“A forgotten and overlooked but a crucial phase of the Philippine Revolution, particularly in the middle months of 1899, was the Bamban, Tarlac's interlude in the national struggle” this was quoted by Dr. Lino Dizon in a position paper he presented in various national conferences he attended in the past.
Kapampangan towns as Philippine capitals
When the British invaded and occupied Manila in 1762, the Spanish colonial government transferred the Philippine capital to Bacolor. From Bacolor, General Simon de Anda y Salazar, with a lot of help from Kapampangans, led a resistance movement against the British. While during the American occupation several Kapampangan towns once became capital of the Philippines e.g. San Isidro of Nueva Ecija, towns of Tarlac and Bamban of Tarlac Province. On October 9, 1898, Gen. Emilio Aguinaldo and his cabinet visit San Fernando, staying at the convento, which has been converted into the revolutionaries’ military headquarters.
Bamban as Revolutionary Capital
It was on June 6, 1899, when President Emilio Aguinaldo made an unanticipated proclamation transferring his 'capital' in this small, hilly town of Bamban which served then, and until now, as the porter of Tarlac province. It should then be clarified, though, that what was proclaimed on June 6 as the Headquarters of Emilio Aguinaldo the then Captain-General of the Philippines was not the town of Tarlac, but that of Bamban. In this proclamation, President Aguinaldo also assumed the command of all military operations, a function vacated by General Luna his former rival.
It was from John R.M. Taylor’s 1906 ‘The Philippine Insurrection against the United States’, when he wrote: Before the death of Luna he had gone through Benguet Province to find a new site for the capital which would be fit for a continued defense; but Aguinaldo preferred Tarlac, and proclaimed it the capital of the republic on June 6 (italics mine). From this, it is evident that, at least from this much-quoted authority who was very close to the event, what was proclaimed on June 6 was, in all purposes, the capital (and not only a temporary headquarter) and, investigating now on the date of the actual document, he was referring to Bamban (Tarlac) and not the capital town of Tarlac. Thus from the time beginning on June 6, 1899 Aguinaldo moved out from the then town of Cabanatuan in Nueva Ecija and relocated in Bamban most likely on that particular day. In fact, Teodoro Kalaw was precise that the Revolutionary Government moved to Tarlac only on June 21 (probably referring to the Tarlac town) as noted from his book ‘The Philippine Revolution’.
Angeles or Cabanatuan, Bamban and or Tarlac?
As it was frequently cited, it was said that during the Philippine Revolution, Aguinaldo made Angeles the seat of government from May to July, 1899. In consequence for this matter, the first anniversary of the First Philippines Republic, was celebrated at Angeles. Furthermore it was said that on May 7, 1899, Aguinaldo made Angeles the seat of the Philippine Government. A field mass was held in his honor and the first anniversary celebration of the Philippine Independence proclaimed a year earlier in Kawit, Cavite was held in Angeles in June 12, 1899. How can this be when during this time, Aguinaldo and his men were in Cabanatuan and started to move to Bamban and later on going to the northward direction, thus on June 21 he was already in Tarlac? As Dr. Dizon quotes:
“When President Aguinaldo assumed his office as also the Captain-General of the Revolutionary Government, was it proper for him to leave his presidency elsewhere to take charge of the military forces in Bamban, considering that he was then in the thick of the fight against the Americans and salvaging his scattered army? There are documents claiming that President Aguinaldo was in Angeles six days later (June 12) to celebrate the first anniversary of the Declaration of Independence, though in the memoirs of a Spanish prisoner [El Desastre Filipino, Memorias de un prisionero], Carlos Ria-baja, the president was actually in Tarlac when he made a speech and therefore was in Bamban. But there are no documents to prove that Angeles was once a capital of the Aguinaldo government. Nevertheless, the people of Angeles are still clinging on this event, wishing it was so, though they do not have any strong data to back them…”
K-saligan
For further reading, you may visit this url http://www.geocities.com/cts_tsu/webBAMBAN.html. BAMBAN, TARLAC IN 1899: A CRUX OF THE PHILIPPINE REVOLUTION by Dr. Lino L. Dizon
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