COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS OF PRIMARY AND

SECTION 4: SECONDARY SOURCES

DISCUSSION

Since its founding on July 7, 1892, the Katipunan or KKK (Kagalang-galang na Katipunan nang
manga Anak nang Bayan) remained an underground organization and had remained a secret organization
until its discovery August 19, 1896, at a time when Spanish officials and friars were already hearing rumors
and suspicious about the existence of a rebellious group. The discovery, which was simply an accident for
it happened only because of the petty quarrel of Apolonio dela Cruz and Teodoro Patiño who workers at
the printing press of Diario de Manila and also members of the Katipunan. The bickering resulted in Patiño’s
confiding to his sister who lived in an orphanage in Mandaluyong whose grief made her mother superior
convinced her to tell to the authorities what he knew about her brother’s involvement in the secret
organization. Patiño’s sister was not actually worried about her brother’s quarrel but about his participation
in his brother’s admission of an underground rebellious organization and his membership in it. His brother
was then convinced to divulge the secret organization to the suspicious Fr. Mariano Gil who brought with
him Spanish guards to raid the printing press and found evidences of the Katipunan in the lockers (Agoncillo
and Guerrero 1977: 195).

This came as a surprise for the Katipuneros who had to hurry to meet up and organize for
crackdown and arrests had of those suspected to be members of the Katipunan had already begun. By the
last week of August 1896, about 500 to 1,000 Katipuneros had already assembled, though ill-equipped,
untrained, and lacking in battle discipline was committed to fight and carry out a plan they hatched as early
August 24, 1896 to attack Manila on August 29, 1896. But the planned attack on Manila did not happen on
August 29, instead, Bonifacio shifted the offensive on an arsenal in San Jose del Monte. It was a strategic
shift since the attack, if successful, could yield into their possession guns and ammunitions which they
needed to beef up their weapons of mostly bolos and spears. But the first major offensive turned out to be
a blunder. This was the result of their lack of military experience. While they were highly motivated to fight,
they were not, however, battle hardened not even battle ready. And while the Katipunan’s leadership
structure was able to organize and motivate a group of men, leading these men in a strategic and tactical
manner is another matter. In the battle of San Jose del Monte, the Katipuneros was met with heavy
casualties and retreated as far back as San Mateo, where they attacked the municipality and Montalban
but was repulsed again at the battle of Langka where they had to retreat to Balara (Agoncillo and Guerrero
1977: 198).

But Bonifacio’s setbacks were not total failures for on August 30, 1896, just the next day, eight
provinces rose in revolt against Spain. Katipuneros in Manila, Cavite, Laguna, Batangas, Bulacan,
Pampanga, Tarlac, and Nueva Ecija captured their provincial and municipal halls and churches and
declared their territories under the command of the revolutionaries. This forced Governor General Ramon
Blanco to declare the eight provinces under the state of war and martial law. From the eight provinces, the
Spaniards had a special concern for Cavite since, geographically and strategically, the province is located
close to Manila, and houses a naval outpost at Sangley Point that could guard the mouth of Manila Bay
from enemies that could attack Manila. But the whole of Cavite except for the naval station fell in the hands
of the revolutionaries. The first order of battle was for the Spaniards to re-take the province.

The success of the revolutionary campaign in Cavite was not due to terrain but mainly to the social
class that led it. Pueblos upon pueblos fell in the hands of the Katipuneros because those who joined and
led the attack in the province were coming from the middle class, mostly gobernadorcillos, cabezas de
barangay and members of the principalia. The Aguinaldo’s came from the landed family in Kawit and hailed
from the family of gobernadorcillos and cabezas. Other prominent leaders were also owners of land,
members of the middle class, teachers and lawyers. On the other hand, while Bonifacio was fighting a war
of attrition in the hills of Balara, San Mateo and Montalban where he was the one attacking in a territory
which is not his locality, the Caviteños were fighting a war of defense where they were dug in trenches
where food supplies would not be much of a problem since they were fighting a war in their own backyard.

By September, the youngest gobernadorcillo of Kawit Capitan Miong (Emilio Aguinaldo) had
become a local hero for having decimated the forces of General Aguirre in the battle at Imus. But by
November, the renewed offensive and reign of terror of the Spaniards broke the defenses of the
Katipuneros and the Spaniards began to retake the pueblos they lost. Unfortunately, even at the early stage
of the revolution, Cavite had two Katipunan chapters. The Magdiwang headed by Mariano Alvarez, the
uncle of Bonifacio’s wife Gregoria de Jesus, whose chapter had San Francisco de Malabon (now General
Trias) as capital and the Magdalo faction organized by Baldomero Aguinaldo, cousin of Emilio which
headquarters was at Kawit, where their land was located. The Magdiwang controlled the pueblos of San
Francisco de Malabon, Noveleta, Rosario, Tanza, Naic, Ternate, Maragondon, Magallanes, Bailen,
Alfonso, Indang and San Roque. Magdalo, on the other hand, had the pueblos of Cavite el Viejo (Kawit),
Damariñas, Silang, Amadeo, Mendez, Nuñez, Bacoor, and Carmona, under their command. While
Caviteños even took the existence of the two factions beneficial for they were helping each other,
dissension came with major reverses that led to the Spaniards recapturing pueblos. While they themselves
commissioned themselves with military ranks, the two factions could not later on agree with the design of
the uniform that they would wear. And with these disagreements came the most divisive issue of which of
the two chapters which proclaimed themselves governments would be recognized as legitimate for the
province. There could not be two chapter-governments in one province. Since they could not agree, for not
one would even want to step down, the best proposal would be to dissolve the mother organization itself,
the Katipunan.

As Cavite was losing ground, making the forces united would be the only option to save the province
from Spanish hands. The solution was to invite the Supremo Andres Bonifacio was waging his war
campaign in the areas of Montalban and Balara in the middle of December 1896 in order to resolve the
conflict among them. In the crossfire of the brave men but ambitious as well, Bonifacio fell into the trap that
he eventually lost his position and eventually came the death of the organization he founded for even
Agoncillo reckoned that on March 22, 1896, in the election of president during the convention at Tejeros,
the Republic of the Philippines was born.

The account of an General Santiago Alvarez, a.k.a. Gen. Apoy is an eyewitness source of what
happened during the successive meetings while the writing of Teodoro Agoncillo is a secondary material
with which he put together other records including his interview with the then living Emilio Aguinaldo.

