CRITICISMS ON SELECTED PRIMARY SOURCES

I. Module Overview
In understanding and writing history, it is important to read primary sources. However,
it is important for the students of history to be critical on the primary sources that they are
reading. It is important to check on the truthfulness and validity of the primary sources.
Furthermore, it is important to understand the context behind the primary sources.
In this module, you will learn on the different types of historical criticisms. You will also
read the different primary sources or their translated versions, and understand the context of
the primary sources. You will also be required to analyze, interpret, and evaluate primary
sources using historical criticism.
II. Desired Learning Outcomes
At the end of this module, students are expected to:
1. compare and contrast internal criticism from external criticism ;
2. develop critical and analytical skills with exposure to primary sources as commitment
to excellence; and
3. properly interpret historical sources through examining the content and context of
the document.

III. Learning Content

HISTORICAL CRITICISM
Historians use historical criticism in their historical researchers to determine the
accuracy and authenticity of the different historical sources. As defined by Merriam-Webster,
historical criticism is a type of appraisal of historical evidence. It is also referred by The Editors
of Encyclopaedia Britannica (2014) as a type of literary criticism that analyzes historical
documents based on their context, author, and other factors affecting its accuracy and
truthfulness.
Historical criticism is important since it analyzes and evaluates the quality of primary
(and even secondary sources). Checking the historical sources will guide the historians and
history enthusiasts on how to select proper historical materials as well as on what aspects of
the historical writings or objects that they can accept or reject. It prevents or minimizes the
possibility of including historical hoaxes or unverified facts in studying or in writing history. It
also helps to correct concepts or ideas that were considered in the past as true but must be
removed or altered due to verified historical updates and reviews (or including the presence of
new generation).
 For instance, the Code of Kalantiaw which was believed to be true in the past is not
considered as a hoax upon checking its authenticity and accuracy. On the other hand, the poem
“Sa Aking Mga Kabata” was widely believed to be written by Jose Rizal. However, upon studying
Rizal’s written works as well as his accounts, there were no documents or proofs that he wrote
it. In addition, Apolinario Mabini, considered as the “Brains of the Revolution” was rumored
that instead of polio, it was syphilis (a sexually transmitted disease) that caused his paralysis.
Due to historical criticism, this rumor was disproved upon examining Mabini’s mortal remains in
1980s. It was confirmed that his paralysis was really caused by polio (Ocampo, 2014).
There are still a lot of historical documents or stories that can be reviewed. There are
also many aspects in the country’s history that needs to be verified or studied. In the age of
social media, there are several random facts that are posted and some of these posts came
from unverified sources. Historians and even ordinary citizens can use historical criticism to
assess the alleged “facts” that they read on a day-to-day basis. Historical criticism must be
practiced since it promote critical thinking, proper historical awareness, and well-grounded
national consciousness.

TYPES OF HISTORICAL CRITICISM

There are two classifications of historical criticisms, namely: EXTERNAL and INTERNAL
CRITICISM. External criticism checks the authenticity or the truthfulness of the document itself,
while internal criticism studies the accuracy of contents and context of the material (University
of Connecticut, n.d.).
External criticism checks the physical aspects of the documents. It seeks to find out the
time when the materials were created or published, as well as the possible alterations that
were made in the document (including different methods of erasures), by comparing them with
the other documents that also existed during the same time. In case the documents are claimed
to have been written or owned by someone, then the documents will be given external
criticism by comparing the documents with the other writings or artifacts that were owned by
the person who is said to have written or owned the documents.
For example, a historian who uses external criticism will analyze the truthfulness of
paper and the language used in a certain document and will compare it with the paper and the
language that were used during the same historical period of the said document. If the
document, for instance, was said to be made during the precolonial Philippines, then the paper
must not be similar to the bondpaper that you are using, nor the language must not be English
or Spanish since the early Filipinos did not interact with the Spaniards or the Anglo-Americans
prior to the Spanish colonization.
Another example of external criticism is when a historian tries to analyze a document
which was allegedly made during the pre-Commonwealth Period by a certain Filipino writer
who lived in Manila. Given the historical period, the alleged document must be written in
English, in Tagalog, or in Spanish. The words used must also exist at the time of its publication.
The document must either be typewritten or handwritten. If the document contains words such
as “lodi”, “petmalu”, “GG”, “jejemon” or “jeproks”, then the document’s authenticity will be in
question. The aforesaid words existed only after the American Colonial rule.
On the other hand, internal criticism studies the contents of the documents itself and
uses the context of the document (including the time of its creation) to properly understand
and decipher the meaning of the text. There is a chance that the words or symbolisms that
were used in the past may be spelled similarly but with different interpretations in the present
times. Moreover, internal criticism tries to figure out the intention of the authors and what the
authors really intend to convey. This type of criticism also checks the potential biases of the
authors by checking their background and views before and after the documents were written.
For example, when a history student reads the history of the West Philippine Sea
dispute published in a Chinese semi-government owned newspaper, the said student can use
internal criticism. Given the background of the said document, it would be impossible for it to
promote Philippine interests, nor the interests of the other claimants. To counter this, a history
student must use other references to validate or invalidate the historical claims as told in the
said newspaper.
Another example, when someone encounters a word such as “bacla” that was written
by someone in mid-1800s, the said word must not be interpreted using the same meaning as
you know in the late 20th or in the 21st century. The said word must be interpreted based on
how the people during that time understood it.

READING ARTICLES
INSTRUCTIONS FOR THE READING ARTICLE:
The reading article that you will be reading are from the actual primary sources or the
translated versions of the primary sources. A short background of the document will be
provided. You need to read the entirety of the reading material so that you will be able to
answer the questions in the LEARNING ASSESSMENT section. You may also search in case you
want to understand further regarding the context of the reading material that are assigned for
you to read.

1. INAUGURAL ADDRESS OF PRESIDENT RODRIGO DUTERTE (JUNE 30, 2016)

The reading material is taken from the Official Gazette of the Republic of the
Philippines: https://www.officialgazette.gov.ph/2016/06/30/inaugural-address-of-president-
rodrigo-roa-duterte-june-30-2016/. The Inaugural Address happened in the Ceremonial Hall of
Malacañan Palace.
SHORT BACKGROUND OF THE DOCUMENT:
In 2016, the country participated in the presidential elections to elect its 16th president.
Of the 6 official presidential candidates, Rodrigo Duterte won the presidential race with more
than 16.6 million votes. His election made him as the Philippine’s oldest person to take
presidency and it also made him as the first president from Mindanao (since 12 of the former
presidents were from Luzon and 3 were from the Visayas). Some of his popular election lines
were “Change is coming” and “Tapang at Malasakit”. Even before his electoral victory, he was
already controversial due to his remarks on several issues like on his stand of illegal drugs.
According to CNN Editorial Research (2020), President Rodrigo Duterte was born on
March 28, 1945 at Maasin City, Southern Leyte. His father was Vicente Duterte who was a
lawyer and the governor of unified Davao Province (comprised of modern-day Davao Oriental,
Davao de Oro, Davao Occidental, Davao del Norte, and Davao del Sur). His mother, Soledad
Duterte, was a teacher. Prior to his president, he was a prosecutor. He also served as the mayor
of Davao City for 22 years (although not consecutive) as well as a house representative.
When he assumed as the president, Rodrigo Duterte delivered his Inaugural Address in
the Ceremonial Hall of Malacañan Palace. This is quite unique since many of the inaugural
addresses of his predecessors were done at the Quirino Grandstand. An INAUGURAL ADDRESS
is a first speech delivered by the president as soon as he/she takes the oath as a president. The
address provides the vision, intentions, or plans for his administration. It may also include the
president’s concerns, or the intent to reconcile with his electoral opponents, and the desire for
the betterment of his/her country (The White House Historical Association, n.d.).
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For the first reading material, you are expected to check the background prior to
President Duterte’s inauguration in 2016. You are expected to understand the contents, as well
as to assess whether or not he is able to accomplish his promises as stated in the inaugural
address. Since this is an application of historical criticism, you are expected to be as objective as
possible.

