Almost similar to Antonio Luna’s case, Apolinario Mabini joined the Aguinaldo Government upon the strong recommendation of Felipe Agoncillo. Aguinaldo, strongly convinced that Mabini will be of much help to him,instructed his troops to fetch Mabini while in Los Banos, Laguna. Mabini and Aguinaldo met for the first time in Cavite City in the morning of June 12, 1898. Surprisingly, Mabini saw that declaring independence during that time will expose the real intention of the Philippine government. While he raised this concern, Aguinaldo still continued to conduct the solemn ceremony that day.
President Aguinaldo without any hesitation believed in the capability of Mabini. Proof of this confidence can be observed with the proclamations, acts, circulars, and various order of Aguinaldo penned by Mabini. As adviser, Mabini is responsible for reviewing almost all decisions in the government from June 1898 up to conduct of the First Philippine Republic. What used to be a complementing relationship turned sour when President Aguinaldo made several decisions in favor of the Revolutionary Congress. The confidence of Aguinaldo to Mabini was seen during the conduct of the First Philippine Republic until his resignation in May 1899. After his capture by the American forces, Mabini, together with Artemio Ricarte and others were exiled to Guam. His taking of oath to the American Government gave him a pass to return to the Philippines.
During his exile to Guam, Mabini wrote his memoir, “La Revolution Filipina”, which details his philosophy of the revolution and his participation in the nationalist campaign. It also includes Mabini’s accusations that accused Aguinaldo caused the death of Bonifacio and Luna that led to the downfall of the revolution. This harsh accusation was taken silently by Aguinaldo after the war. It was only when Jose P. Santos interviewed Aguinaldo explained his side of the story. To further defend himself from Mabini’s accusations, Aguinaldo wrote Paunang Salita sa Aking Talambuhay which answers point by point these accusations.
| Notable Historical Events | Mabini’s Alliance/Loyalty to Bonifacio? | Mabini’s Alliance/Loyalty to Aguinaldo? | OTHER OPINIONS |
| Tejeros Convention March 22, 1897 | Mabini was not involved in the revolution yet. But in the 1900’s he accused Aguinaldo of tricking Bonifacio into the formation of a revolutionary government. | Mabini was not around during the Tejeros Convention. He was arrested on October 10, 1896 and was only freed on May 17, 1897 (Majul, C. 1964) | Where was Mabini physically? He was sick in Laguna, could not walk. Arrested in 1896, for being affiliated with the reformist. Even then biographers of Mabini were surprised why he was bad mouthing Aguinaldo and why Aguinaldo did not act until early 1930s –Dr Calairo |
| Acta de Tejeros and Oathtaking at Tanza Convent, March 23, 1897 | Mabini, in his memoirs, questioned the dominance of the Magdalo group in the elected officials of Tejero, Cavitismo, and the validity of the elections due to fraud. | See explanation above. | Only two members of the Magdalo group were elected and the rest were all Magdiwang. Baldomero Aguinaldo as Director of Finance and Emilio Aguinaldo as President– Dr. Calairo |
| Death of Bonifacio Brothers | While Mabini was never a witness to the execution, he claimed in his memoirs (La Revolucion Filipina) that Aguinaldo confided in him that the Bonifacio brothers were sentenced to die. | Mabini was not around. See explanation above | Given the accounts in the book of Majul, it was impossible for Mabini to have known of the execution of the Bonifacio brothers. He was only freed on May 17, 1897 while the Bonifacio Brothers died on May 10, 1897. – Dr. Calairo |
| Aguinaldo’s Exile in Hongkong, December 1897 | Aguinaldo learned of Mabini’s brilliance and philosophy of the revolution from Felipe Agoncillo. | ||
| Aguinaldo’s Return to PH, May 19, 1898 | Upon the return of Aguinaldo to the Philippines (May 19, 1898), he invited Mabini to his quarters. Mabini, then recuperating in Bay Laguna, was ferried via a hammock to Cavite. Mabini reached the headquarters on June 12, 1898, the designated date for the proclamation of Philippine independence. | ||
| Proclamation of Philippine Independence | Aguinaldo shared the stories of Filipino victories in the battlefield with Mabini as well as the independence campaign, the proclamation of which was scheduled for the afternoon of that day. Mabini expressed dissent, believing that the planned proclamation exposes the true intention of the Filipinos — independence — to the Spaniards. However, Aguinaldo rejected the suggestion of Mabini to postpone and pushed through arguing that the proclamation could serve as a propaganda for other countries to believe that the Philippines was already an independent state due to victories in the battlefield. The ceremonial proclamation (attended mostly by military) pushed through in August 1, 1898. However the actual signing was postponed to August 6, 1898 upon the advice of Mabini. About 200 representatives from the different provinces, which included the original eight provinces placed under Martial Law by the Spanish General (the 8 rays of sun in the Philippine Flag), met in early August. Which resulted in the signing of the declaration in August 6. This document was sent abroad. | The beginning of Mabini’s resentment towards Aguinaldo. – PM Virata |
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| Malolos Crisis | The Crisis began when Mabini insisted for a consultative congress while the Paterno group maintained that a powerful congress be constituted. The crux of this was when the Mabini constitution was not adopted by Congress. | ||
| Philippine American War (1899-1902?) | When the war broke out, Mabini fled to the north. He was captured by the American forces on December 10, 1899 at Cuyapo, Nueva Ecija. | ||
| Guam Exile (1901-1903) | In 1901, Mabini was exiled to Guam. It was during this time that he wrote the La Revolucion Filipina. | ||
| American Occupation | Mabini retuned to the Philippines, took his oath of allegiance ot the United states and released. Once in the Philippines, he resumed his campaign for an independent Philippines. He died of cholera in Manila oon May 13, 1903 at the age of 38 |
We encourage healthy exchange of ideas on this website. Share your thoughts via info@heroesall.ph We welcome opinions that can widen the understanding of our history. Information and/or opinions will be posted on the third column as deemed vital by our editors.
