ON THE RELIGIOUS REVOLUTION
OF GREGORIO
AGLIPAY
I. Life and Times of Gregorio Aglipay
The
birth of Filipino nationalism in the 19th century in Spanish
Colonial Philippines was a factor why the issue of secularization heightened
between regular and secular clergy. Filipino secular priests agitated for reforms
and questioned why they were denied of the rights and privileges granted to
their Spanish counterparts in the parishes.
Happening
and coinciding during the era when the Filipino Nation started her quest for
identity, not far from Manila and in the ecclesiastical jurisdiction of Nueva
Segovia, Gregorio Aglipay, a prominent name in Philippine Church History was
born on May 5, 1860 in Batac, Ilocos Norte from parents Pedro Aglipay Cruz and
Victoriana Labayon Hilario.
Barely five days after Aglipay’s birth,
he was baptized as Roman Catholic and while still at the age of one year and a
half, his mother Victoriana died, thus he was raised with his mother’s family. It
is neither commented nor discussed why aglipay’s
father Pedro of Caoayan, Ilocos Sur did not rear the boy; and what is known is
the fact that aside from him, he had two brothers named Canuto, a School
Teacher and turned Police Chief during the revolution in July 1898, and the
other one was Benito.
In 1876, he began his formal studies and
at first studied in a private school of Julian Carpio for two years. However,
due to the intercession of his uncle, he transferred to San Juan de Letran, a
school run by the Dominicans in the Intramuros area. It was good for him to
have been there because she was granted scholarship through the assistance and
benevolence of the Dominican Sisters. So, he was working while studying, or a
working student [capista] for short, as such he was able to provide his own
personal needs.
Thereafter, he entered the University of
Santo Tomas [UST] for a dream to take up Law. However, he took Bachelors of
Arts first, and perhaps beyond his wildest dreams he decided to enter
priesthood instead of entering the law school.
It can be recalled that Nueva Segovia
was Aglipay’s diocese. The said diocese covered all the Ilocos area [Norte and
Sur] and the provinces or districts in its immediate vicinities. As it was a common practice being adhered too
by diocesan bishops previously, and seldom anymore today; that seminarians from
his diocese shall study and have their formation in the seminary of the
diocese, Gregorio Aglipay studied at the Seminario Conciliar de Vigan, where
Fray Celedonio Mateo de San Jose was the Rector. At the seminary, he was known as clever but
not to mean a very good student, and he too was also defiant. Nonetheless, in
the field of sports, he was considered as a good athlete and acceptingly he
bragged of this fame.
Aside from these known comments for his
near excellence in sports and weaknesses in the opposite fields of endeavors,
he was also known to be kind and generous. However, for notoriety as a night
owl or having the feel to stay late at night in order to serenade the lovely
ladies nearby, he was dismissed dishonorably from the seminary because he
usually escape at night through a line of tied clothing to ferry him down from
his room at the upper floor. The Seminary sent him home, but he went to the
Archdiocese of Manila; and not much longer with some luck or grace, he received
the Sacrament of Holy Orders.
He was ordained Sub-deacon, and later on
as Deacon; all these happened in 1887-1888. In December 21, 1889, he was
ordained as priest at the age of 29 years old by Msgr. Bernabe Garcia Cezon,
the Titular Bishop of Biblios in Sto. Domingo Church.[1] His first mass was
celebrated on Janary 1, 1890 in Sta. Cruz, Manila with Fathers Faustino Luna
and Teodoro Revilla as sponsors.
After that he began his ministry and was
assigned to various parishes as an aid, or coadjutor to the regular clergy.
Gregorio
Aglipay’s first assignment outside Manila was in Indang, Cavite, and it started
in April 1890. He was an assistant to Fray Manuel Pastor.[2] From Cavite, he was
re-assigned to San Antonio, Nueva Ecija on October 31, 1891, and was the
assistant of Fray Benito Ibañez.
A
Filipino priest’s life was always on a move, a year on assignment in San
Antonio, he again was transferred to Bocaue, Bulacan in October 1892. Taking a
longer grip of his assignment in Bocaue, he was however transferred on February
29, 1896 to San Pablo, Laguna; and ten (10) months later, he again moved to
Victoria, Tarlac on December 15, 1896 under the tutelage of an Augustinian
Friar Policarpio Ornia.
Why
was there an unreasonable movement of Filipino priests during those times? Was
it because of extreme pastoral works that compelled the need of reassignment,
or was there any primer reason other than priestly ministry functions why there
had been a continuous and unusual movement, or transfer of Filipino priests?
In
the case of Gregorio Aglipay, when Bonifacio and his band of Katipuneros
started the call to revolution in the historic Cry of Pugad Lawin or Balintawak
by tearing off their cedulas in protests, the former was stationed yet in San
Pablo, Laguna. But when the embers of revolution reached the town of Victoria,
Tarlac in January 1897, Aglipay assisted his Parish Priests when the havoc and
fear of unrest rocked their place.
Despite
of his close attachment to his Superior, Friar Policarpio Ornia by assisting
him much when the revolution reached their parish, could it be possible that
Aglipay went underground and was closely involved with the insurrectos or insurgents?
From
the writings of scholars in authority of the revolution, they say Aglipay was involved.
As such, if he was jumping from one parish to another, it was an outcome of
suspicion out of his own making if ever he had been involved politically in the
struggle the nationalists were dealing with.[3]
So,
based on this, it is therefore not unusual for Filipino priests during those
times to be transferred anytime to other places of assignments, or even drastically
sent to exile like Fr. Mariano Sevilla who was exiled in Marianas.[4] By mere suspicion only
even if based from unfounded beliefs, an Indio priest could be transferred
immediately elsewhere.
If
accusations were stronger, and bunch of fabricated evidences and file of lies
were presented, it may even cause one’s life like what happened to Fathers Jose
Burgos, Mariano Gomez, and Jacinto Zamora in their indictment to have
participated or behind the Cavite Revolt in 1872.[5]
Doubt
was then a priceless virtue of those who ruled the Philippines. The Indio
priests acted always under the shadows of suspicion of their Superiors,
nonetheless, we could not say the situation was endemic, but it was indeed
happening.
II. The Revolution: Aglipay’s Involvement and His
Schismatic Ideas.
Despite
the Revolution in 1896 had gained momentum, which previously was like a spreading
wildfire not only in the nearby provinces of Manila, but as well as in Mindanao,
it was unfortunately brought to a temporary end as a consequence of the peace
efforts of Don Fernando Primo de Rivera, Governor General of the Philippines.[6] He signed on behalf of the Spanish Colonial
Government a truce or an agreement known as the Pact of Biak-na-Bato on
December 14, 1897 with the leaders of the revolution, thus ending the
hostilities between the two warring forces.
