|
Born: November 30, 1863
Died: May 10, 1897
The former Bonifacio day was recently changed to National heroes day to honor all the heroes who fought for our country’s independence during the Filipino-Spanish war at the turn of the 19th century.
November 30 is the birthday of Andres Bonifacio - one of the significant heroes during our country’s struggle for independence.
He is the eldest in the brood of six. He has three brothers and two sisters. Two of his brothers - Ciriaco and Procopio - were also members of the revolutionary movement. He and his siblings came from a poor family in Tondo. His father is a pure Filipino, while her mother is a mestiza with a Filipino-Chinese-Spanish descent.
To make both ends meet, his father, Santiago, worked as a boatman who ferried passengers to different towns on the Pasig River. His mother, Catalina de Castro, worked as a supervisor in a cigarette factory in Meisic, now known as Chinatown. Andres learned to speak, read and write Tagalog, Spanish and English at an early age.
Their financial problems worsened when his father contracted the dreaded tuberculosis disease. Santiago had no choice but to stay at home, to earn some money, he made walking canes; fans made of rattan and sewed other people’s clothes. Because of constant contact with each other, Catalina also contracted the dreaded disease. She died in 1881, a year before her husband died.
Being the eldest, Andres had no choice but to work full time to be able to address the needs of his younger siblings. He had a beautiful penmanship and talent to make attractive posters for clothing companies. He helped his siblings continue to make rattan walking canes and paper fans in the evening. He also wove hats. He accepted odd jobs from different companies. Andres got his break when he became an agent at J. M. Fleming & Company in Binondo or Chinatown.
When the Manila Railway Company started to build the railways that will link Manila and Dagupan Pangasinan, many houses – including the small ancestral home of the Bonifacios – had to be demolished to give way to the railroad tracks. The Spanish Government’s plan of modernization became a source of income for Bonifacio’s two brothers, who both became employees of the Manila Railway Company before they joined the revolutionary movement.
Contrary to the traditional images and statues that show him wearing a white kamisa-chino, folded khaki pants and rubber slippers, Bonifacio was a great dresser. He always wore an open coat and matched it with a necktie and black hat.
He wasn’t a barbaric individual who put up an arms struggle because of his violent nature as what some textbooks perceive. Bonifacio was a voracious reader. He read hundreds of foreign novels, books about the French revolution, politics, law, and religion.
The books that he read became an instrument for him to realize that freedom is the most important element of a sovereign nation. Free from the bonds of a foreign ruler. He questioned the unfair rights given to the Filipinos, while the Spaniards, who were the real foreigners in our country, were given all the privileges.
He thought the solution to the problem is total separation from Spain. Rizal, on the other hand, wanted only reforms from the Spanish government. In his essay entitled “What Filipinos Should Know,” he urged the readers to stand up for their rights, because reason teaches the Filipinos not to depend on others. Filipinos had to rely on themselves. He further added that reason dictates his countrymen to unite and gather enough strength to defeat the enemy. He wrote detailed accounts on the plights of poor Filipinos in the hands of the abusive Spaniards.
Writing wasn’t enough for him. On the eve of July 7, 1892, he met with Ladislao Diwa and Teodoro Plata and the group known as KKK was formed. The three letters meant Kataastaasan Kagalang - galang na Katipunan ng mga Anak ng bayan. The group was also known as Katipunan.
The group’s aim was ambitious. Its primary goal was to liberate the Filipinos from the Spanish government’s three-century old colonization of the Philippines by any means. To achieve their quest, the Katipuneros – as what the members were called, treated each other like brothers and sisters regardless of social status. In the process, the group developed solid camaraderie. Because it was an underground group, the members had to use codenames and ask every member a password to ensure that the information that will be shared among them will not reach the authorities.
The use of the letter K in the initials of the group’s name was also symbolic. He preferred to use K instead of the Spanish letter C, because K came from an old Tagalog script.
At about the same time when the secret group was organized, Andres, who was then 29 years old, met Gregoria, a beautiful 18 year-old from Kalookan. At that time, he was already a widower. His first wife named Monica died because of leprosy a few years earlier.
Gregoria de Jesus also came from a poor family. She had to stop studying just to be able to help her parents take care of her younger siblings. She wove and sewed textiles in their house to gain additional income. Like her husband, she was also tough. She became a member of the women’s chapter of the group.
