Emilio Aguinaldo (1869-1964)

 Emilio Aguinaldo (1869-1964)

                                 Aguinaldo, Emilio (1869-1964), Filipino leader and independence fighter, born near Cavite, Luzon, and educated at the College of San Juan de Letran, Manila. Aguinaldo led a Filipino insurrection against Spanish rule in 1896, and two years later, during the Spanish-American War, he aided the American attack on the Philippine Islands. He was nominated president of the new republic after the Filipino declaration of independence in 1898. As head of the Filipino provisional government in 1899, he resisted American occupation; he continued to lead the struggle against the United States forces until March 1901, when he was captured. In April 1901 he took an oath of allegiance to the United States and retired to private life. He ran unsuccessfully for the presidency of the new interim Filipino commonwealth government in 1935. Aguinaldo was taken into custody in 1945, during World War II, by invading American troops and held on suspicion of collaboration with the enemy during the Japanese occupation. He was subsequently exonerated and appointed to the Council of State in 1950. 

EMILIO AGUINALDO and CLOSE FAMILY in the PHILIPPINES

Philippine leader Emilio Aguinaldo led a rebellion against Spanish rule in 1896 and assisted the United States during the Spanish-American War in 1898. He subsequently resisted American occupation of the newly independent republic.

. In August 1896 he was mayor of Cavite Viejo and was the local leader of the Katipunan, a revolutionary society that fought bitterly and successfully against the Spanish. In December 1897 he signed an agreement called the Pact of Biac-na-Bató with the Spanish governor general. He agreed to leave the Philippines and to remain permanently in exile on condition of a substantial financial reward from Spain coupled with the promise of liberal reforms. While in Hong Kong and Singapore he made arrangements with representatives of the American consulates and of Commo. George Dewey to return to the Philippines to assist the United States in the war against Spain. 

 n 1935 when the commonwealth government of the Philippines was established in preparation for independence, Aguinaldo ran for president but was decisively beaten. He returned to private life until the Japanese invaded the Philippines in 1941. The Japanese used Aguinaldo as an anti-American tool. They caused him to make speeches, to sign articles, and to address a radio appeal to Gen. Douglas MacArthur on Corregidor to surrender in order to spare the flower of Filipino youth.

 When the Americans returned, Aguinaldo was arrested and, together with others accused of collaboration with the Japanese, was held for some months in Bilibid Prison until released by presidential amnesty. As a token vindication of his honour, he was appointed by President Elpidio Quirino as a member of the Council of State in 1950. In the later years of his life, he devoted his major attention to veterans' affairs, the promotion of nationalism and democracy in the Philippines, and the improvement of relations between the Philippines and the United States.

Aguinaldo became the Philippines first President.. He was also the youngest (at age 29) to have become the country's president, the longest-lived president (having survived to age 94) and the president to have outlived the most number of successors.

 Sources:

http://www.angelfire.com/on/philpres/aguinaldo.html

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emilio_Aguinaldo

KKK (Supreme and Venerable Society of the Children of the Nation)

Kataas-taasang, Kagalang-galangang Katipunan ng̃ mg̃á Anak ng̃ Bayan 

 (Supreme and Venerable Society of the Children of the Nation)

It was Captured Katipunan members (also known as Katipuneros), who were also members of La Liga, revealed to the Spanish colonial authorities that there was a difference of opinion among members of La Liga. One group insisted on La Liga's principle of a peaceful reformation while the other espoused armed revolution.

An Early flag of the Katipunan.

On the night of July 7, 1892, when Jose Rizal was banished and exiled toDapitan in Mindanao, Andres Bonifacio, a member of the La Liga Filipina, founded the Katipunan in a house in Tondo, Manila. Bonifacio did establish the Katipunan when it was becoming apparent to anti-Spanish Filipinos that societies like the La Liga Filipina would be suppressed by colonial authorities. He was assisted by his two friends, Teodoro Plata (brother-in-law) andLadislao Diwa, plus Valentin Diaz and Deodato Arellano.  The Katipunan was founded along Azcarraga St. (now Claro M. Recto Avenue) near Elcano St. in Tondo, Manila. Despite their reservations about the peaceable reformation that Rizal espoused, they named Rizal honorary president without his knowledge. The Katipunan, established as a secret brotherhood organization, went under the name Kataas-taasang, Kagalang-galangang Katipunan ng̃ mg̃á Anak ng̃ Bayan (Supreme and Venerable Society of the Children of the Nation).

