The Devaluation of a Hero & Promotion of a Counter-Hero: Where's Andres Bonifacio in the 5 Peso Coin? Make it P2.00. [Bonifacio series III]

Recommended:

Gat Andres Bonifacio: The Anti-Colonial National Hero of the Philippines (Bonifacio Series I)

Andres Bonifacio's Tagalog Nation & Predictions of Global Warming (Bonifacio Series II)
Debunking the Outrageous Glenn May Thesis on Supremo Andres Bonifacio

Ang Pagdaklot kina Supremo Bonifacio 
The Tragedy of the Katipunan: The Supremo's Assassination-cum-Execution (Bonifacio Series IV)

 FROM being the face of the P5 bill/coin to sharing half the theme of the P10 bill, the Philippine's other national hero, Andres Bonifacio y de Castro, has suffered a devaluation over the last few decades. Corollary to the Supremo's apparent (and unofficial) demotion is the promotion of his revolutionary nemesis, Gen. Emilio Aguinaldo. From having absolutely no presence in neither bills nor coins, the country's supposed First President responsible for the Proclamation of Philippine Independence and, as well, the killings of at least two nationalist heroes, displaced Bonifacio from the No.2 spot in Philippine money.

  

Supremo Andres Bonifacio

Gat Andres Bonifacio was the founder of the Kataastaasan Kagalang-galang na Katipunan nang manga Anak nang Bayan (KKK), a secret revolutionary society aimed at liberating the Philippines from the yoke of Spanish colonial rule. Open to prospective members from both the peasantry and middle class, it made use of Masonic rituals to give the society an atmosphere of sacred mystery.

First Philippine President?

The Supremo has also been referred to in history as the Philippine's First (Revolutionary) President.  While certain historians have tried to downplay or dispute his formation and leadership of the earliest national government by and of the Filipinos, there have been clear evidence that Andres Bonifacio was Filipinos' truly first President.

After the Katipuneros launched the uprising against the Spaniards,  hero set out to transform the secret national organization into an open and de facto revolutionary government. The founder of the Katipunan became the president and formed a cabinet composed of men he trusted, including Emilio Jacinto, Secretary of State; Teodoro Plata, War; Aguado del Rosario, Interior; Briccio Pantas, Justice; and Enrique Pacheco, as Secretary of Finance.

Surviving official letterhead communications dated 1897 point to Bonifacio's various designations that include being the "Supreme President, Government of the Revolution."Perhaps the most telling proofs come from non-partisan sources of his period.

Nineteenth century Spanish historian Jose M. del Castillo, in his 1897 work "El Katipunan" or "El Filibusterismo en Filipinas," describes the first national elections in the Philippines from which Bonifacio emerged as the President, and Plata, Jacinto, del Rosario, Pantas and Pacheco as cabinet officials. This is corroborated by the February 8, 1897 issue of the international publication "La Ilustracion Espanola y Americana" in its article about the Philippine revolution and which featured an engraved portrait of "Andres Bonifacio, Titulado 'Presidente' de la Republica Tagala," clad in a dark suit and white tie.


Noble Courage

At any rate, that Bonifacio is the "Father of Philippine Revolution" is undisputed, and his courage legendary. During World War II, his name even was even used by American propagandists to inspire anti-Japanese resistance. His persona was even adopted as a strong theme in the Hollywood World War II movie, "Back to Bataan," which starred John Wayne and Anthony Quinn.


History of Philippine Notes and Coins

The Philippine peso dates back to the Spanish colonial period with the royal decree confirming the creation of the first public bank, Banco Espanol-Filipino de Isabel II (later the Bank of the Philippine Islands) and giving the same the authority to print paper money. The first Philippine bank notes, collectively termed PF or peso fuertes or "strong pesos," were issued on May 1, 1852.

In the next few decades, PF paper money and, later, coins gradually replaced Mexican coins then in circulation. The original PF bank notes carried the portrait of Spain's Queen Isabella II, after whom the bank was named.

During the short-lived First Philippine (Revolutionary) Republic, Gen. Emilio Aguinaldo issued new currency called Republic Filipina Moneda de un Peso as a way of asserting the country's independence. Printed were five-peso and one-peso bank notes and three variations of 2 centavo coins backed by the natural resources of the country.  

Under the American Occupation, Bank of the Philippine Islands or BPI retained the right to issue bills and coins although no longer on a non-exclusive basis. Pegged to the gold exchange standard, the peso became known as "Philippine Currency" or "Peso Conant."

In World War II, the Japanese colonizers introduced currency known as Southern Development Bank Notes for Philippine use. Banks and local governments also issued their own crudely-made "guerrilla pesos" designed for redemption with silver pesos after the War. The Japanese-sponsored government of President Jose P. Laurel, however, prohibited the issuance and possession of guerilla currency.

In 1944, notes printed with "Victory" on the reverse side were printed at the United States Bureau of Engraving and Printing. They were designed to be used upon the expected return of US Gen. MacArthur.


Central Bank of the Philippines

As the Allied Forces triumphed in World War II, the Philippines was granted independence from American colonial rule come 1946. On January 3, 1949, the Central Bank of the Philippines or Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) was created, empowering it with the exclusive authority and power to issue currency.

In 1949, the Central Bank first issued Victory notes, which were overprints of the pre-WW II-liberation notes. Its first official banknotes, though, were issued two years later and called the English series. Filipinization began with the Pilipino Series. Subsequent series replaced the previous: Ang Bagong Lipunan series (ABL); New Design; Flora and Fauna series; New Design series; BSP series.

