Philippine Heroes and Writings
A. Andres Bonifacio(1863-1897)
BIOGRAPHY
Andres Bonifacio was born on November 30, 1863 to Santiago Bonifacio and Catalina de Castro in Tondo in Manila, Philippines. He was a Filipino revolutionary hero who founded the Katipunan, a secret society devoted to fighting Spanish occupation of the Philippines. |
Bonifacio’s early education started in the Guillermo Osmena School. But, unfortunately, his parents died when he was 14 years old. This forced him to quit studies and look after his younger brothers and sisters. He earned a living by selling paper fans and wooden canes in the streets.
Bonifacio was interested in classic rationalism and read some great works of Victor Hugo, Jose Rizal, and Eugene Sue. He had a deep interest in reading books on French Revolution and acquired a good understanding of the socio-historical process. This encouraged him to join the Liga Filipina.
Bonifacio continued the struggle and formed Katipunan in 1892. The Katipunan derived its ideological principles from the French Revolution and provided a significant platform for freedom, equality and independence. The society was discovered by the Spaniards on August 19, 1896. On August 23 1896, Bonifacio and his followers assembled at Balintawak and agreed to have an armed struggle against the Spaniards. The first battle took place on August 25, 1896 and this followed a reign of terror. Due to conflict, the rebels were split into two groups, Magdiwang and Magdalo in Cavite, Luzon. When Bonifacio tried to mediate, he attempts were rebuffed. Bonifacio’s acts and plans were termed as harmful for the unity and he was arrested and executed for “treason and sedition”. The execution was ordered by Gen. Emilio Aguinaldo, the elected president of the provisional revolutionary government. Bonifacio was executed on May 10, 1897 in the mountains of Maragondon, Cavite.
WRITTINGS
a. “Tapunan ng Lingap” (Care a Little) admonishes his countrymen to reject the reprehensible habits and way of life of the Spaniards, which had tarnished the Filipinos’ native psyche, and encourages a revolt against oppression, bravely facing the enemy to protect the country’s interests
b. “Dapat Mabatid ng mga Tagalog” serve as a declaration of distrust and repudiation of Spain’s failure to abide by its promises to bring justice and prosperity to the Philippines, justifying a revolution to cleanse societal evil
B. Emilio Jacinto(1875-1899)
BIOGRAPHY
Emilio was born in Trozo, Manila on December 15, 1875. Later, he was forced to live with his uncle, Don Jose Dizon, who enrolled him at the San Juan de Letran College. Then he transferred to the University of Santo Tomas to take up Law. His studies however, were interrupted when he joined the katipunan at the start of the Philippine Revolution in 1896. His sad experiences with his Spanish classmates, his sensitivity to the flight of his people, and his readings about the Spanish injustices led him to do so against the wishes of his mother and his uncle. He was only 19 years old, but became one of the ablest leaders of the Katipunan. To Bonifacio, he was an adviser, a secretary, and a fiscal. He edited the Ang Kalayaan, the newspaper of the Katipunan which informed the people of the aims and activities of the association. He wrote the Kartilla, the primer of the Katipunan which contained its rules and regulations. He supervised the manufacture of gunpowder. Thus, he was called the “Brain of the Katipunan.”
According to the biography of Emilio Jacinto, he joined a secret society at the young age of twenty. He was their adviser on all financial matters. He wrote for the newspaper using a pen name. That pen name was Dimasilaw. He also used the alias of Pingkian.
Many people, including those who were really closed with Jacinto, were trying to get him to join the forces of Emilio Aguinaldo. But he refused to do so. It was then that he got malaria. We know that back then there was no cure for this. He died at the age of twenty four. He died away from home so it took some time before his remains were sent to Manila North Cemetary. While it's not much that we know about this man as you read about the biography of Emilio Jacinto, we do know that he stood up for himself and though he didn't finish college, he made a name for himself. That is why many know about the biography of Emilio Jacinto and now you do too. You know of him and why he is noted in Filipino history no matter how short it was for him.
WRITINGS
. a. "A La Patria" (To My Fatherland) on October 8, 1897 in Sta. Cruz, Laguna. The poem was almost surely inspired by Jose Rizal's "Ultimo Adios". Written in a neglected second language and, thus, not literarily excellent, Jacinto's poem nevertheless brims with patriotic sincerity and is said to equal Rizal's piece in nobility and loftiness of thought. b. Jacinto wrote the Kartilla, the primer of the Katipunan. He became the editor of the Kalayaan, the organ of the society. In his essay, Liwanag at Dilim, he effectively espoused liberty, justice, love, and religion. His other writings were: Pahayag, Sa mga kababayan, Ang kasalanan ni Cain, and Samahan ng Bayan sa Pangangalakal. His Kartilla spread the revolutionary principles that effectively motivated the Katipunan members.
C. Apolinario Mabini(1864-1903)
BIOGRAPHY
Apolinario Mabini was a Filipino who served as the Philippine's first prime minister in 1899. Despite of being physically handicapped, Mabini was considered as one of the main figures of the Philippine revolution. He was dubbed as the "brains of the revolution" and the "sublime paralytic."
Mabini was born on July 22, 1864 to a poor family in Talaga, Tanaun, Batangas. Early in his childhood, Mabini already displayed extraordinary knowledge and a creative mind. His grandfather, who was a village teacher, was his first instructor. Later, due to his aspirations of achieving higher learning, Mabini attended a regular school and worked his way towards his tuition and board and lodging expenses.
In 1881, Mabini was given a scholarship by the Colegio de San Juan de Letran where he finished his Bachelor of Arts. Shortly, in 1894, he finished his law degree in the University of Santo Tomas, one of the most prestigious educational institutions in the Philippines.
Mabini served as the chief legal and political adviser of Aguinaldo during the revolution. He drafted war memorandums and other decrees. In 1899, Mabini wrote the constitution of the Biak-na-Bato revolutionary government - the first constitution in Asia.
President Aguinaldo appointed Mabini as prime minister and foreign affairs secretary of the newly-established revolutionary government in Malolos, Bulacan. The Filipinos won the revolution and both Mabini and Aguinaldo sworn into office as the president and prime minister of not just the revolutionary government but of the first Philippine Republic.
However, the United States, who at that time helped the Filipino cause, was planning on instituting a Commonwealth government in the Philippines. Hence, a Filipino-American war ensued. Mabini was captured and put into exile in Guam.
In 1903, Mabini returned to the country after swearing his allegiance to the United States but upon his return, Mabini immediately started political movements and social uprisings that ultimately push for Philippine independence.
However, Mabini died of Cholera on May 13, 1903, just months upon returning to his motherland.
WRITINGS
a. “The True Decalogue” - One of Mabini's greatest works was his draft of a constitution for the Philippine Republic. Mabini's "ten commandments" are so framed as to meet the needs of Filipino patriotism for all time. He also drafted rules for the organization and government of municipalities and provinces, which were highly successful because of their adaptability to local conditions.
D. Emilio Aguinaldo(1869-1964),
BIOGRAPHY
Filipino leader and independence fighter, born near Cavite, Luzon, and educated at the College of San Juan de Letran, Manila. Aguinaldo led a Filipino insurrection against Spanish rule in 1896, and two years later, during the Spanish-American War, he aided the American attack on the Philippine Islands. He was nominated president of the new republic after the Filipino declaration of independence in 1898. As head of the Filipino provisional government in 1899, he resisted American occupation; he continued to lead the struggle against the United States forces until March 1901, when he was captured. In April 1901 he took an oath of allegiance to the United States and retired to private life. He ran unsuccessfully for the presidency of the new interim Filipino commonwealth government in 1935. Aguinaldo was taken into custody in 1945, during World War II, by invading American troops and held on suspicion of collaboration with the enemy during the Japanese occupation. He was subsequently exonerated and appointed to the Council of State in 1950.
Philippine leader Emilio Aguinaldo led a rebellion against Spanish rule in 1896 and assisted the United States during the Spanish-American War in 1898. He subsequently resisted American occupation of the newly independent republic.
. In August 1896 he was mayor of Cavite Viejo and was the local leader of the Katipunan, a revolutionary society that fought bitterly and successfully against the Spanish. In December 1897 he signed an agreement called the Pact of Biac-na-Bató with the Spanish governor general. He agreed to leave the Philippines and to remain permanently in exile on condition of a substantial financial reward from Spain coupled with the promise of liberal reforms. While in Hong Kong and Singapore he made arrangements with representatives of the American consulates and of Commo. George Dewey to
In 1935 when the commonwealth government of the Philippines was established in preparation for independence, Aguinaldo ran for president but was decisively beaten. He returned to private life until the Japanese invaded the Philippines in 1941. The Japanese used Aguinaldo as an anti-American tool. They caused him to make speeches, to sign articles, and to address a radio appeal to Gen. Douglas MacArthur on Corregidor to surrender in order to spare the flower of Filipino youth.
