4. Bolstered the
unity of the
Filipino People
on August 23,
1896
Independence of
the country on
June 12, 1898.
5. The Cry of Pugad Lawin
marked the start of the Philippine Revolution
in 1896 which eventually led to
Independence of the country in 1898.
6. At the end
of this
module,
you will:
1. Understand the significance of the Cry of Pugad Lawin in the
history of Philippine Independence.
2. Strengthen the value of patriotism and nationalism towards the
Philippine nation.
3. Examine the need of the Filipinos to fight in order to prove
themselves worthy to be called a truly free people.
4. Criticize the efforts contributed by the Filipino people in obtaining
the lasting value of freedom and independence.
10. "CRY"
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.
The inscriptions of "Viva la Independencia Filipina" can also be referred as term
for the “cry” literally accompanied by patriotic shouts.
11. – it has been widely believed that the first cry of the revolution took place in
Balintawak, Caloocan.
– Agoncillo gave the exact date for the cry as August 23, 1896, and the exact
place to be not Balintawak but Pugadlawin.
– The Balintawak tradition continues to thrive. Nick Joaquin writes in support
of Balintawak, which was more popular than that of the Pugadlawin.
el grito de rebelion (cry of rebellion) or el grito for short. Thus the Grito de Balintawak is comparable to
Mexico's Grito de Dolores (1810).
The “Grito de Balintawak” tradition
Teodoro Agoncillo
12. Why Balintawak?
The Cry of Rebellion in the Philippines happened in August 1896. There are lot of
controversies puzzling the minds of the readers regarding the real place and date of
this event. Some accounts pointing directly to Balintawak are associated with 'The
Cry’. Lt. Olegario Diaz of the Spanish Civil Guards wrote in 1896 that the event
happened in Balintawak, which corroborates the accounts of the historian Gregorio
Zaide and Teodoro Kalaw.
On the other hand, Teodoro Agoncillo based his account from that of Pio Valenzuela
that emphasized Pugad Lawin as the place where the ‘cry’ happened.
13. Some reasons why Pugad Lawin is not
considered as the place of the ‘cry’.
(1) People of Balintawak initiated the revolution against the Spaniards that is why it is
not appropriate to call it ‘Cry of Pugad Lawin’.
(2) The place Pugad Lawin only existed in 1935 after the rebellion happened in 1896.
Lastly,
(3) The term ‘Pugad Lawin’ was only made up because of the hawk’s nest at the top of
a tall tree at the backyard of Tandang Sora in Banlat, Gulod, Kaloocan where it is
said to be one of the hiding places of the revolutionary group led by Andres
Bonifacio.
14. This controversy remains unresolved
There were five dates for the Cry – August 20, 23, 24, 25, and 26
Five different venues for the first cry:
Balintawak, Pugadlawin, Kangkong, Bahay Toro,
and Pasong Tamo!
So when and where did it actually happen?
“the cry occurred towards the end of August 1896 and that all the places mentioned are
in Caloocan, which in those times was a district of Balintawak!”
15. THE "CRY" OF PUGADLAWIN
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 Caloocan wider than the
jurisdiction of present-day Caloocan City which may have overlapped into present-day Quezon
City.
16. Santiago Alvarez, a Katipunero and
son of Mariano Alvarez, the leader of
the Magdiwang faction in Cavite,
stated in 1927 that the Cry took
place in Bahay Toro, now in Quezon
City on August 24, 1896.
Pío Valenzuela, a close associate of
Andrés Bonifacio, declared in 1948
that it happened in
Pugad Lawin on August 23, 1896.
Historian Gregorio Zaide stated
in his books in 1954 that the
"Cry" happened in
Balintawak on
August 26, 1896.
17. An officer of the Spanish guardia civil,
Lt. Olegario Diaz, stated that the Cry
took place in Balintawak on
August 25, 1896
Historian Teodoro Kalaw in his 1925
book The Filipino Revolution wrote that
the event took place during the
last week of August 1896
at Kangkong, Balintawak.
Historian Teodoro Agoncillo wrote in 1956
that it took place in Pugad Lawin on
August 23, 1896, based on Pío Valenzuela's
statement.
18. Accounts claimed that the event to have taken place in
Tandang Sora's barn in Gulod, Barangay Banlat, Quezon City.
Milagros Guerrero
Emmanuel EncarnacionRamon Villegas
19. Meaning of Balintawak
terms "Balintawak" and "Caloocan" at the turn of the century.
Balintawak referred both to a specific place in modern Caloocan City and a wider area which
included parts of modern Quezon City.
Similarly, Caloocan referred to modern Caloocan City and also a wider area which included modern
Quezon City and part of modern Pasig. Pugad Lawin, Pasong Tamo, Kangkong and other specific
places were all in "greater Balintawak", which was in turn part of "greater Caloocan”
21. Masangkay Account
When: August 26, 1896
Time: 9:00 o’clock in the morning
Venue: House of Apolonio Samson, Cabeza of the
Barrio of Caloocan.
