ANISA B.

ALIE
BS STATISTICS 1
REFLECTION PAPER OF THE FILM “EL PRESIDENTE”

After I watched the movie, I made a very short summarization of it. Emilio Aguinaldo was shot by
Frederick Funston in 1901, which set the stage for the film "El Presidente." It flashed back to 1886,
where it portrayed Aguinaldo's generosity to an elderly lady, as well as his and Candido Tirona's life
prophecies. After ten years, Aguinaldo was inducted into the Katipunan. Later, while serving as Mayor of
Cavite El Viejo, he became the chief of the Cavite Chapter. When Aguinaldo learned that the Spaniards
had concentrated almost all of their forces in Manila, he led the Katipunan forces into rebellion. Andres
Bonifacio led the Tejeros Convention, which elected Aguinaldo as president, Mariano Trias as vice-
president, and Bonifacio as Interior Minister, as Aguinaldo gained ground in Cavite. Andres Bonifacio
repeatedly portrays the character as arrogant and uneducated in the film. He was preparing to destroy
Aguinaldo while establishing his own revolutionary government. He was later apprehended and
executed, as the War Council had recommended. Aguinaldo and his troops marched from Cavite to Biak-
na-Bato. He flew to Hong Kong. Then, he met with US officials who offered him support and recognition
for the newly formed Philippine Republic. The Philippines were then proclaimed independent from
Spain by Aguinaldo.

As I have watched the film El Presidente, it was about Emilio Aguinaldo's life as the first President of the
Philippine Republic, and how he was elected by Governor Jeorge Estregan, who played the role of
Katipunan leader. The film depicts Aguinaldo's struggles during the fight against Spanish colonization in
the Philippines, as well as how he entered the Katipunan and received the moniker "Magdalo." The film
also shows the childhood of Emilio Aguinaldo, when he became a tax collector, and when he met a
fortune teller who told him, he was going to be King of his nation, apart from the fact that he was also
warned that circumstances would come to his life as president, and indeed, because when he became
president, he was warned. A lot of people have tried to replace his throne as leader of his colony and as
president.

The film also shows the battles of Emilio Aguinaldo to protect his members and his troops in his
jurisdiction or in his colony against the Spanish occupation for the freedom of the Philippines. The film
also shows the preparation of Emilio Aguinaldo and his army for the Sultan. This film shows how Emilio
Aguinaldo was elected president of the Republic of the Philippines. It began when the Katipunan
Committee decided to elect who would be their president and who would be their leader under the
president's cabinet. The following persons, Andres Boniacio, Mariano Trias, and Emilio Aguinaldo, were
immediately elected by the Committee. The founder of Pamahalaang Himagsikan is Andres Bonifacio,
who also called their KATIPUNAN SUPREMO, was angry when he took a lower position in the cabinet.

Since Emilio Aguinaldo was formally declared the newly elected and first President of the Philippine
Republic following the election, Andres Bonifacio became enraged by Aguinaldo's leadership and
decided to overthrow him. Emilio Aguinaldo sentenced the Bonifacio brothers to their own death after
the juris proved that they were guilty.
After the Americans duped Aguinaldo into believing that they would help the Philippines to gain
independence from the Spanish colony, the Americans instead used Emilio Aguinaldo's name to further
their own agenda, but Aguinaldo did everything he could to fight for our independence.

After watching this film, El Presidente, I realize that there have been so many trials and circumstances
that have taken place. That many of our ancestors sacrificed their lives fighting for freedom against the
traitors and those unreliable persons in the event. That before we had our freedom, there were super
sufferings they had experienced; blood shattered, and many died.

The El Presidente is a fantastic film in my opinion. It made us aware of how our ancestors sacrificed their
lives to enable us to be free from the colonizers. The lesson I took away from this film is that we should
fight for the rights of our people. We must fight to maintain our freedom. We should not be afraid to
confront foreign countries who are attempting to suppress Filipinos. To summarize, the best lessons
taught to the audience are courage and heroism.