Was Aguinaldo Hungry for Power?

President Emilio Aguinaldo had been accused of being power-hungry.  This accusation is being used to fortify his alleged involvement in the death of General Antonio Luna and Supremo Andres Bonifacio, proof, his detractors say, he could not tolerate a potential rival.  

This accusation is baseless and has no truth in it.  The fact is Aguinaldo had exhibited humility and preferred the position of being the head of the military rather than occupy the highest position in the organizations he had been associated with.  Here are some key events of Aguinaldo's career that relate to this issue: 

(1) When the Katipunan Magdalo council of the province of Cavite was established in April 1896, Aguinaldo did not seek the presidency.  His cousin, Baldomero Aguinaldo, took the position of president of the council.  Aguinaldo chose the position of "Teniente Abanderado" (Lieutenant Flag Officer), or the head of the military arm. (Ronquillo, 29 and 137; Alvarez[Recalling],23; Corpuz, 68 and 103)

(2) In December 1896 a meeting was called between the Magdalo and the Magdiwang councils to establish a revolutionary government. (Magdiwang was the other Katipunan council in Cavite, there was a third, Mapagtiis, which merged with the Magdiwang). Aguinaldo suggested Edilberto Evangelista, the engineer who graduated from the University of Ghent in Belgium and builder of the trenches and fortifications in Magdalo occupied towns of Cavite, to run for the presidency, although nothing was accomplished during that meeting due to disruption occasioned by the arrival of Josephine Bracken and Rizal's siblings, Trining and Paciano. (Ronquillo, 29 and 143)

(3) In the Tejeros convention on March 22, 1897, held at San Francisco de Malabon, Aguinaldo did not attend because he preferred to stay on the battlefield in Pasong Santol, Dasmarinas, to make preparations for the impending attack by the Spaniards. Baldomero Aguinaldo was able to send only 8 delegates to the convention (Ronquillo, 29). Although the Magdalos were heavily outnumbered, Aguinaldo was elected in absentia as president, together with Magdiwang candidates who won most of the remaining positions, including the position of Director of Interior, won by Bonifacio.(May, 94-109; Corpuz, 118-123; Alvarez, 104-108; Ronquillo, 70).

(4) When he was fetched to take his oath of office, he refused to leave the battlefield. Only after his brother, Crispulo, volunteered to take his place and vowed to defend Pasong Santol did Aguinaldo reluctantly leave his command. Unfortunately, his brother was killed during the ensuing battle that same day. (Ronquillo, 80)

(5) In mid-December 1898, Aguinaldo resigned his position as president of the first Philippine Republic, saying he was not worthy of the lofty executive office on account of his limited education. His resignation was couched in a form of a request addressed to the Filipino people to give him a special Christmas gift, and that gift was to allow him to retire and let someone else take over his position. He had this resignation printed in a pamphlet of 5,000 copies which he asked the secretary of the cabinet to distribute in all towns. Apolinario Mabini secretly ordered the seizure and burning of all copies and Felipe Buencamino implored on Aguinaldo not to let anyone read it because it will cause the death of the revolution. (Saulo[Rewriting], 17; Ronquillo, 70-71)

(6) During the Filipino-American War, while the fighting was raging, the Schurman Peace Commission offered Aguinaldo a yearly bonus of $5,000  and leadership of the Tagalogs and authority to select from his men those who will occupy minor municipal positions, in exchange for the restoration of peace under American administration.  With all the inducements, Aguinaldo rejected the offer and insisted upon immediate self-government. (Van Meter, 151-152)

In contrast, Bonifacio was the opposite.  

The following events reveal Bonifacio's inclination to gain power, keep it and impose his authority:

(1) Bonifacio maneuvered to expel the first two presidents of the Katipunan - Deodato Arellano and Roman Basa.  He instigated the expulsion of Deodato Arellano, the first president of the Katipunan, who was replaced by Roman Basa. In turn, Basa was similarly expelled and replaced by Bonifacio after the former inquired about the condition of the funds of the Katipunan under the custody of Bonifacio, who was then the Fiscal or Treasurer. (St Clair, 44)

(2) As soon as he arrived in Cavite in December 1896,  he accepted the conferment by the Magdiwang Council of the title "Haring Bayan", or King, with Mariano Alvarez, as "Pangalawang Haring Bayan", or Virrey, or second in command. (Ronquillo, 140; Corpuz, 103)  Bonifacio was already Supremo of the Katipunan.  Why did he accept this new title of "Haring Bayan"?

