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Ang Dapat Mabatid NG Mga Tagalog
Ang Dapat Mabatid NG Mga Tagalog
)
Ang dapat mabatid ng mga tagalog
Source: Jos P. Santos, Si Andres Bonifacio at ang Himagsikan (Manila: n.pub,
1935), 67.
This famous patriotic rallying call was published under the nom de
plume Agapito Bagumbayan. The Tagalogs, it declares, have supported and
sustained the race of Legazpi for over 300 years, but have been rewarded
with treachery, false beliefs and dishonor. To eyes long blind, the light of
reason has now revealed this harsh injustice and shown the separate, selfreliant road the Tagalogs must take.
The authenticity and authorship of this piece is discussed in detail in
Appendix B.1. There it is concluded beyond reasonable doubt that the Tagalog
text transcribed here is authentic, but some uncertainty is acknowledged as to
whether it was authored by Bonifacio or Jacinto (or both), and whether it is
exactly the same as the version actually published in Kalayaan or a prepublication draft.
Tagalog text
ANG DAPAT MABATID NG MGA TAGALOG
Ytong Katagalugan na pinamamahalaan ng unang panahon ng ating
tunay na mga kababayan niyaong hindi pa tumutungtong sa mga lupaing
ito ang mga kastila ay nabubuhay sa lubos na kasaganaan, at
kaguinhawahan. Kasundo niya ang mga kapit bayan at lalung lalo na ang
mga taga Japon sila'y kabilihan at kapalitan ng mga kalakal malabis ang
pag yabong ng lahat ng pinagkakakitaan, kaya't dahil dito'y mayaman
English translation1
expended our wealth, blood and even our lives in defending them, even
against our fellow countrymen who refused to submit to their rule; and we
have fought the Chinese and the Dutch who tried to take Katagalugan from
them.
Now, after all this, after everything we have done, what benefits have
we seen bestowed upon our Country? Do we see them fulfilling their side of
the contract which we ourselves fulfilled with sacrifices? We see nothing but
treachery as a reward for our favors. Instead of keeping their promise to
awaken us to a better life, they have only blinded us, contaminated us with
their debased customs and forcibly destroyed the good customs of our land.
They have instilled in us a false faith, and have cast the honor of our Country
into a mire of corruption. And if we dare beg for scraps of compassion, they
respond by banishing us, by sending us far away from our beloved children,
spouses, and aged parents. Every sigh we utter is branded by them as a grave
sin, and is instantly punished with brute force.
Now nothing can be considered stable in our lives; our peace is now
always disturbed by the moans and lamentations, by the sighs and plaints of
countless orphans, widows and parents of compatriots wronged by the
Spanish oppressors; now we are being deluged by the streaming tears of a
mother whose son was put to death, by the wails of tender children orphaned
by cruelty, and whose every falling tear is a like a drop of molten lead that
sears the excruciating wound of our suffering hearts; now we are being bound
ever tighter with the chains of slavery, chains that shame every man of honor.
What, then, is to be done? The sun of reason that shines in the East clearly
shows, to our eyes long blind, the way that must be taken; its light enables us
to see the claws of those inhuman creatures who bring us death. Reason
shows that we cannot expect anything but more and more suffering, more and
more treachery, more and more insults, more and more enslavement. Reason
tells us not to waste our time waiting for the promised prosperity that will
never arrive. Reason tells us that we must rely upon ourselves alone and
never entrust our livelihood to anybody else. Reason tells us to be one in
sentiment, one in thought, and one in purpose so that we may have the
strength in confronting the evil that reigns in our Country.
Now is the time that the light of truth must shine; now is the time for us
to make it known that we have our own feelings, have honor, have self-respect
and solidarity. Now is the time to start spreading the noble and great
teachings that will rend asunder the thick curtain that obfuscates our minds;
now is the time for the Tagalogs to know the sources of their misfortunes.
This day we must realize that every step we take is taking us closer to the brink
of the abyss of death that our enemies have dug to ensnare us.
And so! Oh compatriots! Let us dispel the blindness from our
intellects; let us resolutely dedicate our strength to the triumph of our true
and mighty cause, the prosperity and peace of our native land.
1This
translation is my own, but it draws heavily on two others - Reynaldo Clemea Ileto,
Pasyon and Revolution: Popular Movements in the Philippines, 1840-1910 (Quezon City:
Ateneo de Manila University Press, 1979), 1026; and The Writings and Trial of Andres
Bonifacio, translated by Teodoro A. Agoncillo with the collaboration of S. V. Epistola (Manila:
Antonio J. Villegas; Manila Bonifacio Centennial Commission; University of the Philippines,
1963), 23.