College of Arts and Sciences

Bambang Campus

DEGREE PROGRAM COURSE NO. GEHIST

SPECIALIZATION COURSE Readings in Philippine History
TITLE
YEAR LEVEL TIME FRAME 12 WK NO. 5-8 IM NO. 2
hours

I. UNIT TITLE/CHAPTER TITLE

CONTENT AND CONTEXTUAL ANALYSIS OF SELECTED PRIMARY SOURCES IN PHILIPPINE

HISTORY

II. LESSON TITLE

1. A Brief Summary of the First Voyage around the World by Magellan by Antonio Pigafetta (16th
Century).
2. The KKK and the “Kartilya ng Katipunan”
3. Reading the “Proclamation of the Philippine Independence”
4. A Glance at Selected Philippine Political Caricature in Alfred McCoy’s Philippine Cartoons: Political
Caricature of American Era (1900-1941)
5. Revisiting Corazon Aquino’s Speech Before the U.S. Congress

III. LESSON OVERVIEW

The lesson provides the students an overview on the analysis on the content and context of
selected primary sources in Philippine History. This lesson allows the students to interpret primary
sources in our history.

IV. DESIRED LEARNING OUTCOMES

At the end of the lesson, the students should be able to:
1. interpret primary sources through examining the content and context of the document.

V. LESSON CONTENT

Introduction

The historian’s primary tool of understanding and interpreting the past is the historical sources.
Historical sources ascertain historical facts. Such facts are then analyzed and interpreted by the historian
to weave historical narrative. Using primary sources in historical research entails two kinds of criticism.
The first one is EXTERNAL CRITICISM and the second is INTERNAL CRITICISM. EXTERNAL
CRITICISM examines the authenticity of the document or the evidence being used while INTERNAL
CRITICISM examines the truthfulness of the content of the evidence.

1. A Brief Summary of the First Voyage around the World by Magellan by Antonio Pigafetta (16th
Century).
Who is Antonio Pigafetta? – Famous Italian traveler born in Vicenza around 1490 and died in the
same city in 1534, who is also known by the name of Antonio Lombardo or Francisco Antonio Pigafetta.
Initially linked to the order of Rhodes, which was Knight, went to Spain in 1519, accompanied by
Monsignor Francisco Chiericato, and was made available from Carlos V to promote the company initiated
by the Catholic Monarchs in the Atlantic. Soon he became a great friendship with Magallanes, who
accompanied, together with Juan Sebastián Elcano, in the famous expedition to the Moluccas begun in
August of 1519 and finished in September 1522.
Who is Antonio Pigafetta? – He was wounded at the battle of the island of Cebu (Philippines) in
which Magellan found death. The output of Seville made it aboard of the Trinity; the return, along with a
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 handful of survivors (17 of the 239 who left this adventure), in victory, ship that entered in Sanlúcar de
Barrameda (Cádiz) on September 6, the designated year. In the last years of his life, he traveled by land
from France to finally return to Italy in 1523. He wrote the relation of that trip, which was the first around
the world, Italian and with the title of Relazioni in lathe to the primo viaggio di circumnavigazione. Notizia
del Mondo Nuovo with figure you dei paesi scoperti, which was published posthumously, in 1536.
Who is Antonio Pigafetta? – The account of Pigafetta is the single most important source about
the voyage of circumnavigation, despite its tendency to include fabulous details. He took notes daily, as
he mentioned when he realizes his surprise at Spain and see that he had lost a day (due to its driving
direction). Includes descriptions of numerous animals, including sharks, the Storm petrel (Hydrobates
pelagicus), the pink spoonbill (Ajaja ajaja) and the Phyllium orthoptera, an insect similar to a sheet.
Pigafetta captured a copy of the latter near Borneo and kept it in a box, believing a moving blade who
lived in the air. His report is rich in ethnographic details. He practiced as an interpreter and came to
develop, at least in two Indonesian dialects.
Pigafetta’s work instantly became a classic that prominent literary men in the West like WILLIAM
SHAKESPEARE, MICHEL de MONTAIGNE, and GIAMBATTISTA VICO referred to the book in their
interpretation of the New World. Pigafetta’s travelogue is one of the most important primary sources in
the study of the precolonial Philippines.
In Pigafetta’s account, their fleet reached what he called the LADRONES ISLANDS or the “Islands
of the Thieves.” He recounted: “These people have no arms, but use sticks, which have a fish bone at
the end. They are poor, but ingenious, and great thieves, and for the sake of that we call these three
islands the Ladrones Islands.”
The Ladrones Islands is presently known as the Marianas Islands. Ten days after they have
reached Ladrones Islands, Pigafetta reported that they have what he called the Isle of Zamal, now Samar
but Magellan decided to land in another uninhabited island for greater security where they could rest for
a few days. – On MARCH 18, nine men came to them and showed joy and eagerness in seeing them.
Magellan realized that the men were reasonable and welcomed them with food, drinks and gifts.
Pigafetta detailed in amazement and fascination the palm tree which bore fruits called cochos
and wine. – He characterized the people as “very familiar and friendly” and willingly showed them different
islands and the names of these islands. The fleet went to Humunu Island (Homonhon) and there they
found what he referred to as the “Watering Place of Good Signs.” for it is in this place that they found the
first signs of gold in the island. They named the island together with a nearby island as the archipelago
of St. Lazarus.
On March 25th, Pigafetta recounted that they saw two balanghai (balangay), a long boat full of
people in Mazzava/Mazaus. The leader whom he reffered to the king became closely bonded with
Magellan as they both exchanged gifts to one another. – After a few days, Magellan was introduced to
the king’s brother who was also a king of another island where Pigafetta reported that they saw mines of
gold. The gold was abundant that parts of the ship and of the house of the king were made of gold. This
king was named Raia Calambu, king of Zuluan and Calagan (Butuan and Caragua), and the first king
was Raia Siagu.
On March 31st (Easter Sunday), Magellan ordered the chaplain to preside a Mass by the shore.
The king heard about this plan and sent two dead pigs and attended the Mass with the other king.
Pigafetta then wrote: “…when the offertory of the mass came, the two kings, went to kiss the cross like
us, but they offered nothing, and at the elevation of the body of our Lord they were kneeling like us, and
adored our Lord with joined hands.”
This was the first Mass in the Philippines, and the cross would be famed Magellan’s Cross which
is still preserved at present day. This was the same cross which Magellan explained to the kings as a
sign of his emperor who ordered him to plant it in the places were he would reach and further explained
that once other Spaniards saw this cross, then they would know that they had been in this island and
would not cause them troubles.
By April 7th, Magellan and his men reached the port of Zzubu (Cebu) with the help of Raia
Calambu who offered to pilot them in going to the island. The kind of Cebu demanded that they pay
tribute as it was customary but Magellan refused. By the next day, Magellan’s men and the king of Cebu,
together with other principal men of Cebu, met in an open space. There the king offered a bit of his blood
and demanded that Magellan do the same. – On April 14, Magellan spoke to the kind and encouraged
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 him to be a good Christian by burning all of the idols and worship the cross instead. The king of Cebu
was then baptized as a Christian. After 8 days, all of the island’s inhabitant were already baptized.
When the queen came to the Mass one day, Magellan gave her an image of the Infant Jesus
made by Pigafetta himself. – On 26th of April, Zula, a principal man from the island of Matan (Mactan)
went to see Magellan and asked him for a boat full of men so that he would be able to fight the chief
name Silapulapu (Lapulapu). Magellan offered 3 boats instead and went to Mactan to fight the said chief.
– They numbered 49 in total and the islanders of Mactan were estimated to number 1,500. Magellan died
in battle. He was pierced with a poison arrow in his right leg. The king of Cebu who was baptized offered
help but Magellan refused so that he could see how they fought. – The kind also offered the people of
Mactan gifts of any value and amount in exchange of Magellan’s body but the chief refused and wanted
to keep Magellan’s body as a memento of their victory.
Magellan’s men then elected Duarte Barbosa as the new captain. – Pigafetta also accounted how
Magellan’s slave and interpreter named Henry betrayed them and told the king of Cebu that they intended
to leave as soon as possible. Henry and the king of Cebu conspired and betrayed what was left of
Magellan’s men. The king invited these men to a gathering where he said he would present the jewels
that he would send for the King of Spain.
Pigafetta was left on board the ship and was not able to join the 24 men who went to the gathering
because he was nursing his battle wounds. – The natives had slain all the men except the interpreter and
Juan Serrano who shouted at the men on this ship to pay ransom so that he would be spared but he was
left on the island for they refused to go back to shore. – The fleet abandoned Serrano and departed. They
left Cebu and continued their journey around the world.

