Gen. Artemio Ricarte

Today in Philippine History (Philatelic Edition Series 3):

October 20, 1866

Artemio Ricarte y García (October 20, 1866 – July 31, 1945), regarded as the Father of the Philippine Army, and the first Chief of Staff of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (March 22, 1897- January 22, 1899), was born on October 20, 1866 to Esteban Ricarte y Faustino and Bonifacia Garcia y Rigonan in Batac, Ilocos Norte. 

He graduated Bachelor of Arts at Colegio de San Juan de Letran. After studying at the University of Santo Tomas and Escuela Normal, he worked as a primary school teacher in San Francisco de Malabon, Cavite, where he met Mariano Alvarez, a school teacher and a revolutionary of the 1872 Cavite mutiny. 

He joined the Katipunan under the Magdiwang Council, where he held the rank of Lieutenant General and adopted the nom-de-guerre, "Víbora" (Viper). 

On August 31, 1896, during the Philippine Revolution, he and his men attacked the Spanish Army garrison in San Francisco de Malabon, and overwhelmed the Spanish troops. 

At the Tejeros Convention of March 22, 1897, Ricarte was elected Chief of Staff of the Philippine Revolutionary Army in President Emilio Aguinaldo's new government. He was later promoted to Brigadier General and led his men to battles in Cavite, Laguna, and Batangas. 

At the start of the Spanish-American War in 1898, he was in command of the Philippine forces at Santa Ana. With the help of Rear Admiral George Dewey, commander of the American Asiatic Squadron anchored in Manila Bay, and General Wesley Merritt of the U.S. Army, his men routed the Spanish troops. General Fermin Jaudenes surrendered the City of Manila to Admiral Dewey. With Spain defeated, the United States refused to recognize Philippine Independence and decided to colonize the country. 

When the Filipino-American War broke out in 1899, Ricarte was Chief of Operations of the Philippine forces in the third zone around Manila. He was captured In July 1900 and imprisoned for six months at the Bilibid Prisons. He refused to swear allegiance to the United States so he was exiled for two years to Guam, along with Apolinario Mabini and others. In early 

1903, both Ricarte and Mabini were allowed back into the Philippines if they took the oath of allegiance. Mabini who was ill, took the oath but Ricarte refused so he was banned from the Philippines. He was sent to Hong Kong but secretly went back to the country. In 1904, with a US$10,000 reward for his capture, dead or alive, Luis Baltazar notified the Philippine Constabulary which led to his arrest in Mariveles, Bataan in May 1904.

For good behavior, he was released after six years but he still refused to take the oath. Again, the authorities sent him to Hong Kong where he lived from 1910-1915. He later went on self-exile with his family to Tokyo then to Yokohama, Japan. 

When the Japanese invaded the Philippines, he helped in the establishment of the pro-Japanese "Second Philippine Republic" during World War II. 

Near the end of the war, he fled from the U.S. and Filipino liberation forces. General Artemio Ricarte died of dysentery in Kalinga on July 31, 1945.

(Design, concept, stamps and research: Richard Allan B. Uy) All rights reserved

Photo credit: wikipedia.org