Monday, October 20, 2008
THE GENERAL FROM BINONDO
It was somewhere in Binondo where he was born on October 29, 1866. His father was a revenue inspector, his mother from a prominent family in Ilocos Norte. At the age of eight, he entered the Ateneo de Manila where he nurtured a great interest in literature and chemistry. In 1883, with highest honors, he received a Bachelor of Arts degree.
At the University of Santo Tomas, he endeavored in long hours of research. His paper, Dos Cuerpos Fundamentales De Quimica, was awarded first prize in a university competition. At the University of Barcelona, he earned the Licentiate in Pharmacy. He was conferred the Doctor of Pharmacy degree in 1890 at the Central University of Madrid.
While a student in Europe, he joined the Propaganda Movement and under the pen name Taga Ilog, he published editorials and articles which portrayed the evils of Spanish rule in Solidaridad. Supposedly, For a time in 1891, he single-handedly produced the issues of La Solidaridad.
In 1894, he was summoned back to Manila by his mother. He came home and worked as a professor and director of a laboratory in Manila. He didn't join the Kapitupunan; thinking it was premature to organize a revolution, but he was nonetheless arrested for complicity in the revolution mainly due to his advocated liberalism. After his release from prison, he left for Belgium where he studied military strategy under General Leman, a Belgian war hero.
In 1898 -- although the Filipinos still remember his traitorous acts against the revolution began by Bonifacio two years prior that drove the final nail in Rizal's coffin -- he joined Aguinaldo's forces to help the Americans banish the Spaniards from the archipelago when the United States declared war against Spain; hence, emerged General Antonio Luna.
Subsequently, Dewey's true interest for the Philippines became apparent; thus, barely a year after proclaiming their "independence," the Filipinos found themselves fiercely fighting the American forces -- superior to them in armaments and military training. At almost every encounter, the Filipinos lost, though on December 18, 1899, the Filipinos struck a single victory: General Licerio Geronimo defeated General Lawton in San Mateo.
Ultimately, it was General Antonio Luna's emotional immaturity that facilitated what could be the Filipinos' most shameful and tragic defeats.
He was so enraged by the unbecoming conduct of one of his subordinates, General Mascardo, that he left the battlefield taking with him his artillery including the cavalry and his men. This he did to teach Mascardo a lesson. But the lesson proved disastrous to the Filipinos.
General Gregorio del Pilar was almost alone in holding back the superior American forces. And without the much-needed artillery and men, the Americans overwhelmed the Filipino defenses. When General Luna returned from Guagua, Kalumpit had fallen to the hands of General Arthur MacArthur and his men.
In the end, he was remembered as having said, "If they kill me, wrap me in a Filipino flag with all the clothes which I was dressed at the time and bury me in the ground ... I will die willingly for my country." Ironically, his death was not caused by the enemy but by his countrymen -- at the hands of Aguinaldo's henchmen, allegedly -- as what happened to Andres Bonifacio.
In Talking History: Conversations with Teodoro Agoncillo, when asked if General Antonio Luna ought to be hailed a hero, Agoncillo opined:
Luna was the leader of the revolution against Spain? Puñeta! Since when? Since when did Luna fight against the Spaniards? He never fought against the Spaniards. As a matter of fact, Luna was a traitor to the revolution of 1896. Luna not only did not join the revolution of 1896, he was a traitor! Nagturo yan a! Nagturo!!! As a matter of fact, I do not consider Luna a hero. How did he become a hero? He never won any battle, papaanong sasabihing hero yan?
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I very much appreciate my articles and photos appearing on fellow bloggers' sites, popular broadsheets, and local broadcast news segments, but I would appreciate even more a request for permission first.
Thank you!
Labels: Antonio Luna, Philippine history
posted by Señor Enrique at 8:15 AM
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