News about the discovery of the Katipunan spread to Manila and nearby suburbs, and Andres Bonifacio immediately called for a general meeting. Various wings of the Katipunan gathered gathered at the house of Juan Ramos in Pugadlawin on August 23, 1896. Ramos was the son of Melchora Aquino, also known as “Tandang Sora” and was later acknowledged a s the Mother of the Katipunan." Bonifacio asked his men whether they were willing to fight to the bitter end. Everyone shouted their approval, except for Teodoro Plata, who though that it was too soon for a revolution. Heartened by his men’s response, Bonifacio then asked them to tear their cedula s (residence certificates) to pieces, as a sign of their defiance and determination to rise against the Spaniards. The men immediately immediately tore up their cedulas, shouting, Mabuhay ang Pilipinas (long live the Philippines) -known as the Cry of Pugadlawin. The Katipunan in Cavite Cavite soon became the center of the Revolution, and the Katipuneros there divided themselves into the Magdalo and Magdiwang factions. Baldomero Aguinaldo, brother of Emilio Aguinaldo, headed the Magdalo group, which was stationed in Kawit. General Mariano Mariano Alvarez led the Magdiwang group, which was stationed in Noveleta. General Emilio AguinaldoThe two groups fought in separate battles. Emilio Aguinaldo overran Kawit on August 31, 1896, while Alvarez attacked Noveleta. In Bacoor, Aguinaldo tried to intercept Spanish reinforcements coming from Manila; but he was repulsed and forced to retreat to nearby Imus. Here, on the morning of September 5, he defeated the Spanish troops under the command of General Aguirre. Aguirre. A hund red Spaniards were killed and 60 weapons were confiscated. Aguinaldo was hailed as a hero. The adoring Caviteños referred referred to him as “General Miong” and no longer “Kapitan Miong.” General Aguinaldo’s numerous victories in the battlefield made him the acknowledged revolutionary leader in Cavite. He issued a proclamation on October 31, 1896 enjoining the people to take courage and continue fighting for Philippine independence. Owing to the defeat of the Spaniards in Cavite, Camilo de Polavieja replaced Ramon Blanco as governor general on December 13, 1896. Polavieja was more successful than his predecessor and slowly regained one-third of the province. Andres Bonifacio's Execution While Aguinaldo was recognized as leader by the Magdalo faction, Bonifacio was recognized as the leader of the Katipunan by the Magdiwang faction. An assembly was held in Imus, Cavite on December 31, 1897 to settle the leadership issue but was not successful. Then on March 22, another assembly was held at Tejeros (known as the Tejeros Convention) to elect officers of the revolutionary government. Aguinaldo won as president while Bonifacio was relegated as the Director of the Interior. Bon ifacio rejected the elections and declared it void. Bonifacio later formed the Naic Military Agreement, essentially essentially creating a government contending Aguinaldo's. Soon after, Bonifacio was captured, stood trial, and was sentenced to death by a War Council of Aguinaldo's government. Aguinaldo initially commuted the sentence to deportation but lat er reversed the commutation upon pressure from Pio Del Pilar and other officers. On orders from General Mariano Noriel, Andres Bonifacio was executed at the foothills of Mt. Buntis by Major Lazaro Makapagal on May 10, 1897. The Revolution Continues Bonifacio’s death did not deter the Filipinos from fighting for their freedom. The Spanish government, for its part, doubled its efforts in trying to control Cavite, which was considered the seat of the Revolution. When Governor General Primo de Rivera replaced Camilo Polavieja on April 27, 1897, he immediately immediately marched to Naic, Cavite to persuade the Filipinos to surrender. The rebels, however, stood their ground. Aguinaldo realized realized that Cavite was no longer safe for his men. They moved to Batangas, where they temporarily set up camp in the town of Talisay. However, Spanish soldiers were able to pursue them there. Thus, they retreated to Morong on June 10, 1897 and proceeded to Biakna-Bato in Bulacan. Click here to con tinue with Pact of Biak-na-Bato.
