Emilio Aguinaldo: Mga Gunita Ng Himagsikan
Learning Objectives
1. To get to know who is Emilio Aguinaldo and his contribution to Philippine History.
2. To analyze what Emilio Aguinaldo: Mga Gunita Ng Himagsikan tried to convey and
roles in past events until the present.
3. To determine and apply the knowledge of these writings in everyday life and
expand the idea of Philippine History which can ignite the Nationalism and
patriotism of a student.
Who is Emilio Aguinaldo?
1. Born on March 22, 1869 in Kawit, Cavite
2. He was the seventh among the Children of Carlos Jamir Aguinaldo and
Trinidad Famy Aguinaldo
3. Attended high school at Colegio de San Juan de Letran but had to stop in
his 4th Year because of his father’s death.
4. Kapitan Miong, Heneral Miong
5. In 1895, at the age of 25, he became Kawit’s first “gobernadorcillo
capitan municipal.”
Aguinaldo became a Freemason during this year, joining Pilar Lodge No. 203,
Imus, Cavite with
The codename “Colon.” He also joined the Katipunan and used the nom de
guerre “Magdalo” in
honor of Mary Magdalene.
6. Become the first and youngest President of the Country by being
President of the First Philippine Republic.
7. His presidency was cut short when he was captured by the American
Soldiers in Palanan, Isabela where he pledged his loyalty to the American
government dissolving the First Republic.
8. March 7 1895 BATTLES FOUGHT
Philippine Revolution
Spanish – American war
Philippine – American war
9. He continued to serve the government politically under the succeeding
administrations. President Elpidio Quirino appointed him as a member of
the Philippines Council of State in 1950.
10.Died of coronary thrombosis on February 6, 1964. He was 94 years old.
Historical Background of Mga Gunitang Himagsikan
11.Produced the first volume of his memoirs between 1928 and 1946.
12.Include an account from Aguinaldo’s birth and early years until the
signing of the Biak
Na -BatoTreaty in 1897.
13.
14.It was at the end of 1963 that, after much deliberation, decided to
publish his memoirs. It was translated by Luz Colendrino Bucu, the
Secretary of the Graduate School of Education and Faculty member of
the University of the East.
15. Mga Gunita ng Himagsikan was officially released to the public in 1967.
16.Aguinaldo scribbled a lot in his old age between 1928 and 1946, he
produced in long hand the first volume of his memoirs, “Mga Gunita ng
Himagsikan 1964”, translated from the original Tagalog as “Memoirs of
the Revolution” (1967). In his preface, Aguinaldo says the memoirs were
based on a diary he kept, documents he preserved, and family lore
gathered from his elders. We do not know whether this diary is extant or
whether a promised second volume of the memoirs was fully written out.
All we have is an account of his birth and early years, ending with the
1897 Treaty of Biak-na-Bato.
17.The second volume would cover the resumption of the Philippines.
Revolution against Spain and the Philippine-American War. Aguinaldo
wanted to correct history by referring to the historian’s confused
accounts of the beginning of the Revolution:
“Except for those that were written other details had been forgotten. Many
showed inconsistencies because not all sources were documented due to a
lack of reliable references. For instance, the right day of the First Cry of
Balintawak could not be ascertained. Some say this took place on August 23,
1896, at the old Bonifacio Monument in Balitawak, others claim it happened
on August 24, 1896.”
18.Aguinaldo stated that this event took place in Balintawak but the late
historian Teodoro A.Agoncillo took the word of Pio Valenzuela and argued
for Pagadlawin. Aside from these two places, the other contenders are:
Kangkong, bahay toro, Pasong tamo, pacpac lawin and idwe are to
believe in komiks, pugad baboy.
Analysis of Some Important Parts of Memoir:
19.The memoirs contain a background regarding the two Sangguniang
Bayan namely; the Magdalo and the Magdiwang, who took a big role in
claiming the Victory of independence for the Lalawigan of Kavite against
Spain
20.It was mentioned in the primary source that the two Sangguniang Bayan
have a lot of differences in regards to their type but surely, they have
had 1 similar aim which is to claim the victory of independence for our
motherland.
21.Aguinaldo stated in the preface of this book why he wrote it:
1. To help our historians fill in the gap of the past and to connect the
scattered parts of our history; To preserve the past of our nation for the
generations to come
2. Awakening the inherent heroism and nationalistic spirit of the Filipinos
against any foreign invaders so that we may preserve our hard-earned
freedom.
3. In addition, the book shows as a whole, the cruelty of the Spaniards, the
different types of government under Aguinaldo, and even the struggles of the
Filipinos in the attainment of freedom.
Chapter 28: My Bloodiest Fight:
22.Under Aguinaldo’s command, the Filipino revolutionaries defeated the
Spanish troops in Cavite
23.The whole province of Cavite was liberated from the Spaniards.
