A Guided Content Analysis of the Tejeros Convention PDF

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THE TEJEROS CONVENTIONA Guided Content AnalysisAreas of Analytical Comparison and ContrastingPrimary Source The Katipunan and the Revolution: Memoirs of a General by Santiago Virata ÁlvarezSecondary Source The Revolt of the Masses: The Story of Bonifacio and the Katipunan by Teodoro Andal AgoncilloA...

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THE TEJEROS CONVENTION A Guided Content Analysis Areas of Analytical Comparison and Contrasting

Primary Source The Katipunan and the Revolution: Memoirs of a General by Santiago Virata Álvarez   

Author’s Background

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When was the account written?

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  Mention of Dates in Both Texts

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also known as Kidlat ng Apoy or General Apoy one of the soldiers of the revolutionary and Philippine independence military a teacher and a graduate of Arts and Law member of the Katipunan secret society and remained in the Magdiwang faction together with Andres Bonifacio captain general of the military rebel forces of Cavite founder and honorary President of the first directorate of the Nacionalista Party in the year 1927

only cited two specific dates March 25, 1897: The Tejeros Convention officially began. March 27, 1897: Eyewitnesses reported that a meeting among the members of the Magdalo took place at the Tanza parish house.

Secondary Source The Revolt of the Masses: The Story of Bonifacio and the Katipunan by Teodoro Andal Agoncillo

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considered one of the most important historians of the Philippines included in the roster of the Order of National Scientists for his contributions in Philippine History wrote historical accounts in a Filipino point of view a graduate of Philosophy and Arts a poet, a writer, an editor, a linguistic assistant, a Chairperson of the Department of History, and a professor in many universities

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October 1947 to January 1948

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middle of December 1896: Andres Bonifacio and his family left the mountains of Montalban and Mariquina to visit the Katipunan in Cavite. January 2, 1897: Bonifacio wrote a letter to Mariano Alvarez after his encounter with the Magdalo in Imus. middle of January 1897: Gunshots interrupted the fiesta of San Francisco de Malabon which led to a conflict between Santiago Alvarez and Mariano San Gabriel. March 22, 1897: Emilio Aguinaldo celebrated his birthday with a battle with a battled with Spanish soldiers in Salitran. At the same time, the Tejeros Convention was convened.

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Key Personal Ties 

Sequencing of Events

Santiago Álvarez was one of the attendees of the convention belonging to the Magdiwang faction and was already the Captain General of Cavite during that time. However, he lost his position to General Artemio Ricarte after the election in Tejeros. He was the son of General Mariano Álvarez and cousin of Pascual Álvarez, who were also members of the Katipunan and were present during the convention.

1. The assembly at Tejeros was convened on March 25, 1897 and was presided by Secretary Jacinto Lumbreras. 2. The declaration of the agenda, which is to discuss how to secure the areas under the Magdiwang control, was made and was immediately countered by Severino de las Alas, who imposed that the important matter that should be tackled is the form of the government the Katipunan should have. 3. There was a debate whether to change the form of government the Katipunan had established or not. 4. A conflict between General Apoy and Antonio Montenegro disrupted the formality of the convention. 5. Conflict was immediately resolved and the chairmanship of the meeting was transferred to Supremo Andres Bonifacio. 6. Bonifacio proceeded with the election of officials, stressing that the person who gets most of the votes must be declared and respected as the winner, regardless of his state in life. 7. A conflict between Andres Bonifacio and Daniel Tirona was formed after Bonifacio won the position for Secretary of the Interior. Tirona went against the initial agreement regarding the majority votes which humiliated Bonifacio.

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Teodoro Agoncillo is related to Filipino diplomat Felipe Agoncillo who was a family friend and adviser of Emilio Aguinaldo. Both men belonged to the Magdalo faction of the Katipunan. It is possible that, as adviser, Felipe has influenced Emilio Aguinaldo's decisions before, during, and after the convention. Aguinaldo was able to read Agoncillo's accounts written in The Revolt of the Masses before it was published.

