Andres Bonifacio (November 30, 1863 – May 10, 1897) was a Filipino

revolutionary leader and patriot, known as the "Father of the Philippine

Revolution." He was one of the founders and organizers of the Kataastaasan
Kagalang-galang na Katipunan ng mga Anak ng Bayan or Katipunan, although
he was not its first supremo or leader. He eventually assumed the leadership of
the society owing to his dedication and resolve to the cause of Philippine
independence. Bonifacio has earned his place in Philippine history as a Filipino
hero with an uncompromising stance in leading his countrymen to the path of
freedom.

The Katipunan
After the dissolution of the Liga and the arrest and exile of Rizal, a secret meeting
was held Deodato Arellano's house located at 72 Azcarraga Street on July 7,
1892. The meeting was attended by Bonifacio, Valentin Diaz, Teodoro Plata,
Jose Dizon, and others. They formed the Kataastaasan Kagalang-galang na
Katipunan ng mga Anak ng Bayan or Katipunan as a reaction to what they saw
as the inherent weaknesses of the Liga and the reform movement and the
necessity of ending Spanish rule in the Philippines. Their aim was to achieve
Philippine independence through revolution. Bonifacio and the others performed
a blood compact and used their blood to sign their names as members of the
society.
Since most of its founding members were freemasons, the Katipunan employed
the principles of masonry in its organization. Katipuneros used codes, hand
signals, symbols, and secret initiation rites and ceremonies in accepting new
members. Initially, the triangle system was used in recruiting members, wherein a
member would recruit two people who did not know one another. The new
recruits would also follow the same process in recruiting members. However, the
process proved too slow and tedious so the Katipunan decided to abandon the
system and just directly recruit members.
With the passing of months, Katipunan membership grew with increasing fervor.
Bonifacio became the central force in uniting and organizing the society, although
he was not its first leader. It was only when the first set of leaders failed to live up
to their responsibilities that Bonifacio established his leadership of the Katipunan
and was eventually elected supremo.

[edit] Outbreak of the Revolution

Prior to the outbreak of the revolution in 1896, it was estimated that the
membership of the Katipunan was between 30,000 to 40,000 Katipuneros. With
such numbers, it was only a matter of time before its existence became known to
Spanish authorities in the Philippines.
The Katipunan was finally discovered in August 1896. Bonifacio had no choice
but to launch the revolution, although prematurely, as the Spaniards started to
arrest Filipinos who were actual and suspected members of the Katipunan.
Gathering the Katipuneros, Bonifacio and his men tore their cedulas as a symbol
of their struggle against Spain. He then gave orders to the different chapters of
the Katipunan in various parts of the Philippines to begin the revolution.
The revolution spread like wildfire throughout the country but the most successful
military campaigns of the Katipunan were in Cavite, where Katipuneros managed
to liberate town after town. Gradually, hostilities shifted from Manila to Cavite as
the Spaniards tried to counter these military victories. Both sides started diverting
their troops and supplies to the province.

[edit] Tejeros Convention

Although it enjoyed military success in Cavite, the Katipunan in the province was
unfortunately divided into two factions, the Magdalo and the Magdiwang. The
Magdalo - headed by Emilio Aguinaldo - became powerful because of its success
in defending its territories against Spanish attacks. The Magdiwang - headed by
Mariano Alvarez - was losing its influence because of numerous military defeats.
Because of the conflict between the two factions, Bonifacio was invited to Cavite
to mediate and settle the differences.
Bonifacio arrived at the friar estate house in Barrio Tejeros, San Francisco de
Malabon, Cavite. Upon the arrival of the Magdiwang and Magdalo factions, it was
decided that the group should elect officials of a revolutionary government.
Although he was the supremo of the Katipunan, Bonifacio submitted to the
decision of the group regarding the formation of a new government. However, he
reiterated to all participants in the convention that the result of the process should
be respected by everyone.
In the elections that followed, Aguinaldo was elected president while Bonifacio
was elected to the position of Secretary of the Interior. Disregarding Bonifacio's
reminder, Daniel Tirona vehemently protested the former's election, saying that
an "uneducated man" was unfit for the position. Tirona suggested lawyer Jose del
Rosario for the position. In a fit of anger, Bonifacio drew his revolver and aimed it
at Tirona. Cooler heads prevailed but in disgust, Bonifacio, acting as the supremo
of the Katipunan, declared the proceedings and elections that took place in
Tejeros to be invalid.

[edit] Arrest and Trial

For further reading about the Bonifacio trial, please see the Bonifacio trial article
After the convention, Bonifacio and his men drew up a document entitled, Acta
de Tejeros invalidating the Tejeros proceedings due to voting anomalies and
election irregularities. In April 1897, Bonifacio's group went to Naik where they
drew up the Naik Military Agreement declaring a separate government from the
one established at Tejeros. The document - signed by Bonifacio, Severino de las
Alas, Pio del Pilar, Mariano Noriel, and Artemio Ricarte - stated that an army
would be formed and a new military commander would be chosen.
Aguinaldo saw the actions of Bonifacio as fatal to the unity of the Filipino
revolutionaries and ordered the arrest of the supremo. Col. Agapito Bonzon, Felix
Topacio, and Jose Ignacio Paua were tasked to apprehend and arrest Bonifacio
and his men. Colonel Bonzon found them in Limbon, Indang, Cavite. After a brief
firefight, the wounded Andres and Procopio were arrested while Ciriaco was
killed.
A military court was convened in Maragondon, Cavite where the Bonifacio
brothers were charged with sedition and treason against the revolutionary
government of Aguinaldo. Placido Martinez, counsel for Andres, asked for
clemency while Teodoro Gonzalez, Procopio's counsel, asked for acquittal.
Although the military court was legal, the proceedings surrounding the trial were
clearly against the accused. The presiding judge, Mariano Noriel, was the same
man who signed the Naik Military Agreement with Bonifacio. The accused were
not able to face their accusers and witnesses while their defense counsels
eventually argued that the Bonifacio brothers were guilty. Much weight was also
given to the testimony of Pedro Giron, a witness of dubious character.
The military court sentenced the Bonifacio brothers to death while their men were
demoted and given barracks duty. Aguinaldo tried to commute the death
sentence to banishment. However, Generals Pio del Pilar and Noriel argued that
with Bonifacio alive, the president of the revolutionary government and the
revolution itself would be endangered because of factionalism. With these
arguments, Aguinaldo rescinded his order of commutation.

