Rome, Italy August 30, 2015
The historical assessment of Bonifacio involves several controversial
points. His death is alternately viewed as a justified execution for treason
and a "legal murder" fueled by politics. Some historians consider
him to be the rightful first President of the Philippines instead
of Aguinaldo. Some historians have also called that Bonifacio share or
even take the place of José Rizal as the (foremost) Philippine national hero.
Andrés Bonifacio y de Castro (November 30, 1863 – May 10, 1897) was a Filipino nationalist and revolutionary leader.
He is often called "the Father of the Philippine Revolution". He was
a founder and later Supremo ("supreme leader") of the Kataas-taasan,
Kagalang-galangang Katipunan ng mga Anak ng Bayan or simply and more
popularly called Katipunan, a movement which sought the independence of the Philippines from Spanish
colonial rule and started the Philippine Revolution. He is
considered a de facto national hero of
the Philippines, and is also considered by some Filipino historians to be
the first President of the Philippines (through the revolutionary government he
established), but officially he is not recognized as such.
In 1892 Bonifacio was one of the founding
members of Rizal's La Liga
Filipina, an organization which called for political reforms in Spain's
colonial government of the Philippines. However, La Liga disbanded after only one meeting as
Rizal was arrested and deported to Dapitan in
Mindanao. Bonifacio, Apolinario Mabini and others revived La Liga in Rizal's absence and Bonifacio was
active at organizing local chapters in Manila. He would become the chief
propagandist of the revived Liga.
La Liga Filipina contributed moral and financial support to
the Propaganda Movement of Filipino reformists in Spain.
Andrés Bonifacio was also a member of Freemasonry with the
lodge Taliba headed by Jose Dizon; and his pseudonym was Sinukuan, possibly taken from a
Philippine mythological character Maria
Sinukuan.
On the night of July 7, 1892, the day after Rizal's
deportation was announced, Bonifacio and others officially "founded"
the Katipunan, or in full, Kataastaasang Kagalanggalangang Katipunan ng mga Anak ng Bayan ("Highest
and Most Respected Society of the Country's Children;" Bayan can also
denote community, people, and nation). The secret society sought independence from Spain through armed revolt.
From the beginning, Bonifacio was one of
the chief Katipunan officers, although he did not become
its Supremo (supreme leader) or Presidente Supremo (Supreme President)
until 1895. He was the
third head of the Katipunan after Deodato Arellano and Román Basa. Prior to this, he served as the
society's comptroller and
then as its fiscal. The
society had its own laws, bureaucratic structure and elective leadership. For
each province involved, the Katipunan Supreme Council coordinated with
provincial councils in charge of public administration and military affairs,
and with local councils in charge of affairs on the district or barrio level.
Within the society, Bonifacio developed a strong friendship
with Emilio Jacinto, who served as his adviser and
confidant, as well as a member of the Supreme Council. Bonifacio adopted
Jacinto's Kartilya primer
as the official teachings of the society in place of his own Decalogue, which he judged as inferior.
Bonifacio, Jacinto and Pío Valenzuela collaborated on the society's
organ, Kalayaan (Freedom), which had only one printed
issue. Bonifacio wrote several pieces for the paper, including the poem Pag-ibig sa Tinubúang Lupà (approx. "Love for One's Homeland)
under the pseudonym Agapito
Bagumbayan. The publication of Kalayaan in March 1896 led to a great increase
in the society's membership. The Katipunan movement spread throughout Luzon,
to Panay in the Visayas and even as far as Mindanao. From less than 300 members in January 1896, it had 30,000 to 40,000 by August 1896.
to Panay in the Visayas and even as far as Mindanao. From less than 300 members in January 1896, it had 30,000 to 40,000 by August 1896.
The rapid increase in Katipunan activity
drew the suspicion of the Spanish authorities. By early 1896, Spanish
intelligence was aware of the existence of a seditious secret society, and
suspects were kept under surveillance and arrests were made. On 3 May,
Bonifacio held a general assembly of Katipunan leaders in Pasig, where they debated when to start the revolution. While some
officers, especially Bonifacio, believed a revolution was inevitable, some
members, especially Santiago
Alvarez and Emilio Aguinaldoboth of Cavite, expressed reservations and disagreement regarding the
planned revolt due to lack of firearms. The consensus was to consult José Rizal in Dapitan before
launching armed action, so Bonifacio sent Pío Valenzuela to Rizal. Rizal turned
out to be against the revolution, believing it to be premature, He recommended
more preparation, but suggested that, in the event the revolution did break
out, they should seek the leadership of Antonio Luna, who was widely regarded as a brilliant military leader.
