Lesson 6 THE ACT OF PROCLAMATION OF INDEPENDENCE OF THE FILIPINO PEOPLE (ACTA DE LA PROCLAMACION DE LA INDEPENDENCIA DEL PUEBLO FILIPINO) Learning Outcomes At the end of this lesson, you should be able to: 1. Discuss the context and perspective of the document 2. Explain how the Philippines achieved its independence from Spanish colonial rule 3. Examine the state of Philippine independence today Historical Context The first phase of the Philippine Revolution ended in 5 stalemate between the Spaniards and the Filipino rebels. In December 1897, a truce was declared between the twoforces with the Filipino leaders, led by Gen. Emilio Aguinaldo, agreeing to be exiled to Hong Kong while the Spaniards paid an indemnity for the damages caused as a result of the conflict. The truce, however, lasted for only a few months before it collapsed. The renewed conflict would have been disastrous for the filipinos if not for the deteriorating diplomatic relations between spain and the United States over the another revolution in Cuba. This eventually led to the Spanish-American War in 1898 and the arrival of a new colonizer to the Philippines—the Americans. Even before the Battle of Manila in 1898, Aguinaldo had already been meeting with the Americans in Singapore. He talked with consul E. Spencer Pratt regarding US-Filipino collaboration against the Spaniards before he went back to Hong Kong to meet up with Commodore George Dewey, commander of the Asiatic Fleet. Unfortunately, Dewey had already left for the Philippines to attack the Spanish fleet following ‘America’s declaration of war against Spain in April. Aguinaldo remained in Hong Kong and met with the American consul general Rounseville Wildman. He paid Wildman a total of P117,000 to purchase rifles and ammunition. A first shipment worth P50,000 was made but the other half was never delivered. Wildman never returned the money given to him. On May 19, 1898, Aguinaldo finally returned to the Philippines on board the U.S. cruiser McCulloch. Aguinaldo conferred with Dewey on Philippine conditions and was supplied with arms captured from the Spaniards. From his headquarters in Cavite, Aguinaldo announced the resumption of the revolution against the Spaniards, thus beginning the second phase of the revolution. The Filipinos immediately flocked to the province to join the army. By the end of May, Aguinaldo was in command of an army of 12,000 troops. On May 28, the Filipino forces won their first victory in Alapan, Imus. The newly-made Filipino flag was hoisted in Alapan then later unfurled at the Teatro Cavitefio in Cavite Nuevo (now Cavite City) in front of the Filipinos and capturedSi anish s ie} i i ! Panish soldiers, A group of American officers and soldiers algo witnessed the ceremony, Earlier, On May 24, Aguinaldo announced the creation of the dictatorial government. The formation of this type of rule Was a necessity when the growing nation needed a strong leader, He emphasized that the dictatorship was only temporary as it would be a prelude to the establishment of a republican form of government. On June 12, 1898, Aguinaldo declared Philippine independence from Spanish rule at a ceremony in his house in Kawit, Cavite. Ambrosio Rianzares Bautista read the declaration that was later signed by 177 persons, including an American mlitary officer. The Philippine National Anthem, then known as “Marcha Nacional Filipina,” composed by Julian Felipe, was played by the Banda de San Francisco de Malabon and the Philippine flag was again unfurled. About the Author (Although the actual author of the proclamation was Ambrosio Rianzares Bautista, the initiator of Philippine independence that led to the making of the proclamation was Gen. Emilio Aguinaldo.) Emilio Aguinaldo was born on March 22, 1869 in Kawit, Cavite (Cavite el Viejo), the second to the youngest of eight children of Carlos Aguinaldo and Trinidad Famy. The Aguinaldos were a wealthy and influential family with Carlos being gobernadorcillo for several terms. Following his father’s death in 1883, Emilio assisted his mother in the family business and worked to help earn the family income. Aguinaldo followed in his father’s footsteps and was chosen capitan municipal of Kawit in 1894. Months later, he joined the Katipunan choosing the name Magdalo, a name that was also given to another branch of the Katipunan (the other was the Magdiwang) which he set up in his province.When the revolution began 1 E896. the Katipunan in Cavite yeceeded in driving away the gpaniards from the province. But { logistical problems rertitoriall ane perwee? the two groups soon peved Aguinaldo t0 