Remember Our Heroes' Visions -- O.D. Corpuz

Remember the visions of the heroes of the Philippine Revolution and be inspired by these visions even as you create the vision for your generation.

This was the call of eminent historian, author and former president of the University of the Philippines Onofre D. Corpuz to some 300 students, faculty and administration officials of UP during the inaugural lecture of the UP Centennial Lecture Series held on June 23 at the Science Teachers' Training Center (STTC) auditorium in UP Diliman. The event was organized by the University Center for Integrative and Development Studies, in cooperation with the UP Press and the Lupon ng Sentenaryo, as part of the University's Centennial celebrations.

Corpuz, introduced by UP President Emil Q. Javier as the "doyen of Philippine political scientists and leading contemporary scholar of Philippine history," cited the importance of including the visions of our heroes in our collective memory so that succeeding generations will draw from these even as they create their visions for an evolving Filipino nation.

In recalling the visions of the heroes, Corpuz traced the formation of a Filipino identity from the early Spanish colonial period when Filipinos were called indios, to the time General Emilio Aguinaldo established the first Philippine Republic.

It was national hero Dr. Jose Rizal who first sowed the seed of revolution by inspiring the people to think of "fair Filipinas," not Espa¤a, as their motherland. This sentiment first appeared in his prize-winning poem "A La Juventud Filipina" which he wrote in 1879 when he was just 18 years old.

This was a revolutionary thought, Corpuz said. No one before Rizal had thought of Filipinas as the motherland. But the youth to whom Rizal addressed himself at the time would grow up to champion the idea. Among them were Andres Bonifacio, then 16; Apolinario Mabini, then 15; Felipe Agoncillo, 20; Gregorio del Pilar, 14; Artemio Ricarte, 13; Juan Luna, 12; and Emilio Aguinaldo, 10.

The revolution broke out in 1896 and raged on well past June 12, 1898 when General Emilio Aguinaldo led the ceremonies for the declaration of Philippine Independence at Kawit, Cavite.

"It was a horrible document," Corpuz said of the Declaration. Written by Ambrosio Bautista, the document stated that the Philippines was a protectorate of the United States and referred to Aguinaldo as "our beloved dictator." But because it was read in Spanish, the people were ecstatic, especially everytime the word "independencia" was uttered.

Aguinaldo was not happy with the Declaration. He did not sign it. Immediately after June 12 Aguinaldo invited Apolinario Mabini to be his adviser and it was he who wrote documents for the new republic. On June 23, 1898 Aguinaldo read a declaration which stated his vision for the nation. It said: "Let us go through an internal revolution...let us join together in [establishing] a noble Filipino society where reason is the only standard for our actions, justice the only end and honest labor the only means."

Corpuz stressed that it was clear from the declaration that the Philippines was not an independent country. In establishing a new government, Aguinaldo stated that : "the object of this revolutionary government is to strive to attain the independence of the Philippines." Even then, Filipinos were struggling against a new colonial master, the Americans.

The Philippine-American War constituted the second stage of the Philippine Revolution, that "great and epic struggle," says Corpuz. It is unfortunate, he said, that we have as yet no record of this struggle "in its full compass." The "visions and victories" as well as the "struggles and setbacks" of our revolutionary heroes must be recorded so that we may have a better sense of our nationhood, he concluded.

The memory of Bonifacio continues to haunt the present generation who have yet to come to terms with the tragedy that befell the Supremo. This was apparent in the open forum that ensued. Asked to comment on some historians' claim that it was Bonifacio, not Aguinaldo, who was the first president of the Philippines, Corpuz said that Bonifacio presided over a non-operating government. Bonifacio was the leader of the Katipunan but his was not a government. He was likewise limited in his vision. To him, the motherland was not the whole nation but Katagalugan as he stated in his "Sulat para sa Katagalugan" and "Pag-ibig sa Tinubuang Lupa."

Aguinaldo, on the other hand, established a government which had a working Cabinet and issued over a hundred decrees and rules. This government was likewise acknowledged by the leaders of non-Tagalog provinces such as Cebu, Iloilo, Bohol, among others. The Aguinaldo government was, therefore, not an "ampaw" government as some historians claim, Corpuz said.

The discussion on Bonifacio did not end here. Dr. Jaime Veneracion, former chair of the Department of History and of the Lupon ng Sentenaryo, said Bonifacio's use of the word "Katagalugan" may have actually referred to the whole nation and not exclusively to the Tagalogs. He stressed the importance of understanding the context in which language was used during Bonifacio's time.

The debate was a lively one and it drew the participation of many in the audience. Ultimately, Corpuz said, the debate rests on the matter of interpreting the facts of history."We can't do much if it's a matter of interpreting facts. We can't get anywhere if it's a matter of perspective," he said.

He appealed to the audience "not to make our heroes fight each other." It took more than one man to wage -- and win -- the revolution, he said. And each one had an invaluable role in the struggle for freedom. Rizal could have not done what Bonifacio did; nor could Bonifacio do what Aguinaldo did so well.

This ended the forum but apparently, not the debate. Corpuz acknowledged that history is evolving and that future historians will discover new things that the present historians don't know. Meanwhile, our historians should apply themselves to preventing O.D. Corpuz's fear from being realized -- that "for every generation the memory of the revolution becomes fainter, and the memory of our leaders tainted with error."

(JBBalcita)

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