FELIPE CALDERON (1868-1908)
THE
author of the Malolos Constitution, Felipe Calderon was not a regularly elected
delegate to the Malolos Congress. He was appointed delegate by General
Aguinaldo to represent the province of Paragua (Palawan).
Three
proposed constitution were submitted to the Congress for the consideration, but
it was Calderon’s constitutional draft that was finally approved and
promulgated by General Aguinaldo on January 21, 1899. Two days later the First
Philippine Republic was formally inaugurated in Malolos.
It
is interesting to note that Calderon’s draft bested those of Apolinario Mabini
and Pedro A. Paterno, both his seniors in age and legal education. Mabini, 34,
was at the time chief adviser of Aguinaldo and later president of the cabinet
and secretary of foreign affairs. Paterno, 41, was president of the Malolos
Congress. Calderon, 28, was a former proofreader of General Antonio Luna’s
paper La Independencia. As author of the constitution or fundamental law
of the First Philippine Republic, Calderon earned a permanent niche in
Philippine history.
Calderon
was the founder of the Escuela de Dederecho, the first law college under
the American regime. He also founded the Liceo de Manila, which produced
many prominent men in Philippine history. In addition, he organized the Colegio
de Abogados, the first bar association in the country.
In
drafting the Malolos Constitution, Calderon used for reference the constitutions
of Spain, France, Belgium, Mexico, Guatemala, Nicaragua and other Latin
American republics, which he believed reflected in some measure the culture,
psychology, and traditions of the Filipino people. He ruled out the American
constitution as model because of differences in history, usages, and customs of
the Filipino and American peoples.
Aside
from law, Calderon was interested in Philippine history, economics, sociology,
and mathematics. A nationalist to the core, he founded the Samahan ng mga
Mananagalog (Association of Tagalog Writers) for the purpose of propagating
the Tagalog language. He favored Tagalog, not English or Spanish, as the
national language of the Filipinos.
The
second son of Jose Calderon, a pure Spaniard, and Manuela Roca, a Filipino- Spanish
mestiza, Felipe was born on April 4, 1868 in Sta. Cruz Malabon (now
Tanza). His eldest brother, Fernando, was the former director of the Philippine
General Hospital and dean of the college of medicine, University of the
Philippines. He received his Bachelor of Arts degree from the Ateneo de Manila,
and his LL.B. degree from the University of Sto. Tomas. A practicing
journalist, he was proofreader of La Independencia when he was appointed
delegate to the Malolos Congress. As an educator he expressed his personal
philosophy as follows: “ I do not want to train mere defenders of law suits, I
want to produce men.” He wanted men of strong character and
convictions—champions of the Filipino cause. He died in Manila on July 6, 1908,
at the age 40.
[Sources:
(1) Gregorio F. Zaide, Great Filipinos in History. Manila, 1970; (2) Talambuhay
ng Magigiting na Lalaki ng Kabite, Jimenez Collection, Kawit; (3) Prominent
Caviteños in Philippine History. Copyright by Esteban A. de Ocampo, 1941;
and (4) Teodoro A. Agoncillo, Malolos: Crisis of the Republic. Quezon
City, University of the Philippines, 1960.]