As a token vindication of his honour, he was appointed by President Elpidio Quirino as a member of the Council of State in 1950. In the later years of his life, he devoted his major attention to veterans' affairs, the promotion of nationalism and democracy in the Philippines, and the improvement of relations between the Philippines and the United States.
WRITINGS
a. “True Version of Philippne Revolution” I dedicate to you this modest work with a view to informing you respecting the international events which have occurred during the past three years and are still going on in the Philippines, in order that you may be fully acquainted with the facts and be thereby placed in a position to pronounce judgment upon the issue and be satisfied and assured of the Justice which forms the basis and is in fact the foundation of our Cause. I place the simple truth respectfully before and dedicate it to you as an act of homage and as testimony of my admiration for and recognition of the wide knowledge, the brilliant achievements and the great power of other nations, whom I salute, in the name the Philippine nation, with every effusion of my soul.
E. Father Jose Burgos(1837-1872) Burgos was born in Vigan, Ilocos Sur on February 9, 1837 to a Spanish officer, Don José Tiburcio Burgos, and a mestiza mother named Florencia García. He obtained three undergraduate degrees with honors, two masters degrees and two doctorate degrees from the Colegio de San Juan de Letran and from the University of Santo Tomas. He conducted his first mass in the Intramuros. Burgos' liberal views, codified in editorial essays, championing political and ecclesiastic reforms in favor of empowering more native clergymen, made him a target of opposition by Roman Catholic authorities.
Burgos penned several signed articles later in his life, in response to a series of anonymous written attacks on the Filipino clergy.
By this time, Burgos had established a reputation as a defender of the native clergy. His debates over the rights of native priests had extended to include questions of race and nationalism. This reputation would eventually cause him to be implicated in a mutiny in Cavite. After the Cavite Mutiny on January 20, 1872, the trial of mutineer sergeant Bonifacio Octavo revealed that a man named Zaldua had been recruiting people for an uprising. Octavo testified that this man claimed to be under the orders of Burgos, but inconsistent details during Octavo's cross-examinations called into question the validity of his testimony. Nevertheless, governor-general Rafael Izquierdo reported to Madrid that the testimony had confirmed his suspicions, and pinned the blame on Burgos and two other priests, Jacinto Zamora and Mariano Gómez, for sedition.
The three were dragged through a tribunal amid a list of drummed up charges and false witnesses, and where their own lawyers betrayed them to the court. On February 17, 1872, they were garroted in the middle of Bagumbayan field (now Luneta Park). WRITINGS a. “Manifesto to the Noble Spanish Nation” - criticizing those racially prejudiced Spanish who barred Filipinos from the priesthood and government service. For a brief time, the tide seemed to be turning against the friars
F. Graciano Lopez Jaena(1856-1896)
Jaena was born to in Jaro, Iloilo to Placido López and Maria Jacoba Jaena. His parents were poor, as his mother was a seamstress and his father a general repairman. His father, however, had been to school and his mother was quite religious. At the age of six, young Graciano was placed under the watch of Father Francisco Jayme who noted his intellectual promise, especially his gift of speech.
His mother sent him to the Seminario de San Vicente Ferrer in Jaro which had been opened under the brief liberal administration of Governor General Carlos de la Torre. Here again, his talents were noted. While studying at this seminary, López Jaena served as a secretary to an uncle, Claudio López who was honorary vice consul of Portugal in Iloilofdfd. He even took charge of some minor matters that were brought to that office.
Despite his mother's desires, it was Graciano’s ambition to be a physician and he finally convinced his mother that this was the better course of action. He sought enrollment at the University of Santo Thomas but was denied admission because the required Bachelor of Arts degree was not offered at the seminary in Jaro. However he was directed to the San Juan de Dios Hospital as an apprentice. Unfortunately, because of their financial problem, his parents could not afford to send him to support his studies in Manila. He returned to Iloilo and practiced medicine in outlying communities with such knowledge as he had.
At the age of 18 he had the ability to write the story "Fray Botod" which depicted a fat and lecherous priest. Botod’s false piety "always the Virgin and God on his lips no matter how unjust and underhanded his acts are.". Although it was not published a copy circulated in the region but the Friars could not prove that López Jaena was the author. However he got into trouble for refusing to testify that certain prisoners died of natural causes when it was obvious that they had died at the hands of the mayor of Pototan. López Jaena continued to agitate for justice and finally left for Spain when threats were made on his life.
López Jaena went to Spain. There he was to become a leading literary and oratorical spokesman for the cause of Filipino freedom. Historians regard López Jaena, along with Marcelo H. del Pilar and José Rizal, as the triumvirate of Filipino propagandists. Of these three López Jaena was the first to arrive and may be said the Genesis of the Propaganda movement.
He pursued his medical studies at the school of medicine at the University of Valencia but did not finish the course.
He then moved to the field of journalism. It must be said that López Jaena had his faults. Often careless and, indeed, lazy, he enjoyed the café life of Barcelona and Madrid a bit too much. However, his friends would forgive him these indiscretions due to his appeal with words and oratory. Mariano Ponce who was another of the Filipino propagandists in Spain observed, "... a deafening ovation followed the close of the peroration, the ladies waved their kerchiefs wildly, and the men applauded frantically as they stood up from their seats in order to embrace the speaker." Rizal noted, "His great love is politics and literature. I do not know for sure whether he loves politics in order to deliver speeches or he loves literature to be a politician."
In addition he is remembered for his literary contributions to the propaganda movement. He founded the fortnightly newspaper, La Solidaridad (Solidarity). When the publication office moved from Barcelona to Madrid the editorship went to Marcelo H. del Pilar.
Unfortunately, López Jaena died of tuberculosis on January 20, 1896. His death was followed on July 4th by Marcelo H. del Pilar and on December 30th of José Rizal by firing squad, thus ending the great triumvirate of propagandists. He died in poverty just shy of his fortieth birthday and two and a half years before the declaration of independence from Spain by Emilio Aguinaldo.
WRITINGS
a. Fray Botod - introduces the stereotypical Spanish friar who uses religion as atool for oppressing others in order to satiate his appetite for food, money and women. This friar stereotype later became the symbol of the Spanish regime in the Philippines. The sketches in Fray Botod , told through a dialog between a Filipino and his liberal Spanish friend, illustrate the vile character of the friar through various situations. These situations include having immoral relationships with young girls called canding-canding, threatening and punishing some students from the Universityof Manila, neglecting his duties as a parish priest in favor of gambling, conducting his business unfairly, and barbarously punishing anIndio labourer who failed to work at his estate for three days because of his sick wife.
G. Marcelo H. Del Pilar(1850-1896)
BIOGRAPHY
Marcelo H. Del Pilar was a Filipino writer, journalist and propagandist best known for his meticulous and liberal writings against the tyrannical government and Church officials in the Philippines during the 19th century Spanish occupation.Del Pilar, along with fellow patriots Jose Rizal and Graciano Lopez Jaena, formed the triumvirate of the La Solidaridad, a newspaper who advocates the Filipino cause in the Spanish parliament.
Del Pilar was born on August 30, 1850 in Cupang, Bulacan, Bulacan, the land of the brave and Filipino poets. Del Pilar came from the family of Gatmaitan, one of the richest families in town. His father Don Julián Hilario del Pilar served as a gobernadorcillo (municipal mayor.) Thus, their illustrious and privileged class gave Del Pilar the opportunity to pursue higher education.
In his early days, Del Pilar already displayed a high degree of intellect. He was good at playing musical instruments such as the violin, piano and flute. Hence, he took and finished his Bachelor of Arts degree in Colegio de San Jose.
In 1881, he obtained his law degree in the University of Santo Tomas.
Early in his writing career, Del Pilar sought for the separation of the state and the Church - a stance that influenced the future constitutions of the Philippines.
Del Pilar would often denounce both the Church and the government in his speeches done in front of busy crowds in flee markets, cockpit arenas and town plazas. He depicts the abusive friars who seemingly hold powers quite similar to that of the governor general.
On the other hand, he took note of the government's failure in delivering prosperity in the archipelago that was first promised by the blood compact between Spanish explorer and first Spanish Governor-General Miguel Lopez de Legaspi and Datu Sikatuna of Bohol.
Moreover, Del Pilar sailed to Spain due to the tensions arising between him and the corporation of the friars. While in Spain, he succeeded Lopez-Jaena as the editor-in-chief of the La Solidaridad.
Under his supervision, the newspaper pushed for drastic reforms such as the expulsion of the polo (community service) and the automatic sale of local products to the government. Del Pilar also advocates the recognition of the Philippines as a province of Spain, hoping that this move will foster equality among the indios and the Spanish meztizos.
