Marcela Mariño Agoncillo
Marcela Mariño Agoncillo(1859-1946)
Maker of the first Philippine flag. Born in Taal, Batangas, on June 24, 1859. Married to Felipe Agoncillo. She labored to make the Filipino flag in Hong Kong with the help of Delfina Herbosa de Natividad, a niece of Rizal. Died on May 30, 1946 in Taal, Batangas.
Marcela Agoncillo
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Marcela Mariño de Agoncillo | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born | Marcela Mariño June 24, 1860 Taal, Batangas |
| Died | May 30, 1946 Manila |
| Resting place | La Loma Cemetery |
| Residence | Taal Batangas (ancestral home) and Malate Manila (family) |
| Nationality | Filipino |
| Other names | Doña Marcela, Lola Celay |
| Known for | Her legacy as the principle seamstress of the first and official Philippine flag |
| Spouse(s) | Don Felipe Agoncillo |
| Children | Lorenza, Gregoria, Eugenia, Marcela, Adela and Maria |
| Parents | Francisco Mariño and Eugenia Coronel |
Agoncillo was a daughter of a rich family in her hometown of Taal, Batangas. Finishing her studies at Sta. Catalina College, she acquired her learning in music and feminine crafts. At the age of 30, Agoncillo married Filipino lawyer and jurist Don Felipe Agoncillo and bore him six children. Her marriage led to her important role in Philippine history. When her husband was exiled to Hong Kong during the outbreak of the Philippine Revolution, Agoncillo and the rest of the family joined him and temporarily resided there to avoid the anti-Filipino hostility of some foreign countries. While in Hong Kong, General Emilio Aguinaldo requested her to sew a flag that would represent their country. Agoncillo, her eldest daughter and a friend manually sewed the flag in accordance with General Aguinaldo’s design which later became the official flag of the Philippines.
While the flag itself is the perpetual legacy of Agoncillo,[4] she is also commemorated through museums and monuments like the marker in Hong Kong (where her family temporarily sojourned), at her ancestral home in Taal, Batangas which has been turned into a museum,[5] in paintings by notable painters as well as through other visual arts.
Early life
Agoncillo was born on June 24, 1860 in Taal, Batangas, Philippines[6] to Francisco Mariño and Eugenia Coronel. She grew up in their ancestral house in Batangas built in the 1770s by her grandfather, Andres Marino.[7]As a daughter of a rich and religious family,[8] Agoncillo was referred to in their town as Roselang Hubog which means “a virgin enthroned in the town church”. Stories told in the area related that people kept waiting patiently by the church patio for her appearance in the morning to attend mass accompanied either by a maid or an elder relative.[9]
She was sent to a convent after her education in Manila. The convent she was studying in was the Sta. Catalina College of the Dominican nuns, an exclusive school for girls,[10] established in the Walled City of Intramuros where she finished her elementary and secondary education. In college, she learned Spanish, music, the feminine crafts and social graces.[11] She spent her girlhood partly in their hometown and partly in the convent.[12] Accordingly, Agoncillo was skilled in needlework.[13][14][2]
[edit] Marriage and family
Agoncillo was married to Don Felipe, a rich Filipino revolutionist and the first Filipino diplomat.[15] They were both thirty and Don Felipe was already a judge when they finally wed. Agoncillo moved from Taal to Manila where they lived together in a two-story house in M.H. del Pillar St., Malate, near the Malate church.[16][17]Six daughters were born to them: Lorenza (“Enchang”), Gregoria (“Goring”), Eugenia (“Nene”), Marcela (“Celing”, named after her mother because they thought she would be their last child), Adela (who died at the age of three) and the youngest, Maria (“Maring”, who was their last surviving child and died on July 6, 1995). Most of her daughters became teachers. Gregoria was the first Filipina to graduate from Oxford University.[16] After the graduation of the three elder daughters, they were offered teaching positions. Lorenza was given an appointment to teach in Malate Catholic School.[18] They so immersed themselves in their respective teaching careers that not one of them chose to be married.[16] Marcella Agoncillo cared for all of her daughters until they reached maturity. One of her favorite pieces of advice to them was to “live honestly and well, and to work hard and not depend on family property”.[9]
Besides the legal services rendered by Don Felipe to the impoverished,[19] Agoncillo and her daughters observed every Thursday as a day of charity, when a queue of needy people seeking alms would form in the Agoncillo driveway. No one ever left their house empty-handed. Agoncillo would hand them a bag of rice in addition to the money she gave them. This practice lasted until the couple retired.[16]
[edit] Living in Hong Kong
After learning of the plans of the Governor-General of the Philippines to deport Don Felipe, he sailed to Yokohama, Japan, staying there only briefly until proceeding to Hong Kong where he joined other Filipino exiles who found asylum when the revolution broke out in 1896. Twenty-two months after the departure of Don Felipe for Hong Kong, Agoncillo and the rest of the family (her last two daughters were not yet born) followed him into exile. They rented a house at 535 Morrison Hill in the Wan Chai district.[20] While in Hong Kong, Agoncillo gave birth to their last child on March 22, 1906.[13]Felipe, being an exile himself, received any Filipino who came into their house. Thereafter, the place became a sanctuary for other Filipino revolutionary exiles. They initiated meetings in the Agoncillos’ residence, especially during the critical months of March and April 1898. Among these folks were Gen. Antonio Luna and Gen. Aguinaldo. Also, Josephine Bracken, Jose Rizal‘s fiancée, sought refuge in their house when the Spanish authorities threatened to torture her.[10]
[edit] Making of the Philippine flag
Further information: Flag of the Philippines
