CHAPTER 11

THE REVOLUTION OF 1896

What were the economic, social, and political conditions in 1896 that
justified a nationwide revolt against Spanish colonial rule in favor of
separation or independence? Were the people ready and united to act?
Was the Katipunan, as the leading organization in that time, ready for its
role?

By 1896, there were concrete and objective conditions in the economy,

society, and governance that justified revolution at that time of the
Katipunan, The people, however, were not totally united. The wealthy and
educated class was divided on the issue of independence and the use of
force to obtain it. It was the masses, mostly the poor, less educated, and
illiterate, led by the Katipunan, who were ready. Unfortunately, the conflict
over leadership inside the Katipunan (the elite versus the non-elite)
caused the rift that resulted in the tragic death of Bonifacio, founder and
leader of the armed revolution.

Ironically, it was the martyrdom of Rizal (who had disengaged himself from
the actual plan of the Katipunan), that led to the downfall of Spanish rule in
the Philippines. The poet, Cecilio Apostol, expressed it well, “Que si una
bala destrozó tu craneo, tu idea, en cambio, destruyó un imperio.”
(Though a bullet pierced or destroyed your skull, your idea destroyed an
empire.) From here, despite the tragedy in the Cavite, the lack of arms,
and loss of many lives, the Filipinos fought valiantly towards freedom and
independence of a nation yet to be born.

Conditions before the Revolution

Late in 1895, when Bonifacio was busy propagating the political ideals of
the Katipunan in many towns around Manila, some Spanish authorities
were already suspecting a brewing unrest related to an underground
society whose purpose was to end Spanish rule. However, they had no
clear proof of its existence. The friars informed the governor-general about
their suspicions but the governor did not believe them.

Consequently, nothing was done about this, but rumors continued to reach
the friars through their spies. One such example was the secret gathering
in Batangas where rifles and other weapons were being smuggled
occasionally along the coast of the province. It was also rumored that the
weapons came from Hong Kong and Yokohama. So persistent were the
rumors tha the governor-general, in order to mollify the friars, ordered the
banishment of some prominent citizens of Batangas and Bulacan.

The friars suspicions were correct all along. Undoubtedly, there was a
general dissatisfaction among the Filipinos. Money was difficult to get.
Very few Filipinos were gainfully employed. While there was no starvation,
the life of the people was far from prosperous. The common people were
suffering from heavy taxation, from abusive friars and civil authorities, and
from lack of economic opportunities. While the government was spending
millions of pesos for the army and navy, the amount being spent for public
improvement was pitifully small. For example, the budget for the fiscal
year 1894-95, the eve of the revolution, the expenditure for the
Department of War and Navy totaled more than six million and a half peso,
while the expenditure for public works was only Php 628,752. 46. This
showed that very little was spent for improvements in public works which
would benefit the people.

Of all the causes of the people’s dissatisfaction, the most serious were the
abuses of the Spanish-friars and civil authorities alike. The personal honor
and dignity of the Filipinos were taken for granted. They were physically
maltreated in public places and unjustly ordered to be executed or
banished to faraway places like Guam, Jolo, and Palawan, on suspicions
of committing crimes, even pretty ones. The institution of forced labor
provided opportunities for rampant abuse of Filipinos by the Spaniards.
For three hundred years, the Filipinos suffered these abuses in silence.
However, the seed of hatred had been planted in their hearts, even when
outwardly they were smiling and saying, “Si, Senor,” to every command of
a Spaniard.

The discovery of the Katipunan

Father Mariano Gil was the Parish curate of Tondo, Province of Manila. He
was one of the friars who had earlier warned the Spanish civil authorities
that this society, with the aim to kill all Spaniards in the country, had been
recruiting members. But the Spanish civil authorities did not listen to him
until a Katipunero by the name of Teodoro Patiño came to see him one
afternoon. Patiño had visited his sister in an orphanage in Mandaluyong
which was then a suburb of the province of Manila. Having quarreled with
another Katipunero, Patiño told his sister about the Katipunan and its
aims. The sister cried when she heard about the aims of the society. She
told the Madre Portera of the orphanage about it. The latter advised
Teodoro Patiño to tell Father Mariano Gil all about the Katipunan. Acting
on this advice, Patiño went to see Father Gil that afternoon of August 19,
1896; and revealed to him what he knew about the plans of the Katipunan.