Santiago Alvaarez was born on July 25, 1872 at Imus, Cavite. He was the only child of Gen.
Mariano Alvarez leader of the Magdiwang faction and Nicolasa Virata. His parents’ ambition for him was to
become a teacher and he went under the tutelage of Antonio Dacon at Imus, later by Ignacio Villocillo, then
transferred to Tondo under Macario Hernandez. He was 24 years old when his education was interrupted
at the outbreak of the revolution. He led the revolutionaries in the Battle of Dalahican. He continued his
education after the revolution where he entered UST, transferred to San Juan de Letran to finish his
Bachelor in Arts degree and eventually earned his law degree at Liceo de Manila. He was already having
his law practice in the 1920s when a new air of vibrance of blowing in the hope that the Americans would
grant the Philippines its independence come 1921 with a new administration in the US organized after the
presidential election. The hope is drawn from the promise of the Jones Law of 1916 which stated in the
preamble that the US will grant independence upon proof of the Philippine’s capability to govern itself. The
eager anticipation would usher in a new era that would place the heroic acts of the revolution of 1896 and
the living veterans of the revolution in oblivion. In preface of his book, Memoirs of a General, he implied his
aim, to make known to the youth the fading struggle of the revolutionaries and the story of the revolution.”
Working from his notes, he reconstructed the story of the revolution as a participant-eyewitness. His work
was first serialized in Tagalog weekly magazine Sampaguita in 36 parts beginning July 1927. In June 1973,
Carolina Malay translated the original Tagalog version into English which was completed sometime in 1977.

Teodoro Agoncillo, on the other hand, was born in 1934 at Lemery, Batangas. He obtained his
undergraduate and master’s degrees in Philosophy at the University of the Philippines. He first taught at
the Far Eastern Univerisity and at the Manuel Luis Quezon University. After the publicaction of his seminal
works, Revolt of the Masses and the Crisis of the Malolos Republic, he was invited to teach at the University
of the Philippines where he became the chairman of the Department of History. Besides being a historian
he was also a literary writer. In writing the Revolt of the Masses, Agoncillo’s objective was to write a
biography of Andres Bonifacio, an obscure man whom he said even his sister could not give a clear account
of. But instead of just writing a biography of Bonifacio, he wrote about the biography of the revolution itself.
Agoncillo confessed that inconsistencies plagued the accounts of Artemio Ricarte, Pio del Pilar, Epifanio
delos Santos, and Teodoro Kalaw of Bonifacio and the revolution. But he admitted that in order to resolve
the inconsistencies, he consulted with the help of the, then still alive, Emilio Aguinaldo who was by then
already 88 years old when the Revolt of the Masses was published in 1956.

READING 4.1
The Katipunan and the Revolution:

Memoirs of a General1
By Santiago V. Alvarez

The Revolution was facing a grave crisis. The Katipunan forces in Caite were suffering defeat after
defeat with great loss of life. Magdalo territories had passed to Spanish hands after the Battles of Salitran,
Zapote, and Dalahikan. Imus, the reel capital was in a state of imminent collapse. To strengthen defenses
so that they could stop the Spanish advance into the rest of the provinces that was still held by the
Magdiwang and to forestall the loss of more lives, the Supremo Bonifacio, with the approval of other
revolutionary leaders, called a meeting of the Magdalo and Magdiwang leaders. This meeting, scheduled
for 24 March 1897, was postponed for the next day because of the death of Lt. Gen. Crispulo Aguinaldo,
Gen. Emilio Aguinaldo’s brother, on that day in the Battle of Salitran.
The Magdiwang leaders were waiting for their Magdalo counterparts at the Tejeros friar estate
house, the designated place, long after lunch on that day. They had designated place, long after lunch on
that day. They had to start in the afternoon to allow the usual enemy raids, which came in the morning, to
subside before they ventured out to Tejeros, a village in the municipality of San Francisco de Malabon.
When the Magdalo group finally came at about five in the afternoon, they brought with the sad news of the
death of General Magdalo’s own brother. Heading a small group, General Magdalo recounted the
cinrcumstances of the heroic death of his patriot brother. Then he begged to be excused to attend to
arrangements for his beloved brother’s funeral. Thus, the meeting was put off for the next day at the same
place.
But before dispersing, Secretary of the Treasury Diego Mojica proposed a resolution of condolence
and prayers for patriots who had died heroically like Lt. Gen. Crispulo Aguinaldo. The Supremo Bonifacio
thought this was superfluous and objected to such a resolution. “True love of country,” the Supremo argued,
“and service to the cause of freedom for the Motherland are the most noble attributes that would ensure
one’s place in heaven. Lt. Gen. Crispulo Aguinaldo and the comrades who died before him are all truly
blessed and are now in their respective places in the heavenly kingdom. Moreover, they will always occupy
an honored place in the history of our country.”
32
The assembly at Tejeros was finally convened on 25 March 1897. The invitations to the meeting
were signed by Secretary Jacinto Lumbreras of the Magdiwang Council, and he presided over the
assembly. Seated with Lumbreras at the long presidential table were the Supremo Andres Bonifacio,
Messrs. Mariano Alvarez, Pascual Alvarez, Ariston Villanueva, Mariano C. Trias, Diego Mojica, Eliliano R.
de Dios, Santiago V. Alvarea, Artemio Ricarte, Santos Nocon, Luciano San Miguel, Pablo Mojic, Severino
de las Alas, and Santioago Rillo, all of them of the Magdiwang. Among the Magdalo seated at the head
table were Messrs. Baldomero Aguinaldo, Daniel Tirona, and Cayetano Topacio. It must be mentioned that,
before the assembly was convened, Secretary of War Ariston Villanueva of the Magdawang Council
received the confidential information that Mr. Daniel Tirona of the Magdalo faction was set to undermine
the proceedings of the assembly and that he had already succeeded in enjoining many among the
Magdiwang leaders to ally with him. Secretary Villanueva kept silent, but nevertheless alerted Captain
General Apoy, who had troops in readiness for any sudden eventuality.
The leaders were seated at the presidential table, as previously described, and all the others were standing
in groups on both sides of those seated. After Chairman Jacinto Lumbreras had declared the assembly
open, he announced the main topic of discussion, which was how to bolster the defenses in the areas still
under Magdiwang control. Presently, Mr. Severino de las Alas rose to speak, and when he was recognized
he said, “Before we discuss minor details, let us first tackle the major issue such as what kind of government
we should have and how we should go about establishing it. Once we make a decision about these
questions, the problem of organization and strengthening of defenses will be resolved.”
“As initiator of the Revolution,” Chairman Lumbreras replied, “the Katipunan now holds authority over the
islands. It has a government of law and a definite program. It is obeyed and respected by all because it
stands for freedom, brotherly love, and a well-organized and well-run government. The purpose of this
meeting is to discuss the best measures to take to strengthen the Magdiwang government vis-à-vis the
enemy. We should avoid surrendering the headquarters of the Katipunan army should the Magdalo
eventually lose out.”
The chair next recognized the Supremo. He concurred with what Chairman Lumbreras had just
said and explained that the “K” in the middle of the sun in the Katipunan flag used in the Revolution stood
for Kalayaan (freedom). Mr. Severino de las Alas spoke again. He countered that the letter “K” and the sun
on the flag did not indicate whether the revolutionary government was democratic or not.
The Supremo replied that from the rank and file to the highest levels, the Katipunan was united in its respect
for universal brotherhood and equality of men. It was risking bloodshed and life itself in its struggle against
the king, in order to establish a sovereign and free government. In short, it stood for people’s sovereignty,
not a government led by only one or two.
Mr. Antonio Montenegro spoke in defense of Mr. Severino de las Alas’s stand. He argued that if
they would not agree on the kind of revolutionary government they were to have and that if they were to let
the status quo prevail, then they who were in the Revolution would be no better than a pack of bandits or
of wild, mindless animals.
General Apoy was hurt by these words of Mr. Montenegro. He quickly stood up and looked angrily
at the previous speaker. “We of the Katipunan,” he began, “are under the jurisdiction of our respected
Highest Council of the sons of the People. This Council is the defender of, and has authority over, the
Magdiwant and Magdalo governments of Cavite. We are true revolutionaries fighting for freedom of the
native land. We are not bandits who rob others of their property and wealth. Nor should we be likened to
beasts, for we know how to protect and defend others, especially the political refugees who seek asylum
with us. We are rational and we do not expose those who talk big but do not accomplish anything. If you
want to establish a different kind of government that is to your liking, you must do as we have done. Go
back to your localities and snatch them from Spanish control! Then you can do what pleases you; but don’t
you dare seek refuge among cowards who might call you bandits and beasts. And for everybody’s
satisfaction, I am now ordering you arrested!”
Captain General Apoy stopped speaking and looked intently at the person he was alluding to and
ordered a detachment under Maj. Damaso Fojas to keep him under guard. After a short while, Dr. Jose
Rizal’s sister, Trining, and his widow, Josephine, pleaded with General Apoy not to arrest Mr. Montenegro,
but to let him stay at the estate house where they themselves were staying. They volunteered to be held
personally responsible for Mr. Montenegro while in their custody. Captain General Apoy easily acceded to
the request.
 The strong and excited denunciation by Captain General Apoy of Mr. Montenegro alerted the
Magdiwang troops. The leaders eyed everyone suspiciously and wer only awaiting a signal from General
Apoy for them to begin shooting. Disorder ensued and disrupted the assembly.
When order was restored, some wanted the convention adjourned, but the Supremo Bonifacio
prevailed upon the others to continue. However, the presiding officer, Mr. Lumbreras, refused to resume
his role of chairman. He wanted to yield the chair to the Supremo whom he thought to be the rightful
chairman. The Katipunan, as you know,”