The process took only a short time, but it was difficult. The three worked manually and with the aid of a sewing machine. They had to redo the flag after the rays of the sun were not in the proper direction. Their eyes and hands suffered due to the prolonged work session. Made from fine silk which she bought in Hong Kong,[25] the flag was embroidered in gold and contained stripes of blue and red and a white triangle with the sun and three stars on it.[19][26] The flag was finished in five days[3] and became known as “the sun and the stars flag”.[23]
In response to the message written by Gen. Aguinaldo, Agoncillo wrote the following statement when she was interviewed:
In the house at 535 Morrison Hill, where I lived with my family, exiled from our country on account of the national cause, I had the good fortune to make the first Philippine flag under the direction of an illust[r]ious leader Gen. Emilio Aguinaldo y Famy…It took me five days to make that National Flag, and when completed, I myself delivered it to Gen. Emilio Aguinaldo before boarding the transport McCullo[ug]h…Gen. Aguinaldo is the best witness who can give the information whether or not that flag was the first to be displayed in Cavite at the beginning of the revolutionary government against the government of Spain in these islands.—Marcela Agoncillo[9]
[edit] Post-exile and death
Agoncillo and her daughters stayed in Hong Kong from 1895 to 1906. She took care of their house, which became an asylum. Their funds had run out because of the heavy expenses incurred by Don Felipe for his diplomatic activities in France and in the United States. She once had to sell the children’s pinafores[16] and their jewels[10] to support her family and to pay for their voyage back to Manila. The other money was also used to help boost the revolutionary funds. Their support for the revolution made them an impoverished family; however, they gained it back when Don Felipe returned to his profession.[4]After the fall of the first Philippine Republic and the establishment of the American regime, Agoncillo and her family ended their exile and went back to Manila as soon as they were fetched by Don Felipe after his diplomatic activities abroad had ended.[29] The Agoncillos settled in their family house in Malate. After the death of Don Felipe, Agoncillo’s remaining family suffered from starvation due to their meager supply of food, water and other needs. The Japanese conquerors also contributed to their anguish during the period of the Japanese invasion.[9] Taking this all in stride, Marcela remained pragmatic and a source of inspiration. After their house was incinerated during the Japanese occupation, all she said to her remaining daughters was “We will then have to go to Taal.”
Though she endured the 1945 Battle of Manila, the health of Agoncillo, who was alternatively called “Doña Marcela” and “Lola Celay” during her old age,[16] was steadily deteriorating. She continued to mourn her deceased husband to such an extent that her daughters found it necessary to hide all his remaining photographs.[30] On May 30, 1946, she quietly died in Manila at the age of 86. Her mortal remains were brought from Taal to Manila and interred alongside her husband in the Catholic cemetery of La Loma according to the wishes of her last will.
[edit] Commemoration
Agoncillo’s legacy is remembered through the visual arts as well. In 1996, Filipino National Artist Napoleon Abueva created the concrete and marble sculpture Three Women Weaving the Filipino Flag at the UP Diliman to commemorate Agoncillo and the other two women who assisted her in their important task.[34] Renowned Filipino painter Fernando Amorsolo painted the historical sewing and is nationally known as The Making of the Philippine flag.
Leonor Rivera
Leonor Rivera(1867-1893)
Cousin and fiancee of Jose Rizal. She was the Maria Clara in Rizal’s Noli Me Tangere.
Rajah Soliman
Rajah Soliman( -1571)
The last rajah of Manila, noted for his daring and bravery. Nephew of Rajah Lakandola. Of all of the early rulers of Manila, he was feared most by the Spaniards. He was killed on June 3, 1571, in the Battle of Bangkusay.
Rajah Sulaiman III (1558 – 1575,[1] سليمان in Arabic) was the Rajah (chieftain) of Maynila, a Kapampangan and Tagalog kingdom on the region of the Pasig River in Manila. Along with Rajah Sulaiman II and Rajah Lakan Dula, he was one of three chieftains who fought the Spaniards during the colonization of the Philippines in the 16th century.[2]
Spanish documents say his tribes called him “Rajah Mura” or “Rajah Muda” (a Malayan title for a Prince). The Spanish transcription of “Rajah Mura” is Young Rajah, a reference to the fact that he was Rajah Sulaiman II’s nephew and heir to the throne. The Spaniards called him “Rajah Solimano el Mow”.[1]
After making peace with the Spaniards in 1571, Rajah Sulaiman III led a revolt against them in 1574, which Philippine historians refer to as the first battle of Manila Bay, but is also known as the Sulaiman revolt.[2]
Rajah Sulaiman III is considered by Spanish and Philippine historians to be the leader of the Macabebe tribes that fought the Spaniards during the Battle of Bangkusay, but there is disagreement among historians about that claim.[3]
Spanish explorer Miguel López de Legazpi, searching for a suitable place to establish his capital after being compelled to move from Cebu to Panay by Portuguese pirates and hearing of the existence of a prosperous Muslim tribes in Luzon, sent an expedition under Martín de Goiti and Juan de Salcedo to explore its location and potentials.[4]
Goiti anchored at Cavite and established his authority peaceably by sending a message of friendship to various tribes in Manila. Rajah Sulaiman III, who had been ceded authority over their settlements by his aging uncle Rajah Sulaiman II, was willing to accept the friendship that the Spaniards were offering, but did not want to submit to its sovereignty unto them, and waged war against them due to disputes and hostility. As a result, Goiti and his army attacked the Muslim tribes on June 1570, and occupied the villages, before returning to Panay.[4]
In 1571, the Spaniards returned, this time led by López de Legazpi himself along with his entire force (consisting of 280 Spaniards and 600 native allies). Seeing them approach, the natives set their villages on fire and fled to Tondo, and neighboring villages. The Spaniards occupied Manila and established a settlement.[4]