Hence, the last issues of the La Solidaridad, no longer pushed equality through peaceful means. In one issue, Del Pilar seemingly issues his support over the possibility of an armed conflict.
Shortly, Del Pilar died in Barcelona on July 4, 1896 - just around one month before the Cry of Pugad Lawin, signaling the start of an armed revolution.
.WRITING
a. Ang Pagibig sa Tinubúang Lupà (Love of country). This poem which was first published in the Diariong Tagalog on August 20, 1882, subsequently in Heraldo de la Revolución, December 20, 1898, and again, in the supplement of that paper, resembles the theme of José Rizal's Amor Patria. As the title indicates, the theme is directed to the Filipinos in order to arouse their spirit of nationalism and self-dependence b. Caiigat Cayó (Be Like the Eel), published in Barcelona, 1888, and signed by Dolores Manapat, one of del Pilar's pseudonyms. This essay is a refutation of Fr. José Rodriguez's Cuestiones de Sumo Interés (Questions of Supreme Interest). The latter is an attack against the morality of the author of Noli Me Tángere(Rizal). In his essay, del Pilar recounts the fine qualities of Rizal, and as counter-attack, he accused the friars of carrying commerce in the church
c. Dasalan at Tocsohan (Prayerbook and Teasing Game), Barcelona, 1888. This is a satire on the friars' hypocrisy, licentiousness and greed, which consists of parodies of the Sign of the Cross, the Act of Contrition, the Lord's Prayer, the Hail Mary, and the catechism. Rizal considers this as a model of classical prose and an excellent example of Tagalog humor, wit, and sarcasm.
d. La Frailocracía Filipina (Frailocracy in the Philippines), Barcelona, 1889. This is an answer to a pamphlet entitled Los Frailes en Filipinas which was written by a Spaniard. The arguments were in five parts, namely, the much-mooted problem of filibusterism, the much-vaunted love of the friars for Spain, the disagreement of Filipino civilization by the friars, the influence of the friars on the Filipinos, and the aspirations of the Filipinos.
H. Edilberto Evangelista(1862-1897) Edilberto Evangelista is not a popular Filipino hero, thus, when his name is being said not everyone knows it. In Cavite City, there is a street called E. Evangelista, but to many Cavitenos, Evangelista might just as well be a name of a street and nothing more.
A closer look at the man, however, would reveal him to be extraordinary in more ways than one and deserving a better place in our Filipino hearts and minds.
Edilberto Evangelista was born to a poor family in Sta.Cruz, Manila on 25 February, 1862. He worked hard in order to continue his studies abroad. He became a teacher, a cattle dealer, a tobacco merchant and later a contractor of public works before he departed for Europe.
Another famous hero in the person of Jose Rizal, convinced Evangelista to take up Engineering in the University of Ghent in Belgium where he graduated with honors.
He had several offers of lucrative job positions in both Europe and Latin America but he turned them all down because he felt that his services were needed more in his country than anywhere else in the world.
He was jailed because he possessed copies of 2 novels of the hero Rizal which were considered illegal then due to its sedition theme and contents. Upon his release, he went to Kawit, Cavite to join the revolutionary forces of Emilio Aguinaldo, thus becoming an adopted son of Cavite.
Evangelista is one of the bravest man, (if not the bravest ,with the exception of Lapu-Lapu) I have ever come across in Philippine history. It was said that while doing his famous trenches, he would merely shrug off dirt that settled in his uniform after a canon explosion. He would not run or duck as he believed that no one could tell where the cannons would actually land anyway.
He simply had no fear of death. He was focused on serving the Mother country and he would gladly give his life ,if need be. And die he did in the Battle of Bacoor, Cavite in 1897, his skull completely shattered by bullets.
Evangelista was a quiet and unassuming man. He was not a man of many words but a man of action. He could have been rich, living it up in Europe. He could have taken those job offers and prospered. But his heart was not in it. He came home to serve and to die.
No regrets....He probably even died with a smile….
Few men of any age could have equaled the bravery of Edilberto Evangelista and fewer still could turn their heads away to riches and fame. Yet Evangelista never even looked back when he left Europe.
This is the kind of man I would have wanted to lead my country during these times. But, he has long gone and sadly, we might never see the likes of him here in the Philippines ever again.
WRITING a. “Letters to Rizal” – Sent on January 8,1892. All about the Sympathy with the people of Kalamba; The outrage affects the whole country; Those of the Propaganda have vindicated Rizal by entrusting to him the management of La Solidaridad and our policy in Europe; Life in Ghent is very dull; Evangelista is devoted to his studies. - Sent on March 31, 1892. All about Disappointed at the conservative ideas of our old folks; Dismal legacy of slavery; Family interests and patriotic ideas and liberty; To die for the country is a duty; Against the stupid expression: “What a waste of blood!” – May those conservative ideas not infect our youth – Voice of encouragement – Friends keep aloof because of his poverty.
I. Claro M. Recto (1890-1960)
BIOGRAPHY
He was a Philippine nationalist leader and president of the 1934 constitutional convention. He was one of the most vocal advocates of Philippine political and social autonomy.
Claro M. Recto was born in Tiaong, Tayabas, on Feb. 8, 1890. He worked for a bachelor of arts at the Ateneo de Manila and finished a master of laws degree at the University of Santo Tomas in 1914. From 1916 to 1919 he served as legal adviser to the Philippine Senate. In 1919 he was elected as representative of the third district of Batangas and served as House minority floor leader. He was reelected in 1922 and 1925.
In 1924 Recto went to the United States as a member of a parliamentary independence mission. In the same year he was admitted to the U.S. bar by the Supreme Court. Recto was elected president of the convention. It was mainly because of Recto's sagacity and intellectual acumen that the convention succeeded in framing and approving on Feb. 8, 1935, a constitution which would truly reflect the Filipinos' capacity to frame laws and principles that would govern their lives as free, responsible citizens in a democracy.
In 1931 Recto was elected to the Senate on the platform of the Democrata party. He acted as minority floor leader for 3 years. In 1934 he became majority floor leader and president of the Senate. He subsequently resigned his Senate seat when President Franklin Roosevelt appointed him as associate justice of the Supreme Court. Recto left the Supreme Court in 1941 and was elected anew as senator. In 1949 he was reelected on the Nacionalista party ticket. In 1957 he ran for president but was defeated.
Recto served in the wartime Cabinet of José Laurel during the Japanese occupation and was subsequently arrested and tried for collaboration. He wrote a defense and explanation of his position in Three Years of Enemy Occupation (1946), which convincingly presented the case of the "patriotic" conduct of the Filipino elite during World War II. Recto fought his legal battle in court and was acquitted.
In perspective, Recto revived the tradition of the radical dissenter fighting against feudal backwardness, clericofascist authoritarianism, and neocolonial mentality and imperialism. He strove to reawaken the consciousness of the Filipinos to the greatness of their revolutionary heritage and emphasized the need to transform the character of the national life by reaffirming their solidarity as a sovereign, free people.
Recto was preparing to launch his Filipinist crusade in the tradition of the Propaganda Movement of the 1880s when he died of a heart ailment in Rome, Italy, on Oct. 2, 1960.
WRITINGS
a. “ECONOMIC NATIONALISM” – This speech is about the resources of country. The speech said that we sell raw-materials in a very cheap price but buys it with a higher cost. The speech aims to make Filipinos to realize their absurdity. Lastly, this speech wanted to challenge the government with their relationship to ther country in export-import truce. b. “Three years of enemy occupation: the issue of political collaboration in the Philippines” – Contents are primarily about the Purpose and scope of this writing Japans blueprint, Military administration with Filipino participation Que, Japanese policy of coercion selfdeception and make believe. |
J. Jose Abad Santos(1886-1942)
BIOGRAPHY
Chief Justice Jose Abad Santos was born on the 19th day of February, 1886 in San Fernando, Pampanga, Philippines. He was the seventh child of ten children of Vicente Abad Santos and the former Toribia Basco. His eldest brother, Assemblyman Pedro Abad Santos was the founder of the Socialist Party of the Philippines and a well-known defender of the "poor and the oppressed". His other siblings were Emilia, Irineo, Escolastica, Antonio, Josefa, Quirino, Salvador and Catalina.
Chief Justice Jose Abad Santos completed his elementary education in the public schools of his hometown, San Fernando, Pampanga. In 1904, while still a high school undergraduate, the Philippine government selected him as a government-sponsored scholar and sent him to the United States for further education. He completed his general secondary education school in Santa Clara, California and earned a Bachelor of Laws degree in June 1908 at Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois. A year after, he received his Master of Laws degree from George Washington University in the capital city of Washington DC in the United States of America. Returning to the Philippines, he passed the Philippine Bar Examination and commenced his law practice in October, 1911. In April, 1919, the Supreme Court of the United States of America licensed him to practice law in the United States of America.
