10 Controversial Issues

of Philippine History
1. Andres Bonifacio as first
Philippine President
 Some historians such as Milagros Guerrero,
Emmanuel Encarnacion, and Ramon Villegas
have pushed for the recognition of Bonifacio as
the first President of the Philippines instead of
Aguinaldo, the officially recognized one.

 This view is based on his position of President/

Supremo of the Katipunan revolutionary
government from 1896–97.

 This view also emphasizes that Bonifacio

established a government through the
Katipunan before a government headed by
Aguinaldo was formed at the Tejeros
Convention.
 Guerrero wrote that Bonifacio had a
concept of the Philippine nation called
Haring Bayang Katagalugan ("Sovereign
Tagalog Nation") which was displaced
by Aguinaldo's concept of Filipinas.

 In documents predating Tejeros and the

First Philippine Republic, Bonifacio is
called the president of the "Tagalog
Republic".
 2. Andres Bonifacio
‘Acted Like A King’ In Cavite
 Andres Bonifacio was said to have
“acted like a king” upon his arrival in
Cavite after being invited to mend the
growing rift between the Magdiwang
and Magdalo factions.

 According to Nick Joaquin, Bonifacio

turned off the Caviteños when he
showed up and began barking orders
and behaved like “Caesar without the
crown.”
 Instead of capitalizing on the golden
opportunity to stop the infighting
among the revolutionaries who were at
the time facing a Spanish offensive,
Bonifacio just added more fuel to the
fire by openly taking sides.
 After the Tejeros Convention, he
nullified all appointments and had
Artemio Ricarte intercept Magdalo
reinforcements to Pasong Santol,
resulting in the death of Aguinaldo’s
brother Crispulo who was defending
that area.
 3. Miguel Malvar, Not Manuel
Quezon, Should Be The Second
Philippine President.
 According to his supporters (Jejomar
Binay is one of them), Malvar deserves
to be recognized as such in line with the
natural order of succession. With the
capture of Aguinaldo and the surrender
of Mariano Trias, his designated
successor and Malvar’s direct superior,
it fell upon the general from Batangas
to lead the remnants of the
revolutionary forces.
 His presidency was also recognized as
legitimate by members of the “Hong
Kong Junta,” the overseas council
which procured arms and campaigned
for foreign recognition of Philippine
independence.
 During his period of resistance up until
his surrender, Malvar ran the fledgling
republic as a chief executive and as
head of the armed of forces—just as a
real president would.
 4. Emilio Aguinaldo never waved
the Philippine flag, nor was it done
on a balcony.
 Actually, it was Jose Rizal’s distant
relative, a lawyer named Ambrosio
Rianzares Bautista, who read the Act of
the Declaration of Independence in the
late afternoon in front of an open
window.
 Also, while it was Aguinaldo who
unfurled the flag, it was Bautista who
ended up waving it in front of a jubilant
crowd.
 Lastly, contrary to popular belief, the
flag had already flown twice before its
official unfurling—at Cavite Nuevo’s
Teatro Caviteño after the Filipino victory
at the Battle of Alapan, and again at the
Spanish barracks after another Filipino
win in Binakayan.
5. Jose Rizal was finished off with
a bullet to the head.
 While we won’t debate whether his
“twist” was deliberate or accidental,
we’d point out Rizal’s execution was
completed with the “tiro de gracia” or
the mercy blow to really make sure he
was dead.

 After Rizal fell, a medical officer went

up to his body to feel his pulse, and
beckoned for a soldier to shoot Rizal in
the head.
 The soldier who gave the final blow
was, in fact, the Spanish commander of
the firing squad who, after doing the
deed, took out Rizal’s bloodied
handkerchief and covered his face with
it.
6. Gregorio del Pilar died early due
to his own carelessness
 According to Telesforo Carrasco
(lieutenant), del Pilar himself decided to
participate the combat after finding out
that the Americans were being pushed
back early on.

 A few minutes into the battle, he raised

his head because of the tall cogon grass
and ordered his men to stop firing
because he wanted to see the position
of the Americans.
 Carrasco warned the boy general that
he should crouch down because he was
being targeted. Unfortunately, no
sooner than he said that, an American
bullet found its mark and shot through
del Pilar’s neck, killing him instantly.
7. Jose Burgos Was Framed for the
Cavite Mutiny
 Fathers Mario Gomez, Jose Burgos, and
Jacinto Zamora—very much had
nothing to do with the 1872 Cavite
Mutiny and that it was launched by
some disgruntled soldiers after
discovering they were now forced to
pay personal taxes as well as perform
forced labor, both of which they had
been previously exempted from.
 However, according to the accounts of
two Spanish clergymen captured during
the Revolution, the failed mutiny was, in
fact, a plot by the Spanish friars to
eliminate Jose Burgos who was then
the foremost champion of secular
priests.
 To that end, they sent a Franciscan friar
named Claudio del Arceo to Cavite and
foment unrest among the soldiers,
promising them money and that a great
fleet from the United States in the
name of Father Burgos would arrive to
assist them.
 After the mutiny unfolded, the friars
then convinced Rafael de Izquierdo that
Burgos planned it all by giving him a
banquet as well as a huge bribe.
8. Jose Rizal Disliked The Chinese
 Rizal viewed the Chinese primarily as
unscrupulous traders and businessmen
who liked to take advantage of Filipinos
for profit even if it meant kowtowing to
the Spanish.

 Rizal’s dislike for the Chinese could be

seen in his letter to his mother, in which
he complained of being embroiled in a
lawsuit with a Chinese and promised
never to buy any products from him,
 and from his novel El Filibusterismo,
where he portrayed the character of
Quiroga (who was reportedly based on
a real Chinese businessman) as a
shrewd and cunning individual.

 He ironically disowned his own Chinese

ancestry by claiming he had no Chinese
blood and was pure Filipino.
9. The first shot of the Philippine –
American War didn’t happen on a
bridge
 During history class taught that the first
shot was taken place on San Juan
Bridge.

 However, it actually happened on

Sociego Street in Sta. Mesa

 In fact, the marker has since been

moved by the National Historical
Institute to a corner of Sociego and
Silencio streets
 It is interesting to note that the entire
war was started by an Englishman
named Private William Grayson – the
man who fired the first shot. He was a
full blooded Anglo who later
immigrated to Nebraska with his
parents when he was still a child
10. Ferdinand Marcos wasn’t the
first to proclaim the Martial Law.
 Ferdinand Marcos was the first and only
president who proclaimed martial law in
1972.

 Ferdinand Marcos declared martial law

on television. However, the credit for
the first declaration belongs to his
Minister of Public Information Francisco
“Kit” Tatad..
 Francisco Tatad announced the
declaration of Martial Law on
September 23, 1972, reading the text on
air at 3:00 in the afternoon, five hours
before Marcos himself would come on
air to explain his justifications for the
declaration, at 7:15 on the same date.

 Francisco Tatad became the youngest

member of Marcos' cabinet during his
term as Minister of Public Information
 The End.
Thank you!!!