THE CRY OF PUGAD LAWIN/BALINTAW

Members:
ABUNDA, JAMAICA: Infographic, PPT
LUNA, GELLICA: Handout, PPT

Definition
The terms ''cry'' does not necessarily mean shouting, unlike the Filipino term ‘’sigaw’’, for it came from
Sapnish ''El Grito de Rebelion'' which means ''decision'' or ''call for revolution''

The Discovery of Katipunan

Prior to the execution of the plan of the Katipunan to revolt, the existence of Katipunan was discovered the
by Fr. Mariano Gil.

People Involved
• Teodoro Patiño: member of the Katipunan and an employee of the Diario de Manila (Manily daily)
• Apolonio dela Cruz: member of the Katipunan and an employee of the Diario de Manila
• Honoria Patiño: the sister of Teodoro Patiño; a nun at the Mandaluyong Orphanage
• Sor Teresa de Jesús: the mother prioress of the Mandaluyong Orphanage
• Fr. Mariano Gil: the Spanish Augustinian parish priest (cura parroco) of Tondo

According to Jerome Ong, Teodoro Patiño had a fight with Apolonio dela Cruz because Apolonio's wage
increased by 2 pesos, while Teodoro's wage did not. Teodoro told his sister about what happened between
him and Apolonio, and he also told her about the plan of Katipunan.
Controversy #1
There are different stories on how Fr. Mariano Gil learned about the Katipunan Plot.
VERSION 1:
Stated in the Philippine History and Government of Phoenix Social Studies High School Series, Teodoro was
advised by his sister and by Sor Teresa de Jesus to reveal the plan to Fr. Mariano Gil. On August 19, 1896 at
6:15 pm, Teodoro Patiño met Fr. Mariano Gil at the convent of Tondo and he revealed the secrets of the
Katipunan. He told the friar that the lithographic stone was hidden in the press room of Diario de Manila,
which was being used by the Katipunan to print Katipunan receipts, and that several daggers were made by
the Katipunero employees of the press.
VERSION 2:
According to Gerome Ong and Lourd De Veyra, Teodoro told Honoria about the plan of Katipunan, and
Honoria told Sor Teresa about the plot. Sor Teresa advised Honoria to tell her brother to confess. As
instructed by his sister, Teodoro confessed (the sacrament) to Fr. Gil about the plan of Katipunan. It was
stated in many textbooks that Fr. Gil had violated the secrecy of confession when Teodoro Patiño confessed
(the Sacrament) to him on August 19, 1896.

However, if we refer to books written by big names, such as Teodoro Agoncillo and Renato
Constantino, they did not even mention about the confession nor did they mention about the sacrament.
Moreover, Xiao Chua said that Father Mariano Gil himself said that Teodoro did not reveal the secrets of
Katipunan through confession. Many years ago, this controversy has been settled, at least by Concepción
Escalada, Honoria’s daughter. As explained by Gregorio Zaide, Concepción said that she heard her mother
deny that Teodoro gave the information through confession (the sacrament), but rather, Teodoro Patiño (her
uncle), simply revealed the Katipunan plot to her sister in the presence of Sor Teresa. But Teodoro Agoncillo
doubted Zaide's account of Honoria's revelation.
What happened after Fr. Gil learned about the plot of Katipunan?
In the night of August 19, 1986, Fr. Gil and the soldiers searched Diario de Manila's printing office. There,
they found the incriminating evidence, then, he rushed to the authorities and denounced the revolutionary plot
of the Katipunan.
Controversy #2
 The date and place where the Cry happened given by the sources differ from one another.
Claims of the Sources when and where the Cry happened:
• Guillermo Masangkay: August 26, 1896 in Balintawak in the house of Apolonio Samson, the Cabesa of
Caloocan
• Lt. Olegario Diaz (Lt. of Spaniards): Aug. 25, 1896 in Balintawak
• Gregoria de Jesus (Andres Bonifacio's widow): August 25, 1896 in Pasong Tamo, an area in the
Balintawak
• Julio Nakpil (second husband of Gregoria de Jesus): August 24, 1896 in Balintawak. Later on, he
remembered that it was on August 26, 1896 in Kangkong, Balintawak
• Pio Valenzuala (the right-hand of Andres Bonifacio): August 23, 1896 in the house of Juan Ramos, a son
of Tandang Sora, whose house was located in Pugad Lawin. He said that what happened in the house of
Apolonio Samson is a just a meeting and there was no decision.
Changing the date and place
1908 to 1963- the official stance was that the cry occurred on August 26 in Balintawak
1963- Philippine government declared a shift to August 23 in Pugad Lawin, Quezon City.