Unlike his eldest brother, Assemblyman Pedro Abad Santos who never got married and nor raised a family of his own, Chief Justice Jose Abad Santos joined in matrimony with a town mate and distant cousin, Amanda Teopaco, a beautiful and gracious intern at Centro Escolar de Senoritas in Manila in September, 1918. Their marriage was blessed with five offsprings: Jose Jr., Luz, Amanda, Osmundo and Victoria. He devoted much of his time with his family. He enjoyed reading, swimming, hunting, hiking and playing golf.
Chief Justice Jose Abad Santos served as president of Philippine Columbian Association, Northwestern University Alumni Association, Philippine Bar Association and Grand Master of the Grand Lodge of the Philippines. He was also a member of the American Bar Association and the American Political Science Association. He also became Chairman of the Board of Trustees of Philippine Women's University, a leading institution of higher learning in the city of Manila.
Chief Justice Jose Abad Santos is considered the greatest Filipino hero of World War II. He was among the greatest legal luminaries of the Philippines. After completing his law studies in the United States as a government-sponsored scholar he was also assigned for a few years in the Department of Justice. He was appointed later as the first Filipino Corporate lawyer of the Philippine National Bank, Manila Railroad and other government corporations. Moving on his professional career, he was recalled at the Department of Justice as Attorney General then to the position of Secretary of Justice. In recognition of the brilliance and dedication to government service of Secretary Jose Abad Santos, President Manuel L. Quezon of the Philippine Commonwealth appointed him later as Justice in the Supreme Court and eventually as Chief Justice of the Supreme Court.
At the outbreak of World War II, President Manuel L. Quezon temporarily moved the seat of Philippine government to the USA. Together with Vice President Sergio Osmena and other cabinet members they escaped by submarine from the invading Japanese Imperial Forces as General Douglas MacArthur transferred his general headquarters to Australia to re-organize the Allied Forces. Chief Justice Jose Abad Santos chose to remain in the Philippines as caretaker of the national government administration in the Philippines. The Japanese Military Command repeatedly approached him to make him pledge allegiance to Japan and to the Japanese flag but he did not swear in. A Japanese colonel and his troops overtook him in Lanao and he was told that he would be shot to death if he would not swear allegiance to the Japanese flag. He did not comply with the request of the Japanese so he was executed on May 2, 1942 in Malabang, Lanao del Sur in Mindanao. Before he was shot to death, he was able to talk to his young son, Jose, Jr. and his last parting words were "Do not cry, Jr., show to these people that you are brave. It is an honor to die for one's country. Not everybody has that chance."
WRITINGS
a. “Jose Abad Santos: Patriot and Martyr” – Containing the Address of Attorney J Antonio Araneta, Address of Attorney Vicente J Francisco. K. Macario Sacay(1870-1907)
Macario Sakay was a Filipino revolutionist who continued Philippine resistance to American rule even after the capture of General Emilio Aguinaldo, the president of the first Philippine Republic. Sakay is famously known to have established the Tagalog Republic in the northern part of the Philippines.
Sakay was born in 1870 in Tondo, Manila to a middle class family. Hence, Sakay through his early life involved himself in various jobs such as a tailor, a barber and as an actor in comedias and moro-moro plays that were popular during those times of Spanish colonization. Needless to say, Sakay's experience in acting opened his eyes to the cruelty and injustice that was then inflicted by the tyrannical Spanish government over the native Filipino-indios.
During the onset of the, Andres Bonifacio's secret organization and the Katipunan, Sakay, influenced by the inequality he sees, decided to join and fight for the cause of achieving freedom.
Shortly, Sakay was promoted as the leader of the Katipunan's Dapitan branch and saw himself working with Jacinto in the Kartilla and other Katipunan press and fighting side by side with Bonifacio in northern regions of the Philippines.
Moreover, during the arrival of the American, Sakay revived the Katipunan movement and recruited new members. Thus, he was arrested by the American forces on charges of sedition. The succeeding events include the capture of Aguinaldo and the surrender of Miguel Malvar, the last of Aguinaldo's men which officially ended the Filipino-American war.
The end of the war marked the release of filibusters including Sakay. However, Sakay was keen on starting a revolution. Soon after his release, Sakay together with his fellow Katipuneros established the Republika ng Katagalugan (Tagalog Republic) and proclaimed himself as president.
Despite the fact that most Filipinos especially those in the Visayan and Mindanao regions do not recognize Sakay as the figurehead leader of the Philippines, Sakay received overwhelming support from guerrillas and former freedom fighters.
In 1904, Sakay issued a manifesto ordering all Filipinos to aid the revolution and fight for Philippine Independence. The Americans countered Sakay's claims by labeling him as an outlaw and bandit. Moreover, military offensive started for both camps.
Sakay employed what was considered guerrilla tactics and was successful in skirmishes and raids. They would often confuse the Americans by their clothes and would catch them by surprise and rob them of revolvers, guns and ammunition.
Soon, the Sakay-led republic gained the masses support and the followers grew tenfold. People who were incapable of fighting voluntarily give money, food, medical supplies, strategic information and whereabouts of the enemies and other necessities to aid the revolution.
As a result Sakay's masses-fueled success, the US forces carried the "hamleting" strategy. It resulted into disastrous effects for both the non-fighting and the fighting supporters of Sakay.
More so, the US forces send emissaries to Sakay's camp and in a letter signed by the Governor-General, Sakay and his troops were made to believe that they will be granted amnesty and that Philippine independence will soon be granted.
Sakay surrendered on July 14, 1906 but three days later was arrested in a party hosted by the governor of Cavite. He was put into military court and was sentenced to death by hanging on September 13, 1907.
WRITINGS
a. “Manifesto” – Which is primarily stating that the Filipinos have a fundamental right to fight for the Philippine Independence.
TRIVIAL FACTS AND MISCONCEPTIONS ABOUT RIZAL
TRIVIAL FACTS: * Rizal was a penny-pincher.
As chronicled in Ambeth Ocampo’s Rizal Without the Overcoat, Rizal was once invited to a New Year’s potluck party where he was assigned to bring champagne. He did not like the idea, and throughout the merrymaking, he lectured everybody and advised against drinking, gambling and womanizing—the key points of the night. Then, Rizal stood up, announced that "inabonohan niya lang" and requested everybody to pay their share of the champagne bill. Stunned, the partygoers thought it was a joke—until pre-national hero Rizal passed his hat around.Before checking into a hotel, Rizal would also ask the front desk how much the rate was with and without breakfast. He usually opted for the latter and used the money saved to buy alcohol, tea or biscuits. Another kuripot story made its way to the pages of Leon Ma. Guerrero’s First Filipino. Rizal supposedly survived on P50 a month in Europe, and he once wrote his sister Maria in December saying that he had not taken a bath since August, because it was "really expensive."
Stingy as he seemed to be, however, he set aside funds for photographs. Ocampo published a list of Rizal’s monthly expenses and there was an allocated amount for photographs. * When he was an exile in Dapitan, he collected different kinds of species of animals. Among them were the Draco Rizali (Wandolleck), a specie of flying dragon, Rachophorous Rizali (Boetger), a hitherto unknown specie of toad and Apogonia Rizali (Heller), a small beetle, which were later named after him * He could Read and Write at the age of 2 * He created the 900-square-meter Relief Map of Mindanaowhich he used to teach history and geography. * He designed the altar at the Holy Rosary Cathedral in Dipolog City. * He is one of the few recognized “Renaissance man” in the world. * Considering that he lived during the latter part of the 19th century where the only means of long distance travel is by ship, he can be considered a very well- traveled man. He traveled extensively and had been to the United States, Spain, Great Britain, France, Austria, Germany, Belgium, Switzerland, Czech Republic, Italy, Singapore, Borneo, Hong Kong, China and Japan. Not even a millionaire today could afford the numerous and extensive travels of Jose Rizal during his time. * Quite unusual for a man about to be executed, but his pulse proved to be normal when the Spanish surgeon general requested to take his pulse moments before Rizal’s execution. *
MISCONCEPTIONS:
* Rizal became the National Hero because of the Americans. (NO. Rizal was proclaimed as our National Hero by the First Philippine Republic) * Rizal Never supported the national independence movement of the Philippines. (NO. Rizal supported the revolution but opposed the immediate start of it due to lack of arms.) * Andres Bonifacio should be the national herp not Rizal * It sounds absurd but there are people who are spreading statements that Adolf Hitler of Germany and Mao Zedong of China were sons of Jose Rizal. This is absolutely a hoax.
