President Emilio Aguinaldo had
been the target of the accusation that he was the mastermind in the killing of General
Antonio Luna. His detractors claim that he summoned Luna by a telegram to come
to Cabanatuan and set him up for the kill by the Kawit soldiers who happen to
be his townmates and acting as his presidential guards. This Machiavellian scheme was allegedly the
logical flow of his fear of losing power and authority to a potential rival, in
like manner that he allegedly caused the death of another rival, Katipunan
Supremo Andres Bonifacio. Did President Emilio
Aguinaldo really have a hand in the killing of General Antonio Luna?
How Luna was Killed
Here is one of several versions of the controversial assassination of General Antonio Luna (note that the date should be June 5, 1899):
"On June 3, 1899, accompanied by his aide-de-camp, Captain Roman, and an escort, Luna entered the official residence of President Aguinaldo at Cabanatuan (Nueva Ecija). The guard, composed of a company of Cavite men from Cauit (Aguinaldo's native town), under the command of Captain Pedro Janolino, saluted him on his entry. As Luna and Roman ascended the staircase to seek Aguinaldo a revolver shot was heard. Luna rushed down the stairs in a furious rage and insulted Captain Janolino in the presence of his troops. This was too much for Janolino, who drew a dagger and thrust it violently into Luna's head. In the scuffle, Luna was knocked down and shot several times. He was able to reach the roadway, and, after shouting "Cowards!" fell down dead. In the meantime, whilst Captain Roman was running towards a house he was shot dead by a bullet in his breast. The Insurgent Government passed a vote of regret at the occurrence, and the two officers were buried with military honors." (Foreman, 501)A certain Arcadio Zialcita, who claimed to have witnessed the killing of General Luna, testified before the Schurman Commission, viz:
Q. Will you be kind enough to give us an account of the killing of General Luna?- A. I told everything that I saw and that I knew about it to a representative of El Progresso. That interview tells all I know.
Q. Will you be kind enough to repeat that for our benefit?- A. I saw his death, but the occasion of his death I only know from rumor.
Q. Where were you?- A. I was in a house where I was waiting, in the plaza, where the convent and the government headquarters and the church are, and commanded a view of the whole place. They say that Luna went up to ask for Aguinaldo, with Francisco Ramon, to visit Aguinaldo. Not finding him there he became angry and insulted the guard, and when the guard wanted to seize him and his companion they thought the man was half crazy and immediately began shooting, and the guard, returned the fire.
Q. Did the guard fire on him?- A. All of them. They wanted to take him, but he had saber and revolver to defend himself, and they could not do anything else.Capt. Janolino, the head of the Presidential guards, on his part did not implicate Aguinaldo or anyone for that matter and claimed full responsibility in an interview conducted by Antonio K. Abad in 1929 as it appeared in an article in the Philippines Free Press on April 3, 1954, entitled "More on Luna's Death". (De Viana[I-Stories], 108-109).
Q. Was he killed by bullets, knives, or bayonets?- A. By knives, and probably by bullet wounds, too, for there were three or four discharges, and so I can not say whether entirely by bolos or bullets.
Q. What was the effect of this killing of General Luna there?- A. I could not say exactly. At first the people were much surprised, but afterwards they said it was better so, because he was very cruel; he killed a great many of his own soldiers, and officers and was a great tyrant.
Q. Aguinaldo did not come back when he heard of the death of Luna?- A. That I could not say, whether he was told of it or whether he returned. I did not see his return up to the time I came away. (United States[Commission] 1.2:147-148)
Below is the question and answer as it appeared on the publication above-cited:
ABAD: Who ordered you to kill Gen, Luna?
JANOLINO: No one ordered us to kill Gen. Luna. I assume the whole responsibility for the sad happening.
ABAD: If that is true, why did you treacherously kill the general?
