Page 121 (Readings in Philippine History - 1st Year) PDF

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1. Who are the three primary sources of the story? How did they participate in the revolution?“Dr. Pio Valenzuela, an official of the Katipunan and a friend of Andres Bonifacio, who was present during the event.” Page 114 “In 1927, a pre-World War II Tagalog weekly magazine named Sampaguita began pu...

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1. Who are the three primary sources of the story? How did they participate in the revolution? “Dr. Pio Valenzuela, an official of the Katipunan and a friend of Andres Bonifacio, who was present during the event.” - Page 114 “In 1927, a pre-World War II Tagalog weekly magazine named Sampaguita began publishing the Katipunan memoirs of Gen. Santiago Virata Alvarez, one of the leaders of Cavite revolution…The story of the First Cry is found in Chapter 6 of the memoirs. Alvarez presents an account devoid of any dramatic description as it merely a narration of the events that happened in Bahay Toro on August 24, 1896”. - Page 115 “In 1932, Guillermo Masangkay, a friend and fellow Katipunero of Andres Bonifacio, recounted his experiences as the member of the revolutionary movement. In an interview with the Sunday Tribune magazine, Masangkay said that First Cry happened in Balintawak on August 26, 1896”. - Page 117 The First Cry of Katipunan is undeniably among those monumental events in the Philippine history as it marked the beginning of the war of Filipino people against the Spaniards. But the time and place of this event is later on become debatable as different information was presented by those people who claimed themselves as eyewitness. Different accounts were given by Dr. Pio Valenzuela, Santiago Alvarez, and Guillermo Masangkay. All of the eyewitnesses in the Cry of Pugad Lawin have their respective role in the revolution. Dr. Pio Valenzuela was the close associate of Andres Bonifacio as well as the fiscal of Katipunan. Santiago Alvarez, on the other hand, served as the leader of the Magdiwang faction in Cavite while Guillermo Masangkay was the friend and fellow Katipunero of the Supremo.

2. According to the accounts, where and when did the first cry of revolution happen?

“It was at Pugad Lawin, in the house, store-house and yard of Juan Ramos, son of Melchora Aquino, where over 1,000 members of the Katipunan met and carried out considerable debate and discussion on August 23, 1896”. - Page 114 Because of the sudden discovery of the Katipunan by the Spanish force, the Katipuneros decided to change the day when they will start the revolution. This event caused the differences among the three accounts. Pio Valenzuela claimed that it happened in Pugad Lawin on August 23, 1896 which is the considered as the official date and place of the Cry by the National Historical Commission of the Philippines. Santiago Alvarez, on the other hand, stated that it took place in Bahay Toro, now in Quezon City on the 24 th day of August in 1896. Lastly, Guillermo Masangkay narrated that the the First Cry happened in Balintawak on August 26, 1896. 3. What is the significance of the tearing of the cedulas? What did the cedulas signify? “Bonifacio then asked the people to give a pledge that they were to revolt. He told them that the sign of the slavery of the Filipinos were the cedula tax charged citizen. “If it is true that you are ready to revolt,” Bonifacio said, “I want to see you destroyed your cedulas. It will be the sign that all of us have declared our severance from the Spaniards.” - Page 119 “The story of the First Cry is found in Chapter 6 of the memoirs. Alvarez presents an account devoid of any dramatic description as it merely a narration of the events that happened in Bahay Toro on August 24, 1896”. - Page 115 In an interview with the Sunday Tribune magazine, Masangkay said that First Cry happened in Balintawak on August 26, 1896”. - Page 117 During the Spanish colonial period, it is mandatory by the government for every citizen to have their own cedula certificates which served as their identification card. In August 1896, the