Analysis of Pigafetta’s Chronicle

o Antonio Pigafetta was a chronicler commissioned by the King of Spain to

accompany the voyage of Ferdinand Magellan, thus his text is in favor of Spain.

o The voyage took place in the 16th century, thus his writing was in European
perspective. He believed that Filipinos are pagans Philippine beliefs during the time
of his voyage were barbaric because they only see Catholicism as the true
Christianism.

o Pigafetta remarked on the nakedness of the Filipino natives but in fact the natives
have covering but on European context, they look at it as naked.

o Materials used by the natives in housing were despised by the Europeans

comparing to the housing system they were used. Filipinos have light materials like
bamboo in their houses for the air to come through and to compensate the hot
climate in the islands.

o It must be noted that 16th century was known as the age of Exploration and
mercantilism wherein wealth of a nation is based on the accumulations of gold and
other precious metals. Hence the article of Pigafetta contains, words like spices or
the richness of the place they reached. This would reveal that the main reason of
the Spaniards in coming to our country is to accumulate wealth as a result of their
search of the Spice Island. This also indicates that Europe has scarcity of spices.

2. The KKK and the “Kartilya ng Katipunan”

The Kataastaasan, Kagalanggalangang Katipunan ng mga Anak ng Bayan (KKK) or Katipunan

is arguably the most important organization formed in the Philippine history. The two principal aims of the
KKK as gathered from the writings of Bonifacio:

1. Unity of the Filipino people

Bonifacio came out after the failure of the reform movement headed by Jose Rizal and Marcelo
Del Pilar. This paved way for a more radical and more active lines. He formed the Katipunan, a secret
society which was founded at Tondo Manila, in a house on Azcarraga Street then numbered 314, on July
7, 1892, the same date on which Rizal was decreed to be banished to Dapitan.

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 2. Total independence of the country from Spain
Previous armed revolts had already occurred but none of them envisioned to unify the country
against the colonizers. The Propaganda Movement and the illustrados, Jose TRizal, Marcelo H. del Pilar,
Graciano Lopez Jaena did not envisioned total separation from Spain. Equal rights, representation and
protection from the abuses of the friars were what they demanded.
Rizal doubtless approved the first aim but refused to accept the second and this was the reason
that he refused to go along with the “Katipuneros” (soldiers’ of the Katipunan) and voluntarily surrendered
that leads him to prison and death. – To achieve unity of the Filipinos, propaganda work must be done
and this was through massive education and civic trainings of the Katipuneros. To that end, Bonifacio
prepared his now well-known decalogue, and Jacinto his famous “Kartilya ng Katipunan” (Primer of the
Katipunan)

These are the rules in Kartilya. The Kartilya can be treated as the Katipunan’s Code of conduct
which contains 14 rules that instruct the way a Katipunero should behave.

