Encyclopedia
Andrés Bonifacio y de Castro was one of the chief leaders of the
revolution of the
Philippines against
Spanish colonial rule, the first revolution in Asia against
European
colonial rule.
Early life
He was born to an
indio father and a Spanish
mestiza mother in Tondo, Manila. Though his father was a
cabeza de barangay , he was orphaned at a young age. According to some stories, he peddled canes and fans to support his family.
Later, he worked as a clerk in foreign firms. He married twice - his first wife was Monica, but she died of leprosy. According to some stories, he read books about the French Revolution,
Les Miserables is a novel [i] by French [i] author Victor Hugo [i]. ...
, and the novels of local reformist and future national hero
Jose Rizal, among others. He was a
Freemason. He also joined Rizal's
La Liga Filipina , a society that called for reforms in Spanish rule. However, the
Liga proved ineffective and Rizal was arrested and deported to the island of
Dapitan.
The Katipunan
On the night of July 7, 1892 , Bonifacio founded the Katipunan, a revolutionary secret society which would later spark the
Philippine Revolution of 1896 against Spanish rule. In this period, he met his second wife, Gregoria de Jesus, who became a rebel leader in her own right. His right-hand man was
Emilio Jacinto. Within the society, Bonifacio's codename or
nom de guerre was
Maypagasa .
With the establishment of the Katipunan, Andrés Bonifacio became popularly known as the
Father of the Revolution. In the organization, he eventually held the title of
Supremo.
He wrote the patriotic poem,
Pag-ibig sa Tinubuang Lupa , which saw print in the first and only issue of the
Katipunan periodical,
Kalayaan , edited by Jacinto. Allegedly, he also made the first translation of Jose Rizal's final poem,
Mi Ultimo Adios into
Tagalog.
Just before the Revolution broke out, he formed a revolutionary government called the
Republika ng Katagalugan , with him as President and the members of the
Katipunan high council as his cabinet. "Tagalog", in this sense, was a term used to refer to the Philippines as a whole, not the ethnic group.
Downfall
While Bonifacio's personal campaigns were less than successful, the revolutionaries in Cavite had greater success, led by officers coming from the upper classes, including the celebrated
Emilio Aguinaldo. Thus, they sent out a manifesto calling for a revolutionary government of their own, disregarding Bonifacio's leadership.
A council comprising of Bonifacio's men and the
Magdalo and the
Magdiwang, two locally-based rival Katipunan factions, held a convention in Tejeros, Cavite to establish a unified front and settle the issue of leadership of the revolutionary movement. The Magdalo faction was led by Baldomero Aguinaldo, cousin to Emilio Aguinaldo. In the elections, the Cavitenos voted their own Emilio Aguinaldo President. Bonifacio, due to the lack of a power base in the province, was voted Director of the Interior.
However, a member of the
Magdalo faction, Daniel Tirona, questioned Bonifacio's qualifications for high office, declaring him uneducated and unfit for the position. Bonifacio was slighted, all the more so since he had previously asked that the results of the election be respected by all. Invoking his authority as
Supremo, he declared the results of the Tejeros Convention as null and void and left in a rage. Later, he wrote to Jacinto about his misgivings about the whole matter, as he suspected Tirona of spreading black propaganda against him and fixing the ballots .
Regrouping his forces, he attempted to return to the province of Morong , where he had a strong base and support. Tried by a moot court 'in absentia' by the Aguinaldo faction, he was condemned as a traitor to the Revolution and given the death penalty. An arresting party of Magdalo soldiers caught up with Bonifacio in the town of Indang and a skirmish ensued, in which Bonifacio was wounded and his brother Ciriaco killed. He and his other brother, Procopio, were captured and were subsequently executed by
firing squad on May 10, 1897 at Mt. Nagpatong. Co-patriots of the Revolution regarded this an ugly blot laid at Aguinaldo's door, though in fairness Aguinaldo originally wanted them banished instead.
After many years, Bonifacio's remains were exhumed, but were believed destroyed during World War II.
Controversy
In Philippine historiography, there are many different views of Bonifacio. Some, like Renato Constantino, see him as a champion of the masses who was slighted by ambitious members of the upper class. Others like Gregorio Zaide, favor Aguinaldo and company over him. Glenn May even holds that his role as a national hero was largely invented. Also, there is debate whether he should be considered the first Philippine President instead of Aguinaldo and the national hero instead of Rizal.
Today
Bonifacio's birthday on November 30 is celebrated as
Bonifacio Day and is a public holiday in the Philippines.
There are many monuments to Bonifacio across the nation, with the most famous being two sculptures, one by Napoleon Abueva and the other by
Guillermo Tolentino, both
National Artists.
In current
Philippine currency, he is depicted in the 10-peso bill and 10-peso coin, along with fellow patriot and Aguinaldo man
Apolinario Mabini.
In film
Bonifacio was portrayed by Julio Diaz in
Bayani , a feature film loosely based on his life directed by experimental
auteur Raymond Red, and an educational television series also named
Bayani. In
Jose Rizal, a film about the national hero, he was portrayed by Gardo Verzosa.
References
- Ocampo, Ambeth. Bones of Contention: The Bonifacio Lectures
- Agoncillo, Teodoro. The Revolt of the Masses: The Story of Bonifacio and the Katipunan
- Constantino, Renato. The Philippines: a Past Revisited
Further reading
External links
