Last Wednesday, July 25, 2012, we attended an open forum in celebrating

Apolinario Mabini’s 148 years of inspiring the Filipino people held in Bulwagang

Balagtas, Ninoy Aquino Library, and Learning Resources Center. It was entitled

“Apolinario Mabini: Ang Nagliliyab na Apoy sa Ating Kasaysayan, Ang Palaisip sa

Politika, at ang Utak ng Revolucion Filipina.”

At first, I thought that it would just be some typical celebration of a particular

hero’s day wherein they tackle about his life, his relevance, his contributions, his

principles, and what have you, but at the end of this celebration, I thought I was

feeling entertained more than I could have ever been in any heroic events.

Focusing on the main purpose of the event, I think it had brought us the

message it was trying to portray to every student’s mind watching and listening

inside the Balagtas Hall that Mabini is a deserving one to be considered a hero of

the nation and that even if he is physically disabled, it did not stop him from

reaching his goals and aims for our country.   It was an activity accomplished to

commemorate the life, contributions, and ideas of the great brain of the Philippine

Revolution. Especially when the respective UNESCO Commissioner Professor Jose

David Lapuz delivered his speech about the martyrdom of Mabini, I think, some of

us had Goosebumps because of his unique, mystical, and powerful voice, joined

with his ever distinct presence and aura hovering inside the big room. His message

may have been very interesting to other students but not much for us because he

discussed it earlier to us when we had our last meeting before the said event.

Prof. Lapuz highlighted not only the life-history of Mabini but also his

philosophy, contributions to the country, and the controversies that hounded him.

Apolinario Mabini stands out as one of the greatest, if not the foremost,

political philosophers of the country. He is also one of the most comprehensive and

consistent of all the Filipino philosophers.

According to Mabini, “all men have been given life by God...to preserve and

employ in terms of a preordained mission, which is to proclaim God’s glory in doing

what is good and just.” Men are by nature good and just and have the capacity to

unfold his goodness and sense of justice to others. In this context, freedom can only

be understood as doing what is good and just, meaning what is reasonable. He said:

“True liberty is only for what is good and never for what is evil; it is always in

accordance with Reason and the upright and honest conscience of the individual.”

Since life is a gift from God, man has the freedom to acquire all the means to

preserve life in a manner which does not constitute a violation of God’s will as

implanted in nature. This freedom is inalienable to man and “prior to all human

law.”  Thus, anyone who leads a luxurious life at the expense of others is guilty of

violating the natural law.

The importance of the government is based on the idea that men form a

society for the purpose of mutual help so that each other “may enjoy the greatest

possible well-being which would not be possible if men were isolated.”There are

those who belong to society who “desire to live at the expense of others.” These

people, according to Mabini, “are either the strongest or the most shrewd.

Forgetting how they ought to act...they begin by either force or deceit to

appropriate the means of the livelihood of others. In so doing, they mock the rights

which others have by nature. These being reduced into slavery, are forced to labor

for the increase of the personal interests of others.” Because of this condition, it is

imperative for society to have a leader, “who by superior force and intelligence, will

prevent some individuals from usurping the rights of others, and who will allow

everyone to work, in accordance with their respective specialization.”

This leads to a basic question in Mabini’s philosophy: “Who shall be that

power who will order others and to whom obedience is necessary...and who will

mediate on the clash of interests -- that chronic disease of society?”  Now, since all

virtues can hardly be found in one man, society has to elect him who is the most

qualified. Thus, he, “although equal to all others, has the right to direct others,

because his associates have conferred upon him this power.”

It is important to stress the point that Mabini conceived political power as

something that is derived from the consent of the governed. The political leader

possesses power because his associates in society grant him such power. This

power, however, is limited by the principle that the people are only permitted to

obey him in all that is just. The moment the leader disgraces himself before his

people, he ceases to possess the power granted to him.

Mabini considered the probability that a political leader can veer away from

the objectives of his office. He said: “It is necessary that the members of society

should nominate a group of men that will represent them before this authority, with

the expressed purpose of determining the limitations of the power of this authority

and the extent of how to fulfill his mission. This group of men should also see to it

that the maintenance of this public power should be done with the greatest possible

equality and in proportion to the individual capacity of each member of society. This

is the only method by which the elected one will be prevented from abusing his

powers.”

