General Jose Alejandrino and the Philippine Revolutionary Struggle which would make them strong in their present and future struggles.” Secondly, without the Filipino leadership’s cooperation from the start, the American invasion and capture of Manila in 1898 would never have been possible. Lastly, the Philippine- American War could have lasted longer and better fought by the Filipinos had the army (1) adopted guerilla tactics from the outset rather than engage the enemy head-on; and (2) become less complacent following the string of previous victories against the Spanish. However, America’s de- cision to occupy the Philippines turned out to be the better deal, considering the alternative. The German fleet was already present in Manila ostensibly to protect its nationals. “It was more that probable that Spain, because of her bankrupt condition,” according to Alejandrino, “would have chosen to cede the Philippines to Germany as she had done with the Carolinas. In that event, we would have fallen under the harsh colonial policy of the Kaiser, and after the first World War, our destiny would have been to fall under the Japanese domination as a mandate of the League of Nations, as what happened to the Carolinas which was a German colony.” None- theless,Alejandrino argues that this chain of events would not have been possible without the stage being set by the Filipino revolutionaries of 1896. By F. Phillip V. Victoria One of the least appreciated memoirs on the Philippine Revolution is that of General Jose Alejandrino (1870-1951). His work, La Senda del Sacrificio ( The Price of Freedom) was published in 1933 but later expanded in 1949 that included his anecdotes on Jose Rizal. Also an Atenista, he studied chemical engineering at Ghent, Belgium and was Rizal’s messenger in the publication of El Filibusterismo. During the Malolos Republic, he served as the Secretary for Agriculture, Commerce and Industry (Fomento) and later as acting Secretary of War. He headed military operations in Central Luzon during the Philippine- American War until his surrender in April 1901. It was under his command that the African-American defector Captain David Fagen served and fought. He later served as a Philippine Senator for Sulu and Mindanao from 1925- 1928. Alejandrino viewed the start of the Revolution in 1896 as “the most glorious and heroic phase of our struggle for freedom.” However, he views Andres Bonifacio’s death as one that “served to establish firmly our much-needed unity for the overthrow of the forces of tyranny, in the same way that Rizal’s blood tinged with scarlet the rays of our early dawn.” Perhaps the most important and most-cited part of his ac- count was the addendum regarding Rizal’s comment that the Chinaman Quiroga in the Fili was Carlos Palanca Tan Quien-Sien. Alejandrino recalls that he once met him, probably in his capacity as the Secretary for Fomento, regarding the latter’s proposal of continuing the opium revenue farm system under the Philippine Republic. Palanca purportedly said to him: “That Aguinaldo no person, is angel; I speak to him of a business wherein we can make much money. I provide the brains; he alone put up saliva, but he does not like. That man, him no person, that angel.” The Philippine government did continue Opium revenue farming in November 1898. There were also paths not taken that, according to him, could have made Philippine independence more successful. Foremost was the United States’ decision to assimilate the Philippines instead of establishing a protectorate. Since the Philippine Republic had the goodwill and “whole- hearted cooperation” of its people, America should have contented itself to help make the Republic “a more efficient and stable government.” By remaking the Philippines in America’s image, he thought, “would make that civilization our major weakness, surrounded as we are by oriental peoples who have preserved their native customs and ideology and borrowed from the occident only those Philippine revolutionary leaders: General Manuel Tinio (seated, center), General Benito Natividad (seated, 2nd from right), Lt. Col. Jose Alejandrino (seated, 2nd from left) and their aides-de-camp NHCP Photo Filipino officers involved during the fight against the Americans. From left: Lt. Col. Joaquin Alejandrino (brother of Gen. Jose Alejandrino), Capt. Estanislao de los Reyes (aide-de- camp to General Tinio), and 1stLt. Alejandro Quirolgico (another aide-de-camp to General Tinio). NHCP photo Page 10 - Bayanihan News November 2014 www.bayanihannews.com.au