FAST FACTS: The life

and legacy of
Apolinario Mabini
Learn more about the man who helped shape the young Philippine
Republic and inspired Filipinos to fight for independence

Michael Bueza
Published 12:44 PM, Jul 23, 2014

Updated 12:48 PM, Jul 23, 2014

Images from Wikimedia Commons

MANILA, Philippines – In front of the National Library building in

Ermita, Manila, are statues of two prominent Filipino intellectuals. On
the right of the building's entranceway is the statue of a man who may
not be connected with the National Library's history, but is
nonetheless an important figure in Philippine history.

It is a fitting tribute to Apolinario Mabini, aptly called "The Brains of

the Revolution" and "The Sublime Paralytic."

From his hammock and rattan chair, Mabini helped shape the
Philippine Republic under president Emilio Aguinaldo. Unable to fight
on the battlefield due to paralysis in both legs, Mabini instead used his
brilliance through his written works to inspire Filipinos in pursuing the
struggle for Philippine independence.

Born on July 23, 1864, in Tanauan, Batangas, Mabini is the second of 8

children of an illiterate peasant and a public market vendor. However,
Mabini overcame poverty and became a lawyer.

In 1898, he became Aguinaldo's chief adviser during the Philippine

Revolution. He was Prime Minister and Secretary of Foreign Affairs in
Aguinaldo's Cabinet from January to May 1899.

He was arrested by the Americans on December 1899 during the

Philippine-American War, and was exiled to the island of Guam in the
Pacific in 1901. He returned to the Philippines in 1903, but died months
later due to cholera. He was 38. (QUIZ: How well do you know
Apolinario Mabini?)

In celebration of his 150th birth anniversary, here are more interesting

facts on the life and legacy of Apolinario Mabini.

1. Mabini's mother wanted him to be a priest.

In his memoir, La Revolucion Filipina (The Philippine Revolution),
Mabini wrote that his mother, Dionisia Maranan, aspired for him to be a
priest.

But Mabini said that priesthood was not meant for him. He wrote, "I
am, however, convinced that the true minister of God is not one who
wears a cassock, but everyone who proclaims His glory by good works
of service to the greatest possible number of His creatures."

In 1894, he earned his law degree at the University of Santo Tomas,

and admitted to the bar the following year.

2. Syphilis did not cause Mabini’s paralysis.

Mabini was struck down by paralysis in early 1896. Perfoming an

autopsy on Mabini's remains almost a century later in 1980, doctors
from the National Orthopedic Hospital concluded that polio caused his
paralysis.

According to historian Ambeth Ocampo, the syphilis rumor might have

been started by Mabini's detractors in government, who called him
"The Dark Chamber of the President" for having the ear of Aguinaldo as
his adviser and thus being able to persuade him on certain issues.

3. Mabini was a member of the reformist La Liga Filipinabefore joining

the revolution.

He joined the revived La Liga Filipina in 1893, and became the

secretary of its Supreme Council. The group advocated reforms in
society and sought the audience of the Spanish Cortes (legislature). It
also helped finance the La Solidaridadin Spain.

Mabini also joined a lodge of the Philippine Masonry. Using the

nickname Katabay, he became the Grand Orator of its Regional Grand
Council.
MABINI. A statue of Apolinario Mabini can be seen in front of the National Library at Ermita,

Manila. Photo by Michael Bueza/Rappler

4. Mabini wrote significant presidential decrees, his own version of a
Philippine constitution, and a code of ethics for Filipinos.

As President Aguinaldo's adviser, Mabini was entrusted with writing

decrees for Aguinaldo's signature. Some of these decrees laid the
groundwork of the new Philippine Republic.

The decree of June 18, 1898, for instance, reorganized the local
governments in provinces already liberated from Spanish control. It
also mandated the election of local leaders and representatives in
Congress.