ACTUAL INAUGURAL ADDRESS:

President Fidel Ramos, sir, salamat po sa tulong mo making me President; President
Joseph Ejercito Estrada; Senate President Franklin Drilon and the members of the Senate;
Speaker Feliciano Belmonte and the members of the House of Representatives; Chief Justice
Maria Lourdes Sereno and Associate Justices of the Supreme Court; His Excellency Guiseppe
Pinto and the members of the Diplomatic Corps; incoming members of the Cabinet; fellow
workers in government; my fellow countrymen.
 No leader, however strong, can succeed at anything of national importance or
significance unless he has the support and cooperation of the people he is tasked to lead and
sworn to serve.
It is the people from whom democratic governments draw strength and this
administration is no exception. That is why we have to listen to the murmurings of the people,
feel their pulse, supply their needs and fortify their faith and trust in us whom they elected to
public office.
There are many amongst us who advance the assessment that the problems that
bedevil our country today which need to be addressed with urgency, are corruption, both in the
high and low echelons of government, criminality in the streets, and the rampant sale of illegal
drugs in all strata of Philippine society and the breakdown of law and order. True, but not
absolutely so. For I see these ills as mere symptoms of a virulent social disease that creeps and
cuts into the moral fiber of Philippine society. I sense a problem deeper and more serious than
any of those mentioned or all of them put together. But of course, it is not to say that we will
ignore them because they have to be stopped by all means that the law allows.
Erosion of faith and trust in government – that is the real problem that confronts us.
Resulting therefrom, I see the erosion of the people’s trust in our country’s leaders; the erosion
of faith in our judicial system; the erosion of confidence in the capacity of our public servants to
make the people’s lives better, safer and healthier.
Indeed ours is a problem that dampens the human spirit. But all is not lost.
I know that there are those who do not approve of my methods of fighting criminality,
the sale and use of illegal drugs and corruption. They say that my methods are unorthodox and
verge on the illegal. In response let me say this:
I have seen how corruption bled the government of funds, which were allocated for the
use in uplifting the poor from the mire that they are in.
I have seen how illegal drugs destroyed individuals and ruined family relationships.
I have seen how criminality, by means all foul, snatched from the innocent and the
unsuspecting, the years and years of accumulated savings. Years of toil and then, suddenly,
they are back to where they started.
Look at this from that perspective and tell me that I am wrong.
In this fight, I ask Congress and the Commission on Human Rights and all others who are
similarly situated to allow us a level of governance that is consistent to our mandate. The fight
will be relentless and it will be sustained.
As a lawyer and a former prosecutor, I know the limits of the power and authority of the
president. I know what is legal and what is not.
My adherence to due process and the rule of law is uncompromising.
 You mind your work and I will mind mine. [applause and cheers]
“Malasakit;” “Tunay na Pagbabago; Tinud-anay (real) nga Kausaban (change)” – these
are words which catapulted me to the presidency. These slogans were conceptualized not for
the sole purpose of securing the votes of the electorate. “Tinud-anay nga kabag-uhan (real
change). Mao kana ang tumong sa atong pang-gobyerno (this is the direction of our
government).”
Far from that. These were battle cries articulated by me in behalf of the people hungry
for genuine and meaningful change. But the change, if it is to be permanent and significant,
must start with us and in us.
To borrow the language of F. Sionil Jose, we have become our own worst enemies. And
we must have the courage and the will to change ourselves.
Love of country, subordination of personal interests to the common good, concern and
care for the helpless and the impoverished – these are among the lost and faded values that we
seek to recover and revitalize as we commence our journey towards a better Philippines. The
ride will be rough. But come and join me just the same. Together, shoulder to shoulder, let us
take the first wobbly steps in this quest.
There are two quotations from revered figures that shall serve as the foundation upon
which this administration shall be built.
“The test of government is not whether we add more to the abundance of those who
have much; it is whether we provide for those who have little.” – Franklin Delano Roosevelt
And from (Abraham) Lincoln I draw this inspiration:
“You cannot strengthen the weak by
weakening the strong; You cannot help
the poor by discouraging the rich; You
cannot help the wage earner by pulling down the wage payer; You cannot further the
brotherhood by inciting class hatred among men.”
My economic and financial, political policies are contained in those quotations, though
couched in general terms. Read between the lines. I need not go into specifics now. They shall
be supplied to you in due time.
However, there are certain policies and specifics of which cannot wait for tomorrow to be
announced.
Therefore, I direct all department secretaries and the heads of agencies to reduce
requirements and the processing time of all applications, from the submission to the release. I
order all department secretaries and heads of agencies to remove redundant requirements and
compliance with one department or agency, shall be accepted as sufficient for all.
 I order all department secretaries and heads of agencies to refrain from changing and
bending the rules government contracts, transactions and projects already approved and
awaiting implementation. Changing the rules when the game is on-going is wrong.
I abhor secrecy and instead advocate transparency in all government contracts, projects
and business transactions from submission of proposals to negotiation to perfection and finally,
to consummation.
Do them and we will work together. Do not do them, we will part sooner than later.
On the international front and community of nations, let me reiterate that the Republic
of the Philippines will honor treaties and international obligations.
On the domestic front, my administration is committed to implement all signed peace
agreements in step with constitutional and legal reforms.
I am elated by the expression of unity among our Moro brothers and leaders, and the
response of everyone else to my call for peace.
I look forward to the participation of all other stakeholders, particularly our indigenous
peoples, to ensure inclusivity in the peace process.
Let me remind in the end of this talk, that I was elected to the presidency to serve the
entire country. I was not elected to serve the interests of any one person or any group or any
one class. I serve every one and not only one.
That is why I have adapted as an article of faith, the following lines written by someone
whose name I could no longer recall. He said:
“I have no friends to serve, I have no enemies to harm.”
Prescinding there from, I now ask everyone, and I mean everyone, to join me as we
embark on this crusade for a better and brighter tomorrow.
But before I end, let me express the nations, on behalf of the people, our condolences
to the Republic of Turkey of what has happened in the place. We offer our deepest
condolences.
Why am I here? Hindi kasali ito diyan. The past tense was, I am here because I love my
country and I love the people of the Philippines. I am here, why? Because I am ready to start my
work for the nation.
Thank you and good afternoon.
2. KARTILYA NG KATIPUNAN by EMILIO JACINTO (translated by Teodoro Agoncillo; courtesy of
the Malacanang for the posting of the translated version)
The reading material is taken from the Malacanang.gov.ph:
http://malacanang.gov.ph/7013-andres-bonifacios-decalogue-and-the-kartilya-ng-katipunan/.

SHORT BACKGROUND OF THE DOCUMENT:

Known as the “Brains of the Katipunan”, Emilio Jacinto served as one of the pillars of the
country’s revolutionary struggle against the Spaniards. Jacinto, known as “Ka Ilyong”, was born
in Tondo, Manila on December 15, 1875. According to Tan (2012), Jacinto enrolled in the
University of Santo Tomas to take up law but he was not able to finish it. He was also
considered as one of the youngest members of the Katipunan since he joined the
Kataastaasang Kagalang-Kagalang na Katipunan ng mga Anak ng Bayan (KKK) at the age of 19
[although Agoncillo (2012) stated that he joined the Katipunan when he was 18]. He was later
known in the Katipunan as “Pingkian”.
Despite his lack of expertise in his younger days, he was able to immediately master the
language (Agoncillo, 2012). He became the editor of Kalayaan - the official newspaper of the
Katipunan with “Dimasilaw” as his pen name. Due to his intelligence, he was chosen by Andres
Bonifacio (known as the “Supremo ng Katipunan” as his trusted adviser. He also became the
fiscal and the secretary of state of the Katipunan.
To ensure discipline and ethics of the members of the revolutionary movement, and for
them to uphold the ideal virtues of the Katipunan, Andres Bonifacio made the “Sampung Utos
ng mga Anak ng Bayan” or the “Decalogue of the Duties of the Sons of the People”.
Nonetheless, Bonifacio chose the “Kartilya ng Katipunan” or the “Teachings of the Katipunan”
of Jacinto as the official code of conduct of the Katipuneros. Like the Decalogue, the Kartilya
also reflects the ideals and values of the revolutionary movement. It is expected for the
members of the Katipunan to follow the rules set in the Kartilya.

