General Emilio Aguinaldo was known for his heroism in bringing the Philippines, our nation, to independence from the colonial government of Spain. He also led the Filipino against the Americans. And he was also considered the first President of the Philippine Republic.

But have you heard from your teachers that General Emilio Aguinaldo is the real mastermind on the death of the Supremo of the Katipunan, Andres Bonifacio? Did your teachers tell you that General Emilio Aguinaldo was the mastermind of the murder of General Antonio Luna?

Actually, I have not read from the Philippine History books that we used during our elementary and high school days about what General Aguinaldo did to Andres Bonifacio and to General Antonio Luna, because the information about it was not written there. I wasn’t even thinking that those who killed Andres Bonifacio and Antonio Luna were just their compatriot.

Death of Andres Bonifacio

General Emilio Aguinaldo and Andres Bonifacio were all members of the Katipunan. Katipunan is the revolutionary organization that worked hard for the independence of the Philippines from the colonial government of Spain. Andres Bonifacio was one of the founders of the Katipunan who later became the Supremo (President of the Supreme Council) and the current Supremo during the revolution.

Emilio Aguinaldo, on the other hand was just a recruit who served as Lieutenant of General Baldomero Aguinaldo and then later became General.

When the Katipunan experienced problem with the Magdiwang (Gen. Mariano Alvarez) and Magdalo (Gen. Baldomero Aguinaldo) groups (both in Cavite), the Supremo of the Katipunan went to Cavite at the Imus Assembly to settle the dispute but to no avail.

Emilio Aguinaldo who had experienced holding political offices (from the Spanish Colonial Government) when he’s still at the age of 17 up to the time when he joined the Katipunan, thought that a revolutionary government should be set up in place of the Katipunan. Andres Bonifacio did not agree of the revolutionary government of Emilio Aguinaldo but then he had no other choice but to go with it. Thus on March 22, 1897, Andres Bonifacio presided over the Tejeros Convention in Tejeros, Cavite but lost the Presidency to Emilio Aguinaldo. Andres Bonifacio was just elected as the Minister of the Interior of that new revolutionary government.

This new revolutionary government and its new set of officers would be fine for the Supremo of the Katipunan (Andres Bonifacio) without knowing that this election was just actually a coup against his leadership. He failed to notice that those who attended the convention were all coming from Cavite only and they were of course supporters of Aguinaldo.

However, a member of the Magdalo, a supporter of Emilio Aguinaldo, Daniel Tirona, questioned the credibility of Andres Bonifacio to hold the office of the Minister of the Interior. Bonifacio being insulted walked out, and as the Supremo of the Katipunan, he declared the election null and void.

However, Andres Bonifacio was charged with Treason, tried and found guilty by the Cavite Military Court (led by General Mariano Noriel) and was sentenced to death. The sentence was approved by Emilio Aguinaldo and was executed by Major Lazaro Macapagal (maybe related to President Gloria Macapagal) on May 10, 1897.

Death of General Antonio Luna

Just like the General Emilio Aguinaldo, Antonio Luna was an elite Filipino. He joined the revolutionary forces during the Philippine-American war.

Antonio Luna was well-educated like Rizal. His brightness was seen when he set-up the first Military Academy of the Philippines in Cavite. During the war, he showed his arrogance and strictness by relieving the soldiers from duties who did not follow his orders.

On June 5, 1899, upon the order of General Emilio Aguinaldo, General Antonio Luna was shot and stabbed to death by the men of General Emilio Aguinaldo. Then all the officers and men of General Antonio Luna were relieved from their duties by the General Emilio Aguinaldo.

General Emilio Aguinaldo, the mastermind

It might be true that General Emilio Aguinaldo did not kill Andress Bonifacio and Antonio Luna by himself (with his own hands) but it was his order to kill them. In other words, General Emilio Aguinaldo was the mastermind of the death of our heroes, Andres Bonifacio and Antonio Luna.

References:

1. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emilio_Aguinaldo
2. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Katipunan
3. http://fil.wikipilipinas.org/index.php?title=Katipunan
4. http://opmanong.ssc.hawaii.edu/filipino/katipunan.html
5. http://www.loc.gov/rr/hispanic/1898/katipunan.html
6. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Andr%C3%A9s_Bonifacio
7. http://www.etravelpilipinas.com/about_philippines/andres_bonifacio.htm
8. http://philippines-travels1.blogspot.com/2008/06/emilio-aguinaldo.html

• Sign up for PayPal and start accepting credit card payments instantly.
  As the world's number one online payment service, PayPal is the fastest way to open your doors to over 150 million member accounts worldwide.
• Promote your product to high quality, targeted websites and blogs.
  Find effective, influential blogs and highly targeted audiences to advertise.Choose to display your ad across entire blog networks to maximize your exposure to a wide audience.