Biography of Apolinario Mabini

Apolinario, the second of the eight sons of Inocencio Mabini and Dionisia Maranan, a
peasant couple, was born on July 23, 1864 in barrio Talaga, Tanauan, Batangas.

He showed early a rare intellect and proclivity for study.

In Manila he won in 1881 a partial scholarship that enabled him to enroll at the College of
San Juan de Letran. He had to work for his sustenance as a teacher of Latin at the school
of Melchor Virrey in Manila, of Father Malabanan in Bauan and of Sebastian Virrey in Lipa.
He completed his Bachelor of Arts in 1887.

His law studies at the University of Santo Tomas from 1888 to 1894 were similarly grim. He
had to support himself by teaching and working as a copyist in the court of first instance in
Manila and later as an assistant to law clerk Numeriano Adriano and as a clerk in the
Intendencia General.

He joined Masonry in September 1892, affiliating with lodge Balagtas, and adopting the
name Katabay. In 1893, he was one of those who revived the Liga Filipina to extend
support to the Reform Movement. The Cuerpo de Compromisarios emerged in September,
1894 with the dissolution of the Liga. Mabini was its secretary. It lent moral and financial
support to the Filipino propagandists in Spain.

In 1895, Mabini was admitted to the bar and was designated Colegial of the third class. He
worked as a notary in the office of Adriano.

On October 10, 1896, he was arrested by the Guardia Civil because of his connection with
the reformists. Both of his legs were already paralyzed, having contracted polio during the
early part of the year. He was placed under house arrest at the San Juan de Dios Hospital.
His condition saved him from being shot.

His imprisonment hindered his active participation in the initial uprising of the Katipunan.
But upon his release, he became acquainted with the lesser revolutionary leaders. During
this period he was mostly in Los Baos and Bay, Laguna where he sought relief for his
ailment in the sulfuric hot springs.

In April 1898, he wrote a manifesto addressed to the revolutionary leaders wherein he
analyzed the probability of the cession of the Philippines to the United States in case Spain
was defeated in the Spanish-American War. He thereby exhorted them to preserve their
country and its independence.

It must have been this document that was received by the Hongkong junta headed by
Felipe Agoncillo who, impressed by the logical views presented therein, recommended its
author to General Emilio Aguinaldo as his adviser upon his return to the Philippines from his
exile.

When Aguinaldo returned to the Philippines on May 19,1898, he sent runners to Bay,
Laguna to fetch Mabini. At the same time, the general ordered twelve municipalities to
furnish the necessary manpower to carry Mabini in a hammock to Cavite. After the first
meeting of the general and the paralytic on June 12, 1898, the latter became the
indispensable adviser of the former on state matters.

One of the first significant recommendations of Mabini was the abolition of the Dictatorship
of the Aguinaldo government and its conversion into a revolutionary government; the
organization of the municipalities, provinces and judicature and police force; the
establishment of the civil registry of property; the issuance of regulations for military
procedure; and the ultimate policies of government as were embodied in Aguinaldos
decree dated June 23, 1898.

He served in the Aguinaldo cabinet as President of the Council of Secretaries and as
Secretary of Foreign Affairs. He tried every means to win foreign recognition of Philippine
independence.

He penned most of Aguinaldos decrees to the people. An important document he
produced was the Programa Constitucional de la Republica Filipina, a proposed
constitution for the Philippine Republic. An introduction to the draft of this constitution was
the El Verdadero Decalogo written to arouse the patriotic spirit of the people.

When the Filipino-American war broke out and Aguinaldos revolutionary government
became disorganized, Mabini fled to Nueva Ecija, carried in a hammock. He was captured
by the Americans in Cuyapo on December 10, 1898.

He was kept a prisoner of war until September 23, 1900 He resided in a small nipa house
in Nagtahan, Manila, earning his living by writing for the local newspapers. His virulent
article in El Liberal entitled El Simil de Alejandro caused his rearrest and deportation to
Guam, together with other Filipino patriots. His exile in Guam afforded him the time to write
his memoirs, La Revolucion Filipina.

Reluctantly, he took the oath of allegiance to the United States and was returned to the
Philippines on February 26, 1902. The Americans offered him a high government position
but he turned it down and retired to his humble residence in Nagtahan.

On May 13, 1903, he died of cholera at age 39.


Biography of Apolinario Mabini
This biography on Apolinario Mabini was written and published in English in 1922.

