28 OCTOBER

1888 - Filipino reformist and propagandist Marcelo  H. Del Pilar leaves the Philippines, a Spanish colony, for Spain in order to escape persecution by  the friars; later known as the "Great Propagandist,"  M.H. Del Pilar utilized the power of the spoken and  written word to to rally the Filipino masses to  Spanish abuses, particularly the friars', for which  reason he was ordered arrested; in Barcelona,  Spain, M.H. del Pilar would become editor of the  newspaper "La Solidaridad" as part of the activities  of the Reform Movement geared towards stirring a  propaganda war  to  persuade the colonial  government in Madrid to carry out socio-political  reforms in the Philippines.

Gen. Mamerto Natividad

1897 - Filipino revolutionary Gen. Emilio Aguinaldo calls field commanders to Biak-na-Bato in Bulacan  to come up with a decision as to what course of action to take following Spanish authorities' refusal  to institute reforms, with the "War Party" led by  Gen. Mamerto Natividad electing to continue the struggle; the Philippine Revolution against Spain broke out in August 1896 under the leadership of Supremo Andres Bonifacio who would later be deposed and ordered executed by Aguinaldo, but not before Bonifacio expresses suspicion that the  camp of Aguinaldo secretly tries to forge an  agreement  with the Spaniards to abandon the  revolution.


Photo credit: National Historical Institute