**************************************
For the second reading material, you are expected to read the entirety of the Kartilya.
You are expected to recall your prior knowledge on the events that happened during the
Spanish rule (culture, economy, education, politics, religion, status of women, race relations,
etc.) to contextualize the contents of the Kartilya. You are also expected to ascertain as to
whether or not the Katipuneros were able to follow the rules based on the history of the
Katipunan (from its establishment up to its dissolution).
TRANSLATED VERSION OF THE KARTILYA NG KATIPUNAN:
I
Life which is not consecrated to a lofty and sacred cause is like a tree without a shadow, if not a
poisonous weed.
II
A good deed that springs from a desire for personal profit and not a desire to do good is not
kindness.
III
True greatness consists in being charitable, in loving one’s fellow men and in adjusting every
moment, deed, and word to true Reason.
IV
All men are equal be the color of their skin black or white. One may be superior to another in
knowledge, wealth, and beauty but cannot be superior in being.
V
He who is noble prefers honor to personal gains;
he who is mean prefers personal profit to honor.
For EDUCATIONAL PURPOSES ONLY Page | 6
VI
To a man with a sense of shame, his word is inviolate.
VII
Don’t fritter away time; lost riches may be recovered, but time lost will never come again.
VIII
Defend the oppressed and fight the oppressor.
IX
An intelligent man is he who is cautious in speech and knows how to keep secrets that must be
guarded.
X
In the thorny path of life, man is the guide of his wife and children; if he who guides moves
toward evil, they who are guided likewise move toward evil.
XI
 Think not of a woman as a thing merely to while away time but as a helper and partner in the
hardships of life. Respect her in her weakness, and remember the mother who brought you into
this world and who cared for you in your childhood.
XII
What you do not want done to your wife, daughter, and sister, do not do to the wife, daughter
and sister of another.
XIII
The nobility of a man does not consist in being a king, nor in the kindness of nose and the
whiteness of the skin, nor in being the priest representing God, nor in the exalted position on
this earth, but pure and truly noble is he who, though born in the woods, is possessed of an
upright character; who is true to his word; who has dignity and honor; who does not oppress
and does not help those who oppress; who knows how to look after and love the land of his
birth.
XIV
When these doctrines spread and the Sun of beloved liberty shines with brilliant effulgence in
these unhappy isles and sheds its soft rays upon the united people and brothers in everlasting
happiness, the lives,
labors, and sacrifices of those who are gone shall be more than recompensed.

3. BAPTISM OF RAJAH HUMABON AND OTHER CEBUANOS (excerpt from the account of
Antonio Pigafetta’s Primo Viaggio Intorno al Mondo/ First Voyage Around the World; translated
by Emma Helen Blair and James Alexander Robertson in The Philippine Islands, 1493-1898,
Volume XXIII)
The reading material is taken from gutenberg.org: http://www.gutenberg.org/4/2/8/8/42884/.

SHORT BACKGROUND OF THE DOCUMENT:

This document is just part of Antonio Pigafetta’s account of the Magellan-El Cano
expedition from 1519 to 1522. Although the goal of this expedition was to reach the Spice
Islands via westward route, it accidentally reached the Philippines. It is erroneous to say that
Magellan or his men “discovered” the Philippines since the archipelago was already inhabited
prior to their arrival in the Philippines. The early Filipinos were even able to conduct foreign
relations with other Asian countries, mainly for trading purposes. On the other hand, while
Magellan was a Portuguese, he led the expedition in the name of the Spanish crown. This
happened due to lack of support from the Portuguese king as well as the financial support that
was given to Magellan by the Spanish Catholic monarchs Ferdinand II and Isabella I.
 After Ferdinand Magellan (called as Fernão de Magalhães in Portuguese and Fernando
de Magallanes in Spanish) and his crew set sail from Masaua in Eastern Philippines in April
1521, they reached Cebu few days later. Magellan, who was the leader of the expedition, met
and befriended Rajah Humabon - the Rajah of Cebu and converted him and several natives to
Christianity. Humabon’s wife, Hara Humamay, was also baptized to Christianity. The royal
couple were given the Spanish names Carlos and Juana.
The discussions between Magellan and Humabon’s parties were made possible with the
help of Enrique - a Malay servant of Magellan. Enrique referred in Pigafetta’s account as
Henrique. The historical meeting between Magellan and Humabon was made known mainly
because of Antonio Pigafetta. Born in Vicenza, Republic of Venice (now part of modern-day
Italy) sometime in 1490s, Pigafetta was known as a Venetian scholar and explorer who kept an
accurate journal on the expedition and recorded the languages and the practices of the people
that they had met (Google Arts and Culture, n.d.) Before he became known as the chronicler
(someone who writes historical accounts), he was a maritime soldier. His historical account on
the Magellan-El Cano expedition made him popular.
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For the third reading material, you are expected to trace the events that happened
during the arrival of Magellan in Cebu. You are also expected to understand on how Rajah
Humabon welcomed Magellan and his men. You should be able to understand how the natives
embraced Christianity according to Pigafetta’s account. Moreover, you need to analyze on the
way on how Pigafetta wrote the historical accounts and if there were possible biases in the said
account. Furthermore, you need to assess as to how the said event affected the beliefs and
practices of the Cebuanos. Lastly, try to connect this event in relation to the rediscovery (also
known in Cebu as Kaplag) of the image of the Child Jesus by Juan Camus in 1565.

TRANSLATED VERSION OF THE DOCUMENT:

