A controversial piece of history will be up for auction in December.
The telegram President Emilio Aguinaldo sent to General Antonio Luna that eventually led to the latter’s death will be given to the highest bidder come Dec. 1.
The document is currently available for viewing in León Gallery in Makati’s Legazpi Village.
Part of this year’s Kingly Treasures Auction, the gallery’s catalog calls it “extremely historically important” and contains Aguinaldo’s order for the General to go to Cabanatuan, Nueva Ecija.
The telegram was dated June 4, 1899, a day before Luna was killed in Cabanatuan.
The gallery noted in its description that the telegram’s corner was clipped, which signifies that it was received. The piece was believed to have been missing but has now emerged from the Luna family’s collection.
It reads: “PRESIDENT OF THE REPUBLIC TO THE SECRETARY OF WAR, DAGUPAN. Paging for an important meeting, therefore you are ordered to come here immediately. This is in response to your previous telegram about urgent matters to discuss. It is really an emergency.”
The gallery noted that this is one of four telegrams Aguinaldo sent to Luna at the time. However, only two survived the war.
Although revered as the Philippines’ first president, Aguinaldo is a controversial figure.
Last week, some were up in arms when Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte signed a proclamation declaring March 22 as Emilio Aguinaldo Day.
This is because many believe that Aguinaldo was corrupt and was behind Luna’s assassination.
This theory gained traction in recent years after the success of the 2015 historical drama Heneral Luna, which, incidentally, just dropped on Netflix earlier this month.
In it, Luna is painted as an aggressive but patriotic general while Aguinaldo is depicted as a weak and self-conscious president. The film insinuates that Aguinaldo ordered Luna’s death because the general was undermining his power.
Those interested in the telegram should be ready to shell out some serious dough.
According to the gallery’s catalog, bidding starts at PHP500,000 (US$9,556.96).
