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The
Iraq-Pinaglabanan Parallel
In the midst of the United States-led war on Iraq, it would do well to recall
another war, one that was also waged by the U.S. but 104 years ago. This was the
war against the Philippines, triggered by an incident on a bridge in San Juan,
known as Pinaglabanan (literally, place of battle) Bridge.
BY
ALEXANDER MARTIN REMOLLINO
Bulatlat.com
As is now the case with the war on Iraq, the war in the Philippines was premised
on “regime change.” The war in the Philippines purportedly aimed to oust the
Spanish colonial rulers and “liberate” its inhabitants; the war on Iraq,
among other things, supposedly aims to oust its leader Saddam Hussein in a quest
to “liberate” the Iraqi people from decades of tyranny.
But let us recall what the first war led to.
Offer
from Uncle Sam
The year was 1898. Gen. Emilio Aguinaldo and his small band of loyal officers
were on exile in Hong Kong after accepting the terms of the Pact of Biak-na-Bato,
in which Pedro Paterno played the role of chief negotiator for the government
panel—a pact which, contrary to the driving spirit of the 1896 revolution led
by Andres Bonifacio (who had been executed by Aguinaldo’s men a year earlier
as a “threat” to the revolution after rejecting the results of the dubious
and Cavite elite-dominated Tejeros Convention), was premised on the continuation
of Spanish colonial rule.
Edward Wood, an American gunboat commander, had conferred with Aguinaldo in the
early part of the year on U.S. Commodore George Dewey’s orders to ask him to
return to the Philippines to resume the war against Spain. Conflict was then
brewing between Spain and the U.S., and the American forces sought to enlist
Aguinaldo and his men as allies in case of a full-blown war.
On April 24, Aguinaldo was contacted by Consul E. Spencer Pratt, who promised
the Filipino general that he would not regret cooperating with the U.S.
After a meeting with other members of the Hong Kong Junta, Aguinaldo decided to
return to the Philippines. He gave Consul Rounselle Wildman, who had been
instructed by Dewey to arrange for his return to the Philippines, P117,000 with
which to buy weapons. Wildman delivered P50,000 worth of weapons and never
accounted for the rest of the money.
Aguinaldo and 13 of the members of the Hong Kong Junta returned to the
Philippines on May 19. A Dictatorial Government was established on May 24, and
independence from Spain under the protection of the U.S. was declared on June
12.
While the elite leadership was establishing legal institutions, the grassroots
sectors of the revolutionary movement were busy winning battles, and by the end
of June had controlled almost all of Luzon,
except for Manila.
The siege of Manila
The Filipino forces began laying siege to Manila on May 31. Aguinaldo thrice
demanded the surrender of the Spanish forces and even offered them generous
terms.
But the Spaniards paid no heed, and instead entered into secret negotiations
with the U.S. forces. The result was an agreement that a mock battle would take
place, after which the Spaniards would surrender to U.S. troops— but provided
that no Filipino troops were to be allowed into the surrendered city.
The mock battle was staged on August 13, and that same day Manila was
surrendered to the U.S. troops. The Filipino forces fought with the Americans in
this battle, unaware of what had transpired days before. General Wesley Merritt
established the Military Government the next day.
After the battle
After the surrender of Manila, Aguinaldo and his men were ordered to pull out of
the city. This led to increasing antagonism between the Philippine and American
forces.
From October to December, American and Spanish delegates met in Paris in
accordance with the Protocol of Peace signed on August 12. Without consultations
with the Filipinos, the American delegates demanded the cession of the
Philippines to the U.S.
On Dec. 10, 1898, the Treaty of Paris was signed. The Treaty provided that Spain
would cede the Philippines to the U.S. for the amount of $20 million. However,
the Treaty could not be implemented unless ratified by the U.S. Senate. At that
time, the proponents of ratification were in the minority.
Aguinaldo clung to his faith in the U.S. even in the face of public declarations
of intentions to annex the Philippines.
Meanwhile, tensions between the Philippine and American forces built up.
On the evening of February 4, 1899, Private Willie Grayson and two other members
of his patrol were on the San Juan Bridge to see if there were Filipino soldiers
in the area. Suddenly he saw four armed men in front of him. Recounting the
incident, Grayson would later say: “I yelled ‘Halt!’...the man moved. I
challenged with another ‘Halt!’ Then he immediately shouted ‘Halto!’ to
me. Well I thought the best thing to do was to shoot him. He dropped... We
retreated to where our six other fellows were and I said, ‘Line up, fellows;
the enemy are in here all through these yards.’ We then retreated to the
pipeline and got behind the water work main and stayed there all night. It was
some minutes after our second shot before the Filipinos began firing.”
The next day, Gen. Arthur MacArthur ordered his troops to attack the Philippine
forces.
The war lasted more than a decade and took more than a million Filipino
lives—both combatants and non-combatants. Massacres were perpetrated in
several areas and the most brutal torture techniques were employed on Filipino
prisoners of war.
The war ended with American colonial rule over the Philippines – the result of
a war which promised liberation for the Filipino people.
“Democratization” and Iraq
The U.S. war on Iraq purports to oust Saddam Hussein and institute
“democracy” in the nation. But among the allies of the U.S. in this war is
Turkey, whose government has not been any less authoritarian than the Hussein
regime. Moreover, it was the Central Intelligence Agency, which in the first
place orchestrated the coup that led to Hussein’s ascendancy into power.
It remains with history to tell what this war on Iraq will ultimately lead to.
Bulatlat.com
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