English series - 1951; coins 1959
Pilipino series - 1967; coins 1967
Ang Bagong Lipunan series - 1973; coins 1975 (Flora & Fauna coins 1983)
New Design series - 1985; Flora & Fauna coins improved version 1992
BSP series - 1998


Andres Bonifacio Devaluation

Philippine banknotes and coins wholly featuring national figures, symbols, sites, and flora and fauna began with the creation of the Central Bank. With regards heroes and heroines, the rule, albeit unwritten, has mostly been that the historic figures appear on the front or obverse side in descending order of importance beginning with the lowest peso denomination. The rationale is that the greater the hero/heroine, the more his/her face should be /propagated in denominations with greater circulation, which are, of course, the lower-valued notes and coins.

This apparent trend began with the Pilipino series where Jose Rizal has for a long time been the face of the P1 bill, and continues up to the present (P1 coin). Thus, Rizal, the acknowledged official national hero, is currently on the obverse of the P1 coin while the largest banknote, the P1,000 bill, carries patriots Chief justice Jose Abad Santos, Gen. Vicente Lim and Josefa Llanes Escoda.

Bonifacio in Philippine Money

A rather recent and glaring deviation from this trend has victimized no less than Gat Andres Bonifacio, Also referred to as the "Great Plebeian," he happens to the Philippine's "other" national hero. According to the National Commission for Culture and the Arts:

Aside from Rizal, the only other hero given an implied recognition as a national hero is Andres Bonifacio whose day of birth on November 30 [Bonifacio Day] has been made a national holiday.

P10 design, BSP series

In the latest P10 bill design, the BSP series (1995), Bonifacio was lumped with Apolinario Mabini. The leftward profile of Mabini is at the far right adjacent to the serial number of the face of the bill while that of Bonifacio is positioned right next to him.

At the back are found a close-up view of the Barasoain Church and a smaller image of the "Blood Compact of Katipuneros" with a dividing spherical broad (brush) stroke in between. The design of the bank note's obverse side is reflected in the cupro-nickel P10 coin with Bonifacio at the forefront and Mabini behind him.

The BSP series issued in 1995 represented a devaluation for Bonifacio because the Supremo was the face of the Philippine five-peso bill for nearly two decades (1967-1985) under the Pilipino and Ang Bagong Lipunan series.  He was consistently next in line to Rizal, featured in P1 bill (Pilipino series) and P2 bill (ABL series).

Even under the New Design series when the P2 and P1 paper money were demonetized, Bonifacio retained his importance: his image continued to be minted on the obverse of the P2 coin  (under the improved Flora & Fauna round P2 coin design) while Rizal continued to be on the P1 coin.

 Mabini, also referred to as the "Sublime Paralytic," has consistently been on the P10 bill (and later, coin) beginning with the Pilipino series (1967). He is often considered as the "Brains of the Revolution," possibly for his role as the right-hand man of Aguinaldo and his role in effecting the revolutionary government. While Mabini is undoubtedly an illustrious hero and patriot, he doesn't have the national hero status of Bonifacio.

  
Bonifacio and Mabini Themes as Separate Historical Animals

Beyond representing a devaluation in terms of money-related "circulation"--so to speak--of the recognition of Bonifacio's heroism, the current BSP design of the P10 banknote/coin is historically incongruent. The themes of Bonifacio and Mabini are unmistakably separate periods of the Philippine Revolution for independence against colonial rule. The clear dividing line is the execution of Bonifacio upon Aguinaldo's order, and highlighted no less by the Philippine-American War which came much later.

Before the BSP series banknotes were first printed in 1998, only Mabini (front) and Barasoain church (back) occupied the P10 bill. The use of the Sublime Paralytic and the Barasoain Church, being one of the prime movers and the proclamation site, respectively, of the Malolos Republic (First Philippine Republic), has been a consistent design of the P10 bill under the Pilipino series, Ang Bagong Lipunan series, and New Design series (in the English series, the theme formed the design of the P1 bill).

It is not to be denied that Bonifacio and Mabini knew each other. Gregoria De Jesus, Bonifacio's widow, even recounted a talk between her late husband and Aguinaldo about Mabini. However, they are not officially associated as Mabini was not a part of Bonifacio's set of Katipunan officers; the "Sublime Paralytic" only became part of the power circle when he was summoned by Aguinaldo, who had by then already eliminated Bonifacio and taken over the leadership of the revolution.

It can be argued, of course, that Katipuneros' blood compact and, thus, the revolutionary movement, served as the foundation of the "Malolos Congress" and the First Philippine Republic. However, such an argument begs the unpalatable question: How did Mabini react and, later, morally justify Aguinaldo's coup against, and elimination of, Bonifacio?


Bonifacio & Jacinto?

If there is a hero that perhaps historically deserves to be joined with Bonifacio, it is Emilio Jacinto, the "Brains of Katipunan." Jacinto was Bonifacio's confidante and author of Katipunan's moral code, the Kartilya. His principled loyalty to Bonifacio extended even after the Supremo was deposed and murdered: he continued to fight the Spanish soldiers while refusing to join Aguinaldo's forces until his death in April 1899.

This theme actually had a precedent--under the English series design of the Philippine peso when Bonifacio and Jacinto were actually together on the face of the P50 (Mabini was in the P1 and Rizal on the P2). Jacinto is undoubtedly a patriotic hero with exemplary revolutionary morality, as reflected in the Kartilya. Bonifacio, the Philippines' other national hero, however, deserves no less a solo place in a bank note or coin right next to Rizal.

Aguinaldo's Symbolism & Appearance in Philippine Money

Gen. Aguinaldo only began his appearance in Philippine currency in the P5 bill under the New Design series during the mid-1980s. His solo profile was on the face of the banknote, while the "Declaration of Independence" in Kawit, Cavite was on the reverse side. The coin equivalent of this denomination also carried his profile. In the current BSP series, the P5 bill was demonetized but the coin continues to bear his profile.

