Philippine Revolution and Prime Minister

1. About the author National Centennial Commission (Philippines) Dr. Salvador H. Laurel, Chairman
(November 18, 1928 – January 27, 2004), also known as Doy Laurel, was Vice President of the Philippines from 1986 to 1992 under Corazon Aquino. Before that, he briefly served as Aquino's first (and only) Prime Minister from February 25 to March 25 of 1986. He was a foremost leader of the United Nationalist Democratic Organization (UNIDO), the political party that toppled the Marcos dictatorship and restored democracy to the Philippines during the People Power Revolution of 1986. Laurel is the fifth son of President José P. Laurel, president of the second Philippine Republic. He was born to a family whose illustrious lineage spans generations of nationalists who distinguished themselves as public servants. His grandfather, Judge Sotero Remoquillo Laurel was a delegate to the Malolos Congress and Secretary of the Interior in the first Philippine Revolutionary government under President Emilio Aguinaldo.He first enrolled at Centro Escolar de Señoritas (1933–35) then Paco Elementary School (1935–36) followed by Justo Lukban Elementary School (1936–1937) and he graduated from elementary at Ateneo de Manila in 1941. He graduated from high school at De La Salle College High School in 1946.Doy’s father wanted him to experience a public school education so he enrolled him first in the Paco Elementary School (1935–36) and then the Justo Lukban Elementary School (1936–37). In June 1937 he was admitted to the Jesuit-run Ateneo de Manila Grade School. During the Japanese occupation Ateneo de Manila was closed down by the Japanese for the reason that it was run by Americans. This prompted Laurel to enroll in De La Salle High School also located in Manila. On September 27, 1941, on his first year in high school, he received 2nd honors with a general average of 93.4. Barely three months later had his studies come to an abrupt halt with the outbreak of World War II on December 8, 1941.

Cesar E. A Virata, Vice Chairman
He was former Prime Minister of the Philippines from 1981-1986 under the Interim Batasang Pambansa and the Regular Batasang Pambansa. One of the Philippines' business leaders and leading technocrats, he served as Finance Minister from 1970 during the Marcos regime and also through election became Prime Minister in 1981. He concurrently was Finance Minister throughout the 80's. He is the grandnephew of the first Philippine President, Emilio Aguinaldo.He had a term as Minister of Finance from 1970 to 1986. It was during this time that the Philippines became economically strong through healthy trade and budgetary surpluses. However, other studies show budgetary deficits during the same period (PIDS, Budget Deficits, 2004, particularly during the later years of the Marcos regime. These deficits were precipitated by the oil crises' and the mass protests against the Marcos regime (supported by the international financial community) following the assassination of opposition leader Benigno Aquino Jr.He was replaced as prime minister, eventually through revolution, by Salvador Laurel. Laurel became the Prime Minister on February 25, 1986, through the appointment of Corazon Aquino. The position was abolished one month later by Proclamation No. 3 of Aquino, and confirmed later by the 1987 Constitution.He is married to Phylita Joy Gamboa, a popular stage actress, and has three children: Steven Cesar, a businessman, Gillian Joyce, an international policy analyst, and Michael Dean, a doctor specializing in infectious diseases. He holds an MBA from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania. Virata is also an accomplished tennis player. 2. Main Topic and Summary