On Sunday morning, April fourteen, forty men of us went ashore, two of whom were
completely armed and preceded the royal banner. When we reached land all the artillery was
fired. Those people followed us hither and thither. The captain and the king embraced. The
captain told the king that the royal banner was not taken ashore except with fifty men armed as
were those two, and with fifty musketeers; but so great was his love for him that he had thus
brought the banner. Then we all approached the platform joyfully. The captain and the king sat
down in chairs of red and violet velvet, the chiefs on cushions, and the others on mats. The
captain told the king through the interpreter that he thanked God for inspiring him to became a
Christian; and that [now] he would more easily conquer his enemies than before. The king
replied that he wished to become a Christian, but that some of his chiefs did not wish to obey,
because they said that they were as good men as he. Then our captain had all the chiefs of the
king called, and told them that, unless they obeyed the king as their king, he would have them
killed, and would give their possessions to the king. They replied that they would obey him. The
captain told the king that he was going to Spagnia, but that he would return again with so many
forces that he would make him the greatest king of those regions, as he had been the first to
express a determination to become a Christian. The king, lifting his hands to the sky, thanked
the captain, and requested him to let some of his men remain [with him], so that he and his
people might be better instructed in the faith. The captain replied that he would leave two men
to satisfy him, but that he would like to take two of the children of the chiefs with him, so that
they might learn our language, who afterward on their return would be able to tell the others
the wonders [cose] of Spagnia. A large cross was set up in the middle of the square. The captain
told them that if they wished to become Christians as they had declared on the previous days,
that they must burn all their idols and set up a cross in their place. They were to adore that
cross daily with clasped hands, and every morning after their [i.e., the Spaniards’] custom, they
were to make the sign of the cross (which the captain showed them how to make); and they
ought to come hourly, at least in the morning, to that cross, and adore it kneeling. The intention
that they had already declared, they were to confirm with good works. The king and all the
others wished to confirm it thoroughly. The captain-general told the king that he was clad all in
white to demonstrate his sincere love toward them. They replied that they could not respond
to his sweet words. The captain led the king by the hand to the platform while speaking these
good words in order to baptize him. He told the king that he would call him Don Carlo, after his
sovereign the emperor; the prince, Don Fernando, after the emperor’s brother; the king of
Mazaua, Johanni; a chief, Fernando, after our chief, that is to say, the captain; the Moro,
Christoforo; and then the others, now one name, and now another. Five hundred men were
baptized before mass. After the conclusion of mass, the captain invited the king and some of
the other chiefs to dinner, but they refused, accompanying us, however, to the shore. The ships
discharged all the mortars; and embracing, the king and chiefs and the captain took leave of
one another.312
After dinner the priest and some of the others went ashore to baptize the queen, who
came with forty women. We conducted her to the platform, and she was made to sit down
upon a cushion, and the other women near her, until the priest should be ready. She was
shown an image of our Lady, a very beautiful wooden child Jesus, and a cross. Thereupon, she
was overcome with contrition, and asked for baptism amid her tears.313 We named her
Johanna, after the emperor’s mother; her daughter, the wife of the prince, Catherina; the
queen of Mazaua, Lisabeta; and the others, each their [distinctive] name. Counting men,
women, and children, we baptized eight hundred souls.314 The queen was young and
beautiful, and was entirely covered with a white and black cloth. Her mouth and nails were very
red, while on her head she wore a large hat of palm leaves in the manner of a parasol,315 with
a crown about it of the same leaves, like the tiara of the pope; and she never goes any place
without such a one. She asked us to give her the little child Jesus to keep in place of her
idols;317 and then she went away. In the afternoon,318 the king and queen, accompanied by
numerous persons, came to the shore. Thereupon, the captain had many trombs of fire and
large mortars discharged, by which they were most highly delighted.319 The captain and the
king called one another brothers. That king’s name was Raia Humabon. Before that week had
gone, all the persons of that island, and some from the other island, were baptized. We burned
one hamlet which was located in a neighboring island, because it refused to obey the king or us.
We set up the cross there for those people were heathen. Had they been Moros, we would
have erected a column there as a token of greater hardness, for the Moros are much harder to
convert than the heathen.
The captain-general went ashore daily during those days to hear mass, and told the king
many things regarding the faith.320 One day the queen came with great pomp to hear mass.
Three girls preceded her with three of her hats in their hands.321 She was dressed in black and
white with a large silk scarf, crossed with gold stripes thrown over her head, which covered her
shoulders; and she had on her hat. A great number of women accompanied her, who were all
naked and barefoot, except that they had a small covering of palm-tree cloth before their
privies, and a small scarf upon the head, and all with hair flowing free. The queen, having made
the due reverence to the altar, seated herself on a silk embroidered cushion. Before the
commencement of the mass, the captain sprayed her and some of her women with musk
rosewater, for they delighted exceedingly in such perfumes. The captain knowing that the
queen was very much pleased with the child Jesus, gave it to her, telling her to keep it in place
of her idols, for it was in memory322 of the son of God. Thanking him heartily she accepted it.
Before mass one day, the captain-general had the king come clad in his silk robe, and
the chief men of the city, [to wit], the king’s brother and prince’s father, whose name was
Bendara; another of the king’s brothers, Cadaio; and certain ones called Simiut, Sibuaia, Sisacai,
Maghalibe, and many others whom I shall not name in order not to be tedious.323 The captain
made them all swear to be obedient to their king, and they kissed the latter’s hand. Then the
captain had the king declare that he would always be obedient and faithful to the king of
Spagnia, and the king so swore.324 Thereupon, the captain drew his Sword before the image of
our Lady, and told the king that when anyone so swore, he should prefer to die rather than to
break such an oath,325 if he swore by that image, by the life of the emperor his sovereign, and
by his habit to be ever faithful. After the conclusion of that the captain gave the king a red
velvet chair, telling him that wherever he went he should always have it carried before him by
one of his nearest relatives; and he showed him how it ought to be carried. The king responded
that he would do that willingly for love of him, and he told the captain that he was making a
jewel to give to him, namely, two large earrings of gold to fasten326 in his ears, two armlets to
