•

THE I-STO RIES t

THE "CRIES" WHICH LAUNCHED THE PHILIPPINE RfVOLUTION
54 f 55
7 ~
6 ) The Cry of Balintawak I Bonifacio. He was taller and fairer than most of the Katipuneros and
by Vicente Samson _
(August 26, 1896) r had his hair parted near the side of his head. He also heard how he
spoke. Bonifacio had a loud voice that clearly and easily dominated the
lr discussions of the several hundreds of Katipuneros present.
Don Vicente Samson, an old man then in his mid seventies
l Aside from Bonifacio, Don Vicente also saw Emilio Jacinto
in 1961, was one of the most respected and most popular figures in
Balintawak, Quezon City. Samson owned a thriving and well-known i whom he remembered as a boyish-looking man who was always beside
gravel and sand company. He was also an undefeated barrio lieutenant Bonifacio writing down notes.
of Barrio Balingasay of that district and was regarded as a community f On the morning of August 26 the discussion on the revolution

leader and a man of means.
Most of the folks of Balintawak hardly knew that Don Vicente was
was one of the few surviving persons at the time who actually witnessed
the "Cry of Balintawak'' in 1896 and the first encounter between the
Katipuneros and the Spaniards. In 1961 he narrated his story which
appeared in an issue of The Evening News. He declared:
"The "Cry" was on August 26 and not on any other date. I
remember it very well because I noted the date myself'
At that time he was 12 years old when the event happened. It was
still fresh in his mind because his father was a leader of the Katipunan
and his older brother was also a Katipunero. He said that they were
among those who participated in the tearing of the cedulas and the
fight that later ensued between the Katipuneros and the Spanish civil
guards and infantrymen.
Don Vicente recalled that everybody in Balintawak knew that
something was about to happen and Katipunan leaders and members
started converging at the house of Don Apolonio Samson in Barrio
Kangkong, a few days before August 26. Apolonio Samson was a cousin
of Don Vicente and was reputedly one of the richest men in Balintawak
at that
. time· He threw open h.1s barn and b utchered his cows, pigs and
chickens to feed the Katipuneros.
Out ~f curiosity, Don Vicente followed his father and brother to
t hese meetmgs
. and often h eard the re b els hotly discussing the planned
revolution. Don Vicente e all
P rson Ysaw the Katipunan Supremo Andres
7 Vicente Samso d E
Fl . n an mesto Flores "Man Re II5 F"
ores, in: The Evening News (M•i . A ca •rst Cry." Interview between Samson and
· am a. ugust 26, 1961 ).
I
became more intense and heated than usual. He said it was the prevailing
sentiment that the revolution would start right away, but there were
some objections from some members and these caused verbal clashes
that Bonifacio had to intervene every now and then. It was shortly agreed
that the revolution should begin on August 29. Then Don Vicente saw
J Bonifacio stand up on a platform to deliver a short speech.
f. Don Vicente could no longer remember the Supremo's exact words
but he vividly recalled that after the speech, the Katipuneros amidst
j
~
shouts of "Mabuhay!" took out their cedulas, tore them to pieces, and
threw these into a dried-up carabao mud-hole nearby where they were
burned.
l Asked where the mud-hole was located, Don Vicente pointed to
t a direction where the present old Balintawak monument now stands.
l Hearing reports that the Spaniards were on their way to Balintawak,
l Bonifacio and his men proceeded to the neighboring barrio of Pasong
Tamo where Tandang Sora's farm was located Here, Don Vicente, said,
was where the Katipuneros had their first battle with the Spaniards.
l
f
According to Don Vicente there were around 80 civil guards and
infantrymen. While they approached Tandang Sora's house, the
Katipuneros numbering several hundreds led by Bonifacio himself,
executed an enveloping movement in an effort to capture them. The
Katipuneros were only armed with bolos and spears and crude guns
f called sulsulin and arkonite. These two weapons used iron fragments for
bullets and which were fired with their ends buried in the ground.8 The
Katipuneros had to withdraw because the enemy was better armed with
Remington and Mauser rifles.
8 They were most likely homemade mortars.

t
l
 THE I-STORIES

56
The old man
remembered the
bravery of a man
CHAPTERlO
named Simplicio
Acabo. Acabo who
was a neighbor of the THE KATIPUNAN
Samsons, tried to
seize one ofthe enemy
ACCORDING TO
rifles and was killed. A SPANIARD IN 18961
Acabo was apparently
FIiipino native soldiers in the Spanish army standing over the the first to die in the
bodies of slain Katipuneros (Tristei Rewerdos)
revolution. According
to Don Vicente, Acabo came out from his hiding place and lunged at a. secret society, the Katipunan was shrouded in mystery.
a civil guard with his bolo, but before he could touch the civil guard,
he was felled by a bullet. While Acabo lay mortally wounded the civil
guards and infantrymen retreated towards Manila.
Shortly after according to Don Vicente, the Katipuneros, including his
father and brother left Balintawak. He was unaware ofwhat they did next The
A Though information about the organization came through
the recollections of its members and documents captured
y the Spanish authorities, much still need to be revealed.
In 1896 a Spaniard named Jose Maria del Castillo provided some light
on the nature of the Katipunan. It revealed some details not written in
Spanish forces returned to Balintawak and instituted repressive measures history books. Little is also known about del Castillo but his writings,
against the inhabitants. All houses were searched and people found to be which was published in a book entitled, The Katipunan and Filibusterism
sympathetic to the Katipunan were arrested. People who had scars on their in the Philippines which was published in Madrid in 1897 and contains
left wrists and arms and those who had no cedulas were automatically very detailed information about the organization_
considered suspects. They were taken away Being a Spaniard it was understandable tha.t del Castillo's views
and thrown in prison. Some of them were contain pro-Spanish and anti-Filipino biases. HeaJled the Filipinos who
exiled to Guam. Among these was Melchora rebelled as "ingrates" and called Spain a great an.1 benevolent country
Aquino, known popularly as Tandang Sora, that brought civilization to these natives. He disparaged the leaders of
considered as the "Mother of the Katipunan:' the Katipunan calling them "insignificant, obscure and uncultured" and
Like most of the old folk ofBalintawak, its members as "notable criminals."
Don Vicente believes emphatically that Despite these biases, de! Castillo revealed two interesting details, the
the first fight of the Philippine Revolution Katipunan was already in existence before 1892 and its founder was not
took place in Balintawak. He said: "Don't Andres Bonifacio. These details could be confirmed by further studies and
ever believe the stories that the first fight research. Other details showed that the Katipunan was heavily influenced
happened in other places. They were just by freemasonry. Its central council was called a Grand Lodge.
made up to distort the true story of th I This is a portion of Part VI of Jose Maria del Castillo"s worlr. El Katipw,an y Filibusttrimw t_n Filipi-
revolution:' e nas, published in Madrid by the lmpttnta de los Huer&nos del ~ o Cor2wn de Jesus ID I897.
A translated manuscript can be found al the National Histoncal Institute.
Melchora Aquino in her advanced 57
years, was sent to exile to Guam In
1896 (NH!)

b!,