 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
|
epistle
language
erniet1erniet2erniet3erniet4erniet 5erniet6erniet7erniet8erniet9erniet10erniet11erniet12erniet13erniet14erniet15erniet16erniet17erniet18erniet19erniet20erniet21erniet22erniet23erniet24erniet25erniet26erniet27erniet28erniet29erniet30erniet31erniet32erniet33erniet34erniet35erniet36erniet37erniet38erniet39erniet40erniet41erniet42erniet43erniet44erniet45erniet46erniet47erniet48erniet49erniet50erniet51erniet52ernie53erniet54erniet55erniet56erniet58erniet59erniet60|
|
| Pampanga |
| ||||||
| IN DEFENSE OF THE HEROES OF MACABEBE by Ernie C. Turla So much garbage over the years has been written about the Macabebes' alleged treachery, if there ever was. They have been branded as "dugong aso" ironically by no less than their fellow "dugong aso" who were too blind to see their own reflection on the stream of history. They have been maligned by an ungrateful, blinded society whose nationalism pales in comparison with the heroism of these noble and courageous people. Now, why do I say this? First, let us define the word "treachery". Treachery suggests some definite act of betraying trust while pretending to be loyal. In other words, one can only betray someone he owes loyalty to. Such as a friend or an ally. Without that special relationship existing between two, treachery or betrayal can not be committed. Question: Did such a relationship in the form of friendship or alliance exist between the revolutionists under Aguinaldo and the Macabebe scouts? Did the latter even just for a moment recognize the short-lived Philippine Republic? Were they ever been a part of the unfinished revolution led by Bonifacio and Aguinaldo - the insurrection which was never envisioned for the Philippines by reformists like Rizal and del Pilar? The answer to all these is a resounding NO! The Macabebe Scouts, who were the descendants of the mighty warriors under Datu Tarik Soliman (Bambalito, to some historians) who fought bravely in the Battle of Bankusay in a failed attempt to rescue Manila from the Spanish consquistadores under Legaspi in 1571, never established friendship with the revolutionists. Aguinaldo himself frankly admitted that he did not know them and that they were not his men. Thank God, he was honest enough to say that. Shortly after his capture, he swore allegiance to the U.S., and that practically ended the insurrection. There may have been a few isolated guerrila activities here and there afterwards, but the insurgency was quickly suppressed, and soon it was all quiet on the Filipino front. Everybody in the Philippines then started to embrace the democratic ideals introduced by the newcomers and swore allegiance to the Stars and Stripes just like the Macabebe Scouts before them. Were they not then treacherous too for asserting their loyalty to the new colonial regime? What about the Kapampangan general, Maximino Hizon who chose to be exiled like Gen. Ricarte rather than collaborate with the new regime? People in the Visayas said they never heard of the term, "dugong aso" in their place and only heard of it due to their contact with the people of Luzon. Well, this is because the ones that branded the Pampanguenos, or Macababes in particular, as "dugong aso" were the Pampangueno's closest neighbors to the south, people perhaps from Bulacan and Cavite. They were anxiously inviting them over to their side in 1896, but because of their canine devotion to their master (Spain) as attested by their refusal to turn their back on her, they were branded as "dugong aso". Yet, who were these people that branded their brothers as such? Were they not also former accomplices of Spain in its colonization scheme? Did they not also lend service to the Spaniards prior to the Katipunan upsrising? They were just two or three years ahead of the reluctant Pampangans in rising against the Spanish regime! When a great number of Kapampangans did finally join the revolution on June 3, 1898, it took them only a month to defeat and drive away the Spaniards from their province. Yet, even after that feat, why did the brand "dugong aso" stay with them? And look who were talking! It was their alliance partners, their former fellow "dugong aso"! Our provinces (Pampanga and Tarlac) as everybody knows, are proudly represented by the 8 rays of the sun in our flag. This is because, the Pampanguenos also rose in arms and helped in the struggle for independence. Their provinces were placed under a state of war as a result. If this were not a fact, Gen. Aguinaldo would have replaced them with provinces he thought were more deserving. For the first time in history then, Pampanguenos were fighting fellow Pampanguenos. Their group was split into two: the Pampanguenos of the revolutionary forces and the crack Macabebe regiment of the Spanish army. Actually, many Pampanguenos either living in Manila or coming from the provinces were already with the Katipunan since its foundation in 1891. After the Katipunan split into two, and a power struggle ensued between Bonifacio and Aguinaldo, the Kapampangan Katipuneros including