1. The Katipunan called for the reorganization of their territories under each Katipunan faction. However, the Magdiwang and the Magdalo had been silently fighting over Cavite with both parties not wanting to be ruled over by the other. 2. Supremo Andres Bonifacio was invited to visit the Katipunan in Cavite. After three invitations, Bonifacio finally decided to come. 3. Bonifacio arrived at Imus and was welcomed by many from the Magdalo faction. Seeing Vicente Fernandez angered Bonifacio and ordered his immediate arrest. The Magdalo, however, did not allow the arrest of Fernandez. Realizing that he has no influence over the people of Magdalo, Bonifacio sent a letter to Mariano Alvarez, explaining to him what happened at this encounter. 4. The Magdiwang invited Bonifacio to come to Noveleta. He was heartily welcomed by the people with a parade as he entered the cities. 5. The Katipunan lost to Polavieja because of the existing rivalry between the two factions which called for a convention in Imus. This assembly, however, yielded no results as there were no agreements made as to what kind of government they must be organized in the country and if there really is a need for a new election.

Sequencing of Events

6. The Magdiwang called for another convention in Tejeros which happened on March 22, 1897. Jacinto Lumbreras took the Chairmanship of the meeting and opened the discussion about creating defense strategies to protect Cavite. 7. Severino de las Alas pointed out that it is important for the Katipunan to agree on what type of government must be implemented first before proceeding with the other agenda. 8. There was a debate whether to change the form of government the Katipunan has established or not. Sensing that the situation was getting more out of hand 8. Bonifacio declared the results of the without a fruitful result, Lumbreras meeting null and void, which ended called for the meeting’s recess. the first day of the Tejeros 9. The assembly resumed after an hour with Lumbreras transferring the Convention. chairmanship of the meeting to Andres 9. Baldomero Aguinaldo convinced Bonifacio. members of the Magdiwang to 10. Bonifacio granted the petition for a reconvene the disrupted meeting for new form government, stressing that the purpose of revalidate the the decision of the majority must proceedings of the election and make always be respected. There and then, amends with one another. an election was held to select the new 10. None of the members of the Magdalo officials who will govern the recently came to the meeting the following day. instituted Republic of the Philippines. They organized a meeting of their own Bonifacio remarked whoever gets most where the officials elected during the of the votes must be declared and Tejeros Convention solemnly took respected as the winner, regardless of his state in life. their office without those elected from 11. A conflict between Andres Bonifacio the Magdiwang. and Daniel Tirona was formed after Bonifacio won the position for Director of Interior. Tirona went against the initial agreement regarding the majority votes which insulted Bonifacio. 12. Bonifacio declared the results of the meeting null and void, which ended the Tejeros Convention. 13. Bonifacio sent a letter to Mariano Alvarez expressing his despair for not getting the Presidency which, for him, must be given to him as the initiator of the revolution. He also shared his sentiments with his friend, Emilio Jacinto.

General Observations  written by an eyewitness who personally experienced the event  mainly focused on what happened during the convention  contains quotations of conversations during the convention  brief and somehow bland due to lack of adjectives used to describe the situation  limited expression of feelings aside from visible emotions that led to certain happenings to another like anger

Stark Differences Between Two Accounts

Specific Differences  stated that the Tejeros Convention started on March 25, 1897  mentioned where the meeting took place but did not describe it as much as Agoncillo did on his account  discussed what conflicts arose during the convention as well as how the attendees dealt with them  cited that the author, General Santiago Álvarez himself, ordered the capture of Antonio Montenegro after the two got into a heated discussion  enumerated six (6) available positions for the election of the officials  lacks the names of the nominees mentioned in Agoncillo’s account  specified that it was General Santiago Álvarez himself who disapproved with General Artemio Ricarte’s refusal to accept the position of Captain General of the new government  was not able to tell that Bonifacio sent letters to his uncle-in-law, Mariano Álvarez  discussed events that happened after the election, specifically the oathtaking ceremony of the elected officials wherein those who won from the Magdiwang faction were not invited by those from Magdalo