JANOLINO: The incident was unexpected because when General Luna heard someone fire at the stairs under the convent, he became very furious and rushed downstairs and uttered the following words: “Idiot, fool! You do not know how to handle a rifle!” “We thought at that moment that Gen. Luna would harm us because he was mad and was known to be a very harsh and temperamental man and due to this belief, I was frightened and immediately hit him in the head with my dagger. At that juncture, my soldiers (from the Kawit Company) helped me in attacking him until he rushed out of the convent badly wounded."
The Alleged Conspiracy to Kill Luna
The story being peddled around is the allegation that Aguinaldo invited Luna to a conference in Cabanatuan and set him up to be killed by Aguinaldo’s men. The invitation is said to be contained in a telegram dated June 4, 1899, shown in the following facsimile:
This
telegram is the object of a much-publicized auction and was billed as the
“smoking gun” pointing to the complicity of Aguinaldo in the killing of General
Antonio Luna. The telegram’s authenticity was further bolstered by historian
Jim Richardson who presented photos of the entry in the telegraph operator's
message logbook, based on the microfilm of the Philippine Insurgents Records. The coded text is
transcribed as follows:
"Folabo puoncimane iun thiundotonade sin ordenar fegmicaen ciusi Esperando contestacion a me telegram anterior en que le pedia piso incupsicaen. Suplico urgencia."
In the catalog that advertised the auction of the
telegram the above message was translated and printed to read as follows:
“Paging for an important meeting, therefore you are ordered to come here immediately. Waiting for a reply to my telegram about urgent matters to discuss. It is really an emergency.”
Anyone who reads the above message would
immediately make the conclusion that indeed
Aguinaldo summoned Luna to Cabanatuan with the intent to entrap
him. But this translation was proven
inaccurate and misleading because the correct transcription of the message in
Spanish after considering the coding system employed is as follows:
“Felipe Buencamino aun detenido sin ordenar formacion causa. Esperando contestacion a mi telegrama anterior en que le pedia acusacion. Suplico urgencia.”
And translates to English as:
“Felipe Buencamino is being detained without ordering the formation of the case. I am waiting your reply to my previous telegram where I request the basis of your accusation.…”
Nowhere in the telegram does it say Luna is being summoned by Aguinaldo to come to Cabanatuan. According to historian Ambeth Ocampo, in a column in the “Philippines Daily Inquirer” of December 2, 2018, with a subtitle, “The Luna Telegram: Not so Deadly After All,” the telegram is not a “smoking gun” or the evidence that historians have been looking for all these years. In other words, there is no truth to the story that Aguinaldo purposely ordered Luna to come to Cabanatuan so that the scheme allegedly concocted to assassinate him is carried out by the Kawit soldiers. And so the telegram that was supposedly the proof of the alleged complicity of Aguinaldo to the killing of General Antonio Luna is nothing but a farce, a fabrication made up by some quarters in their malicious effort to denigrate the memory of a great man.
Aguinaldo's Version of the Events
Aguinaldo did not ask Luna to come to Cabanatuan. It is the other way around. It was Luna who sent a telegram to Aguinaldo advising him that he (Luna) was coming for a conference. This latest information is based on unpublished notes of Aguinaldo entitled, "Ang Pagkamatay ng Heneral Luna" which have come up lately. The documents were originally kept by Aguinaldo's secretary, the late Felisa Diokno, and are currently in possession of Ms. Elizabeth Angsioco. Shown below is the photograph of the original copy of the notes, courtesy of TUKLAS PILIPINAS, Inc. facebook site, where it is being made public for the first time and is reproduced below with permission from Ms. Elizabeth Angsioco:
The unpublished notes say that Aguinaldo received a telegram on June 1 stating that Luna wanted to confer with him. Aguinaldo already knew from a confidential report of Lt. Col. Pepito Leyba (Aguinaldo[Alaala]) that Luna was planning a "Golpe de Estado" or coup d'etat and that in his mind the coup would lead to a civil war and he thought it best to avoid Luna and not answer his telegram.
