ON the afternoon of Sunday, June 12,
1898, from the front windows of his house in Cavite el Viejo (now Kawit),
Cavite, Gen. Emilio Aguinaldo proclaimed Philippine independence from Spanish
rule through cries of “Viva la
independencia” (Long live independence). The event was witnessed by
government officials, military officers, soldiers, and town residents. As a
written proof of the proclamation, a document titled Acta de la proclamación de independencia
del pueblo Filipino (Act of Proclamation of
Independence of the Filipino People) was signed by more than 100 persons.
In his popular book The Philippines: A Past Revisited (Quezon City: Tala Publishing Services, 1975), historian Renato Constantino claimed that what was
proclaimed on June 12, 1898, was not full independence but a protectorate. Protectorate means a
territory, colony, or nation under the sovereignty or rule of another nation.
Below is Constantino’s affirmation on p. 211 of his book.
“Part
of the declaration says:
“And summoning as witness of the
rectitude of our intentions, the Supreme Judge of the Universe, and under the
protection of the Mighty and Humane North American nation, we proclaim and
solemnly declare, in the name and by authority of the inhabitants of all these
Philippine Islands, that they are and have the right to be free and
independent, that they be free from all submission to the Crown of Spain, that
every political tie between the two is and must be completely severed and
annulled. . . .
“As the passage indicates, while the
June 12 statement was a declaration of independence from Spain, it put the
United States in the special position of protector of that independence.”
For
Constantino, the passage “under the protection of the Mighty and Humane North
American Nation” meant that the United States became the protector of
Philippine independence, and so the heading of this subject in his book is “Protectorate Proclaimed” (p. 211).
Misinterpretation
What
an erroneous interpretation.
If
that passage and the entire Acta are
read carefully, it would clearly be seen that it was not independence which was
under American protection, but we: the signers of the document or
the Filipino revolutionary leaders. While summoning God as witness and while
under the protection of the United States, they (the signers) declared
independence. It’s very clear, isn’t it?
And summoning as witness of the rectitude
of our intentions, the Supreme Judge of the Universe, and under the protection
of the Mighty and Humane North American nation, we proclaim and solemnly declare … .
There
was no protectorate proclaimed. The Acta
itself clarified that the Philippine Islands, “like all free and independent
States, … have the full authority to declare war, conclude peace, celebrate
mercantile treaties, contract alliances, regulate commerce, and realize all
other acts and things that all Independent States have the right to do.”
The
phrase all free and independent states
put the Philippines on an equal footing—not under—with all free
and independent nations of the world, including the United States.
Aguinaldo
clarified that in his proclamation of January 5, 1899:
“I sincerely declare that never in
Singapore, Hong Kong, or even here in the Philippines have I ever favored any
treaty, by word or in writing, to recognize the sovereignty of America in this
land (La Independencia, January 5,
1899, p. 1).”
Below
is my published essay on this matter.
