Apolinario Mabini

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Apolinario Mabini

Apolinario Mabini y Maranan (born July 23, 1864 in Tanauan ; † May 13, 1903 in Manila ), also known as the "paralyzed genius" and referred to as the "brain of the revolution", was a Filipino politician and theorist who called the Filipino Written the Constitution of the First Philippine Republic (1899-1901) and was appointed the first Prime Minister of the Philippines in 1899 . This makes him one of the national heroes of the Philippines .

Early stage of life

Apolinario Mabini was born on July 23, 1864 in Talaga, a Barangay (district) of Tanauan . His father Inocencio Mabini and his mother Dionisia Maranan lived in poor conditions.

A scholarship enabled him to study at a school in Tanauan . Later he changed schools and came under the care of the well-known educator Father Valerio Malabanan.

He then continued his studies at the Colegio de San Juan de Letran and achieved in 1887 the degree of Bachelor of Arts ( Bachelor of Art) and later the title of Professor of Latin . At the University of Santo Tomas he received his law degree in 1894. During his studies, he made a living teaching Latin, working as a copier at the Manila Court, and later as a clerk and court assistant.

In September 1892 he joined the Freemasons and took the name Katabay. In 1893 he was one of the parties who founded La Liga Filipinas , an organization founded by José Rizal to unite the Philippines and reform Spanish influence in the country.

He dreamed of fighting poverty and escaping the priesthood his mother wished for him. In the spring of 1896 he became seriously ill, possibly with polio , which led to paralysis of his lower limbs. When the revolution broke out that year, the Spanish authorities suspected him of being linked to these riots. He was arrested and detained. However, the fact that he was unable to move his lower limbs convinced the Spaniards of his innocence. He was then released and transferred to the San Juan de Dios Hospital.

revolution

The fact that Mabini was by no means averse to the nationalist claims of the revolutionaries can already be seen in his membership of the La Liga Filipina . He also works in secret on the introduction of reforms in the administrative offices of the colonial government. In 1898, while on vacation in Los Baños in the Laguna province , the revolutionary leader Emilio Aguinaldo asked for him. It took hundreds of men to carry Mabini lying in his hammock to Kawit, where Aguinaldo was waiting for him. Due to Mabini's poor health, he first doubted that this man could be of any help to him. But when he overheard him and heard the certainty in the voice of this sickly-looking man, his doubts faded and he decided to make him his confidante and advisor.

During the Philippine Revolution of 1898, Mabini was the main adviser in the service of Aguinaldo and was considered the man behind the great general. Among other things, he drafted decrees and drafted a constitution for the First Philippine Republic , the first in Asia. This included the planning for the framework of a revolutionary government, which was put into effect at the Congress in Malolos in 1899 . At that event, Mabini chaired the Revolutionary Congress and the first cabinet. On May 9, 1899, he was replaced by Pedro Paterno .

prime minister

On January 2, 1899, Apolinario Mabini was appointed both Prime Minister and Foreign Minister of the new independent dictatorial government of Emilio Aguinaldo . The corresponding ceremony for the proclamation of the First Philippine Republic was celebrated on January 23, 1899. Mabini then headed the first cabinet of this new republic.

Mabini was now at the center of the most critical period in the history of this new state and immediately had to grapple with problems that he could hardly have foreseen. One of these tasks was to conduct negotiations with the Americans, which began on March 6, 1899, shortly after the outbreak of the Philippine-American War . The United States and the New Philippine Republic were embroiled in extremely contentious and violent confrontations at that time.

During the peace talks, the American negotiators offered Mabini autonomy for Aguinaldo's new government. The talks failed, however, as Mabini's terms included a ceasefire that was rejected by the other side. Mabini then continued negotiations and tried to enforce a ceasefire , but the talks failed again. Since he could see no readiness for a serious peace solution on the American side, he swore off negotiations, gathered his people and cleared the way for further armed conflicts.

On May 7, 1899, he finally resigned from his office and his membership in the government.

Later stage of life

On December 10, 1899, he was captured by the American forces in Cuyapo , Nueva Ecija , but was released shortly afterwards. In 1901 he was exiled to Guam . He returned to his homeland in 1903 after agreeing to express his loyalty to the United States, and on February 26, 1903, he took his oath before the chief customs officer.

He was then offered a leading position in the American colonial government, but declined the offer, preferring to spend his retirement in his residence in Natahan.

Apolinario Mabini died on May 13, 1903 in Manila to cholera .

More notes

  • Describing his cabinet, he said that it “… does not belong to any party, nor is there any need to form one; it stands for nothing except safeguarding the interests of the fatherland. "
  • In the spring of 1902 a US Senate committee held a number of hearings to investigate the war crimes committed by American officers and servicemen during the Philippine-American War . This investigation and negotiation later came to be known as the 1902 Lodge Committee. In the course of this investigation, the testimony of former military governor of the Philippines Arthur MacArthur was heard. General MacArthur made the following statement regarding Mabini:
"Mabini is a highly educated young man who, unfortunately, is paralyzed. He received a classical education, has a very flexible, resourceful mind, and Mabini's views are larger than any other Filipino I've ever met. His ideas were the dream of a Malay alliance. No alliance of Luzon or the Filipino archipelago, but I believe in this (Malay) blood. He is a dreamer, but has a very committed character and has very high skills. As I said he is, regrettably, paralyzed. He is a young man and would undoubtedly be of great use to this island in the future if it weren't for his ailments. "
  • Mabini's main work, La Revolution Filipina , is a fundamental analysis full of persuasive arguments and illustrates the ideological entanglements of the revolution against Spain and the resistance against the American invaders. It reveals the increase in the democratic impulses behind his thinking. He always tried to mediate between the will of the people and the decisions of the leaders.
  • Apolinario Mabini and Andrés Bonifacio are shown together on the front of the old, but still valid, Filipino 10 peso banknote.

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