With this victory, Rajah Sulaiman II, Rajah Lakan Dula and Rajah Sulaiman III eventually accepted Spanish rule and were converted to Christianity. López de Legazpi granted them with encomienda (trusteeship) of Manila and Tondo under the dominion of Spain. With this recognition came an exemption from tribute and forced labor, which their families enjoyed until 1884 and the exclusive right for the Lakan Dula and Sulaiman Dynasty to keep their family names.[2]
After the establishment of settlements, Rajah Sulaiman II died and Rajah Sulaiman III ascended to his uncle’s position. With Spanish approval, López de Legazpi gave Rajah Sulaiman III the settlements of Manila on April 1572.[1] When López de Legazpi died in 1572, his successor, Governor-General Guido de Lavezaris, did not honor the agreements with Rajah Sulaiman III and Rajah Lakan Dula. He sequestered the properties of the two chieftains and tolerated Spanish abuses.[2] In response, Rajah Sulaiman III and Rajah Lakan Dula led a revolt in the villages of Navotas in 1574, taking advantage of the confusion brought about by the attacks of Chinese pirate Limahong. This is often referred to as the “Manila revolt of 1574″ but is sometimes referred to as the “Sulaiman revolt” and the “Lakan Dula revolt” since it involved naval forces, the “First Battle of Manila Bay”.[2]
Friar Geronimo Marían and Juan de Salcedo were tasked with pursuing conciliatory talks with various tribes. Rajah Lakan Dula and Rajah Sulaiman III agreed on Salcedo’s peace treaty and an alliance were formed between the two groups.[2] Spanish documents cease to mention Rajah Sulaiman III after the Manila revolt, so the exact date of his death is unknown, although Philippine historians set it at 1575 based on genealogical records.[2]
Some controversy exists about the identity of the leader of the Macabebe tribes that initiated the Battle of Bangkusay in 1571. That chieftain, is referred to by Philippine historians as Tarik Sulayman.[5] In some versions of the Battle of Bangkusay, Tarik Sulayman of Macabebe and Rajah Sulaiman III of Manila are the same person.[6] Other versions contend that they are different people with the same name.[3] Some have even suggested that the two men were related.
Spanish documents do not identify the leader of the Macabebe tribes by name, but record that he died during the Battle of Bangkusay, resulting in a Macabebe retreat and a Spanish victory.[7][3] Rajah Sulaiman III of Manila is clearly recorded as participating in the battle in 1574.
Rajah Lakandula
Rajah Lakandula( -1575)
One of the most illustrious ancient Filipinos. Chief of Tondo, when Legazpi came to Manila in 1571. He became a Christian and took the name of Carlos, after the king of Spain. He made the blood compact with Goiti. He fought alongside the Spaniards against the Chinese pirate, Limahong. Died in 1575.
Rajah Lakan Dula
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Rajah Lakan Dula | |
|---|---|
| Rajah (chieftain) of Tondo. | |
| Reign | 1558 – 1571 |
| Full name | Lakan Dula |
| Titles | Lakan |
| Predecessor | Rajah Sulaiman I |
| Successor | Rajah Sulaiman III |
| Royal House | Kingdom of Tondo |
Lakan Dula (Kapampangan lakan “lord” and dula “palace”)[1] was the Malayan title for chieftains in Tondo. Banaw[2] was the personal name of Lakan Dula recorded in Philippine history at the period of the Spanish colonization. The name Lakan Dula suggests he was a follower of a mixture of Animism and Islamic religion.
His name is written in the 1665 document by his great-grandson Juan Macapagal, the Datu (chieftain) of Arayat:[3]
| “ | Don Carlos Lacandola, his great-grandfather, was Lord and principal of the town of Tondo and other surrounding towns, whose natives paid him tribute and vassalage and other recognition as their natural lord and when ships from China came to this bay, they similarly paid him duties and anchorage fees, he removing their sails and rudder for this purpose and taking their merchandise by paying half its value at the time and the other half the next year, without any other natives being able to buy anything from the sangleyes but only from the said Lacandola, from which much profit, which he ceded at the coming of the Spaniards to these Islands, they collecting the said tributes and duties for His Majesty. | ” |
Descendants
The Lakan Dula descendants are mostly found in the Kapampangan region.[3] He fathered at least four sons, including Datu Dionisio Capulong of Candaba, Datu Phelipe Salonga of Pulu, Datu Magat Salamat of Tondo and Martín Lakandula who entered the Augustinian monestary to become a priest in 1590.[3] He had one daughter by the name of María Poloin who married Alonso Talabos.In 1587, his sons Magat Salamat, Dionisio Capulong and Phelipe Salonga, along with his nephew Augustin de Legazpi and the chieftains of Pandacan, Marikina, Navotas and Bulacan participated in what has since been called the “revolt of the Lakans” and were all punished by the Spanish authorities. Augustin de Legazpi was hanged and his head cut off and exposed on the gibbet in an iron cage. His properties were seized by the Spanish authorities and his lands plowed and sown with salt so that they would remain barren. Dionisio Capulong, then Datu of Candaba, was exiled from his town and paid a heavy fine. Governor-General de Vera eventually pardoned him. Later, he served as a guide and interpreter for two Spanish expeditions into Igorot country in 1591 and 1594. Felipe Salonga, then chief of Polo, was exiled to Mexico and was thus one of the very first Filipinos to settle in there. Wenceslao E. Retana relates that “Magat Salamat was condemned to death. His goods were to be employed for erection of the new fortress of this city (Manila). He appealed to the royal Audiencia, but the case was remitted to the governor, in order that justice might be done- except that the goods were to be set aside for the treasury. The sentence was executed.“[4][3]
A grandson of Lakan Dula, a mestizo by the name of David Dula y Goiti, escaped the persecution of the descendants of Lakan Dula by settling in Isla de Batag, Northern Samar and settled in a place now called Candawid.[5][6] He was imprisoned by Spanish soldiers in Palapag and was executed together with several followers. They were charged of treason with planning to attack the Spanish settlement.