Father Gil immediately rushed to the headquarters of the Manila Police

and informed the officers regarding Patiño’s revelation. In the printing shop
of the daily newspaper, Diario de Manila, Father Gil, the police, and the
owner of the newspaper, found some Katipunan receipts and other pieces
of evidences pointing to the existence of the secret society. Patiño told
Father Gil that the pieces of evidence were genuine. As such, the police
was convinced and to avert a possible rebellion, they raided many hoses
in Manila and the suburbs looking for alleged members of the Katipunan.
That night of August 19, the police arrested many innocent Filipinos.

The Cry of the Pugadlawin

Bonifacio wanted the wealthy Filipinos to help finance the Katipunan in its
struggle to free the country from Spain. He ordered some of his trusted
men to approach the rich Filipinos and ask for contributions to the society.
Francisco L. Roxas, a Spaniard born in the Philippines, who considered
this country as his own, was asked to support the society. He was a
millionaire, who belonged to a family that owned vast tracts of lands and
put up the San Miguel Brewery. When he heard about the Katipunan, he
got angry and threatened to tell the police about it. Many wealthy Filipinos
refused to help the Katipunan, with a few exceptions like the physician, Dr.
Pio Valenzuela.

In spite of the refusal by the wealthy Filipinos to help the Katipunan,

Bonifacio and his men did not lose hope. When the Katipunan was
discovered in August 19, Bonifacio was in Caloocan with his wife,
Gregoria de Jesus. Fearing that he might be arrested if he remained in
Caloocan, Bonifacio decided to move to Balintawak, He ordered his
“runners” to inform all Katipuneros that there would be a meeting in
Balintawak on August 24. Accompanied by four men, Bonifacio reached
Balintawak at midnight of the 21st, in the afternoon, about 500 Katipuneros
left Sitio Kangkong, a part of Balintawak, and arrived at the next sitio
called Pugadlawin the following day.

A huge meeting was held at the yard of Juan A. Ramos, the son of
Melchora Aquino or Tandang Sora, known as the “Mother of Katipunan.”
Bonifacio asked his men whether they were prepared to fight for freedom
and independence. Everyone shouted they were prepared to die. “In that
case,” Bonifacio told them, “bring out your cedulas and tear them to pieces
to show that we are prepared to take up arms!” All the men brought out
their cedulas and tore them to pieces. The ground was littered with those
pieces of paper, which to the Katipuneros, symbolized their slavery. Then
they shouted in one voice, “Long live the Philippines! Long live the
Katipunan!” This event, which happened on August 23, is known as the
“Cry of the Pugadlawin.” It symbolized the determination of the Filipinos to
fight for independence even unto death.

The fighting begins

While the event at the Pugadlawin was happening, a group of

Katipuneros, who had come from Manila, informed Bonifacio that the civil
guards were following them and that they were about to inspect the
mountains. Because of their inferior weapons, Bonifacio adviced his men
to retreat to another sitio, called Pasong Tamo. On August 25, some
women notified Bonifacio that civil guards and infantrymen were coming. A
burst of gunfire followed. The Katipuneros deployed themselves and
deliberately fell to the ground to avoid being hit. A short skirmish ensued in
which one civil guard and two Katipuneros were killed.

The Spaniards and their hired Filipino soldiers, thinking that the rebels
were strong, retreated. The rebels, believing their weapons were inferior to
those of the civil guards, also retreated to Balara. From here, they
proceeded to Marikina and on to Hagdang Bato. On August 28, Bonifacio
issued a manifesto telling the people to take up the Filipino cause. He also
set the attack on the City of Manila for August 29, 1896. He ended his
manifesto by saying that, “”Anybody who obstructs this secret ideal of the
people will be considered a traitor and an enemy.”