writers-to-be Aurelio Tolentino and Crisostomo Soto, as well as rising revolutionary leader, Mamerto Natividad, remained loyal to Bonifacio and sided with him in the Magdiwang faction till its collapse. In early 1898 many Pampanguenos outside the elite Macabebe regiment defected from the Spanish army and their defection considerably weakened Spanish hold on the islands and could have even been the major key to the latter's downfall. One of the provisions of the Treaty of Paris signed on December 10, 1898 was, besides putting an end to an ongoing global Spanish-American War, allow Spain to cede the Philippines to the U.S. for $20 million. The Spanish soldiers in the Philippines who surrendered to the joint American and Filipino forces following a mock battle in the capital, left for their native Spain. That could have left the Macabebe mercenaries jobless if it were not for an agreement made as a part of the deal and who were thus conveniently retained and renamed "Macabebe scouts". After taking an oath of loyalty, they were sworn in as local soldiers of the U.S. Now, this was what Aguinaldo's men had against the Macabebes. With grudge, they called them "dugong aso" - something despite its connotation on loyalty, actually meant "traitors". But professional soldiery was the only trade they knew and which was passed on from father to son through the centuries. And like in company take-overs, don't we see it as a common practice for the purchaser to just keep the employees of the company for convenience instead of laying them off? That's exactly like what happened to the remnants of the Macabebe contingent in the Spanish army with the change in management. By default, they were just made to stay put. And to think that after retiring they received pension from Uncle Sam in dollars (then times 2 in the yet low exchange rate) and made 20 times the measly fifteen peso a month my grandfather received as pension for serving under Aguinaldo, I'd say, they made an awesome choice! During that era when the Philippine revolution broke out, there was no such thing as Filipino nationalism, or if ever there was, it was just taking roots. Macabebes were among those not yet bitten by the bug of nationalism. Filipinos were not called as such and were called Indios in general instead. Of course, each ethnic group had its own name too just like today. But there was no sense of togetherness as a people, no mutual and solid relationship to bind them except their link to one another as subjects of the king. It was a "divide and rule" situation, a strategy that the Spanish conquistadores always employed in all the lands under them. The Pampanguenos were, to the Spaniards, the most highly favored among all the ethnic groups. In them, the Spaniards found the bravest and most loyal Indios that side of the earth. Especially the Macabebe variety! So much so that their presence with the Spaniards on account of their services to them was seen and felt throughout the archipelago. Hardly was there perhaps an islander throughout the Spanish occupation that did not know who the Kapampangan was! It was a saying then that "3 Kapampangans (mostly Macabebes) plus 1 Spaniard were equal to 4 Spaniards". And because they tried to act or behave like them in their manners, a high Spanish official dubbed them as "the Castilians of their race"! It was not always a pleasant relation between them especially during the early days. When in 1660 and over a period of five years they felt being aggrieved by the Spaniards on account of forced labor involving the cutting of timber for use in the building of ships to the neglect of their farmland, they revolted twice. When news about the abuse perpetrated on them and which redounded to such revolts reached Madrid via Mexico City, the Spanish king was so furious that he sent a message to the governor-general harshly castigating and reprimanding him, saying that they should not have maltreated the very people that had been loyally serving the monarch. Because of the King's intercession, the Kapampangans under Francisco Maniago were able to win most of their demands and the revolt subsided. Mostly because of the Macabebes, Pampanga was for centuries at the height of its glory. It was the first colonial domain organized into a regular province, done at almost the same time Manila was established as the capital. It was there too, in Bacolor, where the capital was moved to for two years when Manila was occupied by the British. Likewise, it was there, in San Fernando, where the capital of the short-lived republic was first moved to after the fall of Malolos. (sources: Fernandez, Benitez and Zaide) More than any other ethnic group, the Macabebes were treated with favor the most. And it had to be so according to Nick Joaquin in his book, the Aquinos of Tarlac, because the Spaniards knew that they were a group to reckon with. For who could be more formidable opponents and hence more dangerous to confront in a battle than the very people they trained in Ternate and whose proficiency in combat was known far and wide? With the help of the Macabebes, the