Clearly the facts had been laid down in
the previous essay that since Gregorio Aglipay started his ministry as priest
in May 1890, he was already assigned to five different parishes for a span of
time of about six years i.e. that from May 1890 up to December 15, 1896 in
Victoria, Tarlac.
His involvement during the Revolution of
1896 was keenly noted to have happened in 1897, when he founded a group called
as Liwanag, an auxiliary of the
Katipunan in Victoria, Tarlac.[7] Such fact was attested by scholars
and in the history of that town. The extent of his participation was probably only
minute logistical support and maybe too for human resource development in the
recruitment of men for the cause. But the ratification of the Pact of
Biak-na-Bato on December 14, 1897, had concluded the hostilities; and probably too
ended his revolutionary fervor temporarily more so that the prominent leaders
of the revolution were exiled. General Aguinaldo for one, with his core
officers agreed to be exiled in Hongkong.
The Onset of the Spanish-American War:
While
Aguinaldo was in Hongkong, the American-Spanish War broke out on April 21,
1898. The Philippines being a colony of Spain was attacked by Admiral George Dewey’s
fleet off the coast of Cavite on May 1, 1898. The Spanish fleet under Admiral Patricio
Montejo was defeated, however no beachhead position was established by the
Americans because their seaborne marines were only few, just enough to man or
guard the shipyard [Sangley Point] in Cavite, which they occupied. So, Dewey
waited for the infantry to arrive, which were in route yet to the Philippines from
San Francisco for the final invasion.[8]
Before
the battle of Manila Bay on May 1, 1898, envoys of Admiral Dewey had contacted
Aguinaldo in Hongkong and part of the concluded agreement was that Aguinaldo
shall return to the Philippines and start the war anew against Spain. U.S. Government would recognize Philippine
sovereignty should he be successful in the crusade for liberation and the
Philippines shall be made as a naval protectorate by the Americans.
Indeed Aguinaldo arrived to Cavite on
May 19, 1898 on board one of Dewey’s naval ship, USS McCullock. Not much later,
the cache of guns and ammunition arrived too, those he bought it while he was
in Hongkong; and such was shipped by a consular official named Wildman[9]. The cargoes amounted to
P50,000.00, a huge sum of money in those days.
By June 1, 1898, Aguinaldo’s forces
surrounded Manila and blockaded it purposely to starve the city, nevertheless;
it was not successful even on the first day because most of the inhabitants in
the city had relatives or friends in the Aguinaldo Army. It was unfair blocking
in food lines going to the city, as if they were writing the death sentences of
their friends and relatives.
Proclamation of National Government:
One
thing sure, there was fighting, but perhaps it had not reached to a point where
we can say that it was fought hard or there was heavy fighting. On June 12,
1898 Aguinaldo proclaimed Philippine Independence in Kawit-Bacoor, Cavite; he
was now not merely the military leader of his province, as in 1896-97, but he acted
now as President of the national government, as well.[10] He was in dire need of
learned men as adviser; Apolinario Mabini became the principal advisor in June
1898.[11] Mabini was no longer a
believing Catholic, he was a Mason, as most of the Filipino activists in Spain,
who were members of the Masonic lodges under the Gran Oriente Español. So, rightly, there had been deep inside him
that feeling of anticlerical.[12]
In June 1898, Aguinaldo appointed Fr.
Gregorio Aglipay as Military Chaplain and sent him to Ilocos to raise funds for
the cause. Despite, the former was an Ilocano, he belonged to the archdiocese
of Manila, as he finished Theology in Manila and ordained priest at Sto. Domingo
Church in 1889, as can be recalled.[13] His assignment in the
north clearly implies that revolutionary fervor was active in those areas.
In the meanwhile going back to Manila,
when Aguinaldo heard that the Americans were on their way from San Francisco,
California, he exerted more pressure upon the city of Manila. They attacked
Blockhouse No. 2 from Caloocan Road on July 20. At last the American
Expeditionary forces arrived in Manila after steaming for many weeks across the
Pacific Ocean, and they were first noticed on July 22, 1898 near Fort San
Antonio Abad. On the following day, July 23, Aguinaldo’s forces attacked San
Pedro Makati and Blockhouse No. 11. By the end of the second week of July, the
Spanish Army lost 10 officers and another 50 soldiers.[14] Still, this was not heavy
fighting yet, it has to come, soldiers from both camps may have thought of
these grim realities.
On
August 7, 1898, General Wesley Merritt and Admiral Dewey gave an ultimatum to
Brig. General Jaudenes, Spanish Commander of Manila, who had just assumed the
command from General Basilio Agustin; to surrender otherwise if he would no,
anytime after the expiration of 49 hours, an attack would be launched. Nevertheless,
Jaudenes would not surrender nor evacuate the children and the sick away from
the battlegrounds. The wall city was jumped pack with about 70,000 people that
supposedly would accommodate only 10,000. When bombardment was inevitably near,
the inhabitants of Manila began to flee for safety to the suburbs.
When
the day of days came i.e. August 13, 1898, after a night of rain on the 12th
the following early morning was muggy. At about 9:30 in the morning, the mock
battle began, Dewey‘s naval ships bombarded Fort San Antonio Abad in Malate and
the entrenchment, and the roof of the walled city. USS Utah fired her against Blockhouse No. 14
and the fortification fronting them or that on the west side. Barely an hour of
bombardment, at 10:25 A.M. the ships’ batteries ceased on firing, a white flag
was hoisted from the southern bastion of Intramuros. The prearranged signal was
given by the Navy for the American seaborne to go in. The gunboat Callao backed
up General Greene forces who moved in the direction of Camino Real, some 220
years from the beach, while General Arthur MacArthur breakthrough to
Singalong. At San Antonio Abad, the big
guns were silent; the soldiers had abandoned them and so with the trenches.