The proposed attack on Manila did not take place because Bonifacio and
his men lacked reinforcements and necessary supply of arms and
ammunition to carry out the plan. Instead, Bonifacio ordered his men to
attack the arsenal located at San Juan del Monte. A fighting broke out
between the attacking Filipino forces and the defending Spanish soldiers
on August 30, 1896. The latter, knowing that it would be foolish to fight the
numerically superior Filipino head-on, fought a delaying battle while
waiting for reinforcements. When they arrived, the Spaniards drove back
Bonifacio and his men, who suffered heavy losses.

Martial Law

The revolutionary flame was rapidly spreading to other provinces of

Central Luzon and the southern Tagalog provinces of Cavite, Laguna, and
Batangas. Faced with this ever-increasing threat, the Spanish colonial
government initiated a reign of terror to frighten the people into
submission. Arrests of mere suspects continued. Governor-general
Ramon Blanco issued a decree on August 30 to prevent the spread of the
revolution. The first eight provinces which rose in arms - Cavite, Manila,
Laguna, Batangas, Bulacan, Pampanga, Tarlac and NuevaEcija - were
placed under martial law. The decree further provided that those who
would surrender within forty-eight hours after the publication of the decree
would not be tried by the military court. This policy, known as Blanco’s
policy of attraction, was intended to win over the Filipinos to the side of
the government and thus, end the rebellion. Some Filipinos, among them
Dr. Pio Valenzuela and a few of his companions, took advantage of this
provision and surrendered to the government.

Persecution continues

The reign of terror did not stop with the proclamation of martial law in the
first eight provinces that rebelled against Spain. The colonial government
continued its policy of repression to cow the people into silence. The
suspects and Manila and the provinces were punished without trial. Heads
of families were shipped to the Carolines in the Pacific and to the Spanish
penal colony in Africa. Fort Santiago was packed with hundreds of
prisoners, most of whom were innocent. Many died when the waters of the
Pasig River entered the lower portion of the cells, while others died of
suffocation. Some wealthy Filipinos, like Luis R. Yangco, were arrested for
allegedly having connections with the Katipunan.

In reality, the Spanish authorities wanted to extort money from them,

promising them their freedom if they would pay for it. In some places, like
Bulacan, the Spaniards massacred many people. Men were tortured to
force them to tell on their friends and even relatives. In many cases, the
suspects were shot to death without any trial. On September 4, 1896, four
Katipuneros were executed in Bagumbayan Field, which is now a part of
the Rizal Park in Manila. Eight days later, thirteen suspects from Cavite
were executed. Today, the people of Cavite call them the “Thirteen
Martyrs of Cavite.” On January 4, 1897, the Spaniards killed twelve
Bicolano patriots, and in Kalibo, which was then part of Capiz, nineteen
patriots were also shot to death. Blood flowed like the waters of a river.
Many Filipinos, instead of staying at home, joined their countrymen in the
field of battle.

Rizal’s execution

The height of the Spanish brutality in the Philippines came when the
government ordered Rizal’s trial and execution. Rizal had been in Dapitan,
Zamboanga Del Norte since 1892. He had lived there peacefully, helping
the people in their work. In 1896, he asked the government to allow him to
go to Cuba to serve as a military surgeon. The Cubans then were fighting
for their independence from their Spanish masters. Rizal’s request was
granted; so from Dapitan, he was brought to Manila Bay where he waited
for a streamer that would take him to Cuba by way of Spain. He was in a
Spanish cruiser in Manila Bay when the revolution broke out. He refused
to be rescued when revolutionaries offered to save him. He was
transferred to the streamer when it arrived in Manila.