Another decree, issued on June 23, formalized the shift from a

dictatorial to a revolutionary government, and provided for the creation
of Congress, which was convened in Malolos, Bulacan in September.
He also wrote that the republic should function properly so that it
could obtain from all nations, including Spain, their expressed
recognition of Philippine independence.
It should also be noted that in August 1898, Mabini presided over the
ratification of Philippine independence by elected local leaders
themselves. He believed that it better represents the will of the
people, and has more bearing than just a declaration by Aguinaldo on
June 12.

In addition, Mabini submitted a Constitutional Program of the

Philippine Republic, but the Malolos Congress rejected it in favor of the
draft created by Felipe Calderon.

El Verdadero Decalogo, or “The True Decalogue” was included in

Mabini's constitutional program as its introduction. It was a code of
ethics, a set of 10 values every Filipino should possess.

Finally, while in exile in Guam from 1901 to 1903, Mabini wrote his
memoir, La Revolucion Filipina, where he pointed out the flaws of the
Revolution and expressed his criticisms on Aguinaldo's leadership.

5. Mabini was buried in two other cemeteries before his remains were
finally brought to his birthplace in Tanauan, Batangas.

After his death, he was buried at the Chinese Cemetery in Manila. But
his remains were dug up and transferred to theMausoleo de los
Veteranos de la Revolucion (Mausoleum for the Veterans of the
Revolution) at the North Cemetery years later.

In 1965, Mabini's remains were moved to a tomb at the Mabini Shrine in

Tanauan, Batangas.

6. Mabini was once featured in the Philippine 1-peso note, and has
been featured on the 10-peso bill and coins since 1968.

Mabini was first featured on a one-peso bill in 1918. He and Jose Rizal
(on the 2-peso bill) were the only Filipino heroes featured on bank
notes at the time.
Mabini (on the one-centavo coin), Rizal, and Andres Bonifacio were
also the only Filipinos on the coins minted for the leper colony in
Culion, Palawan, in 1927.

His visage remained on the 1-peso note after the establishment of the
Central Bank of the Philippines in 1949. Mabini was featured in the 10-
peso bill starting from the 1968 Pilipino Series.

Bonifacio joined him on the 10-peso note in 1998, and the pair has been
featured on the 10-peso coin since 2000.

7. A bridge, a superhighway, a Philippine Navy ship, and a disputed reef

in the West Philippine Sea bear Mabini's name.

Several places, institutions, and infrastructure have been named in

honor of Mabini.

The Nagtahan Bridge was renamed the Mabini Bridge in 1967 by

President Ferdinand Marcos through Proclamation No. 234. Mabini's
residence used to be located at the foot of the Nagtahan Bridge on the
north bank of the Pasig River but was moved to the south bank in 1960,
inside the Presidential Security Group Compound in Malacañan Park.

In 2007, President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo signed Republic Act 9462,

officially renaming the Southern Tagalog Arterial Road (STAR) – running
across Batangas from Sto Tomas to Batangas City – to the Apolinario
Mabini Superhighway.

A Navy ship also carries Mabini's name. One of the most modern ships
in the Philippine Navy fleet, the BRP Apolinario Mabini was acquired in
1997 after a 13-year service with the United Kingdom's Royal Navy.

Meanwhile, 4 towns in the country are named Mabini: one each in

Batangas, Pangasinan, Bohol, and Compostela Valley.
In the contested Spratlys Islands at the West Philippine Sea, there is a
reef called the Mabini Reef. Also known as the Johnson South Reef, it
made news in June when the Department of Foreign Affairs filed a new
protest against China for its reclamation activities on the reef.

In addition, at least 6 national roads, 19 streets in Metro Manila, 5

health facilities, 80 elementary and secondary schools, and 3 colleges
nationwide have Mabini in their names.

The main campus of the Polytechnic University of the Philippines (PUP)

is also named after Mabini. Another Mabini Shrine is located there,
featuring a replica of Mabini's residence in Nagtahan. – Rappler.com

Sources: "History of the Filipino People" by Teodoro Agoncillo;

"Mabini's Ghost" by Ambeth Ocampo, "Apolinario Mabini" by Leon Ma.
Guerrero, National Historical Commission of the Philippines; Money
Museum (Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas); data from DPWH, DOH and
DepEd; gov.ph; malacanang.gov.ph;
Wikipedia; philippinemasonry.org; univie.ac.at; various columns by
Ambeth Ocampo and Randy David

Apolinario Mabini
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

For places and things named after Apolinario Mabini, see Mabini.