Apolinario Mabini was undoubtedly the most profound thinker and political philosopher that the Pilipino
race ever produced. Some day, when his works are fully published, but not until then, Mabini will come
into his own. A great name awaits him, not only in the Philippines, for he is already appreciated there, but
in every land where the cause of liberty and human freedom is revered.
Mabini was born in Tanawan, province of Batangas, island of Luzon, P.I., of poor Filipino parents, in
1864. He received his education in the "Colegio de San Juan de Letran." Manila, and in the University of
Santo Tomas. He supported himself while studying by his own efforts, and made a brilliant record in both
institutions. Later he devoted his energies to the establishment of a private school in Manila and to legal
work.
Mabini came to the front in 1898 during the Pilipino revolution against Spain. In the subsequent revolution
against the United States he became known as "the brains of the revolution." He was so considered by
the American army officers, who bent every energy to capture him.
He was the leading adviser of Aguinaldo, and was the author of the latter's many able decrees and
proclamations. Mabini's official position was President of the Council of Secretaries, and he also held the
post of Secretary of the Exterior.
One of Mabini's greatest works was his draft of a constitution for the Philippine Republic. It was
accompanied by what he called "The True Decalogue." Mabini's "ten commandments" are so framed as
to meet the needs of Filipino patriotism for all time. He also drafted rules for the organization and
government of municipalities and provinces, which were highly successful because of their adaptability to
local conditions.
Mabini remained the head of Aguinaldo's cabinet until March, 1899, when he resigned. But he continued
in hearty sympathy with the revolution, however, and his counsel was frequently sought.
Mabini was arrested by the American forces in September, 1899, and remained a prisoner until
September 23, 1900. Following his release, he lived for a while in a suburb of Manila, in a poor nipa
house, under the most adverse and trying circumstances. He was in abject poverty.
In spite of his terrible suffering from paralysis, Mabini continued writing. He severely criticized the
government, voicing the sentiments of the Filipino people for freedom. He was ordered to desist, but to
this, in one of his writings to the people, he replied: "To tell a man to be quiet when a necessity not
fulfilled is shaking all the fibers of his being is tantamount to asking a hungry man to be filled before taking
the food which he needs."
Mabini's logic was a real embarrassment to the American military forces, and in January, 1901, he was
arrested a second time by the Americans. This time he was exiled to the island of Guam, where he
remained until his return to Manila on February 26, 1903.
Mabini died in Manila, of cholera, May 13, 1903, at the age of 39 years. His funeral was the most largely
attended of any ever held in Manila.
Although he died from natural causes, Mabini died a martyr to the cause of Philippine independence. Five
years of persecution left his intense patriotism untouched, but it had made his physical self a ready victim
for a premature death.