Below is a translated version of the rules on Kartilya

I. The life that is not consecrated to a lofty and reasonable purpose is a tree without a shade, if not a
poisonous weed.

II. To do good for personal gain and not for its own sake is not virtue. 3. It is rational to be charitable and
love one's fellow creature, and to adjust one's conduct, acts and words to what is in itself reasonable.

III. Whether our skin be black or white, we are all born equal: superiority in knowledge, wealth and beauty
are to be understood, but not superiority by nature.

IV. The honorable man prefers honor to personal gain; the scoundrel, gain to honor.

V. To the honorable man, his word is sacred.

VI. Do not waste thy time: wealth can be recovered but not time lost.

VII. Defend the oppressed and fight the oppressor before the law or in the field.

VIII. The prudent man is sparing in words and faithful in keeping secrets.

IX. On the thorny path of life, man is the guide of woman and the children, and if the guide leads to the
precipice, those whom he guides will also go there.

X. Thou must not look upon woman as a mere plaything, but as a faithful companion who will share with
thee the penalties of life; her (physical) weakness will increase thy interest in her and she will remind
thee of the mother who bore thee and reared thee.

XI. What thou dost not desire done unto thy wife, children, brothers and sisters, that do not unto the wife,
children, brothers and sisters of thy neighbor.

XII. Man is not worth more because he is a king, because his nose is aquiline, and his color white, not
because he is a *priest, a servant of god, nor because of the high prerogative that he enjoys upon
earth, but he is worth most who is a man of proven and real value, who does good, keeps his words,
is worthy and honest; he who does not oppress nor consent to being oppressed, he who loves and
cherishes his fatherland, though he be born in the wilderness and know no tongue but his own.

XIII. When these rules of conduct shall be known to all, the longed-for sun of liberty shall rise brilliant over
this unhappiest portion of the globe and its rays shall diffuse everlasting joy among the confederated
brethren of the same rays, the lives of those who have gone before, the fatigues and the well-paid
sufferings will remain. If he who desires to enter (the katipunan) has informed himself of all this and
believes he will be able to perform what will be his duties, he may fill out.

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 An Excerpt from the Second Paragraph of the Kartilya which states that: “The object pursued by
this association is great and precious: to unite in ideas and purposes all Filipinos by means of a strong
oath and from union derive force with which to tear the veil that obscures intelligence and thus find the
true path of reason and light” – The strong oath was documented and signed with the signed with the
blood of the “Katipuneros” (blood (blood compact). They swore at the Katipunan creed; Katipunan creed;
to defend the oppressed, fight the fight the oppressor even to the extent of supreme self- supreme self-
sacrifice.

An Excerpt from the Second Paragraph of the Kartilya which states that – One of the most
important Katipunan documents was the Kartilya ng Katipunan. – The original title of the document was
“Manga (sic) Aral Nang (sic) Katipunan ng mga A.N.B.” Or “Lesson of the Organization of the Sons of
Country”.
Analysis of the “Kartilya ng Katipunan”

o The document was written for a fraternity to overthrow colonial regime. The fourth
(4th) and thirteenth (13th) rules are an invocation of equality between and among
men regardless of race, occupation, or status. This is a manifestation of the society
during the Spanish time, where Indios (Filipinos) are treated inferiorly and the white
Europeans as superior.

o The document upheld consistency of rational and liberal ideas in the 18 th and 19th
century, equality, tolerance, freedom and liberty. Emilio Jacinto as the author of the
document was an illustrado who used pen to spread liberal ideas.

o It also emphasized the importance of honor in words and in action. Honoring and
respecting women but from the document itself emphasized that men should be the
guide of women and children as it was stated in the 10 th rule. This idea can be
criticized but the context of the document and organization was born during the
patriarchal age, were men are seen as the leaders and women are important
partners in the struggle during the Spanish era. This is shown by the women like
Melchora Aquino, Gregoria de Jesus and Teresa Magbanua.

The Kartilya is instructive not just to the Katipunan’s conduct toward other people,
o
but for the member’s development as an individual.
3. Reading “The Proclamation of the Philippine Independence”

On June 12, 1898, the Philippine Declaration of independence was proclaimed in Cavite el Viejo
(presentday Kawit, Cavite) – Filipino revolutionary forces under General Emilio Aguinaldo proclaimed the
sovereignty and independence of the Philippine Islands from the colonial rule of Spain.
1896 - the Philippine Revolution began. Eventually, the Spanish signed an agreement with the
revolutionaries – Emilio Aguinaldo went into exile in Hongkong. At the outbreak of the Spanish-American
war.

Commodore George Dewey - sailed from Hong Kong to Manila Bay leading a squadron of U.S.
Navy ships. – May 1, 1898 - the United States defeated the Spanish in the Battle of Manila Bay. – the
U.S. Navy transported Aguinaldo back to the Philippines.

THE PROCLAMATION ON JUNE 12

Independence was proclaimed on June 12, 1898 between four and five in the afternoon in Cavite
at the ancestral home of General Emilio Aguinaldo. – The event saw the unfurling of the National Flag of
the Philippines, made in Hong Kong by Marcela Agoncillo, Lorenza Agoncillo, and Delfina Herboza and
the performance of the Marcha Filipina Magdalo, as the national anthem, now known as Lupang Hinirang,
which was composed by Julián Felipe and played by the San Francisco de Malabon marching band. –
The Act of the Declaration of Independence was prepared, written, and read by Ambrosio Rianzares
Bautista in Spanish.

