8 APRIL

Gen. Antonio Luna - Gen. Baldomero Aguinaldo

1899 - Apolinario Mabini y Maranan, Prime Minister of the fledgling Philippine Republic, writes to President Emilio  Aguinaldo y Famy informing him that the latter's first cousin, Gen. Baldomero Aguinaldo, is willing to be relieved from the Department of War to avoid trouble with Gen. Antonio Luna y Novicio, Chief of Operations; some five months before the imperialist Bald Eagle soldiers precipitated the Filipino-American War (1899-1914), Luna was designated in charge of the war department prior to becoming assistant secretary of war and, nominally, director of war but his plans would continually be revised or rejected by the war secretary, within the context of  President Aguinaldo refusing to give him direct superior command in the field; writing from San Isidro, Nueva Ecija, Mabini adds in the report that  “It is the government and not the Chief of Operations [Luna] that is responsible for the war policy; that is why the Chief of Operations should obey";  within two months and even as the Philippine-American War rages on, Gen Luna, thought to be one with the greatest capacity for war among the Filipino leaders, would  be assassinated by members of the Kawit company  apparently upon orders of Pres. Aguinaldo who viewed him as his looming rival in the military hierarchy. 




Raw Photo Credits: http://www.yonip.com/archives/history/history-000051.html

7 APRIL

Bald Eagle imperialism
Photo art: JB

1900 - One year and two months into the bloody and protracted Philippine-American War (1899-1914), imperialist United States President William McKinley instructs the colonial body "Philippine Commission"  (read: Bald Eagle  commission to help colonize the Philippines) to reiterate US intention to establish and organize government – essentially popular in form – in the municipal and provincial administrative divisions of the Philippine Islands; the instructions given to the Philippine Commission that essentially aspires to impose American imperialistic rule through the establishment of a colonial administration teaching local-level governance patterned after that of Washington, comes as a long battle breaks out between Filipino and American forces in Cagayan de Oro, Misamis Oriental on the very same day; the Bald Eagle nation had decided to invade and annex the Philippines for the projected market of processed goods and its rich natural resources that pro-imperialism Sen. Alfred J. Beveridge describes as so rich that:

No land in America surpasses in fertility the plains and valleys of Luzon. Rice and coffee, sugar and coconuts, hemp and tobacco, and many products of the temperate as well as the tropic zone grow in various sections of the archipelago....The wood of the Philippines can supply the furniture of the world for a century to come. At Cebu the best informed man in the island told me that 40 miles of Cebu's mountain chain are practically mountains of coal...

Raw Photo Credit: http://paideia3.blogspot.com/2010/02/ame

rican-imperialism-and-brown.html

6 April

Seal used on KKK Supreme Council
documents until 1896

1896 - Orders aimed at strengthening the internal organization, including the implementation of new secret signs, and the financial capacity of the Kataastaasang Kagalanggalangang Katipunan nang manga Anak nang Bayan (KKK), the secret revolutionary organization aimed at liberating the Philippines from Spanish colonial rule, are issued by the Supreme Assembly and Supreme Council; during the same meeting, Katipunan co-founder and Supremo Andres Bonifacio y de Castro reminds all members to strictly follow said orders as the council also announces the immediate expulsion of all erring Katipunan members; the 11-point orders of the KKK Kataastaasang Kapisanan [Supreme Assembly] and the Kataastaasang Sangunian [Supreme Council] include listing certain expelled members as "Traitors," such as Jose Turiano Santiago (cousin-in-law of KKK official Emilio Jacinto) for supposedly disparaging the Katipunan before the family of patriot and polymath Jose Rizal y Mercado; the new secret signs approved include placing one's right hand on the left shoulder to signify that everything is all right and the password  "Na Sa Anak Bayan" [With the Children of the People]. 


Raw photo credit: http://kasaysayan-kkk.info/gallery.selyos.htm

5 APRIL

1896 - The Supreme Council of the Kataastaasang Kagalanggalangang Katipunan nang manga Anak nang Bayan (KKK), the secret society aiming to overthrow Spanish colonial rule in the Philippine archipelago, informs its members about a huge fire that  destroyed the houses of several Katipuneros in Manila, expressing belief that the enemies (colonial Spaniards) caused the fire and so agrees on publishing a pamphlet denouncing this act of arson; the KKK council (Kataastaasang Sanggunian) that has met at the house of the Physician General Pio Valenzuela in Manila also decides to produce a fund-raising stage show at the Teatro Colon on May 2-3 for the benefit of the members of the Katipunan affected by the fire; the conflagration, which occurred some eight miles away from the meeting place acros the Kawit bay,  even alarmed Supremo Andres Bonifacio y de Castro who feared that his own house in Dulumbayan was among the hundreds of houses ravaged by fire; Bonifacio's wife, fellow Katipunera Gregoria de Jesus and his son christened Andres, were unharmed although the Supremo's son would still soon later die in infancy; the fire unfortunately also destroyed the book collection "Basahan ng Bayan" that the Katipuneros were assembling.