Spaniards were able conquer one island after another and ultimately uniting almost all the independent barangays all over the archipelago under one government. The Macabebes helped keep the unified conglomeration of ethnic people intact and helped defend the colony from invaders. Fighting under the flag of Spain, and doing it with fervor as if it was their own country, they proved their gallantry in battles. They fought against the Portuguese, the Dutch, the Chinese, the British, the Moros. "Qng leon o tigre, e cu tatacut" became their inspirational slogan and battlecry. During the British occupation of Manila (1762-1764), the Macabebes, under the fearless (Jose?) Manalastas and Santos de los Angeles led many a battle against them as they unsuccessfully tried to regain the captured capital. He was also responsible for the suppression of the rebellions simultaneously occurring in the north. Earlier, in 1662, under Francisco Lacsamana, an army of 4,000 Pampanguenos crushed the Chinese revolt. "As a reward for his services, the valiant Lacsamana was appointed commander-in-chief of Fort Santiago for 24 hours - the highest military honor ever accorded by Spain to a Filipino". Maybe everybody is familiar with the Fiesta La Naval, a traditional event which Manila and Pampanga have been proudly celebrating for well over 3 centuries now. The time-honored fiesta commemorates the naval victory of the crack Pampanga regiment over the Dutch fleet that had been relentlessly invading the islands for forty years. Their contingent, fighting under the Spanish flag, finally defeated and drove them away in 1648. They really fought them furiously in a battle in Manila Bay after the latter had massacred 100 civilians in Abucay, Bataan months before then. They attributed their triumph to their patron saint then, the Nuestra Senora del Rosario (Our Lady of the Rosary) whom they had prayed to in every battle. Because of this extraordinary feat of the Pampanguenos (mostly Macabebes), Spain was able to continue spreading the Catholic faith in the archipelago, as well as continue with her colonial venture there until 1898. We can recapitulate the accomplishments of the Macabebes in two big words: Filipino unity. Or, Filipino nationhood. Remember, there were only a few thousand Spaniards and Mexicans in the Philippines. Ask yourself, could they have united all the barangays of various ethnic groups under one government if it were not for the Macabebes and their loyalty? Hardly! We would probably have gone our separate ways as peoples with different languages and cultures, and would probably now be having our own principalities, sultanates or city-states within the archipelago. There wouldn't have been a united Filipino nation. Not that I really like the outcome since if the course of history was not directed by the Macabebes, Pampanga could have perhaps become a proud nation by itself and could have prospered like tiny Singapore, Hongkong and Brunei, who knows! No less than the writer, Renato Tayag, in his The Vanishing Pampango Nation regretted this seemingly lost opportunity. But let's not cry over spilled milk. And since fate seemed to have destined all of us to be together as a nation, maybe like what others say, we may just have to accept it with a grain of salt or learn to live with it. But on those nationalistic people that are proud of Philippine nationhood and glorify the unification of the archipelago, let me say this: Don't ever call the Macabebes, "dugong aso" in contempt. If you want to call them as such, it should be for their bravery and loyalty like what dogs really are. Let's know how to look back at the past, as otherwise we would be thankless and "walang utang na loob". Let's reciprocate with words expressing our debt of gratitude to them for their humongous part in having helped build the foundation of our nation and shape the course of our history. For theirs were the swords that helped unite our independent barangays and kept the country intact for 328 years. Theirs were the hands that shaped history and gave birth to Filipino unification. Biba, Macabebes! Biba Pilipinas! From: rptmt@yahoo.com Reply-to: AkademyangKapampangan@yahoogroups.com To: AkademyangKapampangan@yahoogroups.com Sent from the Internet (Details) The Macabebes remained loyal to their colonial masters until the last dying days of the Spanish Period. When the Spaniards made their last stand in Macabebe, the Macabebes formed a line of defence to delay the attack of the revolutionary forces and allow the Spaniards to escape via Manila Bay. For this, the Macabebes paid dearly: the town was razed down, including their beautiful church. The Macabebes also hung on the promise of the Spaniards to return and rescue them by relocating them to the Caroline Islands. They never did return, and the Macabebes stayed in their ghost town until a Lt. Matthew Batson of the US 4th Cavalry came one day to recruit volunteers, and according to one account, "every mother, daughter and sweetheart pushed their men to enlist" and serve their new colonial masters, if only to avenge what the