15 MARCH

Sta. Ana, Manila, Feb 5, 1899 - Filipino freedom-fighters dead a day after Americans triggered the Fil-Am War

1899 - Gen. Mariano C. Trias submits to Gen. Emilio F. Aguinaldo, President of the fledgling Philippine Republic, the report showing that the imperialist Americans started the first shots of the Filipino-American War (1899-1914) and that, moreover, the initial February 4 attack had been premeditated;  historians would later learn that the United States Congress decided to go to war based on a fraudulent claim that Filipinos began attacking American soldiers in Manila,as part of the vile “prearranged plan” by the U.S. military to precipitate the Philippine-American War immediately after an incident has been provoked; racist U.S. soldier Pvt. William Grayson fired  the first shots at Filipino soldiers trying to cross Sta. Ana bridge as part of the  secret orders made by regimental commanders some two days earlier to bring about conflict; Bald Eagle President William McKinley schemed to trick the U.S. Senate to approve  the Treaty of Paris and, thus, secure funding for military operations to annex the Philippines as part of the imperialist policy for Bald Eagle's overseas expansion.

1900 - Colonial officials at Manila, Philippines try to comply with the controversial 1898 Treaty of Paris forged between the imperialist United States and Spain, with the Spaniards leaving the Southeast Asian archipelago and being urged to bring their Filipina wives with them; the compliance with the Treaty which supposedly cedes the Philippines for $20 million dollars--despite the fact that the Filipino revolutionaries had already declared independence after virtually wresting control of the archipelago from the Spaniards--marks the end of the over 300 years of Spain's presence in (and colonization of) the Philippines; occurring a year and a month into the bloody and protracted Filipino-American War (1899-1914), the Treaty of Paris that ridiculously tackles Spain's sale/ceding of a territory it no longer owns has met severe criticism from the Filipinos, including Gen. Antonio N. Luna who early on lambasted the paradox of American claims of democracy and the inhumanity allowed by international law:

People are not to be bought and sold like horses and houses. If the aim has been to abolish the traffic in Negroes because it meant the sale of persons, why is there still maintained [in international law] the sale of countries with inhabitants free to be unwilling to form part of a[nother] nation?

Photo credit: http://www.yonip.com/archives/history/1899%20feb%205%20after%20the%20battle%20of%20santa%20ana,%20manila_edited.JPG

14 MARCH

1899 - Imperialist United States Gen. Elwell Otis reports to the Adjutant-General in Washington that Gen.Loyd Wheaton has attacked a large force of “the enemy,” referring to the freedom-fighting Filipinos one month into the Philippine-American War (1899-1914); the report that mentions the heavy losses were inflicted on the side Filipinos comes a day after the Battle of Guadalupe Church wherein invading Bald Eagle forces including those from the 51st Iowa Infantry, 2nd Oregon Volunteer Infantry Regiment, and Washington volunteers routed the poorly armed Filipinos; with other dispatches to Washington stating that “fierce opposition” was offered by the natives, Major Grant is ordered to take one of the gunboats and destroy all the Filipino vessels in Laguna de Bay; the invading American's strategy mapped out by Otis, who thinks resistance is concentrated in the southern Luzon provinces, consists of severing the supply line of Filipinos north of Manila and then aiming to capture Malolos, the proclaimed capital of the fledgling Philippine Republic.

1947 - The controversial RP-US Military Bases Agreement (MBA) that grants American access to 22 military, naval, and air bases in the Philippines is signed by Philippine President Manuel A. Roxas and United States Ambassador Paul V. McNutt at Malacanang some eight months after the imperialist Bald Eagle nation granted "independence" to its Southeast Asian colony; supposedly forged for the mutual defense of the two countries, the agreement would be decried by nationalists as both a symbol and actual tool of American neo-colonial hold on Filipinos; another criticism of the MBA is how it was approved only as an international executive agreement on the American side, not having been ratified by the U.S. legislature. 