Mr. Lumbreras explained, “was responsible from the beginning for the spread of the revolutionary
movement throughout the Philippines. But because of the disaffection of some, this assembly was called
to establish a new overall revolutionary council. If we are to pursue this ambitious and important
undertaking, only the Supremo has the right to preside at this assembly, for he is the Father of the Katipunan
and the Revolution.”
Mr. Lumbreras’s speech was well received and his proposal was unanimously accepted. The
Supremo Bonifacio assumed the chairmanship accordingly and said, “Your aim is to establish a new overall
government of the Katipunan of the Sons of the People. This would repudiate the decisions made at the
meeting held at the friar estate house in Imus. In my capacity as President-Supremo” of the Most Venerable
Katipunan of the Sons of the People, I agree and we should respect all decisions properly discussed and
approved in all our meetings. We should respect and abide by the wishes of the majority.”
Because of a repeated clamor for the approval of the establishment of a government of the Philippine
Republic, the chair proceeded to prepare for an election to the following positions: president, minister of
finance, minister of welfare, minister of justice, and captain general.
The Supremo spoke again before the election began. He said that the candidate who would get
the most number of votes for each position should be the winner, no matter what his station in life or his
educational attainment. What should matter was theat the candidate had never been a traitor to the cause
of the Motherland. Everyone agreed and there were shouts of approval such as, “That is how it should be
– equality for everyone! Nobody should be higher noir lower than the other. May love of countryprevail!”
The Supremo Bonifacio appointed Gen. Artemio Ricarte as secretary. Then, with the help of Mr. Daniel
Tirona, he distributed pieces of paper to serve as ballots. When the ballots had been collected and the
votes were ready to be canvassed, Mr. Diego Mojica, the Magdiwang secretary of the treasury, warned the
Supremo that many ballots distributed were already filled out and that the voters had not done this
themselves. The Supremo ignored this remark. He proceeded with the business at hand as if nothing
unusual had happened.
When the votes for president were counted, Mr. Emilio Aguinaldo won over Mr. Andres Boninfacio,
the Supremo. The winner was acclaimed by applause and shouts of “Mabuhay!” ( Long live!).
Mr. Severino de las Alas spoke again to say that since the Supremo Bonifacio had received the
second highest number of votes for the presidency, he should be proclaimed vice-president of the
government of the Philippine Republic. When nobody signified approval or disapproval of the proposal, the
presiding officer, the Supremo Bonifacio ruled that the election be continued. For vice-president, Mr.
Mariano Trias won over Mr. Mariano Alvarez and the Supremo Bonifacio. General Vibora was elected
captain over General Apoy. General Vobora demurred, saying that he had neither the ability nor the right
to assume the new position. But General Apoy cut short his objections by saying that he personally vouched
for General Vibora’s competence and right to occupy the position to which he was elected. General Apoy’s
endorsement was greeted with shouts of “Long live the newlyh elected captain general!”
Mr. Baldomero Aguinaldo wanted the elections to be finished before it got too dark. To facilitate the
counting of votes, he suggested that for all other positions to be voted upon, voters should stand on one
side of the hall if in favor and on the other side if against. The suggestion was adopted for the rest of the
election. For the position of secretary of war, Mr. Emiliano R. de Dios was elected overwhelmingly over
messrs. Santiago V. Alvarez, Ariston Villanueva, and Daniel Tirona. After the voters had given the proper
honors to the new secretary of war, they proceeded to elect the secretary of the interior. Mr. Andres
Bonifacio, the Supremo, won over Mr. Mariano Alvarez. The crowd broke into shouts of “Mabuhay!” Mr.
Daniel Tirona requested for a restoration of order and then spoke aloud.
“My brethren, the office of secretary of the interior is of so great a scope and of such sensitivity that
we should not entrust it to one who is not a lawyer. One among us is a lawyer. He is Mr. Jose del Rosario.
Let us reconsider the choice for the last position, for, he has no credentials to show attesting to any
educational attainment. Then in as loud a voice as he could muster, Tirona shouted, “Let us elect Mr. Jose
del Rosario, the lawyer!” Great;y embarrassed, the Supremo Bonifacio quickly stood up and said, “We
agreed to abide by the majority vote and accept its choice no matter what the station in life of the person
elected. And because of this, I demand from you, Mr. Daniel Tirona, an apology. You must restore to the
voters and the one they elected the honor you have only now besmirched.”
Then he pulled out his revolver and took aim. Instead of replying, Mr. Tirona ignored the Supremo’s remarks
and, perhaps because of fear, he slid away and got lost in the crowd. Disorder ensued as the convention
secretary tried to disarm the Supremo, who was intent on shooting Mr. Tirona. The people began to disperse
and the Supremo adjourned the meeting with these words:
“In my capacity as chairman of this convention and as President-Supremo of the Most Venerable Katipunan
of the Sons of the People which association is known and acknowledged by all, I hereby declare null and
void all matters approved in this meeting.”
Then he left quickly and was followed by his aides and some others present.
 Mr. Baldomero Aguinaldo, the Magdalo president, did not leave San Francisco de Malabon that
night, in order to convince the Magdiwang leaders to reconvene the disrupted meeting the following day.
They agreed to his proposal. That same night rumor had it that Messrs. Mariano Trias, Daniel Tirona,
Emiliano R. de Dios, Santiago Rillo, and others were in the parish house of the Catholic Church at Tanza
(Santa Cruz de Malabon), and that they were conferring with the priest, Fr. Cenon Villafranca. Many
attested to seeing them, but no one knew what they talked about.
On the request of Magdalo Pres. Baldomero Aguinaldo, a meeting was called at the same friar
estate house in Tejeros. Called on the day after the tumultuous convention, its purpose was to continue
and revalidate the proceedings of the election meeting, to revive their former alliances, and to restore
cordiality and fraternal love in their relations. Aside from the Supremo Andres Bonifacio, among the
Magdiwang who attended were Messrs. Mariano Alvarez, Diego Mojica, Ariston Villanueva, Pascual
Alvarez, Jacinto Lumbreras, Santiago Alvarez, Artemio Ricarte, Nicolas Portilla, Santos Nocon, and Fr.
Manuel Trias, the parish priest of San Francisco de Malabon. They waited until five that afternoon, but none
of the Magdalo members came, not even their president who had initiated what would have been a
reconciliation meeting.
That same night it was rumored that the Magdalo leaders were currently holding their own meeting
at the parish house in Tanza. Though it had reason to be apprehensive bcause the Magdalo were meeting
in territory under its jurisdiction, the Magdiwang leadership looked the other way because the Magdalo were
hard-pressed for meeting places since its territories had all been taken by the Spanish enemy.
The next morning, 27 M arch 2897, eyewitnesses who had spied on the proceedings revealed that,
indeed, a meeting had taken place at the Tanza parish house and that the Supremo’s decisions regarding
the election at the friar estate house were not respected. These revelations surfaced despite denials from
many sectors.
At the gathering in the “Tanza parish house, those elected at the Tejeros convention knelt before
a crucifix and in the name of the Holy Father, the highest pontiff of the Roman Catholic church, invoked the
martyred saints and solemnly took their office. F. Cenon Villafranca officiated. With Messrs. Severino de
las Alas and Daniel Tiona as witnesses, the following took their oaths of office: Messrs. Emilio Aguinaldo,
Mariano C. Trias, and Artemio Ricarte. Conspicuously absent was the Supremo Andres Bonifacio, who was
not invited although he was one of those elected to office. It will be recalled that as chairman of the Tejeros
convention, he declared null and void all matters approved by the assembly because of a grave violation
of a principle agreed upon before the election.
It should be noted here that, unknown to the Matdiwang Council, the Magdalo posted troops to
guard the Tanza parish house for their oath-taking ceremonies. The troops were under strict orders not to
admit any of unwanted Magdiwang partisans. If the news about the secret ceremony had leaked out earlier,
and the underdogs in the power struggle had attempted to break into it, they would have been annihilated
then and there.
33
The Spaniards captured and occupied the town of Imus in the afternoon of 25 March 1897. They
left three days afterwards and marched into the San Francisco de Malabon territory up to the village of
Bakaw. When they reached Bakaw, they were intercepted by Mardiwang troops led by Supremo Bonifacio
and General Apoy. A pitched battle ensued. But the Magdiwang initiative was foiled by the arrival of a great
number of enemy reinforcements at the height of the encounter. In the face of such an unfavorable situation,
the Supremo decided on a tactical retreat to their fortifications. General apoy for his part, ordered Major
Baluyot to rally all other armed units of the Magdiwang army and assign them to the Tarike
fortifications in San Francisco de Malabon.
After the battle, the Spaniards encamped and rested in Bakaw, but throughout the night they were
harassed with potshots from small Katipunan bands. Anticipating that the enemy encamped at Bakaw would
try to penetrate the strong Dalahikan fortifications in Noveleta from the rear, General Apoy ordered General
San Miguel to pull out all troops from Dalahikan and transfer them to some other fort.
On 3 April, the Supremo made a bid to recapture Noveleta. General Vibora and Gen. Santos Nocon
accompanied him in the offensive, which lasted the whole day. But despite a fierce determination on their
part and heavy enemy losses, they were unable to dislodge the Spaniards.
A few days after the Supremo’s unsuccessful attempt to retake Noveleta, fresh Spanish
reinforcements began arriving in great numbers in the open fields to the west of Bakaw and along the
seashores of Noveleta and Salinas. At nine that morning, artillery fire from mountain cannons began
battering the San Francisco de Malabon fortifications, extending from Tejeros to Tarike. A two-hour shelling
was followed by ground attack by cavalry and infantry troops.
After preliminary skirmishes, man-to-man combat broke out at the Tarike fort. It became a fierce
battleground as the rebels made a valiant defense. Every head that emerged from either side was quickly
bashed in or severed at the neck. All that could be heard was the rattle of gleaming blades, the burst of
gunfire, and the thud of bodies as they fell against the earth. Wielding a variety of arms such as spears,
machetes, daggers, revolvers, and rifles, the combatants locked in struggle and fell together. In one
instance, the tip of a bayonet piercing somebody’s middle came out straight through the back of another
who himself had a pointed machete sticking in his chest. In another instance, one who was mortally
wounded by a sharp dagger inflicted killed by the other’s gun. Another pair who fell together each had
bayonet thrusts, one through the navel and the other above the chest. Some had severed heads, others,
severed hands or feet.
 General Apoy and the Supremo Bonifacio lost many gallant troops in this bloody and miserable
battle. Among those who died were the valiant Maj. Pio Baluyot and head soldiers Francisco Arnaldo, Juan
Brosas, Lucio Poblete, and Nicomedes Esguerra. The enemy rode roughshod over their bodies as they
rushed into town to raise their flag of victory and to burn houses.
Very early that morning before the battle, Captain General Apoy had visited the Tarike fort to boost
the morale of the Magdiwang and Balara troops. Then at past seven o’clock, they saw the Spaniards
massing a great number of their troops. The commanders of the Magdiwang and the Balara contingent’s
thgout it was the better part of discretion if the captain general was not with them inside the fort when the
expected attack took place. Thus,
Major Baluyot and Captain Olaes escorted him across the river to the west of the town of San
Francisco de Malabon. Gen. Pio del Pilar and his troops, along with a small detachment from Imus, came
to help the the defense of San Francisco de Malabon, but for some unknown reason he withdrew even
before the enemy could attack. He made his withdrawal without notifying those inside the fort.
Coming from Imus and Kawit, the enemy took Noveleta without resistance. They captured the
fortifications and collected Katipunan arms and ammunition. Coming in and spreading out into the open
fields around Imus, Kawit, Noveleta, and San Francisco de Malabon, they overwhelmed the People’s troops
with their sheer number.