revolutionaries did to Macabebe. Months later, they did get their sweet revenge by capturing the Great Tagalog Leader himself. What a story--almost Shakespearean in its grandeur and intensity! ************************************************************* Atin pa muring pami-aliwa. Deng senador areta, ila mismu ing pepaitas bangcu queng sariling salita ra. E ta no man sisisyan keng lugud da keng salita ra. Sisisian tala mu queng e ra pequi-isip ing capanandaman da reng e tagalug. King uli na mu ning buri re ing salita ra, bala ra siguru reng mang aliwa buri re at malyaring isacwil de ing carela. Ali, nung talagang atin cang panandam macabalen, e me gulutan o tiwalag ing quecang salita at ipabor ing aliwa. Detang anti reta calupa ro reng bilasang asan a e mu apangan. Detang senador areta, e la mu tuqui-tuqui. Ila pa ring menimuna. At siyempre careng magsalitang tagalug, it was an offer they couldn't refuse. Isip-isipan mung magawa yang national language ing salita mo? Isipan mung mituru ya careng anggang iscuela mabilug a bansa! Ninu naman ing tagalug a salangsang canita? Sabian mu namang maquituqui-tuqui la mu neng talaga namang caluguran de ing salita ra? Deng Macabebe, mamintu la mu queng order da reng Castila o Americanu neng ila reng mamahala queng gubiernu. Upa-an dala wari atsaca pota e la mamintu? By default they became soldiers of America in the Philippines after the Spanish-American War. Like I said in some other messages, my grandfather, Lucio Turla, who served Aguinaldo until the latter's group disbanded after the fall of Tarlac, received only fifteen pesos a month from the government until he passed away at age 85 in 1954. On the other hand, the Macabebe scouts got around 10 times that much from the U.S. government. Pero, e ya mariria queng sablang b alu cu. Aguiang acalaban nala, maragul ya puri carela neng icua rang asadsad angga na qng tauli ing carelang catapatan queng gubiernung acaguisingan da. We have to remember that there was no feeling of nationalism yet during that time among Filipinos who were then called Indios. If there ever was, it was yet taking roots. Filipinos were conquered through the principle of "divide and rule" as we all know. With the invaluable help of the Macabebes, the whole archipelago was united. Without them, there would have been no "one nation" under the Spaniards, and then later under the Americans, and then later under Quezon's Commonwealth and then later under the present republic. The nation should acknowledge this. To the Macabebe Scouts who were not yet bitten by the bug of nationalism, Bonifacio and the Katipunan and Aguinaldo and his revolucionists were rebels or "insurectos". That was the reason why they fought them. To save their republic. After Spain, they just could not give it to Aguinaldo and his men, since they considered them enemies. They would rather continue under the Americans that had taken over the reins of the government, especially after the latter said that they were just there to help them. So, it did not matter really whether they were aware of what they were doing when they were ordered to accompany Funston in his attempt to capture the supremo. It could be that they exactly knew what they were doing. For one thing, they were helping look for "an enemy". If one is helping find an enemy, is that treachery? And just because Aguinaldo happened to be a Filipino, and Macabebes were Filipinos (actually, Indios at that time), did their action constitute a betrayal? Of course not! And speaking of betrayal, we see it in everyday politics in the Philippines, among Filipinos themselves. Why do you think that even after independence from those foreign powers that we so detested, the Philippines is still divided and there have been 3 EDSA revolutions already, not to mention the many coup attempts against the establishment? Why did we have a civil war between the Huks and the government during the 40s and 50s, and now an NPA insurgency? If all these have happened after our independence, and Filipinos still fight Filipinos now despite the nationalism that should have fostered unity among them, what more could you expect during those "Indio" days when there was no nationalism yet? I think, the Macabebes did the right thing, given the situation they were in. Fighting fellow Filipinos, especially during that time should not be looked at with disdain since it is still happening even now. If the Macabebe Scouts had it to do all over again, they would! And there's no regret, Fernando. absolut_vanilla2000@yahoo.com.au writes: Subj: [AkademyangKapampangan] On why we are divided Date: 9/16/2005 6:09:10 PM Pacific Daylight Time From: absolut_vanilla2000@yahoo.com.au Reply-to: AkademyangKapampangan@yahoogroups.com To: AkademyangKapampangan@yahoogroups.com Sent from the Internet I wrote: >>"Why do you think that even after independence from those foreign powers that we so detested, the Philippines is still divided and there have been 3 EDSA revolutions already, not to mention the many coup attempts against the e |
 Sign Guestbook |
 View Guestbook |
 eiturla@aol.com |
|
. |
| Visitors: 00411 |