July
22, 1815, Apolinario de la Cruz was born in Lukban, Tayabas
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On July 22,
1815, Apolinario de la Cruz, also known as Hermano Pule, crusader of
religious freedom, was born in Lukban, Tayabas (present day Quezon province)
to Pablo de la Cruz and Juana Andres, who were both religious.
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Apolinario
wished to become a priest but was disappointed when not one of the religious
orders in Manila wanted to accept him because he was a native Filipino. It
did not stop him, however, so he entered the San Juan de Dios Hospital, where
he eventually became a donado (lay brother) and member of
the Cofradia de San Juan de Dios, a religious brotherhood.
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He filled
his hunger for the word of God in the Cofradia de San Juan de
Dios and by attending masses in the churches in Intramuros and
reading novenas and other catechism. He returned to Lukban after he
was expelled from the hospital.
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Back in his
hometown, he established the Cofradia de San Jose, aimed at honoring
Saint Joseph and Virgin Mary, sometime in the 1830's. Having suffered biases
in the practice of religion because of his being a Filipino, he setup
theCofradia as avenue of worshippers who would worship "God
according to the dictates of their conscience". Given the nature of
his Cofradia that celebrated mass on the 19th of every month,
historian David P. Barrows described it as a "special cult".
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Apolinario
started the Cofradia with 19 members and called himself, being the
leader, as hermano mayor, thus, he became widely known as Hermano Pule.
His Cofradia drew members from the nearby provinces of Batangas and
Laguna, and even from Tondo, Manila. Based from the registry or padrones of
the organization, its members reached to around 5,000 individuals. It was not
surprising why the Cofradia had reached such number because its
recruitment system doubled the voting power of any member who could recruit
twelve members and was also elevated to the position
of cabecilla or headman. Hermano Pule would give the sermons while
Father Ciriaco de los Santos, a Filipino priest, would celebrate the mass.
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Hermano Pule
tried to seek the recognition of the church through a petition to the Bishop
of Camarines in order for the Cofradia to openly hold meeting and
practice its religious rites but to no avail. The fact that only
pure-bloodied Filipinos could join the Cofradia gave an impression
to the Spanish authorities that it was political in nature under the guise of
religious rituals. The Franciscan friars in the province suspected that its
activities were schismatic in nature and had to be suppressed. Thus, on
October 19, 1840, the friars pressured the gobernadorcillo of Lukban to
arrest members of the brotherhood who were assembled in the house of
Francisco de los Santos at that time. Hermano Pule reported the incident to
Archbishop Segui in Manila, denouncing the unwarranted act of the friars
Father Antonio Mateo of Tayabas and Father Manuel Sancho of Lukban.
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On January
21, 1841, he sent another petition citing that the Cofradia is not
anti-Catholic, to the Bishop of Nueva Caceres who forwarded it to
the juez provisor Father Basilio. The letter endorsed to Fathers
Mateo and Sancho remained unheeded. Not losing his resolve, Hermano Pule
appealed to the Audiencia in Manila through Don Domingo Rojas but
also failed. Meanwhile, the Cofradia did not stop from holding its
meetings. On September 19, 1841, Spanish authorities through Father Antonio
Roman located some members and arrested them. Consequently, Hermano Pule and
his remaining followers lived as fugitives moving from place to place.
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On October
23, 1841, the military force under Alcalde Mayor Joaquin Ortega,
reinforced by Negrito bowmen attacked the Cofradia encamped in
Sitio Isabang, between Sariaya and Tayabas but suffered great casualty.
Ortega died in the battle. Aware of the possible repercussion by the
authorities, Pule moved his camp to Alitao and fortified it with palisade.
There he built a chapel where he assumed the title of supreme pontiff of
theCofradia, this time became more determined not to surrender to the
authorities.
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On November
1, 1841, Spanish authorities attacked his camp, killing hundreds of his men.
Hermano Pule escaped to Sariaya where he was finally captured, tried, and
sentenced to die by musketry. His body was cut into pieces; his head placed
in a cage was hung on a pole along the road leading to Majayjay town. Other
prominent members of the Cofradia like Dionisio de los Reyes, Miguel de Jesus
and Francisco Espinosa were executed by firing squad five days after Pule was
killed.
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The story of
Hermano Pule started and ended with his hunger to worship the God he came to
know from his killers.
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References(All
via the National Historical Commission of the Philippines) Agoncillo, Teodoro
A. History of the Filipino People 8th Ed. Quezon City: Garotech, 1990. Quirino,
Carlos. Who’s who in Philippine History. Manila: Tahanan Books, 1995. Zaide,
Gregorio F. Great Filipinos in History. Manila: Verde Bookstore, 1970.
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Tuesday, 21 July 2015

The Past of PH Today: July 22, 1815, Apolinario de la Cruz
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