ask for help orced Ag + Supreme Andres Bonifacio from “ ; he conflict. Bonifacio’s in settling t ention, however, — only inte! worsened the solution the two factions situation and the only ; = to create a revolutionar s to create a rev Y FIGURE 8. Gen. Emilio Aguinaldo w wa government. a pamahalaang panghibimagsik were held Elections for in Barrio Tejeros, San Francisco de Malabon (now General Trias) on March 22, 1897. Aguinaldo was elected President (Vice-President), Artemio Ricarte (Captain- with Mariano Trias 5 General), Emiliano Riego de Dios (Director of War), and Andres Bonifacio (Director of the Interior). But the elections were disrupted following a protest over Bonifacio’s educational qualification for such a position. Bonifacio angrily declared the result of the elections null and void and walked out. The Magdalos, however, considered the election binding and the new government was founded. When Bonifacio tried to put up his own government with an armed group, he was arrested and tried for sedition. Found guilty, the Supremo and his brother Procopio were executed on May 10, 1897. The internal dissent caused by Bonifacio’s death weakened the Katipunan further. The Spanish troops regained Cavite and Aguinaldo was forced to retreat to the mountains of Biak-na- Bato. But the Spaniards soon realized that going after the rebels are mountain hideout was futile. A stalemate ensued broken ii coe to which the rebels agreed. In exchange his officers oe amnesty, and colonial reform, Aguinaldo and into exile in Hong Kong in December 1897.nce FIGURE 9. Declaration of Philippine Independe' ar in 1898 eventually changed ' -American We The Spanish-American caeda ths Battle of Manila Philippine history. After the Americ seer ith thei Bay in 1898, Aguinaldo returned to the Philippines with their help and announced the resumption of the ipapeiene irs Spain. After winning several victories against the op » he declared Philippine independence on June 12, 1898. But the Filipinos soon realized that the Americans were to become their new colonizers. After the Spanish defeat in 1898, the United States began to send fresh troops to the Philippines. In 1899, Aguinaldo convened a Congress in Malolos, Bulacan in which the delegates wrote a Constitution and established the Philippine Republic with Aguinaldo as President in January 1899, Three weeks later, the continuing friction with the Americans erupted into a conflict in February 1899. The Philippine- American War eventually ended in 1901 with the capture of Aguinaldo. Soon after, he pledged allegiance to the United States and returned to private life on his family farm. He briefly hugged the limelight when he ran for the presidency of the Philippine Commonwealth but lost to Manuel L. Quezon. ; Aguinaldo was charged with collaboration by the Americans or helping the Japanese during World War II but was later freedina general amnesty. As a private citizen, he devoted his time to the cause of veteran revolucionarios until his death at the age of 94 on February 6, 1964, ‘About the Text On June 10, 1896, Gen. Emilio Aguinaldo issued a one- sentence decree appointing tus Auditor General of War, Ambrosio Rianzares Bautista, as a “special commissioner” to write the Act of the Declaration of the Independence. The result was a sixteen-Page document that contained the aspirations of freedom from Spanish rule, the sacrifices made, and the revolution that ulted from it. It was the text of this declaration that was read tye in the afternoon of the celebration of the declaration independence. Copies of the document were made and sistributed. However, there Was a problem in determining how many witnesses really signed the declaration. The copies classified under Philippine Revolutionary Papers (PRP) in the National Library had varying numbers. Later research by historian-writer Jim Richardson placed the total number of signees at 177. The Act of Proclamation of Independence of the Filipino People In the town of Cavite- Viejo, Province of Cavite, this 12th day of June 1898: Before me, Ambrosio Rianzares Bautista, War Counselor and Special Delegate designated to proclaim and solemnize this Declaration of Independence by the Dictatorial Government of the Philippines, pursuant to, and by virtue of, a Decree issued by the Egregious Dictator Don Emilio Aguinaldo y Famy, The undersigned assemblage of military chiefs and others of the army who could not attend, as well as the representatives of the various towns,his country Thine aking into account the fact that the people of t of Spanish are alr : dow eady tired of bearing the ominous yoke ‘Omination, Because of arbitrary arrests and abuses of the Civil Guards who cause deaths in connivance with and even under the express orders of their superior officers who at times would order the shooting of those placed under arrest under the pretext that they attempted to escape in violation of known Rules and Regulations, which abuses were left unpunished, and because ed, of unjust deportations of illustrious Filipinos, especially those decreed by General Blanco at the instigation of the Archbishop and the friars interested in keeping them in ignorance for egoistic and selfish ends, which deportations were carried out through processes more execrable than those of the Inquisition which every civilized nation repudiates as 4 trial without hearing, Had resolved to start a revolution in August 1896 in order f which the people to regain the independence and sovereignty had been deprived by Spain through Governor Miguel Lopez de Legazpi who, continuing the course followed by his predecessor Ferdinand Magellan who landed on the shores of Cebu and occupied said Island by means of a Pact of Friendship with Chief Tupas, although he was killed in battle that took place in said shores to which battle he was provoked by Chief Kalipulako of Mactan who suspected his evil designs, landed on the Island of Bohol by entering also into a Blood Compact with its Chief Sikatuna, with the purpose of later taking by force the Island of Cebu, and because his successor Tupas did not allow him to occupy it, he went to Manila, the capital, winning likewise the friendship of its Chiefs Soliman and Lakandula, later taking possession of the city and the whole Archipelago in the name of Spain by virtue of an order of King Philip II, and with these historical precedents and because in international law the ee een by law to legalize the vicious acquisition Oo elation conmat fs not recognized, the legitimacy of such put in doubt which was calmed but notpletely stifled by the pacification proposed by Don Pedro A. oo Fo with Don Emilio Aguinaldo as President of the Republic rae ished in Biak-na-Bato and accepted by Governor-General oe Fernando Primo de Rivera under terms, both written and a among them being a general amnesty for all deported and orah sted persons: that by reason of the non-fulfillment of some er terms, after the destruction of the Spanish Squadron of North American Navy, and bombardment of the plaza the} ; ; ’ Cavite, Don Emilio Aguinaldo returned in order to initiate of 4 a Sot of last month when several towns anticipating 7 olution, rose in revolt on the 28th, such that a Spanish the re ont of 178 men, between Imus and Cavite Viejo, under ee ata of a major of the Marine Infantry capitulated, ie erolutionary movement spreading like wild fire to other ns of Cavite and the other provinces of Bataan, Pampanga, we ngas, Bulacan, Laguna, and Morong, some of them with eae and such was the success of the victory of our arms, truly marvelous and without equal in the history of colonial revolutions that in the first mentioned province only the Detachments in Naic and Indang remained to surrender; in the second, all Detachments had been wiped out; in the third, the resistance of the Spanish forces was localized in the town of San Fernando where the greater part of them are concentrated, the remainder in Macabebe, Sexmoan, and Guagua; in the fourth, in the town of Lipa; in the fifth, in the capital and in Calumpit; and in the last two remaining provinces, only in their respective capitals, and the city of Manila will soon be besieged by our forces as well as the provinces of Nueva Ecija, Tarlac, Pangasinan, La Union, Zambales, and some others in the Visayas where the revolution at the time of the pacification and others oes a that the independence of our country and the Our sovereignty is assured. And is a : the §, having as witness to the rectitude of our intentions upre . breme Judge of the Universe, and under the protection lution and no sooner had he given the order to risewerful and Humanitarian Nation, the Uniteg 7 proclaim and declare solemp} ; cople of these Philippine [5 lang s That they are and have the right to be free and independe, that they have ceased to have ary allegiance to the Cro, a Spain; that all political ties arent phil rs - shoulg : completely severed and annulled; an ft » URC other free ang independent States, they enjoy the full power to make vy, and Peace, conclude commercial treaties, enter into alliances regulate commerce, and do all other acts and things which ‘a Independent State has a right to do, And imbued with firm confidence in Divine Providence, yp