The winner was Andres Bonifacio
THE auction last Saturday, March 3, at the with starting prices of P500,000 each, the Andres Bonifacio Presidential Letters were auctioned and fetched the following prices: Letter to Emilio Jacinto, March 8, 1897 (Lot 128) - P1.8 million; letter to Jacinto, April 16, 1897 (Lot 129) - P1.7 million; letter to Jacinto, April 24, 1897 (Lot 130) - P4.8 million, the most expensive; appointment of Jacinto as Commander of the High Council of Hilagaan, April 15, 1897 (Lot 131) - P3.2 million; and Philatelic Envelope from President Bonifacio that once contained the Jacinto appointment (Loy 132) - P2.4 million. With the auction fees, all the Bonifacio items collectively fetched P16.2 million.
The auction sparked a debate among history enthusiasts, even among Bonifacio admirers and kin. Some people think that these letters should be donated to the government, or at least govern Many think that the National Historical Commission of the Philippines should have bought the letters. Actually, our most important historical documents, including the letters and novels of José Rizal and the Declaration of Philippine Independence, are kept in the National Library of the Philippines.
Missing from the debate was the voice of the man who, for about three decades, was the custodian of the Bonifacio Presidential Letters, collector Emmanuel Encarnacion. A few weeks back he sent me this message: “Please tell them I am doing this as a signof
protest against people who think that government is a better custodian of national treasures than many in the private sector. Government values restoration of churches and old buildings but does not give a damn about keeping important national treasures.
“.... If FB people sincerely believe that govern- ment should have the Bonifacio Presidential Letters, they should bid on March 3 and have the privilege of donation. By selling the letters in the biggest auction house in town, President Andres Bonifacio will surely get his media mileage.”
What can safely be deduced is that prior to the auction, whether formally or informally, there were talks with a government entity to acquire these letters.
But former National Historical Commission of the Philippines Chair Ambeth Ocampo said that cultural agencies “cannot spend what is not in their annual budget appropriated by Congress. Besides, the Commission on Audit will disallow acquisition at auction.”
And then there’s the ghost of Juan Luna’s “Parisian Life.” Amidst accusations of delayed pensions in 2002, the Government Service Insurance System, in order to “save” this heritage from going to foreign hands, bought the painting from Christie’s auction house in Hong Kong for P46 million. People were quick to comment, “Bakit?Nakakainbaang Juan Luna? Anobaang
halaganiyan?” The then GSIS president Winston Garcia was hounded for years by charges of corruption because of the painting, but was able to successfully justify the acquisition to the Commission on Audit. But this became a precedent for government officials thinking of buying anything not under its budget. If only people appreciated what the GSIS did, a system would have been created for government to acquire precious documents like these by coordinating government-owned and -controlled corporations which can provide funds as part of their corporate social responsibility.
In the end, aside from the gallery owner, the scholarships abroad being offered by the Asian I would argue that the real winner of the auction was actually Andres Bonifacio himself!
One, once doubted, the Bonifacio Presidential Letters came under the scrutiny of a battery of experts before the sale and was deemed as having excellent provenance and authentic by virtue of the high value it acquired.
Two, the elites will be aware of what a lot of Filipinos have already accepted—a fact that was shown by the letters—that Bonifacio had a revolutionary government and signed himself not as “Supremo” but as “Pangulo,”
Three, surely there should never be a price tag for heroism, but it is a reality that auctions like these happen and people compare the high market value of items associated with such personalities. With the sale, we have a measurable way of determining that for the elites Bonifacio comes up to the level of Rizal in importance, not that they needed that validation.
Lastly, for a relative of Bonifacio, Jojie Camacho, these letters represent the tragedy of his life and that the auction was somehow a closure. “T and a anna tin nayun gm gas u lat nayun anghu ling tanik alas a bu hay ni Lo lo And res. Pa rang nak aw ala si Lo lo An dress ana auction yan. After those letters pinataysiya. How happy I am nak aw alan a si Lo lo And res .” (Remember that those letters are the last chains in the life of Lolo Andres. That auction somehow freed him from those chains. After those letters were written, he was murdered. How happy I am that Lolo Andres has broken free.)
Congratulations, Manong Andres.