Philippine Revolution: The Making of a Nation

The main stream of influx of revolutionary ideas came at the start of the 19th century when the country was opened for world trade. In 1809, first English firms were established in Manila followed by a royal decree in 1834 opening the city officially to world trade. Philippines was formerly only tied to Mexico from 1565 when galleon trade become the prominent means of economy. The use of galleons ended in 1815 when Mexican War of Independence broke up.At this point, post-French Revolution ideas entered the country through literature, which caused the rise of enlightened Ilustrado class in the society.The 1868 Spanish Revolution brought to an end of the autocratic rule of Queen Isabella II and was replaced by a liberal government led by General Francisco Serrano. Serrano dispatched the 91st governor-general Carlos María de la Torre in 1869. The leadership of de la Torre has brought the idea of liberalism in the Philippines.
That same year, in 1869, the Suez Canal was opened to the world after almost ten years of construction.The election of despot Amadeo of Savoy to the throne of Spain led to replacement of de la Torre in gubernatorial power in 1871. In 1872, the government of the succeeding governor-general Rafael de Izquierdo was leashed by a bloody uprising of Filipino soldiers at the Fort San Felipe arsenal in Cavite el Viejo. Seven days after the mutiny, many people were arrested and tried in courtroom. Three of these victims were secular priests: José Burgos, Mariano Gómez and friar Jacinto Zamora who were hanged and executed by Spanish authorities in Bagumbayan. The execution of the priests, later known in history as the GOMBURZA, became the conditional thrust to many Filipinos to announce the abuse of colonial authorities.Many Filipinos who were not executed and were arrested for possible rebellion charges were deported to many Spanish penal colonies. Some of them, however, managed to escape to Hong Kong, Yokohama, Singapore, Paris, London, Berlin, and some parts of Spain. These people met fellow Filipino students and other exiles who had escaped from penal colonies. Thrown together by common fate, they established a common organization known as the Propaganda Movement. These émigrés used their writings mainly to condemn Spanish abuses and seek reforms to the colonial government.José Rizal's novels, Noli Me Tangere (Touch Me Not, 1887) and El Filibusterismo (The Filibuster, 1891), exposed Spanish abuses in socio-political and religious aspects. The publication of his first novel brought the infamous agrarian conflict in his hometown Calamba, Laguna in 1888 when Dominican haciendas fell into trouble of submitting government taxes. In 1892, Rizal, after his return from the Americas, established the La Liga Filipina (The Filipino League), a Filipino association organized to seek reforms from the colonial government. When the Spaniards learned that their haunted writer was in the Philippines, they arrested and deported Rizal a few days after the Liga was established.The deportation of the Liga marked the dissolution of the organization. It was peaceful struggle to reform ended and was replaced by more aggressive one. On the night upon hearing the news that Rizal was deported to Dapitan, Liga member Andrés Bonifacio and his fellows established a secret organization named Katipunan in a house in Tondo, Manila. The Katipunan reached an overwhelming membership and attracted almost the lowly of the Filipino class. In June 1896, Bonifacio sent an emissary to Dapitan to reach Rizal's support, but the latter refused for an armed revolution. On August 19, 1896, Katipunan was discovered by a Spanish friar, which started the Philippine Revolution.The revolution flared up initially into the eight provinces of Central Luzon. General Emilio Aguinaldo, a member of the Katipunan, spread an armed resistance through Southern Tagalog region where he liberated Cavite towns little by little. In 1896 and 1897, successive conventions at Imus and Tejeros decided the new republic's fate. By November, the republic was transferred in Biak-na-Bato, where a new constitution was ratified.On May 1, 1898, the Battle of Manila Bay took place as part of the Spanish-American War. On May 24, Aguinaldo, who had returned from voluntary exile on May 19, announced in Cavite, "... I return to assume command of all the forces for the attainment of our lofty aspirations, establishing a dictatorial government which will set forth decrees under my sole responsibility, ..." On 12 June, Aguinaldo proclaimed Philippine independence On 18 June, Aguinaldo issued a decree proclaiming a Dictatorial Government headed by himself. On June 23, another decree signed by Aguinaldo was issued, replacing the Dictatorial Government with a Revolutionary Government. Elections were held by the Revolutionary Government between June and September 10, resulting in Emilio Aguinaldo being seated as President in the seating of a legislature known as the Malolos Congress. On February 2, 1899, general hostilities broke out between U.S. and Filipino forces, A session between September 15, 1898 and November 13, 1899 adopted the Malolos Constitution—creating the First Philippine Republic, with Aguinaldo as President. This, on June 12, 1899, promulgated a declaration of war on the U.S., beginning the Philippine-American War. U.S. forces captured Aguinaldo on March 23, 1901, and he swore allegiance to the U.S. on April 1. On July 4, 1902, U.S. President Theodore Roosevelt proclaimed a full and complete pardon and amnesty to all people in the Philippine archipelago who had participated in the conflict, effectively ending the war.

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