Dear All.
Allow me to start with confessions.
First confession. I have never been here before.
Second confession – I have never really paid attention to the Malolos Constitution and its history until now. So, please take my statements in that light. But I assure you they are all based on my recent readings and recent information that I have gathered.
For the record, it is true I am a direct descendant of General Aguinaldo. The General had several children, one of whom was Carmen Aguinaldo, my grandmother. She, in turn, had a daughter, former Supreme Court Justice Ameurfina Aguinaldo, my mother, who married my father, Dr. Herrera. And then there’s me, the lawyer, and my two younger sisters, both doctors.
Third confession: I have been a lousy direct descendant. I have not paid attention to the affairs of the National Historical Commission nor versions of reports on General Aguinaldo whether good or bad. In all these years, it has always been the tandem of the Prime Minister and my mother holding up, and defending, the history and the name of General Aguinaldo against all the brickbats thrown against him.
So, in that sense, you Prime Minister Virata, are more of a direct descendant than I have been or will ever be. Your dedication to protecting as best as you can the reputation of General Aguinaldo has been way beyond and above the call of duty and of being a relative. Besides which and amongst all the relatives, you are the one who looks like General Aguinaldo.
To help remind the Filipinos of the past and due to the prodding, the convincing, the encouragement of Prime Minister Virata which can also be interpreted as coercion, severe persuasion etc., I have, with his guidance, put up what I call an interactive website. This website will have 3 columns – first column, Pro Aguinaldo, 2nd column – Anti Aguinaldo and a third column inviting writers, historians, experts and our fellow Filipinos to comment on the first two. In this manner, I hope to encourage our youth to take a look at history from an objective point of view – whether pro or anti Aguinaldo, whether pro or anti Bonifacio, whether pro or anti Mabini, Quezon etc. I request if I could work with the National Historical Commission on this interactive website. (website is called “Heroes ALL” for in my opinion, all were heroes.
So let me jump into the Malolos Constitution which was prepared in the late 1890s. I now realize that the Malolos Constitution had a very colorful history to say the least.
[quoted from CEA letter to Ms. Arevalo dated 16 September 2024]
“President Aguinaldo had two objectives when he convened the Malolos Congress first, to enact the budget and then to work on the 1898 constitution.
The President selected delegates from different faiths, different backgrounds and different experiences, so that the Constitution would have provisions to cover different situations for the safety of the citizens of the Republic. One interesting observation was that the richer families shied away from being named as a delegate because they were concerned that the ordinary delegates might consolidate to vote to reduce their wealth. This led to the Malolos Congress having members with no experience in the formulation of a constitution. They chose the best approach which was to study the constitution of Spain because they had experience with it and they know how it was to study the constitution of Spain because they had experience with it and they know it was applied and implemented.”
[Quoted form the book Saga and triumph: the Filipino revolution against Spain by Onofre. D. Corpuz published in 2002] Re: The 1898 Delegates
1st speech of General Aguinaldo
“The proceedings started with the roll call of the delegates. President Aguinaldo then read his opening address, in Tagalog. This was when he first declared that the revolution against Spain had ended in victory. He reminded the delegates that the congress in which they were representatives of the Filipino Nation was the guarantee of the people’s liberty in a civilized country. The two-page speech was not smooth-flowing. Aguinaldo took note of annexationalists and autonomists who did not join the cause of independence, and of the rich classes who simply wished to keep their wealth intact. Had all elements lent their energies and resources in the cause of the revolution, Aguinaldo said, victory in the military struggle would have, by then, included the Visayas and Mindanao. The speech closed with an appeal for unity.