The Katipunan had four aims, namely:

• to develop a strong alliance with each and every Katipunero
• to unite Filipinos into one solid nation;
• to win Philippine independence by means of an armed conflict (or revolution);
• to establish a republic after independence.

The rise of the Katipunan signaled the end of the crusade to secure reforms from Spain by means of a peaceful campaign. The Propaganda Movement led by Rizal, del Pilar, Jaena and others had failed its mission; hence, Bonifacio started the militant movement for independence.

 The Katipunan had colorful beginnings. As a symbol of the member’s loyalty, they performed the solemn rite of sanduguan (blood compact), wherein each one signed his name with his own blood..

The members agreed to recruit more people using the “triangle system” of enlistment. Each original member would recruit tow new members who were not related to each other. Each new member would do the same thing, and so on down the line. Members were also asked to contribute one Real (about 25 centavos) each month in order to raise funds for the association.

 The KKK members agreed on the following objectives:

▪ The political goal was to completely separate the Philippines from Spain after declaring the country’s independence.
▪ The moral goal was to teach the Filipinos good manners, cleanliness, hygiene, fine morals, and how to guard themselves against religious fanaticism..
▪ The civic goal was to encourage Filipinos to help themselves and to defend the poor oppressed.

The “Kataastaasang Sanggunian” (supreme council) was the highest governing body of the Katipunan. It was headed by a supremo, or president. Each province had a “Sangguaniang Bayan” (Provincial Council) and each town had a “Sangguniang Balangay” (Popular Council).

 

The Leaders of the Katipunan:

▪ Deodato Arellano -Supremo
▪ Ladislao Diwa -Fiscal
▪ Teodora Plata -Secretary
▪ Valentine Diaz -treasurer
▪ Andres Bonifacio -controller

 Sources :

 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Katipunan

 http://www.philippine-history.org/katipunan.htm

 

HUKBALAHAP

 Hukbalahap

 HUKbong BAyan LAban sa HAPon

      The Hukbalahap movement, known simply as the Huk (pronounced "hook"), was the culmination of events and internal Philippine conditions that predated World War II by centuries and was rooted in the country's pre-colonial period. Economic, social, and political inequities existed before the arrival of the Spanish, who further co-opted it into their own variety of mercantilism, and were perpetuated into the twentieth century by American policy. This social and political history divided the Filipinos into classes where the "haves" reaped the nation's profits while the "have-nots" were left with little but their desperate desire for change.

In 1565, Spanish explorers landed in the Philippines (christening the islands for their monarch, King Philip II) and found a homegrown agricultural society that was easily adapted into their own encomienda system. The Spanish crown issued royal land-grants to colonists, who developed large plantations on the island of Luzon, the nation's agrarian heartland. Filipino landowners were disenfranchised and their tenant farmers were placed under the authority of the new landlords. Former native landlords were either retained by the Spanish to operate the haciendas for them, became sharecroppers themselves, or sought work elsewhere. 

Filipinos were quick to react to their loss of land ownership, additional taxes placed upon them by the Spanish, and their worsening economic condition. The first of numerous revolts against the Spanish broke-out in 1583 and was dealt with in the manner of the times -- bloody retaliation. A relatively small Spanish garrison, that did not exceed 600 troops during this period, employed the assistance of several native ethnic groups and ruthlessly crushed the revolt. Subsequent uprisings during the next three hundred years were handled by the Spanish colonial government in much the same manner. 

 In 1870, Philippine opposition to Spanish rule erupted into a series of guerrilla wars. Despite harsh repression taken against peasant farmers, the fighting continued and by the outbreak of the Spanish-American War in 1898, the Katipunan Revolt (usually credited with beginning in 1896) spread from Luzon to the islands of Panay and Cebu as Spanish troops withdrew for the defense of Manila. In the same year, rebel leader Jose Rizal, was captured and killed by the Spanish. During the Huk insurrection, his descendants again played a role.

