Miguel Malvar biography, quotes, contribution, books
Miguel Malvar was the last Filipino general to surrender to the American forces during the Philippine-American war to gain independence. He is one of the national heroes who will be remembered by generations and generations to come.
Miguel stood out among all the other contemporaries during the Philippine revolutionary army. While the others seemed to waste a lot of time trying to sow political intrigues, he opted to lead on the battlefield. He spent practically all his time leading his men in battling for their independence from Spain between August 1896 and December 1897.
Miguel Malvar profile summary
- Full name: Miguel Malvar
- Date of birth: 27th September 1865
- Place of birth: Santo Tomas, Batangas, Philippines
- Miguel Malvar age at death: 46 years
- Miguel Malvar cause of death: Liver cancer
- Nationality: Filipino
Who is Miguel Malvar?
He is one of the greatest men in Filipino history. He served the Filipino during the Philippine Revolution and consequently, during the Philippine-American War. After the arrest of Emilio Aguinaldo in 1901 during the war, Miguel assumed duty as the commander of the armed forces.
Miguel Malvar biography
Miguel was born on 27th September 1865 in San Miguel Santo Tomas, Batangas. His parents are Maximo Malvar (father) and Tiburcio Carpio (mother). His family was known throughout the town due to their wealth, diligence, and generosity.
He joined the town school located in Santo Tomas, but later on, he transferred to a private school in Tanauan Batangas run by Father Valerio Malabanan. During that time, it was considered as the most prestigious institution in Batangas. After school, he opted to settle down as a farmer rather than pursuing higher education in Manila.
He joined forces in helping his intellectual smaller brother named Potenciano to further his education in medicine. He was later on chosen to become the Capitan municipal in his hometown. In 1891, he married Paula Maloles, the beautiful daughter of Capitan municipal of Santo Tomas, Don Ambrocio Maloles.
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Contribution of Miguel Malvar in the Philippines
General Miguel Malvar largely contributed to the independence of the Philippines by taking the forefront role in the Philippine Revolution and Philippine-American War.
Philippine Revolution
The revolution started in August 1896, and Malvar emerged from becoming the leader of an army of 70 men to the military commander of the Batangas. As the commander, he worked with General Emilio Aguinaldo, who was the leader of revolutionaries in Cavite, and General Paciano Rizal, the leader of revolutionaries in Laguna.
On 1st November 1897, the provisional constitution for the Biak-na-Bato Republic was signed. Towards the end of 1897, Governor-General Primo de Rivera came to terms with the impossibility to subdue the revolution through force of arms.
I can take Biak-na-Bato, any military man can take it, but I cannot answer that I could crush the rebellion, he said.
Pedro A. Paterno, a distinguished lawyer from Manila, proposed peace based on reforms and amnesty. The proposal led to a peace agreement known as Pact of Biak-na-Bato. It was made of three documents. Two were signed on 14th December 1897 while the third one was signed on 15th December 1897. It brought an end to the Republic of Biak-na-Bato.
Miguel, together with Paciano Rizal, Mariano Trias, Artemio Ricarte, and Manuel Tinio, were against the pact. This group of generals claimed that the agreement was a trick to get rid of the revolution quickly. To counter the stiff resistance of Miguel, Aguinaldo allotted a circular that ordered all generals to cease the fight.
Philippine-American War
On 19th May 1898, Aguinaldo returned to the Philippines in the company of 13 military staff. The delivery of arms arrived from Hong Kong, consisting of 2,000 riffles and 200,000 rounds of ammunition. On 13th August 1898, the Americans captured Manila.
The hostilities between Filipinos and Americans began on 4th February 1899. Malvar was tasked with the role of leading the war to regain the grounds that had been lost earlier by Filipinos. Unfortunately, the insubordination of the Kawit Battalion led to the collapse of the Filipino offensive.
On 23rd March 1901, Aguinaldo was captured by General Frederick Funston with the help of Macebebe scouts. General Trias had been chosen as the successor of Aguinaldo to become the President and Commander-in-Chief of the Filipino. Since General Trias had already surrendered on 15th March 1901, Malvar was declared the President of the Philippine Republic.
In January 1902, J. Franklin Bell, an American General, become the commander of operations in Batangas, where he practiced scorched earth tactics. The tactic took a heavy toll on the Filipinos; hence Malvar opted to escape the American patrol through disguises.
On 13th April 1902, Malvar surrendered to Bell in Rosario as a result of desertion by most of his top officers. He wanted to end the sufferings of his countrymen. When the Philippine and American war was over, he refused to take any position in the American colonial government.
He died on 13th October 1911 and was buried in his hometown in Santo Tomas, Batangas. Miguel Malvar's cause of death was liver cancer.
Children
Paula and Malvar bore 13 children, but only 11 survived. The 11 Miguel Malvar children who survived were Bernabe, Aurelia, Marciano, Maximo, Crispina, Mariquita, Luz Constancia, Miguel Junior, Pablo, Paula, and Isabel. General Miguel tended to take his wife and children to the battle.
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Miguel Malvar movie
Malvar is a Filipino biographical war film written by Ed Samson and directed by Jose ‘Kaka’ Balagtas. The video is aimed at depicting the life of Miguel. The plans to produce this film became more known by the public in late 2019 amidst the arising controversies. One of the Miguel Malvar descendants claimed that the production team did not seek permission to shoot such a film.
Quotable quotes
Here are Miguel Malvar quotes:
- Meditation is known to change your life for the better by enhancing your physical health, improving your sleep, and helping you achieve your goals, both spiritual and mental.
- I have read that there are two fears that cannot be trained out of us—the startle reaction upon hearing an unexpected noise and vertigo. I would like to add a third, to wit, the rapid and direct approach of a known killer.
Source: UGC
- You're like a man who loves nothing better than a thick steak but wouldn't last an hour in a slaughterhouse.
- Birth isn't something we suffer but something we actively do and exult in!
- Wherever you find a wife and mother-in-law slugging it out, you'll find a son who's not speaking up to either his mother or his wife
- You are writing for your contemporaries, not for posterity. If you are lucky, your contemporaries will become posterity
Miguel Malvar books
The general wrote a book titled Miguel Malvar and the Philippine Revolution: A Biography, which was published in 1998. The book documents all the incidences, which took place while the general was leading his country in the fight for independence. It chronicles the Philippine Revolution and the Philippine American war occurrences.
Miguel Malvar history and commemoration
Source: UGC
The government of the Philippine has done numerous historical things in celebration of the great revolutionary leader. Some of them include:
- Miguel Malvar Class Corvette: A ship class of patrol corvettes of the Philippine Navy. Currently, they are the oldest class of corvettes in the Philippines.
- General Miguel Malvar Essay Writing Contest: Conducted by Extra Mile Productions in commemoration of his 100th death anniversary.
- Malvar Batangas: A second class municipality located in the Philippines.
- Santo Tomas Museum: To celebrate the 150th anniversary of his birthday.
- Miguel Malvar coin: In 2015, Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) released a commemorative coin in honor of the general's 150th birthday. Miguel Malvar coin value is 10peso.
- Miguel Malvar monument: The monument is found in Batangas
- General Miguel Malvar Medical Foundation: General Miguel Malvar Hospital is a pediatrics hospital in the University of the Philippines Diliman, Quezon City.
- General Miguel Malvar Elementary School: It is located in Mangga Avenue, Barangay, in Metro Manila.
General Miguel Malvar is more than just a name to the Philippines. He is the man who led the war against the Americans and took the first position in the revolution of the Philippines. Many years after his death, Filipinos are still enjoying the fruits of his labor.
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Source: KAMI.com.gh