Two Cries of Pugad Lawin? Historian Teodoro Agoncillo, whose seminal work "The Revolt of the Masses: The Story of Bonifacio and the Katipunan" (1956) helped organize Katipunan history as we know it today, had the privilege to interview both Masangkay and Valenzuela, among other surviving veterans of the Revolution. Seeing the similarities and the differences between the accounts of the Katipuneros, Agoncillo tried to find possible independent sources to validate their claims. For one, he consulted the Manila Observatory. Observatory. This is to know which days from August 22 to 28 (just before the first battle at Pinaglabanan in San Juan) may fit the weather described by the existing accounts. He came to the conclusion that only August 23 may be the viable date to do the cry, because the rest of the days considered are rainy days. It will prove difficult to assemble a thousand people at the yard of someone else's house, and then tear up cedulas into pieces. Agoncillo also notes that August 23 is a windy day. It will be easier for them to clean up, which may explain why Manuel Sityar, one of the guardia civil officers patrolling the area at the time, did not notice them. Agoncillo does not seem to agree to the current site recognized as Pugad Lawin at Bahay
Toro. However, the marker he placed to denote the location of Pugad Lawin has disappeared. Despite the reputation of Agoncillo, other historians do not seem to share his ideas all of the time. The location of Pugad Lawin is case in point. Nevertheless, to this day, there seemed to be supporters of the notion of "two cries." One of them would be Soledad Borromeo-Buehler, a descendant of Masangkay, in her book "The Cry of Balintawak: A Contrived Controversy" (1998). What supports this claim is the supposed meeting that took place before the cry, and the supposed battle that took place after the cry. It is forwarded that there were at least two meetings and two skirmishes prior to the Battle of Pinaglabanan on August 30. On August 24, there must have been a meeting at Kangkong, and on August 26, there must have been a meeting at Balintawak. In between, there is August 23, and August 25. There are two opportunities wherein the Katipunan may have gathered their forces. Consequently, there are two opportunities for the Katipunan to encounter Spanish forces, something that may be derived from the account of Manuel Ros, another guardia civil officer assigned to the area. This does s eem to coincide with Masangkay's claim claim of two cries on August 24 and 26. At any rate, she concludes that the "Cry of Pugad Lawin" as we know today is a "hoax." There also seems consensus among other Katipunan members who were absent from the cry that there must have been a momentous event on August 24. For instance, the Biak-na-Bato Constitution acknowledges that the Revolution began on August 24, and it was a document ratified by at least one of the Katipuneros who attended the cry, Cipriano Pacheco. The date was also agreed upon by Emilio Aguinaldo, who supposedly received the news about the decision to start the Revolution. Of course, just like Valenzuela, Aguinaldo may not be the most reliable source to consider. Historians Milagros Guerrero, Emmanuel Encarnacion, and Ramon Villegas also agree to August 24, even though they claim only a singular "Cry of Balintawak" which happened at the house of Melchora Aquino at S itio Gulod in Barrio Banlat. It is now part of Quezon City. However, the question of where the cry happened will float again. Did the two cries happen at Pugad Lawin? Or is Pugad Lawin some code name for a set location to congregate? If it happened in different places, does that explain why there are two Pugad Lawins as well, one near Pasong Tamo and one near Bahay Toro? Or perhaps, as old maps confirm, Pugad Lawin is not a real place at all? in this case, i t might be better to revert to "Cry of Balintawak." Where there two cedulas to tear with in the first place, or there were two groups of people who chose to tear their cedulas? Speaking of groups of people, it is interesting to see who attended the said event, at least according to Masangkay's list:
The Cry of Pugad Lawin (Tagalog: (Unang) Sigaw sa Pugad Lawin ), also referred to asthe Cry of Balintawak (Tagalog: (Unang) Sigaw sa Balintawak ), was a historical eventduring the struggle for Philippineindependence. Philippineindependence. On August 23, 1896,Andrés Bonifacioand his comrades from theKatipunan society tore their cédulas in the hills of Balintawak.This event is regarded as the starting signal of thePhilippine Revolution. [1] Controversy Differing accounts by participants and historians have served to confuse the reader regarding the factual date and place of t he event. An officer of the Spanish guardia civil ,Lt. Olegario Diaz, stated that the "Cry" took place in Balintawak on August 25, 1896.Teodoro Kalaw in his 1925 book
The Filipino Revolution , wrote that the event took placeduring the last week of August 1896 at Kangkong, Balintawak. Santiago Alvarez, the sonof Mariano Alvarez, the leader of theMagdiwangfaction inCavite, inCavite, stated in 1927 thatthe "Cry" took place in Bahay Toro, now in Quezon Cityon August 24, 1896.PioValenzuela, 1896.PioValenzuela, a close associate of Andrés Bonifacio declared in 1948 that it happened inPugad Lawin on August 23, 1896. Gregorio Zaidestated in his books in 1 954 that the"Cry" happened in Balintawak on August 26, 1896. Fellow historianTeodoro Agoncillo reported in 1956 that it took place in Pugad Lawin on August 23, 1896, echoing PioValenzuela's statement. statement. Accounts by Milagros Guerrero, Emmanuel Encarnacion andRamon Villegas claim the event to have taken place in Tandang Sora's barn in Gulod,Barangay Banlat, Quezon City. [2][3] The National Historical Institute of the Philippines has p laced a commemorative plaquemarking plaquemarking the location of the "Cry" in Pugad Lawin,Quezon City. The plaque bears thedate August 23, 1893The Pact of Biak-na-Bato , signed on December 14, 1897, [1] created a trucebetweenSpanish Colonial Governor-General Fernando Primo de Rivera andEmilio Aguinaldotoend thePhilippine Revolution. Aguinaldo and his fellow revolutionaries were givenamnesty and monetary indemnity indemnity by the Spanish government in return for which inHong Kong.Aguinaldowould Kong. Aguinaldowould later use the money to purchase firearms. therevolutionary Government would go into volunS voluntary exile in Philippine Revolution Cry of Pugad Lawin The Cry of Pugad Lawin (Filipino: Sigaw ng Pugad Lawin), alternately and originally referred to as the Cry of Balintawak (Filipino: Sigaw ng Balíntawak, Spanish: Grito de Balíntawak), was the beginning of the Philippine Revolution against the Spanish Empire. At the close of August 1896, members of the Katipunan secret society (Katipuneros) led by Andrés Bonifacio rose up in revolt somewhere in an area referred to as Kalookan, wider than the jurisdiction of present-day Caloocan City which may have overlapped into present-day Quezon City. Originally the term "Cry" referred to the first clash between the Katipuneros and the Civil Guards (Guardia Civil). The cry could also refer to the tearing up of community tax certificates (cédulas personales) in defiance of their allegiance to Spain. This was literally accompanied by patriotic shouts. Because of competing accounts and ambiguity of the place where this event took place, the exact date and place of the Cry is in contention. From 1908 until 1963, the official stance was that the Cry occurred on August 26 in Balintawak. In 1963 the Philippine government declared a shift to August 23 in Pugad Lawin, Quezon City.