Sailing for Spain on the way to Cuba, Rizal was ordered to return to
Manila. The ship was near Spain at that time. Upon reaching Spain, he
was detained and then shipped back to Manila. He was imprisoned in Fort
Santiago and later, was tried as a traitor to Spain. Rizal defended himself
with the help of a Spanish military lawyer. He strongly denied any
connection with the Katipunan and the plan to topple the government. He
explained that since his exile in Dapitan, he had stopped any political
involvement with groups.

But the military court did not listen to his arguments. He was sentenced to
be shot to death. His parents, brother, and sisters appealed to the
governor-general for pardon, but the governor refused to grant their
request. Another appeal was made to the Minister of War in Spain, but he
also did not grant the appeal. Rizal was executed early in the morning of
December 30, 1896. His execution did not dishearten the revolutionists; in
the contrary, they resolved to fight to the bitter end. Rizal’s execution, in
fact, emboldened the Filipinos to fight for their country and its
independence.
Bonifacio goes to Cavite

Meanwhile, in Cavite, Emilio Aguinaldo, the young mayor of the town of

Kawit, led the rebels against the Spaniards. He won victory after victory
and people, admiring his qualities as a military leader, called him Heneral
Miong. His famous victory was in Imus when he defeated the Spanish
army contingent, under the command of Ernesto de Aguirre, on
September 5, 1896. The latter, in his haste to avoid being captured, left his
sword behind. Aguinaldo took his sword and kept it as a memento of his
victory. At that time, the Katipunan in Cavite was divided into two fractions:
the Magdiwang and the Magdalo. The rivalry between the two fractions
led to several defeats of the revolutionists. Bonifacio was requested to go
to Cavite to mediate between the factions. Accompanied by his wife and
the two brothers, Bonifacio arrived in Cavite toward the end of December
1896. An assembly was held in Imus on December 31, 1896, to determine
whether the Katipunan should be transformed into another body with
governmental powers. The Magdiwang favored the retention of the
Katipunan, while the Magdalo favored a change in the Katipunan
structure. Nothing resulted from this meeting.

The Tejeros Convention

The Spanish army was trying to its best to subjugate Cavite, which was
now a major battleground of the revolution. Town after town fell into the
hands of the Spaniards. Faced with this bitter fact, the rebels decided to
meet at Tejeros, San Francisco de Malabon, (now General Trias). On
March 22, 1897, a convention was held at the estate house of Tejeros,
which the rebels had captured from the friars. During the second part of
the convention, this was presided over by Bonifacio with Artemio Ricarte
as secretary, the member who were present agreed to form a new
government. Officials of this government were to be elected by those
present in the convention. It was also agreed unanimously that whoever
would be elected would be respected by everyone, regardless of
economic status and education. The result of the election placed the
following Katipuneros into office:
 President……………………... Emilio Aguinaldo
Vice President………………...…. Mariano Trias
Captain General………….……. Artemio Ricarte
Director of War……..… Emiliano Riego de Dios
Director of the Interior………. Andres Bonifacio

When Bonifacio was being proclaimed, Daniel Tirona, a member of the

faction Magdalo, stood up and said that Jose del Rosario, an attorney from
Cavite was more qualified for the position and should be elected in the
place of Bonifacio. Bonifacio was hurt by this protest because it had been
agreed upon that everybody would respect the outcome of the election.
Bonifacio demanded that Tirona take back what he said but the latter
refused. Bonifacio took out his pistol and aimed at Tirona when Ricarte
quickly held his hand. The angry Bonifacio, being the incumbent Supremo
of the Katipunan, declared the results of the election as null and void.
Then he and his men hurriedly left the place.

Another meeting at Tejeros

The following day, March 23, Bonifacio, Ricarte and many others met at
the same place. They agreed to issue a document which would put on
record what happened in the election that was held the previous day. This
document was called Acta de Tejeros (Minutes of Tejeros). However, the
report on the proceedings of the convention contained a resolution.
Hence, it should rightly be called Tejeros Resolution. In this document,
Bonifacio and those present, numbering about forty-five in all, gave their
reasons for rejecting the results of the previous day’s election and fraud
committed by the Magdalo people. After signing the resolution, the men
followed Bonifacio to Naik.