2nd speech of Aguinaldo
At the opening of this temple of the laws, I know how the Filipino people, a people endowed with remarkable good sense, will assemble. Purged of its old faults, forgetting three centuries of oppression, it will open its heart to the noblest aspirations and its soul to the joys of freedom; proud of its own virtues without pity for its own weakness, here in the church of Barasoain, one the sanctuary of mystic rites, now the august and stately temple of the dogmas of its independence, here [the delegates are] as assembled in the name of peace… to write with their votes the immortal book of the Filipino constitution as the supreme expression of the national will…
[Quoted form the book Saga and triumph: the Filipino revolution against Spain by Onofre. D. Corpuz published in 2002] re Calderon
There had never been a representative legislature throughout the old regime, and the delegates were inexperienced. Of his colleagues, Felipe Calderon of Cavite, a leading lawyer, wrote in his memoirs that: “no one knew absolutely anything” about legislative rules and procedures.
Again Calderon records in his memoirs that, at the committee’s first meeting, “..I realized that we were all completely ignorant of everything relative to the matter of political and constitutional laws.” This assessment by Calderon must be taken as, at most, a personal impression, since the other members included some of the best educated delegates”
Now to Mabini [my research/interviewed PM Virata & Manny Calairo]
Apolinario Mabini wanted to have a constitution that was very pro/strong executive. Mabini’s justification was that we were still fighting Spain. We were still at the tail end of the war against Spain and Mabini sincerely believed that our fledging country still needed a strong leader. Accordingly, Mabini drafted a 130-page constitution along those lines.
The detractors or those that did not believe in what Mabini was doing wanted a weak executive, strong legislature and drafted a shorter version.
After a lot of back and forth, my direct ascendant, the General/President decided to go with the shorter version with the strong legislature and a weak executive. That was the beginning of the checks and balances of our Philippine government.
Mabini did not take that lightly. Worse, like a back-up plan, Mabini wanted to become Chief Justice of the Republic. That maneuver, that desire of Mabini was likewise rejected. one ground to reject Mabini was because he had syphilis (According to Dean Cesar Mahul).
And worse, because of the delay, the Americans argued we were not an independent country since we had no constitution. The treaty of Paris (Spain and America was signed December of 1898.)
Mabini was upset, angry, eventually exiled to Guam during the Philippine American War. There he wrote scathing criticisms against General Aguinaldo since he felt betrayed. These criticisms were just kept quiet and in limbo until my direct ascendant President Aguinaldo made what to me is the biggest mistake of his life. He decided to run for President of the Philippines against of all people, Manuel L. Quezon, the good looking mestizo who was very close to the Americans.
The Americans picked up all the adverse articles of Mabini, amongst others, and went to town against Aguinaldo to destroy his reputation. Of course, Aguinaldo lost against Quezon. He was simply no match.
Jumping to the present. Incredibly, the problems still seem to be the same. There was a recent effort to amend our 1987 Constitution. But instead of focusing on what provisions would be amended, it became a focus on who is pushing for the amendments and whether it be by people’s initiative, consultative assembly or a constitutional convention. And/or whether there was a hidden political agenda behind the moves. As in 120 years ago, we are focused on the people behind the proposed amendments rather than the amendments themselves. Whether the amendments are good or not for the economy and for the people have been made secondary issues. It is my personal observation that I am making and sharing with you all today.
So allow me to close with quotes from three former presidents. I will start in the reverse order. Proclamation No. 2105 Proclamation No. 2105 signed by Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo.
dated 25 June 2010]
GMA – quote on what Gen. Aguinaldo did, relating to Constitution (in interactive website)
“Whereas, Aguinaldo is the Father of our Country, as much as George Washington was of the United States of America, having given us our flag, our anthem, our Nationalist Revolution, our Constitution and our Republic;
Now Therefore, Gloria Macapagal Arroyo, President of the Republic of the Philippines, do hereby issue this Proclamation, declaring Emilio Aguinaldo y Famy as one of the greatest heroes of the Philippines Revolution, and order the Department of Education, the National Museum of the Philippines, the Historical Commission of the Philippines, and all other pertinent government entities, to rectify history herewith in their respective institutional capacities.”
[Ferdinand E. Marcos, Senate President, Republic of the Philippines | Eulogy: 15 February 1964 – Joint Session of the Senate and House of Representatives]
Pres. Marcos – on how he found Gen. Aguinaldo when they met
“For while Rizal was the prophet, while Bonifacio had organized the Katipunan, while Mabini built the political frame and Luna wielded the sword of combat, there was only one leader and that leader was Aguinaldo. It mattered not for he was a soldier.
For Aguinaldo was too alive, too vibrant to be considered of Pantheon material. And later, he was too self-effacing that he did not blend with the image builders’ requirements of rancorous and egotistical age”
Gen. Aguinaldo – quote begging for unity
“My silence was also prompted by my belief that the many heroes we have bind and strengthen our nation so that the freedom and independence that we have earned for the Philippines may not vanish again.
And that is why, I am disclosing here, that no matter how serious were the criticisms and accusations hurled upon me, my silence was not perturbed; since I know that the past events could not be altered and the glorious history of our nation that we so treasure would not be blemished”
So, I leave you with that thought, unity amongst the Filipinos. We have many problems as a nation. We will never hurdle them if we are fighting amongst ourselves as usual.