Andres Bonifacio - the greatest Filipino hero

By Belarmino Dabalos Saguing

Rome, Italy 26.09.2013

When the American government conquered the island of Philippines from the Spanish government way back in 1896 through a mock battle in Manila, the American government established a commonwealth government after revolutionary government ceased to govern the country... at this time of Philippine History.... Filipinos under the commonwealth government started to frame up filipino national identities.... when the question arose who would be the national hero...whether Rizal or Bonifacio?.... the American government assisted or how do you call it?.... guided the Filipino provisional government..... to choose Rizal because of his peaceful propaganda and diplomatic approaches in attaining Philippine freedom and independence, unlike Bonifacio who chooses revolution.

Well, That is the likely reason a typical Filipino would give when asked about who is the greatest Filipino hero.

But more and more Filipinos view it from another point.

It was not the Filipinos who choosed Dr. J. P. Rizal as the Filipino greatest hero. It was the Americans who did it. Don’t let us be mistaken. Dr. Rizal is great and a hero. But the Americans did the choosing for the Filipinosw. They were looking for someone who would fit their purpose. Someone who is not preaching redorms but not total independence from foreign colonialism.  A hero who is from the ilustrados who will represent the typical moneyed elite. They are afraid that somebody like Bonifacio will be put into the forelines of thinking because he wanted freedom, which despite much paeians being sung by the conquerors about land of the free, they are colonials who would like to keep the nation just a sdupplier for cheap labor and raw materials for their industry and commerce.

On the other hand, Bonifacio personified the true yeartnings of the Filipino. Freedom from colonial domination. An American writer at the time of has described the Filipinos as people who loved freedom like a child. He was right. And to counter this, the Americans must devise something to change thaty attitude. Educate the the Filipinos to discard the Democratic teachings of a plebean leader. And to this this, they have to rewrite some parts of the Filipino history and give them a hero that is right (capitalist) leaning.

Bonifacio is a pillar of revolutionary line of thought that preach freedom and democracy. And for this he became a victim of greed. He was murdered so someone could be at the head of power for the moneyed few.

Without renouncing Rizal’s accomplishments to awaken the Filipino mind against the colonial oppressions, I still consider Andres Bonifacio as the greatest  Filipino hero for his stand for a genuinely free, democratic and independent Philippines.