SingKapital: Commemoration of Bayambang as the 5th Capital of the 1st Philippine Republic

SingKapital: Commemoration of Bayambang as the 5th Capital of the 1st Philippine Republic

“What is SingKapital?” so the expected question goes. But before we delve into its meaning and significance – the declaration of Bayambang as the fifth capital of the first Philippine Republic on November 12, 1899 – we need to put it in context. To understand it properly, there is a need to reconstruct the world at that point in time.

First of all, while it refers to just one day that General Emilio Aguinaldo and members of the fledgling Philippine government stopped at Bayambang town in Pangasinan, it is just one part of the many twists and turns of the history of the birth of the Philippines as a nation, from the declaration of independence, the first in Asia, on June 12, 1898, in Kawit, Cavite, Aguinaldo’s hometown, to the ceding of the Philippines by Spain to the United States of America to the tune of $20 million through the Treaty of Paris of 1898, and so on.

(If we pause for a moment to consider this sudden turn of events, we can see that we Filipinos had just declared our independence from Spain, but we were unknowingly sold by Spain to the USA, and the Americans did not lose time coming over here as the new invaders in town, on the pretext of Christianizing us “heathens,” a 300+ year old Spanish Catholic colony by then, through “benevolent assimilation,” then US President William McKinley’s phrase).

What came next was the founding of the first Philippine Legislature on January 21, 1899, in Malolos, Bulacan, the first capital, of course, with Aguinaldo as the Philippines’ first President and thus the "father of the Philippine Republic."

While fleeing the pursuing American Army on their way to the north, the Aguinaldo government stopped at San Isidro, Nueva Ecija, the second capital, and then Bamban, Tarlac, the third, and then Tarlac, Tarlac, the fourth, and of course, Bayambang.

It must be noted, however, that long before this fleeing company galloped their way to Northern Luzon, there was a vanguard (an advanced party) in the person of General Gregorio del Pilar preparing the way beforehand. His efforts would, of course, end in a tragedy, the Battle at Tirad Pass, which would go down in history as "the Philippine version of the Battle of Thermopylae."

Then there was General Antonio Luna transferring the revolutionary government’s Department of War in Bayambang sometime in June 1899 (certain accounts mention Bautista, then a sitio of Bayambang, as the more exact address).

(Note that historical documents can be riddled with typographical errors and outright mistakes. For example, Bayambang was sometimes mistaken for Bayombong, Nueva Vizcaya, and Bayambang was sometimes spelled as Bayanban, Bayamban, Bayambong, Bayangbang, etc.)

And in the middle of all this fast-paced action was a brewing internal conflict brought about by suspicions of treachery and factionalism inherent in a group of revolutionaries coming from different regional ethnic groups. In fact, in the same month, Gregorio ‘Goyo’ del Pilar himself would be ordered to travel to Bayambang town to capture Luna and his men for reasons of alleged treason. This is incidentally the subject of an episode in Jerrold Tarog’s film “Goyo.” We all know by now that Luna would be assassinated in Cabanatuan, Nueva Ecija, by Aguinaldo's men.

Meanwhile, around August or so, another significant event occurred, again in the sitio of Bautista (the town would not be independent until 1900). Jose Palma, the editor of the revolutionary government newspaper at the time, “La Independencia,” was tasked to write the lyrics to Julian Felipe’s “La Marcha Nacional Filipina.” It was a poem originally titled “Filipinas” and written in Spanish, which would eventually become the country’s national anthem, later translated to Tagalog as “Lupang Hinirang.” One account goes that the actual writing took place inside a train coach of the Ferrocarril de Manila-Dagupan (Manila-Dagupan Railroad), but others claim that it was written in the house of Doña Romana Gomez vda de Favis, the house eventually being called “Malacañang of the North.”

The last issue of “La Independencia” appears to have been published in Bayambang as well. According to a book on the history of Philippine news media by Prof. Ricardo Jose, as the revolutionaries were escaping to Camiling and perhaps to all possible directions out of haste, they buried the printing press, which was secretly hidden in a train coach, near the railroad station, the remnant of which we still call Estacion. (One wonders how the Americans discovered this factoid – high espionage must have been apparently on the loose on both sides.)

Such is the lush backstory before Aguinaldo and company made their way to Bayambang town on November 12, 1899 through the Ferrocarril de Manila-Dagupan (later the Philippine National Railways or PNR) and on horseback ride (some American accounts erroneously placed the date as November 13) until they were caught in faraway Palanan, Isabela.

Trivia: Aguinaldo's visit to Bayambang was briefly depicted in at least one notable novel, "Poon" by F. Sionil Jose.

