By Benito V. Sanvictores Jr.
(闯耻濒测-础耻驳耻蝉迟)鈥He is an underrated Philippine hero despite his progressive views on the Catholic Church, women鈥檚 right to vote, the rights of persons with disabilities and support for public education.
Apolinario M. Mabini was humble and did not seek attention or appreciation of others. He was satisfied to see the fulfillment of his aspirations without seeing the need to attribute those accomplishments to him, Dr. Zosimo E. Lee of the Philosophy Department said.
For Dr. Ma. Luisa T. Camagay of the History Department, Mabini is a man ahead of his time, 鈥淗is views were not readily accepted by his peers in the government because those were unpopular, different from the norms of the time.鈥
Mabini was born on Jul. 23, 1864 in Tanauan, Batangas to Inocencio Mabini, an illiterate farmer, and Dionisia Maranan, a market vendor. From humble beginnings he rose to become the 鈥榖rains of the revolution,鈥 a title he earned for serving as counsel to Emilio Aguinaldo.
This year is Mabini鈥檚 150th birthday.
Camagay said Mabini鈥檚 writings as Prime Minister and Foreign Minister served as one of the voices of the First Philippine Republic, while simultaneously giving voice to the oppressed, marginalized and underprivileged.
The Filipino National Church. It was Mabini who suggested the establishment of the Filipino National Church, giving voice to the Filipino priests suffering under their Spanish superiors. In the 1870s to 1890s there was widespread abuse in the Roman Catholic church.
鈥淗e was not against the Church but how the Church was being administered by the Spanish friars. Mabini believed that a group of believers should have compassion and cooperation among themselves. [but] he did not see it from them [the Roman Catholic church],鈥 Lee said.
鈥淔or Mabini, God constantly communes with His creation through conscience and reason which was stipulated in his work 鈥楨l Verdadero Decalogo鈥 (鈥楾he True Decalogue鈥),鈥 Camagay said. 鈥淭he True Decalogue鈥 was written as an introduction to the Malolos Constitution. It is a set of rules which serves as a guide for Filipinos on how to be better citizens. However, it was not included in the Malolos Constitution ratified in 1898.
While his proposed nationalistic church did not materialize because of the Philippine-American war in 1899, 鈥淭he True Decalogue鈥 laid the foundation for the establishment of the Philippine Independent Church, or Iglesia Filipina Independiente (IFI), also known as Aglipayan Church. It was formed in 1902 to protest the Spanish clergy鈥檚 control of the Roman Catholic Church in the Philippines. Today, IFI has at least two million members.
Women鈥檚 rights. Mabini saw that the 1898 Malolos Congress was represented wholly by male Filipinos. Thus, in Article 17 of the Malolos Constitution he drafted, he included a provision stating the right of the women to vote and to study in public institutions of learning.
鈥淗e bel ieved that wisdom and reason are not monopolized by the male gender,鈥 Camagay said. 鈥淭his article on women鈥檚 right to suffrage was however turned down by the conservative members of the Congress.鈥
Mabini鈥檚 provision inspired the feminist movement in the Philippines in the early 1900s. After the feminist organizations鈥 years of lobbying in the Congress, a plebiscite on women鈥檚 suffrage was held on Apr. 30, 1937 through Commonwealth Act No. 34. According to the Official Gazette of the Philippines, the result was overwhelming: 90 percent agreed that women have the right to vote. In December of the same year, Filipino women voted in the national elections for the first time.
Icon for persons withdisabilities. Mabini was not born a paralytic. 鈥淗e contracted polio in the first quarter of 1896 which caused his paralysis. He was only 31. It was an experience that depressed him because it happened in his prime and he sought to actively help in the revolution but his disability hampered him,鈥 Camagay said.
After being arrested by Spanish authorities in 1896, he went to Laguna to seek the curative properties of the hot springs of Los Ba帽os. In Laguna he wrote 鈥淓l Verdadero Decalogo鈥 and 鈥淥rdenanzas de la Revolucion鈥 (鈥淭he Ordinances of the Revolution鈥).
