(Photo courtesy of @LarryPConcepcion)
He stood along the shores of Kawit, looking across the calm waters of Manila Bay towards the capital, eagerly waiting for the torches of Luneta to go off. That would be his signal from Andres Bonifacio, the Supremo that the uprisings have started, and he in turn shall initiate the same action here in Cavite. Gen. Emilio Aguinaldo waited overnight for the signal. It never came.
Something must have gone wrong.
He would later learn that the Supremo and 800 brave Katipuneros, spurned by their initial victory at the San Juan del Monte gunpowder reservoir, were routed by Governor Blanco’s men at El Deposito in Intramuros. 150 died that night, and another 200 captured and were later executed. However, this setback did not stop Aguinaldo from leading the revolutionaries in Cavite into several victories against Spain. He would later become one of the world’s greatest resistance leaders to fight colonialism. The rest of the Philippines followed suit.
But these victories were not bought lightly.
He fought even when he was stricken with malaria. He withstood the onslaught of typhoons. He slept restless nights with the specter of death looming all over their heads. Aguinaldo and the revolutionaries encountered several horrors and difficulties during their campaign. They have seen how the waters of the Zapote River turned red with the blood of their fallen comrades. Men, and even women, worked day and night, oblivious to the exhaustion they felt, building defensive trenches, until they fall unconsciously to sleep as they dug up the ground.
In the Battle of Binakayan, the Filipinos faced 5000 Spanish regular troops. The enemy was equipped with new rifles and cannons – while the Filipinos have bolos, paltiks and rusted rifles. Against insurmountable odds, the revolutionaries faced their aggressors with sheer terror in the face of this adversary. But with courage and determination, they achieved victory.
What was their formula for success?
Great leadership…. yes…. unparalleled valor…. of course…. but the main ingredient was… UNITY. Our forefathers won victory after victory because they were UNITED under one goal… freedom. Town after town, the Spaniards were driven out. After 300 years, we were finally beating the Spaniards.
Everything was going well…. until bad politics crept in.
A rivalry ensued between the two main councils, or should I say "political parties" of the Katipunan. The Magdalos wanted a new revolutionary government while Bonifacio and the Magdiwangs insisted on the Katipunan government as enough and sufficient for the cause. It was a major power play culminating into the Tejeros Convention, where the Supremo himself was booted out of the same governing body he himself established.
The clashes in the assembly continued on…. and then there was a failed coup attempt…. reinforcements intercepted by rival factions --- a war was raging within (isn't this reminiscent of what is happening today?). Magdalo soldiers refused to help towns defended by the Magdiwangs… and the same is true for the reverse…. even if these towns were attacked by their common enemy, the Spaniards.
All these culminated in the arrest and execution of the Supremo. The results - the revolutionaries suffered several reverses. Town after town previously held by the Katipuneros fell. Their previous victories were simple pounded into dust.
It was a dark period for the revolution.
Never before in our history did our ancestors showed nationalism and unity as one people – until the founding of the Katipunan. But this same history was beset with petty squabbling, power plays, and politicking. It was all the same even when faced with common enemies - first the Spaniards, then the Americans. It overshadowed, and eventually destroyed the unity that was once established.
The first Philippine Republic was plagued with acts like these. A grim example was the assassination of General Antonio Luna, who was making headway in his guerilla campaign against the Yankees. The reason?.... Politics and plain envy. Another example was the Battle of Tirad Pass, with the young Gen. Gregorio del Pilar and his 60-man Filipino rearguard succumbing to the large American regiment pursuing Aguinaldo. The battle was reminiscent of King Leonidas and his 300 Spartans at Thermopylae, both annihilated by foreign invaders due to the treachery of their own countrymen – Ephialtes for the Greeks, and Januario Galut for the Filipinos.
Nevertheless, our heritage was not that dim. There were flashes of brightness in our past when our people really got together and were united as one. The EDSA revolution was one great example, where the people toppled a dictator without any bloodshed. And then there is Gawad Kalinga, a noble work that bridges all facets of our nation in helping build communities for the poorest of the poor, restoring their dignity as citizens…and as Filipinos. All these were accomplished with our faith giving us strength and with God as our guide.
This is a call for all of us to face the coming decades as one people. Our ancestors have shown that they could do it. Let’s show that we can do it now. Yes, we’re faced with a lot of impediments – the global economic meltdown; the never-ending recession; unemployment; peso devaluations; changes in the climate; dengue and Influenza A (H1N1); and even terrorism. But just like the Katipuneros, let’s overcome them all with our unity.
We don’t have to shed blood to prove to the world that we can do it – our heroes have already done that for us.
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Peter Allan C. Mariano
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