The Declaration was signed by ninety-eight people, among them an American army officer who
witnessed the proclamation who attended the proceedings, Mr. L. M. Johnson, a Coronel of Artillery. –
The proclamation of Philippine independence was, however, promulgated on 1 August, when many towns
had already been organized under the rules laid down by the Dictatorial Government of General
Aguinaldo
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 The declaration was not recognized by the U.S. nor Spain and Spain later sold the Philippines to
the United States in the 1898 Treaty of Paris ended the Spanish-American War. – Philippine-American
War - The Philippine Revolutionary Government did not recognize the treaty or American sovereignty,
and subsequently fought and lost a conflict with United States ended when Emilio Aguinaldo was
captured by U.S. forces, and issued a statement acknowledging and accepting the sovereignty of the
United States over the Philippines. – Following World War II, the US granted independence to the
Philippines on July 4, 1946 via the Treaty of Manila.

Treaty of Paris was signed on December 10, 1898 formally ceding Philippines to the Americans
by the Spaniards.

President Diosdado Macapagal signed into law Republic Act No. 4166 designating June 12 as
the country's Independence Day.
Declaration of Philippine Independence

Translation by: Sulpicio Guevara

In the town of Cavite-Viejo, Province of Cavite, this 12th day of June 1898:

BEFORE ME, Ambrosio Rianzares Bautista, War Counsellor and Special Delegate
designated to proclaim and solemnize this Declaration of Independence by the Dictatorial
Government of the Philippines, pursuant to, and by virtue of, a Decree issued by the
Engregious Dictator Don Emilio Aguinaldo y Famy,

The undersigned assemblage of military chiefs and others of the army who could not
attend, as well as the representatives of the various towns,

Taking into account the fact that the people of this country are already tired of bearing the
ominous joke of Spanish domination,

Because of arbitrary arrests and abuses of the Civil Guards who cause deaths in
connivance with and even under the express orders of their superior officers who at times
would order the shooting of those placed under arrest under the pretext that they attempted
to escape in violation of known Rules and Regulations, which abuses were left unpunished,
and because of unjust deportations of illustrious Filipinos, especially those decreed by
General Blanco at the instigation of the Archbishop and friars interested in keeping them
in ignorance for egoistic and selfish ends, which deportations were carried out through
processes more execrable than those of the Inquisition which every civilized nation
repudiates as a trial without hearing.

Had resolved to start a revolution in August 1896 in order to regain the independence and
sovereignty of which the people had been deprived by Spain through Governor Miguel
Lopez de Legazpi who, continuing the course followed by his predecessor Ferdinand
Magellan who landed on the shores of Cebu and occupied said Island by means of a Pact
of Friendship with Chief Tupas, although he was killed in the battle that took place in said
shores to which battle he was provoked by Chief Kalipulako ** of Mactan who suspected
his evil designs, landed on the Island of Bohol by entering also into a Blood Compact with
its Chief Sikatuna, with the purpose of later taking by force the Island of Cebu, and because
his successor Tupas did not allow him to occupy it, he went to Manila, the capital, winning
likewise the friendship of its Chiefs Soliman and Lakandula, later taking possession of the
city and the whole Archipelago in the name of Spain by virtue of an order of King Philip II,
and with these historical precedents and because in international law the prescription
established by law to legalize the vicious acquisition of private property is not recognized,
the legitimacy of such revolution can not be put in doubt which was calmed but not
complete stifled by the pacification proposed by Don Pedro A. Paterno with Don Emilio
Aguinaldo as President of the Republic established in Biak-na-Bato and accepted by
Governor-General Don Fernando Primo De Rivera under terms, both written and oral,
among them being a general amnesty for all deported and convicted persons; that by
reason of the non-fulfillment of some of the terms, after the destruction of the plaza of
Cavite, Don Emilio Aguinaldo returned in order to initiate a new revolution and no sooner
had he given the order to rise on the 31st of last month when several towns anticipating
the revolution, rose in revolt on the 28th , such that a Spanish contingent of 178 men,
between Imus Cavite-Viejo, under the command of major of the Marine Infantry capitulated
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 , the revolutionary movement spreading like wild fire to other towns of Cavite and the other
provinces of Bataan, Pampanga, Batangas, Bulacan, Laguna, and Morong, some of them
with seaports and such was the success of the victory of our arms, truly marvelous and
without equal in the history of colonial revolutions that in the first mentioned province only
the Detachments in Naic and Indang remained to surrender; in the second all Detachments
had been wiped out; in the third the resistance of the Spanish forces was localized in the
town of San Fernando where the greater part of them are concentrated, the remainder in
Macabebe, Sexmoan, and Guagua; in the fourth, in the town of Lipa; in the fifth, in the
capital and in Calumpit; and in last two remaining provinces, only in there respective
capitals, and the city of Manila will soon be besieged by our forces as well as the provinces
of Nueva Ecija, Tarlac, Pangasinan, La Union, Zambales, and some others in the Visayas
where the revolution at the time of the pacification and others even before, so that the
independence of our country and the revindication of our sovereignty is assured.

And having as witness to the rectitude of our intentions the Supreme Judge of the Universe,
and under the protection of our Powerful and Humanitarian Nation, The United States of
America, we do hereby proclaim and declare solemnly in the name by authority of the
people of these Philippine Islands,

That they are and have the right to be free and independent; that they have ceased to have
allegiance to the Crown of Spain; that all political ties between them are should be
completely severed and annulled; and that, like other free and independent States, they
enjoy the full power to make War and Peace, conclude commercial treaties, enter into
alliances, regulate commerce, and do all other acts and things which and Independent
State Has right to do,

And imbued with firm confidence in Divine Providence, we hereby mutually bind ourselves
to support this Declaration with our lives, our fortunes, and with our sacred possession, our
Honor.

