PHILIPPINE HISTORICAL ASSOCIATION
RESOLUTION RECOMMENDING TO THE DEPARTMENT OF NATIONAL DEFENSE
THE RENAMING OF CAMP ELDRIDGE IN LOS BAÑOS, LAGUNA
TO CAMP GENERAL MACARIO SAKAY
WHEREAS, nearly 106 years after the execution by the American administration in the Philippines of the Revolutionary General and President of the Republika ng Katagalugan, Macario de Leon Sakay on 13 September 1907 at the Old Bilibid in Manila, many Filipinos still subscribe to the American perspective that Macario Sakay was a thief and a bandit despite attempts by some Filipino historians to correct this notion.
WHEREAS, General Macario Sakay was a true patriot. A hero born of the people in Tondo, Manila in 1870. He worked as a blacksmith, tailor and a barber.
|Macario de Leon Sakay|
WHEREAS, General Macario Sakay, like his friend Andres Bonifacio, the Father of the Philippine Revolution, used his artistic gifts as theatre actor in the service of the people, actor in plays such as Prince Baldovino, Doce Pares de Francia, and Amante de la Corona.
WHEREAS, General Macario Sakay, as one of the early members of the Kataastaasang Kagalang-galangang Katipunan ng mga Anak ng Bayan founded by Bonifacio which spearheaded the revolution, led the victories at San Mateo and established his headquarters in Marikina and Montalban.
WHEREAS, General Macario Sakay, despite the murder of the Supremo Andres Bonifacio, continued fighting the Spaniards and the new colonizers, the Americans. He was jailed for his resistance but was granted an amnesty.
WHEREAS, General Macario Sakay, as a true believer of the legal and democratic processes, became one of the founders of the short-lived old Partido Nacionalista advocating for Philippine Independence. The implementation of the Sedition Law which made their party an illegal organization forced him to take up arms again in 1902. Vowing that he and his men will not cut their hair until Inang Bayan had achieved freedom, the length of their hair became an icon of resistance and their unfulfilled hopes and dreams.
WHEREAS, General Macario Sakay, who established the Republika ng Katagalugan after the surrender of President General Emilio Aguinaldo and became its president, wanted to go back to the original principles of the Katipunan—Kapatiran, Kabutihan, Kaginhawaan, tunay na Kalayaan. With this he created a large following in the Tagalog region with headquarters at Mt. San Cristobal near Mt. Banahaw protected by a millenarian religious sect. Eventually he transferred his headquarters to the mountains of Morong, a continuation of the “ilihan” ancestral tradition of resistance on the mountains.
WHEREAS, General Macario Sakay was duped by the Americans through an ilustrado that he will be given an amnesty, and that his demand for a legislative assembly and a university for Filipinos will be granted, he and his men went down from the mountains, only to be arrested, charged and detained.
WHEREAS, General Macario Sakay, despite the mass demonstrations and support for him in front the gates of Malacañang Palace and favourable testimonies from fellow revolutionaries like Pio del Pilar, was sentenced to death for banditry, murder, rape and kidnapping.
WHEREAS, General Macario Sakay, firm to end that he did not surrender and he did not commit any crime, uttered his last words in front of the gallows as a declaration of his true intentions for Inang Bayan: “Death comes to all of us sooner or later, so I will face the Lord Almighty calmly. But I want to tell you that we are not bandits and robbers, as the Americans have accused us, but members of the revolutionary force that defended our mother country, the Philippines! Farewell! Long live the Republic and may our independence be born in the future! Long live the Philippines!”
WHEREAS, General Macario Sakay’s fight which lasted until 1906, was still part of the Philippine-American War, correcting the impression that this struggle was ended with General Aguinaldo’s surrender in 1901, and the American declaration of the end of the war on 4 July 1902. The Philippine American War started during the first shot fired by the Americans against Filipinos on 4 February 1899 at Sta. Mesa, Manila and ended during the battle between the Americans and the Tausug community on 1913 atop Bud Bagsak in June 1913. Considered as the first Vietnam-like War, the atrocities and aggression of American volunteers in this war resulted to an estimated 200,000 Filipinos dead.
WHEREAS, General Macario Sakay, despite overwhelming accounts of his love of country and immense contribution to the struggle for freedom—being the general who fought for the longest time in the Philippine Revolution and the Philippine-American War—had no major streets in the Philippines named after him. This is an indication of the lack of recognition to the heroism of this great hero.
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, as it is hereby resolved, by the PHILIPPINE HISTORICAL ASSOCIATION, to respectfully recommend to the Department of National Defense through Secretary Voltaire Gazmin, and the Philippine Veterans Affairs Office through Administrator Lt. Gen. Ernesto G. Carolina (ret.), the naming of Camp Eldridge in Los Baños, Laguna as Camp General Macario Sakay not only because of Sakay’s unsung heroism but also because the mountain where he camped—Mt. San Cristobal, falls under the jurisdiction of the provinces of Quezon and Laguna. Therefore a camp in one of the most active provinces of the Philippine Revolution, Laguna, named after General Macario Sakay, is only but fitting.
BE IT RESOLVED, FURTHER, that the association extends its commendation to LtCol. Ronald Jess S. Alcudia Inf (GSC) PA, for spearheading this advocacy to seek institutional support to rename Camp Eldridge to Camp General Macario Sakay.
BE IT RESOLVED FURTHERMORE, that the association extends its gratitude to Undersecretary Carolina for forwarding the abovementioned advocacy to the association for its opinion.
BE IT RESOLVED FURTHERMORE, that the association humbly recommends that the renaming happen at the soonest possible time within the year to coincide with the year of the 150th birth anniversary of Andres Bonifacio, whose Katipunan brotherhood Sakay was an early member.
BE IT RESOLVED FURTHERMORE, that the association proposes a symposium where the association can be invited by the Philippine Veterans Affairs Office to talk about General Macario Sakay on the forthcoming 106th anniversary of his execution on 13 September 2013 at Camp Eldridge itself or at any other date and place that can be agreed upon.
BE IT RESOLVED FINALLY, that the text of this Resolution be uploaded to the official website of the association (pha1955.blogspot.com) and be proliferated through social media for the information of the public and for its wide dissemination.
UNANIMOUSLY ADOPTED by the BOARD OF GOVERNORS OF THE PHILIPPINE HISTORICAL ASSOCIATION present during its board meeting and oath taking at the offices of the National Commission for Culture and the Arts in the historic Intramuros, City of Manila, Philippines, this Fourth day of July, in the Year of Our Lord, Two Thousand and Thirteen.
(Sgd) LUIS CAMARA DERY
(Sgd) JONATHAN CAPULAS BALSAMO
Ponente: Xiao Chua, P.R.O. of the Association