Lesson 3.1: The Cry of Balintawak PDF

ScSc 12n – Readings in Philippine History Department of Liberal Arts and Behavioral Sciences Visayas State University Lesson 3.1: The Cry of Balintawak Lesson Summary This lesson will take on the controversy b...

ScSc 12n – Readings in Philippine History Department of Liberal Arts and Behavioral Sciences Visayas State University Lesson 3.1: The Cry of Balintawak Lesson Summary This lesson will take on the controversy behind what transpired in the fabled cry of Balintawak by the Katipuneros during August of 1896. In this lesson, you will be exposed to some excerpts of primary sources that give light to the said event. Learning Outcomes At the end of this lesson, you are expected to: 1. Compare information from different historical sources 2. Make a position paper based on your evaluation of historical sources Motivation Question Have you ever went to your municipal/city hall to secure a community tax certificate or cedula? Did you know that the cedula was symbolic of the Philippine revolution in 1896? Discussion Andres Bonifacio and some other members of the Katipunan are at large after the discovery of their organization. Some other suspects were already captured which led to the confusion of some other members especially those who have ranks in the group. Bonifacio realized an imminent danger to the group forced him to leave Manila and hide in the neighboring town of  ScSc 12n – Readings in Philippine History Department of Liberal Arts and Behavioral Sciences Visayas State University Caloocan. It is in Caloocan that the most memorable event of the history of Katipunan took place. This event is still under dispute due to unclear facts written by some witnesses. There is a disagreement among historical witnesses as to the place and time of occurrence of what is at present generally known as the “Cry of Balintawak” (Zafra, 1956). This event is memorable because this is the opening of the Philippine Revolution. The following accounts are written by the witnesses of the said memorable event. “Cry of Pugad Lawin” This version of “Cry of Pugad Lawin” was written by Pio Valenzuela. From this version of Valenzuela, he made inconsistencies. First, he mentioned that the Cry of Balintawak took place on Wednesday, August 26, 1896. This was his claim when his memory was still vivid, but later in his life, with fading memory, there was already a shift in time and place of the said cry. He then said the staging of the first cry took place in Pugad Lawin on August 23, 1896. Below is his version of the account: ” the first place of refuge of Andres Bonifacio, Emilio Jacinto, Procopio Bonifacio, Teodor Plata, Aguedodel Rosario, and myself was Balintawak, the first five arriving there on August 19, and I on August 20, 1896. The first place where some 500 members of the Katipunan met on August 22, 1896, was the house and yard of Apolonio Samson at Kangkong. Aside from the persons mentioned above, among those who were there were Briccio Pantas, Alejandro Santiago, Ramon Bernardo, Apolonio Samsom, and others. Here, views were only exchanged, and no resolution was debated or adapted. It was at Pugad Lawin, in the house, store-house, and yard of Juan Ramos, son of Melchora Aquino, where over 1000 members of the Katipunan met and carried out considerable debate and discussion on August 23, 1986. The discussion was on whether or not the revolution against the Spanish government should be started on August 29, 1896. Only one man protested and fought against a war, and that was Teodoro Plata (Bonifacio’s brother-in-law). Besides the persons named above, among those present at this meeting were Enrique Cipriano, Alfonso Pacheco, Tomas Remigio, Sinforoso San Pedro, and others. After the tumultuous meeting, many of those present tore their cedula certificates and shouted “Long live the Philippines! Long live the Philippines!” The “Cry of Balintawak” This cry of Balintawak is based on the account written by Katipunan General Guillermo Masangkay. Like Pio Valenzuela, he also witnessed the staging of the historic event. Consequently, he also happened to be the childhood friend of Andres Bonifacio. In his account, the cry happened on  ScSc 12n – Readings in Philippine History Department of Liberal Arts and Behavioral Sciences Visayas State University August 26, 1896, at Balintawak. Below is the version of Guillermo Masangkay’s “Cry of Balintawak”: “On August 26, 1896, a big meeting was held in Balintawak, at the house of Apolonio Samson, then cabeza of that barrio of Caloocan. Among those attended, I remember, were Bonifacio, Emilio Jacinto, Aguedodel Rosario, Tomas Remigio, Briccio Pantas, Teodoro Plata, Pio Valenzula, Enrique Pacheco, and Francisco Carreon. They were all leaders of the Katipunan and composed the board of directors of the organization. Delegates from Bulacan, Cabanatuan, Cavite and Morong (now Rizal) were also present. At about 9 o’clock in the morning of August 26, the meeting was opened with Andres Bonifacio presiding and Emilio Jacinto acting as secretary. The purpose was to discuss when the uprising was to take place. Teodoro Plata (Bonifacio’s brother-in-law), Bricio Pantas, and Pio Valenzuela were all opposed to starting the revolution too early. They reasoned that the people would be in distress if the revolution were started without adequate preparation. Plata was very forceful in his argument, stating that the uprising could not very well be started without the arms and food for the soldiers. Valenzuela used Rizal’s argument about the rich not siding with the Katipunan organization. Andres Bonifacio, sensing that he would lose in the discussion then, left the session hall and talked to the people, who were waiting outside for the result of the meeting of the leaders. He told the people that the leaders were arguing against starting the revolution early, and appealed to them in a fiery speech in which he said: “You remember the fate of our countrymen who were shot in Bagumbayan. Should we return now to the towns, the Spaniards will only shoot us. Our organization has been discovered and we are all marked men. If we don’t start the uprising, the Spaniards will get us anyway. What then, do you say?” “Revolt” the people shouted as one. Bonifacio then asked the people to give a pledge that they were to revolt. He told them that the sign of slavery of the Filipinos were (sic) the cedula tax charged each citizen. “If it is true that you are ready to revolt,” Bonifacio saved, “I want to see you destroy your cedulas. It will be the sign that all of us have declared our severance from the Spaniards.” With tears in their eyes, the people as one man, pulled out their cedulas and tore them to pieces. It was the beginning of the formal declaration of the separation from Spanish rule. With their cedulas destroyed, they could no longer go back to their homes because the Spaniards would persecute them, if not for being Katipuneros, for having no cedulas. And people who had no cedulas during those days were severely punished. When the people’s pledge was obtained by Bonifacio, he returned to the session hall and informed the leaders of what took place outside. “The people want to revolt, and they have destroyed  ScSc 12n – Readings in Philippine History Department of Liberal Arts and Behavioral Sciences Visayas State University their cedulas,” Bonifacio said. “So now we have to start the uprising; otherwise the people by hundreds will be shot.” There was no alternative. The board of directors in the spite of the protests of Plata, Pantas, and Valenzuela, voted for the revolution. And when this was decided, the people outside shouted: “Long live the Philippine Republic!” I still remember Bonifacio as he appeared that day. Although a mere bodeguero (warehouseman) and earning P25 (Mex.) a month, he was a cultured man. He always wore an open coat, with black necktie, and black hat. He always carried an umbrella. At the meeting that morning of August 26, Bonifacio took off his coat and was wearing only hist shirt, with collar and tie. Bonifacio’s hobby was weaving bamboo hats. During his spare-time he wove dozens of them and sold them in Manila. Thus he made extra money. At about 5 o’clock in the afternoon, while the gathering at Balintawak was celebrating the decision of the Katipunan leaders to start the uprising, the guards who were up in trees to watch for any possible intruders or the approach of the enemy, gave the warning that the Spaniards were coming. Led by Bonifacio, Emilio Jacinto and other leaders of the Katipunan, the men were distributed in strategic positions and were prepared for attack of the civil guards. I was with group stationed on the bank of small creek, guarding the places where the Spaniards were to pass in order to reach the meeting place of the Katipuneros. Shots were then fired by the civil guards, and that was the beginning of the fire which later became such a huge conflagration. Another version of the cry was written by the wife of Andres Bonifacio, Gregoria de Jesus. She is known to be the “Lakambini of the Katipunan.” Her accounts are considered valid for she was also present in the staging. Moreover, she also is the keeper of the secret documents of the Katipunan. However, we find a different date and place in the version of Uryang. August 25, 1896 “The activities of the Katipunan had reached all corners of the Philippine Archipellago, so that when its existence was discovered and some of the members arrested, we immediately returned to Caloocan. However, as we were closely watched by the agents of the Spanish authorities, Andres Bonifacio and other Katipuneros left the town after some days. It was then that the uprising began, with the first cry of freedom on August 25, 1896. Meanwhile, I was with my parents. Through my friends, I learned that the Spaniards were coming to arrest me. Immediately, I fled town at eleven o’clock at night, secretly going through the rice fields to La Lorna, with the intention of returning to Manila. I was treated like an apparition, for, sad to say, in every house I tried to get a little rest, I was driven away as if people therein where frightened for their own lives. Later, I found out that the occupants of the houses which I had visited were seized and severely punished – and some even exiled. One of them was an  ScSc 12n – Readings in Philippine History Department of Liberal Arts and Behavioral Sciences Visayas State University uncle of mine whom I had visited on that night to kiss his hand, and he died in exile.” The account written by Santiago Alvarez was given of no importance for he is not an eye-witness to the historic event. He wrote such an account based on what he heard about the activities of the Katipuneros. Santiago Alvarez is a relative of Gregoria de Jesus which is the wife of Andres Bonifacio. Below is Alvarez’s version of the cry. Sunday, August 23, 1896 As early as 10 o’clock in the morning, at the barn of Kabesang Melchora (Melchora Aquino), at a place called Sampalukan, barrio of Bahay de Toro, Katipuneros met together. About 500 of these arrived, ready and eager to join the “Supremo” Andres Bonifacio and his men … Monday, August 24, 1896 There were about 1000 Katipuneros... The “Supremo” decided to hold a metting inside the big barn. Under his leadership, the meeting began at 10 o’clock in the morning... It was 12 o’clock noon when the meeting adjourned amidst loud cries of “Long live the Sons of the country” (Mabuhay ang mga anak nang Bayan!!!) In conclusion, even though there is differing information in multiple sources, the important thing is that the event happened. This event was the official declaration of war by the Katipuneros against the Spanish government. It is a symbolic event of the breaking off of the Philippines from the Spanish reigns, and should therefore be honored.