Stolen heroes’ letter recovered by National Library from eBay
Three letters—belonging to the government trove known as the “Philippine Insurgent Records” (PIR)—were recovered over the weekend by the National Library of the Philippines.
One of them was from Katipunan co-founder Ladislao Diwa; another was from Balangiga hero Eugenio Daza, and the third, from Teodoro Sandico, a member of the Aguinaldo Cabinet.
The documents had surfaced for sale on the multinational e-commerce site eBay. UK and London-based Katipunan scholar Jim Richardson had made the discovery.
The “Insurgent Records” were captured by the US Army during the Philippine-American War and are composed of revolutionary documents dating from 1896 to 1903. They included the Trial of Bonifacio, military orders of Gen. Emilio Aguinaldo, and many others, such as documents signed by Gen. Antonio Luna. Sent to Washington for study, they were stamped with War Department markings that would become the telltale signs of their origin.
It was only after strenuous lobbying begun in the 1920s by Teodoro M. Kalaw, the first director of the National Library, that the documents were finally returned in 1957 to the Philippine government along with microfilm duplicates. Today, they are one of the treasures of the National Library of the Philippines and the Filipino nation.
Richardson identified the first stolen document, originally described by the seller as “Ladislao Diwa, signed autograph, Philippines Filipino War, Emilio Aguinaldo 1898,” as follows: “This letter used to be in the ‘Philippine Insurgent Records’ (PIR) collection, but it is currently being offered for sale on eBay. It is dated 2 February 1899, addressed to President Aguinaldo, and it is signed by Katipunan co-founder Ladislao Diwa in his capacity as civil governor of Cavite.”
He noted that “together with a huge number of other documents, the letter was seized by the US Army and shipped to Washington. In October 1900, it was ink-stamped by the Adjutant General’s Office in the War Department, and given the number 460309, enclosure 241.” Those markings are clearly seen in the photos on the website and in a comparative one from the microfilm records of the National Library.
Richardson had made the announcement on his Facebook page, the contents of which I immediately sent to the director of the National Library Cesar Adriano. Richardson then privately provided details of the two other documents to me. He noted that they, too, also bore the distinctive stamps and numbers and are all within the records classification termed as the “New Series of Packages” section of the PIR.
The National Library sprang into action and wrote a letter to the seller, Open Boat Booksellers, calling their attention to the stolen documents. Adriano said that Open Boat management responded and has been very cooperative.
It may be recalled, noted Richardson, that “in the 1980s and 1990s, thousands of PIR documents ‘went missing’ from the National Library. Many, fortunately, including the Bonifacio Trial Documents and the June 1898 Proclamation of Independence, were subsequently ‘recovered.' In fact, Adriano noted, a criminal case was filed regarding the documents, but it was only decided in 2008, “and not all documents, including the three missing, were returned or recovered in subsequent efforts by the authorities.”
Most chilling, Richardson said, “But others—who knows how many?—remain ‘missing.' Some will doubtless have changed hands over the years, in the possession of those who may not know the backstory, nor how to identify these precious papers and would have acquired them unknowingly.”
The trove is largely uncharted territory, having been largely unexamined and inaccessible except to the most determined scholars. This gives the unscrupulous ample opportunities for abuse. Nevertheless, the Philippine government remains the rightful owner in perpetuity, and there is no time limit for their recovery.