BIOGRAPHY
Andres Bonifacio was born on November 30, 1863 to Santiago Bonifacio and Catalina de Castro in Tondo in Manila, Philippines. He was a Filipino revolutionary hero who founded the Katipunan, a secret society devoted to fighting Spanish occupation of the Philippines. |
Bonifacio’s early education started in the Guillermo Osmena School. But, unfortunately, his parents died when he was 14 years old. This forced him to quit studies and look after his younger brothers and sisters. He earned a living by selling paper fans and wooden canes in the streets.
Bonifacio was interested in classic rationalism and read some great works of Victor Hugo, Jose Rizal, and Eugene Sue. He had a deep interest in reading books on French Revolution and acquired a good understanding of the socio-historical process. This encouraged him to join the Liga Filipina.
Bonifacio continued the struggle and formed Katipunan in 1892. The Katipunan derived its ideological principles from the French Revolution and provided a significant platform for freedom, equality and independence. The society was discovered by the Spaniards on August 19, 1896. On August 23 1896, Bonifacio and his followers assembled at Balintawak and agreed to have an armed struggle against the Spaniards. The first battle took place on August 25, 1896 and this followed a reign of terror. Due to conflict, the rebels were split into two groups, Magdiwang and Magdalo in Cavite, Luzon. When Bonifacio tried to mediate, he attempts were rebuffed. Bonifacio’s acts and plans were termed as harmful for the unity and he was arrested and executed for “treason and sedition”. The execution was ordered by Gen. Emilio Aguinaldo, the elected president of the provisional revolutionary government. Bonifacio was executed on May 10, 1897 in the mountains of Maragondon, Cavite.
WRITTINGS
a. “Tapunan ng Lingap” (Care a Little) admonishes his countrymen to reject the reprehensible habits and way of life of the Spaniards, which had tarnished the Filipinos’ native psyche, and encourages a revolt against oppression, bravely facing the enemy to protect the country’s interests
b. “Dapat Mabatid ng mga Tagalog” serve as a declaration of distrust and repudiation of Spain’s failure to abide by its promises to bring justice and prosperity to the Philippines, justifying a revolution to cleanse societal evil
B. Emilio Jacinto(1875-1899)
BIOGRAPHY
Emilio was born in Trozo, Manila on December 15, 1875. Later, he was forced to live with his uncle, Don Jose Dizon, who enrolled him at the San Juan de Letran College. Then he transferred to the University of Santo Tomas to take up Law. His studies however, were interrupted when he joined the katipunan at the start of the Philippine Revolution in 1896. His sad experiences with his Spanish classmates, his sensitivity to the flight of his people, and his readings about the Spanish injustices led him to do so against the wishes of his mother and his uncle. He was only 19 years old, but became one of the ablest leaders of the Katipunan. To Bonifacio, he was an adviser, a secretary, and a fiscal. He edited the Ang Kalayaan, the newspaper of the Katipunan which informed the people of the aims and activities of the association. He wrote the Kartilla, the primer of the Katipunan which contained its rules and regulations. He supervised the manufacture of gunpowder. Thus, he was called the “Brain of the Katipunan.”
According to the biography of Emilio Jacinto, he joined a secret society at the young age of twenty. He was their adviser on all financial matters. He wrote for the newspaper using a pen name. That pen name was Dimasilaw. He also used the alias of Pingkian.
Many people, including those who were really closed with Jacinto, were trying to get him to join the forces of Emilio Aguinaldo. But he refused to do so. It was then that he got malaria. We know that back then there was no cure for this. He died at the age of twenty four. He died away from home so it took some time before his remains were sent to Manila North Cemetary. While it's not much that we know about this man as you read about the biography of Emilio Jacinto, we do know that he stood up for himself and though he didn't finish college, he made a name for himself. That is why many know about the biography of Emilio Jacinto and now you do too. You know of him and why he is noted in Filipino history no matter how short it was for him.
WRITINGS
. a. "A La Patria" (To My Fatherland) on October 8, 1897 in Sta. Cruz, Laguna. The poem was almost surely inspired by Jose Rizal's "Ultimo Adios". Written in a neglected second language and, thus, not literarily excellent, Jacinto's poem nevertheless brims with patriotic sincerity and is said to equal Rizal's piece in nobility and loftiness of thought. b. Jacinto wrote the Kartilla, the primer of the Katipunan. He became the editor of the Kalayaan, the organ of the society. In his essay, Liwanag at Dilim, he effectively espoused liberty, justice, love, and religion. His other writings were: Pahayag, Sa mga kababayan, Ang kasalanan ni Cain, and Samahan ng Bayan sa Pangangalakal. His Kartilla spread the revolutionary principles that effectively motivated the Katipunan members.
C. Apolinario Mabini(1864-1903)
BIOGRAPHY
Apolinario Mabini was a Filipino who served as the Philippine's first prime minister in 1899. Despite of being physically handicapped, Mabini was considered as one of the main figures of the Philippine revolution. He was dubbed as the "brains of the revolution" and the "sublime paralytic."
Mabini was born on July 22, 1864 to a poor family in Talaga, Tanaun, Batangas. Early in his childhood, Mabini already displayed extraordinary knowledge and a creative mind. His grandfather, who was a village teacher, was his first instructor. Later, due to his aspirations of achieving higher learning, Mabini attended a regular school and worked his way towards his tuition and board and lodging expenses.
In 1881, Mabini was given a scholarship by the Colegio de San Juan de Letran where he finished his Bachelor of Arts. Shortly, in 1894, he finished his law degree in the University of Santo Tomas, one of the most prestigious educational institutions in the Philippines.
Mabini served as the chief legal and political adviser of Aguinaldo during the revolution. He drafted war memorandums and other decrees. In 1899, Mabini wrote the constitution of the Biak-na-Bato revolutionary government - the first constitution in Asia.
President Aguinaldo appointed Mabini as prime minister and foreign affairs secretary of the newly-established revolutionary government in Malolos, Bulacan. The Filipinos won the revolution and both Mabini and Aguinaldo sworn into office as the president and prime minister of not just the revolutionary government but of the first Philippine Republic.
However, the United States, who at that time helped the Filipino cause, was planning on instituting a Commonwealth government in the Philippines. Hence, a Filipino-American war ensued. Mabini was captured and put into exile in Guam.
In 1903, Mabini returned to the country after swearing his allegiance to the United States but upon his return, Mabini immediately started political movements and social uprisings that ultimately push for Philippine independence.
However, Mabini died of Cholera on May 13, 1903, just months upon returning to his motherland.
WRITINGS
a. “The True Decalogue” - One of Mabini's greatest works was his draft of a constitution for the Philippine Republic. Mabini's "ten commandments" are so framed as to meet the needs of Filipino patriotism for all time. He also drafted rules for the organization and government of municipalities and provinces, which were highly successful because of their adaptability to local conditions.
D. Emilio Aguinaldo(1869-1964),
BIOGRAPHY
Filipino leader and independence fighter, born near Cavite, Luzon, and educated at the College of San Juan de Letran, Manila. Aguinaldo led a Filipino insurrection against Spanish rule in 1896, and two years later, during the Spanish-American War, he aided the American attack on the Philippine Islands. He was nominated president of the new republic after the Filipino declaration of independence in 1898. As head of the Filipino provisional government in 1899, he resisted American occupation; he continued to lead the struggle against the United States forces until March 1901, when he was captured. In April 1901 he took an oath of allegiance to the United States and retired to private life. He ran unsuccessfully for the presidency of the new interim Filipino commonwealth government in 1935. Aguinaldo was taken into custody in 1945, during World War II, by invading American troops and held on suspicion of collaboration with the enemy during the Japanese occupation. He was subsequently exonerated and appointed to the Council of State in 1950.
Philippine leader Emilio Aguinaldo led a rebellion against Spanish rule in 1896 and assisted the United States during the Spanish-American War in 1898. He subsequently resisted American occupation of the newly independent republic.
. In August 1896 he was mayor of Cavite Viejo and was the local leader of the Katipunan, a revolutionary society that fought bitterly and successfully against the Spanish. In December 1897 he signed an agreement called the Pact of Biac-na-Bató with the Spanish governor general. He agreed to leave the Philippines and to remain permanently in exile on condition of a substantial financial reward from Spain coupled with the promise of liberal reforms. While in Hong Kong and Singapore he made arrangements with representatives of the American consulates and of Commo. George Dewey to
In 1935 when the commonwealth government of the Philippines was established in preparation for independence, Aguinaldo ran for president but was decisively beaten. He returned to private life until the Japanese invaded the Philippines in 1941. The Japanese used Aguinaldo as an anti-American tool. They caused him to make speeches, to sign articles, and to address a radio appeal to Gen. Douglas MacArthur on Corregidor to surrender in order to spare the flower of Filipino youth.