We recognize, approve, and ratify, with all the orders emanating from the same, the
Dictatorship established by Don Emilio Aguinaldo whom we reverse as the Supreme Head
of this Nation, which today begins to have a life of its own, in the conviction that he has
been the instrument chosen by God, inspite of his humble origin, to effectuate the
redemption of this unfortunate country as foretold by Dr. Don Jose Rizal in his magnificent
verses which he composed in his prison cell prior to his execution, liberating it from the
Yoke of Spanish domination,

And in punishment for the impunity with which the Government sanctioned the commission
of abuses by its officials, and for the unjust execution of Rizal and others who were sacrified
in order to please the insatiable friars in their hydropical thirst for vengeance against and
extermination of all those who oppose their Machiavellian ends, trampling upon the Penal
Code of these Islands, and of those suspected persons arrested by the Chiefs of
Detachments at the instigation of the friars, without any form nor semblance of trial and
without any spiritual aid of our sacred Religion; and likewise, and for the same ends,
eminent Filipino priest, Doctor Don Jose Burgos, Don Mariano Gomez, and Don Jacinto
Zamora were hanged whose innocent blood was shed due to the intrigues of these so-
called Religious corporations which made the authorities to believe that the military uprising
at the fort of San Felipe in Cavite on the night of January 21, 1872 was instigated by those
Filipino martyrs, thereby impeding the execution of the decree- sentence issued by the
Council of State in the appeal in the administrative case interposed by the secular clergy
against the Royal Orders that directed that the parishes under them within the jurisdiction
of this Bishopric be turned over to the Recollects in exchange for those controlled by them
in Mindanao which were to be transferred to the Jesuits, thus revoking them completely
and ordering the return of those parishes, all of which proceedings are on file with the
Ministry of Foreign Affairs to which they are sent last month of the year of the issuance of
the proper Royal Degree which, in turn, caused the grow of the tree of the liberty in our
dear land that grow more and more through the iniquitous measures of oppressions, until
the last drop of our chalice of suffering having been drained, the first spark of revolution
broke out in Caloocan, spread out to Santa Mesa and continued its course to the adjoining
regions of the province were the unequalled heroism of its inhabitants fought a one sided
battle against superior forces of General Blanco and General Polavieja for a period of 3
months, without proper arms nor ammunitions, except bolos, pointed bamboos, and
arrows.
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 Moreover, we confer upon our famous Dictator Don Emilio Aguinaldo all the powers
necessary to enable him to discharge the duties of Government, including the prerogatives
of granting pardon and amnesty,

And lastly, it was results unanimously that this Nation, already free and independent as of
this day, must used the same flag which up to now is being used, whose designed and
colored are found described in the attached drawing, the white triangle signifying the
distinctive emblem of the famous Society of the "Katipunan" which by means of its blood
compact inspired the masses to rise in revolution; the tree stars, signifying the three
principal Islands of these Archipelago - Luzon, Mindanao, and Panay where the
revolutionary movement started; the sun representing the gigantic step made by the son
of the country along the path of Progress and Civilization; the eight rays, signifying the
eight provinces - Manila, Cavite, Bulacan, Pampanga, Nueva Ecija, Bataan, Laguna, and
Batangas - which declares themselves in a state of war as soon as the first revolt was
initiated; and the colors of Blue, Red, and White, commemorating the flag of the United
States of America, as a manifestation of our profound gratitude towards this Great Nation
for its disinterested protection which it lent us and continues lending us.

And holding up this flag of ours, I present it to the gentlemen here assembled:

Don Segundo Arellano Don Ramon Gana

Don Tiburcio del Rosario Don Marcelino Gomez
Sergio Matias Don Sixto Roldan
Don Agapito Zialcita Don Luis de Lara
Don Flaviano Alonzo Don Marcelo Basa
Don Mariano Legazpi Don Jose Medina
Don Jose Turiano Santiago y Acosta Don Efipanio Crisia(?)
Don Aurelio Tolentino Don Pastor Lopez de Leon
Don Felix Ferrer Don Mariano de los Santos
Don Felipe Buencamino Don Santiago Garcia
Don Fernando Canon Faustino Don Andres Tria Tirona
Don Anastacio Pinzun Don Valentin Politan
Don Timoteo Bernabe Don Felix Politan
Don Flaviano Rodriguez Don Evaristo Dimalanta
Don Gavino (?) Masancay Don Gregorio Alvarez
Don Narciso Mayuga Don Sabas de Guzman
Don Gregorio Villa Don Esteban Francisco
Don Luis Perez Tagle Don Guido Yaptinchay
Don Canuto Celestino Don Mariano Rianzares Bautista
Don Marcos Jocson Don Francisco Arambulo
Don Martin de los Reyes Don Antonio Gonzales
Don Ciriaco Bausa Don Juan Antonio Gonzales
Don Manuel Santos Don Juan Arevalo
Don Mariano Toribio Don Ramon Delfino
Don Gabriel de los Reyes Don Honorio Tiongco
Don Hugo Lim Don Francisco del Rosario
Don Emiliano Lim Don Epifanio Saguil
Don Faustino Tinorio(?) Don Ladislao Afable Jose
Don Rosendo Simon Don Estanislao Tria Tirona
Don Leon Tanjanque(?) Don Daniel Tria Tirona
Don Gregorio Bonifacio Don Andres Tria Tirona
Don Manuel Salafranca Don Carlos Tria Tirona
Don Simon Villareal Don Sulpicio P. Antony
Don Calixto Lara Don Epitacio Asuncion
Don Buenaventura Toribio Don Catalino Ramon
Don Gabriel Reyes Don Juan Bordador
Don Hugo Lim Don Jose del Rosario
Don Emiliano Lim Don Proceso Pulido
Don Fausto Tinorio(?) Don Jose Maria del Rosario
Don Rosendo Simon Don Ramon Magcamco(?)
Don Leon Tanjanque(?) Don Antonio Calingo
Don Gregorio Bonifacio Don Pedro Mendiola
Don Manuel Salafranca Don Estanislao Galinco
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 Don Simon Villareal Don Numeriano Castillo
Don Calixto Lara Don Federico Tomacruz
Don Buenaventura Toribio Don Teodoro Yatco
Don Zacarias Fajardo Don Ladislao Diwa(?).
Don Florencio Manalo