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SingKapital: The Role of Bayambang in the Birth of Our Nation

The yearly celebration of SingKapital – cobbled together by then schoolteacher Rafael Limueco Saygo from the words "singko" and "kapital" originally as “Singtal” then lengthened by members of the Bayambang Municipal Council for Culture and the Arts and approved by Mayor Cezar T. Quiambao to “SingKapital” – every November 12 commemorates Bayambang's role in the history of the country's fight for freedom and independence during the 1st Philippine Republic.

Again, as the story goes, on November 12, 1899, General Emilio Aguinaldo made Bayambang as the fifth capital of the country while he and his fellow revolutionaries were fleeing the invading American Army's northward advance. (The National Historical Commission of the Philippines says Aguinaldo and company were here for far longer.) His Council of War turned the republican Army into guerilla units, and this meant the soldiers had to resort to “ambush, concealment, and the avoidance of set piece battles,” (in historian Arnaldo Dumindin’s words).

Here is the text that serves as historical documentary basis for SingKapital:

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Document 545

President Aguinaldo Disbands the Regular Army of the Republic and Establishes Guerrilla Warfare Against the Americans
(Bayambang, November 12, 1899)

On November 12, 1899, President Aguinaldo and other Filipino military leaders, worried by the irresistible avalanche of American victories in the battlefields, held an emergency meeting at Bayambang. In this meeting it was decided to disband the regular army and continue the resistance to American invasion by means of guerrilla warfare. Accordingly, President Aguinaldo issued the following decree:

In accordance with the present politico-military status in this, the center of Luzon, and using the powers I possess, in accordance with my council of government, I decree the following:

1. The politico-military command of the center of Luzon is hereby established, comprising of Bulacan, Nueva Ecija, Pampanga, Tarlac, Sambales, and Pangasinan.

2. The superior commander in question will have full and extraordinary powers to issue orders by proclamation, impose contributions of war and to adopt all such measures as may seem for the good service of the country.

3. The troops which will operate in all the described districts will maneuver in flying columns and in guerrilla bands; these will be under the orders of the aforesaid superior commander, to whose orders all the other leaders and generals will be subject, reporting to him and receiving from him orders and instructions of the government; nevertheless, all orders received direct from the government will be obeyed and advice of the same will be given to the superior commander aforesaid.

4. Sr. Pantaleon Garcia, General of Division, is appointed politico-military commander of the center of Luzon, and he will assume in addition, the judicial powers which belong to me as Captain-general.

Given at Bayambang, November 12, 1899.
Signed EMILIO AGUINALDO
President

Report of Arthur MacArthur, Lieutenant General Commanding Division, a Division of the Philippines (Washington D.C., 1900) p. 1.

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So, if it seemed just another day of encampment, another night of evading the occupying forces led by Brigadier General Arthur MacArthur (under President McKinley’s command), it was not, owing to this singular declaration. Local history professor, Rosabella Austria-Mendez, is of the opinion that this reason alone makes the visit historical.

At any rate, there were other notable things about this short (24-hour?) visit. On their way here, Aguinaldo's infant daughter, Flora Victoria (another account says Victoria Flora), died unbeknownst to the family, and she was buried in the local parish church. (Another source claims the corpse was actually buried in the nearby cemetery.)

As one visiting guest speaker from the field of arts, Jaime ‘Bong’ Antonio Jr., Culture and Development Consultant of the National Council for Culture and the Arts, pointed out in his speech during the first official SingKapital celebration, the name “Flora Victoria” means “flower of victory,” so her demise, he said, was like a sacrifice and a portent, for the Revolution would indeed eventually succeed, although it would take some time.

At the Estacion na Tren (which used to have a Bayambang station on one side of Agno River and a Bautista station on the other side), Aguinaldo and company also managed to publish an issue of the government's newspaper "La Independencia," originally edited by Gen. Antonio Luna and whose staff included Rosa Sevilla, Cecilio Apostol, and Jose Palma.

Why choose Bayambang? Another historian, Jaime B. Veneracion, speculates that Bayambang must have been a deliberate choice because of its pro-revolutionist local officials and residents. Veneracion believes that the arrival of Aguinaldo and company must have been met by the locals with feasting, like what other towns did when the revolutionists came by for a stop-over. (It must have been a muted welcome party owing to the tenor of the times, however, it must be added.)

After all, Bayambang has a history of being a hotbed of rebellion and revolutionaries (as writer Virginia Pasalo once pointed out), with Malong’s revolt in Brgy. Manambong, albeit unsuccessful, in 1660 and the first victorious revolt that Palaris staged in 1763.

Where exactly did the company stay in Bayambang? Aguinaldo and company must have occupied the local parish church or convent (Aguinaldo was not known to be anticlerical, unlike Bonifacio and the others). Other possible venues were the Presidencia, now Municipal Hall, or a private residence.

