Prologue: << The Toastmaster of the Day must read this before the speaker starts>>
On August 30, 1896, the Philippine Revolution started. Leading 800 katipuneros, Bonifacio attacked a gunpowder storehouse in San Juan del Monte, They successfully captured the storehouse which encourages them to advance towards Manila where they met a large army of Spanish soldiers. Bonifacio and his men were driven to Mandaluyong where more than 150 katipuneros died and another 200 others were captured. After that, Bonifacio led some successful campaigns but lost in many large battles.
Meanwhile, Gen Aguinaldo, a young general from Cavite had strings of successful battle largely because he was attacking small forces. The entire Spanish army was in full force with Bonifacio in the North.
Months later, the Katipunan was divided into two revolutionary groups: the Magdiwangs – the Bonifacio faction and the Magdalos - the Aguinaldo faction. To resolve the issue they believe that a central revolutionary government should be established to replace the Katipunan.
On Mar 22, 1897 Bonifacio reluctantly presided the election and secured the unanimous decision of the assembly to abide by the decision of the majority. Aguinaldo was elected as president although he was absent because he was at the military front. The Magdiwangs who were supposed to support Bonifacio did not even vote for him for president or vice president. Instead, Bonifacio was elected director of the interior.
Introduction
Andres Bonifacio was breathing very slowly, the teeth were gnashing in anger, and his eyes were burning red in rage. He already lost the Presidency and the Vice President position. He has no question if he was demoted to a cabinet position of Director of Interior. What insulted him was for Daniel Tirona to question his qualification. Before the meeting, it was clear and they all agreed that they will abide with whatever the result and not to contest it. He did his part… and for a malicious member to question his sincerity… it’s not just an insult to the Supremo… it’s a total disrespect to the entire KKK.
He draw his gun and pointed it to Daniel Tirona and was about to pull the trigger when his brother calm him down and pulled him away from the meeting. He shouted “Acun inyu supremo, cuyuy laang respeto”. Roughly means “I am the Supremo, I deserve respect.
Body
Fellow Toastmasters, ladies and gentlemen Happy Bonifacio Day and Good Evening! Tonight, allow me to share a story of the last days of Gat Andres Bonifacio.
After the eventful Tejeros convention, Bonifacio has all the reason to be furious and frustrated. The revolution that he started is falling apart. The Magdalo faction has just won all seats in the new government and although his faction – the magdiwang still controls the entire army outside of Cavite, Bonifacio knew that they are losing some of the generals in Luzon. He knows that there was a conspiracy among the elite class of the society to get rid of him. They simply cannot bear the idea of a common-man, non-educated and a slum dweller to be their President. His generals begged him to declare the convention as mutiny and send Aguinaldo into trial. But he refuses. He was so naïve to believe that he can talk to the Magdalo faction and schedule another election. He was more concerned on keeping the Filipino people united against the common enemy.
Little that he knew, Aguinaldo was thinking otherwise. On Apr 26, 1897 Aguinaldo sent two of his loyal officers and ordered the arrest of Bonifacio. When Bonifacio saw his former officers, he welcomed them with open arms saying “Acin mga capatid, hali cayu”. Welcome my brothers.
The soldiers thought that Bonifacio was drawing his weapon so they shot him in his left arm, and then one of the officers stabbed him in the neck. The surprised Bonifacio asked “anun acin casalanan, mga capatid”. Why did I do wrong, brothers! One of Bonifacio’s brother tried to help but was shot dead, instead. In haste, the soldiers carried the wounded and half-starved Bonifacio by hammock to Naic, where Aguinaldo established his headquarters. For some unknown reason, Aguinaldo refuses to see the Supremo. Instead, he instructed his soldier to send Bonifacio to Maragondon for a trial by the Council of War under General Noriel.
Bonifacio declared his innocence and pleaded for unity among brothers. He asked that his gun be presented to show that the attack was unprovoked. All he wanted was freedom for the Filipino people and not fighting among Filipinos.
It was clear from the start that the trial would not be fair. There was nobody from the Magdiwang faction to defend Bonifacio and all the judges were loyal to Aguinaldo. They only needed a simply reason to hand down a verdict, they need the Supremo to be angry and show defiance to the new government. For, they can never sentence a man who is pro-government.
When they brought in Gregoria, the young wife of Bonifacio, and she testified that Col Yntong flogged and raped her. This enraged the weakening Bonifacio and he change his stance, showed defiance and shouted profanity against Aguinaldo.
On May 8, 1897, the tribunal handed the sentence guilty!
Two days later, four soldiers of Aguinaldo brought Bonifacio to Mt Buntis. Along the way, the Supremo tried to convince his executioner to bring him to Manila and set him free. He has forgiven them and had no bad feeling. Bonifacio pointed out that he was not the enemy – it was the Spaniards. But his pleading falls on deaf ears. The already weakened Bonifacio was hacked, shot dead, and was buried on a shallow grave. To this day, his remains were never recovered.
Closing
For some, it may come as a shock to learn that Aguinaldo was responsible for the death of our Great Plebian – the founder of the Katipunan. Least we focus on betrayal; I would like to share the perspective of my favorite historian Ambeth Ocampo. He said: “History is replete of travesty, treachery, and failed dreams. If you look around, what happened in history is still happening and will happen again”. We OFWs encountered this dilemma all the time. The challenge therefore is: will you conform to the standard of the world… or will you be an idealist who dreams for a better world.
Back to you evening masters
