LOCAL experts recently expressed support for the initiative of Cagayan de Oro-based Mindanao lawmaker Rufus Rodriguez to correct a more than century-old “blunder” in the Philippines’ history books.
They concertedly lauded the passing of a House bill to declare revolutionaries from Mindanao as national heroes.
Rodriguez, a 2nd district representative of Cagayan de Oro, identified 14 of the late brave Mindanao warriors as deserving to be called national heroes in the molds of Dr. Jose Rizal, Andres Bonifacio, Emilio Aguinaldo, and Apolinario Mabini, among others.
They were Nicolas Capistrano, Apolinario Velez, Vicente Roa and Apolinario Pabayo of Cagayan de Oro and Misamis Oriental province; Rufino Deloso, Simeon Ledesma and Capitan Daligdig of Misamis Occidental; Simeon Gonzales, Wenceslao Gonzales and Daniel Toribio Sison of Surigao; Datu Uto and Datu Ali of Cotabato; Amai Pakpak of Marawi, and Vicente Alvarez of Zamboanga.
The majority of them emerged triumphant in big crucial battles before being killed on the battlefields or later surrendered. While the rest were easily conquered, subdued, and slain in just their initial resistance against the Spanish and American conquerors cum colonizers.
Veteran print journalist Uriel Quilinguing said Rodriguez’s move is a welcome development as the Mindanao revolutionaries, especially the Muslims, have greatly contributed to prolonging the Filipinos' resistance against the foreign invaders.
“I may say that some lawmakers in the Senate and (House of Representatives) who established a relationship with the US have their own biases against the unsung heroes in Mindanao particularly the Muslim warriors,” Quilinguing said.
“Rufus’ bill will give justice to rectify some lacking important details in the pages of Philippine history, though its wise to consult also the minds of local historians and experts for clarity and validity,” he said.
Historian Agnes Paulita ‘Nanette’ Roa said she is happy to see a lawmaker giving more emphasis to the rich history of Mindanao and the valuable efforts of its ancestors going to war and sacrificing their lives to show the Filipinos’ true character and strong fighting spirit despite being armed with severely limited resources.
Roa, however, cautioned that some minor glitches in presenting the details of the untold bravery and heroism in the past can still be corrected.
For professor Rai Bollozos Sanchez, who teaches college history subject at Xavier University, the Rufus bill is indeed praise-worthy.
“The valuable contribution of the Mindanao revolutionaries and their history must be institutionalized or it will die a natural death,” Sanchez said.
Among Rodriguez’s Mindanao heroes, Sanchez specifically cited the dynamic tandem of Gen. Capistrano and Col. Velez as distinctively deserving of national hero status.
After his mostly triumphant exploit on the battlefields, Sanchez said that Capistrano became an assemblyman now equal to a senator today, which only gives more significant value to his stature as a national icon.
Capistrano’s war comrade Velez, according to Sanchez’s research, had never rested too on his laurels in making the old Cagayan de Oro a better place to live.
With the help of Capistrano, Velez ― who was the first elected governor of Misamis Oriental ― brought to the national capital his intention to establish a public school in Kagay-an that was now known as Misamis Oriental General Comprehensive High School, whom Sanchez said is the alma mater of some successful politicians in the locality.
“To be honored in the same breath (as) Dr. Rizal and Bonifacio is such a big thing. I cannot speak on behalf of the other heroes mentioned by Cong. Rodriguez. But they should have a significant value at the national level like Gen. Capistrano and Col. Velez of Cagayan de Oro,” Sanchez said.