Chapter 30: Magdiwang Council Reorganized-Cavite was liberated through the
efforts of both the Magdiwang and Magdalo.Magdiwang (monarchial):
24.King – Andres Bonifacio
25.Said to be Monarchial inform
26.Noveleta, San Francisco de Malabon, Rosario, Tanza,Naic, Ternate,
Maragondon, Magallanes,Bailen, Alfonso, Indang, and San Roque.Magdalo
(republican):
27.President: Baldomero Aguinaldo
28.Republican inform
29.Cavite el Viejo, Imus, Dasmarinas,Silang, Amadeo, Mendez, Nunez,
Bacoor, and Carmona
Chapter 38: My Election to the Presidency-Aguinaldo was at Pasong Santol in
Dasmariñas on March 22, 1897. He learned of his election as President of the new
revolutionary government,-Aguinaldo’s brother, General Crispulo Aguinaldo
persuaded him to go to Tejeros to take his oath of office. At 7:00 in the evening,
Aguinaldo, Trias, and Riego de Dios took their oaths of office.
Chapter 42: Military Court
30.Five charges were made against the Bonifacio brothers.
31.A military court was created with Colonel Jose Lipana as the presiding
judge
Chapter 44: Death of the Bonifacio Brothers
32.The Bonifacio brothers were found guilty and sentenced to death.
-Moreover, the primary source also contained the untold stories of how Andres
Bonifacio and Emilio Aguinaldo made an initial plan on how to save Dr. Jose Rizal’s
life from being executed.
- The author included in his writings the comparison between the Magdalo and
Magdiwang’s performance during wars. He mentioned that the Magdalo only won a
single battle and rarely faced battles until then. On the other hand, Magdiwang
faces battles daily and rejoices for victory.
What is Bonifacio trying to convey in his memoir?
33.He pointed out a few critical points that would eventually determine the
outcome of the Philippine Revolution. In his first few paragraphs,
specifically pages 77-82, the author emphasized the lack of firearms and
ammunition of his troops. To compensate for their lack of weapons, they
needed to steal the firearms of the Guardia Civil. This shows that the
general and his men were behind in terms of military capability.
34.Aguinaldo also pointed out the consequences of having two factions in
the society. It resulted in prejudice among the katipuneros, especially
with the supremo and the general. With this conflict between the two
factions, General Aguinaldo mentioned how incompetent the Magdiwang
faction is and that the Magdalo faction has better military success
compared to the former.
35.Also contained in the memoir was the effects of the death of Dr. Jose
Rizal in the revolution. His public execution inspired many Filipinos to
renew and heightened their sense of nationalism. However, their efforts
did not match the military capability of the Spaniards.
Importance and Significance in Philippine History.
1. The memoirs of the revolution revealed a lot of untold stories behind
Philippine history. The memoirs of the revolution also focused on the war
strategies that were developed by the Katipunans.
Emilio Aguinaldo's point of view gives a different, yet not well-known, view of
how American imperialism was established in the Philippines through the
eyes of the Philippines' first president, Emilio Aguinaldo. Aguinaldo joined
forces with the US to defeat
Spain and drove the Spanish from the islands, only to be betrayed by the
Americans.
2. Notably, Aguinaldo also worked vigorously to remove the US from the islands
and give the Philippines true independence.
3. The memoirs of the revolution revealed a lot of untold stories behind
Philippine history. It gave the readers a prior knowledge on what are the
specific events that happened during the colonization of the Spanish.
4. It also specified some details that help understand the situations of the
Filipino people under the Spanish regime.
5. Events in our minds continue to build up and as we go through we find out
that they are all connected. Since we read first the different accounts in the
Tejeros assembly we do not have any background about what happened
before that.
6. We did not know who were those people elected and we cannot thoroughly
judge the way they act, like the actions of Daniel Tirona and Andres
Bonifacio.
7. This document tells the things that those people have done before the
Tejeros assembly. We also realize that Aguinaldo is fit to be the president.
8. Hence, before the assembly he was able to win the battle in Pasong Santol
and the contra ataque in Silang and Escribano that drove the Spanish which
resulted in the resignation of Captain General Polavieja with that, Aguinaldo
had the quality that the president of the revolutionary government should
possess.
9. Additionally, this narrative reminds us how the old days began and happened
and we will be able to value our nation's contribution in committing freedom
and peace to live in this present.
10.Through this memoir, we will be able to know the sacrifices and the heart of
Filipinos possessed by our ancestors just to seek unity and independence.
References
https://www.studocu.com/ph/document/west-visayas-state-university/introduction-to-communications/
inbound-2591223765658735828/17865915
https://www.scribd.com/document/421887839/Mga-Gunita-Ng-Himagsikan-by-Emilio-Aguinaldo
https://www.studocu.com/ph/document/university-of-st-la-salle/readings-in-philippine-history/mga-
gunita-ng-himagsikan/9926647
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3PDE4xrdpKA
