56. AGUI SHRINE IN KAWIT & THE 5 PESO COINS

AGUI SHRINE IN KAWIT & THE 5 PESO COINS

Dr. Troy Alexander G. Miano

30 December 2017

Heading back to Manila the other day after visiting Tagaytay, we decided to take the old Aguinaldo Highway instead of the SLEX via Sta. Rosa route for us to be able to visit the Our Lady of La Salette Shrine in barangay Biga Dos, Silang town and the Aguinaldo Shrine in Kawit. Slicing Cavite province from south to north, we reached the site of the proclamation of independence in barangay Kaingen. This is the first time my kids visited the mansion of the first president of the country and the only president of the first republic. After touring the whole Aguinaldo residence, we ended up at the souvenir shop where all tourists local and foreign bought something as keepsake of their visit. I secured ref magnets, flag pins, history books and key chains as pasalubongs and I paid in two violet bills and I got two coins as part of the change. I noticed the coins still bears the shine and glint of a newly minted coin. Being a numismatist for the past three decades, I took a closer look and beamed to see a new five peso coin, which I heard from the news, issued this year by the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) bearing the silhouette of Gat Andres Bonifacio.

Last November 29, a day before the 154th birthday of Bonifacio, the BSP announced a new design for the five-peso coin featuring the great Filipino hero under the New Generation Currency (NGC) Coin Series. The new round nickel plated steel five peso coin with a diameter of 25 millimeter, released ahead of the other newly-designed coins, was first circulated last December 1 with the rest of the denominations scheduled for next year. The obverse of the 7.5 gram coin bears the inscription, “Republika ng Pilipinas” and the name and profile of the Father of the Philippine Revolution.  The reverse of the coin features a Philippine plant called “tayabak” (Strongylodon macrobotrys, commonly known as jade vine, emerald vine or turquoise jade vine ) and the BSP logo. Aside from its fresh design, the coins boast of “corrosion resistance” abilities and were reportedly enhanced to prevent forgery.

The new coin is the eight five peso coin released by the government since 1975. The other seven Philippine five peso coin issued were: President Ferdinand Marcos (Ang Bagong Lipunan series 1975-1982, round 36.5mm, nickel 22g);  President Emilio Aguinaldo – Pterocarpus indicus (Improved Flora and Fauna Series  1991-1994, round 25.5mm,  nickel brass 9.45g); Chess Olympiad (Commemorative 1992, round 26mm, nickel brass 9.453g); 50^th Anniversary Leyte Gulf Landing (Commemorative 1994, round 25.5mm, nickel brass);  President Emilio Aguinaldo (BSP Coin Series 1995-2017, round 27mm, nickel brass 7.7g); Bagong Bayani (Commemorative 2014, round 26.9mm, nickel brass 7.75g); and 70^th Anniversary Leyte Gulf Landing (Commemorative 2014, round 27mm, nickel brass 7.7g).

I told numerous stories of the Aguinaldo Shrine to my kids from the very first time my dad brought me to the place when I was still a young teenager up to the most recent when I was allowed by the museum curator to climb the seventh and last floor of the mansion which is normally not allowed. Since the caretaker noticed my passion for history, he guided me personally to the rooms and floors not exposed to normal tourists and visitors. The shrine is the ancestral home of Emilio Aguinaldo (1869-1964), son of Carlos Jamir Aguinaldo and Trinidad Famy. The house was built in 1845, made from wood and thatch. and reconstructed in 1849. Aguinaldo was born in this house on March 22, 1869. On June 12, 1898, the independence from Spain was proclaimed from the window of the grand hall. The Declaration of Philippine Independence was read by its author, Ambrosio Rianzares Bautista and was ratified by the Malolos Congress on September 21, 1898. Aguinaldo greatly enlarged his home from 1919 to 1921, transforming it into a monument to flag and country. He constructed an elaborate "Independence balcony", which Aguinaldo and top Philippine officials used during independence day celebrations.  During the independence celebration, the Philippine flag designed by Emilio Aguinaldo was formally unfurled from the front window. The Philippine national anthem was also first played on the grounds by the marching band of San Francisco de Malabon (now General Trias, Cavite) but as an instrumental music since the lyrics were not written until 1899 by José Palma. Aguinaldo donated his home to the Philippine government on June 12, 1963 and after almost eight months Aguinaldo died on February 6, 1964, at the age of 94, at the Veterans Memorial Medical Center in Quezon City. The same year, the government declared the mansion as a National Shrine on June 18 through Republic Act of 4039 signed by President Diosdado Macapagal.

Cavite’s most famous landmark is located in the old pueblo of Kawit, the home of six generals of the Philippine Revolution; Emilio Aguinaldo, Candido Tria Tirona, Crispulo Aguinaldo, Daniel Tria Tirona, Baldomero Aguinaldo and Tomas Mascardo. It is the oldest municipality in Cavite having been established in 1587 and as a parish during the tenure of Augustinian Manila Archbishop Miguel García Serrano (1618-1629). Kawit was the most thriving settlement in the area prior to the coming of the Spaniards and provided the first anchorage of the Spaniards in the province. For a long time, the place was called by the Spaniards "Cavite el Viejo" or “Old Cavite” to distinguish it from "Cavite la Punta" or "Cavite el Puerto," the commercial port and naval base (now Cavite City). Many Spanish marines came on shore and frequent Cavite el Viejo eventually turning it into a red light district. The bad reputation of the place, however, was completely wiped out when it was placed under the spiritual supervision of the Jesuits during the administration of Manila Archbishop Miguel Garcia Serrano (1618–1629) by placing St. Mary Magdalene as patron saint of the town. Aside from its role as the birthplace of independence, Kawit also bore witness to the first great victory of Filipinos during the Revolution - the Battle of Binakayan-Dalahican (November 9-11, 1896).

On September 20, 1907, the Philippine Commission approved Act. No. 1718 changing the town’s name from “Cavite el Viejo” to “Kawit”. The name “Kawit” is derived from the Tagalog word “kawit” or “hook” which is suggestive of its location at the base of a hookshaped shoreline along Manila Bay extending to the tip of Cavite City. Legend, however, gives another version on how the town got its name. One day a Spanish visitor asked a native blacksmith about the name of the village. The latter was busy at the time pounding on the anvil a piece of hot metal that looked like a hook. He hesitated to speak, not understanding what the stranger was asking, but when pressed for an answer, and thinking that he wanted to know what he was doing, he merely said kawit (hook). The Spaniards left muttering the word kawit. In the course of the time the word kawit evolved into "cauite," and finally "cavite".

My visit in the Shrine and the new Bonifacio coin came very ironic since it was during the presidency of Aguinaldo when Bonifacio was tried for treason, sentenced to death and executed in Maragondon, Cavite. Issues and controversies have its right places in history books and in the minds of scholars and historians. What is important are the contributions of Bonifacio and Aguinaldo to Philippine sovereignty. As stated by Aguinaldo, the shrine is a lasting symbol "to perpetuate the spirit of the Philippine Revolution of 1896 that put an end to Spanish colonization of the country" in a place where freedom and independence was “hooked” from the 300 year old colonizers.