Today in Philippine History (Philatelic Edition):
FEBRUARY 26, 1903
Apolinario Mabini, concerned of his failing health and that he might die in a foreign land, took his oath of allegiance to the United States.
It was a condition for him to be able to return to the Philippines after living as an exile in Guam.
He boarded the U.S. ship Thomas from Guam on his way back to Manila and took the oath before a customs collector and was offered a high position in government but he turned it down.
He explained in a manifesto: "I went into this struggle, heeding the voice of the people; I now abandon the struggle for the same cause. I will now return to the obscurity from which, impelled by circumstances, I have come.”
Apolinario Mabini (July 23, 1864 - May 13, 1903), the first prime minister of the Philippines was known for his powerful intellect and eloquence.
A political genius, Mabini was called the brains of the revolution.
During the Philippine-American War, he was captured by American forces under General Arthur MacArthur and was imprisoned in Fort Santiago on Dec. 11, 1899 to Sept. 23, 1900.
After his release, he wrote for newspapers and continued agitating the Americans.
His article “El Simil de Alejandro" published in El Liberal led to his rearrest.
He was deported to Guam, along with other Filipino patriots on January 16, 1901.
General MacArthur justified his deportation before the United States Senate inquiry through a cable message: “Mabini deported: a most active agitator; persistently and defiantly refusing amnesty, and maintaining correspondence with insurgents in the field while living in Manila, Luzon, under the protection of the United States; also, for offensive statement in regard to recent proclamation enforcing the laws of war. His deportation absolutely essential."
Apolinario Mabini, known as the “Sublime Paralytic” died on May 13, 1903.
(Design, concept, stamps and research: Richard Allan B. Uy) All rights reserved
Photo credit: Apolinario Mabini FB page
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