Who solemnly swear to recognize and defend it unto the last drop of their blood.

In witness thereof, I certify that this Act of Declaration of Independence was signed by me
and by all those here assembled including the only stranger who attended those
proceedings, a citizen of the U.S.A., Mr. L.M. Johnson, a Colonel of Artillery.

Ambrosio Rianzares Bautista

War Counsellor and Special Delegate-Designate

Analysis of the “Proclamation of the Philippine Independence”

o Abuses mentioned on the proclamation like friar abuse, racial discrimination, and
inequality before the law reflect the compelling sentiments represented by the
revolutionary leadership but nothing was mention on the serious issue that the
masses faced, land and agrarian crisis. The main reason for these is that Emilio
Aguinaldo, Felipe Buencamino, Ambrosio Rianzares Bautista were land owners.
According to Teodoro Agoncillo, Philippine Revolution historian, the Philippine
Revolution was an agrarian crisis. Revolutionaries fight in the revolution in the
exchange of land or they even grab lands from the peasants or middle class.

o It can be observed that the proclamation did not even mention Andres Bonifacio or
the Katipunan, thus the document is politically biased. This emphasized the faction
between Magdalo faction (Emilio Aguinaldo) and Magdiwang (Andres Bonifacio).
This shows political bias.

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 4. A Glance at Selected Philippine Political Caricature in Alfred McCoy’s Philippine
Cartoons: Political Caricature of American Era (1900-1941)

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 5. Revisiting Corazon Aquino’s Speech Before the U.S. Congress

Full Name: Maria Corazon

Cojuangco Aquino
Born on: January 25, 1933
Died on: August 1, 2009
*First Female President
Name (1986-1992)
*Known as the symbol of the
restoration of democracy and
overthrown the Marcos
dictatorship

Speech before the joint session of the United States Congress - Sept. 18, 1986

Mr. Speaker, Senator Thurmond, Distinguished members of Congress.

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 Three years ago I left America in grief, to bury my husband, Ninoy Aquino. I thought I had left it
also, to lay to rest his restless dream of Philippine freedom. Today, I have returned as the
President of a free people.

In burying Ninoy, a whole nation honored him by that brave and selfless act of giving honor to a
nation in shame recovered its own. A country that had lost faith in its future, founded in a faithless
and brazen act of murder. So, in giving we receive, in losing we find, and out of defeat we
snatched our victory. For the nation, Ninoy became the pleasing sacrifice that answered their
prayers for freedom.

For myself and our children, Ninoy was a loving husband and father. His loss, three times in our
lives was always a deep and painful one. Fourteen years ago this month, was the first time we
lost him. A president-turned-dictator and traitor to his oath, suspended the constitution and
shutdown the Congress that was much like this one before which I'm honored to speak. He
detained my husband along with thousands of others - Senators, publishers, and anyone who
had spoken up for the democracy as its end drew near. But for Ninoy, a long and cruel ordeal
was reserved. The dictator already knew that Ninoy was not a body merely to be imprisoned but
a spirit he must break. For even as the dictatorship demolished one-by-one; the institutions of
democracy, the press, the congress, the independence of a judiciary, the protection of the Bill of
Rights, Ninoy kept their spirit alive in himself.

The government sought to break him by indignities and terror. They locked him up in a tiny,
nearly airless cell in a military camp in the north. They stripped him naked and held a threat of a
sudden midnight execution over his head. Ninoy held up manfully under all of it. I barely did as
well. For forty-three days, the authorities would not tell me what had happened to him. This was
the first time my children and I felt we had lost him.

When that didn't work, they put him on trial for subversion, murder and a host of other crimes
before a military commission. Ninoy challenged its authority and went on a fast. If he survived it,
then he felt God intended him for another fate. We had lost him again. For nothing would hold
him back from his determination to see his fast through to the end. He stopped only when it
dawned on him that the government would keep his body alive after the fast had destroyed his
brain. And so, with barely any life in his body, he called off the fast on the 40th day. God meant
him for other things, he felt. He did not know that an early death would still be his fate, that only
the timing was wrong. At any time during his long ordeal, Ninoy could have made a separate
peace with a dictatorship as so many of his countrymen had done. But the spirit of democracy
that inheres in our race and animates this chamber could not be allowed to die. He held out in
the loneliness of his cell and the frustration of exile, the democratic alternative to the insatiable
greed and mindless cruelty of the right and the purging holocaust of the left.

