Gen. Artemio "Vibora" Ricarte: He never surrendered

1st commanding general of the Philippine army: March 22, 1897 to Jan 22, 1899. Born on Oct 20, 1866 in Batac, Ilocos Norte. His original surname was “Dodon,” the Ilocano word for “grasshopper.”

He graduated from the Colegio de San Juan de Letran with a Bachelor of Arts degree. He took up teaching at the Universidad de Santo Tomas and then at theEscuela Normal de Manila.

He supervised a primary school in San Francisco de Malabon (now General Trias, Cavite). He embraced freemasonry and was made a master mason in September 1896. He joined the Katipunan in Cavite and adopted the nameVibora (viper).

Ricarte (LEFT, in 1898 photo) operated in Cavite, Laguna and Batangas. Aguinaldo ordered him to remain in Biyak na Bato, San Miguel, Bulacan to supervise the surrender of arms and to see to it that the Spanish government complied with the terms of the Biyak na Bato peace pact of Dec. 14, 1897.

Aguinaldo renewed the revolution upon his return from exile in Hong Kong on May 19, 1898.

On June 2, 1898, at San Francisco de Malabon (now General Trias), Cavite Province, Ricarte accepted the surrender of General Leopoldo Garcia Peña, the Spanish commanding general in Cavite, who gave up with 2,800 men.

When the Fil-Am War started on Feb. 4, 1899, he was Chief of Operations of the Filipino forces in the second zone around Manila. In June 1900 he and some of his men sneaked into Manila, intending to organize the populace for an uprising.

The Salt Lake Herald, issue of July 3, 1900, Page 1

On July 1, 1900 Ricarte was arrested at the foot of the Paco bridge. He was confined at the American military headquarters on Anda street in Intramuros, Manila.

Original caption: "Insurgent leaders deported to Guam"

On Jan. 16, 1901, Ricarte was put on the USS Rosecrans and deported to Guam, along with the following 31 military officers and civilians: GENERALS Francisco de los Santos, Piodel Pilar, Maximino Hizon and Mariano Llanera; COLONELS Lucas Camerino, Esteban Consortes, Macario de Ocampo and Julian Gerona; LT. COLONELS Mariano Barroga, Pedro Cubarrubias, Hermogenes Plata and Cornelio Requestis; MAJOR Fabian Villaruel; SUBORDINATE ARMY OFFICERS Igmidio de Jesus, Jose Mata, Alipio Tecson and Juan Leandro Villarino; CIVILIANS Lucino Almeida, Pio Barican, Jose Buenaventura, Anastacio Carmona, Bartolome de la Rosa, Norberto Dimayuga, Doroteo Espina, Silvestre Legaspi, Apolinario Mabini, Juan Mauricio, Pablo Ocampo, Antonio Prisco Reyes, Simon Tecson and Maximino Trias. 

The Salt Lake Herald., Jan. 25, 1901, Page 1

[On Jan. 24, 1901, an additional 11 men from Ilocos Norte, described by the Americans as "insurgent abettors, sympathizers and agitators", were loaded on the USS Solace and also deported to Guam. They were: Faustino Adiarte, Pancracio Adiarte, Florencio Castro, Inocente Cayetano, Gavino Domingo, Pedro Erando, Leon Flores, Jaime Morales, Pancracio Palting, Marcelo Quintos and Roberto Salvante.]

In response to public demand in the US, Ricarte and others were allowed to leave Guam.

Colorized photo was taken in the 1900's.

They arrived in Manila on the U.S. transport Thomas on Feb. 26, 1903.

The New York Tribune, issue of Feb. 27, 1903, Page 1

Ricarte was the only one who refused to take the oath of allegiance to the US. He was transported to Hong Kong and there kept under the surveillance of American agents. His mail address in Hong Kong was "U.G. Viper, Esq., Ripon Terrace, Bonham Road". Jointly with Manuel Ruiz Prin, he established the United Democratic Filipino Republican Committee.

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He slipped back to the Philippines on Dec. 25, 1903 hoping to rekindle the Revolution; the Americans offered a reward of $10,000 for information leading to his capture, dead or alive.

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Corporal Carlos Ayala and Second-Class Private Nicolas Calvo of the Philippine Constabulary, while on detached service at Arayat, Pampanga Province, allegedly corresponded with Artemio Ricarte upon his arrival from Hongkong, with the purpose of organizing an insurrection against the colonial government. Upon their return to their home station at Vigan, Ilocos Sur Province, they induced other constables to join, together with a number of residents of the neighboring barrios, in a mutiny.