Aguinaldo was wary of Luna's temperament which he personally witnessed during one of the meetings of the cabinet when Luna with half a platoon of soldiers barged in and accused Felipe Buencamino, the Secretary of Foreign Affairs, of treason. Then, after a heated exchange, Luna slapped Buencamino in the presence of Aguinaldo, thus establishing enmity with the members of the cabinet and Aguinaldo was not happy with it.
Apparently, having learned about the coming of Luna, Buencamino wrote Aguinaldo a long letter the following day, on June 2, 1899 (Taylor 4:101-105), seeking protection from arbitrary arrest by Luna and expressing fear for his (Buencamino) life because of reports that Luna was angry at those who espoused autonomy (a Filipino government under American protection) with himself, Paterno, the Secretary of State, Velarde and Arguelles being identified as the principal adherents. These gentlemen were previously authorized by Aguinaldo to confer with the Americans on the possibility of a settlement of the conflict. When Luna learned about this he was furious and had the four officials put to jail without any formal charges. Aguinaldo released them but Luna did not like what Aguinaldo did.
So, as far as Aguinaldo was concerned, the telegram he received from Luna was the sign that the coup d'etat would be launched upon his coming to Cabanatuan and he (Aguinaldo) had to do something to prevent the situation from turning into a civil war. As mentioned in the unpublished notes he put on his Captain-General uniform and went to Bamban, Tarlac with General Gregorio del Pilar and took over the command of the Luna's Division from General Venancio Concepcion, who submitted peacefully to his authority.
The relief of General Luna from his command was aimed at preventing the troops from being used by Luna to support the coup d'etat. After successfully breaking up Luna's army into various brigades Aguinaldo sent a telegram to Luna asking him to report to Tarlac, only to learn the following day that Luna had been killed.
Here are excerpts from the transcription by Ms. Elizabeth Angsioco of Aguinaldo's unpublished notes, "Ang Pagkamatay ng Heneral Luna":
"SA PAGKAT, naitaboy na ng Kalabang Americano, sa Kabanatuan, Nueva Ecija ang Presidencia ng Republika Filipina, at sa pangunahing araw ng Junio 1899, ay tumanggap ako ng isang Telegrama ng Heneral Antonio Luna, na makikipanayam lamang sa akin; at sa pagkat dati ko ng alam na isasagawa na nia, sa pagparitong ito ang panukala niang, GOLPE DE ESTADO SA Pamahalaang Republika; at sa pagkat napagalaman ko na nga, na micha o pangdikit na tuloy sa GUERRA CIVIL o Patayan ng magkababayan ang nasabing Golpe de Estado, na mahirap ng mailagan ang kahit ipanganlong (at) sa kababaan ng loob ko rin, ay minarapat ko ng unahin ang pag-ilag o pagiingat at hindi ko na sinagot ang kaniang telegrama; bakit talagang mayroon na siang naituro sa akin, na dapat pag-ingatan ko sia, simula ng kaniang pangahasang ipanghik dito rin sa Presidencia sa Kabanatuan, ang kalahating Pelotong Kawal na kaniang Escolta, at bago ginulo nia ang Pulong ng Gabinete, kahit kaharap ako, at bago pinagtatampal pa nia ang Secretario de Estado Don Felipe Buencamino, dahil sa pagka Autonomista lamang, na hindi nia sinunod ang sigao ko, kundi ng hawakan ko sia; kaya sa halip nga na sagutin ko pa ang nasabing telegrama nia, ay nagbihis at isinuut ko agad ang aking Uniforme sa pagka Kapitan Heneral, na kailan pa man hindi ko pa nagagamit, kundi noon lamang; dahil naman sa paggugunita ko, na baka ako hindi kilalanin, kung humarap ako ng nakapaisano at sa nais kong mabigla at makuyum ko agad ang Kuartel Heneral ng Heneral Luna, sa Bamban, Tarlak, ay umalis ako agad sa Kabanatuan, matapos na mapagtagubilinan ko ang Oficial de Guardia, Kapitan Pedro Janolino, sa Presidencia, “na mag- ingat sa pagtanggap kay Heneral Luna, na sakaling maparito sa ika 5 ng Junio; ay sabihin sa utos ko na ipinagbabawal kong makapagsama pa sia, sa pagpanghik sa Presidencia, sa sino mang Kawal na Escolta nia; at sakaling maanyuan ninyo, na ibig pa niang mangahasa at manampal uli sa sino mang Secretario ng Pamahalaan o sa sino mang Tauhan ng Presidencia ng Republika, ay Arrestuhin agad at alsan ng sandata ang kanyang Escolta.”