put on his arms, above the elbows, and two other rings for the feet above the ankles, besides
other precious gems to adorn327 the ears. Those are the most beautiful ornaments which the
kings of those districts can wear. They always go barefoot, and wear a cloth garment that hangs
from the waist to the knees.
GUIDE FOR NOTES:
312 The account of the baptism of the king is considerably abridged in MS. 5,650 where it reads
as follows: “Then the captain began to address the king through the interpreter, in order that
he might incite him to the faith of Jesus Christ. He told him that if he wished to become a good
Christian (as he had signified on the preceding day), that he must have all the idols of his
country burned and set up a cross in their place, which they were all to adore daily on both
knees, with hands clasped and raised toward the heaven. The captain showed the king how he
was to make the sign of the cross daily. In reply the king and all his men said that they would
obey the captain’s commandment, and do all that he told them. The captain took the king by
the hand, and they walked to the platform. At his baptism the captain told the king that he
would call him Dom Charles, after the emperor his sovereign. He named the prince Dom
Fernand, after the brother of the said emperor, and the king of Mazzaua, Jehan. He gave the
name of Christofle to the Moro, while he called each of the others by names according to his
fancy. Thus before the mass fifty men [sic: but an error of the French adapter for five hundred]
were baptized. At the conclusion of mass, the captain invited the king and the others of his
chief men to dine with him, but he would not accept. However, he accompanied the captain to
the shore, where, at his arrival, the ships discharged all the artillery. Then embracing they took
leave of one another.” Eden gives the number baptized as five hundred men.
313 MS. 5,650 reads: “On seeing that, she expressed the greatest desire to became a Christian,
and asking for baptism, she was baptized and given the name of Jehanne, after the emperor’s
mother.”
314 There are many cases of this wholesale baptism in the history of the Catholic missions in
various countries, and it cannot be condemned entirely and regarded as devoid of good effects,
for many instances reveal the contrary. See Jesuit Relations (Cleveland reissue).
For EDUCATIONAL PURPOSES ONLY Page | 9
315 Those last six words are omitted in MS. 5,650. Mosto conjectures that solana means
solecchio or solicchio signifying an apparatus to protect one from the sun. Pigafetta may have
misapplied the Spanish word solana, which signifies a place bathed by the noontide sun or a
place in which to take the sun.
317 MS. 5,650 adds: “and we gave it to her.” This was the image found by one of Legazpi’s
soldiers in Cebú in 1565 (see Vol. II, pp. 120, 121, 128, 216, 217; and Vol. V, p. 41). Encarnación
(Dic. bisaya-español, Manila, 1851), says: “The Cebuan Indians, both past and present, give the
name of Bathála [God] to the image of the Holy Child, which is supposed to have been left by
the celebrated Magallanes.”
318 MS. 5,650 reads: “evening.”
319 MS. 5,650 mentions only the artillery. The “tromb” or “trunk” was a kind of hand rocket-
tube made of wood and hooped with iron, and was used for discharging wild-fire or Greek-fire
(see Corbett’s Spanish War, 1585–87 [London], 1898, p. 335). At this point Stanley discontinues
the narrative of MS. 5,650, and translates from Amoretti’s version of the Italian MS.
320 MS. 5,650 reads: “to better instruct and confirm him in the faith.”
321 Eden says the queen was preceded by “three younge damoſelles and three men with theyr
cappes in theyr handes.”
322 MS. 5,650 adds: “and presentation.”
323 MS. 5,650 reads simply for this last clause: “and several others,” omitting all the names.
324 MS. 5,650 reads: “and they all so swore.”
325 MS. 5,650 reads from this point: “Then they swore, and thus the captain caused the king to
swear by that image, by the life of the emperor his sovereign, and by his habit, to ever remain
faithful and subject to the emperor,” thus ascribing this oath to the king instead of to
Magalhães. The words “by his habit” can refer only to Magalhães, who wore that of Santiago,
and not to any habit worn by the barbaric ruler of Cebú.
326 MS. 5,650 adds: “and hang.”
327 MS. 5,650 adds: “and deck.”

4. BATTLE OF MACTAN (excerpt from the account of Antonio Pigafetta’s Primo Viaggio Intorno
al Mondo/ First Voyage Around the World; translated by Emma Helen Blair and James
Alexander Robertson in The Philippine Islands, 1493-1898, Volume XXIII)

SHORT BACKGROUND OF THE DOCUMENT:

This document is just part of Antonio Pigafetta’s account of the Magellan-El Cano
expedition from 1519 to 1522. Although the goal of this expedition was to reach the Spice
Islands via westward route, it accidentally reached the Philippines. It is erroneous to say that
Magellan or his men “discovered” the Philippines since the archipelago was already inhabited
prior to their arrival in the Philippines. The early Filipinos were even able to conduct foreign
relations with other Asian countries, mainly for trading purposes. On the other hand, while
Magellan was a Portuguese, he led the expedition in the name of the Spanish crown. This
happened due to lack of support from the Portuguese king as well as the financial support that
was given to Magellan by the Spanish Catholic monarchs Ferdinand II and Isabella I.
After Ferdinand Magellan reached Cebu and befriended Humabon - the Rajah of Cebu,
he learned about that there was a certain local leader who rejected both Humabon and
Magellan’s will. The local political issue led to the Battle of Mactan, which culminated with
Lapulapu’s victory over Magellan. (Note that the spelling of Lapulapu’s name was decided by
the National Quincentennial Committee in 2019 as the one without hypen, and the Ci of
Pigafetta’s “Cilapulapu” is considered as an honorific title.
Nonetheless, the spelling “Lapu-Lapu” is still recognized [Mendoza, 2019].)
The discussions between Magellan and Humabon’s parties were made possible with the
help of Enrique - a Malay servant of Magellan. Enrique referred in Pigafetta’s account as
Henrique. The historical meeting between Magellan and Humabon was made known mainly
because of Antonio Pigafetta. Born in Vicenza, Republic of Venice (now part of modern-day
Italy) sometime in 1490s, Pigafetta was known as a Venetian scholar and explorer who kept an
accurate journal on the expedition and recorded the languages and the practices of the people
that they had met (Google Arts and Culture, n.d.) Before he became known as the chronicler
(someone who writes historical accounts), he was a maritime soldier. His historical account on
the Magellan-El Cano expedition made him popular.
**************************************
For the fourth reading, you are expected to identify the characters of the story and their
roles. Make sure to analyze the events that led to the Battle of Mactan. Moreover, you need to
analyze whether or not Pigafetta was able to describe Lapulapu’s physical features, and as to
whether or not Pigafetta was able to mention that there was a one-on-one battle between
Lapulapu and Magellan. You are also expected to assess whether or not the account of
Pigafetta on the Battle of Mactan was made without biases. If you have a map (or even Google
Map), kindly check the geography of Mactan Island, especially the shores near the Lapulapu
marker. The geography of northern Mactan will give you an idea on how the topography of the
said place affected the results of the battle.

