By Bert Drona
The Filipino Mind
The Filipino Mind
Andres Bonifacio
We native Filipinos, at the very least, all recognize Jose Rizal as a martyr-hero, given that all of us grew up learning about him, seeing his statue or other in our schools, town plazas, etc., and elevating him practically to a cult of personality by a few Filipinos. We know Rizal was in the forefront of the Propaganda Movement for Spanish reform in our homeland.
Dr. Jose Rizal
Thanks to native ilustrados then who were generally elitist (as most of today’s so-called educated and from exclusive Catholic schools like Rizal was) and the American colonizers (who at the time were discarding the anti-imperialist stance of their Founding Fathers), Rizal was made “the” national hero because of his more acceptable reformist and thus less threatening outlook (rather than a revolutionary one, i.e. Andres Bonifacio).
Apolinario Mabini
In comparison, we barely know much about Apolinario Mabini beyond being the “Dakilang Lumpo;” however with some inquiring effort, we can know/understand that Mabini moved beyond propaganda, to discover that he has actively engaged in revolutionary activities against the Spaniards and much more so thereafter, against the American invaders.
We natives ought to know more about him and other Filipino heroes. Hopefully they are still being taught and learned in today’s schools. Since we Filipinos think hierarchically, let us put Mabini way up there, if not higher, with Rizal (and Andres Bonifacio).
Apolinario Mabini has earned the title “Brains of the Revolution.” Having been the chief adviser to General Emilio Aguinaldo during: the revolutionary struggles against the Spaniards, the short-lived Republic established at Malolos and the subsequent Philippine-American War. This latter war, which was years longer than the months-long Spanish-American War, was/is continually denigrated as an “insurrection” for almost a century and glossed over in school textbooks and popular history books in America, etc.
Mabini was one of the few uncompromising patriots (another was General Antonio Luna, the ablest Filipino revolutionary soldier, who was assassinated). He was more than just a thorn in the ass of the duplicitous invading Americans (1898), then nascent imperial power and new colonial master of native Filipinos.
Mabini believed that a foreign nation does not colonize another nation for purely altruistic reasons. Imagine seeing President McKinley doing his claimed hogwash -on his knees praying about what to do with the Islands- as narrated in school and military textbooks, etc. Mabini was proven correct by our past and ongoing national/people’s history.
While imprisoned by the Americans, Mabini wrote many articles on independence, political rights and against alternatives to political independence i.e.political autonomy proposed by some early pro-American Filipinos like Pedro Paterno, Felipe Buencamino, T.H. Pardo de Tavera, etc.. Mabini believed in the importance of bravely expressing one’s political beliefs.
He was considered a dangerous and uncompromising insurgent who aroused enthusiasm to keep the struggle alive. When amnesty was proclaimed on June 1900, Mabini refused to take the oath of allegiance to the United States, which was the condition for release.
Mabini was consistently opposed to other former/fellow members in the short-lived Malolos Congress who readily sold-out to the winning Americans and formed the Partido Federal which he labeled a “party of convenience.”
The Federalistas included such prominent/educated elite such as TH Pardo de Tavera, Cayetano Arellano, Benito Legarda, Felipe Buencamino, Tomas del Rosario, Teodoro Yangco. TH Pardo de Tavera stated that “..all the efforts of the party will be directed to the Americanization of the Filipinos and the spread of the English language… .” Many of these guys are taught in schools to be our “heroes” and our streets are named after these early quislings; subsequently emulated by many of our supposed leaders in government, military and business, past and present.
Unwittingly, generations of native Filipinos were conditioned and grew up with reverence for such traitors to our homeland. And subtly worst, our generations of so-called leaders in government, military and business perennially exhibit a beholden, mendicant, and kiss-ass behavior towards foreigners (Americans et al.) at the expense of the common good for native Malay Filipinos.
The U.S. Army under Major General Arthur MacArthur (Gen. Douglas MacArthur’s dad) implemented more stringent means to facilitate the so-called ”pacification campaign” by deporting ranked revolutionists and their intellectual/nationalist sympathizers. The Army considered Mabini as one of the latter prominent people who encouraged the continuation of the revolutionary struggle, now via guerrilla warfare. It therefore had Mabini shipped to Guam.
MacArthur wrote to the U.S. Senate that: “Mabini deported as most active agitator persistently and defiantly refusing amnesty and maintaining extensive correspondence with insurgents in the field while living in Manila under protection of the United States, also for offensive statements in recent proclamation enforcing laws of war. His deportation is absolutely essential.”
On July 4, 1902 President Theodore Roosevelt offered another amnesty after he proclaimed that the insurrection (Philippine-American War) was over. Mabini and Gen, Artemio Ricarte refused again to take the oath of allegiance. So the two were not released and remained in exile in Guam.
U.S. Secretary of War Elihu Root stated in a letter to Pres. Roosevelt that: “…to prevent the great body of ignorant natives from being led again into the horrors of insurrection and civil war, should prevail over any sentimental consideration over this one individual (Mabini)….”
Governor-General William H. Taft (later U.S. President Taft) wrote in 1903: “Mabini has been a consistent opponent of American sovereignty and a persistent inspirer of rebellion and insurrection. he was for a very long time the chief adviser of Aguinaldo. He has manifested much skill and cunning in his appeal to the people of the Philippine islands against the American Government, and may be said to be the most prominent irreconcilable among the Filipinos.
If he were allowed to come to Manila he would form a nucleus for all the discontented elements which he would be certain to encourage in every form of plot and conspiracy against the existing government. Nothing he write, nothing he says, but contains unjust insinuations against the American Government and its good faith…
What he desires is to be brought to Manila, because he thinks that even if imprisoned here he will form a point of concentration for the rapidly diminishing number of irreconcilables in these Islands.
I think it would be unwise to allow him to come unless he is willing in advance, by his oath of allegiance, to agree not to plot against this Government..”
On February 1903, Mabini was formally notified that he was not a prisoner and can leave Guam to go anywhere but not land in the Philippines without taking the oath of allegiance.
He could not bear dying elsewhere and so he took the oath.
Mabini died on May 13,1903 less than three months since his return from exile.
This post is comprised of short articles on our three heroes written, at different dates, by Indalecio (Yeyeng) P. Soliongco, who was editorial writer/columnist of the Manila Chronicle from the late 1940s to 1971. His take on the stories about our three heroes, coming from a journalist –not a professional historian, is critically objective and well written (and nationalistic though he was not much known as one).
I find his writings credible and relevant for us native Filipinos, then and today; and want to share them with you all. I extracted the article from my Source book.
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