The current David Dulay descendants are the children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren of Petre, Hilario father of Eleuterio Dulay, Sr. of Laoang, N. Samar and a mayor for more than 20 years during the Marcos Regime died of heart ailment. The other descendants are those carrying the surname Dula related to Councilor Rufo Dula. Wishing to avoid the persecution experienced by his latter ancestors, Lakan Dula’s great grandson Juan Macapagal aided the Spanish authorities in suppressing the 1660 Kapampangan revolt of Francisco Maniago and the Pangasinan revolt of Andrés Malong and the 1661 Ilocano revolt. Because of his service to the Spanish crown, the Spanish authorities revived the special privileges offered by the Spanish crown to Lakan Dula and his descendants spread across the province of Pampanga.[3] A Gremio de Lakandulas was created in 1758 to protect the privileges of the Kapampangan descendants of Lakandula.[3] During the British occupation of Manila in 1762-1764, the descendants of Lakan Dula, now located in the province of Pampanga, formed a group of volunteers to fight the British and were granted autonomy by Governor General Simón de Anda y Salazar.[3]
Legacy
- The Order of Lakandula is one of the highest honors given by the Republic of the Philippines. It is an order of political and civic merit, awarded in memory of Lakandula’s dedication to the responsibilities of leadership, prudence, fortitude, courage and resolve in the service of one’s people.
- The BRP Rajah Lakandula (PF-4) was the a Destroyer Escort / Frigate and is the only ex-USN Edsall-class destroyer escort that served the Philippine Navy. She was also the flagship of the Philippine Navy from 1981 to 1988. Struck from the Navy List in 1988, she was still in use as stationary barracks ship in Subic Bay as of 1999.
Jose Palma
Jose Palma
(1876-1903)
Poet and soldier. Born in Tondo, Manila, on June 3, 1876. Younger brother of Dr. Rafael Palma. He was a staff member of La Independencia. He wrote Filipinas, a patriotic poem in Spanish, which became the lyrics of the Philippine National Anthem. Died in Manila, on February 12, 1903.
(1876-1903)
Poet and soldier. Born in Tondo, Manila, on June 3, 1876. Younger brother of Dr. Rafael Palma. He was a staff member of La Independencia. He wrote Filipinas, a patriotic poem in Spanish, which became the lyrics of the Philippine National Anthem. Died in Manila, on February 12, 1903.
José Palma
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
José Palma (1876-1903) was a poet and soldier. He was born in Tondo, Manila, on June 3, 1876. He was the younger brother of Dr. Rafael Palma. Palma was also a staff member of La Independencia. He wrote Filipinas, a patriotic poem in Spanish, which became the lyrics of the Lupang Hinirang, the Philippine national anthem. He died in Manila, on February 12, 1903.[edit] References
- Zaide, Gregorio F. (1984). Philippine History and Government. National Bookstore Printing Press.
Isabelo delos Reyes
Isabelo delos Reyes(1864-1938)
Last of the propagandists. Gifted son of Leona Florentino, first poetess of the Philippines. Born in Vigan, Ilocos Sur, on July 7, 1864. He aroused the hostility of the friars and government officials when he openly criticized the evils of the Spanish rule and he advocated reforms. He was the founder of the first Philippine labor union, as well as the first independent Filipino Catholic church. Died on October 9,
Isabelo de los Reyes, Sr. (July 7, 1864 – October 10, 1938) also known as Don Belong, was a prominent Filipino politician and labor activist in the 19th and 20th century. He is the founder of the Aglipayan Church and a Forerunner of Filipino Socialism.
Born to Elias de los Reyes and the poetess Leona Florentino in Vigan, Ilocos Sur, he attended schools in Vigan and Manila. He followed his mother’s footsteps by initially turning to writing as a career and became a journalist, editor, and publisher in Manila.
1938.
Early years
At 6 years old, due to troubled marriage of his parents, Isabelo was entrusted to a rich relative, Meno Crisologo, who later enrolled him into a grammar school attached to their local seminary run by Augustinians.In 1880, at age 16 he escaped to Manila where he finished Bachiller en Artes at the Colegio de San Juan de Letran. After that, he studied law, history and palaeography at the Pontifical University of Santo Tomas.
In 1887, at the age of 23, he won a silver medal at the Exposición Filipina in Madrid for a huge Spanish-language manuscript he called El folk-lore filipino. It was the same year Jose Rizal published his first novel, Noli Me Tangere in Berlin. As a teenager, he was inspired to write about the foundation of this “new science” concerned about el saber popular or folklore, as he read an appeal in Manila’s Spanish newspaper La Oceania Española (founded 1877) asking readers to contribute articles to develop the science of el folk-lore, followed by a simple sketch of how this was to be done. Two months later Isabelo set to work not merely on folklore of Ilocos, but also on his future wife’s township of Malabon on the outskirts of Manila, on the Central Luzon province of Zambales, and in general terms, what he called el folk-lore filipino. It became one of the greatest passions of his life. By 1886, just as the French was starting to pursue a national effort of applying the study of folklore on their own native tradition, Isabelo is already producing a manuscript for publishing.