READING 4.2

Seeds of Discontent2
By Teodoro A. Agoncillo
In the first flush of rebel victory climaxing the simultaneous attacks upon the Spanish garrisons and
convents, followed by the dismal failure of Governor-General Blanco to smash the insurgent power, the
Katipunan of Cavite divided into two factions, the Magdiwang and the Magdalo, immediately proceeded to
reorganize the province along partisan lines. Each faction exercised sovereign power over a number of
towns including those in Batangas bordering Cavite. Thus Talisay, a town in Batangas, was under the
Magdalo government, while Nasubgu, Tuwi and Look, in the same province, beloned to the Magdiwang.
As independent entities, the leaders of the town provincial councils never got together to elect one supreme
council that would hold sway over the entire province. The Magdiwang, proceeding with its election
independently of the Magdalo, chose the following men to administer its government: Mariano Alvarez,
President; Pascual Alvarez, Executive Secretary; Emiliano Riego de Dios, Minister of the Interior
(Pagpapaunlad); Mariano Trias, Minister of Grace and Justice; Ariston Villanueva, Minister of War; Snatiago
Alvarez, Commander-in-Chief; Diego Moxica, Minister of Finance; Artemio Ricarte and Mariano Riego de
Cios, Military commanders with the rank of Brigadier-General. ON the other hand, the Magdalo elected the
following to take the reins of its government; Baldomero Aguinaldo, President; Candido Tirona, Minister of
War; Cayetano Topacio, Minister of Finance; Emilio Aguinaldo, Commander-in-Chief; Edilberto
Evangelista, Lieutenant-General Vito Belarmino and Crispulo Aguinaldo, Military Commanders with the
rank of Brigadier-General. Since the organization of the Magdiwang, its capital had been Noveleta, but in
the early part of November, when General Blanco began his offensive, the capital was moved to San
Francisco de Malabon and later to Naik. The Magdalo, for its part, had its capital in Kawit and when it fell ,
Imus, San Francisco de Malabon, Naik and Maragondon successively became its seat.
An attempt was made by both factions to make their respective armies wear the same uniform. It
was agreed to adopt the following insignia: for the President’s cap, a sun with golden rays on a white
background, a K (Katipunan), and the letters A.N.B. (Anak ng Bayan), in the middle. The same insignia was
used for the sleeves. The Minister had the same insignia as the President’s except that the letters A.N.B.
were not included. The bands on the sleeves of a Minister, including the K, were of different colors according
to the Ministry to which each belonged. The Minister of War had a red K on a white background, a sun on
the cap, a sun on the left breast but none on the sleeves. The plan, however, did not go beyond the paper
stage, as the rebels did not have the means to buy the uniform.
When Cavite, led by its rival factions, successfully rose in revolt, the leaders fell into disputes arising
from the desire of one group to lord it over the other. Since both groups were responsible for the rebel
victories, either would bow to the other or allow itself to be placed under its rival’s command. There was no
serious open breach, but the silent conflict, more ominous that it appeared on the surface, threatened to
wreck the unity that in the beginning had done much to prevent the foe from overrunning the whole province
and annihilating the revolution at its very inception. It was this conflict, more than anything else,that led to
the rebel’s defeat at the hands of Polavieja. The Magdiwant faction, believing that as the initiator of the
revolution in Cavite it had the priority right to rule over the insurgents of the province, looked with disdain
at the way the Magdalo men refused to cooperate with it. The Magdalo followers, believing that most of the
victories in the whole territory were won by their leaders, wanted to appear the stronger and, therefore, the
better fitted to rule.

