BY late 1898, Emilio Jacinto may have found happiness in Santa Cruz, Laguna, after leading a life of fighting for his country. He had become a husband, a father and a meat merchant. But he sent a letter to his friend, Apolinario Mabini, who happened to be, by that time, the chief adviser and head of the Cabinet of General Emilio Aguinaldo, the one who had his former boss, Andres Bonifacio, executed just the year previous. He had become the President of the Philippines, creating the First Constitutional Democratic Republic in Asia.
Jacinto received a reply dated Dec.17, 1898, from Malolos, Bulacan, the seat of the Revolutionary Congress.
“My very dear Friend: Many thanks for your present. During the first days, I pretended not to remember you, fearing that they would not approve of our friendship. I needed then all their faith in me so that I could give the stamp of regularity on the progress of the government, although I did not accomplish this fully.
“When I received your letter, I sent someone to ask Captain Emilio whether you could stay in Malolos with the assurance that nobody would trouble you for what had taken place before. He answered yes, adding that you should forget everything.
“Regarding your matriculation fees, it is necessary that you come personally because, having lost your certificate, you have to present an affidavit, signed by two witnesses, to the effect that you have finished first year law and you were actually taking up the second year course. There is still time....
“I am glad of your coming because I am confident that you can be of great help to us.
“I am ever at your service in anything that I can be of help. AP. Mabini.” Just like his friendship with Gen.
Pio del Pilar, Jacinto’s willingness to go to the lion’s den so to speak, to fulfill the highest duty of being able to contribute for the betterment of the country, shows his pragmatism. But it was not to be.
The congress finished the constitution, and the Republic was inaugurated on Jan. 23, 1899. Unfortunately, only a few days after, on Feb. 4, the Philippine-American War broke out.
According to oral accounts collected by the Research and Publications Division of the National Historical Institute, headed by division chief Augusto de Viana, and reflected in their agency’s 1999 Annual Report Miling contracted malaria. When the Americans came to Santa Cruz, they had to hide him in Barrio Alipit, which is on the boundary of Santa Cruz and Magdalena on the other side of the river. They didn’t even reach their destination because while in transit, Jacinto joined his Creator on April 16, 1899, at the age of 23.
His body was returned to his home in Santa Cruz for burial. He was dressed in his military uniform as a general, while a photograph of him lying in state, with his wife and friends looking at him, was taken. This is the only known actual photograph of him.
Little by little, after the revolution, despite his obscure death and the country still under a foreign occupier, he would be recognized as a major hero of the Philippine Revolution.
Historian Epifanio de los Santos acquired his papers and letters and wrote a short biography of him in Spanish in 1910. His son, José P. Santos, expanded it and published “Buhay at mga Sinulat ni Emilio Jacinto” written in Tagalog. He was recognized as the “Brains of the Katipunan,” while Mabini was recognized as the “Brains of the Revolution.” Gregoria de Jesus wrote in 1928 that Jacinto was the one who should be recognized as the “Brains of the Revolution.” In the revised version of Guillermo Tolentino’s “Filipinos Ilustres” featuring our national heroes, Jacinto would be featured already by the 1920s. The artist and sculptor would create the reimagined portrait that would be the standard image of him with the onesided emo hair in books, paper bills and postcards. Miling would become part of the artist’s masterpiece, the Andres Bonifacio National Monument in Caloocan, inaugurated in 1933, faithfully standing behind the Father of the Philippine Revolution.
He was re-interred at the Mausoleo de los Veteranos de la Revolución in December 1921, and following the centenary of his birth, Emilio Jacinto was finally buried at the Himlayang Pilipino in Quezon City, near the first battlefield of the Revolution. A beautiful monument of him on horseback leading a charge was erected there, executed by master sculptor Florante “Boy” Beltran Caedo, one of the most beautiful in the country.
In April 2017, a monument of Jacinto, in revolutionary uniform but with him holding a pen to signify his contributions to literature and political philosophy, was erected with the help of the Komisyon sa Wikang Filipino and was executed by Jun Rodrigo Vicaldo.
The life of Emilio Jacinto reminds us of the role of the youth in shaping the creation of the nation. He might not have seen the emergence of the nation he helped build, but in his mind the vision is so strong he gave his life for it. For this, he is alive in the hearts of a grateful nation.
