JANUARY: MONTHS OF DISQUIET
1896 December 30 * Jose Rizal , prominent reformist, author of Noli Me Tangere and El Filibusterismo was executed by the Spanish authorities at Luneta Park.
1898 December 10 * Spain cedes the Philippines to the United States in Treaty of Paris.
1899 January 23 * Emilio Aguinaldo raised the Philippine flag and proclaimed independence from Spain.
1941 December 7 * Japanese Imperial army attacked Pearl Harbor, Hawaii.
1942 January 2 * Japanese armed forces occupied Manila.
1945 January 9 * Douglas MacArthur landed his forces in Lingayen, Pangasinan and began the march to liberate Manila.
1970 January 30 * First Quarter Storm – what began as student protests, became three months of continuous demonstrations against the Marcos government.
Somehow the events of January, as the month that follows the old year, takes its cue from December. December presages the events of the new year. It sets the tempo of the following months and colors its
outcome – quiet, turbulent or maybe even dull. In the terms of Filipino catholicism, December announces the birth of baby Jesus and the eve of the New Year is celebrated with Chinese fire-crackers of which its original purpose was to banish the pagan demons of the past.
The 27rd of this month, in 1899 was a momentous event in the history the Philippines. On this day, in the town of Malolos, Emilio Aguinaldo declared the Philippines free of Spanish rule. Much to the chagrin of the U.S. who was witness to this historic event, Aguinaldo raised for the first time in Asia, the tri-color flag of an independent republic. Believing that the Spanish forces in Manila will put up a good defense against Dewey’s navy, the US solicited and fetched Aguinaldo from Hong-Kong, where he and his fellow revolutionaries were exiled under the truce of Biak-na-Bato. The poorly armed Katipuneros were unable to dislodge the colonial regime after a year of raging battles against the better armed Spanish soldiers. Fractious loyalties demoralized the rebels, splitting them into two factions, the Magdiwang under the leadership of Aguinaldo and the Magdalo followers of Andres Bonifacio, the founder of the Katipunan. Bonifacio, a young railworker organized the Katipunan as a small secret society of peasants, laborers, and lower-middle class professionals. Its membership would swell into a mixed throng of bare-footed revolutionaries spurred by the execution of their beloved doctor, Jose Rizal on December 30, 1896.
Under suspicious allegations, Bonifacio was arrested by the Magdiwang faction and accused of treason and incompetence. The ensuing court-martial condemned Bonifacio to death by firing squad. Aguinaldo declared a military government under his command. Losing momentum and with the arrival of Spanish reinforcements, Aguinaldo’s army reached a stalemate, with exile to Hong-Kong as his best strategic option. Encouraged, albeit under false promises, by Admiral Dewey to return from exile, Aguinaldo rebuilds his army and captures most of the provinces. Soon battle lines were drawn between Aguinaldo’s army and the American-controlled, walled city of Manila, Intramuros, the only piece of real estate Spain could hand over at the Treaty of Paris, thus setting the stage for America’s imperial ambitions. Aguinaldo’s fledgling army formerly constituted from the years of oppressive rule and social injustice now confronted a new enemy. These themes persist and continue to resonate well into the modern centuries.
Suggested Reading:
Teodoro Agoncillo, A Short History of the Philippines, Mentor Book, 1969
Stanley Karnow, In Our Image: America?s Empire in the Philippines, New York: Balantine, 1989
Jose Lacaba, Days of Quiet, Nights of Rage, Manila: Salinlahi, 1982
Austin Coates, Rizal: Philippine Nationalist and Martyr, London: Oxford U.P., 1968