TRANSLATED VERSION:
There are many villages in that island. Their names, those of their inhabitants, and of
their chiefs are as follows: Cinghapola, and its chiefs, Cilaton, Ciguibucan, Cimaningha,
Cimatichat, and Cicanbul; one, Mandaui, and its chief, Apanoaan; one Lalan, and its chief,
Theteu; one, Lalutan, and its chief, Tapan; one Cilumai; and one, Lubucun.330 All those villages
rendered obedience to us, and gave us food and tribute. Near that island of Zubu was an island
called Matan, which formed the port where we were anchored. The name of its village was
Matan, and its chiefs were Zula and Cilapulapu. That city which we burned was in that island
and was called Bulaia.
On Friday, April twenty-six, Zula, a chief of the island of Matan,344 sent one of his sons
to present two goats to the captain-general, and to say that he would send him all that he had
promised, but that he had not been able to send it to him because of the other chief Cilapulapu,
who refused to obey the king of Spagnia. He requested the captain to send him only one
boatload of men on the next night, so that they might help him and fight against the other
chief. The captain-general decided to go thither with three boatloads. We begged him
repeatedly not to go, but he, like a good shepherd, refused to abandon his flock.
At midnight, sixty men of us set out armed with corselets and helmets, together with
the Christian king, the prince, some of the chief men, and twenty or thirty balanguais. We
reached Matan three hours before dawn. The captain did not wish to fight then, but sent a
message to the natives by the Moro to the effect that if they would obey the king of Spagnia,
recognize the Christian king as their sovereign, and pay us our tribute, he would be their friend;
but that if they wished otherwise, they should wait to see how our lances wounded.345 They
replied that if we had lances they had lances of bamboo and stakes hardened with fire. [They
asked us] not to proceed to attack them at once, but to wait until morning, so that they might
have more men. They said that in order to induce us to go in search of them; for they had dug
certain pitholes between the houses in order that we might fall into them. When morning came
forty-nine of us leaped into the water up to our thighs, and walked through water for more
than two crossbow flights before we could reach the shore. The boats could not approach
nearer because of certain rocks in the water. The other eleven men remained behind to guard
the boats. When we reached land, those men had formed in three divisions to the number of
more than one thousand five hundred persons. When they saw us, they charged down upon us
with exceeding loud cries, two divisions on our flanks and the other on our front. When the
captain saw that, he formed us into two divisions, and thus did we begin to fight. The
musketeers and crossbowmen shot from a distance for about a half-hour, but uselessly; for the
shots only passed through the shields which were made of thin wood and the arms [of the
bearers]. The captain cried to them, “Cease firing! cease firing!” but his order was not at all
heeded. When the natives saw that we were shooting our muskets to no purpose, crying out
they determined to stand firm, but they redoubled their shouts. When our muskets were
discharged, the natives would never stand still, but leaped hither and thither, covering
themselves with their shields. They shot so many arrows at us and hurled so many bamboo
spears (some of them tipped with iron) at the captain-general, besides pointed stakes hardened
with fire, stones, and mud, that we could scarcely defend ourselves. Seeing that the captain-
general sent some men to burn their houses in order to terrify them.
When they saw their houses burning, they were roused to greater fury. Two of our men
were killed near the houses, while we burned twenty or thirty houses. So many of them
charged down upon us that they shot the captain through the right leg with a poisoned arrow.
On that account, he ordered us to retire slowly, but the men took to flight, except six or eight of
us who remained with the captain. The natives shot only at our legs, for the latter were bare;
and so many were the spears and stones that they hurled at us, that we could offer no
resistance. The mortars in the boats could not aid us as they were too far away. So we
continued to retire for more than a good crossbow flight from the shore always fighting up to
our knees in the water. The natives continued to pursue us, and picking up the same spear four
or six times, hurled it at us again and again. Recognizing the captain, so many turned upon him
that they knocked his helmet off his head twice, but he always stood firmly like a good knight,
together with some others. Thus did we fight for more than one hour, refusing to retire farther.
An Indian hurled a bamboo spear into the captain’s face, but the latter immediately killed him
with his lance, which he left in the Indian’s body. Then, trying to lay hand on sword, he could
draw it out but halfway, because he had been wounded in the arm with a bamboo spear. When
the natives saw that, they all hurled themselves upon him. One of them wounded him on the
left leg with a large cutlass,346 which resembles a scimitar, only being larger. That caused the
captain to fall face downward, when immediately they rushed upon him with iron and bamboo
spears and with their cutlasses, until they killed our mirror, our light, our comfort, and our true
guide. When they wounded him, he turned back many times to see whether we were all in the
boats. Thereupon, beholding him dead, we, wounded, retreated, as best we could, to the boats,
which were already pulling off.
The Christian king would have aided us, but the captain charged him before we landed, not to
leave his balanghai, but to stay to see how we fought. When the king learned that the captain
was dead, he wept. Had it not been for that unfortunate captain, not a single one of us would
have been saved in the boats, for while he was fighting the others retired to the boats. I hope
through [the efforts of] your most illustrious Lordship that the fame of so noble a captain will
not become effaced in our times. Among the other virtues which he possessed, he was more
constant than ever any one else in the greatest of adversity. He endured hunger better than all
the others, and more accurately than any man in the world did he understand sea charts347
and navigation. And that this was the truth was seen openly, for no other had had so much
natural talent nor the boldness to learn how to
circumnavigate the world, as he had almost done. That
battle was fought on Saturday, April twenty-seven,
1521.348 The captain desired to fight on Saturday,
because it was the day especially holy to him. Eight of our
men were killed with him in that battle,349 and four
Indians, who had become Christians and who had come
afterward to aid us were killed by the mortars of the
boats. Of the enemy, only fifteen were killed, while many
of us were wounded.
In the afternoon the Christian king sent a message with
our consent to the people of Matan, to the effect that if
they would give us the captain and the other men who
had been killed, we would give them as much
merchandise as they wished. They answered that they
would not give up such a man, as we imagined [they
would do], and that they would not give him for all the
riches in the world, but that they intended to keep him as
a memorial.350
GUIDE FOR NOTES:
330 There is a strange difference between the Italian MS. and MS. 5,650 in regard to these
names. The latter reads to this point: “There are a number of villages in that island, whose
names and those of their chiefs are as follows: Cinghapola, Cilaton, Ciguibucan, Cimaningha,
Cimaticat, and Cicambul; another, Mandaui, and its chief and seignior, Lambuzzan; another Cot-
cot, and its chief, Acibagalen; another, Puzzo, and its chief, Apanoan; another, Lalan, and its
chief, Theteu; another, Lulutan, and its chief, Tapan [Amoretti, followed by Stanley, says Japau,
and Mosto, Iapan]; another Cilumay; and also Lubucun.” Amoretti, who places this list after the
disastrous battle and consequent treachery of the Cebuans, and Stanley, have “Lubucin: its
chief is Cilumai.” Mandaui is Mandaue; Lalan may be Liloan; Cot-cot is on the east coast;
Lubucun may be Lubú, but Mosto conjectures it to be Lambusan. An examination of the Nancy
MS. may reveal the source of this difference.
344 Eden in describing the island of Matan confuses the Pigafetta narrative. He says: “Not farre
from this Ilande of Zubut, is the Hand of Mathan, whoſe inhabitauntes vſe maruelous
ceremonies in theyr ſacrifices to the ſoone and burying the deade. They were rynges of gold
abowt theyr priuie members.” In the description of the battle in Matan, Eden says that each of
the three divisions of the islanders contained “two thouſand and fiftie men armed with bowes,
arrowes, dartes and iauelins hardened at the poyntes with fyer.”
345 To this point the Italian MS. and MS. 5,650 agree approximately. The story of the battle in
the latter MS., however, is much abridged and much less graphic. It is as follows: “They replied
that they had bamboo spears and stakes burned and hardened in the fire, and that we could
attack them when we wished. At daybreak, forty-nine of us leaped into the water, in the place
whither we had thus gone, at a distance of more than three [sic] crossbow flights before we
could reach shore, for the boats could not approach nearer because of the rocks and reefs
which were in the water. Thus we reached land, and attacked them. They were arranged in
three divisions, of more than one thousand five hundred persons. We shot many arrows at
them from a distance, but it was in vain, for they received them on their shields. They leaped
hither and thither in such a way that scarce could we wound one of them. On the other hand,
our artillery in the boats was so far away from us that it could not aid us. Those people seeing
that, and that the captain had had some of their houses burned in order to inspire them with
terror, and having become more enraged, threw so many iron pointed spears at us, and shot so
many arrows even at the captain himself that we could defend ourselves with difficulty. Finally,
having been driven by them quite down to the shore, and while our captain was fighting
bravely although wounded in the leg with an arrow, one of those Indians hurled a poisoned
bamboo lance into his face which laid him stiff and dead. Then they pressed upon us so closely
that we were forced to retire to our boats and to leave the dead body of the captain-general,
with our other killed.” The eulogy on the dead commander is approximately the same in both
MSS., except at the end, where MS. 5,650 reads: “Eight of our men died there with him, and
four Indians, who had become Christians. Of the enemy fifteen were killed by the artillery of
the ships, which had at last come to our aid, while many of us were wounded.”
Brito (Navarrete, iv, p. 308) says of the stay at Cebú and the death of Magalhães: “They stayed
there about one month, and the majority of the people and the king became Christians. The
king of Zubó ordered the kings of the other islands to come to him, but inasmuch as two of
them refused to come, Magallanes, as soon as he learned it, resolved to go to fight with them,
and went to an island called Mathá. He set fire to a village, and not content with that, set out
for a large settlement, where he, his servant, and five Castilians were killed in combat with the
savages. The others, seeing their captain dead, went back to their boats.”
346 Terciado: a Spanish word.
347 Carteava: a Spanish word.
348 The “Roteiro” (Stanley, p. 12) dates the battle April 28. The account of the battle is as
follows: “Fernan de Magalhães desired that the other kings, neighbours to this one, should
become subject to this who had become Christian: and these did not choose to yield such
obedience. Fernan de Magalhães seeing that, got ready one night with his boats, and burned
the villages of those who would not yield the said obedience; and a matter of ten or twelve
days after this was done, he sent to a village about half a league from that which he had
burned, which is named Matam, and which is also an island, and ordered them to send him at
once three goats, three pigs, three loads of rice, and three loads of millet for provisions for the
ships; they replied that for each article which he sent to ask them three of, they would send to
him by twos, and if he was satisfied with this they would at once comply, if not, it might be as
he pleased, but that they would not give it. Because they did not choose to grant what he
demanded of them, Fernan de Magalhães ordered three boats to be equipped with a matter of
fifty or sixty men, and went against the said place, which was on the 28th day of April, in the
morning; there they found many people, who might well be as many as three thousand or four
thousand men, who fought with such a good will that the said Fernan de Magalhães was killed
there, with six of his men, in the year 1521.”
349 Navarrete (iv, pp. 65, 66) gives the names of the men killed with Magalhães on April 27 as
follows: Christóbal Rabelo, then captain of the “Victoria;” Francisco Espinosa, a sailor; Anton
Gallego, a common seaman; Juan de Torres, sobresaliente and soldier; Rodrigo Nieto, servant
of Juan de Cartagena; Pedro Gomez, servant of Gonzalo Espinosa; and Anton de Escovar,
sobresaliente, wounded but died April 29.

