Closed ANTONIO LUNA: A LOVER, TRAITOR, THIEF AND A HERO

ANTONIO LUNA: A LOVER, TRAITOR, THIEF AND A HERO

Note: This post is about why Antonio Luna was assassinated by Aguinaldo's men and about his affair to Ysidra Cojuangco in which the wealth of the revolution were given to her, but Ysidra did not give it back to the revolutionary government.

At the turn of the century, with the Spanish forces decisively defeated by the Filipino revolutionaries, the first Philippine Republic was established. In ceremonies held at the Barasoain Church in Malolos, Bulacan, on January 23, 1899, General Emilio Aguinaldo was proclaimed president of the republic and the Constitution was approved. Unfortunately, the republic did not live long as the Americans colonized the nation and crushed the republic in a bloody war that lasted until 1902.

The Philippine-American War, which had begun in February 4, 1899, caused unparalleled grief to millions of Filipinos. The US occupation army killed an estimated 200,000 people as the Filipino revolutionaries persisted in their struggle to keep the country free from foreign rule. The economy was in shambles, unable to bear the brunt of the war that began in 1896. The fortunes of many prominent families dwindled but a lucky few—like the Cojuangcos—prospered from it.

By 1901, the Cojuangco landholdings, under the name of Ingkong Jose, Ysidra or Melecio, had extended to other towns in Tarlac like Gerona, Camiling, La Paz and Moncada as well as to the adjoining provinces of Nueva Ecija and Pangasinan. In less than five years after resettling in Tarlac, the Cojuangco family acquired almost 2,000 hectares of agricultural land along the railway in Paniqui, well up to Nueva Ecija and Pangasinan.

The family’s economic bonanza was indeed impressive, especially since it was realized at a time when agricultural production in Tarlac was in a dismal state. Rice fields then were covered by sand left by floods. Government reports during this period indicated that drought and locusts had destroyed many crops. But the fortune acquired by the Cojuangcos had puzzled many of their neighbors even then. They knew the family depended on the income from their rice milling and trading business for the money that they lent out. With the calamities that had plagued rice lands, however, the neighbors wondered, surely the Cojuangco money could not have all come from rice milling and trading alone.

It was all the fruit of hard work, frugality and good business sense, they were told. Still, this explanation did not stop stories from swirling around about the “real” source of the Cojuangcos’ now-fabled wealth. One account, written in 1987 by Hilarion Henares, the newspaper columnist who coined the moniker “Pacman” for Danding, cited a study reportedly made by Carlos Quirino, the former director of the National Library. Henares wrote in the Philippine Daily Inquirer:

General Antonio Luna, as chief of staff of the revolutionary army, had collected a sizeable sum from contributions with which to pay his soldiers. The person who collected for him was Tiburcio Hilario, Pampanga governor. Hilario’s granddaughter, Ambassador Rafaelita Hilario Soriano, relates that her grandfather kept the gold and silver in sacks, including gold plates, chalices, and other church treasures taken from Bacolor, San Fernando, and Guagua.

After losing an encounter at Sto. Tomas, Pampanga, Luna ordered Hilario to bring the valuables to Tarlac, where the revolutionary government planned to establish its capital. General Luna, so the story goes, then turned over the treasure to Ysidra Cojuangco, then an attractive 32-year-old woman, for safekeeping. Then Luna proceeded to Cabanatuan to meet with Aguinaldo, there to be assassinated by [Aguinaldo’s] troops.

(General Antonio Luna transported the wealth of the revolution, millions worth of gold and silver coins from Ilocos Treasury and Governor of Pampanga, the home of his girlfriend Ysidra Cojuangco. After three days, General Luna was assassinated by Aguinaldo officers. The gold treasures of the First Philippine Republic suddenly disappeared. Even the American forces couldn’t find it. And so in 1900, Ysidra Cojuangco became one of the richest women in the Philippines. Central Luzon is forever changed.)