As a token vindication of his honour, he was appointed by President Elpidio Quirino as a member of the Council of State in 1950. In the later years of his life, he devoted his major attention to veterans' affairs, the promotion of nationalism and democracy in the Philippines, and the improvement of relations between the Philippines and the United States.
WRITINGS
a. “True Version of Philippne Revolution” I dedicate to you this modest work with a view to informing you respecting the international events which have occurred during the past three years and are still going on in the Philippines, in order that you may be fully acquainted with the facts and be thereby placed in a position to pronounce judgment upon the issue and be satisfied and assured of the Justice which forms the basis and is in fact the foundation of our Cause. I place the simple truth respectfully before and dedicate it to you as an act of homage and as testimony of my admiration for and recognition of the wide knowledge, the brilliant achievements and the great power of other nations, whom I salute, in the name the Philippine nation, with every effusion of my soul.
E. Father Jose Burgos(1837-1872) Burgos was born in Vigan, Ilocos Sur on February 9, 1837 to a Spanish officer, Don José Tiburcio Burgos, and a mestiza mother named Florencia García. He obtained three undergraduate degrees with honors, two masters degrees and two doctorate degrees from the Colegio de San Juan de Letran and from the University of Santo Tomas. He conducted his first mass in the Intramuros. Burgos' liberal views, codified in editorial essays, championing political and ecclesiastic reforms in favor of empowering more native clergymen, made him a target of opposition by Roman Catholic authorities.
Burgos penned several signed articles later in his life, in response to a series of anonymous written attacks on the Filipino clergy.
By this time, Burgos had established a reputation as a defender of the native clergy. His debates over the rights of native priests had extended to include questions of race and nationalism. This reputation would eventually cause him to be implicated in a mutiny in Cavite. After the Cavite Mutiny on January 20, 1872, the trial of mutineer sergeant Bonifacio Octavo revealed that a man named Zaldua had been recruiting people for an uprising. Octavo testified that this man claimed to be under the orders of Burgos, but inconsistent details during Octavo's cross-examinations called into question the validity of his testimony. Nevertheless, governor-general Rafael Izquierdo reported to Madrid that the testimony had confirmed his suspicions, and pinned the blame on Burgos and two other priests, Jacinto Zamora and Mariano Gómez, for sedition.
The three were dragged through a tribunal amid a list of drummed up charges and false witnesses, and where their own lawyers betrayed them to the court. On February 17, 1872, they were garroted in the middle of Bagumbayan field (now Luneta Park). WRITINGS a. “Manifesto to the Noble Spanish Nation” - criticizing those racially prejudiced Spanish who barred Filipinos from the priesthood and government service. For a brief time, the tide seemed to be turning against the friars
F. Graciano Lopez Jaena(1856-1896)
Jaena was born to in Jaro, Iloilo to Placido López and Maria Jacoba Jaena. His parents were poor, as his mother was a seamstress and his father a general repairman. His father, however, had been to school and his mother was quite religious. At the age of six, young Graciano was placed under the watch of Father Francisco Jayme who noted his intellectual promise, especially his gift of speech.
His mother sent him to the Seminario de San Vicente Ferrer in Jaro which had been opened under the brief liberal administration of Governor General Carlos de la Torre. Here again, his talents were noted. While studying at this seminary, López Jaena served as a secretary to an uncle, Claudio López who was honorary vice consul of Portugal in Iloilofdfd. He even took charge of some minor matters that were brought to that office.
Despite his mother's desires, it was Graciano’s ambition to be a physician and he finally convinced his mother that this was the better course of action. He sought enrollment at the University of Santo Thomas but was denied admission because the required Bachelor of Arts degree was not offered at the seminary in Jaro. However he was directed to the San Juan de Dios Hospital as an apprentice. Unfortunately, because of their financial problem, his parents could not afford to send him to support his studies in Manila. He returned to Iloilo and practiced medicine in outlying communities with such knowledge as he had.
At the age of 18 he had the ability to write the story "Fray Botod" which depicted a fat and lecherous priest. Botod’s false piety "always the Virgin and God on his lips no matter how unjust and underhanded his acts are.". Although it was not published a copy circulated in the region but the Friars could not prove that López Jaena was the author. However he got into trouble for refusing to testify that certain prisoners died of natural causes when it was obvious that they had died at the hands of the mayor of Pototan. López Jaena continued to agitate for justice and finally left for Spain when threats were made on his life.
López Jaena went to Spain. There he was to become a leading literary and oratorical spokesman for the cause of Filipino freedom. Historians regard López Jaena, along with Marcelo H. del Pilar and José Rizal, as the triumvirate of Filipino propagandists. Of these three López Jaena was the first to arrive and may be said the Genesis of the Propaganda movement.
He pursued his medical studies at the school of medicine at the University of Valencia but did not finish the course.
He then moved to the field of journalism. It must be said that López Jaena had his faults. Often careless and, indeed, lazy, he enjoyed the café life of Barcelona and Madrid a bit too much. However, his friends would forgive him these indiscretions due to his appeal with words and oratory. Mariano Ponce who was another of the Filipino propagandists in Spain observed, "... a deafening ovation followed the close of the peroration, the ladies waved their kerchiefs wildly, and the men applauded frantically as they stood up from their seats in order to embrace the speaker." Rizal noted, "His great love is politics and literature. I do not know for sure whether he loves politics in order to deliver speeches or he loves literature to be a politician."
In addition he is remembered for his literary contributions to the propaganda movement. He founded the fortnightly newspaper, La Solidaridad (Solidarity). When the publication office moved from Barcelona to Madrid the editorship went to Marcelo H. del Pilar.
Unfortunately, López Jaena died of tuberculosis on January 20, 1896. His death was followed on July 4th by Marcelo H. del Pilar and on December 30th of José Rizal by firing squad, thus ending the great triumvirate of propagandists. He died in poverty just shy of his fortieth birthday and two and a half years before the declaration of independence from Spain by Emilio Aguinaldo.
WRITINGS
a. Fray Botod - introduces the stereotypical Spanish friar who uses religion as atool for oppressing others in order to satiate his appetite for food, money and women. This friar stereotype later became the symbol of the Spanish regime in the Philippines. The sketches in Fray Botod , told through a dialog between a Filipino and his liberal Spanish friend, illustrate the vile character of the friar through various situations. These situations include having immoral relationships with young girls called canding-canding, threatening and punishing some students from the Universityof Manila, neglecting his duties as a parish priest in favor of gambling, conducting his business unfairly, and barbarously punishing anIndio labourer who failed to work at his estate for three days because of his sick wife.
G. Marcelo H. Del Pilar(1850-1896)
BIOGRAPHY
Marcelo H. Del Pilar was a Filipino writer, journalist and propagandist best known for his meticulous and liberal writings against the tyrannical government and Church officials in the Philippines during the 19th century Spanish occupation.Del Pilar, along with fellow patriots Jose Rizal and Graciano Lopez Jaena, formed the triumvirate of the La Solidaridad, a newspaper who advocates the Filipino cause in the Spanish parliament.
Del Pilar was born on August 30, 1850 in Cupang, Bulacan, Bulacan, the land of the brave and Filipino poets. Del Pilar came from the family of Gatmaitan, one of the richest families in town. His father Don Julián Hilario del Pilar served as a gobernadorcillo (municipal mayor.) Thus, their illustrious and privileged class gave Del Pilar the opportunity to pursue higher education.
In his early days, Del Pilar already displayed a high degree of intellect. He was good at playing musical instruments such as the violin, piano and flute. Hence, he took and finished his Bachelor of Arts degree in Colegio de San Jose.
In 1881, he obtained his law degree in the University of Santo Tomas.
Early in his writing career, Del Pilar sought for the separation of the state and the Church - a stance that influenced the future constitutions of the Philippines.
Del Pilar would often denounce both the Church and the government in his speeches done in front of busy crowds in flee markets, cockpit arenas and town plazas. He depicts the abusive friars who seemingly hold powers quite similar to that of the governor general.
On the other hand, he took note of the government's failure in delivering prosperity in the archipelago that was first promised by the blood compact between Spanish explorer and first Spanish Governor-General Miguel Lopez de Legaspi and Datu Sikatuna of Bohol.
Moreover, Del Pilar sailed to Spain due to the tensions arising between him and the corporation of the friars. While in Spain, he succeeded Lopez-Jaena as the editor-in-chief of the La Solidaridad.
Under his supervision, the newspaper pushed for drastic reforms such as the expulsion of the polo (community service) and the automatic sale of local products to the government. Del Pilar also advocates the recognition of the Philippines as a province of Spain, hoping that this move will foster equality among the indios and the Spanish meztizos.