The year 1896 was very significant for one of the most famous heroes during the Spanish Era. It was in 1896 that their union produced a baby boy who was also named Andres. Unfortunately, their child died because of small pox. In that same year, fire razed their nipa house in Sta. Cruz, to make matters worse, Katipunan was discovered by the Spanish Friars. To be able to eliminate the possibility of mass uprisings, hundreds of Filipinos were arrested, tortured and shot. Sadly, the group’s plan to launch a mass uprising against the Spaniards failed to materialize.
Bonifacio was instrumental in the “Cry of Pugadlawin.” He was one of the leaders who stood up on August 23, 1896 to denounce the Spanish government’s abuses. The people tore their residence tax certificates as a show of protest and sign of independence.
Although hundreds of men who were thought to be connected with the group were arrested and tortured, it did not hamper the spirits of Bonifacio and his friend Emilio Jacinto to launch a surprise attack with a group composed of nearly 800 men in a gunpowder storehouse in San Juan del Monte - now San Juan, Metro Manila. It was a vital post for the Spanish military, but on the day that the storehouse was attacked, only 100 Spaniards were left on duty.
The success of the ambush attacks forced the Spanish government led by Governor General Ramon Blanco to flex its muscles. In the process, 150 lives of Katipuneros were sacrificed, about 200 were detained and tortured, and some were shot at Bagumbayan Field – now known as Luneta Park.
As a result of the Spaniards’ assault on the Katipuneros, Bonifacio and his men suffered consecutive defeats. The Katipuneros under his leadership were fragmented, some fled to nearby provinces to hide. In contrast, the group under Aguinaldo managed to kick the Spaniards out of Cavite.
That was when the rift between the two started.
Cracks started to appear on the foundations of the underground organization. Internal conflicts proved to be a major factor in the downfall of Andres Bonifacio and his Katipuneros. The differences in the ideologies of Bonifacio and Aguinaldo divided the group into two factions. The Magdiwang, led by Bonifacio and the Magdalo, led by Aguinaldo.
The two failed to settle their personal differences for the sake of the group’s success.
Aguinaldo and the Magdalo group believed it was time to form a new kind of government. Aguinaldo suggested that the Katipunan government be changed to a revolutionary form that is patterned after the American system. His brilliant ideas sent waves to the members of the group, and it certainly irked Bonifacio, who believed that the Katipunan government was still useful.
As a consequence, the group’s hold on various towns weakened. Magdalo soldiers refused to give the Magdiwang soldiers a helping hand and vice versa. The rivalry finally blew out of proportion during the Tejeros convention that was held on March 22, 1897. Emilio Aguinaldo was elected president of the new revolutionary government. Bonifacio was nominated for the position of director of the interior, but Daniel Tirona of Kawit, Cavite questioned his ability for the job. Tirona said that the position needed someone with a law degree. Bonifacio and his men walked out of the building as a show of protest in what he believed was an act of cheating masterminded by Aguinaldo.
A day later Emilio Aguinaldo became president of the new revolutionary government. He was sworn into office along with other elected officials, most of the chosen officials were Caviteños.. Bonifacio was not present in the proceedings. He refused to recognize Aguinaldo’s government.
He formed a new government separate from the one formed at the Tejeros convention. But he and his men were arrested on April 26 1897. The separatists put up a fight, but they were outnumbered. Andres’ brother, Ciriaco, was killed. Andres was shot in his left arm and was stabbed in the left side of his neck.
A trial ensued after he was arrested. He was charged with treason and trying to overthrow the new president and his government. He and his brother Procopio were sentenced to death on May 8, 1897. According to Aguinaldo, it was necessary to liquidate Bonifacio to protect the best interests of the revolution.
On the early morning of May 10, 1897, a group of soldiers led by General Lazaro Makapagal brought Andres and Procopio to Mt. Nagpatong, which was located in Maragondon, Cavite. The Bonifacio brothers were executed.
After almost 20 years, his remains and other mementos were dug and transferred to the Legislative Building – now the National Museum. Sadly, on February 1945, the Legislative Building burned and his remains, along with his precious mementos were destroyed in a fire.
Andres Bonifacio may not have lived to see the Philippine independence of 1898, but he is one of the main reasons why we gained our independence. He is recognized as the “Father of the Philippine Revolution.”
|
