What the enemy said of Mabini

Facebook is a wonderful tool in our world because it provides faces to names and turns strangers into friends. Moderating a Facebook Fan Page for some time now, I have been posting photos of people who figure in Philippine history so that through a face-name connection, they come out not just as textbook references to be memorized but real people to a new generation.

One of the photos that drew a lot of “likes” and comments was that of US general Arthur Macarthur Jr. (1845-1912), who fought in the Philippine-American War in 1899. He was military governor of the Philippines during the American occupation but did not last long enough to be remembered because he could not see eye to eye with William Howard Taft, the then civil governor. William Howard Taft is largely remembered in the Philippines for the street in Manila that still bears his name. Taft Avenue is where we find De La Salle University; it does not remind us of an obese civil governor in Manila who rose to become the 27th president of the United States (1909-1913) and, much later, its 10th chief justice (1921-1930).

It has not been well studied by historians, but the careers of men who served in the Philippines shaped US history in one way or another.

Arthur MacArthur Jr. had three sons: Arthur MacArthur III (1876-1923), who died of appendicitis; Malcolm MacArthur (1878-1883), who died of measles; and Douglas MacArthur (1880-1964), who overshadowed his father in the memory of Filipinos for a promise he made in World War II: “I shall return.” Douglas became one of the few generals of five-star rank; he was awarded the Medal of Honor, making Arthur Jr. and himself the first father-and-son Americans thus decorated. The only other father-and-son tandem to be awarded the Medal of Honor were Theodore Roosevelt Sr. and Theodore Roosevelt Jr.

Arthur MacArthur Jr. saw action in the US Indian Wars, and even participated in one of the campaigns against the Apache chief Geronimo, like Gen. Henry Lawton, who became the highest ranking  military casualty of the Philippine-American War when he was killed in San Mateo in 1899 by a sniper under the command of Gen. Licerio Geronimo.

Arthur MacArthur Jr. and William Howard Taft may have disagreed on many things, leading to the relief and transfer of MacArthur, but they agreed on one thing: that a meek paralytic named Apolinario Mabini was a threat to American rule in Manila and had to be deported to Guam. When asked by a US Senate committee investigating the Philippine-American War, Macarthur replied:

“Mabini deported as most active agitator persistently and defiantly refusing amnesty and maintaining extensive correspondence with insurgents in the field while living in Manila under protection of the US, also for offensive statements in regard to recent proclamation enforcing laws of war. His deportation absolutely essential.”

In January 1903, Taft had this to say about Mabini:

“…[A] consistent opponent of American sovereignty and a persistent inspirer of rebellion and insurrection. He was for a long time the chief adviser of Aguinaldo. He has manifested much skill and cunning in his appeals to the people of the Philippine Islands against the American government, and may be said to be the most prominent irreconcilable among the Filipinos. His physical infirmity, of course, has appealed to the imagination of the Filipinos and to the pity of all who have seen him. His consistent course of opposition to the Government, in prison and out of prison, his physical condition as a hopeless paralytic, and his gentle and courteous manner, have all served to place him in the attitude of a martyr and to give him that kind of influence and popularity which it may be supposed would come from such qualities and circumstances.

“As a matter of fact, while in custody in Manila he was much more comfortable than when he was at his home, and I presume the same is true of his life at Guam, and that so far as personal comfort is concerned he is better off where he is. If he were allowed to come to Manila he would form a nucleus of all the discontented elements which he would be certain to encourage in every form of plot and conspiracy against the existing government…

“One can have admiration for his consistency and his utterly wild dreams of benefit to his country from independence without being in favor of exposing the Government, which is doing more for the Filipino people than any government ever did, to the danger of disturbance and conspiracy which his presence would promote and of a possible new insurrection, which could work nothing but misfortune and hardship to the people whom he thinks he loves and would aid.”

When we see monuments or photos of Mabini, we cannot imagine that this meek disabled person was considered a threat by the Americans, especially both the military and civil governors of the occupied Philippines. What our enemies say of our heroes may sometimes be harsh or unfair, but they are backhanded compliments when seen in retrospect and in the soft glow of history and memory.

Comments are welcome at aocampo@ateneo.edu