Reflecting on our heroic past

Independence Day is a time to recall and reflect on our past and the Philippines’ heroic journey toward nationhood. I believe that the best way to understand the forces that made us a nation is by reading the books written by our own historians. Here are some of the best readings I would recommend. 

101 STORIES on the Philippine Revolution by Ambeth Ocampo 2009 Anvil Publishing.

There are several great researchers and writers on Philippine history. My personal list of authors that I would highly recommend would include Reynaldo C. Ileto, Teodoro Agoncillo, Milagros C. Guerrerro and O.D. Corpuz. 

There is another group of writers on Philippine history that I categorize as historians and fantastic storytellers at the same time. At the top of this list are Nick Joaquin and Ambeth Ocampo. I have not read all of Ocampo’s books: but of the several I have read, his collection of 101 essays on the Philippine Revolution is my favorite. 

Conrad de Quiros wrote: “his [Ambeth’s] books flourish while academic thesis that took years to write gather dust in postgraduate libraries.”There are two stories on the origin of the Philippine national anthem which was originally composed by Julian Felipe for the piano as background music for the Declaration of Independence. The original composition was later arranged for a brass band and rearranged in the 1920s to make singing easier. The anthem had no words for over a year until the Spanish lyrics were composed by the poet Jose Palma and printed in the September 3, 1899 issue of the revolutionary paper La Independencia then edited by Antonio Luna. 

In another essay, Ambeth contends that the first Philippine Republic was not established in Malolos nor in Kawit but in Biak-na-Bato. The constitution proclaimed in Naic, Cavite on March 22, 1897 was based on the constitution drawn up by the Cuban revolutionaries in 1895. It proclaimed that the ”...separation of the Philippines from the Spanish monarchy and the Philippine Republic has been the end sought by the Revolution in the existing war begun on the 24th August, 1896...” In another essay, Ambeth writes that there is a myopic view of the Philippine Revolution: “That the Declaration of Independence at Kawit and the establishment of the Malolos congress were not possible without the revolution begun by Bonifacio in August 1896 is a fact.” 

There are other essays in the book like the reason Macapagal chose June 12; Mark Twain took the side of the Filipinos; courage was the Filipinos’ main weapon; Dewey’s troops loved “hototay”; and, the correct way of playing the national anthem. In his foreword, Conrad de Quiros wrote that the concept of storytelling as an approach to history is a vastly important one: “ Stories inspire, stories light fires...No stories, no history. Without Ambeth’s stories, we might as well be, well, history.” 

Luzon at War: Contradictions in Philippine Society, 1898-1902 by Milagros Camayon Guerrerro 2015 Anvil Publishing

This is one of the best documented and researched books on any aspect of Philippine history. Luzon at War was originally written in 1977 and only published in 2015. It is said to be the product of her lifetime scholarship on Philippine history.

In the preface, the author states that her book “...highlights the strength and durability of the Filipino elite. It would have been well nigh impossible for the reconstruction and reorganization of the administration of the provinces and municipalities at these levels were not already in place. The Aguinaldo government did not have the force as well as the instruments to enforce political reorganization on those who might have objected.” In her chapter on “Political Reorganization”, Guerrerro cited several correspondences that illustrated the magnitude of problems in administration that the Malolos Republic had to wrestle with.

The Philippine Revolution was supposedly divided into two phases. The first one – 1896-1897 – was the “revolt of the masses’ by the Katipunan; and, the second was the takeover of the Revolution by the wealthy elite. In his introduction, Vicente Rafael says that Guerrerro’s book shows that while the revolution was politically bold, it was socially conservative from the start. From its inception, the membership of the Katipunan were made up of the educated and gainfully employed middle class. At the “Cry of Balintawak,” there were only two real laborers. 

 In her final chapter, Guerrerro writes: “...the rural peasantry contributed actively to the destruction of the Spanish regime – as soldiers and loyal suppliers of food, money, and shelter to the insurgent militia – with the expectations that the defeat of the colonial masters by a radical change in Philippine society and that the exploitation from which they had suffered under Spanish rule would be abolished. She ends by saying”...that the social regeneration implicit and promised in the Revolution of 1896-1902 has yet to be obtained.”

The Philippines and Round About by George Younghusband, published in 1899, reprinted by National Historical Institute 

Originally published in 1899, the book offers a first-hand account of the Philippine Revolution and the Spanish-American War from the eyes of a British military observer. The most interesting chapters are those regarding the Philippine Revolution against Spain and eyewitness accounts of Philippine life.

There are chapters on Rizal and Aguinaldo; and, also on Manila, Iloilo, Manila cigars, and how to reach Manila from Europe. There are several old photographs and illustrations including one with the caption “ Spanish soldiers leading a prisoner to executions”; and, another one “The execution of insurgent leaders by the Spaniards on the Luneta, the public promenade.”

Creative Writing Class for Adults

Award winning fictionist and former director of the Silliman National Writers Workshop Susan Lara will run a Creative Writing Workshop for adults on June 17, 1:30-4:30 pm. at Fully Booked Bonifacio High Street. For registration and fee details text 0917-6240196 or email [email protected].

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