of history. It is the ultimate instrument of revelation. In the hands of the humanizing ones, it can be called upon to provoke the people to unite in confronting their oppressors and demand their liberation. Reading history to the core of its truthness, with the inquiring mind looking deep into the memory of oppression, one can not help but be angry. And an angry man provoked by history is a righteous man, and an enemy of those who oppress.

      The revolution may have found its missing timbre this time. (by Peter Jaynul Uckung)

DR. MAXIMO S. VIOLA THE MAN WHO FIRST READ THE NOLI ME TANGERE
By: Quennie Ann J. Palafox

       They said friends are rare like a fountain of gold, subject to safekeeping because it is so precious that we would not want to lose them. A true friend is someone who will be there for you to lend a helping hand when you needed him most, trust you when everyone turn their backs on you, and love you for what you are and not what you have- these are the prime characteristics of a real friendship as friendship knows no border.

      Once upon a time, a struggling patriotic man named Jose Rizal developed friendship with a kind doctor whose name was Maximo S. Viola who would later become the patron of Rizal’s first novel- the Noli Me Tangere. Dr. Viola was born on October 17, 1857 in Sta. Rita, San Miguel, Bulacan to parents Pedro Viola and Isabel Sison. Just like Rizal, he was an alumnus of the University of Santo Tomas where he finished pre-medical studies. He sailed to Spain, where he earned a degree in medicine at the University of Barcelona in 1882. He met Dr. Jose Rizal in Barcelona, who was likewise actively involved in the Propaganda Movement, and who would later become his friend. He accepted Rizal’s invitation to join him on a tour of Europe, particularly Germany, Austria, Hungary, and Switzerland, from May to June 1887. Rizal was at that time worried with his financial inability to publish the Noli Me Tangere and even considering aborting his plan of publishing the novel by destroying the manuscript. Noli Me Tangere is a vanguard of Filipino nationalism in the form of a novel which invokes equal rights for the Filipinos in order to get back their self-confidence. The novel brings to light the social woes in the country during Rizal’s time and come up with appropriate reform to various sectors of the society such as the education of the people, assimilation of Western culture, and appreciation of their native traditions.  Convinced with the worth of the novel and its purpose, Viola funded the cost of the publication himself, an initial 2000 copies of the novel were printed in 1887. In deep gratitude, Rizal gave him the galley proofs and the first published copy.

      In 1887, Dr. Viola decided to go back to his homeland to practice medicine and it’s really destiny that he would find Juana Roura, whom he married in 1890. Her wife bore him five sons, but two of them died as infants. He had a reunion with Rizal when he invited him for a visit in Manila, in the latter part of June 1892. The meeting was brief for the two friends for Rizal had to be at Malacañang Palace, to confer with Governor General Despujol on his political activities. Dr. Viola, who was then also under suspicion of engaging in subversive activities, could not stay long in Manila.

      Viola became a dissident and was frequently harassed by the Spanish authorities which persisted until the revolution. When the Americans arrived, his fellow countrymen became fascinated with what the Americans could offer- their benevolent assimilation policy. As a nationalist, he refused to succumb to the new power which resulted with his incarceration, initially to a Manila military prison and, later, was transferred to Olongapo. He was released with the help of Dr. Fresnell, an American doctor who sought his help because he was not knowledgeable about tropical diseases.

        He had a soft heart for the masses and their sad plight. Viola, who served as president of the Liga de Proprietarios, supported the owners of rice lands in San Miguel, Bulacan in opposing politicians who were courting the tenants’ votes at the expense of the landlords. When the Manila Railroad line was being extended to Cabanatuan, Nueva Ecija, Viola likewise fearlessly led the concerned landowners in preventing the prestigious British Company from taking over their land without appropriate reparations. Apart from his civic works, he used his profession to help treat his indigent patients for free.

        Memories of his friendship with Rizal left an indelible mark in his heart that would later be put in writing through his memoirs in three parts in the Spanish newspaper El Ideal, which came out on June 18, 19 and 20, 1913. On September 3, 1933, Dr. Viola, aged 76, died in Barrio San Jose in his hometown. 