The
terms of surrender was signed by Brig. General Jaudenes and General Wesley
Merritt, American Commander. Shortly thereafter, the American flag rose and
saluted by the batteries of the navy; and the 2nd Oregon Regiment
was deployed at the city’s wall as provost guards. Their commanding officer, a
colonel was directed to receive the arms of the defeated Spanish Army. Filipinos
began to doubt the sincerity of Uncle Sam’s promise, they were forbidden to go
inside the wall city nor their officers participated in the drafting of the
Term of Capitulation. On the part of the Filipino soldiers, the day therefore
was ended by scattering rifle fires of Filipinos against retreating Spaniards.[15]
By
September 1898, the Malolos Congress tackled the affairs of the new Philippine
government, they met at Barasoain Church. The proposed Programa Constitucional, which Apolinario Mabini drafted, provided
the separation of the Church and the State. It was set aside because such was a
big issue inasmuch as Filipino clergy headed by Fr. Mariano Sevilla[16] were opposed to the
separation, as were most of the good Catholics. There was a constitutional
draft authored by Felipe Calderon providing Catholicism as the state religion.
Other provisions of the constitution had no much difficulty in its approval,
but when the provisions of religion were opened to debate, Congress was divided
into two schools of thoughts.
Since
Mabini was too sharp and noticed the danger of disunity among the Filipinos, he
insisted that matters on religion must be put aside and taken later when the
atmosphere would be alright. But the final draft the State recognized the
freedom and equality of all religions, as well as the separation of the Church
and State.
To
quiet the issue on separation of the Church and State, Mabini’s solution was
creating and providing a Transitory Provision. The theme in the transitory
provision was the suspension of the separatist provision; the latter can be
discussed again till a new constitutional convention shall be formed in
peaceful times. The Constitution was
ratified and the republic was proclaimed on January 23, 1899.
Shortly
after the Malolos Congress was convened and before the ratification of the
constitution in January 1899, President Emilio Aguinaldo and his brother Baldomero,
the Secretary of War; signed a decree promoting Gregorio Aglipay from Military
Chaplain to Vicario General Castrense or
Military Vicar General effective October 20, 1898 in recognition of his
laudable spiritual services.[17] With such appointment, he
was the Chief Ecclesiastical Superior of those under arms during the
revolution.
Aglipay’s Manifestos:
In
line with his appointment, Aglipay issued three (3) manifestos on October 21st,
22nd, and 28th, respectively.[18] He issued the first
manifesto from Malolos, and it was centered on a call, encouraging the Filipino
clergy to unite and take over the jurisdiction and spiritual authority of the
Catholic Church in the Philippines. Along with that a Canonical confirmation is
desired to be secured from Rome for the recognition of the temporary system and
structure where the Filipino clergy and the Catholic Church have been
advocating. It was their intention not to separate from Rome.[19]
His
second manifesto was more on a circular and it says that it was justifiable to
cooperate with the revolutionary government (Aguinaldo) because it would
steadfastly support the church with proper intentions. The third manifesto was a treatise on Church
and State relations. The following were stipulated and affirmed by the
Assembly: (a) The Church is independent or separate from the State; (b) Clergy
must live in harmony with the civil authorities; (c) Filipino clergy shall
obtain from government whatever was needed for their works. [This is some sort
of the revival of medievalism where the Cross and the Sword work in unison.] If
the church is independent from the state, why would it be necessary for her to
tell the state of what she has been doing, or what had been done?
Since
Bishop John Hevia Campomanes of Nuevo Segovia was taken prisoner by General
Tinio’s group in Aparri while the former was attempting to escape, Aglipay had
realized that he could only function effectively if he had a jurisdiction and
clothe with proper ecclesiastical authority. Thus, he went to Pangasinan and
askd Fr. Jorge Arjol, the Vicar Forane to convey into him his title. Arjol
refused and threatened Aglipay for excommunication in pursuance to Apostolica
Sedis. Defeated but still possessing that last flicker of hope, he shifted to
other strategy and this time he went to Aparri from Vigan on board a ship
“Saturnus”; and with him were three letters of introduction or commendation
from Fathers Eustquio Gallardo, Pedro Brillantes, and Doroteo Foronda.
Probably
being thoroughly convinced of Aglipay’s integrity and performance as vouched by
the endorsements of the three priests whom he knew well, on November 15, 1898,
Campomanes issued an appointment to Aglipay appointing him as the Ecclesiastical
Governor of the diocese vice his absence being in prison.
From Aparri he traveled on similar route
and arrived in Manila n November 28, 1898. After finishing his business in
Manila, he went home to Vigan on land and not much later, he was installed as
the Ecclesiastical Governor of the diocese. However, such appointment had substantial
moral deficiencies and perhaps issued by his Superior out of ignorance of the
happening of times.
There exists therefore an academic
question whether or not the appointment of Aglipay, which Campomanes issued,
was valid?
For this, Archutegui and Bernad answer
the said question this way: The appointment
was issued or made in ignorance of the true state of affairs. Had Bishop
Campomanes known of Aglipay’s three manifestos issued a few weeks previously,
he would never have appointed Aglipay to that title or position of prestige. At
the time of his appointment, he had already willfully denied the jurisdiction
and authority of the incumbent bishops, which too included Campomanes. The
appointment therefore was null and void from the beginning [null and void ab
initio], for what he did was indeed subject, or had incurred excommunication. (Archutegui
and Bernad, 84.)
Furthermore, they (Archutegui and
Bernad) said, he (Aglipay) had exercised ecclesiastical jurisdiction which did
not belong to him. Doing that he had already incurred excommunication because
it is a maxim that no person can validly be granted ecclesiastical jurisdiction
if that person is excommunicate from the church. (Scott, 26).
The evil side of Aglipay’s grabbing of
authority maybe was compensated by the fact that he was able to re-open the
Vigan seminary and a School for Girls thereat. With that just named position of
honor, he was able to issue 24 circulars pertaining on administrative,
political and finance; and all that of course were anti-American.[20]
The Excommunication:
By May
4, 1899, Bishop Bernardino Nozaleda of the Archdiocese of Manila issued a
decree finding Fr. Gregorio Aglipay guilty of excommunication based on the
following reasons:
a) Aglipay
vehemently ignored three summons dated respectively on November 22, 1898,
December 23, 1898, and January 9, 1899, and consequently had his declaration
for rebellion and contumacy;
b) His
circular and having appointed Fr. Eutiquio Gallardo as Vicar Forane of Nueva Segovia,
it was done without proper authority;
and further styling himself as the “Capellan Castrense de Ejercito de la
Revolucionario;
c) His
issuance of two manifestos on October 21-22, 1898;
d) His
open letter to Bishop Nozaleda, published in El Heraldo; and it had been grubby
with much sarcasm;
e) His
unauthorized action in trying to organize and unite the clergy to give some
teeth on the execution of the contents of the manifesto he issued on October
21, 1898.
