Antonio Luna

Antonio Narciso Luna de San Pedro y Novicio Ancheta (; October 29, 1866 – June 5, 1899) was a Filipino lieutenant general and a pharmacist who fought in the Philippine–American War before his assassination on June 5, 1899, at the age of 32. These complemented his studies on swordsmanship and fencing, which later helped him when he became a general during the Philippine–American War. His disciplined and strategic approach to warfare was influenced by European military theories.

Scientific achievements Antonio Luna poses with a microscope at the Institut Pasteur in Paris.

Luna was active as a researcher in the scientific community. After receiving his doctorate in 1893, he published a scientific treatise on malaria entitled On Malarial Pathology (El Hematozoario del Paludismo), which was favorably received in the scientific community.

Nevertheless, after the existence of the Katipunan was leaked in August 1896, the Luna brothers were arrested and jailed in Fort Santiago for "participating" in the revolution. Aguinaldo demanded joint occupation of Intramuros, which the Americans heeded. After one month of joint occupation, Aguinaldo withdrew his forces when he received a telegram from General Elwell Otis that he would be obliged to resort to forcible action if Aguinaldo did not pull his forces back, and Commodore (later Admiral) George Dewey's fleet had moored in Manila Bay after being warned of an unwanted conflict between Filipinos and Americans. When Luna was in the trenches, he ordered his troops to fire on the Americans. After the chaos following the American occupation, at a meeting in Ermita, Luna tried to complain to American officers about the disorderly conduct of their soldiers. to communicate with the President. As he went up the stairs, he ran into an officer whom he had previously disarmed for insubordination: Captain Pedro Janolino, commander of the Kawit Battalion, and an old enemy whom he had once threatened with arrest for favoring American autonomy. Captain Janolino was accompanied by Felipe Buencamino, the Minister of Foreign Affairs, and a member of the Cabinet. He was told that Aguinaldo had left for San Isidro in Nueva Ecija (he actually went to Bamban, Tarlac). Enraged, Luna asked why he had not been told that the meeting was canceled. a rifle shot rang out. Still outraged and furious, Luna rushed down the stairs and met Janolino, accompanied by some elements of the Kawit Battalion. Janolino swung his bolo at Luna, wounding him in the head. Janolino's men fired at Luna, while others started stabbing him, even as he tried to fire his revolver at one of his attackers. Aguinaldo would be firm in his stand that he had nothing to do with the assassination of Luna. For General James Franklin Bell, Luna "was the only general the Filipino army had."

Former President Ferdinand Marcos asserted that he was a direct descendant of Antonio Luna. However, this claim has been rejected by genealogists and historians, who found no evidence of a blood relation between the Marcos and Luna families.

As noted in Ambeth R. Ocampo’s Philippine Daily Inquirer column and his book Looking Back 10: Two Lunas, Two Mabinis, historian Teodoro Agoncillo challenged the popular heroic image of Antonio Luna in a 1984 interview. Agoncillo criticized biographer Vivencio Jose for an overly sympathetic, "pro-Luna" narrative, arguing that such accounts overlooked Luna's early opposition to the 1896 Revolution. Furthermore, Agoncillo dismissed Luna's military reputation, contending that he could not be considered a national hero because he failed to achieve a single victory on the battlefield.

In 2024, with some quarters however dismissing as weak evidence woven together, local historian Ambeth R. Ocampo revealed at the GSIS Historians' Fair that there is a matter of possibility that it was actually Aguinaldo's mother (Trinidad Famy de Aguinaldo) who ordered the assassination of Antonio Luna.

Commemoration

The famous University of the Philippines Diliman Sunken Garden was named General Antonio Luna Parade Grounds.