Photo credit: http://books.google.com/books?id=8V3vZxOmHssC&pg=PA348&dq=gen.+otis+philippine+american+war&hl=en&ei=QjV-TYucM4fZrQeasLmzBQ&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=1&ved=0CCgQ6AEwAA#v=onepage&q=gen.%20otis%20philippine%20american%20war&f=false

13 MARCH

Imperialist U.S. gunboat Laguna de Bay

1899 - Some 200 Filipino freedom fighters are killed by imperialist American forces led by Bald Eagle Brig. Gen. Loyd Wheaton during the Battle of Guadalupe Church one year and one month into the bloody and protracted Philippine-American War (1899-1914); the battle taken part in by the enemy U.S. forces that include the 51st Iowa Infantry, 2nd Oregon Volunteer Infantry Regiment led by Col. Owen Summers, and  Washington volunteers in the Pedro Macati area (later  to be known as Makati City) would also see the terrible destruction of the convent, with official US report only listing 3 Americans killed and 26 wounded; the  U.S. gunboat Laguna de Bay--purchased from a Spanish firm--and armored by Utah Volunteer Light Artillery Capt. Frank A. Grant takes part in the invasion operations, bombarding the convent with eight guns mounted upon her; the Filipino freedom fighters are strongly entrenched near the Pasig river at the Guadalupe Church, such that the invading Americans planned to hold the left of their long line of invading troops "facing this district stationary until the right swung around on the flank of this position" at which moment the pivot should charge with the Laguna de Bay  as support.




Photo credit: http://philippineamericanwar.webs.com/manilatolagunadebay.htm

12 MARCH

Gen. Manuel Tinio y Bundoc

1900 - Filipino military leader Gen. Manuel Tinio  y Bundoc instructs commanders of the flying columns under his jurisdiction to intensify their guerrilla operations against enemy American forces; the youngest general of the fledgling Philippine Republic, Tinio has proved to be one of the most efficient military leaders during the guerrilla warfare phase of the bloody and protracted Philippine-American War (1899-1914), having turned the whole Ilocos region and its population into an espionage network marked by a warning system that apprises the Filipino freedom fighters of approaching imperialist forces; earlier, during the Philippine Revolution, Tinio had won a number of skirmishes against the Spaniards, possibly paving the way for his appointment as Brigadier General during the formation of “Gobierno Departamental de las Siete Provincias en el Centro de Luzon"; Tinio, unfortunately, will surrender and pledge allegiance to the enemy Bald Eagle flag on May 1, 1901, soon after President Emilio F. Aguinaldo's capture and prompt decision to swear loyalty to the imperialist Americans; in line with the pale-skinned invaders' policy  of co-optation, his surrender and allegiance will be  rewarded, with Tinio serving as Nueva Ecija governor and, later, as the first director of the colonial Bureau of Labor.

Photo credit: http://philippineamericanwar.webs.com/trappingaguinaldo1899.htm

11 MARCH

1947 - Despite the granting of "independence" to the Philippines, the Parity Rights amendment to the 1935 Constitution is ratified, ridiculously giving American citizens equal rights as Filipinos to exploit the natural resources of the Southeast Asian country; in exchange for post-World War II aid, the administration of President Manuel Roxas had actively campaigned for the ratification of Parity Rights in what has been described as "persuasive harangue" and which will merit him a foiled assassination attempt by a disgruntled barber;  Roxas is said to have employed foul measures to ensure vote for parity, including asking government employees and military personnel, among others, to persuade Filipinos to vote for parity, denying poll watching job to teachers who refused to vote for parity, even deliberately reducing the voting population by printing referendum ballots only in English and Spanish,  moving polling booths out of areas where parity opponents were strong, and also conspiring against duly elected Leftist members of Congress;  the archipelagic nation became a colony of the imperialist United States at the turn of the century as the fledgling Philippine Republic, after virtually gaining independence from Spain, succumbed to the might of the enemy Bald Eagle nation during the bloody and protracted Filipino-American War (1899-1914).


Photo credit: http://historicitythemovie.tumblr.com/

10 March

1892 - The masonic lodge Nilad, established by future Filipino patriots Pedro Serrano Laktaw and Antonio Luna, is recognized and given the number 144 by the Gran Oriente Espanol, the Spanish mother lodge; although freemasonry was introduced in the Philippines back in 1856, freemasonry with native elements and participation began only when Filipino intellectuals in foreign countries decided to organize masonic lodges in the Southeast Asian nation as a way to help address the continued persecution and injustices committed by Spanish friars against Filipinos; aiming to propagate the Masonic principles of liberty, equality, and fraternity, propagandists and patriots Marcelo H. Del Pilar and Jose Rizal thought of organizing Philippine Masonry, commissioning  Luna and Laktaw for the task, with the Nilad Lodge eventually being constituted in January 1891; freemasonry will play an important role in the life of Filipinos as a number of its members will figure in the agitation for Philippine Independence, including Andres Bonifacio y de Castro who will co-found the secret society Kataastaasang Kagalanggalangang Katipunan nang manga Anak nang Bayan (KKK) and eventually lead the first phase of the  Philippine Revolution against Spain.