It is perhaps understandable that the theme of Aguinaldo had to finally, if belatedly, make its appearance in Philippine money as it represents the country's assertion of independence from Spain. The image of the proclamation of Independence at Kawit represents a nullification of America's protracted claim that there was no Philippine-American War.

For a long time, the US justified its imperialistic turn-of-the-19th-century annexation of the Southeast Asian archipelago by claiming that the Philippines was no nation and was still a Spanish colony when it was 'ceded 'via the 1898 Treaty of Paris. Aguinaldo's presence in Philippine money can thus well symbolize the post-Bonifacio phase of the Revolution against Spain and the country's assertion of independence and first attempt at self-governance as a liberated nation.

Aguinaldo & Mabini Instead

If Mabini needs to be joined by another figure, it should be no other than the President he served, Gen. Aguinaldo. This is because their roles in Philippines history are actually inseparable.

Aguinaldo can well join Mabini in the face of the P10 bill, along with the images of Kawit's Independence Day side by side with Barasoain Church on the back side should give a faithful recounting of the events of 1898 and early 1899. Compared to today's anomalous P10 Bonifacio-and-Mabini design, such a theme of the continuum of the Declaration of Philippine Independence, and the subsequent Proclamation of the First Philippine Congress/Republic, which took place in Barasoain Church, would be much more historically real.


Bonifacio's Devaluation Came with Aguinaldo's Promotion?

It is worth noting that the apparent devaluation of Bonifacio in Philippine currency took place after the "EDSA I Revolution" and the ouster of Marcos. With all Apo Ferdie's human rights violation, and even having an Aguinaldo descendant as his Prime Minister (Cesar Virata), Bonifacio's place in Philippine money was well secure.

Aguinaldo began appearing in Philippine money at the twilight of Marcos' administration.  However, Marcos ensured Bonifacio's promotion closer to Rizal by having the Supremo assume face of the decagonal P2 coin with the 1983 release of the Flora and Fauna coins (apparently under the ABL series).

The point is: does Aguinaldo's promotion need to come at the expense of Bonifacio's demotion? From being the face of the P5 bill and later, the P2 coin, Bonifacio was relegated to splitting the P10 bill/coin with Mabini.


Aguinaldo and his Kawit theme were already accommodated in the P5 even with the seeming effect of relegating Mabini's position in the pantheon of Filipino heroes and patriots. Why should Bonifacio, a national hero, be effectively relegated by Aguinaldo's historical rehabilitation via Philippine money?


Aguinaldo's Rehabilitation

It should be emphasized that Aguinaldo was never on any Philippine money until the New Design series. Despite the fact that he took over the leadership of the Revolution after having Bonifacio killed, bringing  it to near success against Spanish forces, he was not deemed worthy enough to grace any bill or coin for over 80 years following the Malolos Republic or 20 years after his death (February 1964). His mid-1980s appearance in Philippine money seemed to signal the start of the rehabilitation of his stained name in Philippine history.

At least three reasons explain Aguinaldo's shady or suspect role in Philippine history.

1.    Top of the list is Aguinaldo's execution order on Bonifacio, not infrequently interpreted as murder within a planned coup.

Two versions of the Killing of the Supremo: Firing Squad & Hacking

Bonifacio seems to have been tricked by the Magdiwang chapter of Cavite's KKK into joining the Tejeros Convention where he was elected Interior Secretary and Aguinaldo, the President.The Katipunan leader was sport enough to accept his lesser position but was enraged (or deliberately made enraged?) when Caviteno Daniel Tirona humiliated him by questioning  his qualifications and even suggesting some lawyer was better fit to handle the position he won. 

A shooting incident was avoided and Bonifacio left. When he and his brother were taking breakfast while on their way back, they were captured and later executed by Aguinaldo's men on May 10, 1897 in a mountain in Maragondon, Cavite.

2.    Just three months since the start of the Phil-Am War, Aguinaldo had another valiant revolutionary killed, Gen. Antonio Luna.

The assassination of this very effective military strategist on June 1899 appears to confirm the theory that Aguinaldo had Bonifacio eliminated for no other reason than for him and his elitist group to take over the leadership of the Katipunan. According to Juan Nakpil:

"(D)riven by his patriotic fervor, he (General Antonio Luna) did not conceal his desire to be the head of the cabinet with the portfolio of war to prevent the autonomists or pacifists from controlling the government of the republic....

"They slandered him of wishing to wrest the presidency from Emilio Aguinaldo, and for that purpose they invited him to enter the rattrap of Kabanatuan to enable the very ones whom he had disarmed for cowardice in different war actions to deal him the deathblow...

"When General A. Luna was dastardly assassinated on the stairs of the Convent of Kabanatuan and already fallen on the ground, the mother of Emilio Aguinaldo looked out the window and asked: "Ano, humihinga pa ba?" (Is he still breathing?)"

3.    Aguinaldo refused to fight his captors to death.

On March 23, 1901, American soldiers posing as prisoners of the traitorous Macabebe scouts were led to the whereabouts of the President then on the run. Instead of choosing heroic death over capture as a way of sustaining the morale of his soldiers still valiantly fighting the new colonizing forces, Aguinaldo became a cooperative US Prisoner of War.

Unsurprisingly, his capture led to a succession of surrender of a number of Filipino guerilla leaders. They include the man responsible for the death of US Gen. Henry Lawton, Gen. Licerio Geronimo (surrendered barely a week right after Aguinaldo's capture).

4.    Only nine days after American colonizers got him, Aguinaldo swore fealty to US flag.

His easy capitulation to the American imperialists was supposedly made under plea that his life be spared. His allegiance to Uncle Sam also caused the Anti-Imperialist League to drop him as their 'poster boy' or rallying symbol for their opposition to the annexation of the Philippines. Aguinaldo's swift betrayal of the First Philippine Republic sharply contrasted with Mabini's adamant, repeated refusal to swear allegiance to America, earning the latter the punishment of exiled in captivity in Guam.