Aside
from the above enumerated reasons of excommunication, four (4) considerations
were further laid down:
a) Usurpation
of authority and either done with malice or done because of unpardonable
ignorance of Canon Law by appointing Fr. Eustaquio Gallardo;
b) His
two issued manifestos contained doctrines subversive of ecclesiastical
authority and discipline;
c) The
title as Vicar General Castrense was arrogantly abused by Aglipay, using as
such it had incurred penalties that include excommunication, interdict, and in
contumacy – he shall be deprived of the exercise of sacred ministry; and
d) In
ecclesiastical matters, Aglipay recoursed to civil authority to gain aid and
favor.[21]
The
Dean of Cathedral Chapter in the Archdiocese of Manila, Silvano Lopez Tunon,
who too was a Vicar General summarized Aglipay’s case and rendered decision in
the presence of a Notary Public on April 29, 1899. Nevertheless,
excommunication was not inflicted on Aglipay, however he was found guilty of
excommunication, for he had committed actions in contrary to Church Laws on
Canon, Dogmas, and so on.
Henceforth,
in Nueva Segovia every church’s door was posted printed copies of
excommunication and circulated in the province.
Repudiation of Excommunication:
The
charisma of Aglipay was indeed smeared by the decree of excommunication that
was posted and circulated in every parish and in the vicariates of the entire
diocese. So, in order to reverse the tide of shame, Fr. Pio Romero, Aglipay’s
Secretary issued a circular, summarizing his denial of the validity of the
excommunication, as follows:
a)
That the circulated copies of Aglipay’s
excommunication are not authentic;
b)
That the Ecclesiastical Tribunal of Manila has no
jurisdiction in Nueva Segovia; and
c)
That the considerantos
and the dispositive portion of the sentence do not conform to the
indictment, which supposedly has to substantiate it.
Archbishop Nozaleda Response:
In
answer to Pio Romero’s circular, the Archbishop of Manila on September 13, 1899
sent a Letter Circular to the clergy of Nueva Segovia. The following points
were stressed:
a)
Aglipay incurred grievous excommunication case
before the Ecclesiastical Tribunal of Manila;
b)
Supposedly he could not call himself legally as
either Military Vicar General or Ecclesiastical Governor of Nueva Segovia;
c)
All appointments made by Aglipay were null and
void, as such it included the appointment of Eustaquio Gallardo as Vicar Forane;
d)
His appointment as Ecclesiastical Governor was null
and void because the appointee was excommunicated, henceforth he was incapable,
by absolute impediment, of obtaining or exercising any ecclesiastical
jurisdiction;
e)
The only legitimate ecclesiastic superior of Nueva
Segovia is the bishop.
As
a result of Archbishop Bernardino Nozaleda’s answer to Pio Romero’s circular
and when the excommunication of Aglipay became public, Fr. Isaac Albano of
Alcala, Cagayan, a supporter who accepted the authority of Aglipay previously,
wrote a retraction letter to Bishop Campomanes and affirmed his support and
allegiance to the former.[22]
Probably
to express or execute fully the validity of the Archbishop’s decision regarding
the nullity of appointments issued by Aglipay, on September 13, 1899, Nozaleda
issued an appointment to Eusebio Natividad as Vicar Forane replacing the bogus
appointment. Nozaleda expected that there would be some interventions from
government. Thus, it had.
At
this point in time, the Philippine Government intervened. Severino de las Alas,
the Secretary of the Interior pointed out that the ecclesiastical authority of
Aglipay as Military Vicar General was recognized by the government. As such,
any attack on him can also be classified as an indirect attack also to the
government. It was said that Aglipay’s
bitterness was the result of constant hatred from the Friars.
Earlier
in August 1899 to be specific on the 19th of the month, Bishop
Campomanes issued five (5) circulars deposing or ejecting Aglipay in line with
the circularized excommunication decree.
For
this, Aglipay defended himself with the following arguments, to mention a few:
a.
All Friar Bishops including Nozaleda lost their jurisdiction by virtue of the
Philippine Revolution. Being enemies of the people, they could not rule them.
b.
The revolution was indeed a blessing, the Friar Bishops and regular clergy
disregarded or neglected the rights of Filipino clergy and people.
c.
Accordingly, Aglipay was compelled to take leadership in ecclesiastical
governance in the interest of the church, in the absence of ecclesiastical
jurisdiction.
d.
The Filipino Government did not appoint Aglipay as Head of the Church; instead
it merely recognized him as the leader.
e.
He was not guilty of usurpation of authority; what he did was to try to do what
shall be done in the existing circumstances.
By
the way, the brilliant Apolinario Mabini, who was a Mason and a non-believing
Catholic, prepared the written defenses of Aglipay.
The Onset of the Filipino-American War:
The
Malolos Constitution was ratified in January 1899 by the congress. In some
sense, the ratification of the constitution meant that the Filipino government
did not recognize the sovereignty of the American occupation of Manila. Why
would also the Filipino Government recognized the sovereignty of U.S. in the
Manila, it would have even the other way around – U.S. shall recognize Filipino
sovereignty in their own country because it was also part of the deal in
Hongkong that the Philippines shall be under the naval protectorate of the
U.S.; and its sovereignty ensured.
But
it did go the other way, and eventually the Filipino-American War started on
February 4, 1899 being ignited by a incident at the bridge when an American
soldier mistakenly shot a Filipino, who was on the other end of the bridge. The
war eventually started later after the first volley of fire went delivering its
lethal blow.
The Paniqui Assembly, Its Constitution:
In
October 1899, the Panique Assembly was convened by Aglipay in Panique, Tarlac.
In attendance were 25 Filipino clergy. Its purpose was to organize the Filipino
clergy under his leadership and to demand from Rome the appointments of
Filipino Bishops in consonance with his first manifesto in October 1898.
The
assembly was geared to withdraw allegiance and recognition of the authority of
Spanish Bishops [Bishops of Manila, Nueva Segovia, Nueva Caceres, Cebu, and
Jaro] and for effecting the organization that Mabini called as the
“Organizacion del Clero Filipino”, which had the provisional constitution of
the Filipino Church.
It
had three (3) theses: a) The downfall of Spanish sovereignty, the authority or
legal ascendancy of the incumbent bishops likewise fell; b) the Spanish bishops
in the Philippines were in actual fact incapacitated; and c) any appointment of
Bishops, who are not Filipinos, must not be consented.[23]
Rightly,
it was the perception of the Filipino clergy that the revolutionary cause was
so great, and it would soon be recognized by Rome and the world powers.
So,
a council was formed composed of a President, Secretary appointed by the
President, two delegates from each diocese who were to be elected by the
Lieutenant Vicars of the province within the diocese. The approved constitution
had a preamble, nine (9) Canons, and three temporary provisions.
