Pedro Alejandro Paterno | |
|---|---|
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| 2nd Prime Minister of the Philippines | |
| In office May 8, 1899 – November 13, 1899 | |
| President | Emilio Aguinaldo |
| Deputy | Trinidad Pardo de Tavera |
| Preceded by | Apolinario Mabini |
| Succeeded by | Position abolished (Next held byFerdinand Marcos) |
| President of theMalolos Congress | |
| In office September 15, 1898 – November 13, 1899 | |
| Vice President | Benito Legarda |
| Preceded by | Position established |
| Succeeded by | Position abolished (Sergio Osmeña as Speaker of the Philippine Assembly) |
| Member of thePhilippine Assembly fromLa Laguna's1st district | |
| In office October 16, 1907 – May 20, 1909 | |
| Preceded by | District established |
| Succeeded by | Potenciano Malvar |
| Member of theMalolos Congress fromIlocos Norte | |
| In office September 15, 1898 – November 13, 1899 Serving with Gregorio Aglipay, Primitivo Donato, Martin Garcia, José Luna, and Pio Romero | |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Pedro Alejandro Paterno y de Vera-Ignacio (1857-02-27)February 27, 1857 |
| Died | April 26, 1911(1911-04-26) (aged 54) |
| Resting place | Manila North Cemetery |
| Nationality | Spanish East Indies (1857-1898), United States (1899-1911) |
| Political party | Nacionalista (1907–1911) |
| Other political affiliations | Federalista (1900–1907) Independent (1898–1900) |
| Spouse | [1][2] |
| Alma mater | Ateneo Municipal de Manila (BA) University of Salamanca Central Madrid University (DCL,JCD) |
| Occupation | Politician |
| Profession | Poet, novelist |
Pedro Alejandro Paterno y de Vera-Ignacio[2][note 1] (February 27, 1857 – April 26, 1911)[note 2][3] was a Filipino politician. He was also apoet and anovelist.[4]
His intervention on behalf of the Spanish led to the signing of thePact of Biak-na-Bato on December 14, 1897, an account of which he published in 1910. Among his other works include the first novel written by a native Filipino,Ninay (1885), and the first Filipino collection of poems inSpanish,Sampaguitas y otras poesías varias ("Jasmines and Other Various Poems"), published in Madrid in 1880.[5]
Paterno was born on February 17, 1857. He was a "child of privilege in a society of limited opportunities."[6] He was one of 13 children born to Máximo Molo-Agustín-Paterno e Yamzon, amestizo sangley born to amestizo sangley father and achina cristiana mother, and his second wife, Carmen de Vera-Ignacio y Pineda, amestiza mostly of lowland Tagalog descent.
His father Máximo was exiled toGuam (then also part of theSpanish East Indies) for ten years following the1872 Cavite mutiny, and died on July 26, 1900, leaving behind considerable wealth from his lucrative business ventures.[7]: 411–412
Paterno finishedBachiller en Artes atAteneo Municipal de Manila. At the age of 14, he was sent to study in Spain, where he spent the next 11 years at theUniversity of Salamanca where he took courses in Philosophy and Theology, and then theCentral University of Madrid, where he graduated Doctor of Civil and Canon Law in 1880.[7]: 412
In 1876, he wrote his first opus entitledInfluencia Social del Cristianismo wherein it shows how he consciously located himself in the metropolitan stream of Spanish Culture. It also unveiled the major themes of Paterno's works to come: law of social evolution, value of reason, human perfectibility, and a synthesis of an essentialised "Orient" and "Occident" in Christianity.[8][9]
In 1893, he was awarded theOrder of Isabella the Catholic.[7]: 412 In March 1894, he was appointed as the Director of Museo Biblioteca de Filipinas (nowNational Library of the Philippines); he was the first Filipino to hold that position.[2][10]
At the trial ofJosé Rizal in 1896, it was suggested that Paterno, along with Rizal, had incited the Katipunan because they had both written about pre-Spanish Philippine history. As evidence for their complicity, the Spanish prosecution cited Paterno's earlier workAntigua Civilización as promoting ideas which had "consequences both erroneous and injurious to Spanish sovereignty". Nobody moved against Paterno, however, because he was close to a significant number of Spanish officials, both military and civilian, who could vouch and cover for him. Thus, Paterno, like many others of the Manila elite, distanced himself from the events of the Katipunan revolution.[4]
In 1897, the Philippine revolutionary forces led by General Emilio Aguinaldo had been driven out ofCavite and retreated northwards from town to town until they finally settled in the village of Biak-na-Bato, in the town ofSan Miguel de Mayumo inBulacan. Here, they established what became known as theRepublic of Biak-na-Bato[11] which was an unrecognised secessionist microstate.
