Trickery at the Malolos Congress

MALOLOS City is best remembered for three things: first, it produces one of the best "ensaymadas" in the country; second, we remember a group of Filipino women there, immortalized by Jose Rizal in an equally famous letter, who fought for the right to expand their minds and lives by learning Spanish, a move opposed by the Spanish friars who wanted them condemned to ignorance; third, we have the Malolos Congress that actually met in nearby Barasoain Church because the Malolos convento was used as the residence and headquarters of Emilio Aguinaldo.

The recent marathon session of Congress, the longest in its history, to decide on the impeachment complaint against President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo reminded me of an equally interesting story of voting in the Malolos Congress on the issue of the separation of Church and State. And this month, the annual commemoration of the opening of the Malolos Congress has an added contemporary dimension because of the vote against the impeachment
complaint and the news that our present Constitution and form of government need to be changed.

When the Malolos Congress is remembered and eulogized each year, we are reminded that it was this body that ratified the Declaration of Independence from Spain made on June 12, 1898 in Cavite province and that it drafted and adopted what our textbooks describe as the Malolos Constitution. There is a long narra table now in the Central Bank that is believed to be the table on which this document was signed. As a historian who appreciates artifacts, I would dearly wish this to be true, but in the absence of solid documentation, what we have, at best, is an urban legend.

On a similar note, last weekend there was a commemoration of the end of World War II in the residence of the US ambassador in Camp John Hay in Baguio City. Originally built as the summer residence of the US high commissioner, it was completed in 1940 and was only used for a year because it was then taken over by the Japanese high command in the Philippines. Toward the end of the war, Gen. Tomoyuki Yamashita stayed in this building not knowing that it would also be the venue for the formal surrender of the Japanese Imperial Armed Forces on Sept. 3, 1945. This has been captured on canvas in a 1951 painting by Fernando Amorsolo that now hangs above the fireplace in a formal but very pleasant living room.

One journalist who wrote about the event didn't do his research and claimed that on the great narra dining table in the residence, the instrument of surrender was signed. Well, we were told that the makeshift table was made by joining two ping-pong tables and covering this with tablecloth. So much for historical relics.

Now that I have embarked on research to determine whether the table in the Central Bank is indeed the one on which the Malolos Constitution was drafted, signed and adopted, I have come across a reference in La Senda del Sacrificio, the memoirs of Gen. Jose Alejandrino, regarding voting in the Malolos Congress. The story is quite amusing and gains contemporary relevance because of the recent voting on the impeachment of Ms Arroyo. Alejandrino wrote:

"Antonio Luna also became a member of Congress. There he affiliated himself with the faction that we can call Radical. This faction was formed almost spontaneously when the celebrated debates started in Congress over the separation of Church and State, the expulsion of the friars and other religious congregations from the Philippines, and the prohibition by the Constitution of the formation of new religious orders.

"The debates showed signs of dragging on forever because, although it appears strange considering the motives which started the Revolution, one-half of the members of the Congress were adherents of the friars. Eloquent speeches from each group were pronounced, but there never was a voting because both groups were afraid of the result of the balloting. Luna broke the situation with one of those tricks peculiar to his character and which made him famous later.

"He assembled all those delegates of the Radical faction who had confidence in him, advising them to keep away from the sessions of the Congress but requesting them to remain within call at a moment's notice. With the Radicals absent, the Conservatives constituted a majority during the sessions. Having made a careful count and thinking themselves sure of victory, the Conservatives asked for a vote while the few Radicals present registered a token opposition. The motion to call a vote was carried. Then, at the precise moment of balloting, Luna immediately called all his adherents to enter the session hall en masse, to the surprise of the confident Conservatives. The voting was taken and we won, if I remember right, by one or two votes. In this manner, a provision in our Constitution for the separation of Church and State was secured."

In the recent impeachment voting, the same strategy was being used to get the magic number 79, but then some people stayed away from the session hall, others turned back on their commitment to vote in support of impeachment. Now a historian will have to wait and hope that some congressmen will leave their memoirs to complete our history.

Comments are welcome at aocampo@ateneo.edu