In
brief, the constitution contained the following main points:
a) It
had a declaration of loyalty to the Holy Father;
b) Repudiation
of the jurisdiction of the Friar bishops;
c) No
Bishop would be accepted unless they were Filipinos; and
d) Governance
of the Filipino Church was under the rein of a council headed by Aglipay as
Military Vicar General.
The
Paniqui Assembly was disbanded, the Americans moved towards the direction of
Tarlac; and Aguinaldo pulled back to the north – Ilocos Norte on November 18,
1899. Aglipay withdrew too with Aguinaldo and proceeded to Batac, Ilocos Norte,
where he organized his own band of guerillas with Simon Mandac, as an Aide de
Camp and Deputy Commander.
Had
the Paniqui Assembly not been disbanded, it would have led to the early
beginnings of the Iglesia Filipina Independiente.
In
the meanwhile, the war indeed reached north, and Aglipay holed in Mabaleng. On
April 16, 1900 his band of guerillas met the Americans; there was an
engagement. So, they moved to Payao, unfortunately however again they were
ambushed and ninety-six (96) men died. In another place again named Maoakoakar,
they lost 27 more men from enemy attack. Starved, weary, and outfought, they
transferred to Simibulan, then to Tipcal in December 1900. Thereafter, they
transferred to Possuak in February 1901.[24]
Extremely
tired of fighting and had given up hope to be able to achieve final victory
because of the might of the Americans and the futility of the cause they had
been fighting for, Aglipay surrendered. He felt safer with the Americans than
with his brother guerillas.[25]
With
the assistance of Dr. Telesforo Ejercito, a fellow student while Aglipay was at
Letran College, persuaded him to surrender. However it was Dr. Trinidad Pardo
de Tavera, who initiated such move which brought Ejercito to the Ilocos Region.
But in order to contract or see Aglipay, Ejercito needed the services of Dr.
Juan Purugganan, who lived in Dingras.
Aglipay
together with his friends or emissaries went to Laoag, where the headquarters
of Colonel MacCaskey, where the former surrendered.[26] His surrender was perhaps
looked upon by his followers as the right thing to do. After some persuasion he
made to his followers, they surrendered too. However, a few chose to continue the
struggle in the dense forest of the north that safeguarded them.
While
in Laoag after his surrender, Aglipay stayed in the house of Fr. Jose
Evangelista. By the end of June 1901, he and Simon Mandac transferred to Manila
and lived in the house of Dr. Ejercito’s aunt, Doña Francisca de Lisa Ocampo; in Sta. Cruz until
October 3, 1907.
III. The Founding
of the IFI to the Demise of Aglipay:
Aglipay while in Manila stayed at No. 54 Calle
Espelleta in Sta. Cruz [in the house of Doña Francisca]. An important event in
Philippine Church History took place, on August 3, 1902. Isabelo de los Reyes,
an appointee of Aglipay to represent the Filipino Clergy at the Holy See in
Rome; who was an anti-friar and likewise anti-American, and by some
circumstance was formerly a prisoner in Barcelona, Spain, decided to launch
formally the Filipino Church. Sensing and believing that it was the appropriate
time to daringly proclaim the separation and be independent from the Roman
Catholic Church in Rome.
The
rupture was on August 3, 1902, however a month earlier, preparation, and notice
had been made, in fact it was published in “El Grito del Pueblo” with Don
Pascual Poblete as the Editor. It was an invitation of a grand meeting at
Teatro Zorilla; the meeting would demand the expulsion of the friars and
highlighted by the proclamation of a Filipino Independent Church. However, due
to the intervention of the Americans, the meeting did not take place at Teatro
Zorilla as planned, but instead it convened through the call of de los Reyes at
Centro de Bellas Artes, where it was attended by the members of the Union
Obrero Democratica or Democratic Labor Union, which he headed.
The
reason of the abrupt change of venue, which supposedly to happen at the Teatro
was attributed to the ban imposed by the civil authority on such assembly
probably for the interest of state security more so that the Filipino-American War was just
concluded. Despite of the predicament,
Isabelo de los Reyes delivered his speech eloquently to a crowd of forty-two
(42) members of the Union Obrero Democratico, who were there; nevertheless, to
other sources, the attendance was amplified in numbers to give a band wagon
effect.[27]
De
los Reyes’ speech declared that their greatest enemy was the Pope, probably
because he did not abide with the terms they submitted to Vatican regarding the
sole appointments to bishopric by Filipino clergy only.
During
his speech, he announced the church structure shall be composed of two
councils, the Executive and Dogmatic.[28]
Perhaps
the newly declared Filipino Church was not able to gain widespread support from
prominent Catholic Filipinos, neither from the leaders of civic organizations
nor from the Filipino clergy themselves. Take the case of Fr. Jorge Barlin, he
was appointed by Isabelo de los Reyes to a position of distinction in the IFI
on October 3, 1902; nevertheless, he refused and sent the appointment back to
him. For Trinidad Pardo and Jose Alemany who both were from the Federal Party,
they denied to have been connected with the organization of De los Reyes; and
they did not accept the appointments. Even Aglipay himself reacted to the
launching by circulating a letter through the El Grito, where it invited
Filipino clergy to a conference.
Unequivocally, Gregorio Aglipay was appointment
as the Head of the Iglesia Filipina Independiente, however he did not accept
the appointment right away, but went to a spiritual retreat to give him ample
time whether or not he would have to accept it. He was at the Jesuit House in
Sta. Ana in Pasig – La Ignaciana for four days. On the fifth day he left the
retreat and had decided to accept the appointment and started working on the
constitution of the IFI, which Isabelo de los Reyes had drafted.
They issued four (4) epistles with the
following contents:
a. First
Letter dated September 2, 1902. It was an Episcopal Consecration and it
emphasized the argument: “In cases of extreme necessity, if even a layman could
confer baptism, the most essential of the sacrament; why would not a priest
take the place of a bishop and confer the Sacrament of the Holy Order in case
of necessity.”[29]
b. Second
Letter dated October 2, 1902. Apparently, it was a letter replying Bishop
Garcia Alcocer of Cebu and about the establishment of seminaries, temples, and
cemeteries belonging to the church.
c. Third
Letter dated October 17, 1902.
Well, it said that the Cult of the Saints, or in what we know as
Veneration of Saints, was an innovation of the Friars.
Furthermore, novenas were just “written forms of prayers made by Friars,
who had nothing to do, and were neurasthenic and starved for meat.”
