Aguinaldo kin: Recent portrayals of Emilio Aguinaldo ‘degrade’ his image

KAWIT, Cavite, Philippines — The recent portrayals of General Emilio Aguinaldo in the movies paint a “degrading” image of him far apart of what he really was, a descendant of the former president said Thursday.

“Ako, di ako happy. Sabi ko yung mga movies over the past few years, masyado nilang dine-degrade or sinisiraan si General Emilio Aguinaldo,” Kawit, Cavite Mayor Angelo Emilio Aguinaldo said during the sidelines of the municipality’s tourism campaign launch.

(I’m not happy about it. As I’ve said in the movies made over the past few years, the filmmakers were debasing General Emilio Aguinaldo.)

“Pero sana kung iisipin natin yung sa mga panahong iyon, actually, magulo talaga yung mga panahon na ‘yun eh. May mga dayuhan [mananakop], mga giyera,” he added to stress the predicament Emilio Aguinaldo was in during his time.

(If we think about what was happening during that time, actually there was a lot going on. There were foreigners trying to conquer the country, there was war.)

Over the years, Emilio Aguinaldo, who is recognized as the first president of the country, was portrayed in various ways based on the two sides of history.

One of the most famous depictions of him was by Mon Confiado in Jerrold Tarrog’s film “Heneral Luna,” which projected Aguinaldo as a traitor and the man behind the assassination of General Antonio Luna in 1899.

Asked if he has seen “Heneral Luna,” Angelo Emilio answered no. He also revealed that neither he nor the members of his family were informed of the film, nor did they have their permission.

The mayor also had this plea to filmmakers planning to make a film about Aguinaldo: “Ang sa akin lang, sana maging fair, pag-aralan maigi yung history kasi may kanya-kanyang sides ‘yan eh.”

(For me, let’s be fair, let’s look at history carefully because there are many sides there.)/ac