Malolos Congress trove reaps P5 million

MANILA, Philippines — With all eyes fixed on the Philippine Senate, a trove of six documents from its spiritual ancestor, the Malolos Congress, fetched over P5 million at the Leon Gallery auction last weekend.

Most pursued of all was the long-lost copy of the Malolos Congress Rulebook, or the Reglamento del Congreso de la República Filipina. Like the Malolos Constitution, it was signed and certified by Pedro Paterno, Pablo Tecson and Pablo Ocampo.

It provided for the impartiality of the Senate president and harsh rules for disorderly conduct by its members, depriving them of the floor if called to order three times.

Sen. Juan Miguel Zubiri was the most determined bidder, eventually winning out over three others in a spirited exchange, forking out over P700,000 for the book. He is a direct descendant of Pablo Ocampo, co-author of the rulebook and a member and secretary-elect of the Malolos Congress. Zubiri, in his own right, has upheld this legislative legacy and is the only five-time holder of the Senate majority leader position.

He is also chair of the Senate committee on rules, which is particularly important during today’s quorum debates and impeachment proceedings. Zubiri, interviewed after making the winning bid, said, “It’s important for people to know that as far back as 1899, we had rules – and knew the importance of having them.”

The Malolos Congress Rulebook is the only known copy to have survived the Philippine Revolution and the ravages of the Phil-American War. It consists of 38 pages and measures 7 x 5 inches.

Zubiri announced immediately after the auction that he would donate it to the National Library of the Philippines, which had launched an appeal to have its own copy of this significant work.  He symbolically turned it over to Director-General Jeremy Barns of the National Museum of the Philippines, with Jaime Ponce de Leon of Leon Gallery in attendance.

The senator also said he would pursue the book’s translation into Filipino to encourage more young people to read and study it.

An anonymous bidder on the floor took home a rare printed copy of the Malolos Constitution for over P2 million, while telephone bidders won the Rizal cubiertos or fork and spoon for P2 million, and his flute for P2.6 million.

Other historical highlights included a rare silver toothpick tree that took in more than P3 million, the Giovanni Ramusio volumes that included the “birth certificate” of the Philippines by showing it for the first time on a map, a “Tinio Brigade” dagger from the Phil-American War, and a lady’s silver-trimmed salacot.