Hence, the last issues of the La Solidaridad, no longer pushed equality through peaceful means. In one issue, Del Pilar seemingly issues his support over the possibility of an armed conflict.
Shortly, Del Pilar died in Barcelona on July 4, 1896 - just around one month before the Cry of Pugad Lawin, signaling the start of an armed revolution.
.WRITING
a. Ang Pagibig sa Tinubúang Lupà (Love of country). This poem which was first published in the Diariong Tagalog on August 20, 1882, subsequently in Heraldo de la Revolución, December 20, 1898, and again, in the supplement of that paper, resembles the theme of José Rizal's Amor Patria. As the title indicates, the theme is directed to the Filipinos in order to arouse their spirit of nationalism and self-dependence b. Caiigat Cayó (Be Like the Eel), published in Barcelona, 1888, and signed by Dolores Manapat, one of del Pilar's pseudonyms. This essay is a refutation of Fr. José Rodriguez's Cuestiones de Sumo Interés (Questions of Supreme Interest). The latter is an attack against the morality of the author of Noli Me Tángere(Rizal). In his essay, del Pilar recounts the fine qualities of Rizal, and as counter-attack, he accused the friars of carrying commerce in the church
c. Dasalan at Tocsohan (Prayerbook and Teasing Game), Barcelona, 1888. This is a satire on the friars' hypocrisy, licentiousness and greed, which consists of parodies of the Sign of the Cross, the Act of Contrition, the Lord's Prayer, the Hail Mary, and the catechism. Rizal considers this as a model of classical prose and an excellent example of Tagalog humor, wit, and sarcasm.
d. La Frailocracía Filipina (Frailocracy in the Philippines), Barcelona, 1889. This is an answer to a pamphlet entitled Los Frailes en Filipinas which was written by a Spaniard. The arguments were in five parts, namely, the much-mooted problem of filibusterism, the much-vaunted love of the friars for Spain, the disagreement of Filipino civilization by the friars, the influence of the friars on the Filipinos, and the aspirations of the Filipinos.
H. Edilberto Evangelista(1862-1897) Edilberto Evangelista is not a popular Filipino hero, thus, when his name is being said not everyone knows it. In Cavite City, there is a street called E. Evangelista, but to many Cavitenos, Evangelista might just as well be a name of a street and nothing more.
A closer look at the man, however, would reveal him to be extraordinary in more ways than one and deserving a better place in our Filipino hearts and minds.
Edilberto Evangelista was born to a poor family in Sta.Cruz, Manila on 25 February, 1862. He worked hard in order to continue his studies abroad. He became a teacher, a cattle dealer, a tobacco merchant and later a contractor of public works before he departed for Europe.
Another famous hero in the person of Jose Rizal, convinced Evangelista to take up Engineering in the University of Ghent in Belgium where he graduated with honors.
He had several offers of lucrative job positions in both Europe and Latin America but he turned them all down because he felt that his services were needed more in his country than anywhere else in the world.
He was jailed because he possessed copies of 2 novels of the hero Rizal which were considered illegal then due to its sedition theme and contents. Upon his release, he went to Kawit, Cavite to join the revolutionary forces of Emilio Aguinaldo, thus becoming an adopted son of Cavite.
Evangelista is one of the bravest man, (if not the bravest ,with the exception of Lapu-Lapu) I have ever come across in Philippine history. It was said that while doing his famous trenches, he would merely shrug off dirt that settled in his uniform after a canon explosion. He would not run or duck as he believed that no one could tell where the cannons would actually land anyway.
He simply had no fear of death. He was focused on serving the Mother country and he would gladly give his life ,if need be. And die he did in the Battle of Bacoor, Cavite in 1897, his skull completely shattered by bullets.
Evangelista was a quiet and unassuming man. He was not a man of many words but a man of action. He could have been rich, living it up in Europe. He could have taken those job offers and prospered. But his heart was not in it. He came home to serve and to die.
No regrets....He probably even died with a smile….
Few men of any age could have equaled the bravery of Edilberto Evangelista and fewer still could turn their heads away to riches and fame. Yet Evangelista never even looked back when he left Europe.
This is the kind of man I would have wanted to lead my country during these times. But, he has long gone and sadly, we might never see the likes of him here in the Philippines ever again.
WRITING a. “Letters to Rizal” – Sent on January 8,1892. All about the Sympathy with the people of Kalamba; The outrage affects the whole country; Those of the Propaganda have vindicated Rizal by entrusting to him the management of La Solidaridad and our policy in Europe; Life in Ghent is very dull; Evangelista is devoted to his studies. - Sent on March 31, 1892. All about Disappointed at the conservative ideas of our old folks; Dismal legacy of slavery; Family interests and patriotic ideas and liberty; To die for the country is a duty; Against the stupid expression: “What a waste of blood!” – May those conservative ideas not infect our youth – Voice of encouragement – Friends keep aloof because of his poverty.
I. Claro M. Recto (1890-1960)
BIOGRAPHY
He was a Philippine nationalist leader and president of the 1934 constitutional convention. He was one of the most vocal advocates of Philippine political and social autonomy.
Claro M. Recto was born in Tiaong, Tayabas, on Feb. 8, 1890. He worked for a bachelor of arts at the Ateneo de Manila and finished a master of laws degree at the University of Santo Tomas in 1914. From 1916 to 1919 he served as legal adviser to the Philippine Senate. In 1919 he was elected as representative of the third district of Batangas and served as House minority floor leader. He was reelected in 1922 and 1925.
In 1924 Recto went to the United States as a member of a parliamentary independence mission. In the same year he was admitted to the U.S. bar by the Supreme Court. Recto was elected president of the convention. It was mainly because of Recto's sagacity and intellectual acumen that the convention succeeded in framing and approving on Feb. 8, 1935, a constitution which would truly reflect the Filipinos' capacity to frame laws and principles that would govern their lives as free, responsible citizens in a democracy.
In 1931 Recto was elected to the Senate on the platform of the Democrata party. He acted as minority floor leader for 3 years. In 1934 he became majority floor leader and president of the Senate. He subsequently resigned his Senate seat when President Franklin Roosevelt appointed him as associate justice of the Supreme Court. Recto left the Supreme Court in 1941 and was elected anew as senator. In 1949 he was reelected on the Nacionalista party ticket. In 1957 he ran for president but was defeated.
Recto served in the wartime Cabinet of José Laurel during the Japanese occupation and was subsequently arrested and tried for collaboration. He wrote a defense and explanation of his position in Three Years of Enemy Occupation (1946), which convincingly presented the case of the "patriotic" conduct of the Filipino elite during World War II. Recto fought his legal battle in court and was acquitted.
In perspective, Recto revived the tradition of the radical dissenter fighting against feudal backwardness, clericofascist authoritarianism, and neocolonial mentality and imperialism. He strove to reawaken the consciousness of the Filipinos to the greatness of their revolutionary heritage and emphasized the need to transform the character of the national life by reaffirming their solidarity as a sovereign, free people.
Recto was preparing to launch his Filipinist crusade in the tradition of the Propaganda Movement of the 1880s when he died of a heart ailment in Rome, Italy, on Oct. 2, 1960.
WRITINGS
a. “ECONOMIC NATIONALISM” – This speech is about the resources of country. The speech said that we sell raw-materials in a very cheap price but buys it with a higher cost. The speech aims to make Filipinos to realize their absurdity. Lastly, this speech wanted to challenge the government with their relationship to ther country in export-import truce. b. “Three years of enemy occupation: the issue of political collaboration in the Philippines” – Contents are primarily about the Purpose and scope of this writing Japans blueprint, Military administration with Filipino participation Que, Japanese policy of coercion selfdeception and make believe. |
J. Jose Abad Santos(1886-1942)
BIOGRAPHY
Chief Justice Jose Abad Santos was born on the 19th day of February, 1886 in San Fernando, Pampanga, Philippines. He was the seventh child of ten children of Vicente Abad Santos and the former Toribia Basco. His eldest brother, Assemblyman Pedro Abad Santos was the founder of the Socialist Party of the Philippines and a well-known defender of the "poor and the oppressed". His other siblings were Emilia, Irineo, Escolastica, Antonio, Josefa, Quirino, Salvador and Catalina.
Chief Justice Jose Abad Santos completed his elementary education in the public schools of his hometown, San Fernando, Pampanga. In 1904, while still a high school undergraduate, the Philippine government selected him as a government-sponsored scholar and sent him to the United States for further education. He completed his general secondary education school in Santa Clara, California and earned a Bachelor of Laws degree in June 1908 at Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois. A year after, he received his Master of Laws degree from George Washington University in the capital city of Washington DC in the United States of America. Returning to the Philippines, he passed the Philippine Bar Examination and commenced his law practice in October, 1911. In April, 1919, the Supreme Court of the United States of America licensed him to practice law in the United States of America.