Photo credit: http://masoniceducation.blogspot.com/2008/01/rite-of-adoption-womens-lodge-in.html

9 MARCH

1900 - Detachment commanders of the Filipino forces are informed by Second Zone Secretary Potenciano Luna that Capt. Pedro Cadurales and several others had been killed, including patriotic soldiers who were shot after being captured by the enemy forces of the imperialist United States; writing in a circular a year and a month into bloody and protracted Philippine-American War (1899-1914), Luna also cautions the Filipino soldiers to be wary of infiltrators and to "Take care of our guns, bury them under the earth so nobody shall know about it, except the officer and the sergeant."




Photo credit:

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3033/2809162355_bf975a7edc.jpg

8 MARCH

A KKK document signed by the Supremo

1896 - The Supreme Council of the secret Philippine underground-society-turned revolutionary government  Kataastaasang, Kagalanggalangang Katipunan nang manga Anak nang Bayan (KKK), rules that Balangay Mahiganti, a KKK branch in Ermita, Manila, be elevated to the status of a Sangguniang Bayan (Sb.); Andres Bonifacio y de Castro, as the Katipunan's Supreme President, discusses the  newly elected officers' duties, subsequently explaining why the Katipunan's Supreme Assembly decided to require all KKK sections to remit fees paid by new members and those promoted to a higher grade to the Supreme Council; the decision comes less than six months before the Katipunan was forced to prematurely launch the Philippine Revolution against Spain following discovery of the society's existence by the colonial authorities.

Photo credit: http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=1212239284789&set=a.1146699406333.18699.1792989548

7 MARCH

American-sponsored Philippine Congress, circa 1916

1919 - The American-sponsored Philippine Legislature passes a Declaration of Purposes that official spells out the purported position of the Filipinos on the vital issue of the "Philippine question"--the grant of independence by the imperialist United States; the Declaration come after some five years after the Filipino freedom fighters have been completely subdued and the last shots of the Filipino-American War (1899-1914) fired; the Jones Act was passed in 1916 by the United States Congress, providing for the recognition of Philippine independence supposedly after Filipinos would have been able to establish a stable government; the Senate and the Lower House would be established and control over most of the executive departments be given to the Filipinos, with the notable exception of the important Education portfolio; the Bald Eagle nation stole the Southeast Asian nation's virtual independence during the turn of the century when the U.S. decided to annex it and (secretly) provoke war against the fledgling Philippine Republic.


Photo credit: http://www.ssc.edu.ph/centennial%20website/SSC%201910-1919.htm

6 MARCH

Imperialist Taft Commission

1901 - Apolinario M. Mabini, Prime Minister of the fledgling Philippine Republic under siege by imperialist American forces, informs President Emilio Aguinaldo of William H. Taft's reply that the United States could not recognize Philippine independence, two years and one month into the bloody and protracted Filipino-American War (1899-1914); in reaction, Aguinaldo declares his continued pursuit of independence and urges peace within that context; the reply of Taft, head of the Philippine Commission [translation: imperialist commission] has revealed to the Filipinos that the Taft Commission is aimed at consolidating American sovereignty and not honoring the independence of Filipinos in any way; earlier, in November 1900 following his August conference with Taft, Mabini communicated to Aguinaldo his thoughts about the enemy Americans' adamant refusal to recognize Philippine independence; Bald Eagle President William Mckinley's policy to forcibly annex the Southeast Asian archipelago and instigate the Fil-Am War has been criticized by the more honorable Americans, including the members of the Anti-Imperialist League.


Raw Photo Credit:
 http://philippineamericanwar.webs.com/collapse1901.htm

5 MARCH

1899 - A band of Filipinos fire on some crew members of the imperialist United States gunboat U.S.S. Bennington one month into the Philippine-American War (1899-1914);  the incident is supposed to give Washington the impression that their invading forces are getting nervous and restless under the "harassment"  of the patriots of the fledgling Philippine Republic; the Phil-Am War began on February 4, 1899 under the provocation of the Bald Eagle forces under the US President William McKinley's vile pre-arranged plan to precipitate a war and thereby trick their Senate to approve the December 1898 Treaty of Paris and thus secure funding for military operations to annex the  Southeast Asian archipelago (in context, along with Puerto Rico, Hawaii, Guano islands, American Samoa, and other islands in the Pacific).