Aguinaldo's Possible Regret

In fairness to Gen. Aguinaldo, his controversial support of the Japanese forces during World War II has been interpreted by some as an expression of regret or dissatisfaction over America's annexation of the Philippines (which he, of course, did not fight to the end). Moreover, while on his deathbed, he supposedly expressed regret, if not apology, for what he did to Bonifacio. His dying confession or apology is not officially accepted or hardly mentioned but this piece of information was broached no less by certain history professors from the University of the Philippines.


The General's Less than a Hero

In promoting Aguinaldo via the combined familiarity and symbolism of Philippine money, real or more principled heroes like Bonifacio (and Mabini) have suffered undue demotion before the obtaining national consciousness. While Aguinaldo surely deserves some credit for being a revolutionary leader, his greed-for-power-driven murderous acts, colonial vacillation, and even gullibility that allowed the swift entry of American colonial forces in the islands, definitely makes him no bigger than the Supremo.

Fact is, Aguinaldo is barely considered a hero even today when the reality of the Kawit Independence and the Malolos Republic are a staple in Philippine history textbooks. In his later years, he seemed to have regretted his controversial revolutionary acts, which should merit for him kind understanding from students of history. However, the murders he authorized, if not actually planned, and his swift oath of fealty to the American flag following his capture have forever etched for him a place lower than that of genuine Filipino heroes.


Return Bonifacio to the (revived) P2, or P5 coin

It is historically and logically disconcerting to have the Bonifacio and Mabini themes together in one bill or coin. The incorporation of the disparate themes in the P10 bill/coin must have elicited bewilderment among the more astute students of history, which this author thinks she is one of. When the said banknote first appeared, I was in disbelief, yearning to ask what Mabini could have thought of the execution of Bonifacio in an apparent Aguinaldo coup d e tat mode.


It is even more disconcerting to promote Aguinaldo at the expense of national hero Bonifacio. To honor Aguinaldo more than the Supremo, or even over Mabini (or arguably, even over Jacinto and Gen. Luna) in the field of Philippine currency is to adulate vacillation/capitulation to foreign powers, murder and power grab (no wonder Gloria Arroyo's EDSA II coup d e tat over Joseph Estrada was tolerated?).

If the intention was not to demote Bonifacio while promoting Aguinaldo before the public consciousness, shouldn't the BSP have simply maintained the P2 coin? How difficult or problematic would having a P2 coin be anyhow, given that the almost valueless c5 and c10 coins, along with the P1 Rizal coin, have been kept? Question is, was the P2 demonetized so as to find an excuse to demote the Great Plebian, patriotic Father of the Philippine Revolution, in the consciousness of present-day Filipinos?

It would be a lame excuse for the BSP to claim that Bonifacio's devaluation into sharing the face of the P10 bill/coin was unintended and merely a result of the demonetization of the New Design P2 coins. Why demonetize the denomination in the first place (all previous series were demonetized in 1998)? If the government can continue to mint practically value-less 5 and 10 centavos coins that public utility drivers prefer not to accept, why not the P2 coins with the Supremo's face?


New Series - Hoping for Bonifacio's Restoration

There is no question that the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas has "the sole power and authority to issue currency, within the territory of the Philippines." However, under what direction or authority are the BSP officials rehabilitating Aguinaldo's image too much and/or demoting Bonifacio's place in history and national consciousness via circulating Philippine money?

The BSP is said to be preparing a new design series for release this year. The upcoming design is said to constitute a major overhaul of the country's banknotes and coins. Will Bonifacio be restored to his proper place in Philippine currency? I say let the public be consulted in the design process. Vox populi, vox Dei.

__________

References:

156 Years of Banking Leadership. http://info.bpiexpressonline.com/bpiprod/BPIAbout.nsf/150th+Anniversary/Trivia+on+Philippine+Banking?OpenDocument
Andres Bonifacio: 1863-1897. United States Library of Congress. http://www.loc.gov/rr/hispanic/1898/bonifacio.htm
Andres Bonifacio: "Titulado Presidente De La Republica Tagala". http://www.geocities.com/umalahokanstribe/EXHIBIT.html
Arguelles, Randolf. The Image of Emilio Aguinaldo. http://userwww.sfsu.edu/~epf/1997/arguelles.html
Back to Bataan. (2009, December 17). In Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Retrieved 02:46, December 31, 2009, from http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Back_to_Bataan&oldid=332164430
Constantino, Renato. Veneration without Understanding. Third National Rizal Lecture, December 30, 1969. 13 January 2008. PinoyPress Site. http://www.pinoypress.net/2008/01/13/jose-rizal-veneration-without-understanding/7/
Guerrero, Milagros, Emmanuel Encarnacion, and Ramon Villegas. Andres Bonifacio and the 1896 Revolution. In Sulyap Kultura. National Commission for Culture and the Arts, 1996. NCCA Site. 16 June 2003. http://www.ncca.gov.ph/about-culture-and-arts/articles-on-c-n-a/article.php?i=5&subcat=13
Mabini Finds Champions; Anti-Imperialists Demand Release of Filipino Statesman. Messrs. Adams, Schurz, Smith, and Welsh Hold That His Detention at Guam Is Illegal. Special to The New York Times. 24 Dec. 1902, http://query.nytimes.com/mem/archive-free/pdf?_r=1&res=9D03E3DC163AE733A25757C2A9649D946397D6CF
Medina, Isagani. "Heroes of the Philippines Revolution." In The Great Lives Series, Andres Bonifacio, Tahanan Books for Young Readers. Bookmark, 1992. Bakbakan Site. http://www.bakbakan.org/heroes.html
Philippine Coins and Banknotes: 2 Peso Coin - Improved Flora and Fauna Series. http://philmoney.blogspot.com/2007/01/2-peso-coin-improved-flora-and-fauna.html
Philippine Currency During World War II. http://www.guerrilla-money.com/JIM/
Philippine peso. Absolute Astronomy. http://www.absoluteastronomy.com/topics/Philippine_peso
Republic Period. http://www.bsp.gov.ph/about/history/story7.asp
Revolucion filipina (1896-1898). Museo Oriental de Valladolid Site. http://www.museo-oriental.es/ver_didactica.asp?clave=138&loc=0
The Philippine Republic. http://www.bsp.gov.ph/bspnotes/evolution/page7.asp
Trivia on Philippine Banking. http://info.bpiexpressonline.com/bpiprod/BPIAbout.nsf/150th+Anniversary/Trivia+on+Philippine+Banking?OpenDocument
'Victory' series. http://www.guerrilla-money.com/Victory_series/


