Mabini on Aguinaldo

by Angelo J. Aguinaldo

Said Mabini of Aguinaldo:

 "The Revolution failed because it was badly directed, because its leader won his post not with praiseworthy but with blameworthy acts, because instead of employing the most useful men of the nation he jealously discarded them. Believing that the advance of the people was no more than his own personal advance, he did not rate men according to their ability, character and patriotism but according to the degree of friendship or kinship binding him to them; and wanting to have favorites willing to sacrifice themselves for him, he showed himself lenient to their faults. Because he disdained the people, he could not but fall like an idol of wax melting in the heat of adversity. May we never forget such a terrible lesson learned at the cost of unspeakable sufferings!"
(Source: http://j.mp/Malacanang)

Aguinaldo, the leader Mabini was referring to, got elected in absentia. Being chief flag officer of the Magdalo Council, he commanded the revolutionary force which was pinned down in a seesaw battle with Spanish General Jose Lachambre’s army in Pasong Santol. He refused to leave the battle front until Crispulo, his older brother, vowed to take his place so he, together with Mariano Trias could take their oath as elected President and vice-president. The election was presided over by Magdiwang Council. Only Aguinaldo was elected among the officers of the Magdalo. Crispulo died in the Battle of Pasong Santol.  That’s not blameworthy. Mabini did not even see action during the first phase of the Revolution.

On Aguinaldo’s jealously discarding some useful men:

Dencio Yuson, an observer, has this to say: "The Full Story of Aguinaldo's Capture" by Lazaro Segovia (1969ed). The appendix contains an article by American journalist O.K Davis which appeared in Everybody's Magazine Vol.V Aug. 1901 that contains the remarkable unpublished "Aguinaldo Resignation Letter". I will excerpt the following from the said article:

In December, 1898, at the time when the Filipinos were in the hey-day of their power, Aguinaldo wrote a letter resigning the office of the president of the revolutionary government. For eight months they had been perfecting their organization and increasing their strength... They understood, both leaders and people, that the conflict with the Americans was approaching rapidly. 

He (Aguinaldo) went on to say... that the crisis was too great for him to deal with, that it required a man of greater strength and better education, an abler and older man to lead them through the difficulties which were before them... and he asked the people to give him as 'Aguinaldo', release from the office of the president, and allow him to resign in favor of a man more fitted than he to guide them.

 his letter was never circulated. Mabini and his colleagues discovered that Aguinaldo had written it and they succeeded in persuading or compelling him to suppress it. THE TRUTH IS THAT AGUINALDO WAS THE IDOL OF THE FILIPINOS, THOUSANDS OF WHOM WOULD FOLLOW HIM BLINDLY WITH ABSOLUTE CONFIDENCE. IF THAT LETTER HAD BEEN MADE PUBLIC BY AGUINALDO THE INSURRECTION WOULD NOT HAVE BEEN POSSIBLE. 

Too bad, that the whole letter was not published along with the article. This letter proves that Aguinaldo was not the scheming, power hungry TRAPO politician, an image prevailing today.

 Mabini may have also referred to himself when he said: “because instead of employing the most useful men of the nation he jealously discarded them.” He resigned from the Cabinet due to intrigues and other members of the Cabinet began seeing him as Gen. Aguinaldo’s “dark chamber.”

Mabini opposed the declaration of Philippine Independence on June 12, 1898 and instead suggested the reorganization of the government. Aguinaldo, however, felt otherwise. He believed that the proclamation would serve as a great rallying point.

Felipe Agoncillo recommended Apolinario Mabini and  Antonio Luna. Mabini became Prime Minister; Antonio Luna was promoted several times even to the rank of lieutenant general. So, that may have been the favoritism Mabini noted.

Said Aguinaldo of Luna in an interview conducted by Vicente Albano Pacis (A Second Look at America, New York, 1957):

“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 open and operate a military school with which he trained most of our officers. We need him to keep our forces as a coordinated unit. And we needed even his terrible temper to impose discipline on our unschooled army.”

And Mabini had reservations to Luna’s appointment. He event wrote Emilio Aguinaldo on March 7, 1899 (a month after the start of the Philippine-American War) asking the latter NOT to give to Gen. Antonio Luna the position of Secretary of War and calling the general "a despot" and not fit to command an Army ("Kundi bagay sa mando ng Hokbo ay lalong hindi sa oficina, sapagkat despota").

It is not surprising that Mabini changed his opinion of Aguinaldo when he was exiled in Guam as he expressed in his Memoir “La Revoluciion Filipina.” He blamed everybody whom he thought abandoned him. Also, he was likely influenced by Artemio Ricarte who was also with him in Guam. Ricarte also had an axe to grind against Aguinaldo.

Credits: Dencio Yuson, Dr. Vic Torres, Alfredo B. Saulo.