The situation, though not so serious on the surface, led the Magdiwang men to invite Andres
Bonifacio to visit Cavite and see for himself all that had been accomplished by the revolutionists in that area
and to intervene in the conflict. A delegate was sent to look for the Supremo in the mountains of Montalban
and Mariquina to apprise him of the urgent necessity of mediating on the widening rift between the two
popular councils. Bonifacio, informed of the situation, refused to heed the request of the Magdiwang leaders
on the ground that in order to succeed in the revolution against Spain the leaders must not be concentrated
in a single place. This preliminary contact with the Supremo resulted in the periodic exchanges of
communications between him and the Magdiwang chieftains. On the third invitaiotn, written by Artemio
Ricarte upon the instruction of Mariano Alvarez, Bonifacio acceded to the request. With his wife and two
brothers, Ciriaco and Procopio, Bonifacio left for Cavite about the middle of December 1896. Emilio
Aguinaldo, Candido Tirona and Edilberto Evangelista were on hand to meet the Supremo and his entourage
at Zapote. It was at this preliminary meeting that a misunderstanding arose between the Magdalo leaders
and Bonifacio, for the former, rightly or wrongly, saw from Bonifacio’s gestures and behavior that he
regarded himself superior and “acted as if he were a king.” Even so, the hard feelings that Bonifacio’s
unconscious and unintentional actions engendered remained submerged and flared up only in the Imus
Assembly. Bonifacio was brought by the rebel leaders to the house of Juan Castañeda in Imus, where he
was visited by Baldomero Aguinaldo, Daniel Tirona, Vicente Fernandez and others. The Supremo, upon
seeing Fernandez, ordered his arrest. For Bonifacio, remembering that Fernandez was the same man, who
had promised, before the battle of San Juan, to attack the Spaniards in Laguna and Morong simultaneously
with
Bonifacio’s offensive in San Juan del Monte but whose promise was never carried out, now saw
his chance to punish the offender. Bonifacio blamed him for the defeat in San Juan and was determined
that he should not go unpunished. As Supremo Head of the Katipunan, Bonifacio took it for granted that he
would be obeyed by all. To his surprise and dismay, the Magdalo chieftains, to whom Fernandez had run
for shelter refused to give up their man. The Supremo by then had realized that he had very little, if any,
influence in the Magdalo area. With doubts crisscrossing his mind and misgivings assailing his heart,
Bonifacio, on January 2, 1897, wrote from San Francisco de Malabon to his uncle-n-law, Mariano Alvarez:

President Mainam: Don’t fail to come this very moment for I want to talk to you privately about what
happened to me in Magdalo and so that you might explain their organization to me.
Meanwhile, Esteban San Juan invited Bonifacio to attend the demonstration of the Magdiwang rebels in
Noveleta. Accompanied by San Juan himself, Baldomero Aguinaldo and Candido Tirona, Bonifacio arrived
at Noveleta amidst the enthusiastic acclamation of the people. At three in the afternoon, a parade took
place in which Bonifacio, riding in a carriage and flanked on both sides by the Magdiwang soldiers in red
uniform, was the object of the demonstration. As the parade wound its way toward San Francisco de
Malabon, the people shouted, “Long live the ruler of the Philippines!” to which Bonifacio answered: “Long
live Philippine Liberty!” Upon arriving at Malabon, he was quartered in the house of Santos Nocon and,
later, in the house of Mrs. Estafania Potente, where he stayed until the Spaniards captured the town in April
1897.
THE MISUNDERSTANDING THAT existed between the followers of the Magdiwang and the Magdalo, so
destructive of the Katipunan plans, deepened into mutual suspicion and jealousies that resulted in military
reverses in several sectors. Polavieja’s counter-offensives led to the fall of several towns hitherto held by
the rebels, and the attitude of non-cooperation exhibited by one faction when the other was harassed by
the enemy led, as it must, to disaster in the field. The situation, both camps believed, could only be remedied
by coming together and threshing out differences of opinion and solving, ultimately, the question of
leadership in the province. For the purpose, the leaders of the Magdiwang and the Magdalo decided to call
a convention or assembly at Imus.
In the assembly hall, the two factions met (on December 31, 1896) and exchanged the usual
greetings. Bonifacio entered, proceeded to the head of the table and unceremoniously occupied the chair.
He beckoned to the Magdiwang Ministers to sit at his right side. This obvious partiality to the Magdiwang
was resented by the Magdalo, for as Supreme Head of the Katipunan who was called upon the mediate
between the two factions, Bonifacio was expected to show impartiality. But his actions in the case were
motivated by his regard for his wife’s uncle, Mariano Alvarez, the President of the Magdiwang – a fact that
aggravated their situation. Even so, the Magdalo men did not show their resentment but kept silent in order
to prevent further misunderstanding between the followers of both camps. Seeing that Bonifacio had called
his Ministers, Baldomero Aguinaldo, President of the Magdalo, without being invited, sat to the left of
Bonifacio. General Emilio Aguinaldo, seeing his position as a purely military one, was content to be a mere
observer. He had, however, a plan of his own. Since it was the intention of his faction to propose the
establishment of a revolutionary government, he had decided beforehand that in the coming election for
the presidency he would nominate and support Edilberto Evangelista, since among them all “Evangelista
was the best educated.” Bonifacio knew of Aguinaldo’s active electioneering in favor of Evangelista and
was deeply hurt, for as founder and Supreme Head of the Katipunan he felt that the presidency should be
given to him as a reward.
The assembly opened with Bonifacio as Chairman. It was evident, when Baldomero Aguinaldo
made the proposal to establish a revolutionary government, that the two factions would never come to an
understanding. The Magdalo men contended that the continuance of the Katipunan government was no
longer necessary, for since the start of the Revolution the Society had ceased to remain a secret society
and must therefore be supplanted by one that would be better fit the situation. The Magdalo people further
contended that being small, Cavite must not be divided between the two factions. On the other hand, the
Magdiwang followers argued that the Katipunan already had a constitution and by-laws duly approved and
enforced in the Islands and that, by virtue of this, provincial and municipal governments in and around
Manila had already been established. There was, therefore, no necessity of establishing a new government.