Written in the Revolt of the Masses which was published in 1956, Teodoro Agoncillo described "the Cry" as
the shredding of cedulas, breaking with precedent that had previously defined it as the revolution's first
skirmish (first encounter between the Katipuneros and the Guardia Civil ;"first shot" of the Revolution (el
primer tiro) was fired at Banlat, Pasong Tamo, Balintawak). His account was based on later accounts from
Pio Valenzuela, who claimed that the cry occurred in Pugad Lawin rather than Balintawak. Valenzuela's
version became the foundation of the Philippine government's present policy, due to Agoncillo's influence.
On August 23, 1963, President Diosdado Macapagal ordered that the official commemorations be moved to
Pugad Lawin, Quezon City.

Teodoro Agoncillo convinced the Historical National Commission to change the date and place, from August
26 in Balintawak to August 23 in Pugad Lawin. He used Pio Valenzuela as his principal source. According to
Ambeth Ocampo, Pio Valenzuela may have been in Bonifacio's inner circle, but he may be unreliable
because Valenzuela signed testimony before Spanish interrogators on September 1896 that the Cry happened
on August 26 in Balintawak. However, according to Teodoro Agncillo, this is unreliable because Pio
Valenzuela was under duress and thus, cannot be trusted.

Part of the seeming ambiguity stems from the terms "Balintawak" and "Caloocan" having dual meanings
around the turn of the century. Balintawak was a term that referred to a specific location in modern-day
Caloocan as well as a larger territory that covered sections of modern-day Quezon City. Caloocan, on the
other hand, referred to both modern Caloocan and a larger area that included modern Quezon City and a
portion of modern Pasig. Pugad Lawin, Pasong Tamo, Kangkong, and other specific locations were all
located in "greater Balintawak," which was part of "greater Caloocan."

After the Revelation of Teodoro Patiño

Narration in the Revolts of the Masses by Teodoro Agoncillo
August 19, 1986: Bonifacio and four other Katipuneros went to Balintawak
August 21, 1896: left Balintawak for Kangkong
-in the afternoon, Bonifacio and 500 other Katipuneros fled to Pook Kangkong, Caloocan
August 22, 1896: Bonifacio and the Katipuneros reached Kangkong and stayed in the house of the Barrio
Lieutenant Apolonio Samson
-the revolutionists exchanged views on the revolution but did not pass any resolution
-in the afternoon, the Katipuneros left to meet at the yard of Juan Ramos, a son of Tandang Sora, in Pugad
Lawin
August 23, 1896: the Katipunan General Assembly took place in Juan Ramos’ barn in Pugad Lawin
-attended by about 1,000
-decisions was made (the revolt would happen on August 29)
-Bonifacio asked the Katipuneros to bring out their cedula and tore it
 Cedula: It support a Filipino’s identity and address. It was a document which the Spaniards always looked for.
In the Cry, this signifies the Spaniard's oppression and tearing this denotes the beginning of the fight for freedom
and independence.

What is the significance of the Cry of Pugad Lawin?

The Cry of the Rebellion in Pugad Lawin marked the beginning of the Philippine Revolution in 1896.

References:

BOOKS:

Lacsamana, L. (1987). Philippines History and Government. Phoenix Press, Inc.

Zaide, G. & Zaide, S. (2014). Kasaysayan at Pamahalaan ng Pilipinas. All Nations Publishing, Inc.

Borromeo-Buehler, Soledad M. (1998), The cry of Balintawak: a contrived controversy : a textual analysis with appended
documents, Ateneo de Manila University Press, ISBN 978-971-550-278-8.

WEBSITE:

Confessing the Katipunan. (2018). Retrieved on August 14, 2021 https://pepealas.wordpress.com/tag/teodoro-

patino/

Limlingan, D. (2013). Limlingan: The Cedula and the National ID System. Retrieved on August 14, 2021 from
https://www.sunstar.com.ph/article/279100/Lifestyle/Limlingan-The-Cedula-and-the-National-ID-System>

Ocampo, A. (2010). Balintawak or Pugad Lawin. Retrieved on August 13, 2021 from
https://www.pressreader.com/

The Tandang Sora bicentennial. (n.d). Retrieved on August 21, 2021 from https://www.officialgazette.gov.ph/the-
tandang-sora-bicentennial/

VIDEO:

Hudas ng Kasaysayan | History