Lingering questions

PEOPLE always ask me why I chose history as a profession. My standard answer is that I am a mutant in the Ocampo clan: I cannot deal with numbers, and took a Bachelor of Arts course because it required only six units of math. Science was not one of my strong points either but watching those fascinating Discovery Channel documentaries on forensic doctors often makes me rethink the road not taken. While leafing through my father's collection of detective novels I was surprised to discover that Earle Stanley Gardner, my father's all-time favorite, dedicated each book to a forensic doctor who is instrumental in solving crime. While I never read my father's paperbacks I shared his interest in the TV series "Quincy Jones, MD" about a forensic doctor solving crime. Then there was a book that suggested that Napoleon did not die of natural causes but was poisoned slowly to avoid detection. Was there a similar whodunit in Philippine history?

One afternoon, after the board of the National Historical Institute had finished its business, the two senior members (now deceased) Teodoro A. Agoncillo and E. Aguilar Cruz, were discussing how the latter had found a Juan Luna watercolor behind a stack of used picture frames in the back driveway of the National Library building. This Luna watercolor depicting a Philippine flag was made in Leitmeritz in 1899 when Luna, as diplomatic representative of the Emilio Aguinaldo government, was visiting Ferdinand Blumentritt. This watercolor is now in the Filipiniana section of the National Library. Later, the true cause of Luna's death in Hong Kong in December 1899 was discussed. Officially, Luna died of a heart attack but Agoncillo and Cruz whispered conspiratorially trying to figure out a suspect. Unfortunately, there was no reliable historical source on which to hang even a shred of doubt. Then I came across a secondary source, newspaper articles by Alfonso Ongpin in 1949 that stated:

"I used to frequent the residence of the brother, Don Pepe [Jose Luna], reputable toxicologist who on one occasion told me verbally that his brother Juan died, treacherously poisoned in Hong Kong by a compatriot of ours. This was also confirmed by his only son Andres Luna San Pedro, creator of notable buildings and magnificent mansions that are now standing in this capital and in the provinces."

Here was a published source that could be quoted but it was still hearsay. Unfortunately, Luna was cremated and we cannot have an autopsy made today. Then a primary source turned up in a recent book on Tomas Arejola by Evelyn Soriano. In a letter to Arejolla dated April 19, 1900, Laureana vda. de Luna [mother of the Luna brothers] to Arejola said:

"In the midst of misfortune and overwhelming solitude, I am consoled to know that you have risen above base and petty calumnies by doing justice to the tragic death of my Antonio. Believe me that in the near future, history, being above vile and crude passions, will trace in gold the name of he who was a victim of duty, if not the envy of his detractors.

"I have no ambition of making the names of my sons, Juan and Antonio, appear side by side with that of Jose Rizal. I only wish that posterity would do them justice and that their memory would cause a tear to fall from the bottom of people's hearts. With this I will die in peace, perhaps pardoning in my last moment their murderers. This is the most an afflicted mother can do to reciprocate the loving words with which you honor her sons."

We all know Antonio Luna was murdered by Aguinaldo's bodyguards, but was Juan Luna also murdered? Ongpin probably had the name of the suspect in his yet unpublished biography of Luna but he was prudent enough to avoid libel by keeping quiet. The late Austin Coates came to the rescue with a copy of Luna's death certificate in Hong Kong. When I received a copy I was disappointed because it said simply that Luna died on Dec. 7, 1899 at 2 Lower Castle Terrace. Luna was all set to fetch his son in Manila and take him back to Europe. The steamer made a stopover in Hong Kong and Luna disembarked on Dec. 5 after he complained of chest pains. Dr. Isidoro de los Santos, Dr. Jose Lozada and a certain Dr. Wan Tang declared him out of danger but he suffered a fatal heart attack on Dec. 7. He was 42 years old at the time of death caused by "angina pectoris," literally "pain in the chest" or, in simpler language, a heart attack. The death was reported the next day by a certain A. Martin who was present at Luna's death. The registry was signed by a certain P.P.J. Wodehouse, nephew of the famous author P.G. Wodehouse. So, was it a heart attack and not poison? If it was poison, who murdered him? What was the motive? What had Luna done to deserve such a death?

Over the weekend people will hopefully be talking about the new opera by Ryan Cayabyab and Fides Cuyugan Asensio that tackles the dark side of Luna's genius. Luna murdered his wife and mother-in-law in a celebrated crime of passion in Paris in 1892. Could his death -- natural or otherwise -- be connected to this crime? Luna's ashes now lie in the San Agustin Church in Manila, awaiting advanced forensic examination that will lay this nagging question to rest: Was it a heart attack or poison? History beyond textbooks can be very engaging.

***

Comments are welcome at ambeth@ateneo.edu