The Naik Military Agreement

Still angry with Daniel Tirona, who insulted him, Bonifacio, now in the town
of Naik, Cavite, persuaded his men to draw up another document. It was a
military agreement in which another government would be established.
General Pio Del Pilar was to become the commander of this army.
Obviously, the head of the government to be established was Bonifacio
himself. Among those who signed the document, aside from Bonifacio and
his brothers were Artemio Ricarte, Pio Del Pilar, and Severino de las Alas.

The execution of Bonifacio

After signing the Naik military agreement, Bonifacio, his wife, and his two
brothers, and some followers, left for the town of Indang and settled in the
barrio of Limbon. Meanwhile, Aguinaldo, who claimed he was sick at that
time, heard about the Naik agreement, for which he sent an emissary with
some soldiers to persuade Bonifacio to recognize the Tejeros election
results, and thus present a unified stand against the enemy. Colonel
Agapito Bonzon, who headed the party to contact Bonofacio, used force
on Bonifacio and his brothers. As a result Bonifacio and his brothers,
fought back. His brother, Ciriaco, was killed in the skirmish, and Bonifacio
himself was wounded on the neck and on the left arm. He was captured
and brought to the municipal building of Indang. Later he was transferred
to Maragondon, where he was tried for treason. The military court that
tried Bonifacio was composed of men who were hostile to him. Without
strong evidence, the military court pronounced Bonifacio and his brother
Procopio, guilty f treason. They were sentenced to be shot to death.
According to Aguinaldo, he commuted the death penalty to banishment.
But when General Pio Del Pilar, who was formerly a follower of Bonifacio,
and General Mariano Noriel received Aguinaldo’s commutation order, they
rushed to his headquarters in Maragondon and persuaded him to withdraw
the commutation of the death sentence.

They reasoned that they could not afford to be divided at the time when
the enemy was capturing one town after another. Because of this
argument, Aguinaldo recalled, he withdrew his commutation order. In other
words, the original death sentence was carried out. On May 10, 1897,
Major Lazaro Macapagal, who received the sealed order of General
Noriel, took the risoners from their prison cells and brought them to Mount
Tala, where the Bonifacio brothers were executed.

The Government of Central Luzon

During this period, the Filipino rebels suffered one defeat after another.
The Spanish forces, on the other hand, suffered from tropical diseases
and lack of experience. At this stage, the Spanish army was composed of
many Spanish recruits to replace the Filipino soldiers who had defected to
the revolutionary force. Governor-general Camilio de Polavieja, who
succeeded General Ramon Blanco in December 1896, grew tired of
fighting the Filipinos who refused to surrender. His health failed him so he
asked to be relieved. His successor was Governor
General Fernando Primo de Vera, who had served previously as
governor of the country. Primo de Vera took personal charge of the
military campaign against the rebels. By May, almost the whole province
of Cavite was in the hands of the Spaniards. Aguinaldo, in order to escape
captivity, retreated to Batangas. The Spanish army followed him and tried
to trap him. Aguinaldo, however, succeeded in eluding the enemy and,
with some faithful followers, headed for the hilly parts of Morong (now
Rizal province).

With 500 faithful armed men, Aguinaldo walked the distance to San Juan
del Monte and Montalban, and on to Mount Puray. From here, he and his
men walked all the way to Biak-na-bato, in San Miguel de Mayumo,
Bulacan, where he established his headquarters. Meanwhile, news of
Aguinaldo’s arrival in Biak-na-bato reached the people in Central Luzon.

