2003, May 13. Apolinario Mabini, Death Centennial
Litho Offset. Amstar Company, Inc., Perf. 14
Singles, Sheets of 50
6p
The Poor Traveler (Unknown Artist) - Singles (50,000)
Design Coordinator: Jimmy Ang
Layout Artist:
Alfonso V. Divina
Design:
Provided by Mrs. Azucena Villa, Curator,
Mabini Shrine, Tanauan, Batangas.
First Day Covers: Manila
Apolinario Mabini - 100th Death
Anniversary
On May 13, 2003, the nation remembers one of its greatest heroes,
Apolinario Mabini y Maranan. Known as the "Sublime Paralytic,"
Mabini was the intellectual soul of the Philippine Revolution and
the Philippine Republic. He was born on July 23, 1864 in barrio
Talaga, Tanauan, Batangas, the second of the eight sons of Inocencio
Mabini and Dionisia Maranan. His family's poverty did not prevent
him from seeking an education. He supported himself serving as a
teacher of Latin in the school of Melchor Virrey in Manila and in
the school of Sebastian Virrey in Lipa. Mabini served as a
teacher and law clerk in the court of first instance in Manila and
in the Intendencia Ganeral. He completed his law studies at the
University of S'anto Tomas and in 1895 he was admitted to the bar.
In September 1892 Mabini joined the Masonry and in the following
year joined the revived La Liga Filipina and the Cuerpo de
Compromisarios, which were formed to extend support to the Reform
Movement. On October 10, 1896 Mabini was arrested by the Spanish
authorites because of his connection with the reformists. At that
time he was already stricken with polio which saved him from being
shot. The Spanish authorities placed him under house arrest at the
San Juan de Dios hospital.
In April 1898 he wrote a manifesto to revolutionary leaders
exhorting them to preserve the country and its independence. When
General Emilio Aguinaldo arrived from exile he made Mabini his chief
adviser. Among his recommendations were to convert the dictatorial
government to a revolutionary one and to organize the municipalities
and provinces.
Mabini served as President of the Council of Secretaries and as
Secretary of Foreign Affairs in the Aguinaldo government. He wrote
most of Aguinaldo's decrees to the people and wrote EI Verdadero
Decalogo which was his introduction to his draft of the Philippine
Constitution meant to arouse patriotism among the Filipinos. Mabini
advocated independence with honor in dealing with the Americans.
This position came in conflict with people who preferred autonomy
under the United States, causing Mabini's ouster from the Aguinaldo
cabinet. He was captured by the Americans on December 10, 1898. Even
as a prisoner he kept writing articles against American rule causing
the American authorities to brand him as the "Brains of the
Insurrection." He was exiled to Guam with 56 other Filipinos. With
his failing health and the possibility of dying in a foreign land he
returned to the Philippines on February 26, 1903 and reluctantly
took the oath of allegiance to the United States. He refused all
offers of high positions in the government and retired to his home
in Nagtahan, Manila. He died on May 13, 1903, a victim of the
cholera epidemic raging at that time.