What Mabini describes is the check and balance mechanism between two

organs of the government, namely the executive and the legislative. The executive

needs the guidelines from the legislative in order to perform his functions. Thus

lawmaking, which is the function of the legislative body, shall be for the purpose of

setting the terms of reference for the executive.

How is the legislative body checked? Mabini said: “The guarantee for the

proper functioning of the legislative is its truly representative character and the

public character of its sessions.”

A third organ of the state is the judiciary, which is tasked to determine the

“kind of punishment for evil in society”. The legislature checks the judiciary by

seeing to it that the exercise of judicial power “should be done with the greatest

possible equality and in proportion to the individual capacity of each member of

society.”

While Jose Rizal and Emilio Jacinto used the phrase “welfare of the people,”

Mabini is more specific by saying that the function of the government is to “study

the needs and interpret the desires of the people in order to fulfill the one and

satisfy the other.” This idea is consistent with his notion of governance as one which

is based on the consent of the people. This consent is based on the principle that

the leader governs in order to promote the people’s interests. The moment a

political leader fails to perform this duty, the legitimacy of his government is in

jeopardy.

State laws are derived from natural law as interpreted by Reason. Thus

obedience to law simply means obedience to Reason. The collective Reason of the

people constitutes what is called authority. Thus all authority belongs to the people

by natural right.

Mabini defines revolution as the “violent means utilized by the people in the

employment of the right to sovereignty that properly belongs to them, to destroy a

duly constituted government, substituting for it another that is more in consonance

with reason and justice.” A revolution can be justified because the “tendency of

betterment or progress is a necessity or law found in all creatures whether

individually or collectively. As it is unnatural that a being should resign itself to its

own death, the people must employ all… energies in order that a government that

impedes its progressive development be destroyed.”

A revolution can also be external and internal. External revolution means

effecting changes in institutions that fail to respond to the needs and desires of the

people. This type of revolution should be accompanied by an internal one which

consists in changing “our ways of thinking and behaving”.

Mabini, probably as a result of his wide readings, had begun to develop

egalitarian ideas of sorts while a student at Letran. On one of his trips to Tanauan,

he met a priest on the road. Following the custom then, the priest extended his

hand to Mabini, expecting the young man to kiss it. Mabini shook the priest’s hand

instead, explaining to his brother afterwards that only parents’ hands should be

kissed.

He began to take an active part in politics while studying law.

It is believed that at the University of Santo Tomas – considered Asia’s oldest

university – he came into contact with fellow students who had links with the

Reform Movement. He would later be given the task of corresponding regularly with

Marcelo del Pilar, who was then agitating for reforms in Madrid through the paper La

Solidaridad. His job was to inform del Pilar of the situation on the home front and

explain what reforms were needed. He did this task assiduously even while

practicing his profession.

When the revolution led by Andres Bonifacio broke out in 1896, Mabini did

not immediately support it. He believed that the Reform Movement had not yet

been given a full chance.

It was also in that year that he contracted a disease which paralyzed him

from the waist down. He had to be confined at the San Juan de Dios Hospital. His

involvement in the Reform Movement had made him suspect in the eyes of the

Spanish authorities, but his condition saved him from Bagumbayan – where a

number of his friends were executed.

The execution of Rizal in December 1896 signified to Mabini the death of the

Reform Movement. At this point he transferred his whole support to the Revolution.

He wrote the pamphlets “El Verdadero Decalogo” and “Ordenanzas de la

Revolucion,” which were intended to inspire the revolutionaries in the fields and

guide them in their conduct of the struggle; and a constitutional program for the

Philippine government.

In 1898, Gen. Emilio Aguinaldo invited Mabini to work in the Revolutionary

Government. He helped in organizing it and wrote laws and decrees. He was

appointed President of the Cabinet – a position equivalent to today’s Executive

Secretary, which is now manned by Alberto Romulo.

Unlike Aguinaldo, Mabini was suspicious of the Americans – who presented

themselves purportedly to help the Filipinos secure liberty from Spain – early on. He

was in fact against the declaration of independence on June 12, 1898; he thought it

premature, as it revealed to the Americans the real objectives of the Filipinos, while

the intentions of the supposed allies were unknown. But other forces within the

Revolutionary Government had prevailed at that time.