"AT SA AMING PAGKAALIS ng ilang Guardia kong Alabarderos, sa Kabanatuan, ng ika 3 ng Junio, ay tumigil muna kami sa Factoria o San Isidro, dating Cabecera ng Nueva Ecija, at madalian kong ipinahanap ang Columna ng Brigada ng Heneral Gregorio del PIlar, na nabalitaan kong umalis at umilag na maalsan pa sia ng Sandata ng Heneral Luna; at ng dumating ng kinabukasan, ay dalidali kaming umalis at naglakad sa boong magdamag at dumating naman kami ng naninikat na ang araw sa Kuartel Heneral sa Banban, Tarlak.
"At sa aming pagkadating na yon, ay agad sumaayos ang mga Taliba at mabuti naman ang pagkatanggap sa amin ng Heneral Venancio Concepcion, kahit parang nabigla ito sa amin, agad sumailalim sa aking Kapangyarihan at wala akong nahalatang Kilos hostil. GANITO MAN, at sa pagiingat kong mailagan ang Guerra Civil, ay pinagwatak-watak ko agad ang malaking Columnang ito ng Division Luna sa ibat ibang Brigada. AT BAGO sa araw ding ito, 5 Junio, ay Tinelegramahan ko ang Heneral Antonio Luna, sa Kuartel Heneral nia sa Bayanbang-Bautista, Pangasinan, na humarap agad sa akin, sa Tarlak, Tarlak. Subhali, sa kinabukasan ay tumanggap naman ako ng isang Telegrama ng Gobernador Politico Militar ng Plaza sa Kabanatuan, Nueva Ecija, at ipinagbibigay alam ang sakunang nanyari sa pagkamatay ng Heneral Antonio Luna at ng Coronel Pako Roman." (marked pages 17 and 18, Unpublished notes of Emilio Aguinaldo, originally kept by Felisa Diokno and now in possession of Elizabeth Angsioco)And here is the author's translation to English:
As the Presidency of the Philippine Republic had been driven by the enemy – the Americans - to Cabanatuan, Nueva Ecija, I received during the first days of June the telegram of General Luna that he will come to confer with me; and because I knew that he was set on implementing his proposed Golpe de Estado (or coup d'etat ) against the government of the Republic during the visit; because I know that the coup will lead to a civil war, or a murderous conflict among countrymen, a war that will be difficult to prevent even if it is secretly executed; and because of past experience with the temperamental General Luna, I thought it wise to avoid him and be extra careful and did not answer his telegram; given what he has taught me from past experience here in the office of the presidency in Cabanatuan, from that time when he stormed the meeting of the cabinet with half a platoon of soldiers and disrupted the session and, without regard to my presence, he slapped the Secretary of State, Hon. Felipe Buencamino, simply because he was an autonomist and did not stop in spite of my shouts, and I had to come over to him to restrain him. So, instead of answering his telegram I put on my Captain-General uniform which I have never used because my intention was to make a surprise visit to the Luna Division in Bamban Tarlac and the soldiers may not respect my authority if they see me in civilian clothes. Before I left, I gave instructions to the officer of the guard, Capt. Pedro Janolino, that if General Luna arrives on June 5 he (Janolino) should tell General Luna that he could not bring along any soldier in going up the office of the presidency, and if he senses that General Luna might again harass or slap any of the cabinet members or any employee of the government of the Philippine Republic that he should arrest Luna and disarm his soldiers.