[What maybe they meant to say was denoting on carnal desire.]
d. Fourth
letter dated October 29, 1902. The letter was signed by fifteen (15) Bishops,
who accepted their appointments. It contained on matters about the formation of
diocese and parochial committees of lay Filipinos; and a plan for training of
priests for simplified an amplified Theology, a study for a year each.
Eventually,
after the declaration of the IFI in August 1902, what followed next was the
solemn inauguration of the IFI on October 26, 1902 at 8:00 in the morning in
Azcarraga Street [now Claro M. Rector St./] in front of Botica Morelos. Felipe
Buencamino organized the Pontifical Mass, which Gregorio Aglipay celebrated. When
the mass ended, the celebrant took off his chasuble and began his persuasive
sermon why they parted from the Roman Catholic Church of Rome.
He
said that (a) There existed a great necessity of re-establishing the true
worship of the True God and restoring the purity of the Word of God. (b) The
rupture or separation was essential to uphold the national dignity of the
Filipino clergy who long were ignored and despoiled of their rights.[30]
After
the lapse of two months and nearing the third month following the solemn
inauguration of the IFI, Gregorio Aglipay was consecrated as Bishop on January
18, 1903 at a chapel on Calle Lemery with Fr. Jose Evangelista of Laoag
officiating.
Early Action of the Holy See about Philippine
Problems:
There
had been no concrete remedies initiated by Vatican to solve the manifold of
problems the Roman Catholic Church in the Phiippins had, from secularization
down to friar lands, the situation went as is.
As can be traced historically, Spanish
colonization of the Philippines was through a mandate of the Patronata Real,
where Spain had the right to colonize and occupy the Philippines because of its
ecclesiastic role to spread Christianity in this part of the world. The mandate
of the Patronata ceased when Spain lost her sovereignty in the Philippines and
new foreign power named America started her domination where many approvingly
sided the American concept of “benevolent assimilation”.
In 1804 Carlos IV of Spain had coerced
from Rome a papal document removing all the orders in Spain from the
jurisdiction of their Roman Superiors. With the suppression of the orders in
Spain in 1837, the Philippine Provinces of the Friar Orders [Dominicans,
Augustinians, Franciscans, and Recollects] existed in isolation, and there was
no outside assistance to enable them to counteract or solve the difficult
situation to which they were in. Although, the Spanish Government used to
criticize the friars of their lapses and inadequacies as a Religious Order;
government however was unwilling to permit them to return to their normal
existence, which was under the authority of their superiors and the Holy See.[31]
The friars had taken some measures to
free themselves from this unusual or extra-ordinary situation towards the
latter part of the 19th century. In 1872, the Dominicans was able to
reunite with Rome, despite government had efforts to block it. The Augustinians
followed similarly only in 1894. The situation where they were in had constituted
the relaxation of discipline and other ideal traits priests should have in all
the orders. So, when Filipino nationalists or activists began to attack the
morals of friars, the extent of their accusations were right and not merely exaggeration.[32]
This was the scenario in those times and
with regards to the inequality of rights between friars or regular Spanish
Clergy and the secular clergy – the Filipino priests, the growth or birth of
semi-schismatic ideas, and so on, Rome
did nothing about these problems not until the appointment of Archbishop
Placide Chapelle of New Orleans as the first Apostolic Delegate to come to the
Philppines. Archbishop Chapelle arrived in Manila in January 1900.[33]
Although Archbishop Chapelle failed to
champion the cause of Filipino clergy because he favored the return of the regular
friars to the parishes, and such decision made was likely to provoke only
disorder. Likely because his representations, in July 1900 the Roman
Congregation of the Council issued a decree suspending fro the ministry any
priest who without permission left his post to take part in wars or revolution.
In general, the Filipino clergy opposed their return to the parishes.
Despite, there were lapses and errors in
the first visitation of Rome’s representative; it was too consoling that after
all she had seen the problems in the Philippines. As early as the 1860’s headed
by Fr. Pedro Pelaez, or 1872 (Gomburza), the Filipino Clergy had begun advocating
for reforms regarding the confronting problems of the Roman Catholic Church in
the Philippines.
Well, the second Apostolic Delegate to
the Philippines was Archbishop Giovanni Battista Guidi. He arrived in Manila in
November 1902 and he brought an apostolic letter “Quae Mari Sinico” that was
promulgated latter on December 8, 1902. The apostolic letter had to address the
ecclesiastical problems of the country.
These were the contents:
- It (Holy See) acknowledged the change of sovereignty in the islands.
- It reorganized the Philippines with the creation of new dioceses.
- It promised positions of responsibility to native clergy.
- It warned against participation in politics.
- It gave directions for seminaries, exhorted clergy to holiness.
- It raised UST as a Pontifical Institute (now a Pontifical University under the Dominicans)[34].
In
the meanwhile, though there were solutions on hand, not all even Catholics
liked the remedies the Holy See had proposed.
The
return of Spanish Bishops to their respective assignments indeed happened after
the political situation soon became stable. It was however an igniting factor
for the native clergy to be having the same superiors whom they think had made
their lives miserable. But there was nothing that could be done.
Unfortunately,
it would be four more years before new bishops would come to replace them.[35] But the appointments of
American Bishops became also as factors to the rise of conversion to the IFI
from the Roman Catholics. The IFI
continued to spread except in the Diocese of Nueva Caceres (Camarines).
Despite
it did rise, it also declined as a natural phenomenon; and there are reasons,
to wit:
a) Firm
adherence to the Roman Catholic Church of numerous Filipino clergy all over the
archipelago;
b) Appointment
of American bishops and re-opening of Roman Catholic seminaries. (Seminaries
were closed in 1898 and from then on there was no ordination until it was
opened later.)
c) Discovery
and expose’ of a revolt led by Simeon Mandac in Ilocos Norte. He was the
Executive Secretary of the IFI and convicted for murder and sedition;
d) Aglipay’s
failure or inability to secure from Bishop Brent of the Protestant Episcopalian
Church and Bishop Herzog of the Old Catholic Church in Switzerland of an
“Apostolic Succession”; and
e) Fr.
Jorge Barlin, a Filipino, elevation to the Episcopacy.[36]
Aglipay
continued to push on his ecclesiastical works for the advancement of the IFI
together with Isabelo de Los Reyes, although there was a significant decline in
membership.
Putting
the last cream of schism, he married Pilar Jamias aged 64 on March 12, 1939.
Aglipay was at that time 74 years old, but to fulfill the deathbed final
request of their daughter Liwliwa who was 24 years old at the time of her
death.
