Mabinis Decalogue for Filipinos

Decalogue for Filipinos, by
Apolinario Mabini

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Title: Mabini's Decalogue for Filipinos
Author: Apolinario Mabini
Release Date: January 10, 2005 [EBook #14660]
Language: English
Character set encoding: ASCII
*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK MABINI'S
DECALOGUE FOR FILIPINOS ***

Produced by Tamiko I. Camacho from page scans provided by
University of Michigan.

=MABINI'S DECALOGUE FOR FILIPINOS=
[Illustration: Apolinario Mabini]

Apolinario Mabini, Martyr.
"Thou shalt love thy country after God and they honor and more than
thyself: for she is the only Paradise which God has given thee in this
life, the only inheritance of thy ancestors and the only hope of thy
posterity."
PHILIPPINE PRESS BUREAU Washington, D. C.
1922

MABINI
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," published in the pages following. 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 criticised 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.

="THE TRUE DECALOGUE"=
=By APOLINARIO MABINI=
First. Thou shalt love God and thy honor above all things: God as the
fountain of all truth, of all justice and of all activity; and thy honor, the
only power which will oblige thee to be faithful, just and industrious.
Second. Thou shalt worship God in the form which thy conscience may
deem most righteous and worthy: for in thy conscience, which
condemns thy