Title: Mabini's Decalogue for Filipinos
Author: Mabini, Apolinario, 1864-1903
Language: English
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of Michigan.



=MABINI'S DECALOGUE FOR FILIPINOS=

[Illustration: Apolinario Mabini]

Apolinario Mabini, Martyr.

"Thou shalt love thy country after God and they honor and more than
thyself: for she is the only Paradise which God has given thee in this
life, the only inheritance of thy ancestors and the only hope of thy
posterity."

PHILIPPINE PRESS BUREAU
Washington, D. C.

1922



MABINI


Mabini was undoubtedly the most profound thinker and political
philosopher that the Pilipino race ever produced. Some day, when his
works are fully published, but not until then, Mabini will come into
his own. A great name awaits him, not only in the Philippines, for he
is already appreciated there, but in every land where the cause of
liberty and human freedom is revered.

Mabini was born in Tanawan, province of Batangas, island of Luzon,
P.I., of poor Filipino parents, in 1864. He received his education in
the "Colegio de San Juan de Letran." Manila, and in the University of
Santo Tomas. He supported himself while studying by his own efforts,
and made a brilliant record in both institutions. Later he devoted his
energies to the establishment of a private school in Manila and to
legal work.

Mabini came to the front in 1898 during the Pilipino revolution
against Spain. In the subsequent revolution against the United States
he became known as "the brains of the revolution." He was so
considered by the American army officers, who bent every energy to
capture him.

He was the leading adviser of Aguinaldo, and was the author of the
latter's many able decrees and proclamations. Mabini's official
position was President of the Council of Secretaries, and he also held
the post of Secretary of the Exterior.

One of Mabini's greatest works was his draft of a constitution for the
Philippine Republic. It was accompanied by what he called "The True
Decalogue," published in the pages following. Mabini's "ten
commandments" are so framed as to meet the needs of Filipino
patriotism for all time. He also drafted rules for the organization
and government of municipalities and provinces, which were highly
successful because of their adaptability to local conditions.

Mabini remained the head of Aguinaldo's cabinet until March, 1899,
when he resigned. But he continued in hearty sympathy with the
revolution, however, and his counsel was frequently sought.

Mabini was arrested by the American forces in September, 1899, and
remained a prisoner until September 23, 1900. Following his release,
he lived for a while in a suburb of Manila, in a poor nipa house,
under the most adverse and trying circumstances. He was in abject
poverty.

In spite of his terrible suffering from paralysis, Mabini continued
writing. He severely criticised the government, voicing the sentiments
of the Filipino people for freedom. He was ordered to desist, but to
this, in one of his writings to the people, he replied: "To tell a man
to be quiet when a necessity not fulfilled is shaking all the fibers
of his being is tantamount to asking a hungry man to be filled before
taking the food which he needs."

Mabini's logic was a real embarrassment to the American military
forces, and in January, 1901, he was arrested a second time by the
Americans. This time he was exiled to the island of Guam, where he
remained until his return to Manila on February 26, 1903.

Mabini died in Manila, of cholera, May 13, 1903, at the age of 39
years. His funeral was the most largely attended of any ever held in
Manila.

Although he died from natural causes, Mabini died a martyr to the
cause of Philippine independence. Five years of persecution left his
intense patriotism untouched, but it had made his physical self a
ready victim for a premature death.



="THE TRUE DECALOGUE"=

=By APOLINARIO MABINI=


First. Thou shalt love God and thy honor above all things: God as the
fountain of all truth, of all justice and of all activity; and thy
honor, the only power which will oblige thee to be faithful, just and
industrious.

Second. Thou shalt worship God in the form which thy conscience may
deem most righteous and worthy: for in thy conscience, which condemns
thy evil deeds and praises thy good ones, speaks thy God.

Third. Thou shalt cultivate the special gifts which God has granted
thee, working and studying according to thy ability, never leaving the
path of righteousness and justice, in order to attain thy own
perfection, by means whereof thou shalt contribute to the progress of
humanity; thus; thou shalt fulfill the mission to which God has
appointed thee in this life and by so doing, thou shalt be honored,
and being honored, thou shalt glorify thy God.

Fourth. Thou shalt love thy country after God and thy honor and more
than thyself: for she is the only Paradise which God has given thee in
this life, the only patrimony of thy race, the only inheritance of thy
ancestors and the only hope of thy posterity; because of her, thou
hast life, love and interests, happiness, honor and God.

Fifth. Thou shalt strive for the happiness of thy country before thy
own, making of her the kingdom of reason, of justice and of labor: for
if she be happy, thou, together with thy family, shalt likewise be
happy.

Sixth. Thou shalt strive for the independence of thy country: for only
thou canst have any real interest in her advancement and exaltation,
because her independence constitutes thy own liberty; her advancement,
thy perfection; and her exaltation, thy own glory and immortality.

Seventh. Thou shalt not recognize in thy country the authority of any
person who has not been elected by thee and thy countrymen; for
authority emanates from God, and as God speaks in the conscience of
every man, the person designated and proclaimed by the conscience of a
whole people is the only one who can use true authority.

Eighth. Thou shalt strive for a Republic and never for a monarchy in
thy country: for the latter exalts one or several families and founds
a dynasty; the former makes a people noble and worthy through reason,
great through liberty, and prosperous and brilliant through labor.

Ninth. Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself: for God has imposed
upon him, as well as upon thee, the obligation to help thee and not to
do unto thee what he would not have thee do unto him; but if thy
neighbor, failing in this sacred duty, attempt against thy life, thy
liberty and thy interests, then thou shalt destroy and annihilate him
for the supreme law of self-preservation prevails.

Tenth. Thou shalt consider thy countryman more than thy neighbor; thou
shalt see him thy friend, thy brother or at least thy comrade, with
whom thou art bound by one fate, by the same joys and sorrows and by
common aspirations and interests.

Therefore, as long as national frontiers subsist, raised and
maintained by the selfishness of race and of family, with thy
countryman alone shalt thou unite in a perfect solidarity of purpose
and interest, in order to have force, not only to resist the common
enemy but also to attain all the aims of human life.





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