On this day in 1898, representatives of the provinces under the control of the fledgling new republic, República Filipina, the first Asian republic in Asia, flocked to Malolos, in the province of Bulacan to meet for the first time to ratify for the second time the Philippine Proclamation of Independence declared by General Emilio Aguinaldo at Kawit, Cavite on June 12 of the same year. By this time, the General, now President of the Revolutionary Government that has utterly defeated the Spanish dominion in the Philippines, now had his right hand man, the head of his cabinet, the genius paralytic Apolinario Mabini as Prime Minister. Mabini, with an almost stoic view of the law, had no political attachments and was never a part of a landed family to push for his and his family’s own interest. The representatives met at the Barasoain Church, and with Malolos being declared as the Republic’s capital, droves of Filipinos met at the plaza to see the fanfare. Excitement was in the air. Even President Aguinaldo arrived with a carriage, that as historian Ambeth Ocampo would put it, was borrowed from a local funeraria!
The assembly then met and also talked of forming a new Constitution to further legitimize the claim of Philippine independence in the eyes of the world.
Mabini, in his foresight however, never wanted for a Constitutional Convention to take place at that time. For him, making and ratifying such a constitution would only constrict the movements of a Republic barely being sustained in funds, still unrecognized in the hall of nations, and not to mention, a republic still at war with Spain (look at the Philippine flags at the photo, red side up).
In Mabini’s own words, like a good lawyer that he was:
…The voting in Congress is not admissible at this time… because the Constitutional guarantees established in favor of individual liberty cannot be sustained at this time, precisely when military domination is necessary…
It would also be inconvenient for the Constitution to rule regarding the organization and operation of the three powers. The ship of State is threatened by grave dangers and terrible tempests and this circumstances suggests, in my opinion, that in a certain manner the three powers should be momentarily concentrated in one person so that he may guide the country and avoid all the reefs.
(Memorandum to the Council of State, December 18, 1898)
But this ran against the popular sentiment of the time, sentiments pushed forward by many of the landed families that came to represent their provinces in the Congress–what would be known in Philippine history as the Malolos Congress. While it was thus admirable that a congress was gathered for the new republic, it should also be noted that majority of these representatives were appointed, many of whom haven’t even seen or much less stepped on the provinces they were appointed to represent. It was thus Mabini’s view that such a congress while useful to the republic, should only be temporary until such time that the Philippine Republic would have established itself, and an abled public would be able to vote for themselves the representatives they want.
It was thus clear from the start that the Prime Minister and the Congress were coming off from the opposite ends of the spectrum.
By January 1, 1899, Mabini sent a message to the Malolos Congress appealing for the following notable amendments (1) legislative power assumed by the Executive instead of Congress, (2) prosecution without previous authorization of representatives “found guilty of some crime against the security of the State” (3) the Executive power to veto a law approved by two thirds of the Congress, (4) that if the congress “adopts a hostile attitude” towards the cabinet of the President, the President “may dissolve the assembly or suspends its sessions without consulting it,” (5) “those who are called infidels” in the periphery of the Republic who wields power “in consonance with their traditional customs” be allowed a representative to the congress, (5) the present rules apply provisionally and transitory “until Philippine independence is recognized by international law.”
Of course, these amendments were flatly denied.
While it does seem understandable for the congress to react violently to such amendments, for a country still at war, Mabini’s amendments do sound logical and practical. Not to mention that the Americans who lent a helping hand to the Filipino forces to defeat the Spaniards were beginning to harass Filipino ships (and even try to attract some government officials and generals to American offers of salary) making the alliance a questionable prospect.
It was thus the beginning of the growing rift between Mabini and the congress. History however testifies to the fact that many of these representatives turned back from the Constitution and the Independence proclamation they affirmed when they began switching sides to accept high positions in American government.
Mabini’s letters reveal the pressure he was in, as the Malolos Congress tried to subvert his position, ostracize him and even make him resign.
Mabini writes to President Aguinaldo on January 16, 1899:
“My opinion is that if you approve the Constitution without amendments, it will contribute to the failure of our country and ideals. I can already see it. That is why I can only find three solutions, which are as follows:
1) Change the Representatives chosen by the Government
2) Veto the Constitution;
3) Accept the Constitution and change the Government.
Before I accepted the position you offered me, I informed you of my inadequacy and I did not agree until I realized that you truly needed me.
I cannot resign, whatever may come, because I think that in the future I will be blamed if I do not fight now for the good of my country.”
In another undated letter to Aguinaldo, Mabini expressed in writing the hatred the Malolos Congress felt towards him:
“Congress hates me because I believe that right now we have to centralize power in the hands of one person as the only means of avoiding the dangers that threaten us. I am not in agreement with the Constitution because it gives Congress the greatest power and everyone knows that Congress cannot come to any quick decision without a general consensus.”
We could only guess how Mabini was painted by the assemblymen as the main antagonist, the power behind the President, and the so-called evil “camara negra” he headed. It is likely that the black propaganda of Mabini becoming paraplegic because of syphilis (a myth!) was spread around by the influential and landed representatives of the Malolos Congress.
And yet history reveals that Mabini still remained poor when he stepped down as Aguinaldo’s adviser and head of cabinet. A new cabinet of Aguinaldo headed by Pedro Paterno was formed, one that agreed easily to the agenda of the Malolos Congress.
History vindicated Mabini, in that even when many of these assemblymen pushed forward the advocacy of autonomy under the United States (while the Philippine-American War was going on, Filipinos dying in the battlefield for independence and not for autonomy), President Aguinaldo still consulted him, until he was captured by the Americans.
We discover that far from being a weakling of a paraplegic, Mabini stood tall. Mabini wrote a certain friend called Lino on May 15, 1899
“It seems that the new Cabinet has initiated negotiations with the Americans on the basis of autonomy, and I laugh at all this because those who have grown tired after months of struggle do not serve any other cause but to bear the yoke of slavery. I do not know what they will achieve, and I hope that their actions are for the good of the country; because through any other way, the ‘ilustrado’ class and the wealthy of Manila who have a powerful representation and have established a committee there–would look ridiculous before the whole civilized world and the other provinces of the Archipelago.”
Well after the defeat of the Philippine Republic to American hegemony in 1901, some of these former assemblymen organized a political party called the Partido Federal, advocating for Philippine statehood under the United States. It remained unpopular to the Filipino public until it was eventually dissolved.
Ridiculous to the eyes of the world indeed.
—
Photo above: Photo of the Malolos Congress at Barasoain Church on its first day, colorized by the Presidential Communications Development and Strategic Planning Office (PCDSPO)
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