On
August 26, 1940, at 12:15 PM he died because of cerebral stroke after six (6)
days of struggle to live. A Retraction letter would have been made but it is still
unverified. He was laid in state at the Aglipayan Cathedral in Tondo and buried
in the cathedral, but eventually was reburied in his hometown in Batac, Ilocos
Norte.
CONCLUSION:
A
great man in Philippine Church History though he was one of the controversial
figures having been known also as the “Martin Luther in the Philippines”,
Gregorio Aglipay successfully ruptured the Roman Catholic institution in the
Philippines because of his schism.
As a man, he had his weaknesses and
strong points. His strong point was that, he was able to achieve what he
desires for in his life, desires to become a priest and indeed he became one.
The weakness which he had was having a softer heart “pusong mamon”. From what we read, perhaps it is safe to say
that he aspired for a change that was why he advocated for reforms and
ultimately resorted to the use of arms to fight for what he believed was just
for the sake of freedom. His thoughts maybe was like the way Fr. Jose Natera of
Albay, who during the revolution died in battle as a deputy Commander of the
Province with a rank of a lieutenant colonel.
Nevertheless, as a legitimate Roman
Catholic priest in the order of Melquisedic, he should have observed strictly
the Dogmas and Canons; and all the church teachings he knew.
However, he strongly agitated that “In
cases of extreme necessity, if even a layman could confer baptism, the most
essential of the sacrament; why would not a priest take the place of a bishop
and confer the Sacrament of the Holy Order in case of necessity.” Such
statement is a schismatic. So, he
therefore doubted or began to doubt the teaching of the church. It is
unequivocal that only Bishops and above those hierarchal echelon shall have the
authority to confer the Sacrament of Holy Orders. Why had he twisted this
dogma?
It is therefore fair that a decree of
excommunication was issued by Archbishop Bernardino Nozaleda inasmuch as aside
from being schismatic, he was also rebellious to the Order where he
belonged. He was summoned to appear for
three times at the Cathedral Chapter, but he vehemently ignored the summons.
Henceforth, being rebellious to the
Order or to his lawful Ecclesiastical Superior, he is disobedient. Obedience is
one important vow of a priest regardless whether he is a religious or a secular
priest.
Partly Church History shall remember
Aglipay as the man who had kept the Church alive during the trying times of the
Revolution. Had he not stood up when there were no more Spanish Friars because
they fled from imprisonment and for their lives, exercise of piety such as
regular masses and so on would have been unsaid. But there was this man, who
stood and united the Filipino clergy to perpetuate the priestly functions even in
times of war or revolution.
It was only by accident that he came to
know Apolinario Mabini and Isabelo de los Reyes, who were all non-believing
Catholics. Mabini was a Mason and there was no mentioned about Reyes to have
been connected with Masonry, but his thoughts were indeed more or less similar
with Mabini. Probably, these two
associates had influenced him much that finally he severed his link with the
Roman Catholic Church in favor of the ideology, which were even new to him, I
believe so.
At first maybe it was not his dream to
separate from Rome, in fact the Paniqui Constitution had manifested a
declaration of loyalty with Rome, its idea was not of separation.
We
are incapable of sizing Aglipay’s thought, we, here would just make some
assumption based on what we read and had known about him. But clearly, Aglipay was seeking Divine
guidance because before the appointment was fed spoonfully by Isabelo de los
Reyes to him, he did not accept nor grab the appointment wolfishly had he been
hungry of power and fame, but instead he underwent to a spiritual retreat; and
decided later to accept the appointment that would make and unmake him in the
annals of Philppine Church History.
With
him and in him, the ideals of “Padre Capitanes” had once more resurrected
though Fr. Pedro de San Agustin, a Recoleto in Cagayan de Misamis, and Fr. Jose
Ducos, SJ of Iligan had long demised. Be as it may, their memories still linger
on, and Gregorio Aglipay from the north was able to achieve this fame, should
we give that credit to him.
oOo
NOTES
[1] The old Sto. Domingo
Church/Convent was the first edifice built by the Spanish Dominicans shortly
after their arrival in the Philippines. It was erected at Intramuros and
inaugurated on January 1, 1588. Since it was made of light materials such as
bamboo, wood, and nipa, it collapsed a year later. Reconstruction was done, and
this time it was made of stronger materials, it lasted but it was unable to
withstand the fury of the strong earthquake in 1603. Again, it was reconstructed,
nonetheless; the quakes destroyed it in 1645 and twice in 1863. On August 30,
1864, a new Sto. Domingo Church/Convent was built that would be earthquake
proof and typhoon-resilient. Dominican cooperator-brothers who worked when the
Vatican was remodeled helped in the construction, and its result was splendid
in Gothic architecture. If it had withstood destruction from natural
calamities, it failed to escape the wrath of war. In 1941 Manila was heavily
bombed by opposing air force, the Sto. Domingo was among that was destroyed. On
October 10, 1954, the new Sto. Domingo Church/Convent was solemnly blessed by
Rufino Cardinal Santos. The edifice is located in Quezon City and three
kilometers ay from UST. __ See Rolando V. de la Rosa, O.P. History of the Filipinization
of the Religious Orders in the Philippines, Beginnings of the Filipino
Dominicans, (Manila City: UST Publishing House, 1990), 195-196.
[2] W.H. Scott notes that
Gregorio Aglipay’s first assignment started in May 1890 and not in April of the
same year. See W.H. Scott, Aglipay
Before Aglipayanism (Quezon City: Aglipayan Resource Center, 1987). 16.
[3] Ibid., 18. Scott says that in 1897, Gregorio
Aglipay founded in Victoria, Tarlac the Liwanag, an ally and logistical arm
support of the Katipunan. Such fact was attested by Jose Villarte, Reseña
Historica de Pueblo de Victoria. __ See also Archutegui and M.A. Bernad,
Religious Revolution in the Philppines. (This is why Archutegui and Bernad in
their works say that Aglipay had thirty men (30) men disguised as carpenters
from General Lachambre, who helped General Makabulos.)
[4] Fr. Mariano Sevilla was
one of the exiles in 1872. See J.
Schumacher, Readings in Philippine Church History, (Quezon City: Ateneo de
Manila, ___) 251.
[5] Enrique L. Victoriano,
ed. Historic Manila, Commemorative Lectures: A Tribute to Fathers Burgos, Gomez
and Zamora, (Lecture by Justice Flerida Ruth P. Romero). 56.
