Two Emilios: A second look
“THERE’s nothing new in there,” historians tend to often dismiss new retellings of historical events. But I recently had a realization. What used to be “common knowledge” during our time is not known to the new generation. Thus, retelling any historical event is not just important but crucial. Also, there are things that had not been published before and which are not emphasized enough such that the new generation may find new meaning to old data based on fresh information that just obtained from newly discovered documents. Artistic historical productions, although fictional, may also reemphasize historical facts that were once neglected.
Last February 15, I watched Repertory Philippines’ “Miong,” sponsored by the National Historical Commission of the Philippines in celebration of the upcoming sesquicentennial ( 150th anniversary) of the birth of President Emilio Aguinaldo. Written and directed by Joy Virata, the wife of Prime Minister Cesar Virata and the actress who first played Evita in the country in 1986, its love themes were Disneyesque, and there was one particularly entertaining song “San Bartolome,” which will appeal to the young. The second part was more serious, tackling the tumultuous road to the proclamation of Independence. Having written documentaries and papers about President Andres Bonifacio, I expected, of course, that the restaging of this 1998 centennial musical would be in the Aguinaldo perspective, but since schoolchildren would be watching, I was hoping they wouldn’t make it appear that killing Bonifacio was right. I approached Madam Virata after the play and told her that although I was a Bonifacio sympathizer, I appreciated that at least in one of the songs, Aguinaldo doubted if killing Bonifacio was the right thing to do.
That afternoon, I was at the Leon Gallery to look at some revolutionary papers that would be auctioned today. One of which was an original signed and handwritten letter in Tagalog already familiar to me dated March 22, 1948, Aguinaldo’s birthday, admitting that he wanted to commute the death sentence, but two Council of War members who acted as judges, Mariano Noriel and Pio del Pilar, asked him that for the harmony of the revolutionary government and if they were to survive, he should implement the sentence, which he did, “Para sa kapakanan ng bayan.”
But there was another version of the letter dated May 11, 1948, which was typewritten with edits in pencil by Aguinaldo himself. A sentence there read, “Sa kasawiang palad, taglay ang maraming salabid na mga pagdaraanan ng may dala ng
patawad dahil sa nag-uumapoy na labanan ng mga Pilipino at Kastila, ang aking patawad ay hindi nakuhang makarating sa kanila bago sumapit ang araw ng pagtupad ng kahatulan, kaya ang nangyari aynatupad din ang naging hatol ng hukumang
digma.” We see here that he wanted to put out another version of the event which is more favorable to him, but decides to cross it out and just come clean and writes down in pencil the same statement as the March 22, 1948, letter claiming responsibility for the order. This tells us that there were times he was ambivalent about the decision he wished he did not have to make.
There was another set of documents from another Emilio, Emilio Jacinto, Army Chief of President Bonifacio — every known writing of his in the country which were already transcribed in the José P. Santos’s biography of Jacinto. He was often depicted as almost saintly and loyal to Bonifacio. But in one document he establishes a government in the Hukuman
ng Silangan which is under the “Biak-na-Bato Republic started on 1 November 1897.”
Even if I had seen the text before, which is easily available to anyone, only when I was reading his actual handwriting did it dawn on me: This February 1898 document tells us that Jacinto was establishing a local government in Laguna for Emilio Aguinaldo??? The handwriting is genuine no doubt, but I talked to Jim Richardson who told me there are more questions now than answers.
If he was in contact with Aguinaldo, how did he not know the Biak- na- Bato Republic ended in December 1897? Was he conning or bluffing the Spaniards? Or does this prove Jacinto’s pragmatism that although loyal to Bonifacio, he realizes the need to contribute to the continuing struggle? He subsequently wrote a letter to Mabini expressing his willingness to go to Malolos. If Jacinto is really this pragmatic than idealist, he does fit the title “Brains.”
Another not- so- noticed document appended in the JPS biography of Jacinto was a paper establishing an economic society in Laguna, which gives credence to a relative’s later story that Jacinto became a meat merchant, encouraged by, of all people, Pio del Pilar, and made quite a decent fortune in the last days of his life. More answers but also more questions.
These things make us realize that taking a second look at history is not bad at all, but exciting.