Photo Credits:

"Ang Wakas ni Andres Bonifacio" ni Carlos Valino Jr., Nanalo sa  1963 Andres Bonifacio Centennial Art Contest, mula sa Tragedy of the Revolution

http://manilagalleontrade.webs.com/
http://philmoney.blogspot.com/
http://philippine-revolution.110mb.com/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Antonio_Luna
http://tetp.wordpress.com/2009/03/
English Series Notes. Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas. http://www.bsp.gov.ph/bspnotes/evolution/BSPNotes/EnglishSeries.pdf
Pilipino Series Notes. Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas. http://www.bsp.gov.ph/bspnotes/evolution/BSPNotes/PilipinoSeries.pdf
Ang Bagong Lipunan Series Notes. Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas. http://www.bsp.gov.ph/bspnotes/evolution/BSPNotes/ABLSeries.pdf
New Design Series Notes. Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas. http://www.bsp.gov.ph/bspnotes/evolution/BSPNotes/NewDesignSeries.pdf
BSP Series Notes. Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas. http://www.bsp.gov.ph/bspnotes/evolution/BSPNotes/BSPSeries.pdf

History & the Philippine-American War: A Colonial Hero, an Anti-Colonial Hero, & Plaza-Naming

THIS week, December 19 to be specific, is the 110th anniversary of the death of Henry Ware Lawton, an American general after whom a landmark plaza in Manila, Philippines was named--Plaza Lawton.

As a young girl, I didn't exactly remember the place or its precise spot in Manila but my parents seemed to frequently mention it. My papa, in particular, made more than occasional references to "Lawton" or "Plaza Lawton," either as a destination, landmark or jeepney (public transport) route.

During my college years, I gave the etymology of the plaza some thought but didn't exactly bother to do real research. Back then, I just presumed that "Lawton" must be another of the numerous vestiges of pathetic (what else could it be?) colonial heritage. Lawton must be some American official who served in the Philippines. Perhaps a governor-general, military officer, or commissioner of some entity during the era of United States occupation of its former Southeast Asian colony.

As it turned out, I was partly correct. Plaza Lawton was named after Henry Ware Lawton, an American military general who did serve in the Philippines--but not exactly during the colonial era. Maj. Gen. Lawton served as a valiant, celebrated, determined agent-officer of American imperialistic expansion during the subjugation proper--the official (translation: US military viewpoint) duration of the Philippine-American hostilities. He would not be part of the American colonial era when the colonized natives had already been "pacified," which came some three or ten years later--depending on whose side is talking.

It's interesting to note that the name "Geronimo" was destined to play an important part of his military record--of Lawton's fame and death. Lawton was to be the bane of the Apache American Indian tribe and its leader Geronimo during the Geronimo Campaign of 1886.*

More than a later, during yet another mission of subjugation (US translation: pacification)--this time thousands of miles of land and ocean waters away from American soil--he would face another Geronimo in the person of Filipino general (US translation: "insurgent" leader) Licerio Geronimo. 


Lawton's Military Exploits

Gen. Henry Ware Lawton is said to be one of the most celebrated American wartime heroes of his time. He was so respected and admired such that Fort Lawton in Washington and the city of Lawton in Oklahoma were named after him. He was "boy hero" of the American Civil War, earning the Medal of Honor for his leadership of a skirmish attack at Atlanta, Georgia.

Lawton is best remembered, however, for his pursuit of the near-mythical figure that was Geronimo and his American Indian band.  While Lawton was not actually able to capture Geronimo, his relentless search operations that included the use of Apache "scouts" (translation: Indian traitors) are credited for the Indian leader's eventual surrender to the US Army.

Promotions came easy for him after the 1886 Geronimo Campaign, rising to become brigadier general of volunteers during his stint in Cuba and later, as Major General. His military exploits covering four decades--the Civil War, American Indian Wars, Spanish-American War, and Philippine-American War--supposedly approached the level of fantastic such that his life has been a popular subject of contemporary journalism. While he is now faulted for certain flawed judgments during the war against the Spaniards and in Cuba, his trademark traits--dogged determination and fearlessness came in handy for the US missions.


Filipino-American War

The Philippine-American War was set in the context of the Filipino revolutionary energies being part-spent during the Revolution against Spanish colonial rule and of the voracious, newfound US appetite for imperial possessions in the Pacific (apart from Puerto Rico). The US had prevailed in the Spanish-American War, resulting to the December 1898 Treaty of Paris that, among other things, "ceded" the Philippines to the US for $20 million.

For a long time, the US military refused to admit to the fact of the Philippine-American War, referring to it merely as "insurrection." Apparently, the denial was designed to belittle the claims of groups in America which were opposed to the annexation of the Philippines.