Unlike his eldest brother, Assemblyman Pedro Abad Santos who never got married and nor raised a family of his own, Chief Justice Jose Abad Santos joined in matrimony with a town mate and distant cousin, Amanda Teopaco, a beautiful and gracious intern at Centro Escolar de Senoritas in Manila in September, 1918. Their marriage was blessed with five offsprings: Jose Jr., Luz, Amanda, Osmundo and Victoria. He devoted much of his time with his family. He enjoyed reading, swimming, hunting, hiking and playing golf.
Chief Justice Jose Abad Santos served as president of Philippine Columbian Association, Northwestern University Alumni Association, Philippine Bar Association and Grand Master of the Grand Lodge of the Philippines. He was also a member of the American Bar Association and the American Political Science Association. He also became Chairman of the Board of Trustees of Philippine Women's University, a leading institution of higher learning in the city of Manila.
Chief Justice Jose Abad Santos is considered the greatest Filipino hero of World War II. He was among the greatest legal luminaries of the Philippines. After completing his law studies in the United States as a government-sponsored scholar he was also assigned for a few years in the Department of Justice. He was appointed later as the first Filipino Corporate lawyer of the Philippine National Bank, Manila Railroad and other government corporations. Moving on his professional career, he was recalled at the Department of Justice as Attorney General then to the position of Secretary of Justice. In recognition of the brilliance and dedication to government service of Secretary Jose Abad Santos, President Manuel L. Quezon of the Philippine Commonwealth appointed him later as Justice in the Supreme Court and eventually as Chief Justice of the Supreme Court.
At the outbreak of World War II, President Manuel L. Quezon temporarily moved the seat of Philippine government to the USA. Together with Vice President Sergio Osmena and other cabinet members they escaped by submarine from the invading Japanese Imperial Forces as General Douglas MacArthur transferred his general headquarters to Australia to re-organize the Allied Forces. Chief Justice Jose Abad Santos chose to remain in the Philippines as caretaker of the national government administration in the Philippines. The Japanese Military Command repeatedly approached him to make him pledge allegiance to Japan and to the Japanese flag but he did not swear in. A Japanese colonel and his troops overtook him in Lanao and he was told that he would be shot to death if he would not swear allegiance to the Japanese flag. He did not comply with the request of the Japanese so he was executed on May 2, 1942 in Malabang, Lanao del Sur in Mindanao. Before he was shot to death, he was able to talk to his young son, Jose, Jr. and his last parting words were "Do not cry, Jr., show to these people that you are brave. It is an honor to die for one's country. Not everybody has that chance."
WRITINGS
a. “Jose Abad Santos: Patriot and Martyr” – Containing the Address of Attorney J Antonio Araneta, Address of Attorney Vicente J Francisco. K. Macario Sacay(1870-1907)
Macario Sakay was a Filipino revolutionist who continued Philippine resistance to American rule even after the capture of General Emilio Aguinaldo, the president of the first Philippine Republic. Sakay is famously known to have established the Tagalog Republic in the northern part of the Philippines.
Sakay was born in 1870 in Tondo, Manila to a middle class family. Hence, Sakay through his early life involved himself in various jobs such as a tailor, a barber and as an actor in comedias and moro-moro plays that were popular during those times of Spanish colonization. Needless to say, Sakay's experience in acting opened his eyes to the cruelty and injustice that was then inflicted by the tyrannical Spanish government over the native Filipino-indios.
During the onset of the, Andres Bonifacio's secret organization and the Katipunan, Sakay, influenced by the inequality he sees, decided to join and fight for the cause of achieving freedom.
Shortly, Sakay was promoted as the leader of the Katipunan's Dapitan branch and saw himself working with Jacinto in the Kartilla and other Katipunan press and fighting side by side with Bonifacio in northern regions of the Philippines.
Moreover, during the arrival of the American, Sakay revived the Katipunan movement and recruited new members. Thus, he was arrested by the American forces on charges of sedition. The succeeding events include the capture of Aguinaldo and the surrender of Miguel Malvar, the last of Aguinaldo's men which officially ended the Filipino-American war.
The end of the war marked the release of filibusters including Sakay. However, Sakay was keen on starting a revolution. Soon after his release, Sakay together with his fellow Katipuneros established the Republika ng Katagalugan (Tagalog Republic) and proclaimed himself as president.
Despite the fact that most Filipinos especially those in the Visayan and Mindanao regions do not recognize Sakay as the figurehead leader of the Philippines, Sakay received overwhelming support from guerrillas and former freedom fighters.
In 1904, Sakay issued a manifesto ordering all Filipinos to aid the revolution and fight for Philippine Independence. The Americans countered Sakay's claims by labeling him as an outlaw and bandit. Moreover, military offensive started for both camps.
Sakay employed what was considered guerrilla tactics and was successful in skirmishes and raids. They would often confuse the Americans by their clothes and would catch them by surprise and rob them of revolvers, guns and ammunition.
Soon, the Sakay-led republic gained the masses support and the followers grew tenfold. People who were incapable of fighting voluntarily give money, food, medical supplies, strategic information and whereabouts of the enemies and other necessities to aid the revolution.
As a result Sakay's masses-fueled success, the US forces carried the "hamleting" strategy. It resulted into disastrous effects for both the non-fighting and the fighting supporters of Sakay.
More so, the US forces send emissaries to Sakay's camp and in a letter signed by the Governor-General, Sakay and his troops were made to believe that they will be granted amnesty and that Philippine independence will soon be granted.
Sakay surrendered on July 14, 1906 but three days later was arrested in a party hosted by the governor of Cavite. He was put into military court and was sentenced to death by hanging on September 13, 1907.
WRITINGS
a. “Manifesto” – Which is primarily stating that the Filipinos have a fundamental right to fight for the Philippine Independence.
TRIVIAL FACTS AND MISCONCEPTIONS ABOUT RIZAL
TRIVIAL FACTS: * Rizal was a penny-pincher.
As chronicled in Ambeth Ocampo’s Rizal Without the Overcoat, Rizal was once invited to a New Year’s potluck party where he was assigned to bring champagne. He did not like the idea, and throughout the merrymaking, he lectured everybody and advised against drinking, gambling and womanizing—the key points of the night. Then, Rizal stood up, announced that "inabonohan niya lang" and requested everybody to pay their share of the champagne bill. Stunned, the partygoers thought it was a joke—until pre-national hero Rizal passed his hat around.Before checking into a hotel, Rizal would also ask the front desk how much the rate was with and without breakfast. He usually opted for the latter and used the money saved to buy alcohol, tea or biscuits. Another kuripot story made its way to the pages of Leon Ma. Guerrero’s First Filipino. Rizal supposedly survived on P50 a month in Europe, and he once wrote his sister Maria in December saying that he had not taken a bath since August, because it was "really expensive."
Stingy as he seemed to be, however, he set aside funds for photographs. Ocampo published a list of Rizal’s monthly expenses and there was an allocated amount for photographs. * When he was an exile in Dapitan, he collected different kinds of species of animals. Among them were the Draco Rizali (Wandolleck), a specie of flying dragon, Rachophorous Rizali (Boetger), a hitherto unknown specie of toad and Apogonia Rizali (Heller), a small beetle, which were later named after him * He could Read and Write at the age of 2 * He created the 900-square-meter Relief Map of Mindanaowhich he used to teach history and geography. * He designed the altar at the Holy Rosary Cathedral in Dipolog City. * He is one of the few recognized “Renaissance man” in the world. * Considering that he lived during the latter part of the 19th century where the only means of long distance travel is by ship, he can be considered a very well- traveled man. He traveled extensively and had been to the United States, Spain, Great Britain, France, Austria, Germany, Belgium, Switzerland, Czech Republic, Italy, Singapore, Borneo, Hong Kong, China and Japan. Not even a millionaire today could afford the numerous and extensive travels of Jose Rizal during his time. * Quite unusual for a man about to be executed, but his pulse proved to be normal when the Spanish surgeon general requested to take his pulse moments before Rizal’s execution. *
MISCONCEPTIONS:
* Rizal became the National Hero because of the Americans. (NO. Rizal was proclaimed as our National Hero by the First Philippine Republic) * Rizal Never supported the national independence movement of the Philippines. (NO. Rizal supported the revolution but opposed the immediate start of it due to lack of arms.) * Andres Bonifacio should be the national herp not Rizal * It sounds absurd but there are people who are spreading statements that Adolf Hitler of Germany and Mao Zedong of China were sons of Jose Rizal. This is absolutely a hoax.
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