Apolinario Mabini
 1st Prime Minister of the Philippines

In office

January 23, 1899 – May 7, 1899

President Emilio Aguinaldo

Deputy Pedro Paterno

Preceded by Position established

Succeeded by Pedro Paterno

Minister of Foreign Affairs

In office

January 23, 1899 – December 10, 1899

Preceded by Position established

Succeeded by Apolinario Mabini

— TITULAR —

Minister of Foreign Affairs

 — TITULAR —

In office

December 11, 1899 – April 1, 1901

Preceded by Apolinario Mabini

Succeeded by Position abolished

Post restored in 1946 and later held by Elpidio Quirino

Personal details

Born Apolinario Mabini y Maranan

[1]
23 July 1864

Talaga, Spanish East Indies

Died May 13, 1903 (aged 38)

Manila, Philippines

Political party Katipunan

Alma mater San Juan de Letran College

University of Santo Tomas

Profession Lawyer

Signature

Apolinario Mabini y Maranan (July 23, 1864 — May 13, 1903) was a Filipinorevolutionary
leader, educator, lawyer, and statesman who served as the firstPrime Minister of the Philippines,
serving first under the Revolutionary Government, and then under the First Philippine Republic.
Mabini performed all his revolutionary and governmental activities despite having lost the use of both
his legs to Polio shortly before the Philippine Revolution of 1896.
Mabini's role in Philippine history saw him confronting first Spanish Colonial Rule in the opening
days of the Philippine Revolution, and then American colonial rule in the days of the Philippine-
American War. The latter saw Mabini captured and exiled to Guam by American colonial authorities,
allowed to return only two months before his eventual death in May, 1903.
 Contents
[hide]

 1 Life

o 1.1 Early life and Education

o 1.2 Law Studies

o 1.3 Masonry and La Liga Filipina

o 1.4 Polio and eventual paralysis

o 1.5 1896 Revolution and Arrest

o 1.6 Adviser to the Revolutionary Government

o 1.7 Prime Minister of the Philippines

o 1.8 Philippine American War, exile, and return

o 1.9 Death

 2 Historical Remembrance

o 2.1 "Brains of the Revolution"

o 2.2 "Sublime Paralytic"