5. EXCERPT OF THE PHILIPPINE REVOLUTION by Apolinario Mabini (translated by Leon Ma.

Guerrero; courtesy of the Malacañang for the posting of the translated version)
The reading material is taken from the Malacanang.gov.ph: http://malacanang.gov.ph/8143-
the-philippine-revolution-by-apolinario-mabini/
SHORT BACKGROUND OF THE DOCUMENT:
The Philippine Revolution (La Revolución Filipina) was written by Apolinario Mabini in early
1900s. This served as a historical narrative as well as the comments of Mabini on the events
prior, during, and after the Philippine Revolution.
Apolinario Mabini, known as the “Brains of the Revolution” and the “Sublime Paralytic”, was
born in Tanauan, Batangas in July 1864. Amidst poverty, he was able to finish his studies at the
University of Santo Tomas with a grade of sobresaliente in all of his law subjects from 1st year
to 6th year (Villaroel, 1964). Mabini also joined Rizal’s La Liga Filipina and its reformist faction
Cuerpo de Compromisarios.
Known for his intelligence, he was chosen by Emilio Aguinaldo (the first and the youngest
president of the Philippines) to be the latter’s adviser. After the inauguration of the First
Philippine Republic, Mabini became the Minister of Foreign Affairs and the Philippine’s first
Prime Minister until he was replaced by Pedro Paterno. His fall in Aguinaldo’s government was
in part due to the intrigues caused by the other members of the cabinet.
**************************************
For the fifth reading material, you are expected to identify the factors that led to the eventual
defeat of the Filipinos against the invading American forces. Assess as to whether or not
Apolinario Mabini can be considered as a primary source in relation to the things that
happened during the Philippine Revolution, and evaluate whether or not he committed biases
in writing the document. Moreover, you are expected to analyze the significance of lack of unity
to the country’s historical development. Furthermore, kindly compare the conditions during the
Philippine Revolution and the current situation of the Philippines in terms of cooperation, unity,
etc.
TRANSLATED DOCUMENT:
CHAPTER X - END AND FALL OF THE REVOLUTION
As I had foreseen, our improvised militia could not withstand the first blow struck by the
disciplined American troops. Moreover, it must be admitted that the Filipino forces stationed
around Manila were not prepared for an attack that night: General Ricarte, in command of the
detachments in the south, and General San Miguel, commander of the eastern zone where the
attack began, were then in Malolos. Little accustomed to war, the Filipino commanders and
officers hardly appreciated the value of military instruction and discipline so that the
emplacements were not served with anything approaching order and precision. The Filipino
general staff had not studied or laid down any plans for offensive or withdrawal movements in
case of an outbreak of hostilities. Mr Aguinaldo, who had scant appreciation of the advantages
of a unified command and coordinated tactics, had made no provision for the prompt
restoration of communications among the various army units should a sudden retreat interrupt
the telegraphic system. Mr. Aguinaldo wanted to keep the forces around Manila under his
direct orders, commanding them from his residence in Malolos, although he could not devote
himself completely to the proper discharge of the duties of this command because of his
preoccupations as head of the government and the conceit of personally deciding many
matters which should have been channeled through the departments of the central
administration. Only after the outbreak of hostilities, when the telegraph lines had already
been cut, did he name General Luna commander of the forces operating around Manila, but by
that time the various army units had already evacuated their old emplacements, and
communications among them had become slow and hazardous. Furthermore, Luna resigned his
command shortly afterward because the War Minister had disapproved one of his dispositions.
However, he resumed command of the defensive operations north of Manila when the
Philippine Government was compelled to leave Malolos for San Isidro in the province of Nueva
Ecija. Luna was able to raise fresh forces in Calumpit, forming a number of companies
composed of veteran soldiers of the former native army organized by the Spanish Government,
and with these troops as a core he imposed a stern disciplinary system to stop the
demoralization of our troops. But many commanders, jealous of their authority, withheld from
him the effective cooperation that was necessary. This led to the cashiering by brute force of
commanders who did not recognize his authority, or the court-martialling of those who
abandoned their posts in the face of the enemy, or the disarming of troops that disobeyed his
orders.
In spite of all these obstacles, Luna would have succeeded in imposing and maintaining
discipline if Aguinaldo had supported him with all the power of his prestige and authority, but
the latter was also beginning to grow jealous, seeing Luna slowly gain ascendancy by his
bravery, audacity, and military skill. All those affronted by his actuations were inducing
Aguinaldo to believe that Luna was plotting to wrest from him the supreme authority. After the
Calumpit bridge had fallen to the American forces, due mainly to the scarcity of ammunition,
Luna came to see me in San Isidro and entreated me to help him convince Mr. Aguinaldo that
the time had come to adopt guerrilla warfare. I promised to do what he wanted, while making
it clear to him that I doubted I would get anywhere because my advice was hardly heeded in
military matters inasmuch as, not being a military man but a man of letters, my military
knowledgeability must be scant, if not non-existent. I could not keep my promise because after
our meeting I did not get to see Mr. Aguinaldo until after some time when he came expressly to
seek my advice on whether or not it would be expedient to reorganize the cabinet. Unable to
overcome my sense of propriety even in those circumstances, I answered in the affirmative,
and, having relinquished office to my successor, Don Pedro A. Paterno, in the first days of May
1899, I left for the town of Rosales near Bayambang. Some weeks later Mr. Aguinaldo sent a
telegram asking Luna to see him in Cabanatuan for an exchange of views, but when Luna
arrived in Cabanatuan he met not Aguinaldo but death by treachery plotted by the very same
soldiers whom he had disarmed and court-martialled for abandonment of their post and
disobedience to his orders (he did not find Aguinaldo at home and was treacherously murdered
by the soldiers who were on sentry duty there). Colonel Francisco Roman, who accompanied
Luna, died with him. While Luna was being murdered. Mr Aguinaldo was in Tarlac taking over
command of the forces which the deceased had organized. Before his death Luna had his
headquarters in Bayambang, and had reconnoitered Bangued to determine if it met the
conditions for an efficacious defense in case of a retreat; what is more, he was already
beginning to transport there the heavier pieces of ordnance. Notwithstanding, Aguinaldo
established his government in Tarlac, wasting his time on political and literary activities, a
negligence which General Otis exploited by landing his infantry in San Fabian while his cavalry,
wheeling through San Jose and Umingan, took San Quintin and Tayug, thus cutting all of Mr.
Aguinaldo’s lines of retreat and giving the death-blow to the Revolution.
Until now I cannot believe that Luna was plotting to wrest from Mr. Aguinaldo the high
office he held although Luna certainly aspired to be prime minister instead of Mr. Paterno, with
whom Luna disagreed because the former’s autonomy program was a violation of the
fundamental law of the State and as such was a punishable crime. This is shown by a report in
the newspaper La Independencia, inspired by Luna and published a few days before his death,
which stated that the Paterno-Buencamino cabinet would be replaced by another in which Luna
would be prime minister as well as war minister. When a few days afterward Luna received Mr.
Aguinaldo’s telegram calling him to Cabanatuan, Luna thought perhaps that the subject of their
meeting-would be the new cabinet; he did not expect an attempt to assassinate him precisely
at the critical juncture when the Revolution most needed his strong and skilled right arm; nor
could he believe that a licit and correct ambition should inspire fear in Mr. Aguinaldo who had
named him commanding general of the Philippine army. Luna had certainly allowed himself to
say on occasion that Aguinaldo had a weak character and was unfit to be a leader, but such
language was only an explosive outlet for a fiery and ebullient temperament which saw its plans
frustrated by the lack of necessary support. All of Luna’s acts revealed integrity and patriotism
combined with a zealous activity that measured up to the situation. If he was sometimes hasty
and even cruel in his decisions, it was because the army was in a desperate position due to the
demoralization of the troops and the lack of munitions; only acts of daring and extraordinary
energy could prevent its disintegration.
The death of Andres Bonifacio had plainly shown in Mr. Aguinaldo a boundless appetite
for power, and Luna’s personal enemies exploited this weakness of Aguinaldo with skillful
intrigues in order to encompass Luna’s ruin.
To say that if Aguinaldo, instead of killing Luna (allowing Luna to be killed), had
supported him with all his power, the Revolution would have triumphed, would be
presumption indeed, but I have not the least doubt that the Americans would have had a higher
regard for the courage and military abilities of the Filipinos. Had Luna been alive, I am sure that
Otis’s mortal blow would have been parried or at least timely prevented, and Mr. Aguinaldo’s
unfitness for military command would not have been exposed so clearly. Furthermore, to rid
himself of Luna, Aguinaldo had recourse to the very soldiers whom Luna had punished for
breaches of discipline; by doing so Aguinaldo destroyed that discipline, and with it his own
army. With Luna, its most firm support fell the Revolution, and, the ignominy of that fall bearing
wholly on Aguinaldo, brought about in turn his own moral death, a thousand times more bitter
than physical death. Aguinaldo therefore ruined himself, damned by his own deeds. Thus are
great crimes punished by Providence.
To sum it up, the Revolution failed because it was badly led; because its leader won his
post by reprehensible rather than meritorious acts; because instead of supporting the men
most useful to the people, he made them useless out of jealousy. Identifying the
aggrandizement of the people with his own, he judged the worth of men not by their ability,
character and patriotism but rather by their degree of friendship and kinship with him; and,
anxious to secure the readiness of his favourites to sacrifice themselves for him, he was
tolerant even of their transgressions. Because he thus neglected the people, the people forsook
him; and forsaken by the people, he was bound to fall like a waxen idol melting in the heat of
adversity. God grant we do not forget such a terrible lesson, learnt at the cost of untold
suffering.
CHAPTER XI - CONCLUSION
I am sorry that the logic of events should take me to such painful conclusions, but I
aspire to be a critic and I must tell the truth. Having written these memoirs only to seek in the
past the most useful lessons for the present and the future, I have tried to be impartial. I have
also tried to render judgment on events and not on particular individuals, but, in adjudging the
Revolution, I could do no less than pass judgment on the man who did not recoil from crime in
order to embody the Revolution in himself from beginning to end. I am sure that I have
chronicled events as I saw them happen or heard about them, and that I have passed judgment
on them as dispassionately as possible, but, if I have been mistaken or unjust by involuntary
omission or because of wrong information, I am ready to correct my mistakes or make such
amends as may be proper. If in the course of my narrative I have often made reference to
myself, it has not been from a desire to single myself out to others’ disadvantage but only to
indicate my personal participation in the great drama of the Revolution, sometimes as a mere
spectator, at other times as a member of the cast, and thus to provide a gauge for the
trustworthiness of my account. I do not see anything wrong in examining our past in order to
draw up a balance-sheet of our failures, mistakes and weaknesses; whoever voluntarily
confesses his sins shows at least a praiseworthy and honorable purpose of amendment and
correction. The evil would lie in concealing them, and in their discovery and exposure by a
stranger, not to put us right but to sully our name. Their concealment, moreover, would
encourage evil-doers, while their exposure teaches us useful lessons. I should have liked to
make this essay something of an exemplary history of the Philippines, displaying side by side