As already noted earlier, it is unfortunate that this story of our fight for freedom and independence for the first time as one nation was pockmarked with controversies. Luna would be assassinated in Cabanatuan on June 5, and shortly thereafter, on June 7, ‘Goyo’ Del Pilar would be reportedly ordered to hunt down Luna's men, the Bernal brothers, in Bayambang.

This is the reason why the annual activity called “Heroes’ Trek,” a secular pilgrimage of sorts in honor of Goyo’s heroism, retracing the path he took toward his eventual martyrdom at Tirad Pass, routinely makes a pit stop at the Bayambang Municipal Hall. Among the original organizers of this annual commemoration in this town, which was started in 1998 or 1999, was former Municipal Councilor Gerry de Vera, being the Mayor’s Action Center Executive Director during the term of Mayor Leocadio ‘Boy’ de Vera, together with then University of the Philippines professor Prospero ‘Popoy’ de Vera. Thanks to the “Heroes’ Trek,” Professor Januario Cuchapin reminds us, the locals got the idea of celebrating the day Bayambang became the country’s fifth capital.

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What is an Aguinaldo Statue Doing Here?

Aguinaldo especially was a controversial character because of these events, among other incidents thereafter, but these faults, whether perceived or factually confirmed, are best left in the hands of historians for now and they should not overshadow Aguinaldo's achievements.

Today, a bronze statue representing General Aguinaldo stands in front of the Municipal Hall. The local government at the time commissioned no less than National Artist Napoleon Abueva to work on this sculpture in the run-up to the celebration of the town’s quadricentennial on April 5, 2014. Abueva, it was said, had to sign the contract while sitting on a wheelchair. The statue was paid for by then STRADCOM CEO Cezar T. Quiambao.

Today, this is the only official marker sanctioned by the then National Historical Institute, apart from the marker on the Municipal Hall, that reminds everyone about what transpired in Bayambang which everyone has almost completely forgotten about in time: that the nascent Philippine government once encamped in Bayambang and took a last stand before breaking into guerrilla units, making the town a temporary capital of the country, the fifth and the last of the First Philippine Republic.

Surely, the marker was also erected in honor of Aguinaldo and his indelible legacy, among which are the writing of the Philippine Constitution which establishes the country as a democratic republic and a government organizational structure with co-equal executive, legislative, and judiciary branches, a national army, a unifying flag, and a national anthem – and all these were achieved under his watch at 29 years of age. And he was reportedly forced to accept the heavy responsibility instead of actively seeking it, even when he could have said no, for love of his country and people (he was elected in absentia).

A good question to ask any reader at this point then would be, ”At age 29, what were your preoccupations? Now imagine yourself in Aguinaldo’s shoes and how you might have responded in comparison."

Understandably, the Aguinaldo statue is one of the very few ones put up in the country outside the general's home of Kawit, Cavite, the other statues being in Trece Martires, Cavite and Baguio City. But ‘Ka Miong’s’ relative unpopularity compared with, say, Jose Rizal and Andres Bonifacio, does not change the fact that he served as the first president of the Philippines. We may refuse to use the word 'hero' on him, but he was without a doubt a patriot.

So locals will not forget Bayambang’s modest role in the birth of the nation, the Sangguniang Bayan of Bayambang led by Vice-Mayor Raul R. Sabangan passed Municipal Ordinance No. 17 in the year 2017 during the term of Mayor Cezar T. Quiambao, declaring November 12 as the day SingKapital shall be celebrated each year. The Sangguniang Panlalawigan would eventually approve this ordinance in their own resolution.

It is hoped that SingKapital will always be remembered and celebrated as the day the town of Bayambang played a modest role in the tumultuous narrative of the birth of our nation. Symbolically, it may be viewed as a day in history when our heroes bravely took a last stand for freedom, independence, and self-determination even when the going got tough – right here in our humble town, to the point of spilling copious blood for it in the end, and that is why we enjoy our freedom today and can assume an identity and nationality as Filipinos.

Trivia: The father of the Philippine Republic was a Spanish-speaking Caviteño of partly Chinese descent.

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I dream of someday getting our hands on the following artifacts: Document 545, the last issue of “La Independencia,” the remnant of the printing press, if any, or at least its facsimile, etc.; as well as the restoration and repurposing of the Estacion as a SingKapital Museum. I hope that with this write-up, we can help in keeping the memory of that day and that its significance would be instilled in each and every Bayambangueño and Filipino down the ages.

Among other things, may we learn that it pays to study history, not only so that we don't repeat the mistakes of the past, and certainly not to get stuck in the past, but also because it holds many lessons, even unexpected ones.

(The references in the comment boxes)