Philippine History - January 12

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On January 12, 1889, Hispano-Filipino Association, an organization composed of Filipinos and Spaniards, was formed in Madrid, Spain calling for reforms in the Philippines during Spanish colonization.

Among other things, it campaigned for Philippine representation in the Spanish Cortes and the passage of the Maura Law to bring about educational reforms in the archipelago. 

The association was formed as reformists realized that putting up an organization would mean pooling of their resources and efforts in the campaign to have their voices heard by Spanish (pensular) government.

The organization was formed to included Spaniards sympathetic to the plight of the Filipinos in the Colonial Philippines. It was formed a month after the La Solidaridad, all Filipino organization Composed of Filipino liberals exiled in 1872 and students attending Europe's universities was organized on December 13, 1888. (The organization will later produce a newspaper of the same name published in Barcelona, Spain on February 15, 1889.)

Filipino members of the Hispano-Filipino Associacion includes Graciano Lopez Jaena, Marcelo H. del Pilar, Mariano Ponce, Jose M. Panganiban, Eduardo de Lete, and a few others. 

The Spanish members of the society were Miguel Morayta, professor of history at the Universidad Central de Madrid, and Felipe de la Corte, author of several works on the Philippines. Miguel Morayta is said to be the one who started the assosacion. 

Society was divided into three sections to make the propaganda effective -- political section under Del Pilar; literary section under Ponce; and the sports section under Arejola.

However, intensive campaign for reforms did not yield any tangible results in the form of changes in the administration of the Philippines because Spain was too preoccupied with its own internal problems to give moment’s thought to colonial problem; friars were too powerful even in Spain to be sidetracked by the Spanish authorities.

The association lobbied successfully for the passage of some laws which included the law pertaining to the compulsory teaching of Spanish and the laws providing reforms in the judiciary. However, these laws were not fully implemented considering the return to power of the reactionary group in Spain. 

Since the membership of the asociation was composed mostly of Spaniards, it failed to secure the support many Filipinos including Dr. Jose Rizal and Antonio Luna. The young Filipinos felt that the Spaniards and the creoles were too moderate in dealing with their clamor for reforms.

Source: Philippine History by M. C. Halili

Philippines: January 11

On January 11, 1897 in Bagumbayan, on or around the same place where Jose Rizal fell dead 12 days earlier, 13 martyrs were executed and they were known in history as the 13 martyrs of Bagumbayan. 

Photo from http://www.freewebs.com/philippineamericanwar/background.htm

Who they were or what they did is not known to many of us. Here are some info of who they are.

1. Domingo Franco, a tobacco merchant, was originally from Capiz but moved to Manila. One of the founding members of Liga Filipina, he knew Jose Rizal and was said to have distributed "Noli me tangere" and "El Filibusterismo" when it was dangerous to read or even own a copy. He helped raise money to send to the so-called Propaganda Movement in Spain and for these, he was arrested, tortured, and eventually executed.
2. Numerio Adriano (1846-1897) was a lawyer and a Mason. He knew Rizal and Apolinario Mabini. Being a founding member of Liga Filipina, he was also implicated in the Katipunan.
3. Moises Salvador (1868-1897) studied at the Ateneo Municipal and took further studies in Madrid. He knew Rizal and was a Mason and a member of Liga Filipina -- just the right mix to be included in the group executed in early 1897.
4. Francisco L. Roxas (1851-1897) was a musician and businessman. He would probably be better known today had his musical compositions survived, but his life was cut short when he was implicated in the Katipunan revolt. He protested this and maintained his innocence, but since his name was on a list found by the authorities, he became a reluctant hero and joined the Thirteen Martyrs of Bagumbayan.
5. Jose Dizon was an engraver in Casa de Moneda in Manila. He was involved in the Katipunan, having joined a group that met sympathetic Japanese for the procurement of arms for the revolution. Like all the other members of the Thirteen Martyrs, he too was a Mason.
6. Benedicto Nijaga, a second lieutenant in the Spanish army, was reputedly a good soldier. But his loyalty became suspect when he was connected to the Katipunan revolt. We do not know whether his name was on a list of Katipuneros found during the raid of the printing shop of Diario de Manila, or whether he was implicated by an enemy or somebody who had been tortured.
7. Cristobal Medina was a Filipino corporal in the Spanish army, yet his loyalty remained with his country and his countrymen so he joined the Katipunan and was supposed to have helped plan the uprising in San Juan del Monte on Aug. 30, 1896. For this act, real or imagined, he was implicated.
8. Antonio Salazar was a businessman originally from Cavite and owned Bazaar El Cisne. It was from his confession, extracted by torture, that others were implicated in the Katipunan, particularly Domingo Franco.
9. Ramon A. Padilla, an employee of the Manila customs house, was rude to Emilio Aguinaldo, who nursed a grudge against him that almost led to a duel. He later apologized to Aguinaldo and this probably saved his life for the moment, but only until Jan. 11, 1897.
10. Faustino Villaruel (1841-1897) was a merchant from Pandacan and a Mason like all the others. He was also a founding member of Liga Filipina, and supporter of the Propaganda Movement.
11. Braulio Rivera (1867-1897) was also a member of the Katipunan.
12. Luis Enciso Villareal (1846-1897) was originally from Daraga, Albay, and was known for his graceful dancing and fiddle playing. He read a French manual on tailoring and opened a shop on Escolta Street, where he conducted brisk business. He won the lottery and traveled in Japan. He was probably implicated with the Katipunan because he was a Mason and a member of Liga Filipina, and contributed to the Propaganda Movement.
13. Eustacio Manalac is the person we know so little about. Nobody has done even basic research to find out his date of birth and simple biographical data like marital status, children, occupation, etc. All we are told is that he was a Mason rounded up as a suspected Katipunero when the Katipunan was exposed in August 1896.

Source of the above info is from http://globalnation.inquirer.net/mindfeeds/mindfeeds/view/20070115-43488/Who_were_the_Thirteen_Martyrs%3F