[edit] Execution of Bonifacio

In the morning of May 10, 1897, a sealed order was received by Maj. Lazaro
Makapagal from General Noriel. The latter further ordered Makapagal to take four
soldiers and escort the Bonifacio brothers to Mount Buntis. Noriel insisted that
only upon arrival at said location would Makapagal open the sealed orders and
follow the instructions. Makapagal, four soldiers, and the Bonifacio brothers
marched along a trail leading to Mount Buntis. At the foot of the mountain, Andres
Bonifacio asked Makapagal to open the sealed order. After reading the content,
the Bonifacio brothers were shot and buried in a shallow grave marked only by a
few twigs and leaves.

[edit] Legacy of the Bonifacio Story

For further reading about the legacy of Andres Bonfiacio, please see the
Bonifacio Controversy
Philippine historiography at the turn of the 20th century tended to neglect
Bonifacio's seminal leadership of the Philippine Revolution. Under the auspices of
the American colonial educators, a systematic attempt was made to cast aside
Bonifacio and insist on Rizal as the prototypical national hero. For example in
1912, an important decision was made by the Americans in connection with the
inauguration of the Rizal Monument in what was then Luneta Park, and the
subsequent national commemoration of his death anniversary.
Esteban A. de Ocampo of the National Historical Institute recounted the events
leading to the decision of Governor William Taft in choosing Rizal as the
Philippines' national hero. Taft said: "'And now, gentlemen, you must have a
national hero.' These were supposed to be the words addressed by Governor
Taft to Messrs. Trinidad Pardo De Tavera, Benito Legarda Jr., and Luzurriaga,
Filipino members of the Philippine Commission of which Taft was the chairman. It
was further reported that 'in the subsequent discussion in which the rival merits of
the revolutionary heroes (Marcelo H. del Pilar, Graciano Lopez-Jaena, Rizal,
General Antonio N. Luna, Emilio Jacinto, and Bonifacio) were considered, the
final choice - now universally acclaimed a wise one - was Rizal. And so history
was made.'"
Since then, the debate of Rizal versus Bonifacio has remained unabated,
mercilessly pitting the qualities of one against the other: the ilustrado class versus
the proletariat, the sophisticated European education versus the self-schooled
one, the priviledged situation of one versus the plebeian beginnings of the other,
Rizal's mastery of Spanish versus Bonifacio's Tagalog background, and the list
goes on. As a result, a prejudiced view of Bonifacio persisted in almost all
Philippine history books.
In 1956, the publication of a landmark book in Philippine historiography changed
the historical and intellectual treatment of Bonifacio. Teodoro Agoncillo's Revolt
of the Masses advanced the view that Bonifacio's accomplishments were worthy
of the accolades given to a national hero, and that the Philippine revolution was
primarily driven by the masses. These theses were encapsulated in a classic
Marxist dialectic, beginning the rise of a distinctly nationalist historiography,
aimed at reappropriating the signs and symbols of the nation.
A new line of Philippine history books based on the nationalist discourse of
Agoncillo followed, culminating with Reynaldo Ileto's Pasyon and Revolution in
1979. Ileto's book started the trend of studying history using unofficial documents,
textual references in plays, oral tradition, and other similar sources. History from
below, as it came to be known, focuses on the story, achievements, and
contributions of sectors of society that were either neglected or cast aside for
various reasons.
This nationalist trend would eventually be challenged by other historians. On April
7, 1995, American scholar Glenn Anthony May of the University of Oregon
delivered a paper entitled, "Andres Bonifacio: Inventing a Hero" at a meeting of
the Association for Asian Studies (AAS) in Washington, D.C. In this paper and
the subsequent book, Inventing a Hero: The Posthumous Re-Creation of Andres
Bonifacio, May claimed in very strong words that the Bonifacio story was "a story
of a fabrication of a national hero -- a history of deception, dissimulation, and
distortion....all that can be reliably known is the illusion itself, the product of
doctored, spurious, or undocumented sources and the collective imagination of
several generations of historians."
Various scholars, academicians, and historians attacked May's thesis that
Bonifacio's accomplishments and certain portions of his life were mere fabrication
of some Filipino nationalist historians. Another American historian, Malcolm
Churchill describes May's thesis as "astonishing allegation" that is "constructed
on shifting sands." He adds that May's long-standing interest in Andres Bonifacio
[has] manifested itself more in efforts to cast doubt upon existing knowledge than
to expand our understanding of this revolutionary hero."[1]

Gawad kalinga-because they help the Filipinos to achieve what they want in
there life.