Katipuneros tear their cedula to show their resistance to the colonialism and to symbolize their freedom on the hands of the oppressors. 4. What are the similarities and differences among the three accounts? Dr. Pio Valenzuela claimed that he was present during the Cry of Katipunan. He narrated that he arrived in Balintawak on August 20, 1896 later than the first five Katipuneros arriving there two days before. Eventually, he claimed that the five hundred members of Katipunan exchanged their views whether or not to start the war in Kangkong but it is in Pugad Lawin where the debate and the iconic tearing of the cedula occurred in August 23, 1986. Dr. Valenzuela’s narrative is the shortest among the three but it was the one that is considered by National Historical Commission as the day of the Cry of Katipunan. Santiago Alvarez’ statement also evidence that he was an eyewitness in the event. Similar to Dr. Valenzuela’s account, he started his narrative when, together with his companions, he trekked towards Kangkong. Later, on the 22 nd day of August that year, he narrated that Supremo Andres Bonifacio placed a detachment at the boundary of Balintawak and at the backyard. Later on, because of Andres’ intuition that his letter to Jacinto was intercepted by the enemy, they moved to Bahay Toro on August 23. Next day, August 24 a meeting a happened that eventually led to the Cry of Katipunan, one day later than what was claimed in Dr. Valenzuela’s account. On the other hand, Guillermo Masangkay claimed that the Cry of Katipunan happened in August 26, 1896 which is three days later than Valenzuela’s account and two days after with Alvarez’ narrative. His account only narrated what had happened in that day unlike the other two accounts. However, his account during the Cry of Katipunan is more detailed. But Masangkay’s claims are proved to be inconsistent as he eventually changed it to August 23 in his interview published in the newspaper before changing it again to his original story. Aside from the place where the Cry happened, the three accounts also presented different locations where it happened. Masangkay

claimed that it happened in Balintawak while Alvarez claimed that it occurred in Bahay Toro. But then again, NHCP approved to what is stated in Valenzuela’s account which is in Pugad-Lawin thus calling it as the Cry of Pugad Lawin 5. How does the National Historical Commission of the Philippines verify or authenticate the historical accounts? “However, the date and the place of the event were later contradicted by the different Katipunan personalities who claimed that they were there at the time. In 1963, the National Historical Commission decided that, following extensive research of primary sources, the First Cry of the Philippine Revolution of 1896 happened on August 23, 1896 at Pugad Lawin, now part of Project8 in Quezon City.” - Page 113 Based on an article published in National Commission for Culture and the Arts (NCCA) website titled “In Focus: Balintawak: The Cry for a Nationwide Revolution”, the National Historical Institute (NHI) launched an investigative team that will examine the authenticity of the following accounts. Later on, it was identified that the most probable place and date of the historical event is what were stated in Dr. Pio Valenzuela after the authorities compared and reconciled it with the other accounts. Eventually, President Diosdado Macapagal enacted a law which ordered to celebrate the Cry on August 23 annually as well as Pugad Lawin as its site.

Activity 1 1. What does the video tell you about the many different accounts? This video of Xiao Chua titled “Ang Unang Sigaw ng Himagsikan sa Balintawak, Caloocan” discussed that the different accounts about the Cry of Katipunan were caused by a lot of factors. First, it was said that difference in the narratives are caused by the exhaustion, hunger, and lack of sense of time of the Katipuneros. Also, various meetings were held in different places and time which may played a pivotal role in the perspective of the eyewitnesses. Later on, and the end of the video, it was emphasized that the date

of establishment of the revolutionary government on August 29 to 30 is more important to celebrate as this event led the birth of our country.

2. Is there a chance that all sources are valid? There is a possibility that the following accounts of Pio Valuenzuela, Santiago Alvarez, Guillermo Masangkay and others are authenticate. The contrasting stories of these accounts were most probably caused by the exhaustion, hunger, and lack of sense of time of the Katipuneros during their occasional movement to different places in order to hide themselves from the enemies. Each eyewitness has different perspectives in writing their own narration which is a big factor in determining the validity of their stories. It is like reading the same story but with different point of views. 3. What other information on the revolution did you learn from the video? It was said in the beginning of the video that the planned revolution of the Katipuneros was discovered by the Spaniards on August 19, 1896. This event led to the imposition of more stringent protocols by the Spanish government which started the notorious killings of Indios called “Huwes de Kutsilyo”. This inhumane event pushed the rebels to execute the premature war against the Spanish forces. Furthermore, based on the statements of Milagros Guerrero, Ramon Villegas, and Manuel Encarnacion, all of the places stated in the accounts of the eyewitnesses are part of Balintawak in Caloocan City. The proximity of these places from each other evidenced the occasional movement of the Katipuneros which likely the reason why the accounts have different places and date of the Cry. But among the information I learned watching the video, it was the speech of Andres Bonifacio that is inculcated in my mind. For me, this showed how dedicated and eager Bonifacio was to unite the Filipinos and liberate are country from the oppressors....