Mabini鈥檚 appointment in January 1899 as president (now Chief Justice) of the Supreme Court was opposed by some members of the Malolos Congress, particularly Ambrosio Rianzares Bautista. Using the pseudonym Zerzarian in the September 1899 issue of 鈥淟a Independencia,鈥 Bautista asked how a handicapped person, a man without feet, can be appointed or elected to such high office.
Mabini replied in writing, 鈥淒oes the job of Chief Justice of the Supreme Court require constant walking? No? Therefore, he can be a man without feet, as long as he possesses the brains and able hands for the office.鈥
Mabini鈥檚 achievements despite his physical condition made him an icon for persons with disabilities (PWD). In his honor, the Philippine Foundation for the Rehabilitation of the Disabled, Inc. (PFRD) launched the Apolinario Mabini awards on the occasion of its Silver Anniversary in 1974. It was conferred by the Philippine President to individuals, groups and institutions whose work and accomplishments in the last five years promoted the human rights and dignity of Filipinos with disabilities.
PFRD, founded in 1949, is the oldest non-governmental organization addressing the needs of PWD.
Mabini鈥檚 life inspired the signing of two proclamations: No. 1870 (1979) and No. 361 (2000), declaring the third week of July as the National Disability Prevention and Rehabilitation (NDPR) Week.
Support for public education. 鈥淢abini valued his education very much,鈥 Camagay said.
He experienced hardships in his entire student life. In his elementary days and first years in high school, Mabini used to walk to traverse mountains, approximately six kilometers, to go to school in the town proper of Tanauan, Batangas. While studying at Colegio de San Juan de Letran, he needed to stop several times due to financial constraints. In 1888, he enrolled in the University of Santo Tomas to study law and finished his course in 1894.
To support himself, he worked as a houseboy in elementary, a tailor in high school and a court typist and part-time instructor in college.
He opened a school in 1893 which only operated for two years. D. Manuel Arellano, then Instructor of Schools, remarked Mabini鈥檚 venture was 鈥渞anked among the best of that period.鈥
These experiences moved Mabini to help in drafting a decree establishing the Universidad Literaria de Filipinas. This university would offer courses in the fields of law, medicine, surgery, pharmacy and notary public. The university operated for only a year because of the war.
In a league of his own. 鈥淭hese contributions to society made Mabini a distinct man, someone in a league of his own,鈥 Camagay said. 鈥淗is voice served as hope to the Filipinos longing for a better life.鈥
Both Camagay and Lee believe that Mabini鈥檚 need to support his family led him to a bachelor鈥檚 life. 鈥淎lso, Mabini was a nationalist. It seemed that Mabini got married to the country,鈥 Camagay said. 鈥淗e became engrossed with the country鈥檚 welfare, it seems he forgot his own welfare,鈥 Lee said.
After the fall of the Aguinaldo government in 1899, Mabini fled to Nueva Ecija where he was captured by December. He was released in September 1900 but was rearrested due to an article he wrote in January 1901 entitled 鈥淓l Simil de Alejandro鈥 (鈥淭he Resemblance of Alejandro鈥). That month, he was deported to Guam for refusing allegiance to the United States.
During his exile, he wrote 鈥淟a Revolucion Filipina,鈥 a memoir. Wary of his deteriorating health, he reluctantly agreed to take the oath of allegiance in February 1903 and returned to the Philippines.
Mabini died of cholera on May 13, 1903, aged 38.
鈥淗e was so revered by Filipinos that during his funeral procession, hundreds paid their last respect. According to a newspaper report, this was even documented by an American lady in her diary and was published in an American newspaper,鈥 Camagay said.
Both professors believe Mabini鈥檚 life and works should be studied more for he deserves more recognition than what is presently accorded him. 鈥淢ore than being acknowledged as a 鈥榮ublime paralytic,鈥 let us do more research on his works and use this knowledge in helping our country move forward [for] we will learn many things from this man known as the 鈥榖rain of the revolution,鈥欌 Lee urged.
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