hereby mutually bind ourselves to support this Declaration with our lives, our fortunes, and with our most sacred possession, oy, of the Pot of America, we do hereby name and by authority of the P' Qe na Honor. We recognize, approve, and ratify, ; with all the orders emanating from the same, the Dictatorship established by Don Emilio Aguinaldo whom we revere as the Supreme Head of this Nation, which today begins to have a life of its own, in the conviction that he has been the instrument chosen by God, in spite of his humble origin, to effectuate the redemption of this unfortunate country as foretold by Dr. Don José Rizal in his magnificent verses which he composed in his prison cell prior to his execution, liberating it from the Yoke of Spanish domination, And in punishment for the impunity with which the Government sanctioned the commission of abuses by its officials, and for the unjust execution of Rizal and others who were sacrificed in order to please the insatiable friars in their hydropical thirst for vengeance against and extermination of all those who oppose their Machiavellian ends, trampling upon the Penal Code of these Islands, and of those suspected persons arrested by the Chiefs of Detachments at the instigation of the friars, without any form nor semblance of trial and without any spiritual aid of our sacred Religion; and likewise, and for theends, eminent Filipino priests, Doctor Don Jose Burgos, uals Mariano Gomes, and Don Jacinto Zamora were hanged wie innocent blood was shed due to the intrigues of these ae alled Religious corporations which made the authorities © lieve that the military uprising at the fort of San Felipe e Cavite on the night of January 21, 1872 was instigated by oak Filipino martyrs, thereby impeding the execution of the decree-sentence issued by the Council of State in the appeal in the administrative case interposed by the secular clergy against the Royal Orders that directed that the parishes under them within the jurisdiction of this Bishopric be turned over to the Recollects in exchange for those controlled by them in Mindanao which were to be transferred to the Jesuits, thus revoking them completely and ordering the return of those parishes, all of which proceedings are on file with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to which they are sent last month of last year for the issuance of the proper Royal Decree which, in turn, caused the growth of the tree of liberty in this our dear land that grew more and more through the iniquitous measures of oppression, until the last drop from our chalice of suffering having been drained, the first spark of revolution broke out in Caloocan, spread out to Santa Mesa and continued its course to the adjoining regions of the province where the unequalled heroism of its inhabitants fought a one- sided battle against superior forces of General Blanco and General Polavieja for a period of three months, without proper arms nor ammunitions, except bolos, pointed bamboos, and arrows. Moreover, we confer upon our famous Dictator Don Emilio Aguinaldo all the powers necessary to enable him to discharge the duties of Government, including the prerogatives of granting pardon and amnesty, And, lastly, it was resolved unanimously that this Nation, already free and independent as of this day, must use the same flag which up to now is being used, whose design and colors are found described in the attached drawing, the white trianglesignifying the distinctive emblem of the famous Society Of the “Katipunan” which by means of its blood compact inspired the masses to rise in revolution; the three stars, signifying the three principal Islands of this Archipelago—Luzon, Mindanao and Panay where this revolutionary movement started; the sun representing the gigantic steps made by the sons of the country along the path of Progress and Civilization; the eigh; rays, signifying the eight provinces—Manila, Cavite, Bulacan, Pampanga, Nueva Ecija, Bataan, Laguna, and Batangas— which declared themselves in a state of war as soon as the firs, revolt was initiated; and the colors of Blue, Red, and White, commemorating the flag of the United States of North America, as a manifestation of our profound gratitude towards this Great Nation for its disinterested protection which it lent us and continues lending us. And holding up this flag of ours, I present it to the gentlemen here assembled: (The text is followed by the Signatures of the Witnesses) Relevance Nothing is more relevant to Philippine history than the declaration of independence from colonial rule. The Declaration is, of course, that sole