Later developments would prove Mabini right. In December 1898, unknown to

the Filipinos, the United States obtained the Philippines from Spain for $20 million.

In February 1899, the United States launched its war of conquest against the

Philippines.

Mabini would become a leading luminary of the resistance against the U.S.

occupation of the Philippines. He wrote articles and pamphlets urging his

compatriots to continue the struggle for freedom and condemning American military

atrocities against the Philippine populace. He also disputed U.S. propaganda which

described the occupation as intending to train the Filipinos in the art of self-

government: he would argue that self-government is learned by experience, as

proven by the American people themselves, and that Filipinos would never learn

self-government while under foreign control – and this would give the Americans

“justification” for staying in the country indefinitely. He also junked the U.S. line

that the occupation of the Philippines would serve to make the country prosperous,

arguing that any “prosperity” that would be derived from the American occupation

would benefit the Americans and not the Filipinos.

Mabini would suffer for his uncompromising stand for independence.

Even in the early days of the Philippine-American war, there were those in the

Revolutionary Congress who were open to the idea of autonomy instead of

independence, most notably Pedro Paterno (who, just two years before, had

negotiated for the Spanish government in the Pact of Biak na Bato, a pact that

made peace between the Philippines and Spain – within the framework of continued

Spanish sovereignty over the Philippine islands). Mabini would inevitably come into

conflict with these elements within the Revolutionary Government. He had no

choice except to resign, as General Aguinaldo would show partiality toward the

forces of autonomy.

When the American forces began to pursue the leaders of the Philippine

resistance movement, Mabini went into hiding in Cuyapo, Nueva Ecija. Soon, he

would be arrested by American soldiers, courtesy of a group of Macabebe Scouts

who led them to his hiding place. He was imprisoned in Fort Santiago from

December 11, 1899 to September 23, 1900.

Mabini would continue his agitation for independence after his release. He

flatly rejected offers to serve in the colonial government, and also refused to take

the oath of allegiance to the American flag. Because of this, he was exiled to Guam,

where he was to stay for two years.

Even during his lifetime, there were controversial rumors regarding the cause

of Mabini's paralysis. Infighting among members of the Malolos congress led to the

spread of rumors saying that Mabini's paralysis had by caused by venereal disease -

specifically, syphilis. This was debunked only in 1980, when Mabini's bones were

exhumed and the autopsy proved once and for all that the cause of his paralysis

was Polio.

This information reached National Artist F. Sionil José too late, however. By

the time the historian Ambeth Ocampo told him about the autopsy results, he had

already published Po-on, the first novel of his Rosales Saga, that novel contained

plot points based on the premise that Mabini had indeed become a paralytic due to

syphilis.[9]

In later editions of the book,[10] the novelist corrected the error and issued an

apology,which reads in part:

“ “I committed a horrible blunder in the first edition of Po-On. No apology

to the august memory of Mabini no matter how deeply felt will ever suffice to

undo the damage that I did.... According to historian Ambeth Ocampo who told

me this too late, this calumny against Mabini was spread by the wealthy

mestizos around Aguinaldo who wanted Mabini's ethical and ideological

influence cut off. They succeeded. So, what else in our country has changed?” ”

In the later editions, Mabini's disease - an important plot point - was changed

to an undefined liver ailment. The ailing Mabini takes pride in the fact that his

symptoms are definitely not those of syphilis, despite the rumors spread by his

detractors in the Philippine Revolutionary government.

Prof. Lapuz also clarified some issues concerning Mabini, especially his

description as "sublime paralytic" by a great majority of Filipinos.  According to him,

that description is un-fittingly appropriated for the hero because it was but

paraplegia which caused paralysis in his physique.

Paraplegia, according to Prof. Lapuz, is not a simple paralysis like polio but a

complete paralysis of the lower half of the body including both legs, usually due to

the damage of the spinal cord.

What caught our attention, I think, was the ever entertaining classical dance

performed by some Japanese girl who actually made her way here to the Philippines

just to learn and perform in front of an audience her Flamenco Dance and others. I

became interested to her after she has performed and so I have discovered some

basic information about her, she is Michiko Hasegawa, a member of Grupo

Flamenco El Canj under Senor Guillermo Gomez Rivera. 