And then, we lost him irrevocably and more painfully than in the past. The news came to us in
Boston. It had to be after the three happiest years of our lives together. But his death was my
country's resurrection and the courage and faith by which alone they could be free again. The
dictator had called him a nobody. Yet, two million people threw aside their passivity and fear and
escorted him to his grave.

And so began the revolution that has brought me to democracy's most famous home, The
Congress of the United States.

The task had fallen on my shoulders, to continue offering the democratic alternative to our
people. Archibald Macleish had said that democracy must be defended by arms when it is
attacked by arms, and with truth when it is attacked by lies. He failed to say how it shall be won.
I held fast to Ninoy's conviction that it must be by the ways of democracy. I held out for
participation in the 1984 election the dictatorship called, even if I knew it would be rigged. I was
warned by the lawyers of the opposition, that I ran the grave risk of legitimizing the foregone
results of elections that were clearly going to be fraudulent. But I was not fighting for lawyers but
for the people in whose intelligence, I had implicit faith. By the exercise of democracy even in a
dictatorship, they would be prepared for democracy when it came. And then also, it was the only
way I knew by which we could measure our power even in the terms dictated by the dictatorship.
The people vindicated me in an election shamefully marked by government thuggery and fraud.
The opposition swept the elections, garnering a clear majority of the votes even if they ended up

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 (thanks to a corrupt Commission on Elections) with barely a third of the seats in Parliament.
Now, I knew our power.

Last year, in an excess of arrogance, the dictatorship called for its doom in a snap election. The
people obliged. With over a million signatures they drafted me to challenge the dictatorship. And
I, obliged.

The rest is the history that dramatically unfolded on your television screens and across the front
pages of your newspapers. You saw a nation armed with courage and integrity, stand fast by
democracy against threats and corruption. You saw women poll watchers break out in tears as
armed goons crashed the polling places to steal the ballots. But just the same, they tied
themselves to the ballot boxes. You saw a people so committed to the ways of democracy that
they were prepared to give their lives for its pale imitation. At the end of the day before another
wave of fraud could distort the results, I announced the people's victory.

Many of you here today played a part in changing the policy of your country towards ours. We,
the Filipinos thank each of you for what you did. For balancing America's strategic interest
against human concerns illuminates the American vision of the world. The co-chairman of the
United States observer team, in his report to the President said, "I was witness to an
extraordinary manifestation of democracy on the part of the Filipino people. The ultimate result
was the election of Mrs. Corazon Aquino as President and Mr. Salvador Laurel as Vice-President
of the Philippines."

When a subservient parliament announced my opponent's victory, the people then turned out in
the streets and proclaimed me the President of all the people. And true to their word, when a
handful of military leaders declared themselves against the dictatorship, the people rallied to
their protection. Surely, the people take care of their own. It is on that faith and the obligation it
entails that I assumed the Presidency.

As I came to power peacefully, so shall I keep it. That is my contract with my people and my
commitment to God. He had willed that the blood drawn with a lash shall not in my country be
paid by blood drawn by the sword but by the tearful joy of reconciliation. We have swept away
absolute power by a limited revolution that respected the life and freedom of every Filipino.

Now, we are restoring full constitutional government. Again as we restore democracy by the
ways of democracy, so are we completing the constitutional structures of our new democracy
under a constitution that already gives full respect to the Bill of Rights. A jealously independent
constitutional commission is completing its draft which will be submitted later this year to a
popular referendum. When it is approved, there will be elections for both national and local
positions. So, within about a year from a peaceful but national upheaval that overturned a
dictatorship, we shall have returned to full constitutional government.

Given the polarization and breakdown we inherited, this is no small achievement. My

predecessor set aside democracy to save it from a communist insurgency that numbered less
than five hundred. Unhampered by respect for human rights he went at it with hammer and tongs.
By the time he fled, that insurgency had grown to more than sixteen thousand. I think there is a
lesson here to be learned about trying to stifle a thing with a means by which it grows. I don't
think anybody in or outside our country, concerned for a democratic and open Philippines doubts
what must be done. Through political initiatives and local re-integration programs, we must seek
to bring the insurgents down from the hills and by economic progress and justice, show them
that which the best-intentioned among them fight. As president among my people, I will not
betray the cause of peace by which I came to power. Yet, equally and again, no friend of Filipino
democracy will challenge this. I will not stand by and allow an insurgent leadership to spurn our
offer of peace and kill our young soldiers and threaten our new freedom.

Yet, I must explore the path of peace to the utmost. For at its end, whatever disappointment I
meet there is the moral basis for laying down the Olive branch of peace and taking up the sword
of war.

Still, should it come to that, I will not waiver from the course laid down by your great liberator.

"With malice towards none, with charity for all, with firmness in the right as God gives us to see
the right, let us finish the work we are in to bind up the nation's wounds. To care for him who

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 shall have borne the battle and for his widow and for his orphans to do all which may achieve
and cherish a just and lasting peace among ourselves and with all nations."

Like Abraham Lincoln, I understand that force may be necessary before mercy. Like Lincoln, I
don't relish it. Yet, I will do whatever it takes to defend the integrity and freedom of my country.

Finally, may I turn to that other slavery, our twenty-six billion dollar foreign debt. I have said that
we shall honor it. Yet, the means by which we shall be able to do so are kept from us. Many of
the conditions imposed on the previous government that stole this debt, continue to be imposed
on us who never benefited from it.

And no assistance or liberality commensurate with the calamity that was vested on us have been
extended. Yet ours must have been the cheapest revolution ever. With little help from others, we
Filipinos fulfilled the first and most difficult condition of the debt negotiation, the full restoration
of democracy and responsible government. Elsewhere and in other times, a more stringent world
economic conditions, marshal plans and their like were felt to be necessary companions of
returning democracy.