Even so, the Magdiwang Minister of War, Ariston Villanueva, stood up and said that if a new government
was to be established, Andres Bonifacio, who had organized and planned the entire revolutionary
movement, must of right occupy the presidency without election. Further, he pointed out that as Chairman
and Supremo, Bonifacio should be given blanket authority to appoint the Ministers. The Magdalo group
strenuously objected and insisted on the election. The discussion became heated and did not accomplish
any tangible result. The assembly was adjourned and each faction left without any definite understanding.
Suspicions and jealousies continued to plague the ranks of the rebels and even among the
members of the same faction petty quarrels continued to come up. The Magdalo followers suspected the
Magdiwang of courting the favor of the Spaniards, while the same suspicion was aroused in the Magdiwang
as regards the Magdalo. In a situation where the Magdalo needed the help of the Magdiwang, the latter, to
which Bonifacio belonged, refused to come to the aid of the former. Moreover, the Magdiwang followers
were themselves occupied, now and then, with petty jealousies and quarrels that tended to demoralize the
soldiers. Thus, when the town fiesta of San Francisco de Malabon was held in January 1897, the rebels,
then enjoying the afternoon games, were disturbed by a series of rifle shots that sent them scampering
away to places of safety. Thinking that the enemy was approaching, Ariston
Villanueva and Santiago Alvarez gathered their men and prepared to meet an attack. They later
found out that the rifle shots came from the men of Captain Mariano San Gabriel, also a Magdiwang man,
who trigger-happy, had fired several shots in the air. Alvarez’s men tried to disarm the offending soldiers,
but instead were themselves disarmed. Alvarez was furious and demanded that San Gabriel disarm his
men. The latter refused and left for Noveleta. It was only through Ricarte’s intervention that the two men,
Alvarez and San Gabriel, were brought together again as comrades.
The situation had not eased up a bit when the leaders of the Magdiwang planned to hold another
convention, this time in the estate-house of Tejeros, a Madiwang territory situated about two kilometers
from San Francisco de Malabon and about half a kilometer under the Magdalo, comprising the towns of
Kawit, Bakood and Imus, was at the time seriously threatened by the Spanish army which occupied the
estate-house of Salitran and which had dug in as a preparatory step to the battle that was about to
commence. General
Emilio Aguinaldo, leading the Magdalo soldiers, faced the Spaniards in Salitran, a barrio between the towns
of Imus and Dasmariñas. It was March 22, 1897, Aguinaldo’s birthday, when simultaneously the battle
raged and the assembly convened at Tejeros.
The delegates, mostly belonging to the Magdiwang, lazily trooped that sultry afternoon to the
spacious estate-house of Tejeros. Some of the men were barefoot; others wore buri hats or were dressed
in barong Tagalog. They came from all directions from Kawit, Noveleta and Imus to the north; from Tanza
to the west, and from San Francisco de Malabon to the northeast. The estate-house, surrounded by stone
walls and built in the middle of the six-hectare farm owned by the friars and now in rebel hands, had 60-
meter frontage. The entrance was through an arched gate connected to the rear arched gate by a long and
wide corridor. To the right, a few meters from the front gate, were the stairs. Directly opposite the stairs was
a storage room, and next to it, to the rear, was the chapel. Directly opposite this and next to the stairs was
another storage room. Up the stairs was the big hall, with the doors of thirty-four rooms opening to it. In the
rear of a room to the right were the dining room and the azotea that commanded a beautiful view of the
fields around and the murky Ilog Kawayan on whose banks thick clumps of bamboo protected the house
from the glare of the sun. The estate-house stood alone in that wide expanse of riceland. Directly opposite
the house and across the road was more riceland (tubigan). The long raod that commenced from the town
of
Salinas led directly to San Francisco de Malabon, and half a kilometer from the estate house it
branched off to the right, where a bridge connected the latter town to the town of Tanza or Santa Cruz de
Malabon.
It was this place, the former summer resort of the friars that witnessed the first important election
held under the auspices of the Katipunan government. An invitation was sent by the Magdiwang chieftains
to the Magdalo followers to attend the meeting, but because of the battle then raging around the locality not
all the Magdalo leaders were able to attend. The Magdiwang was represented by Andres Bonifacio, Mariano
Alvarez, Pascual Alvarez, Santiago Alvarez, Luciano San Miguel, Mariano Trias, Severino de las Alas,
Santos Nocon and others, while Magdalo was represented by Baldomero Aguinaldo, Daniel Tirona,
Cayetano Topacio, Antonio Montenegro and others. The estate-house buzzed with life as more rebels,
some of them uninvited, came to the convention. It was past two in the afternoon when the meeting was
formally opened.
Jacinto Lumbreras, acting president of the Magdiwang, took the chair and opened the convention with
introductory remarks summing up the purpose of the meeting. To his right sat Teodoro Gonzales, also a
Magdiwang, who acted as secretary. Severino de las Alas, a Magdiwang, immediately took the floor and
explained that before discussing ways and means of defending such a small area as Cavite, the convention
assembled should first of all agree upon the kind of government that should be set up to administer the
whole country under the prevailing circumstances. “From this government,” he said, “any thing that is
necessary in the defense of the country can emanate.” The presiding officer, however, reminded the
speaker that a government had already been established upon the founding of the Katipunan, its
Supreme Council, its Provisional Councils and its Popular Councils, and that the meeting was called to
adopt defensive measures. At this juncture, Bonifacio spoke and supplemented Lumbreras’ explanation,
calling the attention of those assembled to the Katipunan with a K in the middle, which embodied the ideal
of the revolutionists, namely, liberty. De las Alas, not contented with the Supremo’s explanation, countered
that the K in the flag of the Katipunan did not in any way identify the kind of government that they had,
whether such government was monarchical or republican. Bonifacio remarked that all the Katipuneros, from
the Supreme Head to the lowest member, recognized the principle of Unity, Fraternity and Equality. “It can
be seen” he said, “that the Government of the Association of the Sons of the People is republican in form.”