      Although not acknowledged in the book, Dr. Maximo S. Viola will constantly be remembered as the man who saved the Noli Me Tangere for posterity. More than that, he served the Filipino people by supporting Dr. Jose Rizal in his advocacy for nationalism, which inspired the Philippine Revolution.

REVOLUTIONS AND EXODUS OF THE SPANISH COLONIES IN ALBAY, CAMARINES SUR AND MASBATE
By: Quennie Ann J. Palafox

        It was the year 1892 when the Katipunan was formed which endeavored for the collapse of the three hundred-year Spanish regime in the country and bring back the lost freedom to the natural inhabitants who were brainwashed and turned into slaves by the Spaniards. The nationalistic spirit of Philippine revolution came later in the Bicol region, far later than the eight provinces placed under martial law by Governor-General Ramon Blanco, roughly due to its geographic location- being a peninsula surrounded by natural barriers. While some in Luzon were joyous of the independence they have just acquired, in Tarlac for instance, it was emancipated from the Spanish government in July 10, 1898 by Francisco Makabulos,  in Bicol, the Bicolanos have their arms wide open for the Spanish government. There were already news about Bicolanos being arrested and detained in prison without sufficient evidence to the allegation of rebellion, the Spanish government, to prevent the flow of sympathy from the Bicolanos for their compatriots, which may instigate an insurrection, made use of propaganda to brainwash the people and to secure their loyalty to the Spaniards.  The Bicolanos were ill-informed about the principal reason of the insurrection initiated by Andres Bonifacio, with the Cry of Pugadlawin that occurred about the last days of August 1896. Surprisingly, famous reformists such as Rizal, who fought the Spaniards with his writings, was unfamiliar not even to a single Albayanos. The deeds of Andres Bonifacio and Emilio Jacinto and the existence of a then secret society called Katipunan did not bring even a whisper in the ears of the Bicolanos. In the month of September, the government organized and armed a company of volunteers composed entirely of Bicolanos. The Bicolanos proved that they were real friends to the Spaniards. Don Mariano Riosa, a prominent Filipino merchant of Tabaco, Albay, contributed 3,000 packages of cigarettes and 4, 000 cigars.  This only proved that the wealthy Filipinos were willing to pour their resources just to help the Spaniards in putting down the Filipino insurrection movements. Perhaps, those the ‘haves’ were already assimilated to the culture of the Spaniards and at the same time, they were enjoying high status in the community for which they were reluctant to give up just for the sake of the ‘have-nots’.

        The province of Albay was not alone in Bicol region refusing to join the insurrectional movement and in standing loyally by the Crown of Spain. The provinces of Camarines Norte, Camarines Sur, Burias and the military districts of Calamianes, Catanduanes, Masbate and Ticao, contributed for the cause of the government to help them subdue the rebellion.  Spanish authorities, who became paranoid from what was happening in the Tagalog region, began arresting influential persons who were suspected of rebellion and imposed the inhumane torture of prisoners.  One of the victim belonging to the upper class that were victimized by this unlawful arrests was Florencio Lerma, a wealthy man in Nueva Caceres, Camarines Sur. Although he denied the allegation of organizing a plot against the government and was even tortured to admit the things he didn’t know, they were sentenced to death. The same fate befell other men arrested for allegedly participating in the rebellion that spread in the Tagalog region. Even religious man was not excused, Fr. Gabriel Prieto, parish priest of Malinao, Albay, was accused to have committed the crime of rebellion within the jurisdiction of Camirines Sur and was imprisoned together with the prominent persons suspected of having schemed a serious plot to assassinate all the Spaniards in Nueva Caceres . The Bicol Martyrs composed of 3 priests and twelve laymen were brought to Manila and eleven of them were executed on January 4, 1897 in Bagumbayan for being guilty of the crime of rebellion.

       The pact of Biak-na-Bato in 1897 aimed to end the armed conflict between the Spaniards and the revolutionists under Gen. Aguinaldo and news came to Albay that the Spanish government accepted the terms laid down by Aguinaldo. It aroused the suspicion of the Albayanons that the Spaniards were having a hard time suppressing the rebels. The Spanish evasion of their promises enclosed in the Pact of Biyak-na-Bato caused bitter disappointments among the people. Thus, the Spaniards lost much of their prestige among the people. The raid in Pamplona in Camarines Sur on November 14, 1897 where the gobernadorcillo and some cuadrilleros were tied to the posts led the Albayanos to believe that the Tagalog insurrection had finally come to the Bicol region.