Si Apolinario Mabini y Maranan (Hulyo 23, 1864Mayo 13, 1903), kilala bilang ang "Dakilang
Lumpo" o "Dakilang Paralitiko", ay isangPilipino theoretician na nagsulat ng konstitusyon ng Unang
Republika ng Pilipinas noong 1899-1901, at naglingkod bilang ang kauna-unahangpunong
ministro noong 1899. Ipinanganak siya sa Talaga, Tanauan, Batangas sa mahihirap na mga
magulang, sina Inocencio Mabini at Dionisia Maranan.
Siya ay natuto ng abakada mula sa kanyang ina at ang pagsulat ay sa kanyang ingkong natutuhan.
Nag-aral siya sa mataas na paaralan at nagpatuloy sa Colegio de San Juan de Letran na kung saan
natamo ang katibayan sa pagka-Bachiller en Artes at naging propesor sa Latin. SaUnibersidad ng
Santo Tomas naman siya nakapagtapos ng pagkaabogado noong 1894. Samantalang nag-aral ng
batas, sumapi siya sa La Liga Filipina ni Jose Rizal.
Si Mabini ay nabilanggo sa Nueva Ecija. Si Mabini ay nagkasakit noong 1896 ng "infantile
paralysis" na lumumpo sa kanya. Ipinasundo siya ni Aguinaldo at sila'y nagkamabutihan. Siya'y lihim
na ipinatawag ni Aguinaldo at hinirang siyang opisyal na tagapayo. Nang pasinayaan ni Aguinaldo
ang Pamahalaang Republika inatasan niya si Mabini bilang kalihim panglabas (prime minister) at
pangulo ng mga konseho. Sa panahong ito isinulat niya ang kanyang tanyag na akdang "Tunay na
Dekalogo".
Noong 1899, si Mabini ay nabilanggo sa Nueva Ecija. Kanyang isinulat noon ang "Pagbangon at
Pagbagsak ng Himagsikang Filipino", "El Simil de Alejandro", at "El Libra". Noong ika-5 ng
Enero, 1901, si Mabini ay ipinatapon sa Guam, ngunit kusa siyang nagbalik sa bansa
noong Pebrero, 1903 kapalit ng panunumpa ng katapatan sa Estados Unidos. Siya ay nagkasakit ng
kolera at namatay noong ika-13 ng Mayo, 1903 sa Nagtahan, Maynila.
Ayon sa paglalarawan sa kaniya ni Arthur MacArthur, Jr., Mabini is a highly educated young man
who, unfortunately, is paralyzed. He has a classical education, a very flexible, imaginative mind, and
Mabini's views were more comprehensive than any of the Filipinos that I have met. His idea was a
dream of a Malay confederacy. Not the Luzon or the Philippine Archipelago, but I mean of that
blood. He is a dreamy man, but a very firm character and of very high accomplishments. As said,
unfortunately, he is paralyzed. He is a young man, and would undoubtedly be of great use in the
future of those islands if it were not for his affliction.
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Apolinario Mabini (1864-1903), kilala siya bilang Dakilang Paralitiko at Dakilang
Lumpo at Utak ng Rebolusyon, ay pangalawa sa walong anak nina Inocencio Mabini at Dionisia
Maranan, sa baryo Talaga, Tanauan, Batangas.
Noong siya ay bata pa, nagpakita na siya ng hindi pangkaraniwang talino at pagkahilig sa pag-
aaral. Sa Maynila noong 1881, nakamit niya ang isang partial scholarship na nagbigay-daan
upang makapag-aral siya sa Kolehiyo ng San Juan de Letran. Natapos niya ang kanyang
Batsilyer sa Sining noong 1887. Nag-aral din siya ng abogasya sa Unibersidad ng Santo Tomas
mula 1888 hanggang 1894.
Noong 1893, isa siya sa mga bumuhay ng La Liga Filipina na siyang nagbibigay-suporta sa
Kilusang Pang-reporma.

Noong taong 1896 naman, nagkaroon siya ng matinding sakit na nagdulot sa kanya na maging
paralitiko habambuhay. Hinuli siya ng mga gwardiya sibil noong 10 Oktubre 1896, dahil sa
pagkakaroon niya ng koneksyon sa mga repormista. Sumailalim siya sa house arrest sa ospital ng
San Juan de Dios at nang kinalaunan ay pinalaya na rin dahil sa kanyang kondisyon.

Nang bumalik sa Pilipinas si Emilio Aguinaldo noong 19 Mayo 1898, pinasundo niya si Mabini
sa Laguna at matapos ang kanilang pagpupulong noong 12 Hunyo 1898, si Mabini ay naging
punong tagapayo ni Aguinaldo.

Isa sa mga pinakamahalagang rekomendasyon ni Mabini ay ang pag-aalis ng Diktadurya ng
pamahalaan ni Aguinaldo at ang pagpapalit nito sa isang rebolusyonaryong pamahalaan. Nagsilbi
rin siya sa kabinete ni Aguinaldo bilang Pangulo ng Konseho ng nga Kalihim at bilang Kalihim
ng Ugnayang Panlabas. Isa pa sa mga importanteng dokumento na kanyang nagawa ay ang
Programa Constitucional de la Republica Filipina, isang konstitusyon na kanyang iminungkahi
para sa Republika ng Pilipinas. Ang introduksyon sa balangkas ng konstitusyong ito ay ang El
Verdadero Decalogo, na isinulat upang gisingin ang makabayang diwa ng mga Pilipino.

Nang sumiklab ang gyera sa pagitan ng mga Pilipino at Amerikano, tumakas si Mabini
papuntang Nueva Ecija at nadakip ng mga Amerikano sa Cuyapo noong 10 Disyembre 1898.
Nanatiling bilanggo si Mabini hanggang 23 Setyembre 1900. Nanirahan siya sa isang maliit na
dampa sa Nagtahan, Maynila, at kumikita sa pamamagitan ng pagsusulat sa mga lokal na
pahayagan. Ang artikulo niyang El Simil de Alejandro ay nagdulot sa kanyang muling
pagkadakip at pagkatapon sa Guam kasama ang iba pang mga Pilipino. Habang nasa Guam,
naisulat niya ang La Revolucion Filipina.


Namatay si Mabini noong 13 Mayo 1903, sa gulang na 39