They have performed in many venues and Events including NBA TV, Baguio Flower

Festival, Casino Espanol, Manila Polo Club, Etc. Flamenco is a genre of Spanish

music, song and dance from Andalusia, in southern Spain, that

includes cante (singing), toque (guitar playing), baile (dance)

and palmas (handclaps). First mentioned in literature in 1774, the genre grew out

of Andalusian and Romani music and dance styles and belonged until 1860 to "the

theatre movement of sainetes (one-act plays) and tonadillas, popular song books

and song sheets, customs, technical studies of dances and toques, musical scores,

newspapers, graphic documents in paintings and engravings...in continuous

evolution together with rhythm, the poetic stanzas, and the ambience."

In recent years flamenco has become popular all over the world and is taught

in many countries: in Japan there are more academies than there are in Spain. On

November 16, 2010 UNESCO declared flamenco one of the Masterpieces of the Oral

and Intangible Heritage of Humanity.

Yes, there are many more performers there but she was the center of

attraction because of her foreign appearance, elegant look, and beautiful appeal in

general. The manager or the owner of the Flamenco Andaluz de Manila, I guess, Mr.

Guillermo is he, honestly, I don’t remember his full name, I’m not even sure of the

name I have just written here in my paper, so I’ve decided to research about him,

he is Mr. Guillermo Gomez Rivera, much of Manila society knows Gómez as the

country's leading instructor of Flamenco. He learned Flamenco as well as many

other Spanish dances from his maternal grandfather José Rivera Franco's second

wife, Rosa Jiménez, a Flamenco dancer from Sevilla, Spain. Jiménez taught him at

the age of four. Later in his life, he was able to choreograph dances. To date, he has

a repertoire of more than a hundred choreographed dances, mostly for

the Gypsy andAndalusian schools. Flamenco has six schools, namely: Escuela

Andaluza (Andalusian), Escuela Bolera, Escuela Creativa (or de Fusión), Escuela

Folklórica, Escuela Gitana (Gypsy), and Escuela Popular.

He also learned short courses from Spanish international dancers such as Los

Chavales de España, Antonio (Ruiz), and José Greco who visited Manila in the 1970s

and 1980s.

Gómez has trained the likes of Manila socialites Marissa Aboitiz, Marités

Cancio-Suplico, María Emma Estrada, Cecile de Joya, actress Maggie de la Riva,

former Philippine Basketball Association coach Dante Silverio, Perla Primicias

(daughter of former Philippine Senator Cipriano Primicias), and daughter Marién

Gómez de Lizares.

Throughout the years, Gómez has developed a five-level Flamenco course

that has been proven effective. He has come up with an entertaining teaching

system called "choreographic immersion" with preliminary drills in footwork, hands,

and movements that also include the compás of fours and twelves. Many of his

students also learn many of these dances with or without castanettes. He told us

that his performers have just actually showed us the dances shown in front of

Mabini when he was still living and influencing people.

Well, it made me proud, I can say. It’s a pleasure to see what the heroes have

seen, maybe not so the same, but at least, the mere fact of seeing the dance made

me proud that I am a Filipino studying in Polytechnic University of the Philippines.

After the performances, was the open forum, it was really educational, in a

way that if someone do not know who Mabini is, he’ll probably know him well

afterwards. There are these genius students, only for my perception maybe, that

are asking for some out-of-this-world information, again only for my perception

maybe, that were very well answered and explained by the responsible ones. I

really appreciated how they have offered their very efforts to be studying the life of

our heroes, or maybe, it really is their passion and I can do nothing to prevent them

from studying furthermore just because I’m getting envier and envier as they

speak, so let them be.

What I have written in this, or should I say, what I have only reacted on, were

the only things and happenings that was still in my mind, maybe there are more

important things to be discussed but I think my mind doesn’t have that capacity of

remembering what it doesn’t want to. Well, I wish I have made a point well said.

REACTION PAPER ON THE OPEN FORUM

ENTITLED:“Apolinario Mabini: Ang Nagliliyab

na Apoy sa Ating Kasaysayan, Ang Palaisip sa

Politika

at ang Utak ng Revolucion Filipina.”

Submitted by:

Gamboa, Joelyn Marie G.

BPS 3-1

Submitted to:

Commissioner Professor Jose David Lapuz