      The pulahan movement, a local militant movement composed of men wearing red clothes, gave the Spanish government a strong blow and exacerbated their worsening position in the region. This group was said to have originated in the barrio of Malobago, municipality of Cataingan, Masbate province. These bold pulahanes won the support and admiration of the local populace that many were convinced to join the movement against the Spaniards, although, they failed to win the patronage of the wealthy and educated class.  The Spanish authorities of Albay received in the last days of August news of the unfavorable outcome of the war with the United States, of the capitulation of Manila to the Americans, and of the expedition to the Bicol region of Gen. Lukban. The authorities decided to abandon the province for lack of sufficient forces for its defense, and to form beforehand a committee of prominent Filipinos to which the Spanish could turn over the government.

          Don Emilio Morera confirmed the Spanish surrender to the Americans and this news spread in Albay. On the night of 14 September 1898, several Spanish families left with Morera aboard the steamer Brutus without any suspicion coming from the Albayanos. Rumors even spread that the Spaniards are planning to execute Filipinos upon their departure from the province, as well as the news of the execution of the native civil guards and prominent Filipinos of Daet in April 1898, and the massacres in Pilar and Panlatuan. These news frightened the Albayanos so they decided to arm themselves in their homes with bolos, spears and arrows in order for them to defend their lives. This time, the people already know that the Spaniards were the real enemies, not the Tagalogs, or even their fellow Bicolanos.

          On September 20, rumors spread that the civil guards of Nueva Caceres mutinied, assassinated their officers and placed all Spanish officials in jail. Weak enough to fight the rebels, the provincial governor, Don Vicente Zaidin, decided to capitulate. The capitulation took effect at ten o’clock of that morning. Corporal Angeles assumed the leadership of the insurrection. The victory of the civil guards in Nueva Caceres resulted to the evacuation of the peninsulares resident of the said region. The provinces in Bicol were handed back to the Filipinos by the Spaniards peacefully after three centuries of domination. On September 23, Spaniards who lived in the remote towns arrived in Legaspi with their families and left for Manila aboard the ships. This triumphant event marked the independence of the Bicol region from Spanish auspice, a very important event in our history that we have to rekindle and remember.

Source: The Philippine revolution in the Bicol Region / Elias M. Ataviado; translated into English by Juan T. Ataviado. Quezon City: New Day Publishers, 1999.

THE VISION OF FRANCISCO DAGOHOY
By: Quennie Ann J. Palafox

Located in the heart of Visayas, Bohol became the battle ground for Filipinos who rose in arms against the Spaniards in pursuit for absolute freedom. The most prominent of which was Francisco Dagohoy- the ringleader of the uprising that lasted for 85 years, the longest in history of the Philippines. This personal vengeance against the persons turned into a serious and major uprising that will endure for many years even after the death of Dagohoy. This movement aimed to make Bohol once more a land of free men, can be considered as one of the earliest victory of Filipinos over the Spaniards as the island fell into the hands of the natives.

       Bohol, a disk-shaped island, the size very much similar to Cebu, was the place where the vessel Concepcion was abandoned and burned after Magellan’s death in Mactan in 1521. In 1565, Miguel Lopez de Legazpi entered into a blood compact with Rajah Sikatuna of Bohol to establish friendship with the native ruler. Soon after the conquest of the archipelago, religious jurisdiction over the island was given to the Society of Jesus.

         In 1744, the district of Inabangan in the northwest coast of the island was put under the auspice of Father Morales. He sent out a native constable named Dagohoy to arrest a renegade indio, but Dagohoy himself was killed instead. Francisco, Dagohoy’s brother, brought the corpse back to the village for burial in consecrated ground, according to the Catholic practice. Probably irked that the man had failed in his mission, Father Morales refused permission for a Catholic burial and Dagohoy’s cadaver lay rotting for three days. Francisco infuriated at the unsympathetic and treatment by the parish priest, he cursed the Jesuit and sought for revenge by persuading the natives of the district to unite with him in overthrowing the Spaniards. Some 3, 000 men and their families abandoned their homes in the lowland and trekked to the inaccessible mountainous interior where they built a fortification.