In late July 1897, Paterno presented himself toGovernor-GeneralFernando Primo de Rivera, whom he had known while living in Spain, and offered his services as a mediator.[4] Because many highly placed Spaniards of the time thought Paterno held great sway over the natives, Primo de Rivera accepted Paterno's offer. He called for a truce, explaining his decision to theCortes Generales: "I can take Biak-na-Bato, any military man can take it, but I can not answer that I should crush the rebellion."[11]
Paterno left Manila on August 4, 1897, and found Aguinaldo five days later. This began a three-month-long series of talks which saw Paterno constantly traveling between Manila, Biak-na-Bato, and some areas inSouthern Luzon where a number of revolutionary chiefs held sway. During the negotiations, Paterno's wife Luisa died on November 27, 1897.[4] In ceremonies from December 14 to 15 that year, Aguinaldo signed thePact of Biak-na-Bato. He later proclaimed the official end of the Philippine Revolution onChristmas Day and left forHong Kong via the port ofDagupan on December 27.[11]
Paterno returned to Manila on January 11, 1898, amidst great celebration, but was spurned by Primo de Rivera and other authorities when he asked to be recompensed by being granted a dukedom withgrandee, a seat in theSpanish Senate, and payment for his services inMexican dollars.[4] Because he was dismissed by the Spanish authorities, he instead wormed his way to power within the Revolutionary circles.
Paterno was elected a delegate fromIlocos Norte and President of theMalolos Congress in September 1898.[7]: 469 He served asprime minister of theFirst Philippine Republic in the middle of 1899, and served as head of the country's assembly, and thecabinet. Paterno was captured by the Americans in April 1900 in Antomoc,Benguet.[7]: 504
With thePhilippine–American War after the signing of theTreaty of Paris in 1898, he was among the most prominent Filipinos who joined the American side and advocated the incorporation of the Philippines into theUnited States. As the editor and proprietor of the newspaperLa Patria, he supported American dominion and gratitude towards Spain, from whence "the Filipinos derived their civilization."[7]: 412–413 Paterno was elected to thePhilippine Assembly in1907, representing the province ofLa Laguna's (present-day Laguna)1st district in the1st Philippine Legislature. He would serve until his term expired in 1909.[12]
He died ofcholera on April 26, 1911.
Despite Paterno's prominence in the many upheavals that defined the birth of the Philippine nation during his lifetime, Paterno's legacy is largely infamous among Philippine historians and nationalists.
Philippine historianResil Mojares notes that:
History has not been kind to Pedro Paterno. A century ago, he was one of the country's premier intellectuals, blazing trails in Philippine letters. Today he is ignored in many of the fields in which he once held forth with much eminence, real and imagined. No full length biography or extended review of his corpus of writings has been written, and no one reads him today.[4]
Mojares also indicated that his sarcastic and flamboyant attitude, wherein he seeks a high regard in the social hierarchy wherever he goes, invited the criticisms he received.[13]
John Schumacher dismissed Paterno's works as "scholarly" in nature. He remarked that:
Paterno's "eccentric and ingenious elucubrations" on Philippine civilization undermined the national cause. "Reconstructing a Filipino past, however glorious in appearance, on false pretences can do nothing to build a sense of national identity, much less offer guidance for the present or the future."[14]
Much of this is attributed to Paterno's penchant for turncoatism, as described by historianAmbeth Ocampo, who sums up his career thus:
Remember, Paterno was one of the greatest "balimbing" (turncoat) in history (perhaps he was the original "balimbing" in Philippine political history). He was first on the Spanish side, then when the declaration of independence was made in 1898, he "wormed his way to power" and became president of the Malolos Congress in 1899, then sensing the change in political winds after the establishment of the American colonial government, he became a member of the First Philippine Assembly.[5]
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Media related toPedro Alejandro Paterno at Wikimedia Commons| Political offices | ||
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| Preceded by | Prime Minister of the Philippines 1899–1901 | Vacant Position abolished Title next held by Ferdinand Marcos |
| New title | — TITULAR — Prime Minister of the Philippines 1899 - April 1, 1901 | Succeeded by Jorge B. Vargas (Ministries involved) |
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