According
to the French Consular
Dispatches on the
Philippine Revolution translated by
Dr. Luisa T. Camagay, (1997) “ Since
01 January , there have been daily
encounters in the province of Manila, Bulacan, Pampanga, Laguna, Batangas,
Bataan, Zambales with mixed results for the Spaniards.”
This report includes the uprising in the neighbor-towns of
Taguig and Pateros but was never elaborated into details. Unfortunately
the memories of
valor from the
people of these
two towns are
neglected in the
course of the
history of Philippine Revolution.
Also, it is important to mention that General Emilio Aguinaldo, months before
elected as president was also the key role player in the battle in
Taguig-Pateros which took place on January 1-2, 1897, a battle in the province
of Manila.
The geographical background of Taguig
and Pateros is vital in understanding the whole context of the battle. Taguig
and Pateros were both towns under the province of Manila when the revolution
started. Taguig (Tagiik) is a coastal town located on the west of Laguna de
Bay. It is surrounded by the towns of Paranaque and Makati to the west, and
Muntinlupa to the south. Pasig river serves to be its boundary from Pasig and
Pateros on its immediate north. Pateros is known for its balut-industry is
located along the Pasig river and traversed by various rivers,which physical
features make it suitable for domestication of ducks. In short, the towns of Pateros and Taguig
like Pasig are gateway of traders in
the western provinces (Manila) and
east (Laguna). It also have
a relative distance between towns of Cavite like Bacoor, Imus and Dasmarinas
connected by Muntinlupa or Las Piñas.
On
the evening of
December 30, 1896, rebels
from Pateros and Taguig
traveled to Imus, Cavite
to seek General Emilio
Aguinaldo’s assistance. The
next day, December
31, Gen. Aguinaldo and
two of his
closest generals, Mariano Noriel and Pio del Pilar, made an overnight
march to Taguig with his men. The occupation of the two towns would mean that
the revolutionary forces would control the trade and communication between
Manila and other lake shore towns.
The rebels were met with heavy fire in
Taguig. In response, Gen. Aguinaldo ordered the encirclement of Spanish forces
who sought refuge inside the Santa Ana
Church. While the Spaniards were trapped
inside the church and waiting for reinforcements, Gen. Aguinaldo assigned Gen.
Noriel in Taguig and Gen. del Pilar in Napindan to monitor the enemies’
movements to bring military aid to the besieged Spaniards. Gen. Aguinaldo then
went straight to Pateros and successfully repelled all enemy support from Pasig
(across Pasig River) and a Spanish steamer from Manila. All of these initial
victories were attributed to General Aguinaldo’s knowledge of turning the
revolutionary forces’ position a great advantage.
Aguinaldo took Pateros’ convento as a
temporary barracks for the night and had a meaningful conversation with the
Parish Priest; Fray Tomas Espejo. An unexpected incident took place when Predicador General de San Agustin, Fray
Anselmo Corcuera grabbed a rifle and point it to the general. However, Gen.
Aguinaldo was saved from an imminent death after the curra parroco, immediately stopped Fray Corcuera and said:
-
Suelta el riple, hombre, yo respondo por tu vida en estos momemntos, nada nos
pasara, Ten encuenta, que Emilio Aguinaldo, y su gente
todos son caballeros”
(bitiwan
mo ang baril,
tao ka, sinasagutan
ko ang buhay
mo sa mga
sandaling ito, wala
tayong dapat ipangamba, alamin mo
na si Emilio Aguinaldo at ang mga tao niya ay pawang mararangal)
Flores, Pateros at ang Paghihimagsik
nito: 1928 P 60
After
the confrontation, Fray Espejo had the opportunity to have a meaningful
conversation over a dinner with Gen.
Aguinaldo. In his Historia o relacion
circunstanciada del generalissimo de Cavite Emilio Aguinaldo por los Pueblos
de Taguig y Pateros, Fray Espejo has
some good words about the general which also mentioned Andres
Bonifacio.
“He
is of humble character, but energetic when he gives orders to his subordinates.
He was a student of San Juan de Letran and speaks Spanish fairly well. He is young and of good build, dressed in
rayadillo like our troops and carries
no inisgnia, of
any kind. He
laid great emphasis
on the good
treatment accorded the prisoners in Cavite, referring no doubt
to those in his hands, as those in the hands of Andres Bonifacio were no so
treated”
After having dinner, Aguinaldo went back to the lines
with his men. Hostilities continued the next day (January 2) in the
barrios of Santa
Ana in Taguig
and other places
like Mamangkat, Sta. Ana (Pateros) Suwaboy,
Libingang Ingles. Another reinforcement from Manila (two lanchas) was
repelled by Aguinaldo’s forces from Malapad na Bato (Pateros).
The revolutionaries’ success proved to be temporary.
In the same day, afternoon, a strong Spanish relief group led by Gen. Francisco
Galvis arrived in Napindan and successfully forced the Filipinos to withdraw.
French Consular French
Consular Dispatches on the Philippine Revolution states that:
“After
a long and
hard fight, a
column of reinforcements sent
by Gen, (Francisco)
Galvis came to the
assistant of the soldiers and chased off more than 4 000 insurgents.”
The main objective
of the attack
is not only
to free Pateros-Taguig but
to take Pasig
river as a
gateway to Laguna de Bay. Controlling
the main thoroughfare
between Intramuros and
Laguna de Bay
will give the Filipinos an edge over the two important
elements: trade and communication. With Pasig, Taguig and Pateros under Aguinaldo’s
forces will prevent
the Cavite blockade
that Polavieja’s planning.
Such attack will
also isolate Laguna from enemies military aid.
After the battle,
the line of
communication between the
Spanish forces through
Fray Tomas Espejo,
and the revolutionary forces with
General Emilio Aguinaldo was opened. Fray Espejo, encouraged Gen. Aguinaldo to
surrender the revolution. But th general eagerly refused to accept it as
written in one of his replies to the parish priest:
…My
subjects and I are seeking the holiest of our rights, which is the liberty of
our race from the slavery in which it has been oppressed for more that three
centuries” Therefore we are resolved to sacrifice our lives until that day
comes when we
can hear from
the lips of
our compatriots the
happy phrase: “Viva
Filipinas!” A Philippines
separated forever from Spain, and won by the heroism of its inhabitants.
.
(Achutegui, S.J., Pedro
S. de, and
Miguel A. Bernad,
S.J. Aguinaldo and the
Revolution of 1896:
A Documentary History 1972.)
The battle of Taguig and Pateros proves that General
Emilio Aguinaldo’s victories in Cavite allowed him to be known as a great
revolutionary leader. Hope is what General Aguinaldo brought to the towns as
they heard of victories that they never heard and people never had with
Bonifacio. The act of people from the two respective towns reflects
what happened in
the election in
Tejeros when majority
of the people
decided that a
great revolutionary leader with evident tactics and strategy should take
the wheel to independence.