[edit] As a Writer
After his father died he was obliged to support himself and did so while pursuing his passion in writing, he contributed to most of Manila‘s newspapers. And in 1889 he founded the first vernacular newspaper in the country,[citation needed] El Ilocano, , said to be the first such newspaper written solely in a Philippine vernacular. He continued to write and research extensively on Philippine history and culture.As a journalist, he almost faced the firing squad for attracting the ire of Spanish authorities in highlighting Spanish church and governmental abuses. He turned his writings against the Americans when they took over in 1898, and took advantage of rapidly changing sentiments of the Spanish intelligentsia as they saw America taking over the remnants of the Spanish overseas empire. In Madrid, he published fortnightly Filipinas ante Europa with the editorial Logo: “Contra Norte-America, no; contra el imperialismo, sí, hasta la muerte!” (“Against the Americans, NO; against Imperialism, YES, till death!”) It ran for 36 issues between 25 October 1899 and 10 June 1901. After closing (probably due to trouble with the authorities), it briefly reappeared as “El Defensor de Filipinas” which ran monthly from 1 July to 1 October 1901
But Don Belong isn’t only a journalist. According to the chronicles of the Philippine Bible Society, he also helped in translating the Bible in Ilocano. He did this when he was detained, thus making him one of the few convicts to translatate the Scriptures.
[edit] Upon his return
He was later jailed when he returned to the Philippines for inciting labor strikes against American business firms. Influenced by European socialism (Specially during his imprisonment in Barcelona), as well as Marxism, Isabelo de los Reyes founded the first labor union in the country in 1902, the Unión Obrera Democrática Filipina, against what he perceived as the impending exploitation of Filipino labor by American capitalist institutions. In the same year, he launched the Philippine Independent Church with the members of the Union Obrera Democratica in response against the Catholic Church, and chose his fellow Ilocano compatriot, Gregorio Aglipay, as its first bishop.In 1923, he won a Senate seat in an election against Elpidio Quirino, representing the Ilocos region. After his term, he went back to private life and dedicated the remainder of his life to religious writings for the Aglipayan church as an honorary bishop. Writing sermons and other Christian literature, he translated the bible and its various components into his native Ilocano. However, nearing death, he retracted and returned to the Roman Catholic faith.
De los Reyes was married and widowed three times and had 27 children.
Artemio Ricarte
Artemio Ricarte(1866-1945)
The unconquerable hero of the revolution. Born in Batac, Ilocos Norte, on October 20, 1866. Known as Viborra, he was a gentle public school teacher who became a dashing revolutionary general. Died in the jungles of Sierra Madre on July 31, 1945.
Early life
Ricarte was born in Batac City, Ilocos Norte, Philippines to Faustino Ricarte and Bonifacia Garcia. He finished his early studies in his hometown and enrolled at the Colegio de San Juan de Letran where he graduated with a Bachelor of Arts. At the University of Santo Tomas and then at the Escuela Normal, he prepared for the teaching profession. He was sent to the town of San Francisco de Malabon (now General Trias) to supervise a primary school. While there, he met the likes of Mariano Alvarez, another school teacher and surviving revolutionary of the 1872 Cavite Mutiny. Ricarte then joined the ranks of the Katipunan as a Lieutenant-General under the Magdiwang Council and adopted the name “El Vibora” (Viper).[edit] Philippine Revolution
Main article: Philippine Revolution
After the start of the Philippine Revolution on August 31, 1896, Ricarte led the revolutionists in attacking the Spanish garrison in San Francisco de Malabon. He crushed the Spanish troops and took the civil guards as prisoner. At the Tejeros Convention Ricarte was elected Captain-General and received a military promotion to Brigadier-General in Emilio Aguinaldo‘s Army. He led his men in various battles in Cavite, Laguna and Batangas. Aguinaldo designated him to remain in Biak na Bato, San Miguel, Bulakan to supervise the surrender of arms and to see to it that both the Spanish government and the Philippine officers complied with the terms of the peace pact.[edit] Philippine-American War
Main article: Philippine-American War
When the Philippine-American War started in 1899, he was Chief of Operations of the Philippine forces in the second zone around Manila. In July 1900 he was captured in Manila and deported to Guam together with Apolinario Mabini.[edit] Post-War Era
In early 1903, both Ricarte and Mabini would be allowed back in to the Philippines upon taking the oath of allegiance to America. Just as their transport USS Thomas pulled in to Manila Bay, both were asked to take the oath. Mabini, who was ill, took the oath but Ricarte refused. Ricarte was set free but banned from the Philippines. Without setting foot in the Philippines, he was placed on the transport “Galic” and sailed to Hong Kong.In December 1903, Ricarte returned to the Philippines as a stowaway on board the “Wenshang“. Ricarte planned to reunite with former members of the Philippine Army and rekindle the Philippine Revolution. Upon meeting with several former members and friends, he discussed his general plan and the continuation of the revolution. After said meetings, some of these members turned on Ricarte and notified the United States Military, specifically ex-General Pio del Pilar. A reward for US$10,000 was then issued for Ricarte’s capture, dead or alive. In the following weeks, Ricarte traveled throughout central Luzon trying to drum up support for his cause.