General Observations  written based on accounts acquired from other sources and not from personal experience  started with a detailed account of events before and beyond the convention to further supply and understand the sentiments of Bonifacio presented in the later parts of the text  contains fewer conversations  wordy as most events were described using flowery words and figures of speech  emphasized Bonifacio’s emotions as it described what and how he thought about a certain situation as if he was the main character of the account Specific Differences  stated that the Tejeros Convention started on March 22, 1897  provided a detailed description of the estate-house where the assembly was held as well as a more complete list of the attendees  presented conflicts that emerged during the convention but were not told in detail  revealed that Jacinto Lumbreras only called for a recession of the meeting after arguments emerged among the attendees  gave a list of nine (9) available positions for the election of officials  has names of nominees not presented in Álvarez’ account  stated that only cries and shouts of disapproval from the assembly were heard when General Artemia Ricarte expressed his refusal to accept the position of Captain General  provided two (2) excerpts from the letters sent by Bonifacio to fellow Katipunero, Mariano Álvarez  ended the text with the election of officials that happened at Tejeros

Name: ALOLOD, Franz Robert P.

Course, Year, and Section: BABA 1C

Subject: Readings in Philippine History

Date: September 9, 2020

The Philippines had struggled much under the hands of the Spanish colonizers to the point that our ancestors and national heroes had to put much effort in revolting and fighting against the Spanish government. Filipinos of the past had to face various challenges and even had to offer their lives for us to finally claim the freedom we enjoy to this very day. Such liberty, particularly the democratic government of the Republic of the Philippines, was a fruit of the famous Tejeros Convention, an assembly between the two factions of the Katipunan, namely the Magdiwang and the Magdalo, to establish a reformed government in the country. It was also in this event that the first Presidential and Vice-Presidential Elections took place, hailing Emilio Aguinaldo as the very first President of the Philippines. Two historical texts have provided us with accounts that would help us grasp and understand the said event: Memoirs of a General by Santiago Virata Álvarez and The Revolt of the Masses by Teodoro Andal Agoncillo. Both texts have various stark differences, primarily the former being a primary source and the latter a secondary source. Identifying whether a text is a primary or secondary source gives us a background as to what kind of information we will encounter when reading the text. It is to be noted that a primary source provides a first-hand experience of an event and usually represents original thinking of the author, just like how Santiago Álvarez narrated his personal encounter as an attendee of the convention in his account. Aside from giving a discussion of the event, a secondary source, on the other hand, includes the author's personal analysis and interpretation of the primary source. In this case, Teodoro Agoncillo provided us with a new point of view as he placed the spotlight on Andres Bonifacio while recounting everything that happened before and during the event. Comparing the two historical texts also allowed us to determine a variance in the information provided by the accounts. To begin with, Álvarez dated the Tejeros Convention March 25, 1897, while Agoncillo said it was three days earlier, March 22. Basing on what kind of sources they are, we can be confident that it was Álvarez who dated it accurately. However, moving further in the texts, we could see that Agoncillo was able to state a more complete list of attendees who joined in the convention, one thing that Álvarez wasn’t able to achieve. More observations about the two texts were already provided in the table above. Despite the noticeable differences between the two, both historical texts did not fail to emphasize on the political disunities that still exists up to this day. It is an event such as the Tejeros Convention that shows us how captive we still are in our division, where we still exist believing in a mutually exclusive political “we” as opposed to being one as Filipinos. If disunion still persists today, I don’t think that colonial rule is the problem — it’s us. Although the disputes among the Magdalo and the Magdiwang gave birth to democracy in the country, it seems like we are on a never-ending argument as to what would really benefit the Filipino people. We never let our individual perspectives cross a specific intersection we can cater all our needs without the necessity to uplift or lower down one another. If only we allow the events that happened at Tejeros to teach us the importance of understanding, cooperation, and unity, we may have been living in a more harmonious society today. And so, we ask ourselves. Are we really free?...