the vices and the virtues of each individual, and the disadvantages and advantages of each
institution, in the conviction that in this world the most perfect being has his imperfections, and
the most imperfect his perfections. But such a task is beyond my abilities. Also, the collection of
the material necessary for this kind of work requires a long period of laborious study and
research for which I lack the time. I am content, therefore, within the measure of my ability and
means, to prepare the way for others better qualified.
Going back to Mr. Aguinaldo, I hope and pray that my observations, made without
rancor and only in the performance of a painful duty, will not increase the bitterness in his
heart but will rather awaken in him an ardent desire to make up for his past and recapture the
general esteem with noteworthy acts of unselfishness and abnegation. When I was already a
prisoner in Manila, in the hands of the American authorities, I hinted to Mr Aguinaldo, writing
in El Comercio to correct an item in the Manila Times that his only salvation was a glorious
death on the battlefield. Shortly afterward, in another article published in La Fraternidad, I
repeated this hint more explicitly and clearly, comparing him with Mr Kruger. I knew that these
articles would not please the American authorities, but I was convinced that, with Aguinaldo
meeting death in a supreme effort to defend our national freedom, such an heroic act would
restore his reputation and at the same time honor the Filipinos. However, my suggestions were
not followed. I have no complaint because, even if Mr. Aguinaldo had proposed to act in
accordance with them, I understand that it is not always possible to do what one wants.
Moreover, it might be that his crimes were so grave that Providence would not judge him
worthy of immortality, or that it would be for his own good to hear the judgment of public
opinion so that repentance might touch the sensitive fibers of his heart. The frustrated Andres
Bonifacio was wont to say when he was still alive that we should fear no one except History,
and indeed History is implacable in doing justice, and its judgment is terrible against the
offender.
Be that as it may, Mr. Aguinaldo should not despair. As I have just indicated, he can still
make up for his past and recapture the general esteem with worthy deeds. He is still young and
has shown a natural sagacity in making the most of circumstances for his own ends,
questionable as they were because he lacked the culture and virtue demanded by his office.
Mr. Aguinaldo believed that one can serve his country with honor and glory only from high
office, and this is an error which is very dangerous to the common welfare; it is the principal
cause of the civil wars which impoverish and exhaust many states and contributed greatly to
the failure of the Revolution. Only he is truly a patriot who, whatever his post, high or low, tries
to do the greatest possible good to his countrymen. A little good done in a humble position is a
title to honor and glory, while it is a sign of negligence or incompetence when done in high
office. True honor can be discerned in the simple manifestations of an upright and honest soul,
not in brilliant pomp and ornament which scarcely serve to mask the deformities of the body.
True honor is attained by teaching our minds to recognize truth, and training our hearts to love
it. The recognition of truth shall lead us to the recognition of our duties and of justice, and by
performing our duties and doing justice we shall be respected and honored, whatever our
station in life. Let us never forget that we are on the first rung of our national life, and that we
are called upon to rise, and can go upward only on the ladder of virtue and heroism. Above all
let us not forget that, if we do not grow, we shall have died without ever having been great,
unable to reach maturity, which is proper of a degenerate race.
I shall not end these remarks to my countrymen without putting on record the
boundless disgust I felt whenever I heard of the rape of Filipinas by Filipino soldiers. I admit
these were isolated cases, very difficult to prevent in times of general disorder and the
uncontrolled outbreak of passions, but I am sure that the first instances would not have been
repeated if the commanders concerned had punished such outrages energetically and without
hesitation. How shall we get foreigners to respect our women when we ourselves set the
example of offending them? Can we Filipino men expect to be respected when our women are
not? In the chivalrous tradition of ancient times the principal virtue of the knight without fear
and without reproach was respect for womanhood because the custom of protecting the honor
and life of the weak and defenseless surely showed greatness of soul and nobility of heart. It
should be realized that this virtue was not merely necessary in the legendary age of romance
but one of the great imperatives in the life of peoples since, if woman finds simple respect and
consideration within her customary ambit, she quickly acquires that sense of dignity which
protects her from many frailties, a dignity which, passed on to her sons, instils in them courage
and fortitude for great enterprises and heroic deeds.
Lastly, I hope that this succinct narrative will give a clearer and more correct
appreciation of the political needs of the Filipinos and of their fitness for democratic
government. The Spaniards as well as the Americans have looked upon the Filipinos as half-
savages unfit for such a government because they have always confused lack of experience
with personal aptitude. One who is unfit for civilized life does not want it because he does not
need it, and for this reason the Igorots and Aetas and other really half-savage tribes in the
archipelago are happier living in the mountains and forests than in the towns. The Spanish
Government claimed that political aspirations were to be found only in the hearts of a few
educated Filipinos but not among the masses of the country, yet the latter, unable to prove the
Government wrong otherwise because they were forbidden to petition, rose in rebellion led by
Andres Bonifacio and Emilio Aguinaldo, both men of little learning. The United States
Government shares the same belief, and I hope that this essay, by showing it the past, will help
to lead it out of error and prevent the horrors of a new revolution.
Of the reforms previously sought from the Spanish Government, the United States
Congress has to this date granted only that referring to certain individual rights, whose exercise
is still restricted by the authority of the Insular Government, a government which continues to
be absolute insofar as the members of the executive branch also make the laws and appoint at
their discretion the members of the judiciary. Moreover, the irritating inequality in pay among
those who hold the same positions is more general, an inequality which in Spanish times
existed only in the armed forces, and which makes impossible an identity of interests among
Americans and Filipinos. The constabulary, for its part, is following in the footsteps of its hated
counterpart under the former regime. Before my deportation to Guam, when Governor Taft
was still only Chairman of the Philippine Commission, I solicited an interview to ask him the
extent and limits of the sovereignty which the United States sought to impose on the
Philippines. Mr. Taft told me very frankly that the United States wanted to exercise the same
sovereignty that Russia or Turkey would if they had acquired the islands with the same title, the
only difference being- that the Americans, having been reared under a regime of freedom,
would try to exercise sovereignty more liberally. I allowed myself to remark that it was more
prudent for a government not openly to oppose the wishes of the governed, but I could not
continue because he gave me to understand that his explicit instructions did not allow him to
discuss such matters with me. The reason was obvious since, in the last analysis, Governor
Taft’s instructions were in accordance with the McEnery proposal and the plans of the
Washington administration. For that reason I think it is useless to discuss them now. I shall
allow myself only the observation that, if the Americans have not been reared under the
governmental system which they are now introducing in the Philippines, they cannot consider
themselves more experienced and capable than the Filipinos. If the Americans in general are
relatively better schooled, the Filipinos, reared under an absolute government during the
Spanish regime, have more experience of it and, what is more, know their own needs better. I
admit that the Americans have proved their competence and capacity for democratic
government, but an absolutist regime is totally different and cannot be practiced in the United
States because it is contrary to the character and customs of the American people. By
temperament and education the citizens of the United States are the least competent and fit
for absolute government because the two governmental systems are like two machines with
different mechanisms that call for operators with different specialized training to make them
work. If the Americans really want to teach the Filipinos the arts of civilization and good
government they should establish in the Philippines the kind of government they know, under
which they have been reared, and which the inhabitants want to learn. Otherwise, if the
Americans persist in maintaining a governmental system which they have not practised and
which the islanders reject, they must place at its head men of extraordinary ability, and they are
not common in the United States or elsewhere.
I shall end with a question. Would the grant of the reforms formerly sought from the
Spanish Government satisfy the Filipinos now? I am very much afraid not, because the
aspiration for independence, almost unknown before, now beats strongly at the bottom of all
hearts. Its denial, and the threats and violent acts of the Government, only serve to affirm this
feeling and to keep it alive; we did not fight and suffer for it for nothing. The denial of
independence will doubtless content those who accommodate themselves to any situation in
order to enjoy its advantages, but they are very few, and they are despised if not hated by the
masses, because they claim the masses are not yet fit for independence when it is they who are
giving evidence of unfitness by making it plain they have no political ideal other than their
personal convenience. Before my deportation to Guam, those who had unconditionally taken
the Government’s side in order to win the official title of friends of peace tried to organize a
political party. Since the Government could not promise more than a future autonomy, which
did not and does not satisfy the people, it did not suit them to adopt this objective since very
few would join them. They therefore asked for annexation as a territory for the time being, and
subsequently as a state. The truth is not only that such an objective found and finds no support
in any political party in the United States, but also that no American statesman believes in the
possibility that the islands may someday become a state of the Union. But this objective was
less objectionable to the people, which they considered too ignorant to grow aware of any
political game. I had the imprudence to remark that their aspiration was chimerical; that if they
wanted something positive, they should work on the Government to give in a little and promise
independence in the future; and that I would help them to convince the people that it should
also compromise and give up immediate independence. Although I was counselling
accommodation to both sides so as to arrive at a compromise, the only foundation of a true
peace, I was pronounced intransigent and as such was deported to Guam, where I was held
prisoner incommunicado for more than two years. I am ready to forget this personal injury,
although injustices never beget peace but rather distrust and the perturbation of minds.
Nonetheless, in the belief that it is my duty, I shall be imprudent once more and recommend for
the second time the mutual reconciliation of Americans and Filipinos.
IV. Learning Enhancements
A. Influence of External and Internal Criticisms in Philippine History
To improve your understanding of the significance of historical criticisms in fact-checking our
country’s history, you may view the following videos via YouTube:

(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H1lShfwt930)

(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RKqgfCtDx0M)

(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CXVpsCX-H0s)
B. Kartilya ng Katipunan and “Sampung Utos ng mga Anak ng Bayan”
Kindly read Andres Bonifacio’s Sampung Utos ng mga Anak ng Bayan (Decalogue) to have a
better understanding as to why Bonifacio chose Jacinto’s Kartilya over his own rules. You may
access the video via: http://malacanang.gov.ph/7013-andres-bonifacios-decalogue-and-the-
kartilya-ng-katipunan/.

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