(3) When he learned of the intention of the Magdalo Council to merge the Magdalo and Magdiwang and replace the Katipunan with a new government, Bonifacio immediately appointed a new set of officers for the merged councils of Cavite with Mariano Alvarez as president and Baldomero Aguinaldo as Vice President.  Aguinaldo was appointed Lieutenant-General reporting to the General-in-Chief, Santiago Alvarez. Aguinaldo asked if the new set of officers is the will of the people and Bonifacio replied that it is not, but it is only his own and added that being Supremo he alone has the authority and he alone must be followed. (Ronquillo, 552)

(4) A day after he lost the elections in Tejeros (March 23,1897), he claimed the election was marred with irregularities and used this accusation to convince the Magdiwang to sign a document called the "Acta de Tejeros" to demand that the elected officials vacate their offices. His demand was flatly rejected on the basis that the election was later confirmed and validated by the delegates after Bonifacio left. ( Ronquillo, 93; Richardson, 320-336)

(5) Failing in his demand, he convinced the Magdiwang and two Magdalo generals that President Aguinaldo was going to surrender the revolution to the Spaniards, and together they launched a coup d'etat on April 19, 1897, to unseat President Emilio Aguinaldo which was formalized in a document called the "Acta de Naic". Unfortunately for Bonifacio, his lie about Aguinaldo's alleged intention was disproved, his co-plotters abandoned him, and the coup was nipped in the bud by Aguinaldo himself. (Delos Santos, 47; Richardson, 355-377; Ronquillo, 106-109) 

In the final analysis, neither of the two is the hero or the villain. Both are great heroes in their unique patriotic achievements. 

Aguinaldo took over the leadership of the revolution against Spain that was started by Bonifacio and succeeded in establishing a republic and self-government after declaring Filipino independence. He defended the first Filipino republic against American annexation and occupation which caused America to spend $400 million, deploy 75,000 troops, suffer 4,000 war casualties, and three years of fighting a brutal war that also exacted 20,000 deaths of Filipino soldiers and over 200,000 civilian casualties. Aguinaldo's undying contribution consisted of two significant legacies – the national anthem and national flag.

Bonifacio, on the other hand, while he had shown to be too protective of his position as Supremo of the Katipunan, yet he was truly a great hero, not because he led the rebellion against Spain (similar acts of rebellion were led by such men as Francisco Dagohoy, Diego Silang, Leon Kilat, etc. decades before) but rather he was instrumental in awakening the patriotism of the Filipino people using his tremendous organizing talent and mastery of grass-root literary expression. The men who went through the tutelage of Bonifacio (with the help of Emilio Jacinto) – e.g., Licerio Geronimo, Luciano San Miguel, Macario Sakay and several others - were the ones who formed the backbone of the revolution that spilled all the way through the war against the Americans. They dedicated themselves to the hope of delivering the Filipino people from foreign domination and to the aspiration to be free and independent, unmindful of the catastrophe that could befall them and their loved ones.

SOURCES: 

1. Alvarez, Santiago V.: “Recalling the Revolution, Memoirs of a Filipino General,” translation by Paula Carolina S. Malay and Introduction by Ruby R. Paredes, published in cooperation with Ateneo de Manila University Press, University of Wisconsin Center for Southeast Asian Studies, 1992

2. Corpuz, Onofre D.: “Saga and Triumph – The Filipino Revolution Against Spain,” University of the Philippines Press and Cavite Historical Society, 2002

3. De los Santos, Epifanio: "Andres Bonifacio," pages 34-58, The Philippine Review (Revista Filipina), G. Nieva: Manila, P.I., January 1918, University of Michigan Library 2005, http://name.umdl.umich.edu/ACP0898.0003.001

4. May, Glenn Anthony: "Inventing a Hero, The Posthumous Re-Creation of Andres Bonifacio", New Day Publishers, University of Wisconsin, Center for Southeast Asian Studies, 1996

5. Richardson, Jim: “The Light of Liberty, Documents and Studies on the Katipunan, 1892-1897,” Ateneo de Manila University Press, 2013

6. Ronquillo, Carlos: "Ilang Talata Tungkol sa Panghihimagsik ng 1896-1897," edited by Isagani Medina, University of the Philippines Press, 1996

7. St. Clair, Francis: “The Katipunan: or, The rise and fall of the Filipino commune,” Manila: Tip. "Amigos del pais,", 1902, University of Michigan Library 2005, http://name.umdl.umich.edu/afj2294.0001.001

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