At that time, the American public was becoming divided over the morality and wisdom of President William McKinley’s policy of colonization. The Anti-Imperialist League was formed and business baron Andrew Carnegie even offered $20 million to buy back the independence of the Filipinos, but was promptly rejected.

Under a Republican administration, the emerging international power that was the US wanted its people to believe that the acquisition of the Southeast Asian archipelago was not by deliberate design but merely an accidental consequence of the Paris accord. To rationalize his imperialistic plans for the islands, McKinley even went to the extent of claiming he heard the “voice of God” in a dream or something, leading to his decision that there was "nothing left for us to do but to take them all, to educate the Filipinos, and uplift and Christianize them."

The denial apparently also arose from the need of the US military to be in accord with the acquisition-via-Spanish-sale-of-the-Southeast-Asian-archipelago official policy for the Philippines. The Fil-Am War denial precludes a rather important point behind the outcome of the Spanish-American War--that the Filipino revolutionaries actually helped the US defeat Spain. This is a fact acknowledged no less by Senator William Jennings Bryan:

There can be no doubt that we accepted and utilized the services of the Filipinos [in the war against Spain], and that when we did so we had full knowledge that they were fighting for their own independence, and I submit that history furnishes no example of turpitude baser than ours if we now substitute our yoke for the Spanish yoke.

Lawton in the Philippines

Gen. Lawton was among the Civil War and American Indian war veterans assigned to secure US expansionist interest in the Philippines. He headed the 3,850-strong First Division consisting of two maneuver brigades, each of which was further composed of four or so battalions. He was responsible for the capture of the Filipino stronghold in Santa Cruz (April 9-10, 1899); Paete (April 12, 1899); and Zapote (June 13, 1899) in the war's second largest battle.

Tactics-wise, he was credited with the use and development of the indigenous Philippine scouts (translation: Filipino "Macabebe," etc. traitors) to contain the Filipino revolutionaries--who were fighting guerilla warfare in their own territory. The use of indigenous foot soldier scouts against their fellow natives who were resisting American domination is a crucial lesson learned by Lawton during the Indian Wars.

Unfortunately for Lawton, however, he was destined to become the most important American casualty of that turn-of-the-century war of colonial subjugation. On the morning of December 19, 1899, the American general led an assault termed the Battle of San Mateo in Montalban (now Rizal Province). The assault aimed to permanently cut the communication lines of the Filipino forces in the southern and northern portions of Luzon island.

The American general was boldly pacing the firing line on the San Mateo River’s west bank almost unmindful of the warnings given him by his soldiers when a bullet of a sharpshooting Filipino revolutionary pierced through his chest. Lawton died instantly. The US military's biggest single loss in the war.

Gen. Geronimo

Responsible for his death was the guerilla troop Tiradores de la Muerte (Marksmen of Death), which was ironically led by another "Geronimo"--Gen. Licerio Geronimo. The exact spot of the conflict, or at least part of it, is now within the jurisdiction of Quezon City in Metro Manila. A marker commemorating the Battle of San Mateo, which can be found at Brgy. Bagong Silangan, when translated into English reads:

On this spot on the morning of December 19, 1899 occurred a historic battle during the Filipino-American War between the forces of Licerio Geronimo, Division General of the Revolutionary Army of Rizal together with his band of marksmen called Tiradores de la Muerte and American forces led by Commanding General Henry W. Lawton that consisted of battalions from the 29th Infantry, 27th Infantry, and a cavalry and foot squadron from the 11th Cavalry. Killed during this battle faced by the forces of General Geronimo was General Lawton, one of the highest ranking American military officials during the Filipino-American War.

Who was the Filipino "Geronimo"? Gen. Geronimo was among the most valiant Filipino generals in the Philippine-American War. According to a National Historical Institute article:

Geronimo joined the Katipunan when [Andres] Bonifacio established a chapter in Montalban. When revolution [against Spain] broke out in 1896, Geronimo went to Balintawak on request of Bonifacio. On August 30 that same year, he was with the group that attacked San Juan del Monte...

“General Cerio” as he was fondly called became popular among the revolutionists because of his skills in combat. He triumphantly defended his post from the Spaniards and augmented ammunitions and supplies of the revolutionists by ambushing Spanish carts...

When the Philippine-American War broke out, Geronimo defended Marikina. He helped build trenches and reorganized the Filipino troops in San Juan and Mandaluyong. Antonio Luna appointed him commanding general of the third military zone with operations in Manila and Rizal...

Geronimo was a great disturbance to the Americans for his damaging guerrilla tactics against them. In July 1900, General Trias named him jefe superior [Chief Commader] of the joint forces of the second and third zones of Manila. In August, he took command of the district of Morong.

Gen. Geronimo continued to fight the American imperialists for over a year after his troops killed the highest-ranking American casualty of the war. Subsequently, however, he caved in to the pressures wrought by America military might and a double-faced "pacification campaign" (translation: at times, ruthless scorched-earth tactics were used). On March 29, 2001, the valiant Gen. Geronimo surrendered to the colonizers. He even became a Philippine Constabulary inspector and, later, officer.


US Colonial Propaganda 

Within two years, however, the noted Filipino veteran of the Revolution and the Philippine-American War would be dismissed from the colonial-era Philippine Constabulary, supposedly on grounds of gambling. At this point, a student of history may wonder whether gambling was indeed the only reason behind Geronimo's dismissal. After all, his guerilla troop was responsible for the killing of heroic-to-the-Americans-but-fallen-colonizing-agent-to-the-Filipinos Gen. Lawton.

By any measure, Geronimo's association with the death of an American general presented an embarrassment for a (emerging) world power claiming that the inhabitants of its colonial possession were not waging, or in no position to wage, any war. Moreover, Gen. Geronimo demolished no less an illustrious American military hero whose persona the colonial government would forcibly inculcate into the Filipino psyche by naming an important Manila plaza after him, Plaza Lawton.