After I left Cabanatuan with some of the presidential guards on June 3 we made a stopover at Factoria or San Isidro, the old capital of Nueva Ecija and immediately sought the column of the brigade of General Gregorio del Pilar who I learned also left to avoid being disarmed by General Luna; and when they arrived the following day we hurriedly embarked on our journey, walking the whole night, and arrived in Bamban, Tarlac at dawn. The guards immediately lined up in a formation and we were well-received by General Venancio Concepcion who placed himself under my authority, without showing any sign of hostility, although he was somewhat surprised. With my eye on preventing a civil war, I broke up the huge column of General Luna and distributed them into various brigades. And then on this date, June 5, I sent a telegram to General Luna at his headquarters in Bayambang-Bautista, Pangasinan to report to me in Tarlac, Tarlac. However, on the following day, I received a telegram from the politico-military Governor of Plaza in Cabanatuan, Nueva Ecija, informing me of the accident that caused the death of General Antonio Luna and Colonel Paco Roman.
The foregoing narration essentially jibes with similar series of events contained in the books of Augusto de Viana, "Stories Barely Told", New Day Publishers, Quezon City, 2013, found on pages 204-206 and Dr. Emmanuel Franco Calairo's "Saloobin", Cavite Historical Society, 2002, in pages 33-35, which must have been provided the authors out of the same sources but it is strange that there are differences in the month and dates of some details.
Aguinaldo had no Motive to Kill Luna
If Aguinaldo really wanted to kill Luna, it would not be in his residence but on the battlefield and blame it on the Americans. Here is Aguinaldo making this assertion, viz:
"If I had wanted to have Luna murdered, do you think I would have been foolish enough to have him liquidated right in my headquarters and so draw the public suspicion on me? It was easy to have him killed by the simple expedient of ordering my loyal men to shoot him in the midst of battle and then blame the Americans for his death." (Saulo[Rewriting], 28)
President Aguinaldo had no motive to kill General Luna. He gave him a rank in the army over and above the senior officers of the revolution who were uneasy about the appointment, but he insisted and prevailed upon them anyway, some of which were his own relatives. He explained his decision as follows:
"I took Luna and named him undersecretary of war with the rank of brigadier general because we were short of capable military leaders. Practically all of them had originally recruited their own soldiers from among their tenants and neighbors, and the soldiers often obeyed no one else. While most of our officers were men of intelligence and courage they were generally incapable of large commands. ...Neither, indeed, did Luna go to a military school, for he was a pharmacist by training, but in addition to his undeniable valor, he was an avid student of military theory and history. Not only was he our ablest commander but also he had the foresight and ability to operate a military school with which he trained most of our officers. We needed him to keep our forces as a coordinated unit. And we needed even his terrible temper to impose discipline on our unschooled army." (Saulo[Rewriting], 16)
An analysis as late as this time of this unfortunate event in our history would bring out these thoughts that boggle the mind:
1, If Aguinaldo masterminded the killing of Luna, why did he not prepare for it? First, there was no reinforcement of the undermanned guards. He knew that Luna usually traveled with an escort of a cavalry unit although at that time he left them behind before crossing a river.
2. Aguinaldo did not send his wife and mother to a safe place. Of course, he would know that the headquarters could turn into a war zone and risk the life of his loved ones and he would not be around to protect them IF he had designs on Luna’s life.
3. Luna proceeded to Cabanatuan only with his aide as they went up to the President’s office. This could mean that Luna was expecting to have a one-on-one with Aguinaldo on an important matter. Could it be because he was really the one who sought an audience with Aguinaldo? These actions of both Luna and Aguinaldo clearly prove that there was no premeditation or intent to hurt one another.
4. Luna's body bore more than forty wounds, an expression of contempt and extreme hatred of those who attacked him, compared to Colonel Roman who was felled by a single bullet to the chest. There is no denying that the Caviteno soldiers hated Luna for a myriad of reasons: they were singled out as the cause of defeat in the battle of Caloocan, their unit was humiliated in front of the troops, and their officers stripped of their ranks and sent to jail, their brigade was ordered disbanded, and their wives and children were horsewhipped by Luna out of a military train. General Jose Alejandrino, a friend and confidant of Luna who witnessed the horsewhipping incident, said: "I would not be surprised if later some of them took part in the plot in Cabanatuan.".