 Peasant uprising in Luzon , Philippines . The rich Luzon plain was farmed by a large tenant-farmer population working on vast estates , a situation that led to periodic peasant revolts . The area became a focal point for communist organizers in the 1930s . One communist organization , the Hukbalahap , was a successful anti-Japanese guerrilla group during World War II . By the war's end it had also seized most of the Luzon large estates , established a government , and was collecting taxes . When the Philippines became independent in 1946 , the Huks , prevented from taking government seats to which they had been elected , began a rebellion . For four years they were successful , and in 1950 they nearly seized Manila . Defeated by U . S . weaponry and by the rise of the popular R . Magsaysay , their leader , Luis Taruc (b . 1913) , surrendered in 1954 , though the Huk movement continued into the 1970s .

By 1941, 80 percent of Luzon's farmers were hopelessly indebted to their landlords with no expectations of a brighter future at all. Although improvements had been made in education, transportation, health care and communications, the absence of social reforms served only to raise local frustrations with their central government. In Luzon's provinces of Balacan, Nueva Ecija, Cavite, Tarlac, Bataan, and Laguna, few farmers owned their land. The majority were either tenants or hired labor. In Pampanga Province, 70 percent of the farmers were tenants.⁶ As a result, annual income during this period hovered at only 120 pesos, about $65. This agrarian region proved ripe for anti-government insurgencies as the local population continued to struggle against landlords and had little faith in the central government which the peasant saw as unconcerned with their plight.

 

 Sources :

 http://www.history.army.mil/books/coldwar/huk/ch1.htm

 http://www.definition-of.net/hukbalahap+rebellion

Japanese Liberation and Liberation of the Philippines: Luzon (1945)

Japanese Liberation and Liberation of the Philippines: Luzon (1945)

The liberation of the Philippines is exactly that - the liberation of the Philippines, from the Japanese imperial army, by allied forces in World War 2. The Japanese invaded the Philippines in order to get resources, capture supply routes and to create a Japanese controlled "buffer zone" around mainland Japan. Allied forces, lead by MacArthur eventually retook the Philippines several years later and went on, along with other generals, to destroy the Japanese imperial army and subdue Japan's aggression. Whilst in the Philippines the Japanese army, as with other places inflicted great harm and hostility on the local people and captured soldiers.

 Japanese resistance, heavy rains, and unsuitable terrain limited Leyte's development as a major air and supply base and delayed the Luzon landing, originally scheduled for 20 December 1944. Japanese suicide planes had made their first devastating appearance at Leyte Gulf and now struck hard at ships leading the Luzon invasion force, sinking or seriously damaging eighteen vessels. The Sixth Army (now comprised of I and XIV Corps) landing at Lingayen on 9 January 1945, however, went unopposed.

 The depletion of Japanese air and naval power in the defense of Leyte convinced Gen. Tomoyuki Yamashita, commander of the 14th Area Army in the Philippines, that he could no longer contest American landings. He divided his soldiers into three groups and positioned them in the mountains of northern, eastern, and western Luzon. The Japanese were to make the enemy conquest of Luzon as costly and time‐consuming as possible.

MacArthur had justified the Luzon operation by arguing that the island's central plain, ideal for base sites, and Manila's port facilities could be seized within six weeks. He urged Krueger forward, despite his subordinate's concern that Yamashita might counterattack along the Sixth Army's overextended flanks. A “flying column” of the First Cavalry Division reached Manila's northern suburbs on 3 February, and 37th Division troops entered the city the following day. The 11th Airborne Division had been approaching Manila from the south. By 11 February, American troops encircled the city.

 

The Establishment of Japanese Rule in the Philippines

• On 3 January 1942, Lt. Masaharu Homma, commander of the Japanese Imperial Forces in the Philippines issued a proclamation stating the official ending of American sovereignty over the Philippines. He also declared Martial Law under the Japanese Military Administration.
• The Japanese authorities announced that their objective is to have Asia for the Asians and the Philippines to be a part of the Japanese Greater East Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere.
• Filipino leaders were invited to form a new government to be supervised and controlled by the Japanese High Command.
• On 23 January 1942, the Executive Commission was created with Jorge Vargas, Manila Mayor, as Chairman. The other commissioners included Benigno Aquino (Interior), Antonio delas Alas (Finance), Rafael Alunan (Agriculture), Jose Laurel (Justice), Claro M. Recto ( Education, Health and Public Welfare) and Quintin Parades (Public Woks and Communications)
• There were also few Filipinos who opted not to collaborate with the Japanese; one of them was Jose Abad Santos.