Lawton's Views of the Philippine-American War

Gen. Lawton, in his stint during the Phil-Am War and in his death while in action, was to be surrounded with, or involved in, propaganda issues relating to the military conflict in the Philippines. For one, in a conversation with a reporter-friend over his non-promotion to the rank of Regular Army officer, he expressed his apprehensions over the possible consequence of his public pronouncement of the need for 100,000 US troops in the Philippines.

Another would be a controversial letter--published only after his death--in which he seemed to downgrade Filipino resistance and military capability.  In the letter he wrote before his death to former ambassador to Siam (Thailand) John Barrett, Lawton supposedly stated that “If I am shot by a Filipino bullet, it might as well come from one of my own men, because I know from observation, confirmed by captured prisoners, that the continuance of fighting is chiefly due to reports that are sent out from America.”

Lawton's assessment of the need for such a large number of troops to neutralize the conflict in the new "acquisition," by itself, provided evidence that America was at war, particularly given that the Philippines is much smaller compared to the US. The reference to the military establishment/Washington possibly being displeased by such a public statement pointed to a propaganda policy of keeping the war realities from reaching the American people, but which he might have violated.

As for the letter to the ambassador, it was apparently crafted in response to the Anti-Imperialist League's criticisms of the annexation of the Philippines. It certainly appeared incongruent with his publicly stated view that the containment of Filipino resistance needed 100,000 US troops.

Moreover the Barrett letter seemed to squarely conflict with the contents of a formal correspondence also attributed to him. In that other letter, Lawton was all praises for the resolve of the Filipino soldiers: 

Taking into account the disadvantages they have to fight against in terms of arms, equipment and military discipline, without artillery, short of ammunition, powder inferior, shells reloaded until they are defective, they are the bravest men I have ever seen...

His admiration for the under-equipped soldiers must surely not have been directed at the traitorous indigenous scouts that they were arming. Clearly, the Filipino soldiers earned Lawton's respect--and, apparently, the recognition that they were fighting a valiant war for freedom.


Phil-Am War as Historical Reality 

Credit: http://www.filipiniana.net

The United States combined tactics of pacification and social improvement with brutal military strikes. Aguinaldo was captured in 1901, and then in 1902 President Roosevelt officially declared an end to the conflict. However a Filipino-American War continued on until 1915. In years to come, Americans remained divided over the nation’s actions and imperial ambitions.

Military historian John M. Gates notes how the US forces became atrocious as they increasingly became frustrated in their missions. He writes that "The more frustrating the campaign became, the more frequently the Americans crossed the line separating the harsh reprisals sanctioned by General Order 100 from such crimes of war as torture and wanton destruction."

Clearly, why the US soldiers reached frustration level reflected the war intensity level that the Filipino patriots gave them in the turn-of-the-century conflict. Commenting on the casualty figures of the Philippine-American War (his count being actually very conservative compared to American author Gore Vidal's), Gates writes: "This war about which one hears so little was not a minor skirmish."


Plaza Lawton Place-Naming

Despite his having been killed by a Filipino bullet, however, the US colonial government was to have the temerity to name a plaza in the capital, Manila, after the fallen American general. Actually, "Plaza Lawton" was probably expected, given that imperialist periods always reflect the viewpoints of the dominant state.

During the early American era, colonial policy included an education (or miseducation?) policy of Americanizing the Filipino psyche. Under the so-called 1908 pensionado program, young Filipinos sent to the mother country for education became "sellers of American institutions and way of life" upon their return back home. Similarly, the introduced educational system in the Philippines taught the natives American presidents and figures, government system, etc.

More visible was the pattern of naming streets and places after American governor-generals, military officials, important American who served in the islands, etc. Thus, today's Roxas Blvd. in Metro Manila was formerly named after Commodore Dewey who demolished the Spanish naval forces during the Battle of Manila Bay; A.H. Lacson St. in Sampaloc, Manila used to be named after Gov.-Gen. William Forbes. Burnham Park in Baguio City was named after American architect Daniel Burnham. Taft Avenue in Manila has also retained the name taken after the country's first American civil governor, William Howard Taft (later became US president).

Plaza Lawton was not the only case of propaganda/Americanization type of place naming instituted by the colonial government. Streets built right after the Fil-Am War in Malate were named after US states that sent volunteer soldiers to fight the Filipino army (later renamed after the patriots who played key roles in the First Philippine Republic).

From Lawton to Katipunan founder Bonifacio

In the early 1900s, Plaza Lawton became an important part of the so-called Burnham Plan for the capital city. The plaza fronts the facade of the Manila Central Post Office, a neo-classical but beautiful structure that still stands today (rebuilt after World War II). While it appears lost in the present time, it simply looked so grand during the early part of the 20th century. The plaza itself, without today's numerous jeepneys, cars, and development clutters, was a pleasant sight to behold.


... to Plaza Geronimo?

Plaza Lawton in Manila has been renamed Liwasang Bonifacio in the 1970s in honor of the Father of Philippine Revolution, Andres Bonifacio. While I am a Bonifacio partisan, I believe it would have been more appropriate and historically colorful (translation: capitalize on the historical irony) to rename the place as Plaza Geronimo.

Would it not be more fitting and historically meaningful to rename the plaza christened after the highest ranking imperialist military leader killed during the Filipino-American war to the (sur)name of the Filipino general responsible for the wartime feat? If only the Philippine government was probably not so sensitive to what its former colonial master would feel, naming that part of Manila "Plaza Geronimo" would actually constitute a logical choice. 

