| On May 13, 2003, the nation
remembers one of its greatest heroes, Apolinario Mabini y Maranan. Known
as the "Sublime Paralytic," Mabini was the intellectual soul of the Philippine
Revolution and the Philippine Republic. He was born on July 23, 1864 in
barrio Talaga, Tanauan, Batangas, the second of the eight sons of Inocencio
Mabini and Dionisia Maranan. His family's poverty did not prevent him from
seeking an education. He supported himself serving as a teacher of Latin
in the school of Melchor Virrey in Manila and in the school of Sebastian
Virrey in Lipa. Mabini served as a teacher and law clerk in the court of
first instance in Manila and in the Intendencia General. He completed his
law studies at the University of Santo Tomas and in 1895 he was admitted
to the bar.
In September 1892 Mabini
joined the Masonry and in the following year joined the revived La Liga
Filipina and the Cuerpo de Compromisarios, which were formed to extend
support to the Reform Movement. On October 10, 1896 Mabini was arrested
by the Spanish authorities because of his connection with the reformists.
At that time he was already stricken with polio which saved him from being
shot. The Spanish authorities placed him under house arrest at the San
Juan de Dios hospital.
In April 1898 he wrote a
manifesto to revolutionary leaders exhorting them to preserve the country
and its independence. When General Emilio Aguinaldo arrived from exile
he made Mabini his chief adviser. Among his recommendations were to convert
the dictatorial government to a revolutionary one and to organize the municipalities
and provinces.
Mabini served as President
of the Council of Secretaries and as Secretary of Foreign Affairs in the
Aguinaldo government. He wrote most of Aguinaldo's decrees to the people
and wrote El Verdadero Decalogo which was his introduction to his draft
of the Philippine Constitution meant to arouse patriotism among the Filipinos.
Mabini advocated independence with honor in dealing with the Americans.
This position came in conflict with people who preferred autonomy under
the United States, causing Mabini's ouster from the Aguinaldo cabinet.
He was captured by the Americans on December 10, 1898. Even as a prisoner
he kept writing articles against American rule causing the American authorities
to brand him as the "Brains of the Insurrection." He was exiled to Guam
with 56 other Filipinos. With his failing health and the possibility of
dying in a foreign land he returned to the Philippines on February 26,
1903 and reluctantly took the oath of allegiance to the United States.
He refused all offers of high positions in the government and retired to
his home in Nagtahan, Manila. He died on May 13, 1903, a victim of the
cholera epidemic raging at that time. |