Why did the general entrust Ysidra with the treasure? Rumors had it that she was his sweetheart and lover, and he entrusted her to keep the treasure till he returned…

Another account said that General Luna sired Ysidra’s son, who was also named Antonio but was claimed by Melecio and Tecla as their third son. The story goes that during the Philippine-American war, Luna had tried to control the Manila-Dagupan railway since this was a vital facility for communications and transportation, as it was during the earlier war against Spain. It was supposedly in one of Luna’s trips to the north that he met Ysidra, who lived very near the train station. And when the Filipino troops were retreating to the north during the war against the US, he may have renewed his ties with her.

FURTHER READING (IN FILIPINO):

According to the historian, Alfredo Saulo:

The convoy of carts loaded with a huge amount of Spanish gold and silver coins seized from local treasuries in the Ilocos region, leading this convoy through forested areas up to the final destination in Paniqui, Tarlac, in the house of Ysidra Cojuangco, girlfriend of General Antonio Luna.

Nang paslangin si Luna noong Hunyo 5, 1899 sa Cabanatuan, sa utos diumano ni Heneral Aguinaldo, naiwan kay Ysidra ang mga ginto ng rebolusyon. At dahil hindi hayagan ang relasyon ng magkasintahan, hindi alam ng karamihan sa mga lider kung saan o kanino iniwan ni Luna ang mga ginto.

Hindi na isinauli ni Ysidra ang mga ginto.

According to Henares:

Malaki ang ebidensiya na ang mga gintong ipinatago ni Luna kay Ysidra ang dahilan ng biglang pagyaman diumano ng mga Cojuangco. Matagal na ring alam ng mga viejas familias sa Gitnang Luzon na sa rebolusyonaryong gobyerno ni Aguinaldo at ng Katipunan nanggaling ang kayamanan ng pamilyang Cojuangco.

Upang itago raw ang tunay na pinagmulan ng kanilang yaman, sinasabing ipinabura ng pamilyang Cojuangco ang lahat ng rekord na maaaring magpatotoo na anak nga ni Heneral si Antonio Sr. Nawawala ang kanyang mga rekord ng pagkabuhay sa mga simbahan ng Malolos at Paniqui, at maging sa Ateneo de Manila, kung saan siya nag-aral.

Kung paniniwalaan ang historyador na si Dr. Vivencio Jose, pataksil na ipinapatay ni Aguinaldo si Luna. Maingay at delikado kasi siyang katunggali hindi lamang para sa kapangyarihan ni Aguinaldo, kundi ng mismong mga mananakop na Amerikano. Isang malaking kawalan sa mga nakikidigmang Pilipino ang pagkamatay ni Luna. Malaking kataksilan din ang di pagsauli diumano ng kasintahang si Ysidra ng mga gintong malaki pa sana ang maitutulong sa rebolusyon.

Kataksilan at kasinungalingan diumano ang naging pundasyon ng kayamanan ng mga Cojuangco, tulad din ng kataksilan at kasinungalingan na naging pundasyon ng Republika ni Aguinaldo.

Binasa ko ha? hehehe ano ito another Yamashita Treasure? I dont think so! Spanish pa lang kalaban salat na sa pera mga Pilipino kahit sabihin nating nakuha or donation yun di parin gunun kalaking halaga. at talaga namang mayayaman mga Cojuangco noon pa. bakit naka survive kayamanan nila sa mga Spanish, American, Japanese? hehehe para-paraan nalang yan. pwedeng nagpagamit din sila sa mga banyaga.

kaya pala hanggang ngayun di maubus ubus ang kayamanan ng mga Cojuangco. mula pala yun sa mga donasyun at nakumpiskang kayamanan ng mga rebulusyunaryo. Saan kaya sila kumukuha ng kakapalan ng mukha para hindi ibigay yun sa karapat dapat na pagbigyan:rage:

Dear meowzkingz,

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