Actually a street in Manila is already named after Gen. Geronimo--his birthplace in Brgy. Sampaloc.
However, from the viewpoint of Philippine memory, it simply sounds more symbolic to change Plaza Lawton to the name of the nemesis of the fallen American general. Such an ironic name change will highlight the great, valiant struggle that ill-equipped Philippine eagle soldiers put up with against the colonizing American bald eagle forces.

To put it bluntly but honestly, Lawton was Geronimo's prized Filipino-American War trophy. America's biggest loss was the Philippines’s biggest prey catch. No matter that the killing of Lawton ultimately proved to be more of a fleeting victory, a consolation prize amidst the eventual US subjugation of the whole islands. From Plaza Lawton to Plaza Geronimo--a symbolic, if ironic, historical, anti-colonial sweet revenge.


Plaza Geronimo?????

Then again, maybe Gen. Geronimo does not deserve that accolade. After all, he surrendered to the American forces some 15 months after his guerilla force wondrously killed Gen. Lawton. I mean, real heroes fight to death, right?

In fairness to Gen. Cerio, as he was actually fondly called, his surrender came in the context of the successive captures or surrenders of other revolutionary leaders which, in turn, was apparently the effect of the cowardly stance of Gen. Emilio Aguinaldo, the President of the newly proclaimed (translation: fledging) Philippine Republic.

Captured in Palanan, Isabela on March 23, 1901, Aguinaldo did not fight to his death and, instead, swore allegiance to the enemy flag apparently so his life would be spared. His capture and subsequent oath of fealty to the new colonial master, the United States, gradually had the effect of breaking the back of Filipino freedom fighters. A number of other military leaders tried to continue the resistance but amidst the bloody, even ruthless military component of the  "Pacification Campaign" of the emerging world power, Gen. Geronimo and the rest of those who remained fighting probably saw little hope of victory.


Lawton from an Objective View

Still, the fact is that there was a Filipino-American WAR, which meant that the valiant Filipino guerillas who launched a revolution against colonial Spain continued to fight in the war against the new and militarily more superior colonizing army of the US. Still, the fact is that Gen. Henry W. Lawton, celebrated American hero, was felled by a Filipino, a Filipino bullet.

Really. The phrase attributed to him, "If I am shot by a Filipino bullet, it might was well be from one of my own men," came only in Gen. Lawton's wildest dreams. Or, speculatively perhaps, was a propaganda concoction of the US military to try to disprove the Anti-Imperialist League's criticisms of "voice of God"-in- "Benevolent Assimilation" policy of President William McKinley.


Gen. Lawton. White American hero. Conqueror of American Indians. Trophy of Filipino Gen. Geronimo. Plaza Lawton. Change what you know.


Note:
*Some accounts state that Lawton either captured Geronimo; others claim the Apache leader surrendered—either to Lawton or another US military official.

__________

Photo Credits:

Sumaquel Macky Hosalla (photo of Gen. Licerio)

http://philippineamericanwar.webs.com/

http://www.pbase.com/dni

http://americanhistory.si.edu/Militaryhistory/printablesection.asp?id=7

Filipiniana.net

http://www.filipinoforum.net/phpBB3/viewtopic.php?f=5&t=5439

http://www.history.army.mil/armyhistory/AH63(W).pdf

http://www.skyscrapercity.com/showthread.php?t=275221&page=42

http://www.flickr.com/photos/johntewell/3712218494/

http://manila-photos.blogspot.com/2009_05_01_archive.html

http://www.wikipedia.com

References:

Andrew Carnegie: Rags to Riches Timeline. http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/carnegie/timeline/timeline2.html

Battle of Paye. http://www.nationmaster.com/encyclopedia/Battle-of-Paye

Brookes, Philip. The Philippine Scouts: A Case Study in the Use of Indigenous Soldiers, Northern Luzon, the Philippine Islands, 1899. http://handle.dtic.mil/100.2/ADA138032

Cruz, Romeo V. America's Colonial Desk and the Philippines: 1898-1934. Quezon City: University of the Philippines Press, 1974. pp. 85-90.

Delehanty, Randolph. War & Dissent: The U.S. in the Philippines, 1898-1915. http://www.presidio.gov/NR/rdonlyres/8AD33B62-6F88-4173-BC51-9D19232234DB/0/WD_DeeperIntoExhibit.pdf

Documents on Imperialism. http://www2.bc.edu/~weiler/imperialismdocs.htm

Dumindin, Arnaldo. Philippine-American War, 1899-1902. http://www.freewebs.com/philippineamericanwar/thewarrages1899.htm

Lawton, Major General Henry W. A. http://www.huachuca.army.mil/sites/History/PDFS/fhheroes.pdf

Licerio I. Geronimo (1855-1924): Freedom Fighter. http://www.nhi.gov.ph//index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=244

McClintock, Michael. 2002. Instruments of Statecraft: U.S. Guerilla Warfare, Counterinsurgency, and Counterterrorism, 1940-1990: An Un-American Way of War. http://www.statecraft.org/chapter18.html

Old Street Names of Manila. http://traveleronfoot.wordpress.com/2008/07/10/old-street-names-of-manila/

Ossad, Steven. Henry Ware Lawton. "Army History." Winter 2007. pp. 4-25. http://www.history.army.mil/armyhistory/AH63(W).pdf

Overseas expansion of the United States. (2009, December 16). In Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Retrieved 16:29, December 19, 2009, from http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Overseas_expansion_of_the_United_States&oldid=332060778

Spanish American War. http://americanhistory.si.edu/Militaryhistory/printable/section.asp?id=7

The Philippines. University of San Diego. http://history.sandiego.edu/gen/for/diplo/phil.html

________________________


FURTHER READING:

Lookback to the Fil-Am War: Democrat William Jennings Bryan's view of American imperialist designs on the Philippines