SUNDAY, AUGUST 11, 2013
ON
RENAMING OF CAMP ELDRIDGE IN LOS BAÑOS, LAGUNA TO CAMP GENERAL MACARIO SAKAY
PHILIPPINE
HISTORICAL ASSOCIATION
MANILA
RESOLUTION
RECOMMENDING TO THE DEPARTMENT OF NATIONAL DEFENSE
THE
RENAMING OF CAMP ELDRIDGE IN LOS BAÑOS, LAGUNA
TO
CAMP GENERAL MACARIO SAKAY
WHEREAS, nearly 106 years after the execution by
the American administration in the Philippines of the Revolutionary General and
President of the Republika ng Katagalugan, Macario de Leon Sakay on 13
September 1907 at the Old Bilibid in Manila, many Filipinos still subscribe to
the American perspective that Macario Sakay was a thief and a bandit despite
attempts by some Filipino historians to correct this notion.
WHEREAS, General Macario Sakay was a true
patriot. A hero born of the people in
Tondo, Manila in 1870. He worked as a
blacksmith, tailor and a barber.
WHEREAS, General Macario Sakay, like his friend
Andres Bonifacio, the Father of the Philippine Revolution, used his artistic
gifts as theatre actor in the service of the people, actor in plays such as
Prince Baldovino, Doce Pares de Francia, and Amante de la Corona.
WHEREAS, General Macario Sakay, as one of the early
members of the Kataastaasang Kagalang-galangang Katipunan ng mga Anak ng Bayan
founded by Bonifacio which spearheaded the revolution, led the victories at San
Mateo and established his headquarters in Marikina and Montalban.
WHEREAS, General Macario Sakay, despite the murder
of the Supremo Andres Bonifacio, continued fighting the Spaniards and the new
colonizers, the Americans. He was jailed
for his resistance but was granted an amnesty.
WHEREAS, General Macario Sakay, as a true believer
of the legal and democratic processes, became one of the founders of the
short-lived old Partido Nacionalista advocating for Philippine
Independence. The implementation of the
Sedition Law which made their party an illegal organization forced him to take
up arms again in 1902. Vowing that he
and his men will not cut their hair until Inang Bayan had achieved freedom, the
length of their hair became an icon of resistance and their unfulfilled hopes
and dreams.
WHEREAS, General Macario Sakay, who established the
Republika ng Katagalugan after the surrender of President General Emilio
Aguinaldo and became its president, wanted to go back to the original
principles of the Katipunan—Kapatiran, Kabutihan, Kaginhawaan, tunay na
Kalayaan. With this he created a large
following in the Tagalog region with headquarters at Mt. San Cristobal near Mt.
Banahaw protected by a millenarian religious sect. Eventually he transferred his headquarters to
the mountains of Morong, a continuation of the “ilihan” ancestral tradition of
resistance on the mountains.
WHEREAS, General Macario Sakay was duped by the
Americans through an ilustrado that he will be given an amnesty, and that his
demand for a legislative assembly and a university for Filipinos will be
granted, he and his men went down from the mountains, only to be arrested,
charged and detained.
WHEREAS, General Macario Sakay, despite the mass
demonstrations and support for him in front the gates of Malacañang Palace and
favourable testimonies from fellow revolutionaries like Pio del Pilar, was
sentenced to death for banditry, murder, rape and kidnapping.
WHEREAS, General Macario Sakay, firm to end that he
did not surrender and he did not commit any crime, uttered his last words in
front of the gallows as a declaration of his true intentions for Inang
Bayan: “Death comes to all of us sooner
or later, so I will face the Lord Almighty calmly. But I want to tell you that
we are not bandits and robbers, as the Americans have accused us, but members
of the revolutionary force that defended our mother country, the Philippines!
Farewell! Long live the Republic and may our independence be born in the
future! Long live the Philippines!”
WHEREAS, General Macario Sakay’s fight which lasted
until 1906, was still part of the Philippine-American War, correcting the
impression that this struggle was ended with General Aguinaldo’s surrender in
1901, and the American declaration of the end of the war on 4 July 1902. The
Philippine American War started during the first shot fired by the Americans
against Filipinos on 4 February 1899 at Sta. Mesa, Manila and ended during the
battle between the Americans and the Tausug community on 1913 atop Bud Bagsak
in June 1913. Considered as the
first Vietnam-like War, the atrocities and aggression of American volunteers in
this war resulted to an estimated 200,000 Filipinos dead.
WHEREAS, General Macario Sakay, despite
overwhelming accounts of his love of country and immense contribution to the
struggle for freedom—being the general who fought for the longest time in the
Philippine Revolution and the Philippine-American War—had no major streets in
the Philippines named after him. This is
an indication of the lack of recognition to the heroism of this great hero.
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, as it is hereby
resolved, by the PHILIPPINE HISTORICAL ASSOCIATION, to respectfully recommend
to the Department of National Defense through Secretary Voltaire Gazmin, and
the Philippine Veterans Affairs Office through Administrator Lt. Gen. Ernesto
G. Carolina (ret.), the naming of Camp Eldridge in Los Baños, Laguna as Camp
General Macario Sakay not only because of Sakay’s unsung heroism but also
because the mountain where he camped—Mt. San Cristobal, falls under the
jurisdiction of the provinces of Quezon and Laguna. Therefore a camp in one of the most active
provinces of the Philippine Revolution, Laguna, named after General Macario
Sakay, is only but fitting.
BE IT RESOLVED, FURTHER, that the association
extends its commendation to LtCol. Ronald Jess S. Alcudia Inf (GSC) PA, for
spearheading this advocacy to seek institutional support to rename Camp
Eldridge to Camp General Macario Sakay.
BE IT RESOLVED FURTHERMORE, that the association
extends its gratitude to Undersecretary Carolina for forwarding the
abovementioned advocacy to the association for its opinion.
BE IT RESOLVED FURTHERMORE, that the association
humbly recommends that the renaming happen at the soonest possible time within
the year to coincide with the year of the 150th birth anniversary of Andres
Bonifacio, whose Katipunan brotherhood Sakay was an early member.
BE IT RESOLVED FURTHERMORE, that the association
proposes a symposium where the association can be invited by the Philippine
Veterans Affairs Office to talk about General Macario Sakay on the forthcoming
106th anniversary of his execution on 13 September 2013 at Camp Eldridge itself
or at any other date and place that can be agreed upon.
BE IT RESOLVED FINALLY, that the text of this
Resolution be uploaded to the official website of the association
(pha1955.blogspot.com) and be proliferated through social media for the
information of the public and for its wide dissemination.
UNANIMOUSLY ADOPTED by the BOARD OF GOVERNORS OF
THE PHILIPPINE HISTORICAL ASSOCIATION present during its board meeting and oath
taking at the offices of the National Commission for Culture and the Arts in
the historic Intramuros, City of Manila, Philippines, this Fourth day of July,
in the Year of Our Lord, Two Thousand and Thirteen.
(Sgd) LUIS CAMARA DERY
President
Attested:
(Sgd) JONATHAN CAPULAS BALSAMO
Secretary
Ponente:
Xiao Chua, P.R.O. of the Association
Posted by Philippine Historical Association at
8/11/2013 10:16:00 PM
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