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Aguinaldo's 'confession' on Bonifacio kill order up for auction

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Totel V. de Jesus

MANILA — Emilio Aguinaldo&#x27;s &quot;confession&quot; about ordering the assassination of revolutionary Andres Bonifacio is up for auction Saturday at the Leon Gallery. Writer-curator-rock band manager Lisa Guerrero Nakpil, great grandniece of Gregoria &quot;Oryang&quot; de Jesus, Bonifacio&#x27;s widow, said the letter is among &quot;blood-curdling&quot; accounts that make it an imperative to retell dark episodes in the country&#x27;s history and even revise textbooks. Aguinaldo&#x27;s letters were written in the comfort of his retirement from politics. In these hand-written accounts, he admitted he was the one who ordered the deaths of Andres Bonifacio and his brother Procopio. Another letter was written by one of Aguinaldo&#x27;s generals, Lazaro Makapagal, who led a group of soldiers loyal to Aguinaldo in the execution of the Bonifacio brothers on the mountains of Maragondon, Cavite.<div class="embed-wrap"><figure data-feedback="fb:likes,fb:comments"><img src="http://sa.kapamilya.com/absnews/abscbnnews/media/2019/life/02/22/img_9922-edited.jpg"/><figcaption>This typewritten account has been amended in Aguinaldo’s handwriting. Image courtesy of Lisa G. Nakpil</figcaption></figure></div>For the longest time, these letters were in the collection of Jose P. Santos, son of eminent historian and scholar Epifanio de los Santos, after whom EDSA was named.&quot;Each generation needs a retelling of these blood-curdling accounts. The truth of the matter is that the Makapagal letter was printed in the Philippine Free Press in the 1920s, or a hundred years ago! The Aguinaldo letters were written 75 years ago and reprinted in Adrian Cristobal’s &#x27;Tragedy of the Revolution&#x27; some 30 years ago. Some may say they’ve been seen before — but that was several generations ago. It’s always exciting when a new generation discovers them,&quot; Nakpil told ABS-CBN News. Nakpil&#x27;s great grand uncle, Julio Nakpil, was De Jesus&#x27; second husband. Nakpil emphasized the exact words Aguinaldo used: &quot;I had to yield.&quot;&quot;There’s nothing fancy about the word &#x27;confession.&#x27; It is what it is — an admission of guilt,&quot; Nakpil wrote in a Facebook post on Saturday, just a few hours before the auction. &quot;What Aguinaldo meant by &#x27;I had to yield&#x27; is that he saw the wisdom in his men’s advice and so freely chose to order Bonifacio killed. It did not mean &#x27;I had no choice in the matter.&#x27; Of course he did. He was the commander and decision-maker. By his own account, his guys did not act unilaterally, not without his knowledge, not without consulting him and never without getting a by-your-leave on any decision, big or small. He was after all ‘Dictator’ and master of the universe,&quot; Nakpil said. &quot;Aguinaldo didn&#x27;t just own up to Bonifacio’s execution, he even tried to convince his audience that it was the wise thing to do. &#x27;I had to yield&#x27; not because they put a gun to my head but because I saw the wisdom of their reasons,&quot; she added. &quot;The startling--and yes, shocking because it is troubling to see such an admission--set of confessions are on the block this afternoon at the León Gallery auction,&quot; Nakpil said.[BOLD] Oryang&#x27;s versionIt may have been overshadowed by these &quot;blood-curdling&quot; letters but part of the auction is an original copy of Oryang&#x27;s autobiography.<div class="embed-wrap"><figure data-feedback="fb:likes,fb:comments"><img src="http://sa.kapamilya.com/absnews/abscbnnews/media/2019/life/02/22/img_1218.jpg"/><figcaption>Screenshot of one of Gregoria de Jesus&#x27; letters. Image courtesy of Lisa G. Nakpil</figcaption></figure></div>&quot;Gregoria de Jesus wrote her autobiography at the invitation of Jose P. Santos, who was a publisher. Her account of the events of May 1897 was a best-seller,&quot; Nakpil told ABS-CBN News.&quot;It’s stunning piece. Jose P. Santos asked her to come up, like a true journalist, with her own Dekalogo, as a companion piece to Bonifacio’s and Jacinto’s Kartilyas,&quot; Nakpil added.Incidentally, Repertory Philippines is re-staging &quot;Miong,&quot; the musical on Emilio Aguinaldo at the Onstage Theater in Greenbelt 1, which is just a few hundred meters from Leon Gallery. It is written and directed by Joy Virata, wife of Aguinaldo&#x27;s great-grand nephew, the former Prime Minister Cesar Virata. When we asked Nakpil about this coincidence, she gave no answer but rest assured there will be more of this kind of &quot;blood-curdling&quot; auctions at Leon Gallery.

MANILA — Emilio Aguinaldo's "confession" about ordering the assassination of revolutionary Andres Bonifacio is up for auction Saturday at the Leon Gallery.

MANILA — Emilio Aguinaldo's "confession" about ordering the assassination of revolutionary Andres Bonifacio is up for auction Saturday at the Leon Gallery.