[6] In Fort Victoria near in
what is today Iligan City, the disciplinarios or convicts in the penitentiary
area mutinied and killed their Spanish Officers before jail breaking and
heading towards Misamis Oriental on their way to Surigao, the stronghold of the
revolutionaries under the command of Don Simon Gonzalez, known as the General
of Mindanao. He was also a nipa wine distiller in Guigaquit and an agent or
representative of General Aguinaldo for Mindanao during the revolution. __ See
J.S. Arcilla, Jesuit Missionary Letters from Mindanao, Vol. 4: The
Dapitan-Balingasag Mission (UP CIDS, 2000) 617, 624, and 674.
[7] W.H. Scott notates that
Aglipay in 1897 founded the Liwanag, an ally of the Katipunan in Victoria,
Tarlac. Such fact is attested by Jose Villarte in his work Reseña Historica de
Pueblo de Victoria. See also W.H. Scott, Aglipay before Aglipayanism, 18.
[8] E.L. Victoriano, Ed.
Historic Manila, Commemorative Lectures: The American Occupation of Manila,
(Lecture made by Rosario Mendoza Cortes, Professor Emeritus of History, UP)
67-78.
[9] Ibid.
[10] John Schumacher,
Readings in Philippine Church History, 276.
[11] Ibid., 278.
[12] Ibid., 265 and 278.
[13] Ibid., 280.
[14] E.L. Victoriano, Ed.
Historic Manila, Commemorative Lectures: The American Occupation, 76.
[15] Unknown to the Filipinos, Spanish and American
commanders through the meddling of Rauson Walker, a British Consul who died
later; and his work was continued on by a Belgian Consul, it was agreed that to
satisfy Spain’s honor, a token bombardment shall be fired by the Americans,
after that the Spaniards shall raise the surrender flag. It was agreed; the
pretense shall be done to save the honor of Spain, and the “make-believe war”
happened on August 13, 1898. The farce battle on that day was in fact not
necessary anymore since Spain had sued for peace with U.S.A. on July 22, 1898
yet, and a draft of the document to end the hostilities had been transmitted by
the U.S. Secretary of State to the Spanish Government on August 10, 1898, for
signature of the highest ranking and authorized official, and by the French
Ambassador to Washington, who was in representation of Spain’s interest.
However, the protocol or
document was finally signed in Washington in the afternoon of August 12, before
the presence of the American President. Immediately thereafter, Washington
notified her commanders in Manila via Hongkong telegraph cable that had linkage
with Manila. But because the submerged telegraph cable was cut previously by
Dewey, there was no way to inform the commanders of the latest development of
the ending of hostilities between America and Spain. See E.L. Victoriano, Historic Manila, 77-78.
[16] Exiled in the Marianas
in 1872 and imprisoned in 1896 by the Spaniards. He was recognized by all as
nationalist in line with the thoughts of Fr. Jose Burgos.
[17] J. Schumacher,
Revolutionary Clergy (Quezon City: Ateneo de Manila, 1981), 97. Aside from the inherent functions on the
spiritual aspects, Aglipay’s other services include collection of funds in
Ilocos as governor commissioner, the organization of education in the entire
Ilocos Regional, and the reopening of a school for Girls in Vigan.
[18] Archutegui and Bernad,
44-60; A. Salanga, The Aglipayan Questin: Lierary and Historical Studies on the
Life and Times of Gregorio Aglipay (Quezon City: Communication Research
Institute for Social and Ideological Studies, 1982) 3-5.
[19] The structure was
authored by Apolinario Mabini and he had conceived the idea of an independent
national church in union with Rome as a necessary expedient to prevent a
serious rift and to give the republic a chance to seek recognition by
negotiating a concordat with Rome. M.D. Clifford, Iglesia Filipina
Independiente in Studies in Philppine Church History, (Ithaca and London:
Cornell University Press, 1969), 230.
Causes of Animosity against the friars: (a) Friars held vas estates
where Filipino families lived as tenants (425,000 acres); (b) Missionary work
of a particular religious order covered the entire region of the Philippines;
(c) Frailocracy; (d) Friars opposed with the education of Filipinos; (e)
Contemptuous treatment of Friars to Indios. See Archutegui and Bernad, 45-48.
Moreover,
Schumacher says that Aglipay called on the Filipino Clergy to withdraw their
allegiance to Archbishop Nozaleda, Bishop of Manila; and submit or accept the
authority of the just named Vicario General Castrense. J. Schumacker, Readings in Philippine Church
History, 280.
[20] J. Schumacker says that
while Aglipay was the Ecclesiastical Governor, he had suppressed the
counter-revolutionary movement of the Gurdia de Honor in Tarlac, and
consistently made very effort in stirring or enticing the clergy to revolt or
go with the revolutionary fever.
[21] Archutegui and Bernad. The Life and Church of
Gregorio Aglipay, 85-103.
[22] J. Schumacher, Readings in Philippine Church
History, 282.
[23] There was still no
indications of Schism, Archutegui and Bernad, 109; See also Salanga, 6-8, 17.
The Constitution of Paniqui gave an erroneous impression that it was
constituting a new Church. Scott. 30.
[24] Aglipay’s leadership was
superb, his personal qualities such as being brave and charismatic, and for
being a priest, he earned so much respect, which people had always for a
priest. Likewise, the people knew fully well that he was the Vicario General
Castrense. __ Archutegui and Bernad, 123; See also Schumacher, 101.
[25] Ibid., 136-137.
[26] Aglipay’s surrender, which the Federal Party
in Manila initiated, brought peace to Ilocos Norte, Clifford, 229.
[27] Archutegui and Bernad,
182-183.
[28] Ibid., 181. The
Executive Council was composed of William Taft, the American Civil Governor;
Emilio Aguinaldo, and Trinidad Pardo de Tavera, Federal Party; while the
Dogmatic Council was composed of 16 priests with Aglipay as head.
[29] Ibid., 192 & 195.
Based on such argument, Pedro Brillantes (one of the three priests who gave
Aglipay an endorsement letter for Bishop Campomanes for the sought position of
Ecclesiastical Governor of Nueva Segovia), was consecrated bishop by 24 priests
whose hands were raised or imposed at St. James Church, Bacarra, Ilocos Norte.
[30] Ibid., 200-201.
[31] J. Schumacher, Readings
on Philippine Church History, 243-244.
[32] Ibid.
[33] Ibid.
[34] M.D. Clifford, Iglesia Filipina Independiente
in Studies in Philppine Church History. Ithaca and London: Cornell, 245.
[35] J. Schumacher, Readings
in Philippine Church History, 300.
[36] Ibid., 247.
oOo