In early 1904, Ricarte was stricken by an illness that put him at rest for nearly 2 months. Just as his health was returning, a clerk from his outfit, Luis Baltazar, turned against him and notified the local Philippine Constabulary of his location at Mariveles, Bataan. On March 29, 1904, Ricarte was arrested and jailed. He would spend the next six years at Bilibid Prison. It should be noted, Ricarte was well received and respected by both the Philippine and American authorities. He was frequently visited by old friends from the Philippine war as well as U.S. government officials, including the Vice-President of the United States under Theodore Roosevelt, Charles W. Fairbanks.
Due to good behavior, Ricarte served only 6 of his 11 year sentence. On June 26, 1910 he was released from Bilibid Prision. But upon his exit he was detained by American authorities and taken to the Customs-House in Bagumbayan. He was again ordered to pledge his oath of alligence to the United States. He still refused to swear allegiance and within the hour of the same day, he was again put on a transport and deported to Hong Kong. His name was repeatedly brought to light whenever any type of uprising occurred in the Philippines. To get away from false propaganda, he and his wife moved to Yokohama, Japan where they lived in self exile. While in Japan, Ricarte opened a small restaurant and returned to teaching. Just as Ricarte’s life was fading away in to obscurity, World War II began and Japan invaded the Philippines. The Japanese flew Ricarte back to the Philippines to help them pacify the Filipinos. In December 1944, Ricarte was forced to establish the Makapili, a pro-Japanese organization during World War II which was used to root out Guerrillas.
[edit] Death
Near the end of World War II, Ricarte again found himself taking flight from American and Filipino forces. It is stated by Colonel Ota, that he ask Ricarte to evacuate the Philippine island but Ricarte refused, stating “I can not take refuge in Japan at this critical moment when my people are in actual distress. I will stay in my Motherland to the last.” Due to the hardship and difficulties from evading American and Filipino attacks, Ricarte became ill and suffered from debilitating dysentery. On July 31, 1945 at Kalinga, Mountain Province, Ricarte died at the age of 78. His grave was found 9 years later in 1954 by treasure hunters. Ricarte’s body was exhumed and his tomb now lies in Manila at the Libingan ng mga Bayani (Cemetery of Heroes).
Memorials
- In 1971, a monument was erected at Yamashita Park in Yokohama, Japan.
- The birth house of Artemio Ricarte is now the Ricarte National Shrine in Batac City, Philippines.
- For battles and deeds accomplished in Cavite, a marker was placed at Poblacion, General Trias, Cavite for General Artemio Ricarte.
Leona Florentino
Leona Florentino
(1849-1884)
First poetess of the Philippines. Born in Vigan, Ilocos Sur, on April 19, 1849. Her poems were given international recognition at the Exposicion in Madrid in 1887 and in Paris in 1889. Died on October 4, 1884.
Leona Florentino (April 19, 1849-October 4, 1884) was a Filipino poet in the Spanish and Ilocano languages. She is considered as the “mother of Philippine women’s literature” and the “bridge from oral to literary tradition”.[1]
Born to a wealthy and prominent family in Vigan, Ilocos Sur, Florentino began to write her first verses in Ilocano at a young age. Despite her potential, she was not allowed to receive a university education because of her gender. Florentino was instead tutored by her mother, and then a series of private teachers. An educated Ilocano priest taught her advanced Spanish and encouraged her to develop her voice in poetry.[1]
Due to the feminist nature of her writings, Florentino was shunned by her husband and son, and so was forced to live alone in exile and separately from her family.[1]
Florentino married a politician named Elias de los Reyes at the age of 14, and they had five children, including Isabelo de los Reyes, who would later become a Filipino writer, activist and senator. She died at the age of 35.[1]
(1849-1884)
First poetess of the Philippines. Born in Vigan, Ilocos Sur, on April 19, 1849. Her poems were given international recognition at the Exposicion in Madrid in 1887 and in Paris in 1889. Died on October 4, 1884.
Leona Florentino (April 19, 1849-October 4, 1884) was a Filipino poet in the Spanish and Ilocano languages. She is considered as the “mother of Philippine women’s literature” and the “bridge from oral to literary tradition”.[1]
Born to a wealthy and prominent family in Vigan, Ilocos Sur, Florentino began to write her first verses in Ilocano at a young age. Despite her potential, she was not allowed to receive a university education because of her gender. Florentino was instead tutored by her mother, and then a series of private teachers. An educated Ilocano priest taught her advanced Spanish and encouraged her to develop her voice in poetry.[1]
Due to the feminist nature of her writings, Florentino was shunned by her husband and son, and so was forced to live alone in exile and separately from her family.[1]
Florentino married a politician named Elias de los Reyes at the age of 14, and they had five children, including Isabelo de los Reyes, who would later become a Filipino writer, activist and senator. She died at the age of 35.[1]
Works
Her lyrical poetry in Spanish, especially in Ilocano, gained attention with their exhibition in various international forums in Spain, Paris and St. Louis, Missouri. Her literary contributions – particularly 22 preserved poems – were recognized when she was included in the Encyclopedia Internationale des Oeuvres des Femmes (International Encyclopedia of Women’s Works) in 1889. She is believed to be the first Filipino to receive this international recognition, an homage that occurred only after her untimely death.[1]Pedro Paterno
Pedro Paterno(1858-1911)
Statesman, poet, writer, and peacemaker. Born in Manila on February 27, 1858. He was the negotiator/mediator of the Pact of Biak-na-Bato. He helped prepare the Malolos constitution. Died on April 26, 1911.