Photo credit: http://ngayonsakasaysayan.blogspot.com/2010_03_04_archive.html

4 MARCH

Rosa Sevilla Alvero

1879 - Rosa Sevilla Alvero, oustanding Filipina patriot, early feminist, suffragist, and educator, is born in Tondo, Manila during the Spanish colonial period; Alvero will serve in the Philippine Revolution by helping prepare food for the Filipino troops, attend to the wounded and be one of the two women staffers of La Independencia, a wartime newspaper published by Gen. Antonio Luna in September 1898 during the second phase of the struggle against Spain; she will crop her hair and don a man's uniform to fight the enemy forces of the United States although a timely intervention of Gen. Marcelino de los Santos will prevent what could have been horrible fate as her father who will die a captive in the hands of the imperialists during the (early part of the) Philippine-American War (1899-1914); Alvero will establish the Instituto de Mujeres, what would be the first Filipino-run school for girls offering primary to collegiate courses, and will help fight for women's right to vote during the American colonial period; she will be noted for a speech she will deliver before Congress in 1930 that cites the important role of women in revolutions and nation-building:

"Where a patriot or a hero sprang up, there always appeared the beneficent and inspiring figure of a mother, a wife, a daughter or a sister, ready to encourage and sustain him."

Photo credit:

http://philippineamericanwar.webs.com/philippineindependence.htm

3 MARCH

Monument to earlier Basi Revolt

1815 - The Kailianes ("townmates") of the Philippine northern town of Sarrat in Ilocos Norte begin a rebellion against the rule of the Spanish colonizers; soon spreading to other towns such as Batac, Piddig, Paoay, Vintar, and San Nicolas, the uprising under the leadership of Simon Tomas, Mariano Espiritu, Vicente Santiago, and Andres Bugarin will be one of the many unsuccessful revolts in the archipelago prior to the Philippine Revolution of 1896; Spain had colonized the Southeast Asian archipelago beginning around the 1500s and onerous tributary arrangements and other conditions conditions of the natives have occasionally fueled (failed) revolts, including the Basi Revolt staged by the people of Ilocos Norte some eight years earlier in the bid to protest the Spaniard's imposition of wine monopoly.


Photo credit:  http://www.flickr.com/photos/bigberto/1002655675/in/photostream/

2 March

Gen. MacArthur inspects Manila tunnel
after recapturing Corregidor

1945 - The United States forces retake from the Japanese the island fortress of Corregidor in the Philippines, American colony since the turn of the century; the American forces led by Gen. Douglas MacArthur returned to the Philippines in November 1944 with the plan to launch major attacks on the islands of Luzon and Mindanao; after Manila was captured away from Japanese hand, the 38th Division of the U.S. forces landed on Luzon's Bataan Peninsula and Corregidor recaptured using two attacks--parachute drop and amphibious landing; Corregidor had fallen to the Japanese Imperial Army on May 6, 1942 as World War II swept through the Pacific, with Japan pounding the American military bases as part of the campaign to invade the Southeast Asian archipelago and MacArthur fleeing to Australia. 



Photo credit: http://images.google.com/hosted/life/l?imgurl=854f468920b67806

1 MARCH

Katipunan Seal signed with blood

1896 -  Some five months before the outbreak of the Philippine Revolution against Spain, the Supreme Council of the  Kataastaasang, Kagalanggalangang Katipunan nang manga Anak nang Bayan (KKK), appoints a committee tasked with negotiating the purchase of arms and ammunition from Japan; the Katipunan is a secret society aimed at liberating the Southeast Asian archipelago from the yoke of over 300 years of Spanish colonization; the Katipunan committee members  were Jose Dizon, Mariano Crisostomo, and Jose Ma. Basa, and Emilio Jacinto,  described as the 'soul of the Katipunan'  by no less than Supremo Andres C. Bonifacio for his immense contributions to the philosophy (and tactics) of the revolutionary society. 


Photo credit: http://www.remonty-dkm.pl/ikc.php?q=katipunan-kkk