On the night of Feb. 7, 1904, after supper between 7 and 8 PM, the mutineers went into action. They ransacked the commissary, released the prisoners confined in the provincial jail, tore down the telegraph line, and shot to death fellow constable, Second-Class Private Segundo Bautista, when he refused to cooperate. They went through the streets of Vigan for two hours, firing their guns and cheering for Ricarte and the liberty of the Philippines.

At 9 AM on the following day, more than forty mutineers entered the town of Narvacan. They tore down the American flag from the municipal building, took 28 pesos from the municipal safe, and compelled the town mayor and councilmen to pass a resolution supporting the revolution against the colonial government. At 1 PM of the same day they entered the municipal building at Santa Maria, took 315 pesos from the office of the municipal treasurer, and also compelled the town officials to sign a resolution similar to the one at Narvacan. The same night they entered the town of Santiago, took 350 pesos from the office of the municipal treasurer, and took shelter in the parochial house. They left at 9 AM on the following day,February 9, after forcing town officials to sign a resolution of cooperation.

Issue of Feb. 13, 1904, Page 3

Constabulary, Scouts, and United States troops of adjoining provinces were sent after the mutineers. By February 15, most of them had surrendered or were captured.

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The mutineers were charged with and convicted of treason by the court of first instance at Vigan and were given the following sentences:

Death—Corporal Carlos Ayala, and Second-Class Privates Macario Agapay and Nicolas Calvo.

Forty years and fine of 10,000 pesos—Second-Class Privates Santiago Asuncion, Doroteo Ayson, Teodoro Edralin, Antonio Guerzon, Cenon Lazo, Maximiano Manganaan, Benito Paez, Modesto Polido, Bruno Propio, Pablo Silvestre, Mariano Vallehermosa, and Anselmo Ygarta.

A company of the Philippine Constabulary. Photo taken between 1906 and 1910.

Ricarte was arrested by the Philippine Constabulary on May 29, 1904 at the cockpit in Mariveles, Bataan Province, where he had gone to meet some co-conspirators. He was then acting as a clerk for a Justice of the Peace under the name of "Jose Garcia". He was denounced by Luis Baltazar, a clerk of the Court of First Instance in Bataan.

American photographer's caption: "Ricarte--'The Viper'--Now doing 6 years in Bilibid". "THE only free Filipino," a journalist wrote in describing General Artemio Ricarte during the American rule in the country. To the very end, Ricarte remained true to his vow never to take the oath of allegiance to the United States.

The "Presidio de Manila", more popularly called the Carcel de Bilibid or Bilibid Prison. Photo taken in 1902.

Ricarte was brought to Manila and conducted into the sala of Judge Manuel Araullo (LEFT, in 1922). He was charged and found guilty of illegal possession of firearms and conspiracy. Judge Araullo sentenced him to six years' solitary confinement in prison and to pay a fine of $10,000.

(Araullo was a founding member of the pro-American Partido Federal when it was organized on Dec. 23, 1900. He later served as Chief Justice of the Supreme Court from Nov. 1, 1921 until his death on July 26, 1924. Manuel Araullo High School in Manila and Araullo University in Nueva Ecija were named in his honor).

Colorized photo of the Carcel de Bilibid or Bilibid Prison, taken in the early 1900's. Officially named Carcel y Presidio Correccional (Correctional Jail and Military Prison), it was established on June 25, 1865 under a Spanish royal decree. In 1940 the prisoners, equipment and facilities were transferred to a new prison in Muntinlupa, Rizal Province, called "The New Bilibid Prison". The old facility is still being used by the City of Manila as its detention center, known as Manila City Jail.

Ricarte served his sentence at the Bilibid Prison in Manila until his release on June 26, 1910. As soon as he stepped out of Bilibid, he was met and detained by several American police agents and brought to the Bureau of Customs. He was asked to swear allegiance to the US; he declined and he was once more deported to Hong Kong.

While in Hong Kong, Ricarte published a magazine entitled "El Grito del Presente" (Cry of the Present).

Artemio Ricarte (SEATED, CENTER), with members of the Philippine revolutionary council in Hong Kong, 1911.

In May 1911, he married Agueda Esteban (LEFT, in old age) who had gone to Hong Kong the previous year; she was the widow of Lt. Col. Mariano Barroga, a Katipunero and later an officer in the Philippine Republican Army, and Ricarte's fellow deportee to Guam (Colonel Barroga died in November 1902). Ricarte, Agueda and stepdaughter

Salud lived on Lamma Island and later inKowloon.