Raw Photo Credit: http://kasaysayan-kkk.info/gallery.selyos.htm

4 APRIL

1899 - Two months into the protracted and very bloody Philippine-American War (1899-1914), the presumptuous administration of imperialist United States President William McKinley, through the Schurman Commission, issues a proclamation promising self-government to Filipinos; the Schurman Commission, formed by McKinley as a fact-finding civilian mission “to facilitate the most humane, pacific, and effective extension of authority" throughout the Southeast Asian archipelago  on January 30, 1899, which was five days  before the breakout of the Fil-Am War, serves as a proof that the US all along had imperialistic design on the Philippines; in fact the Phil-Am War was deliberately triggered by the imperialist American military under the vile pre-arranged plan of McKinley to precipitate a war so as to push the U.S. Senate into approving the Treaty of Paris and thus secure funding for invasion operations to annex the the Southeast Asian archipelago; as part of the secret orders made some two days earlier by American regimental commanders to bring about conflict, U.S. soldier Pvt. William Grayson ruthlessly fired the first shots at Filipino soldiers trying to cross Sta. Mesa  bridge on February 4, killing Filipino Corporal Anastacio Felix of the 4th Company, Morong Battalion under Captain Serapio Narvaez, with Col. Luciano S. San Miguel as battalion commander.

Photo credit: http://www.princeton.edu/~bsimpson/2008%20History%20102/2008springweek5.htm

3 APRIL

1896 - The Magdalo branch of the Kataastaasang Kagalanggalangang Katipunan nang manga Anak nang Bayan (KKK), the secret Philippine revolutionary aimed at liberating the country from the yoke of Spanish colonial bondage, is established during a meeting by the KKK Supreme Council; in the same meeting, Katipunan Supreme President Andres Bonifacio y de Castro also explains the duties and responsibilities of the newly elected officers, including his future nemesis Emilio F. Aguinaldo who takes the position of Magdalo branch president; the jurisdiction of the Magdalo chapter will cover Cavite el Viejo ( future Kawit ), Bacoor, Carmona , Dasmarinas, Imus and Silang, and later the towns of Amadeo and Mendez that will transfer from Magdiwang, the other KKK chapter with the bigger jurisdiction (covering the province's capital, Cavite, San Roque, La Caridad, Noveleta, San Francisco de Malabon (future Tanza), Naik, Maragondon, Ternate, Magallanes, Bailen, Indang, Alfonso, Amadeo and Mendez, and later, the three Batangas towns of Nasugbu, Looc and Tuy); the Magdalo faction will in less than a year's time prove to be a curse to Supremo Bonifacio because his attempt to unite this KKK chapter with its future rival faction, the Magdiwang, will lead to a virtual coup of the former against Bonifacio during the infamous, fraudulent or  anomalous Tejeros Convention, with Aguinaldo's camp grabbing power, ordering that the Supremo be seized dead or alive, and subjecting him to kangaroo court martial (with his lawyer Placido Martinez condemning instead of defending him) and subsequent assassination-cum-execution.


Photo credit: http://www.filipiniana.net/featurearticle/12965241194965

2 APRIL

Great Tagalog poet Francisco "Balagtas" Baltazar

1788 - Francisco Baltazar, future "Prince of Tagalog Poets," is born in Bo. Panginay, Bigaa, Bulacan during the Spanish colonial rule of the Philippines; Balagtas will produce the   allegorical awit masterpiece, 'Florante at Laura,' a love story set in Albania but marked with underlying nationalistic tones and severe criticism of the social evils of the period that will escape the eyes of the Spanish censorship, permitting it to be shown in theaters and plays; similar to his future teacher, Jose de la Cruz who is regarded as first or foremost Tagalog poet, Balagtas will write many plays meant to be staged during town fiestas; he will also write the political comedia (stage play) Mahomet at Constanza, which used the then-obtaining Greek War of Independence that had begun in 1820, as theme to project his idea of Philippine independence; also known as "Balagtas," Baltazar will also write the comedies "Orosmán at Zafira, Don Nuño at Selinda, Auredato at Astrome, Clara Belmore," "Abdol at Misereanan," "Bayaceto at Dorslica," and "Alamansor at Rosalinda," "La India elegante y el negrito amante," "Nudo gordeano", and "Rodolfo at Rosemonda"; in the 1900s during the early part of the colonial rule of the imperialist United States, Baltazar would come to be a symbol and infinite source of native traditions, motifs and themes that all good writers must constantly return to courageously battle Americanization, among others.

