Polytechnic University of the Philippines

College of Political Science and Public Administration

Bachelor of Arts in Political Economy
S.Y 2021-2022

A Film Review on
General Antonio Luna and Generalissimo,
Macario Sakay: Telling the Resistance of Filipinos Against American Imperialism

In partial fulfillment of the first semestral midterm paper requirement for the course
Readings in Philippine History

Submitted by:
Queenie Vie L. Bonito

Submitted to:
Jacinto Valila Jr.

January 9, 2022
 Sakay and Luna in the Different Perspective of life

Those who can spearhead bravely for aiming for Independence and sans the fear of death
is by all means heroes. They eliminate the opposing force in a single glance, violent and non-
violent ways. In our community, a hero plays a vital role. Their roles in society are multifaceted.
A hero is helpful, attempting to solve people's problems with all of their hearts and public service.

The introduction above exhibited how Makarios Sakay initiated the fight against the
exacerbating American imperialism in the Philippines. Sakay was a founding member of the
Partido Nacionalista (Nationalist Party, established in 1907), a national organization dedicated to
achieving Independence from the republic through legal methods. Despite popular belief, the
Philippine opposition to American rule didn't stop with the size of General Emilio Aguinaldo.
Several forces managed to remain at vast, one of which led by one and only Sakay.

Sakay's rank and affiliation inside of Aguinaldo's Provisional Government are uncertain.
When Aguinaldo ceded to the United States, Sakay took over the revolution's governance and
declared himself Supreme Head of state of the Tagalog Republic. He stated that it involves all of
the Philippines' islands, from Luzon to Mindanao. "D Gen. Macario Sakay (who was hanged in
1907) became martyrs to the cause of national liberation. "Ladronism" or simple thievery was then
the synonym for "terrorists" in contemporary parlance." (San Juan Jr.).

According to Historic Manila, Sakay became a threat to the Americans; they did not
recognize his government and labeled him as an outlaw through the Bandolerism Act passed by
the Philippine Commission. The Bandolerism Act proclaimed all captured resistance fighters to be
tried in court as bandits, ladrones, and robbers.

With all the Sakay's power in hopes for combatting the dominance of the said reigning
imperialism in the Philippines, Emilio Aguinaldo was also in power. And since the
Filipinos desired liberty and didn't like being governed by the United States. Emilio
Aguinaldo drove the war against the United States. The Philippines declared itself a
republic, but the United States failed to acknowledge the government. In the Philippines,
Aguinaldo led a democratic revolution against the American empire. During the Spanish-
American War, he collaborated with the US. Still, during the Philippine-American War, he
 broke with the US and led a guerrilla campaign against US officials that led people to label
him as betrayal even up to this day. People are also saying that he wasted the Sakay effort
to loosen the tighten somehow.

It was also exhibited in the movie how bitter Aguinaldo was when In Cabanatuan, Luna
was assassinated in the plaza of a rectory. He was scheduled to join a council meeting empaneled
by General Emilio Aguinaldo. Luna showed up with two assistants and a 12 mountable bodyguard.
After disembarking and rejecting his escort, he went alone to the rectory, where Aguinaldo had his
headquarters. A junior officer greeted him as he ascended the stairway, who advised him that
Aguinaldo had gone with his orders. Luna felt so betrayed and conveyed his discontent with the
circumstance, planning to leave. As he converted to walk out of the room, an officer from one of
Aguinaldo's two companies at Cabanatuan rushed out from behind the door, concealing himself,
and confronted Luna with a bolo from behind.

In a similar situation, Procopio the volunteer to fight his with his brothers Andres and
Ciriaco against by the Spanish government for the liberty of the Philippines, and due to some
events, while they were leaving towards in a village in Indang, Emilio Aguinaldo's men led by
Gen. Agapito Bonzon and Gen. José Ignacio Paua launched an offensive attack (Detain Command
due to treason as at first and illustrated by the ACTA de Tejeros itself) on them. Paua shot Ciriaco
in the arm and stabbed him in the neck, whereas Procopio was defeated and Andres was fired in
the arm and stabbed in the neck. On Emilio Aguinaldo's requests, the Bonifacio brothers were
executed, signaling a shift in the Philippine Revolution that would eventually lead to the Biak-na-
Bato Pact and Aguinaldo's expulsion to Hong Kong.

Their contributions as Filipino leaders were very different from each other. Luna was an
ilustrado; which aimed to combat Filipino people's political rights, which were supposed to be the
same as Spanish and non-discriminatory. They also want to separate church and state the
Philippines' parishes and transform the Philippines into a province that could benefit from the
Spanish system's inclusivity. At the same time, Sakay was for the people. This was evident in the
movies and can be corroborated with the narratives of their companions and history books as well.

The movies are a great example of nationalism and patriotism in this day and age. These a
manifestation that history are still relevant in our community and hence needs to be discussed. It
talks about the reality of the Filipino people under the regime of tyrannic rule in the Philippine
setting. We have been experiencing this kind of treatment from our fellow Filipino until now.
There are pros and cons and as a Filipino citizen, we have to revolt, stand up, and fight for what
we believe in how these leaders acted for their country. The current generations must uphold this
action because we are the next future leaders of our country and nothing is more desirable if we
follow these brave leaders' footsteps. Sakay and Luna pave the way for these changes in our
country, and so us, too.

We must recollect, respect, and love our ancestors' heroes of the highest caliber They were
once courageous Filipinos for the Philippines and its people. Each of them was committed to the
more significant good part of their lives by doing good deeds for the community's fellow citizens,
and for the sake of our lovely country. These great heroes made the ultimate sacrifice for our
cherished homeland. They expressed their fondness for all Filipinos and the country as a whole.
They were delighted and honored to serve because it made them happy and acknowledged. They
weren't searching for recompense, wealth, riches, or popularity. We can't all be great heroes, but
we can follow in their footsteps. Sakay and Luna were the gems of the Philippine revolution and
will always be part of the historic Philippines. As citizens, we should always instill in our minds
that it is also our responsibility to fight for our motherland; in many ways, it may not be the same
as what they did, but we can help our country in small ways.
REFERENCES AND BIBLIOGRAPHY:

[1] an Juan Jr., E. (n.d.). U.S. Imperialism and Revolution in the Philippines. Springer . Retrieved
January 0, 2022, from https://link.springer.com/content/pdf/bfm%3A978-0-230-60703-
3%2F1.pdf

[2] https://www.facebook.com/HistoricManila/posts/macario-sakay-revolutionary-leader-and-
among-the-last-of-the-filipino-resistance/118593659702516/