Eluding an intensive manhunt, Bonifacio
called thousands of Katipunan members to a mass gathering in
Caloocan, where they decided to start their uprising. The event, marked by the
tearing of cedulas (community tax certificates) was later
called the "Cry of Balintawak"
or "Cry of Pugad Lawin";
the exact location and date of the Cry are disputed. The
Supreme Council of the Katipunan declared a nationwide armed revolution
against Spain and called for a simultaneous coordinated attack on the capitalManila on
August 29. Bonifacio appointed generals to lead rebel forces to Manila. Other Katipunan councils were also informed of their
plans. Before hostilities erupted, Bonifacio reorganized the Katipunan into an open de facto revolutionary government and they
named the nation and its government Haring Bayang
Katagalugan (loosely
translates to Tagalog Republic), with him as President and commander-in-chief
(or generalissimo) of the rebel army and the Supreme Council as his cabinet. On August 28, Bonifacio issued the
following general proclamation:
This manifesto is for all of you. It is absolutely necessary
for us to stop at the earliest possible time the nameless oppositions being
perpetrated on the sons of the country who are now suffering the brutal
punishment and tortures in jails, and because of this please let all the
brethren know that on Saturday, the 29th of the current month, the revolution
shall commence according to our agreement. For this purpose, it is necessary
for all towns to rise simultaneously and attack Manila at the same time.
Anybody who obstructs this sacred ideal of the people will be considered a
traitor and an enemy, except if he is ill; or is not physically fit, in which
case he shall be tried according to the regulations we have put in force. Mount
of Liberty, 28 August 1896 – ANDRÉS BONIFACIO
Some historians such as Milagros
Guerrero, Emmanuel Encarnación, and Ramón Villegas have pushed for the
recognition of Bonifacio as the first President of the Philippines instead of
Aguinaldo, the officially recognized one. This view is based on his position of
President/Supremo of the Katipunan revolutionary government from 1896–97.
This view also emphasizes that Bonifacio established a government through the Katipunan before a government headed by
Aguinaldo was formed at the Tejeros Convention. Guerrero writes that Bonifacio
had a concept of the Philippine nation called Haring
Bayang Katagalugan ("Sovereign
Tagalog Nation") which was displaced by Aguinaldo's concept ofFilipinas.
In documents predating Tejeros and the First Philippine Republic, Bonifacio is called the president of the "Tagalog
Republic".
The term Tagalog historically
refers to an ethnic group,
their language, and script. While historians have thus tended to
view Bonifacio's concept of the Philippine nation as restricted to the Tagalog
regions of Luzon, as compared to Aguinaldo's view of Luzon, Visayas, and
Mindanao (comprising the modern Philippines), Guerrero writes that Bonifacio
and the Katipunan in fact already had an
all-encompassing view. The Kartilya defines "tagalog" as
"all those born in this archipelago; therefore, though visayan,ilocano, pampango, etc. they are all tagalogs".
José Rizal is generally considered the
national hero, but Bonifacio has been suggested as a more worthy candidate on
the grounds of having started the Philippine Revolution. Teodoro Agoncillo notes that the Philippine national
hero, unlike those of other countries, is not "the leader of its
liberation forces".
Renato Constantino writes
that Rizal is a "United States-sponsored hero" who was promoted as
the greatest Filipino hero during the American colonial period of the
Philippines – after
Aguinaldo lost the Philippine–American War. The United States
promoted Rizal, who was taken to represent peaceful political advocacy, instead
of more radical figures whose ideas could inspire resistance against American
rule.
Specifically, Rizal was
selected over Bonifacio who was viewed as "too radical" and
Apolinario Mabini who was "unregenerate."
Historian Ambeth Ocampo gives the opinion that arguing for
Bonifacio as the "better" hero on the grounds that he, not Rizal,
began the Philippine Revolution, is moot since Rizal inspired Bonifacio, the
Katipunan, and the Revolution. Even prior to Rizal's banishment to Dapitan, he
was already regarded by the Filipino people as a national hero, having been
elected as honorary president by the Katipunan.
León María Guerrero notes
that while Rizal did not give his blessing to the Katipunan because he believed
the time was premature, he did not condemn the aim of independence per se. Teodoro
Agoncillo gives the opinion that Bonifacio should not replace Rizal as national
hero, but they should be honored "side by side"
Despite popular recognition of Rizal as "the Philippine national hero", the
title itself has no explicit legal definition in present Philippine law. Rizal
and Bonifacio, however, are given the implied recognition of being national
heroes because they are commemorated annually nationwide – Rizal Day on December 30 and Bonifacio Day on November 30. According to the website of the
National Center for Culture and the Arts:
Despite the lack of any official declaration explicitly
proclaiming them as national heroes, [Rizal and Bonifacio] remain admired and
revered for their roles in Philippine history. Heroes, according to historians,
should not be legislated.
Their appreciation should be better left to academics.
Acclamation for heroes, they felt, would be recognition enough.
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