23/07/2024
Apolinario Mabini Day is observed on July 23 every year in the Philippines. Apolinario Mabini was a Filipino National Hero born on July 23 in Tanuan, Batangas, Philippines. He is famous for being the theoretician and spokesman of the Philippine Revolution. He was the revolutionary government's advisor, also known as “the brain of the revolution.” Although he lost the use of his legs because of polio, his role was key in fighting for independence. He was the country's prime minister and foreign minister and helped draft the constitution.
HISTORY OF APOLINARIO MABINI DAY
Apolinario Mabini was born on July 23, 1864, in Tanuan, Batangas. He was born into a poor family. His father, Ignacio Mabini, was a farmer, and his mother, Dionisia Maranan, was a vendor at a local public market. He had eight siblings. From childhood, Mabini demonstrated intelligence and a strong desire to learn and study. Since it was difficult for his family to afford his education, Mabini started working to support himself and his studies.
In 1881, he won a partial scholarship to Manila´s Colegio de San Juan de Letran. In 1887, he was recognized as a professor of Latin. After that, he attended the University of Santo Tomas to study Law. He won a law degree in 1894. In 1896, he contracted polio, which left his legs paralyzed. For that reason, he is also known as the “Sublime Paralytic.” It is said that this disability saved his life that autumn. In October 1896, the colonial police arrested Mabini for his work with the reform movement. On December 30 that year, he was still under house arrest at the San Juan de Dios Hospital when the colonial government summarily executed José Rizal, another man involved in the Philippines Revolution. It’s believed that Mabini’s polio kept him from the same fate.
In 1898, Apolinario was able to talk with the new president Emilio Aguinaldo, and convinced him to establish a revolutionary government with an assembly. He became both prime minister and foreign minister of the country the following year. He wrote the constitution for the short-lived republic of 1898 to 1899. Mabini died on May 13, 1903, in Manila.