Immediately, the people of the provinces of Zambales, Pangasinan, the

Ilocos, Tarlac, and Nueva Ecija renewed their offensive against the
enemy. Such was the situation when the rebels met at Mount Puray and
established the Departmental Government of Central Luzon. This
compromised the provinces of Manila, Morong, Bulacan, Laguna, Bataan,
Nueva Ecija, Tarlac, and Pangasinan. Those present in the meeting
elected the following officials:
 President……………………… Father Pedro Dandan
Vice President…………………. Anastacio Francisco
Secretary of the treasury…………….. Paciano Rizal
Secretary of War…………………. Cipriano Pacheco
Secretary of Interior…………….. Teodoro Gonzales
Secretary of Welfare……………… Feliciano Jocson

The Biak-na-Bato Republic

Primo de Vera failed to win over the Filipinos back to Spain. The Filipinos
were tired of Spanish promises. For more than three hundred years, they
heard nothing but promises and now they wanted to live an independent
life. Before July or early in July, Aguinaldo established a republican
government at Biak-na-bato called Bato Republic. He ordered the
preparation of a constitution for this Republic. Felix Ferrer and Isabelo
Artacho copied, word for word the Cuban Constitution of Jimaguayu,
except for one article. The Constitution, in its Preamble, declared the aim
of the Revolution as the separation of Article VIII provided that “Tagalog
shall be the official language of the Republic.” The Constitution was
approved on November 1. The following day, these officers were elected:

President……………………………….. Emilio Aguinaldo

Vice President………………………….…. Mariano Trias
Secretary of Foreign Affairs….…... Antonio Montenegro
Secretary of the Interior…….………….… Isabel Artacho
Secretary of War………………. Emiliano Riego de Dios
Secretary of the Treasury………. Baldomero Aguinaldo

The Truce of Biak-na-Bato

Because of the difficulties that confronted both the Filipinos and the
Spanish army, some sort of understanding between the combatants was
made. Pedro A. Paterno, a Filipino of Chinese ancestry, approached
Governor Primo de Rivera and offered himself as mediator. The governor
agreed, and soon Paterno was negotiating with the two camps on how to
end the bloody struggle. On November 18, 1897, the first document was
signed by Paterno on behalf of the Filipino rebels, and by Primo de Rivera,
on behalf of the colonial government. Other matters were clarified and a
second document was signed by Paterno and Primo de Rivera on
December 14, 1897. On December 15, a third document was signed.
These three documents together constitute what maybe called the Truce
of Biak-na-bato. Among other things, the agreement provided the
following:

p. that Aguinaldo and his men would go into voluntary exile;

q. that Primo de Rivera would pay Aguinaldo the sum of Php
800,000 in three installments: (a) Php 400,000 upon his departure
from Philippines, (b) Php 200,000 when the arms surrendered to
the Spanish authorities exceeded 700 pieces, and (c) the
remaining Php 200,000 when general amnesty had been
proclaimed and the Te Deum had been sung; and
r. that Primo de Rivera would pay an additional Php 900,000 to the
families or non-combatant Filipinos who suffered during the
revolution.

On December 27, Aguinaldo, together with some men of his choice,

boarded a ship for Hong Kong. He had with him a check for Php
400,000

The Failure of the Truce

The month of January 1898 was a happy one for the Spaniards. Peace
reigned once more and the Spanish community enjoyed their usual
activities like attending horse and boat races, fireworks, and going to
theaters. The Te Deum was sung at the Manila Cathedral on January 23
to celebrate the publication of a peace treaty. Meanwhile, the Filipino
military officers, who were left at Biak-na-bato to attend the surrender of
firearms, kept themselves busy. Others, however, were suspicious of
Spanish motives and held on their weapons. Likewise, the Spanish
authorities did not trust the Filipinos. This mutual suspicion resulted to
armed clashes that started in February.

One of the military leaders, General Francisco Makabulos of Tarlac, who

was suspicious of Spanish motives, organized the Central Executive
Committee which acted as an independent government. It intended to
operate temporarily as a government, pending the central government run
by Filipinos. It had a constitution, popularly called the Makabulos
Constitution. In the months that followed, armed clashes between the
Filipinos and Spaniards occurred. These clashes made the Filipinos and
the Spaniards more suspicious of each other. Bad faith on both sides
ultimately caused the truce to fail.