Artemio Ricarte
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Artemio Ricarte (October 20, 1866 — July 31, 1945) was a Filipino general during the Philippine Revolution and the Philippine-American War. He is considered by the Armed Forces of the Philippines as the "Father of the Philippine Army". Ricarte is also notable for never having taken an oath of allegiance to the United States government, which occupied the Philippines from 1898 to 1946.
He was born in Batac, Ilocos Norte, Philippines to Faustino Ricarte and Bonifacia Garcia. He finished his early studies in his hometown and enrolled at the Colegio de San Juan de Letran where he graduated with a Bachelor of Arts. At the University of Santo Tomas and then at the Escuela Normal, he prepared for the teaching profession. He was sent to the town of San Francisco de Malabon (now General Trias) to supervise a primary school. There he joined the ranks of the Katipunan and adopted the name Vibora (viper).
On August 31, 1896, he led the revolutionists in attacking the Spanish garrison in San Francisco de Malabon. He crushed the Spanish troops and took the civil guards as prisoner. He was made brigadier general in Aguinaldo’s army and elected captain general at the Tejeros Convention. He led his men in various battles in Cavite, Laguna and Batangas. Aguinaldo designated him to remain in Biak na Bato, San Miguel, Bulakan to supervise the surrender of arms and to see to it that the Spanish government complied with the terms of the peace pact.
When the Philippine-American War started in 1899, he was Chief of Operations of the Filipino forces in the second zone around Manila. In July 1900 he was captured and deported to Guam together with Apolinario Mabini.
In 1903 he was supposed to be released in Manila after they took their oath of allegiance to the Americans. Mabini, who was ill, took the oath but Ricarte refused. He was deported once more to Hongkong. He secretly sailed to the Philippines in 1903 hoping to reunite and rekindle the Philippine Revolution but he was denounced for a sum of $10,000, the reward offered by the American government for his capture dead or alive. He was arrested and jailed until 1910. He still refused to swear allegiance to the US and on the same day, he was once more deported to Hongkong. He and his wife later moved to Yokohama, Japan where they lived in self exile. The family lived in obscurity until the start of World War II when the Japanese flew him back to the Philippines to help them pacify the Filipinos. He is also known as the founder of MAKAPILI, a pro Japanese organization during World War two which was used to root out Guerrillas.
He died on July 31, 1945 at Kalinga, Mountain Province. His tomb lies at the Libingan ng mga Bayani.
| Preceded by none |
Commanding General of the Philippine Army 22 March 1897 - 22 Jan 1899 |
Succeeded by Antonio Luna |
