Gregorio del Pilar's bones

AS most people are still fresh from their annual visit to the cemetery, we might as well provide some details of the examination of Gregorio del Pilar's remains by Dr. Sixto de los Angeles in 1930. Dr. De los Angeles was the medico-legal expert who examined the supposed remains of Andres Bonifacio, exhumed from Cavite province before the World War II. Identification of the alleged Bonifacio bones was inconclusive yet a government panel declared the bones authentic. The Bonifacio bones disappeared and have not been seen since. My theory is that these would not have withstood close scrutiny and are definitely not the bones of the Supremo of the Katipunan who still lies somewhere in the Maragondon mountain range in Cavite.

My take on the above is the core of my book "Bones of Contention" (Anvil, 2001), furthermore, Dr. Quintin Oropilla of the Makati Medical Center calculated the height of the person examined and it is less than five feet tall. Nobody would like to accept that Bonifacio was of low stature -- both literally and figuratively -- so I concluded that the Bonifacio bones were fake. In the case of Gregorio del Pilar, the remains, while incomplete, provided some individual peculiarities that made the identification conclusive. Most of the supporting data, as I mentioned in last week's column, had something to do with Del Pilar's teeth.

De los Angeles, after a thorough study of 73 pieces of bones and 33 teeth, concluded that the remains found belonged to a Filipino male, 20 to 25 years of age. Based on the bones, he calculated the height of the man at around 165 centimeters. Circumference of the head was 52.5 centimeters. One of the general's uniforms and caps fit the reconstructed skeleton. De los Angeles further stated that deterioration of the bones suggested that the corpse had been buried for about 30 years in the same ground where it was found.

History records show that Del Pilar died of a gunshot wound but De los Angeles could not confirm this, except to guess based on "fractures of the mandible and base and the left side of the skull, and the corresponding secondary lacerations of the brain substance." Only one button fashioned from a bone was found with the remains, thus confirming the eyewitness report that American soldiers stripped Del Pilar of his uniform and accessories and kept these as souvenirs or war booty. He was buried with his underwear, as none of the soldiers was willing to take this home. Del Pilar's whistle has since been returned to the Philippines and, as with the Balangiga bells, we await the rest of his effects.

Peculiarities regarding Del Pilar's teeth were, "irregular growth of the lower teeth; the slightly protruded lower jaw, the asymmetrical appearance of the lower part of the face; the gold filling at the right superior central incisor, the existence of multiple dental caries..." In summary:

1. "Protrusion of the mandible and of its corresponding dental arch, inferable and shown by the fact that the free borders of the superior teeth articulate and rest anteriorly on the free borders of the lower anterior teeth.

2. "Solid, white and medium-sized teeth, with signs of erosions, limited to the sharp points of the grinding surface of the molars, and absence of erosion on the third molars or wisdom teeth.

3. "Relatively preserved natural sharpness of the cutting edges of the right canines and first pre-molars, both superior and inferior, due to the relatively more internal deviations or locations of the corresponding lower teeth; thus forming in respect a remarkable contrast with the similar teeth of the left side, particularly the left inferior canine which appeared twisted and deviated backward to the left. As a natural sequela from such dental deviations, the inferior dental arch exhibited an asymmetrical and deformed appearance, forming at the left side narrower and a more salient angle forward; while at the right the same dental arch appeared to be depressed backward and internally.

4. "Presence of the supernumerary tooth (found among the teeth) with its corresponding points of adjustment at the front of and somewhat below the inferior canine and first pre-molar at the left side.

5. "Left upper lateral incisor thicker than its pair at the right and concave and rough at its posterior or oral surface, indicating previous connection with another supernumerary tooth not found among the remains examined.

6. "Right central upper incisor having a gold filling of 2.5 x 2 in diameter at the middle of the internal border.

7. "Presence of dental caries at the first right molars, both upper and lower; first upper left pre-molar; left lower canine; second pre-molar, and the root of the supernumerary tooth found; that affecting the first lower molar at the right being the deepest and largest.

8. "Greater degree of erosions of the free borders of the left teeth, indicating habitual grinding of food at this side."

In 1897 Del Pilar was in Hong Kong where he had his supernumerary tooth extracted and had one tooth filled with gold. While this was enough to identify the remains, the old data poses new questions. Del Pilar had two extra teeth. He needed braces to correct crooked growth, and usually ate food on the left side of this mouth. Surely all this will tell us more than that outlined in our textbooks.

Comments are welcome at aocampo@ateneo.edu