Biak-na-Bato
At the trial of Jose Rizal in 1896, it was suggested that Paterno, along with Rizal, had incited the revolution because they had both written about the ancient Tagalog civilization. As evidence for their complicity, the Spanish prosecution cited Paterno’s earlier work “Antigua Civilizacion” as promoting ideas which had “consequences both erroneous and injurious to Spanish sovereignty.” Nobody moved against Paterno, however, because he was close to a significant number of Spanish officials – both military and civilian – who could vouch for him. Thus, Paterno, like many others of the Manila elite, distanced himself from the events of the Philippine revolution.[2]In 1897 the Philippine revolutionary forces led by Emilio Aguinaldo had been driven out of Cavite and retreated northwards from town to town until they finally settled in Biak-na-Bato, in the town of San Miguel de Mayumo in Bulacan. Here, they established what became known as the Republic of Biak-na-Bato.[4]
In late July, 1897, Paterno voluntarily presented himself to Governor General Fernando Primo de Rivera, whom he had known while living in Spain, and offered his services as a mediator.[2]
Because many higly place Spaniards of the time thought Paterno held great sway over the natives, Primo de Rivera accepted Paterno’s offer. He called for a truce, explaining his decision to the Cortes Generales: “I can take Biak-na-Bato, any military man can take it, but I can not answer that I could crush the rebellion.“[4]
Paterno left Manila on August 4, 1897 and found Aguinaldo five days later. This began a three-month-long series of talks which saw Paterno constantly shuffling between Manila, Biyak-na-bato, and some areas in Southern Luzon where a number of revolutionary chiefs held sway. During the negotiations, Paterno’s wife Luisa died on November 27, 1897.[2]
In ceremonies on December 14-15 that year, Aguinaldo signed the Pact of Biak-na-bato. He proclaimed the official end of the Philippine revolution on Christmas Day, and on left for Hong Kong via the port of Dagupan on December 27.[4]
He returned to Manila on January 11 amidst great celebration, but was spurned by Primo de Rivera and other authorities when he asked to be recompensed by being granted a Dukedom, a seat on the Spanish Senate, and payment for his services in Mexican Dollars.[2]
[edit] Prime Minister
He served as prime minister of the first Philippine republic in the middle of 1899, and served as head of the country’s assembly, and the cabinet.[edit] American Colonial Period
With the Philippine-American War after the signing of the Treaty of Paris in 1898, he was among the most prominent Filipinos who joined the American side and advocated the incorporation of the Philippines into the United States.[edit] Death
He died of cholera on March 11, 1911. His literary work was not appreciated until several decades after his death.[edit] Legacy
Despite Paterno’s prominence in the many upheavals that defined the birth of the Philippine nation during his lifetime, Paterno’s legacy is largely infamous among Philippine historians and nationalists.Philippine historian Resil Mojares notes that:
History has not been kind to Pedro Paterno. A century ago, he was one of the country’s premier intellectuals, blazing trails in Philippine letters. Today he is ignored in many of the fields in which he once held forth with much eminence, real and imagined. No full length biography or extended review of his corpus of writings has been written, and no one reads him today.[2]Much of this is attributed to Paterno’s penchant for turncoatism, as described by Ambeth Ocampo, who sums up his career thus:
Remember, Paterno was one of the greatest “balimbing” [turncoats] in history (perhaps he was the original balimbing in Philippine political history). He was first on the Spanish side, then when the declaration of independence was made in 1898, he wormed his way to power and became president of the Malolos Congress in 1899, then sensing the change in political winds after the establishment of the American colonial government, he became a member of the First Philippine Assembly. [3]
Marcelo H. Del Pilar
Marcelo H. Del Pilar(1850-1896)
Political analyst of the Filipino colony in Spain. Born in Kupang, Bulacan, Bulacan, on August 30, 1850. In 1882, he founded the nationalistic newspaper, Diariong Tagalog. In December 1889, he became the editor of La Solidaridad and became the moving spirit behind the propaganda movement. Died on July 4, 1896.
Marcelo Hilario del Pilar y Gatmaitan (August 30, 1850 – July 4, 1896), was a Filipino writer, reformist, and journalist. He became the editor of La Solidaridad in 1889.
On July 1, 1882, del Pilar founded the newspaper Diariong Tagalog (Diary Tagalog), with the help of Don Francisco Calvo y Muñoz, a wealthy Spanish liberal. This newspaper was the first to publish ideas for reforms in the Philippines.
Del Pilar influenced the formation of the Katipunan and historians believe he had a direct hand in its organization.
Biography
[edit] Early life
Marcelo Hilario was born in Cupang Cupang, Bulacan, Bulacan, on August 30, 1850, to cultured parents Julián del Pilar, an excellent grammarian, poet, writer, a gobernadorcillo of pueblo in Bulacan and Doña Blasa Gatmaitan. They have seven children. One of his brothers was a priest, Fr. Toribio del Pilar, who was exiled in 1872 to the Mariana. His nephew, Gregorio del Pilar, was also an important personality who fought in the Philippine-American War.Marcelo took a Latin course in the college of Mr. Jose and Mrs. Herminigilda Flores and then transferred at the Colegio de San Jose and later at the University of Santo Tomas, where he finished his law course in 1880. Del Pilar was multi-talented. He played the violin, piano and flute. He was a good swordsman, and used during the Flores de Mayo, sing a Catholic festival, serenades and play songs on his violin. It is said that the reason for at leased one of the interruptions in his studies was a dispute with a friar over stolen fees when del Pilar acted as godfather at a baptism in 1870.