The discussion was going nowhere and tempers ran high as the men insisted on their own points
of view. So far, the discussion was between the men of the same faction. In an unfortunate moment, a
Magdalo man, Antonio Montenegro, stood up and, shouting at the top of his voice, took issue with Bonifacio.
“If we do not act upon the suggestion of Mr. de las Alas,” he said, “we, the rebels will be likened unto a
mere pack of highway robbers, or worse, like animals without reason.” The words, uttered in good faith and
in the belief that something must be done to have a new government organized, touched off a sensitive
spot in the hearts of the Magdiwang listeners. Santiago Alvarez, a Magdiwang, pricked to anger, took the
floor and, throwing a malicious side-glance at Montenegro, retorted: “We, the rebels of Cavite, especially
those under the Magdiwang, recognize the Government organized by the Association of the Sons of the
People. And if you want to set up another form of government, you can go back your province and wrest
the authority from the Spaniards, as we have already done. As such, you can do whatever you want to and
nobody would interfere with you. We of Cavite,” he added with a meaning full of bitterness, “we of Cavite
do not need and will never need any adviser of your own standing only.”
Pandemonium reigned as the voice of Santiago Alvarez boomed inside the spacious sala. His
bodyguards, planted near the stairs, moved ominously – all set to fire at those inside the hall. Lumbreras,
sensing the explosive situation, tactfully called a recess to give sufficient time for the angry men to cool off.
At the end of an hour, the meeting was resumed. Jacinto
Lumbreras, seeing that it would be useless for him to continue to preside in such an atmosphere,
refused to take the chair, saying. “As the question under discussion is completely outside of what is
mentioned in the agenda of the meeting and is concerned instead with the establishment of an over-all
government of the revolution, I should not continue to preside over this session.” Then he took his seat
among the members, and Andres Bonifacio, who was acclaimed by all to succeed him, took the chair as
the presiding officer by virtue of his being the President of the Supreme Council of the Katipunan. He then
called the meeting to order an said: “As you desire to set up a supreme government to direct the revolution,
abolishing what was organized by the Katipunan and repudiating the resolution approved in the Assembly
of Imus, as President of the Supreme Council of the Katipunan, I accede to your just petition, but first of all
I want to ask you to recognize a principle as a basis of agreement in this or in other meetings, which is: that
we respect and obey the will of the majority.” Those present saw the justice and wisdom of his proposition
and assented unanimously.
The Republic of the Philippines was then and there proclaimed amidst enthusiastic hurrahs. With
a new form of government determined to take the place of the Katipunan, the election of officers was then
prepared. Nine officers were to be elected by popular vote, namely, President, Vice-President, Captain-
General, Director of War, Director of Interior, Director of State, Director of Finance, Director of Fomento
and Director of Justice. Before proceeding with the election, Bonifacio, probably assailed by all he electors
representing the different regions of the Philippines to the principle that whoever would be elected should
be recognized and respected regardless of his social condition and education. The proposal, made in the
form of a mere statement and reminder, was approved, for in that convention very few, if any, were men of
high intellectual attainments. The ballots were prepared and distributed. The balloting was made
successively, that is, the office of the President was first voted upon, after which the other offices were filled
in singly. After an hour, the ballots were cast for the presidency, and Emilio Aguinaldo won in absentia over
Andres Bonifacio and Mariano Trias. The President-elect was proclaimed with loud shouts and applause.
Before the ballots were cast for the Vice-Presidency, Severino de las Alas stood up and suggested
that in as much as Bonifacio had received the second largest number of votes he should automatically be
allowed to occupy the Vice-Presidency. The men assembled appeared lukewarm to the suggestion, there
being no one who approved or disapproved it. Consequently, Bonifacio decided to continue with the election
of the Vice-President. Mariano Trias was elected to the position over Andres Bonifacio, Severino de las
Alas and Mariano Alvarez. The election of the Captain-General came next and Ricarte, the acting Secretary
fo the convention, came out over Santiago Alvarez. With a modesty that sprang from the realization of the
responsibility attached to the position, Ricarte stood up and declared: “None better than I know my own
limitations and fitness: the position with which this assembly honors me is beyond my scant ability and
strength; to me it is a very honorable position but its horizon is too wide for me: so I request the assembly
not to resent my refusal to accept it. Ricarte’s modesty, genuine or assumed, proved effective. Cries of
disapproval followed his request to be relieved, and the disturbance created by the enthusiastic followers
of the General forced Bonifacio to call the meeting to order. Then” “It is getting dark,” he said, “so we have
to proceed to the election to other positions.” Somebody suggested that in order to expedite the election to
the remaining positions, the electors should step to one side when their candidates were called, a proposal
that was immediately approved. In this manner, the following were elected: Director of War, Emiliano Riego
de Dios, who won over Ariston Villanueva, Daniel Tirona and Santiago Alvarez, Director of Interior, Andres
Bonifacio, who won over Mariano Alvarez and Pascual Alvarez.
The election of Bonifacio gave rise to an incident that nearly ended in a bloody affair. Amidst the
acclamations that followed the announcement of his election, Daniel Tirona, a Magdalo man, stood up and
said: “The position of Director of the Interior is an exalted one and it is not meet that a person without a
lawyer’s diploma should occupy it. We have in our province a lawyer, Jose del Rosario; therefore, we should
protest against the elected and acclaimed.” And, shouting at the top of his voice, he added: “Let us vote for
Jose del Rosario!” No one, however, took up the suggestion which was shouted four times. Nevertheless,
Bonifacio felt insulted and he turned crimson with anger. Controlling himself, he demanded that Daniel
Tirona retract what he had said. “Did we not agree,” he added, ”that we have to abide by the decision of
the majority whatever may be the social standing of the elected?” He insisted that Tirona give satisfaction
to the assembly for his defamatory words. But Tirona ignored Bonifacio and tried to lose himself in the
crowd. In the flush of his anger, Bonifacio whipped out his pistol to fire at Tirona but Ricarte grabbed his
hand and thus prevented what might have been a tragic affair. The people then began to leave the hall,
and Bonifacio, frustrated and deeply wounded in feeling, cried aloud: “I, as chairman of this assembly, and
as President of the Supreme Council of the Katipunan, as all of you do not deny, declare this assembly
dissolved.” With this parting statement, he left the hall, followed by his men.