1 APRIL

President Emilio F. Aguinaldo
&  imperialist captor, Frederick Funston

1901 - Philippine President on-the-run Emilio Aguinaldo takes the oath of allegiance to the imperialist United States flag, only a few days after his capture in Palanan, Isabela by enemy American forces pretending to be captives of traitorous Filipino mercenaries almost two years and a month into the bloody and protracted Philippine-American War (1899-1914); the treacherous operation on March 23,  led by Bald Eagle soldier Frederick Funston, promptly merited condemnation by the Anti-Imperialist League, including American writer Mark Twain who will describe the US volunteer army officer as "the man who captured Aguinaldo by methods which would disgrace the lowest blatherskite that is doing time in any penitentiary; apart from swearing fealty to the enemy flag, Aguinaldo promptly even signs on that same day a widely circulated proclamation calling upon his generals and soldiers to accept imperialist-imposed peace and unite "around the glorious and sovereign banner of the United States," adding that he acknowledges the "sovereignty of the United States" over the entire archipelago; Aguinaldo's capitulation declaration would be defied for a time by only a few of the remaining Malolos generals at large, including Gen. Luciano S. San Miguel, but also by a considerable number of  Katipuneros, veteran patriots from the Revolution of 1896, as well as Moro freedom fighters in the Mindanao areas, thus helping extend the hostilities of the Fil-Am War (1899-1914).



Raw photo credit: http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=1457117486591&set=t.100000402936380&theater

31 MARCH

Enemy United States forces occupy Malolos

 1899 - Malolos, the capital of the fledgling Philippine Republic, falls to the imperialist American forces led by General Arthur MacArthur more than two months into the bloody and protracted Filipino-American War (1899-1914), thus forcing President Emilio F. Aguinaldo to transfer the capital northwards to Tarlac; American's sickening sense of racial superiority would later be seen in accounts explaining United States' moves towards the invasion of the Southeast Asian archipelago, including in the diary of Sgt. Hiram Harlow, an American soldier who sees action in several battles in Malolos, with his multiple referral to the Filipinos as "niggers"; the Philippine-American War (1899-1914) erupted on February 4, 1899 after the enemy U.S. forces deliberately instigated hostilities as part of the vile pre-arranged plan of enemy American President William McKinley to push the US Congress into approving the ridiculous Treaty of Paris that wherein Spain supposedly 'cedes' its former colony to the US even when Filipino revolutionaries led by Gen. Emilio Aguinaldo y Famy already claimed de facto liberation and had even declared Philippine Independence and already defeated and expelled the colonial Spaniards, and established the Philippine Republic; Aguinaldo, who seized leadership of the Himagsikan and ordered the assassination-cum-execution of Supremo Andres Bonifacio y de Castro, was conned by Bald Eagle diplomatic and military officials, notably, Gen. Thomas Anderson and Commodore George Dewey, into cooperating with the Americans during the Spanish-American War that intersected with the second phase of the Philippine Revolution against Spain; gullibly believing their verbal promises honor Philippine independence, Aguinaldo stupidly permitted American soldiers to freely enter, thus allowing the imperialist U.S. forces to position themselves for the infamous Mock Battle of Manila and the eventual invasion of the archipelago.

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

30 MARCH

1591 - During the Spanish colonial period, Governor Perez Dasmarinas issues an ordinance in the city of Manila, Philippines that forbids the native indios to wear silk and other fabrics from China supposedly because such it is detrimental to the general welfare and that of the city government; the ordinance has been prompted by agitation to either ban or restrict the importation of Chinese silk, as well as cotton, which were very popular because of its incredibly low prices, thus threatening the elimination of Peninsular silk in Spain and of draining gold and silver from the treasury; only a few decades earlier, Western colonization of the Southeast Asian archipelago began in 1565 when the Spaniards first established settlements in Cebu; the Philippine islands were first "discovered" [translation: first learned about]  by Spain following  the ill-fated 1521 expedition of Ferdinand Magellan who was killed by Mactan island chieftain Lapu-Lapu, and then followed up with several other expeditions, with the 1565 expedition by Miguel Lopez de Legaspi as signalling the beginning of the actual Spanish colonization of the Philippines.


