NAME
PROGRAM/BLOCK
:
:
ALDWIN P. ZACARIAS
2A BA IN COMMUNICATION
THOUGHT PAPER
(PROCLAMATION OF INDEPENDENCE BY AMBROSIO RIANZARES BAUTISTA)
I.
II.
Introduction:
a. About the author
Ambrosio Rianzares Bautista was born on December 7, 1830 in Biñan,
Laguna, Philippines. He became a lawyer and a confidante/auditor of General
Emilio Aguinaldo who is the president of the revolutionary government of the
Philippines during the Spanish colonization. He is also the one who wrote the
document for the declaration of Philippine independence from the Spaniard.
b. About the document of the Proclamation of Independence
After more than three long centuries of being ruled by the Spanish
government, the Philippines, led by the president of the revolutionary government,
General Emilio Aguinaldo, with the help of the American soldiers finally achieved
its independence. This remarkable victory was officially announced on June 12,
1898 when General Aguinaldo assigned Ambrosio Rianzares as the special
commissioner and ordered him to write the document of the proclamation of
independence of the country. This 21-page document is originally written in
Spanish. It was in General Aguinaldo’s house in the town of Cavite el Viejo
(specifically Kawit, Cavite now) when they announced it. It was also Ambrosio
Rianzares who read the document to the early Filipinos and waved the Philippine
flag, this is contrary to the old-common belief that it was General Aguinaldo who
waved the flag that time.
The contributions of the document on the Philippine History
This document was not only written to declare the Philippine independence from
the Spaniards or to solemnize the victory of the revolutionary government. It also talks
about the kind of society we had during the colonization, how and why the Philippine
revolution started, the violence and discriminations that the early Filipinos are receiving
from the Spaniards and what exactly happened during the war of independence. In addition,
in the latter part of the document, it also reveals the story and the symbolisms behind the
colors and the design of the Philippine flag.
With the amount of information about the Spanish period that is mentioned in this
document, there is no doubt why it is considered as one of the crucial and important
historical sources in the country. The document alone reveals a lot of things about our past
particularly on the said period, so it will enormously enrich the knowledge of whoever
reads it about our history. And I think, these are the reasons why schools and/or universities
should introduce this document to their students, even better to the primary years so that at
a very young age, they can fully appreciate our history, our heroes and their contributions,
III.
and most importantly for them to treasure what we have right now that we might not have
if not because of the efforts and bravery of our ancestors.
Conclusion
To wrap things up, this document written by Ambrosio Rianzares really have a huge
contribution in knowing and understanding our history. It unfolded a lot of information
about what did our ancestors experienced during the Spanish colonization. And this also
signifies the victory and the freedom that our ancestors sought for 333 years.
And upon reflection, I felt like I was reminded by this document of how our heroes
and ancestors fought really hard at the expense of sacrificing their own lives just to regain
our sovereignty and independence that had been snatched to us for such a long period of
time. These are the things that I rarely think of, and honestly, sometimes forgotten. And
upon analyzing this document, I felt like I was reborn as a Filipino. And as the future of
the nation, we, students should treasure and appreciate their efforts and sacrifices. We
should embody and embrace our nationality, we are the heroes of the present generation,
so we should act like one.