Apolinario Mabini’s Works: a Critique Paper

Apolinario Mabini was a Filipino political thinker and architect of the Philippine revolt. He expressed the philosophies of a democratic popular administration, giving the past struggles of the Filipino people with a coherent ideological orientation. He was undoubtedly the most profound thinker and political philosopher that the Filipino race ever produced. Someday, when his works are fully published, but not until then, Mabini will come into his own. Mabini’s main work, La Revolution Filipina, a logical analysis and tough argument regarding the ideological consequences of the revolt against Spain and the struggle to the American intruders, tells the advanced and independent desire behind his philosophy. He constantly tried to intervene among the publics’ determination and the choices of their frontrunners. 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 continued by declaring that what was enclosed in the papers were his plans for the internal revolt for the publics to embrace as their moral and behavioral guide, and for the outside revolt for the revolutionary administration to embrace as the structure of authority. We can observe some of the main expressions of Mabini’s liberal, democrat and Masonic ideals in The True Decalogue. Instead of the thirty articles of the Masonic moral code, The True Decalogue would be reflecting the ten commandments of Moses, but expressed more fully in the historical context of the Philippines in the late nineteenth century. As the “True” Decalogue, it would combine moral principles and political concepts that were often presented side by side with one another. The limitations between moral philosophy and political philosophy was indistinct in Mabini’s Decalogue, as he saw in the constructions together the realization of moral integrity and political independence that Filipinos should spread, if Filipinos were to attain what he named as the ideas of human existence.

A study of the simple moralities stated in the True Decalogue would tell its clear parallelism with the Masonic moral code. Just similar the code, the Decalogue would have the leading two articles entered on the faith in God and the designation to all the just, goodness and truthfulness of all way of life and being. The second article in the Decalogue paralleled that of the third article in the moral code. The designation and acknowledgement to the size of one’s integrity would lead in the strength of mind of an creature’s belief in, love to God. This acknowledgment to one’s conscience and the trust in the Supreme Being, would lead to the enhancement of one’s personality, improvement of one’s innovative skills and aptitudes, and the accomplishment by humanity of the morals of goodness, justice and honor necessary in glorifying God. This implied that all men and women were already endowed with the moral conscience that would lead them to the recognition of the Supreme Being, while at the same time working towards the attainment of moral virtues.