On January 20, 1872, during the time of Cavite Mutiny, del Pilar was living with the Filipino secular priest Mariano Sevilla, and it was thanks to his diligence that the papers which might have compromised this priest were destroyed. Nevertheless, a letter of Sevilla’s and another of his brother, Toribio del Pilar, also a priest, found in the possession of father José Burgos, were sufficient to bring about the deportation to the Marianas of the priests Sevilla and del Pilar.
More than the early years of Rizal, del Pilar’s nationalist activities in the years during his legal career were dominated by their anti-friar character. He used to meet regularly in a goods in Manila with liberal Spanish creoles, mestizos, and Filipino intellectuals by whom he was politically indoctrinated about affairs of the country.
In 1875, he worked as oficial de mesa in Pampanga and subsequently in Quiapo, in 1878. Having fallen in love with his cousin Marciana del Pilar, del Pilar married her in Tondo in the month of February, 1878. From this marriage sprang Sofia, José, Maria Rosario, Maria Consolacion, Maria Concepcion, Anita, and Ana. Of their seven children, five died of infancy and only two girls, Sofia and Anita, grew to adulthood.
[edit] Publications in the Philippines
Driven by his sense of justice and his own bad experiences with the clergy, denounced del Pilar in his publications on the violations of the clergy, the narrow-mindedness and hypocrisy. In court, he defended several times, the dispossessed victims of radical discrimination.He preached the gospel of work, self-respect and dignity. The language that he was best ruled the Tagalog, his native language. It enabled him to raise awareness among the masses and convince them of the need for unity and sustained resistance against the Spanish tyranny.
In 1882, del Pilar founded under the pen name Plaridel the newspaper Diariong Tagalog, with which it spread its democratic liberal ideas among the peasants and rural workers, and criticized the functioning of the Spanish government in the Philippines. In 1888, he defended Jose Rizal ‘s polemical writings against the attack by a priest when he published a pamphlet in a simple Tagalog. He fought his fatal intelligence and a strong rhetoric with which he laid bare his relentless mockery of religious folly. An action was not without consequences. He joined a demonstration in Manila and sought audience with the governor general, demanding the expulsion of friars from the Philippines and to remove archbishop Pedro Payo from the archdiocese and to be banished out of the country.
Before his departure, he wrote pamphlets such as Pasyong Dapat Ipag-alab nang Puso ng Tauong Babasa, Caiingat Cayo, Dudas, Cadacilaan ng Dios, Sagot ng España sa Hibik ng Pilipinas , La Frailocracia Filipina, and La Soberania Monacal en Filipinas. Del Pilar also wrote editorials against the friars such as La Filipinas Se Pierden Asimilacion De Filipinas, Regimen Parliamentaria para Filipinas La Redencion de Filipinas, and Autocracia Brutal. Del Pilar was able to organize the Caja de Jesus, Maria y Jose intended to provide scholarship grants to poor but intelligent students. He also founded a civic society led by a group of Filipinos called Junta de Programa.
[edit] Life in Spain
In the same year, fleeing from persecution by the clergy, went to Pilar Spain and left his family in the Philippines. In December 1889 he succeeded Graciano Lopez Jaena as editor in Madrid to win the Philippine Reform journal La Solidaridad. The paper dealt with the moderate aims of Representatives of the Philippines in the Spanish Cortes or Parliament. They argued for the legal equality between Spaniards and Filipinos), the abolition of the polo (labor service) and the vandala (the forced sale of local products to the government. The newspaper also asked for guarantees of fundamental rights of speech and association and equal conditions for Filipinos and Spaniards, who wanted to enter the civil service.Del Pilar succeeded in furthering the objectives of the paper that when he contacted liberal Spaniards who found themselves on the side of the case of the Filipinos. Under him, the enlarged demands of the newspaper and now included the abolition of monasticism and the secularization of the parishes, active participation of Filipinos in the affairs of government, speech, press and assembly, broad social and political autonomy, equality before the court, taking a representation in the Spanish Cortes, or the Parliament.
Del Pilar, however, was soon in trouble and they reached their climax when the funds were exhausted for the support of his newspaper. At the same time, there were no signs of immediate reaction, which would provide a support from the Spanish ruling class in view. Before his death, which was favored by famine and great distress, gave to his stance on the Pillar approximation and began planning an armed revolt.
This conviction, he reiterated the following lines: ((Insurrection is the last remedy, especially when the people have come to believe that violence is synonymous with being a safe means for proven fruitless labor of love.)) This idea was an inspiration to Andrés Bonifacio s Katipunan, a secret revolutionary organization in the Philippines.
Del Pilar died of tuberculosis in a public hospital run by the Sisters of Charity on July 4, 1896, totally impoverished in Barcelona, Spain.
[edit] Importance of his personality
Plaridel was the pen name of Marcelo H. del Pilar, one of the most important figures of the Philippine propaganda movement, whose writings, the Philippine Revolution inspired. He wrote Dasalan at Tocsohan, a satirical description of the “Ten Commandments” as a parody of the “Our Father” where he “Father superseded” by a monk to speak, abused the Filipinos retroactively.His parody of the Our Father, the Virgin Mary, the Creed, the Ten Commandments and the catechism is he expended in pamphlets, in form and size resembled the Novenas and became a successful and effective propaganda . Unlike Rizal, who wrote his works in Spanish, wrote Plaridel in Tagalog, which was understood by most Filipinos, much better.
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