THE SEED OF DISCONTENT, resulting from his failure to get the presidency, and which was by
the unfortunate attitude of Danel Tirona, who, by another sad coincidence, belonged to the opposite faction,
found fertile ground in Bonifacio’s heart and mind. Aside from the fact that as founder of the Katipunan and
the initiator of the Revolution he believed he should have been given the presidency, he contended that
irregularities were committed by the Magdalo men and that he would have been elected had it not been for
the premeditated frauds of the rival faction. Writing to his uncle-in-law, Mariano Alvarez, he said:
MY DEAR GENERAL MAINAM:

Our recently ended election at Mapagtiis [San Francisco de Malabon] has left a large poisonous
thorn in my heart. I reiterate to you my nullification of all that had been agreed upon there. Ay,
General, I never expected that my complacency and faithfulness would be rewarded with avarice
and insult upon my person by your fellow townsmen who are false patriots. I shall make them
realize when I set foot on Morong soil that it was not I whom they insulted but the whole country.
Send me food at once and faithful soldiers of the Mother Country here at Limbon as fulfillment of
your promised help when I left in disquietitude. Your supremo, And. Bonifacio, Mapagasa.

Giving vent to his resentment over the procedure and results of the elections, Bonifacio, in a letter to his
friend, Emilio Jacinto, then in Laguna explained his side and gave the background of the event:
The majority of those in the convention determined to organize a government; but I gave them to
understand that this could not be done on account of the absence of the representatives of other
districts, aside from an agreement having already been made at the convention at Imus; that all
this annulled the majority, because in view of the present critical situation of those pueblos there
was no time to wait for the representatives from other places, and the Imus Convention lacked
validity on account of the alleged absence of the minutes. Nevertheless, I assured those present
there that in case the manifest will of the people governed in the election of officers, I would respect
it.

***
Moreover, before the election began, I discovered the underhand work of some of the Imus crowd
who had quietly spread the statement that it was not advisable that they be governed by men from other
pueblos, and that they should for this reason strive to elect Captain Emilio as President. As soon as I heard
of this, I said that this meeting was dirty work, because this was what they were after and they were
deceiving the people, adding that if they wished me to point out, one by one, those who were conducting
themselves in this matter, I would do so. The majority said that this was no longer necessary. I also said
that if the manifest will of the people was not complied with, I would not recognize the chiefs elected, and if
I did not recognize them they would not be recognized by our people there, either. Don Artemio Ricarte,
the General elect, also said at the meeting that this election was due to bad practices.