Sources :

 http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O126-PhilippinesLiberationofth.html

 http://wiki.answers.com/Q/What_is_the_liberation_of_the_Philippines_from_the_Japanese

 http://histclo.com/essay/war/ww2/camp/pac/phil/lib-luz.html

Philippine-American War

 The Philippine-American War 

1899-1902

This is a war between the United States and Filipino revolutionaries from 1899 to 1902; the insurrection may be seen as a continuation of the Philippine Revolution against Spanish rule. It was tragic war that many young Filipinos dead and suffered.

 On February 4, 1899, an American soldier, Private William Grayson, shot a Filipino soldier at the bridge of San Juan, Manila. The fatal shot was followed by an immediate U.S. offensive on the Filipino lines. This marked the beginning of the Philippine-American War, which lasted for three years until the establishment of the civilian colonial government of Governor-General William Howard Taft on July 4, 1902. The timing of the San Juan incident is suspect since it happened only two days before the U.S. Congress was scheduled to ratify the Treaty in Paris on February 6, 1899. Under the treaty, Spain officially ceded the Philippines, Guam, and Puerto Rico to the United States in exchange for $20 million. Since the U.S. Congress, like the American public, was evenly split between the anti-imperialists and pro-annexationists, the treaty was expected to experience rough sailing when submitted to the Chamber for ratification. The San Juan incident and the outbreak of the Philippine American War tilted sentiment in favor of acquiring the Philippines, and thus the treaty was ratified by the U.S. Congress. 

Emilio Aguinaldo, considered the first president of the Philippines, led the Filipinos in their fight for independence.  The war began in 1899 and ended in 1902.

In July of 1900, General Arthur MacArthur Jr. replaces General Otis as military governor, and William Howard Taft becomes civil governor of the Philippines.

The battles that occurred in the 1900s, Siege of Catubig, Battle of Macahambus, Battle of Pulang Lupa, and the Battle of Mabitac, all show the underestimated power of the Filipinos.  In these battles, the Filipinos come out successful and surprise the Americans with their tactics.  In the future, this leads to the disappearance of the Philippine-American War in American history books.

In March of 1901, the Americans are successful in capturing Aguinaldo.  He surrenders and pledges his allegiance to America and commands his followers to do the same; however, the resistance from the group stays strong.

group of Filipino soldiers

Later that year in September, the Balangiga Massacre occurs.  The people of Samar, a province in the Philippines, ambush and kill over 50 Americans.  Due to this, America retaliates.  General Jacob Hurd Smith, of America, led this revolt and ordered the killing of every Filipino man over the age of 10.  Smith was eventually court-martialed and found guilty for this act.

Up to this point, the Philippines seems to be winning in the war.  And complete victory and independence doesn’t look too far.  In 1902, a couple Filipino generals and their men surrender, and President Theodore Roosevelt declares the end of the war.

But, this isn’t the end.  Up to 1913, the fighting continues between America and the Philippines, until America promises the Philippines independence.

Before the Philippine-American War, the Philippines supported America in the Spanish-American War.  The Filipinos wanted independence from their Spanish oppressors.  After the victory of America in the Spanish-American War, the Filipinos immediately claimed their independence and sovereignty.  However, that declaration went unrecognized by Spain and America.  Because Spain lost, they gave the land to America in the 1898 Treaty of Paris.

Filipino women talking to American soldiers

This war affected the Filipinos in so many ways.  With America in the Philippines, they decided to instill American values and teachings.  They started with the re-education of the Filipinos.  Filipinos taught classes under supervision of America.  Also, with American influences in the Philippines came the World’s Fair, and the eventual migration of Filipino men to the US, for work and in search of a better life.

Sources :

http://philippines1900.tumblr.com/post/259687214/the-philippine-american-war

 http://opmanong.ssc.hawaii.edu/filipino/philam.html