 3 Controversy about Mabini's paralysis

 4 Legacy

o 4.1 Shrines

o 4.2 Place names

o 4.3 Naval Vessels

o 4.4 Philippine Peso

o 4.5 Government Awards and Citations

 5 Selected Works

 6 Quotes

o 6.1 From Mabini

 o 6.2 About Mabini

 7 References

 8 External links

Life[edit]
Early life and Education[edit]
Mabini was born on July 23, 1864[1] in Barangay Talaga in Tanauan,Batangas.[2] He was the second
of eight children of Dionisia Maranan, a vendor in the Tanauan market, and Inocencio Mabini, an
unlettered peasant.[3]
Mabini began informal studies under the guidance of Maestro Agustin Santiesteban III, who was his
Mentor from Davao and his mother. Because he demonstrated uncommon intelligence, he was
transferred to a regular school owned by Simplicio Avelino, where he worked as a houseboy, and
also took odd jobs from a local tailor - all in exchange for free board and lodging. He later transferred
to a school conducted by the Fray Valerio Malabanan, whose fame as an educator merited a
mention in José Rizal's novel El Filibusterismo.[2][3]
In 1881 Mabini received a scholarship to go to the Colegio de San Juan de Letran in Manila. An
anecdote about his stay there says that a professor there decided to pick on him because his
shabby clothing clearly showed he was poor. Mabini amazed the professor by answering a series of
very difficult questions with ease. His studies at Letran were periodically interrupted by a chronic lack
of funds, and he earned money for his board and lodging by teaching children. [3]
Law Studies[edit]
Mabini's mother had wanted him to take up the priesthood, but his desire to defend the poor made
him decide to take up Law instead.[2] A year after receiving his Bachilles en Artes with highest honors
and the title Professor of Latin from Letran, he moved on to the University of Santo Tomas, where he
received his law degree in 1894.[2][3]
Comparing Mabini's generation of Filipino intellecutals to the previous one of Jose Rizal and the
other members of the propagandista movement, Journalist and National Artist of the Philippines for
Litereature Nick Joaquin describes Mabini's generation as the next iteration in the evolution of
Filipino intellectual development:[4]
Europe had been a necessary catalyst for the generation of Rizal. By the time of Mabini, the
Filipino intellectual had advanced beyond the need for enlightenment abroad[....] The very
point of Mabini’s accomplishment is that all his schooling, all his training, was done right here
in his own country. The argument of Rizal’s generation was that Filipinos were not yet ready
for self-government because they had too little education and could not aspire for more in
their own country. The evidence of Mabini’s generation was that it could handle the affairs of
government with only the education it had acquired locally. It no longer needed Europe; it
had imbibed all it needed of Europe.[4]
Mabini joined the Guild of Lawyers after graduation, but he did not choose to practice law in a
professional capacity. He did not set up his own law office, and instead continued to work in the
office of a notary public.[4]
Instead, Mabini put his knowledge of law to much use during the days of the Philippine
Revolution and the Filipino-American war. Joaquin notes that all his contributions to Philippine
history somehow involved the law:
"His was a legal mind. He was interested in law as an idea, as an ideal[...] whenever he
appears in our history he is arguing a question of legality."[4]
Masonry and La Liga Filipina[edit]
Mabini joined the fraternity of Freemasonry on September 1892, affiliating with lodge
Balagtas, and taking on the name "Katabay".[5][6][7]
The following year, 1893, Mabini became a member of La Liga Filipina, which was being
resuscitated after the arrest of its founder José Rizal in 1892. Mabini was made secretary of
its new Supreme Council.[8] This was Mabini's first time to join an explicitly patriotic
organization.[3][5]
Mabini , whose advocacies favored the reformist movement, pushed for the organization to
continue its goals of supporting La Solidaridad and the reforms it advocated. When more
revolutionary members of the Liga indicated that they did not think the reform movement
was getting results and wanted to more openly support revolution, La Liga Filipina split into
two factions:the moderate Cuerpo de Compromisarios, which wanted simply to continue to
support the revolution, and the explicitly revolutionary Katipunan.[3][5]
Mabini joined the Cuerpo de Compromisarios.[5]
When José Rizal, part of the "La Liga Filipina", was executed in December that year,
however, he changed his mind and gave the revolution his wholehearted support. [3]
Polio and eventual paralysis[edit]
Mabini was struck by polio in 1895, and the disease gradually incapacitated him until
January 1896, when he finally lost the use of both his lower limbs.[5]
1896 Revolution and Arrest[edit]
When the plans of the Katipunan were discovered by Spanish authorities, and the first active
phase of the 1896 Philippine Revolution began in earnest, Mabini, still ill, was arrested along
with numerous other members of La Liga Filipina.
Thirteen patriots arrested in Cavite were tried and eventually executed, earning them the
title of "Thirteen Martyrs of Cavite". Jose Rizal himself was accused of being party to the
revolution, and would eventually be executed in December that year.
When the Spanish authorities saw that Mabini was paralyzed, however, they decided to
release him.[9][10]
Adviser to the Revolutionary Government[edit]
Sent to the hospital after his arrest,[11] Mabini remained in ill health for a considerable time.
He was seeking the curative properties of the hot springs in Los Baños, Laguna in 1898
when Emilio Aguinaldo sent for him, asking him to serve as advisor to the revolution.
During this convalescent period, Mabini wrote the pamphlets "El Verdadero Decalogo" and
"Ordenanzas de la Revolucion." Aguinaldo was impressed by these works and by Mabini's
role as a leading figure in La Liga Filipina, and made arrangements for Mabini to be brought
from Los Baños to Kawit, Cavite. It took hundreds of men taking turns carrying his hammock
to portage Mabini to Kawit.
He continued to serve as the chief adviser for General Aguinaldo after the Philippine
Declaration of Independence on June 12. He drafted decrees and edited the first ever
constitution in Asia (the Malolos Constitution) for the First Philippine Republic, including the
framework of the revolutionary government which was implemented in Malolos in 1899.[12]:546
Prime Minister of the Philippines[edit]
Apolinario Mabini was appointed prime minister and was also foreign minister of the newly
independent dictatorial government of Aguinaldo on January 2, 1899. Eventually, the
government declared the first Philippine republic in appropriate ceremonies on January 23,
1899. Mabini then led the first cabinet of the republic.
Mabini found himself in the center of the most critical period in the new country's history,
grappling with problems until then unimagined. Most notable of these were his negotiations
with Americans, which began on March 6, 1899. The United Statesand the Philippine
Republic were embroiled in extremely contentious and eventually violent confrontations.
During the negotiations for peace, Americans proffered Mabini autonomy for Aguinaldo's
new government, but the talks failed because Mabini’s conditions included a ceasefire,
which was rejected. Mabini negotiated once again, seeking for an armistice instead, but the
talks failed yet again. Eventually, feeling that the Americans were not negotiating 'bona fide,'
he forswore the Americans and supported war. He resigned from government on May 7,
1899.
Philippine American War, exile, and return[edit]
The Philippine American War saw Mabini taken more seriously as a threat by the Americans
than he was under the Spanish:[13] Says National Artist for Literature F. Sionil Jose:
"The Spaniards underestimated Mabini primarily because he was a cripple. Had they known
of his intellectual perspicacity, they would have killed him earlier. The Americans did not.
They were aware of his superior intelligence, his tenacity when he faced them in
negotiations for autonomy and ceasefire."[13]
On December 10, 1899, he was captured by Americans at Cuyapo, Nueva Ecija, but
granted leave to meet with W.H. Taft.[12]:546–547 In 1901, he was exiled to Guam, along with
scores of revolutionists Americans referred to as 'insurrectos' and who refused to swear
fealty to imperialist America. When Brig. Gen. Arthur C. MacArthur, Jr. was asked to
explain by the US Senate why Mabini had to be deported, he cabled:

Mabini deported: a most active agitator; persistently and defiantly refusing

“ amnesty, and maintaining correspondence with insurgents in the field while
living in Manila, Luzon...[14] ”
Mabini returned home to the Philippines in Feb. 1903 after agreeing to take the oath of
allegiance to the United States[12]:547on February 26, 1903 before the Collector of
Customs. On the day he sailed, he issued this statement to the press:

After two long years I am returning, so to speak, completely disoriented and,

“ what is worse, almost overcome by disease and sufferings. Nevertheless, I
hope, after some time of rest and study, still to be of some use, unless I have
”
returned to the Islands for the sole purpose of dying.[15]

To the chagrin of the American colonial officials, however, Mabini resumed his work of
agitating for independence for the Philippines soon after he was back home from exile. [16]
[not in citation given]
Death[edit]
Not long after his return, Mabini died of cholera in Manila on May 13, 1903 at the age of
38.[12]:547

Historical Remembrance[edit]
Mabini's complex contributions to Philippine History are often distilled into two historical
monickers - "Brains of the Revolution", and "Sublime Paralytic." Contemporary
historians such as Ambeth Ocampo point out, though, that these two monickers are
reductionist and simplistic, and "do not do justice to the hero’s life and legacy." [17][18]

"Brains of the Revolution"[edit]

Because of his role as advisor during the formation of the revolutionary government,
and his contributions as statesman thereafter, Mabini is often referred to as the "Brains
of the Revolution", a historical monicker he sometimes shares with Emilio Jacinto, who
served in a similar capacity for the earlier revolutionary movement, the Katipunan.[19]
"Sublime Paralytic"[edit]
Mabini is also famous for having achieved all this despite having lost the use of both his
legs to Polio just prior to the Philippine revolution.[20] This has made Mabini one of the
Philippines' most visually iconic national heroes, such that he is often referred to as "The
Sublime Paralytic" (Tagalog:"Dakilang Lumpo"). Contemporary historians, however,
point out that the title obscures Mabini's many achievements.

