Apolinario Mabini, the stellar individual who was also called as the Brains and Conscience of the Philippine Revolution. Known for his extraordinary intellect, political prowess, and rhetoric, Mabini's efforts and ideas on governance impacted the Philippines' fight for independence throughout the following century, despite his tragic death in 1903. Mabini was born into a peasant family and attended Colegio de San Juan de Letran College in Manila before graduating with a law degree from the University of Santo Tomás in 1894. In August 1896, during a nationalist insurgency, he joined the armies of General Emilio Aguinaldo and frequently became his right-hand man. When the Spanish-American War began in 1898, Mabini proposed an alliance with the United States as a method to gain independence from Spain. Mabini was able to address Aguinaldo from the Philippines, who governed as an autocrat, on July 23, 1898. He compelled the new president to establish a revolutionary administration based on a convention rather than a dictatorship. An independent republic was declared with Aguinaldo as its president during a convention conducted in the market town of Malolos in September and October 1898; Mabini drafted its constitution, which paralleled that of the United States. When the US decided to conquer the Philippines, Mabini joined Aguinaldo in renewing the battle for independence. After refusing to swear allegiance to the United States, he was captured by US soldiers in December 1899 and exiled to Guam. He wasn't allowed to come home until a few months before he died. Finally, while in exile in Guam from 1901 to 1903, Mabini wrote La Revolucion Filipina, a memoir in which he criticized Aguinaldo's leadership and pointed out flaws in the Revolution. He returned to Manila in 1903 but died of cholera a few months later at 38 years old. Mabini's wisdom and pragmatism should not be misinterpreted as defeatism; rather, they reflect his unwavering trust in the nation. He validated that the Philippines had always been a country. Regardless of sovereignty or republic conferred by conquerors; it had constructed a true nation through battles and sacrifices. And it was only natural to have a legitimate government with powerful democratic institutions. Mabini understood that success was inescapable.
Apolinario Mabini | Filipino political leader. (n.d.). Encyclopedia Britannica. Retrieved September 26, 2021, from https://www.britannica.com/biography/Apolinario-Mabini
La Revolucion Filipina Apolinario Mabini Pdf. (n.d.). Stealthever. Retrieved September 26, 2021, from https://stealthever.weebly.com/la-revolucion-filipina-apolinario-mabini-pdf.html