document that proves the value Filipinos place on their freedom. At present, our independence has been questioned especially in relation to our dealings with the United States (which colonized us for almost half a century and later recognized our independence in 1946). However, it must be understood that the independence we attained in 1898 was freedom that was fought for with the lives of Filipinos. The goal or objective of this independence, however, is something that we might have failed to achieve and protect properly. Ie in this context that the Acta must be studied again.Analysis of the “Proclamation of the Philipp'né Independence” er ee er eet document on the As mentioned earlier, a re-examination of the ° 5 declaration of independence can reveal some often overlooked re truths about this important event in Philippine history. Aside from se. the document reflects the general revolutionary sentiment of that a ie For example, the abuses specifically mentioned in the proclamation ss friar abuse, racial discrimination, and inequality before the law reflect uy e most compelling sentiments represented by the revolutionary leadership. However, no mention was made about the more serious problem _ affected the masses more profoundly (ie., the land and agrarian crisis felt by the numerous Filipino peasants in the nineteenth century). This is ironic especially when renowned Philippine Revolution historian, Teodoro Agoncillo, stated that the Philippine Revolution was an agrarian revolution. The common revolutionary soldiers fought in the revolution for the hope of owning the lands that they were tilling once the friar estates in different provinces like Batangas and Laguna dissolve, if and when the revolution succeeded. Such aspects and realities of the revolutionary struggle were either unfamiliar to the middle class revolutionary leaders like Emilio Aguinaldo, Ambrosio Rianzares-Bautista, and Felipe Buencamino, or were intentionally left out because they were landholders themselves.etween Spain and the The Treaty of Paris was an agreement signed b nee United States of America regarding the ownership of the Philippine Islands and other Spanish colonies in South America. The agreement ended the short-lived Spanish-American War. The Treaty was signed on 10 December 1898, six months after the revolutionary ae declared the Philippine Independence. The Philippines was sold to the et ereignt! United States at $20 million and effectively undermined the cover" story. The Americans occupied of the Filipinos after their revolutionary vic i : i ili -American the Philippines immediately which resulted in the Sie War that lasted until the earliest years of the twentieth c fe e impression on how the victorious The tion also gives us thi See eee are ‘do historicized the struggle for revolutionary government of Aguinal were seen as independence. There were mentions of past events a ; ment against Spain. The execution of i A ints of the move! important turning points he failed Cavite Mutiny of 1872 was the GOMBURZA, for example, and tl y fei narrated in detail. This shows that they saw this event as a significant awakening of the Filipinos in the real conditions of the nation under Spain. Jose Rizal's legacy and martyrdom was also mentioned in the document. However, the Katipunan as the pioneer of the revolutionary movement was only mentioned once toward the end of the document. There was no mention of the Katipunan’s foundation. Bonifacio and his co-founders were also left out. It can be argued, thus, that the way of historical narration found in the document also reflects the politics of the victors. The enmity between Aguinaldo's Magdalo and Bonifacio’s Magdiwang in the Katipunan is no secret in the pages of our history. On the contrary, the war Jed by Aguinaldo’s men with the forces of the United States were discussed in detail. The point is, even official records and documents like the proclamation of independence, while truthful most of the time, still exude the politics and biases of whoever is in power. This manifests in the selectiveness of information that can be found in these records. It is the task of the historian, thus, to analyze the content of these documents in relation to the dominant politics and the contexts of people and institutions surrounding it. This tells us a lesson on taking primary sources like official government records within the circumstance of this production. Studying one historical subject, thus, entails looking at multiple primary sources and pieces of historical evidences in order to have a more nuanced and contextual analysis of our past.