Controversy about Mabini's paralysis[edit]

Even during his lifetime, there were controversial rumors regarding the cause of
Mabini's paralysis. Infighting among members of the Malolos congress led to the spread
of rumors saying that Mabini's paralysis had by caused by venereal disease -
specifically, syphilis. This was debunked only in 1980, when Mabini's bones were
exhumed and the autopsy proved once and for all that the cause of his paralysis was
Polio.[21]
This information reached National Artist F. Sionil José too late, however. By the time the
historian Ambeth Ocampo told him about the autopsy results, he had already
published Po-on, the first novel of his Rosales Saga. That novel contained plot points
based on the premise that Mabini had indeed become a paralytic due to syphilis. [22]
In later editions of the book,[23] the novelist corrected the error and issued an
apology,which reads in part:

I committed a horrible blunder in the first edition of Po-On. No apology to the

“ august memory of Mabini no matter how deeply felt will ever suffice to undo
the damage that I did.... According to historian Ambeth Ocampo who told me
this too late, this calumny against Mabini was spread by the wealthy mestizos
around Aguinaldo who wanted Mabini's ethical and ideological influence cut
off. They succeeded. So, what else in our country has changed? ”
In the later editions, Mabini's disease - an important plot point - was changed to an
undefined liver ailment. The ailing Mabini takes pride in the fact that his symptoms are
definitely not those of syphilis, despite the rumors spread by his detractors in the
Philippine Revolutionary government.

Legacy[edit]
Shrines[edit]

The Mabini Shrine, now located in the PUP campus in Santa Mesa, Manila

 Two sites related to Mabini have been chosen to host shrines in his honor:

 The house where Mabini died is now located in the campus of the Polytechnic
University of the Philippines (PUP) in Santa Mesa, Manila, having been moved
twice. The simple nipa retains the original furniture, and some of the books he
wrote, and also contains souvenir items, while hosting the municipal library and
reading facilities.[24]

 Mabini was buried in his town of birth - what is now Talaga, Tanauan
City,Batangas. A replica of the house Mabini was born in was also constructed
on the site, and also contains memorabilia.
Place names[edit]

 Four Philippine municipalities are named after Mabini:

 Mabini, Batangas,

 Mabini, Bohol,

 Mabini, Compostela Valley, and

 Mabini, Pangasinan

 The Mabini Academy is a school in Lipa City, Batangas named after Mabini. The
school logo carries Mabini's Image.

 Southern Tagalog Arterial Road or Apolinario Mabini Superhighway is an

expressway that connect the province of Batangas to the SLEX.
 Apolinario Mabini Bridge, formerly known as Nagtahan Bridge in the City of Manila,
was renamed in his honor.

The BRP Apolinario Mabini (PS-36).

 Mabini reef, also referred to as Johnson South Reef, is a reef claimed by the
Philippines in the Spratly Islands in the South China Sea. It is currently controlled by
the People's Republic of China (PRC). In addition to the Philippines and China, its
ownership is also disputed by Brunei, Malaysia, Taiwan, and Vietnam.
Naval Vessels[edit]

 The Philippine Navy's Jacinto class corvette, BRP Apolinario Mabini (PS-36), is also
named after Mabini.
Philippine Peso[edit]

 Mabini's face adorns the Philippine Ten peso coin, along with that ofAndrés
Bonifacio.
Government Awards and Citations[edit]

 The Philippine government presents the annual Apolinario Mabini Awards to

outstanding persons with disabilities.[25]

Selected Works[edit]
 The True Decalogue (El Verdadero Decalogo, June 24, 1898)