5. Janolino and his soldiers appear to have gone unpunished. However, a court-martial was prepared for them as can be gleaned from the official government report on June 8, 1899, which says: “...Immediately thereupon the Military Court Martial took the proper steps and is now conducting the preliminary proceedings ...” (Kalaw[politics], 211), but the proceedings were not completed. And this failure had become a subject of speculation. Some say it is proof that Aguinaldo was involved because he did not pursue the punishment of the perpetrators. On the other hand, with the full force of the American offensive demolishing every conceivable defense that the Republican Army could muster, gobbling up territory after territory, the exigencies of the war at the time had to be considered. From all indications, however, Janolino and his soldiers were removed from services as members of the Presidential Guards.
6. Dona Trinidad Famy, mother of President Aguinaldo, had no clue on what happened. She was said to have come out of the convent window and shouted: "Why did you kill the General. Didn't you recognize him? You re all bad men." (De Viana[I-Stories], 108-109)
Conclusion
In any case, what is evidently ignored by critics of Aguinaldo is his frame of mind, his focus while in pursuit of his goal of independence and self-government for the country. Admiral Dewey along with William Bray, Rounseville Wildman, and Felipe Agoncillo had emphasized to Aguinaldo the need to show the world that the Filipinos are civilized and worthy of independence and self-government. This Aguinaldo took to heart, believing in its legitimacy and soundness. In fact, he toed the line as shown by the humane treatment of both the Spanish and American prisoners of war and ordering the stop to summary killings of violators of military edicts that General Luna had formally authorized and pursued.
Applying this premise in the present case now, it would seem inconceivable that Aguinaldo would have General Luna murdered or even encouraged such murder because that would be anachronistic to the years of sacrifice and the blood spilled in fighting for independence and self-government. The murder of Luna with him as the architect would be taken to mean as an act of savagery. This would have confirmed the allegations by America and the western powers that Filipinos were savages, unable to settle their differences in a civilized manner, and, therefore, were unfit to govern themselves. Surely, Aguinaldo was more the wiser and would not have crossed the line.
A coherent pattern is now forming to the effect that those who continue to blame Aguinaldo for the death of General Antonio Luna similarly do so for the death of Andres Bonifacio. Doing so serves their purpose of discrediting Aguinaldo in order that his great contributions to the formation of this nation are not recognized, hence they can, therefore, give the credit to somebody else.
However, a thorough and objective analysis of existing evidence will lead to the conclusion that General Antonio Luna's death was brought about by his own temper and high-handedness. He incurred numerous enemies among the officers and members of the revolutionary forces especially those who have fought with Gen. Aguinaldo from the start of the revolution. Gen. Emilio Aguinaldo, the favorite whipping boy of those who want to revise history, was innocent of the crime he is continuously accused of.
Sources:
1. De Viana, Augusto: "The I Stories - The Events in the Philippine Revolution and Filipino American war as told by Eyewitness and Participants," UST Publishing House University of Santo Tomas Espana, Manila, 20062. Foreman, John: "The Philippines," Manila, Filipiniana Book Guild, 1980, University of Michigan Library 2005,http://name.umdl.umich.edu/AAQ5315.0001.001
3. Kalaw, Maximo M.: "The development of Philippine politics," Manila: P.I., Oriental commercial company, inc, 1927, University of Michigan Library 2005, http://name.umdl.umich.edu/AFJ2233.0001.001
6. United States Philippine Commission[1899-1900]: "Report of the Philippine Commission to the President.: January 31, 1900," Vol 1, No.2, Washington, Government Printing Office, 1900-1901, University of Michigan Library 2005, http://name.umdl.umich.edu/aex9637.0001.002
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