When I met with President Reagan, we began an important dialogue about cooperation and the
strengthening of friendship between our two countries. That meeting was both a confirmation
and a new beginning. I am sure it will lead to positive results in all areas of common concern.
Today, we face the aspiration of a people who have known so much poverty and massive
unemployment for the past 14 years. And yet offer their lives for the abstraction of democracy.

Wherever I went in the campaign, slum area or impoverished village. They came to me with one
cry, DEMOCRACY. Not food although they clearly needed it but DEMOCRACY. Not work,
although they surely wanted it but DEMOCRACY. Not money, for they gave what little they had
to my campaign. They didn't expect me to work a miracle that would instantly put food into their
mouths, clothes on their back, education in their children and give them work that will put dignity
in their lives. But I feel the pressing obligation to respond quickly as the leader of the people so
deserving of all these things.

We face a communist insurgency that feeds on economic deterioration even as we carry a great
share of the free world defenses in the Pacific. These are only two of the many burdens my
people carry even as they try to build a worthy and enduring house for their new democracy.
That may serve as well as a redoubt for freedom in Asia. Yet, no sooner as one stone laid than
two are taken away. Half our export earnings, two billion dollars out of four billion dollars which
is all we can earn in the restrictive market of the world, must go to pay just the interest on a debt
whose benefit the Filipino people never received.

Still we fought for honor and if only for honor, we shall pay. And yet, should we have to ring the
payments from the sweat of our men's faces and sink all the wealth piled by the bondsman's
two-hundred fifty years of unrequited toil. Yet, to all Americans, as the leader to a proud and free
people, I address this question, "Has there been a greater test of national commitment to the
ideals you hold dear than that my people have gone through? You have spent many lives and
much treasure to bring freedom to many lands that were reluctant to receive it. And here, you
have a people who want it by themselves and need only the help to preserve it."

Three years ago, I said, thank you America for the haven from oppression and the home you
gave Ninoy, myself and our children and for the three happiest years of our lives together. Today
I say, join us America as we build a new home for democracy; another haven for the oppressed
so it may stand as a shining testament of our two nations' commitment to freedom.

Analysis of Cory Aquino’s Speech

o The speech of Corazon Aquino talks of her family and especially her relationship with
her husband, Ninoy Aquino. She talked about the suffering of Ninoy at the hands of a
dictator Ferdinand Marcos. She emphasized the contribution of her husband to the
rebirth of democracy.

o It can be observed that Cory’s speech shows continued alliance with the Americans
despite her efforts to hoist herself as opposite of Ferdinand Marcos.

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 o The speech was the guiding principle and framework of the government that she
represented.

VI. LEARNING ACTIVITIES

A. Project – Critical Essay (50 points).
Choose from the following primary sources then make a critical essay/analysis. Use the guide
questions below:
1. What does the document or artifact say?
2. What was the provenance or source of the document/artifact?
3. Who authored it (if applicable)?
4. What was the context of the primary source’s production?

Primary sources:
* The Laguna Copperplate Inscription
* Poem “Ang Pag-ibig sa Tinubuang Lupa” by Andres Bonifacio
* The Declaration of Martial Law in 1972 by Ferdinand Marcos
* The Speech of KALIBAPI Acting Director Camilo Osias on December 1943
* The 1935 Constitution

Rubrics

Content 20

Organization 10

Mechanics 10

Originality 10

Total Points 50

B. Cartoon Analysis.
Direction: Analyze the cartoon carefully and write its meaning on the space provided. (10 points each)

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 1)

2)

3)

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 4)

5)

Rubrics
Content 5
Organization 3
Originality 2
Total Points 10

VII. ASSIGNMENT:
Critical Essay. Direction: From the five sample of primary sources presented, identify one and write an
essay discussing (1) the importance of the text, (2) the background of the text author, (3) the context of
the document, and (4) the text contribution in understanding the Philippine history.

Rubrics
Content 20
Organization 10
Mechanics 10
Originality 10
Total Points 50
VIII. EVALUATION

IX. REFERENCES

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 Britannica.com (2020 July 28). Maria Corazon Aquino. Retrieved August 27, 2020 from
https://www.britannica.com/editor/The-Editors-of-Encyclopaedia-Britannica/4419

Candelaria, J. & Alphora, V. (2018). Readings in Philippine History. Manila: Rex Book Store.

Corpuz, R. & Tabotabo, C. (2018). Readings in Philippine History. Manila: Mindshapers., Inc.

Filipino.biz.ph - Philippine Culture (n.d). The Act of Declaration of Philippine Independence. Retrieved
August 26, 2020 from https://filipino.biz.ph/history/declaration.html

Iowa State University (1986 September 18). Speech before the joint session of the United States
Congress - Sept. 18, 1986. Retrieved August 20, 2020 from
https://awpc.cattcenter.iastate.edu/2017/03/21/speech-before-the-joint-session-of-the-united-states-
congress-sept-18-1986/

Martinez, R., et al. (2018). The Readings in Philippine History. Manila: Mindshapers., Inc.

McCoy, A. (1985). Selected Sections and Cartoons from 'Philippine Cartoons: Political Caricature of the
American Era 1900-1941' edited by Alfred W. McCoy and Alfredo R. Roces (1985). Retrieved August
25, 2020 from
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/315678206_Selected_sections_and_cartoons_from_'Philippi
ne_Cartoons_Political_Caricature_of_the_American_Era_1900-
1941'_edited_by_Alfred_W_McCoy_and_Alfredo_R_Roces_1985

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NVSU-FR-ICD-05-00 (081220) Page 19 of 19
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