 Photo credit: http://u.jimdo.com/www30/o/sb2a2e8d5e5ca741a/img/i4261c5997c4fb243/1279246126/std/image.jpg

29 MARCH

1896 - The Supreme Council of the Kataastaasang Kagalanggalangang Katipunan nang manga Anak nang Bayan (KKK), the secret revolutionary movement in the Philippines aiming to overthrow Spanish colonial rule, decides to elevate Balangay Nagbangon, its branch in the town of Pasig, to the status of a Sangguniang Bayan (Sb.) and to create a new one under its jurisdiction, Balangay Pinaglabanan, with the newly elected officers of the two units immediately taking their oaths-of-office; "in about five months' time, the KKK will transform itself into a revolutionary government with its own officials and initially-mostly-spear-and-bolo-armed army headed by Supremo Andres Bonifacio y de Castro and launch the Philippine Revolution against Spain; the fire of the Himagsikan that will begin in eight provinces will quickly spread to other areas of the Southeast Asian archipelago despite the state of martial law that Spanish Governor-General Blanco will issue;  years later, the United States Library of Congress will write that the KKK "insinuated itself into the community by setting up mutual aid societies and education for the poor [and by] 1896, the Katipunan had over 30,000 members and functioned at the national, provincial, and municipal levels.

Photo credit: http://fil.wikipilipinas.org/index.php?title=Katipunan

28 MARCH

1907 - In accord with America's propaganda and imperialistic policy of falsely claiming that the Philippine-American War ("insurrection" daw) ended in 1902, Governor James F. Smith falsely certifies that since the publication of the Philippine Census in 1905, supposedly there have been an absence of serious disturbances of public order except those committed by 'outlaws and religious fanatics' and that the great mass of the Filipinos have been “law-abiding, peaceful and loyal to the United States”; decades later, even American historians will write that the war of resistance valiantly fought by Filipino patriots against the imperialist Bald Eagle invaders well continued on until 1915 [and in] years to come, Americans [will remain] divided over the nation’s actions and imperial ambitions; the Philippine-American War (1899-1914) exploded on February 4, 1899 after the enemy U.S. forces deliberately instigated hostilities as part of the vile scheme of Bald Eagle President William McKinley to "annex" [translation:invade] the Philippines by pushing the US Congress into approving the controversial Treaty of Paris wherein Spain supposedly 'cedes' its former colony to the emerging world power the US even when Filipino revolutionaries already declared independence, expelled the colonial Spaniards, and established the Philippine Republic under Gen. Emilio Aguinaldo y Famy; earlier in 1896, the Filipino freedom-fighters under Supremo Andres Bonifacio y de Castro launched the Philippine Revolution against Spain and transformed the underground society Kataastaasang Kagalanggalangang Katipunan nang manga Anak nang Bayan (KKK into a revolutionary government until Aguinaldo seized power and ordered the assassination-cum-execution the Supremo in 1897 before eventually forging the Biak-na-Bato truce with the Spaniards; during the so-called second phase of the Revolution that intersected with the Spanish-American War, Aguinaldo will cooperate with the US forces, accepting the verbal promises of Bald Eagle officials, particularly George Dewey, to honor Philippine independence, leading him to stupidly allow the free entry of American G.I.'s that, in turn, permitted the emerging enemy to position themselves for the eventual invasion of the fledgling Southeast Asian nation, the first constitutional democracy in Asia. 