 Contestaciones y Consideraciones Al Pueblo y Congreso Norte-Americanos

 Ordenanzas de la Revolucion

 Programa Constitucional dela Republica Filipina (The Constitutional Program of the

Philippine Republic)[26] (c., 1898)

 La Revolución Filipina (1931)

Quotes[edit]
From Mabini[edit]

 Describing his cabinet:

...it belongs to no party, nor does it desire to form one; it stands for nothing
“ save the interest of the fatherland.
”
 On Emilio Aguinaldo:

The Revolution failed because it was badly directed, because its leader won his
“ post not with praiseworthy but with blameworthy acts, because instead of
employing the most useful men of the nation he jealously discarded them.
Believing that the advance of the people was no more than his own personal
advance, he did not rate men according to their ability, character and
patriotism but according to the degree of friendship or kinship binding him to
them; and wanting to have favorites willing to sacrifice themselves for him, he
showed himself lenient to their faults. Because he disdained the people, he
could not but fall like an idol of wax melting in the heat of adversity. May we
never forget such a terrible lesson learned at the cost of unspeakable
sufferings! ”
About Mabini[edit]

 By former Military Governor of the Philippines, Gen. Arthur MacArthur, describing

Mabini before the US Senate's Lodge Committee of 1902:

Mabini is a highly educated young man who, unfortunately, is paralyzed. He

“ has a classical education, a very flexible, imaginative mind, and Mabini's views
were more comprehensive than any of the Filipinos that I have met. His idea
was a dream of a Malay confederacy. Not the Luzon or the Philippine
Archipelago, but I mean of that blood. He is a dreamy man, but a very firm
character and of very high accomplishments. As said, unfortunately, he is
paralyzed. He is a young man, and would undoubtedly be of great use in the
future of those islands if it were not for his affliction.[27] ”

 Apolinario Mabini Memorial (Cuyapo, Nueva Ecija)

Bust

Historical marker

The Memorial

Apolinario Mabini Shrine Tanauan

A Force of Intellect

Apolinario Mabini was born on July 23, 1864 to a poor family in Talaga, Tanauan,
Batangas. His poverty was immaterial; his true riches were his intellect. Each day he
walked the six kilometers to school in Tanauan. Although he did not own a single
book, he always knew the day’s lessons.

When Mabini finished his fifth year at the Colegio de San Juan de Letran in 1885, he
had earned the right to a bachelor’s degree. He did not get it, not because of poor
grades, but because he could not raise P29 for the final examination fee. It would be
another two years before he was able to take the one-hour oral test. When he did
finally take the exam, he got a perfect score.

A Memorial to a Sage

His intelligence set him apart from his classmates in law school at the University of
Santo Tomas. After reading Mabini’s paper, his professor was quoted as saying: ” The
work seems to have come from the mind of a sage. I would like to live long enough to
see how a mind like this will lead society.”

He did lead society as General Emilio Aguinaldo’s most trusted adviser and through
his political writings. Many regarded him as the brains behind the Revolution.

The Mabini Shrine Tanauan contains a museum and a library, designed by National
Artist for Architecture Juan F.Nakpil.

Visitors to the shrine will first come upon two pylons guarding Mabini’s tomb. Inside
the museum are artifacts relating to the hero’s life, including a painting showing him
in a hammock, being carried to Aguinaldo’s camp in Kawit, Cavite. As a young man,
Mabini contracted polio and lost the use of his legs to get around. He was confined to
a wheelchair the rest of his life.

Display cases contain copies of Mabini’s “El Verdadero Decalogo” a code of ethics
teaching love of God, country and fellowmen. This, along with “A Mis
Compatriotas,” an essay on moral transformation, reflected his belief that only a
society built upon virtue could demand civic responsibility from its citizens.

Also on display are Mabini’s eyeglasses, cane, rattan chair, and a newspaper article
announcing his death in 1903 from cholera. The museum also contains the coffin used
to transfer Mabini’s remains from the Mausoleo de los Veteranos de la Revolucion in
Manila to Talaga in July 1965.