In 1913, to dissociate the country from its colonial heritage, Ricarte (RIGHT, ca 1910's), proposed that the Philippines, which was named after King Philip of Spain, be renamed “Rizaline Islands” in honor of national hero Jose Rizal and Filipinos, “Rizalines”.

In 1915, during World War I, the British government removed all political exiles from Hong Kong. The Ricartes were shipped to Shanghai and from there, toJapan. They resided in Aichiken, then Tokyo, where Ricarte made his living by teaching Spanish at the Kaigai Shokumin Gakko (Overseas School).

Artemio Ricarte (standing, 3rd from left), his wife Agueda Esteban (standing, 2nd from right), and Filipino acquaintances in front of Ricarte's restaurant,Karihan Luvimin. SOURCE: Ambeth Ocampo's album "History."

In April 1923, they moved to Yokohama. They lived at 149 Yamashita-cho, Yokohama. Ricarte put up a restaurant whose earnings allowed the family to live in comfort.

Nov. 15, 1935: Inauguration of the Commonwealth of the Philippines.

At the inauguration of the Philippine Commonwealth on Nov. 15, 1935, the giant Philippine flag, made of Japanese silk, was a gift from General Artemio Ricarte, who was still in exile in Japan. His gift of the Philippine flag was a token of solidarity with his countrymen as they embarked on full autonomy, the penultimate step to independence.

Artemio Ricarte and his wife Agueda, photo taken in Manila during the Japanese occupation.

Ricarte collaborated with the Japanese during World War II; on Dec. 21, 1941 they flew him back to the Philippines, via Aparri, Cagayan---he was then 75 years old.

On Feb. 16, 1942, Time Magazine reported: "Old General Artemio Ricarte y Vibora drove proudly about Manila in a sleek limousine, with a spluttering escort of Jap motorcycle guards."

On Oct 14, 1943, he and Gen. Emilio Aguinaldo raised the Filipino flag during the inauguration of the Japanese-sponsored "Second Philippine Republic".

Ricarte was not given a high position by the Japanese because of his advanced age. He toured the provinces and promoted cooperation with Japan [RIGHT].

The Americans returned on Oct. 20, 1944, initially smashing Japanese forces on Leyte Island. They proved unstoppable from then on.

On Dec. 8, 1944, Ricarte (LEFT, in Japanese military garb) and Benigno Ramos organized a quisling militia, the Makapili (Makabayan Katipunan ng mga Pilipino) or "Alliance of Patriotic Filipinos", which eventually numbered 5000 strong. It assisted the Japanese in anti-guerilla operations. Roundups of suspected American agents intensified, and there were lineups at which hooded Makapilis denounced suspects who were then imprisoned and tortured in the dungeons of Fort Santiago. Only a few survived the ordeal.

In January 1945, when General Tomoyuki Yamashita was preparing to abandon Manila, Japanese officials offered to evacuate him to Japan. Ricarte declined. He said: "I cannot take refuge in Japan at this critical moment when my people are in direct distress. I will stay in my Motherland to the last."

He fled with Japanese forces under Yamashita into the mountains of northern Luzon.

Without his knowing it, the Japanese executed some 20 of his relatives because the Japanese feared that they knew too much. His own grandson, Besulmino Romero, would have been executed, too, had he not understood what the Japanese were saying and pleaded with them to spare his life,

Hungduan Rice Terraces: The rice terraces in Hungduan have been inscribed in the UNESCO World Heritage List as a cultural Landscape. This confirms the exceptional universal value of the rice terraces as a cultural landscape which deserves protection for the benefit of all humanity

Ricarte and Yamashita's army held out in the scenic, highland town of Hungduan, Ifugao Province (then a part of Mountain Province). Ricarte was afflicted with dysentery and with very little to eat, he fell seriously ill and died on July 31, 1945 at the age of 78. He was originally buried on the slopes of Mt. Napulawan. (Yamashita surrendered on Sept. 2, 1945 in Kiangan, Ifugao).

General Ricarte's remains now lie at the Libingan ng mga Bayani ("Cemetery of Heroes"), Fort Bonifacio, Taguig, Metro Manila.

The corvette BRP Artemio Ricarte (PS37) was named in the hero's honor by the Philippine Navy. She was originally called HMS Starling of the Hong Kong Squadron of the British Royal Navy. The ship was built by Hall Russell in the United Kingdom and was commissioned into Her Majesty's British Royal Navy service in 1984. The corvette was sold to the Philippines and turned over to the Philippine Navy on August 1, 1997 when Hong Kong was ceded back to China.