Photo credit: http://manilacarnivals.blogspot.com/2008_07_01_archive.html

27 MARCH

Then-Col. San Miguel conferring with
imperialist Col. Stotsenburg, Feb. 2, 1899

1903 - Gen. Luciano San Miguel y Saklolo, one of the most valiant, nationalistic, and greatest though underrated Filipino heroes and revolutionaries, dies fighting the imperialist American forces and traitorous mercenaries during the Battle of Koral-na-Bato in Antipolo, Rizal, four years into the bloody and protracted Philippine-American War (1899-1914); the real last Philippine Republic general who chose to continue fighting the vile Bald Eagle invaders despite Gen. Emilio F. Aguinaldo's capture and prompt swearing of allegiance to the enemy flag, a dying San Miguel will manage to utter the glorious words of heroism: “To give up one’s life for the Motherland and her freedom – this alone, is true happiness and honor!; a Caviteno who joined the underground-society-turned-revolutionary-body Kataastaasang Kagalanggalangang Katipunan nang manga Anak nang Bayan (KKK) in 1896, San Miguel was a bonafide man of the Supremo Andres C. Bonifacio under the Magdiwang KKK chapter;  he received the command of the northern provinces of Nueva Ecija, Tarlac, Pampanga, Bulacan, Morong, Batangas, Laguna, and Manila as colonel during the Second Phase of the Revolution against Spain; during the Fil-Am War, he led military actions in central and western Luzon as general in the battles of 1899 and will revive the KKK in his command in Zambales; at the time of his death, he was the generalissimo in charge of overall field operations command of the Republic of Katagalugan, the anti-imperialist revolutionary body that took off from Bonifacio's 1896-1897 Katipunan, which San Miguel co-formed with Gen. Macario Sakay; similar to that of Bonifacio who died under the hands of his countrymen, Gen. San Miguel's heroic death in Rizal's Pugad-Babuy district was effected by the imperialist pawns, the Philippine Constabulary and mercenary Philippine Scouts forces that mostly consisted of traitorous, co-opted Filipinos; the (third)  Battle of Corral-na-Bato will later be regarded as the last great anti-imperialist-American battle in the Luzon but following San Miguel's death, a new phase of the guerrilla struggle of the Filipino freedom fighters in the Philippine's Luzon island will continue unabated for four more years with popular support. 



Raw photo credit: http://philippineamericanwar.webs.com/filamwarbreaksout.htm

26 MARCH

Original Philippine Flag

1920 - During the American Occupation, the colonial Philippine Legislature passes Act No. 2928 adopting the Filipino flag of the so-called Malolos Republic as the official flag of the Government of the Philippine Islands to be flown next to the American flag;  through Act No. 1696, also known as the Flag Law  of 1907, the imperialist Bald Eagle authorities had outlawed the display or unfurling of Filipino flags, including that of the Malolos Republic and  flags, banners, emblems, and symbols  of the Kataas-taasang, Kagalang-galangang Katipunan ng mga Anak ng Bayan (KKK) secret-society-turned-revolutionary-government that led the Philippine Revolution against Spain, which was a law that was earlier promulgated midway into the  protracted Filipino-American War (1899-1914).


Photo credit: http://filhistorybuffs.multiply.com/photos/album/1/Philippine_Flags_in_History

25 MARCH

Filipino hero, Gen. Isabelo Abaya

1898 - Filipino revolutionary leader Federico Isabelo Abaya and his men capture Candon, Ilocos Sur from the colonial Spaniards, one year and seven months into the Philippine Revolution, with the Ilocanos establishing the "Republic of Candon," appointing Fernando Guirnalda as President and Abaya as general and commander-in-chief who will send  three columns to liberate as well  the neighboring towns to  north, east, and south although the Spaniards will retake Candon by sending shock troops within three days; Guirnalda will join up with the forces of the national government of Gen. Emilio F. Aguinaldo in Pangasinan and will return with Philippine Republic forces the following year and in-between, Abaya will continue the revolutionary struggle through guerrilla warfare; Abaya, one of the organizers  of the underground-movement-turned-revolutionary-body  Kataas-taasang, Kagalang-galangang Katipunan ng mga Anak ng Bayan (KKK) in Ilokos, will not relent in his patriotic aspirations, continuing through the Filipino-American War (1899-1914), recruiting Igorots whom he will lead in the Battle of Caloocan during the initial battles of the anti-colonial struggle; Gen. Abaya will become a folk hero to the Ilokanos and will as well earn legendary status among the imperialist Bald Eagle forces, with his head being a coveted prize for the enemy Americans of the 33rd Infantry, along with their traitorous mercenaries;  Abaya will die a hero in 1900, either during a battle as recounted by his superior Villamor, or in captivity on May 3 as alleged by imperialist Gen. Arthur MacArthur, after the would-be-infamous Filipino traitor Januario Galut points out the former's hideout in Lidlidda, Ilocos Sur.


1898 -- on the very same day, the 74th Filipino regiment at the Cavite naval fort march out of the barracks, bringing arms and equipment with them as they join the revolutionaries; however, this day also sees the massacre by the enemy Spanish soldiers of many Visayan sailors in Camba St., Manila, a detestable development to be dubbed as the "Massacre of Calle Camba" and which will prompt former seminarian and fiery Leon Kilat to avenge his compatriots by inciting an uprising in Cebu a week later--burning the city's business section, looting the churches, and killing Spaniards including the friars.