         In a remote region in the mountains between Inabangan and Talibon, Dagohoy established his headquarters and proclaimed the independence of Bohol. Dagohoy and his men sallied out in lightning raids on the lowland towns, assaulting the local Spanish garrisons, looting the churches, and slaughtering Spaniards, particularly the Jesuit priests. On January 24, 1746 one of Dagohoy’s bold warriors killed Father Giuseppe Lamberti, an Italian Jesuit and parish priest of Jagna.

      The Spanish authorities were worried by the remarkable successes of Dahohoy. In 1747 Bishop Juan de Arrechedera of Manila, then acting governor-general, dispatched a Spanish expedition to Bohol under the command of Don Pedro Lechuga, Dagohoy resisted this expedition and forced it to withdraw to Zamboanga. Later Bishop Miguel Lino de Espeleta of Cebu, who became acting archbishop and governor-general, tried to pacify the rebels. But Dagohoy refused to listen to him.

        The rebellion assumed dangerous proportions. Numerous recruits, disgusted at the string of injustices and tyranny committed by the Spaniards, joined Dagohoy. Except for a dozen coastal towns and villages protected by armed Spaniards and native police, the rebels controlled the island.

        The bishop, a creole, tried to defuse the situation in Bohol by offering to send secular priests to administer the parishes. The insurgents, however, remained firm in their rebellion. They would not accept the presence of civilian official. Evidently, Dagohoy and his followers were not against the Catholic religion, but resolutely refused to come again under the political domination of Spain.

       The Recollects replaced the Jesuits, and Father Pedro de Santa Barbarra, who was stationed in Baclayon, ascended the mountains to interview Dagohoy. He was welcomed and well treated, but Dagohoy courteously refused to give up Bohol’s independence. Supplementing the peace efforts of the Recollects, Governor-General Jose Raon offered amnesty and pardon to Dagohoy and his followers if they would lay down their arms. Dagohoy spurned his offer, saying that his people were enjoying the good life of a free people.

        From 1744 to August 31, 1829, a long period of 85 years, the Boholanos successfully maintained their independence and preserved it with fierce and courage and flaming patriotism. It seemed probable that Dagohoy died before the year 1829 in his mountain kingdom either of old age or sickness. His followers, imbued by his indomitable courage and fearless heroism carried on the fight for independence. Twenty Spanish governor-generals, from Gaspar de la Torre (1739-1745) to Mariano Ricafort (1825-1830), failed to suppress the libertarian struggle. 

        The year of Dagohoy’s death is not mentioned in any history books, but since the revolt continued, it meant three generations of Boholanos were enjoying their liberty. Through the efforts of Fray Pedro de Santa Barbara, a Recollect friar, troops were withdrawn in 1770 from most of the island’s stations, and a general amnesty was proclaimed. Few rebels presented themselves under proclamation. The raids of the loyalist continued.

        Punitive expeditions were mounted against them, but these failed until May 1827, when acting Governor-General Mariano Ricafort, appalled the poorly-armed islanders could defy Spanish might, sent to Bohol a powerful army of 1, 100 Spaniards from the Manila and Cebu garrisons, with a contingent of 6, 024 natives from Bohol and Cebu. This task force was not completely successful, and the following summer, in April of 1828, he dispatched another military host armed with light artillery to pulverize the mountain forts of the rebels in Inabangan and Talibon. This time Ricafort’s troops were successful. Thus terminated the longest revolt in Philippine history and, next to the revolution of 1896, the most successful in eroding Spanish sovereignty over the archipelago. Missing Dagohoy’s excellent leadership, the Boholanos made their last stand in the mountain of Boasa.

        During the 85 years of Bohol’s independence, the patriotic Boholanos lived as free and sovereign people. They did not render forced labor nor pay tribute. They suffered neither racial discrimination nor social humiliation from the hands of the Spaniards. Dagohoy was able to maintain a government. His rule was firm and just. He was obeyed and respected by his people. Governing like the datus of the pre-Spanish era, he was the chief executive, the supreme judge, and the military generalissimo. He was assisted by the old men in peace affairs and by the military captains in war matters.