Presider: Andres Bonifacio
Acting Secretary : Emilio Jacinto
Present: 1. Aguedo del Rosario,
2. Tomas Remigio,
3. Briccio Antas,
4.Teodoro Plata,
5. Pio Valenzuela,
6. Enrique Pacheco, and
7.Francisco Carreon.
(They were all leaders of the Katipunan and composed the board of directors.)
Delegates from Bulacan, Cabanatuan, Cavite and Morong
22. The purpose : To discuss when the uprising was to take place.
Teodoro Plata, Briccio Pantas, and Pio Valenzuela were all opposed to starting the revolution too early.
Andres Bonifacio, sensing he would lose the discussion, left the session hall and talked to the people, waiting
outside for the result of the meeting of the leaders.
He told the people that the leaders were arguing against starting the revolution early, and appealed to them in a
fiery speech in which he said
"You remember the fate of our countrymen who were shot in Bagumbayan. Should we return now to the towns,
the Spaniards will only shoot us. Our organization has been discovered and we are all marked men. If we don't
start the uprising, the Spaniards will get us anyway. What then, do you say? "Revolt!" the people shouted as
one.
– "If it is true that you are ready to revolt... I want to see you destroy your cedulas. It will be a sign that all of us
have declared our severance from the Spaniards.”
23. – The Cry of Balintawak occurred on August 26, 1896, the “Cry” defined as that turning point when the Filipinos
finally refused Spanish colonial dominion over the Philippine Islands.
– With tears in their eyes, the people as one man, pulled out their cedulas and tore them into pieces, which was
the beginning of the formal declaration of the separation from Spanish rule. "Long Live the Philippine
Republic!", the cry of the people.
– In August 1896, after the Katipunan was discovered, Masangkay joined Bonifacio, Emilio Jacinto and others in
a secret meeting held on the 26th of that month at Apolonio Samson’s house in Caloocan.
– Initially, the leaders of the movement quarreled over strategy and tactics, and many of its members questioned
the wisdom of an open rebellion due to the lack of arms and logistical support. However, after Bonifacio’s
intense and convincing speech, everyone destroyed their cedulas to symbolize their defiance towards Spain and,
together, raised the cry of “Revolt". [4]
Masangkay Idea:
24. It was at Pugad Lawin, 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.
The discussion was on whether or not the revolution against the Spanish
government should be started on August 29, 1896... After the tumultuous
meeting, many of those present tore their cedula certificates and shouted
"Long live the Philippines! Long live the Philippines!”
In 1935,Pio Valenzuela along with Briccio Pantas and Enrique
Pacheco said "The first Cry of the revolution did not happen in
Balintawak where the monument is, but in a place called
Pugad Lawin."
Valenzuela Account
25. In 1940, a research team of a forerunner of the National Historical Institute (NHI) which included
Valenzuela, identified the location as part of sitio Gulod, Banlat, Kalookan City
In 1964, the NHI described this location as the house of Tandang Sora
The first place of refuge of Andres Bonifacio, Emilio Jacinto, Procopio, Bonifacio, Teodoro Plata,
Aguedo del Rosario, and myself was Balintawak, the first five arriving there on August 19, and I on
August 20, 1896.
The first place where some 500 members of the Katipunan met on August 22, 1896, was the house and
yard of Apolonio Samson at Kangkong. Aside from the persons mentioned above, among those who
were there were Briccio Pantas, Alejandro Santiago, Ramon Bernardo, Apolonio Samson, and others.
Here, views were only exchanged, and no resolution was debated or adopted.
Valenzuela Idea:
26. Alvarez Account
“We started our trek to Kangkong at about eleven that night. We walked through the rain over dark expanses of muddy
meadows and fields. Our clothes drenched and our bodies numbed by the cold wind, we plodded wordlessly.
It was nearly two in the morning when we reached the house of Brother Apolonio Samson in Kangkong. We crowded into
the house to rest and warm ourselves. We were so tired that, after hanging our clothes out to dry, we soon feel asleep.
The Supremo began assigning guards at five o'clock the following morning, Saturday 22 August 1896. He placed a
detachment at the Balintawak boundary and another at the backyard to the north of the house where we were gathered. No
less than three hundred men assembled at the bidding of the Supremo Andres Bonifacio.
ltogether, they carried assorted weapons, bolos, spears, daggers, a dozen small revolvers and a rifle used by its owner, one
Lieutenant Manuel, for hunting birds. The Supremo Bonifacio was restless because of fear of sudden attack by the enemy.
He was worried over the thought that any of the couriers carrying the letter sent by Emilio Jacinto could have been
intercepted; and in that eventuality, the enemy would surely know their whereabouts and attack them on the sly. He
decided that it was better to move to a site called Bahay Toro.
27. Alvarez Idea:
At ten o'clock that Sunday morning, 23 August 1896 we arrived at Bahay Toro.
Our member had grown to more than 500 and the house, yard, and warehouse of Cabesang Melchora was getting
crowded with us Katipuneros.
The generous hospitality of Cabesang Melchora was no less than that of Apolonio Samson. Like him, she also
opened her granary and had plenty of rice pounded and animals slaughtered to feed us.
The following day, Monday, 24 August, more Katipuneros came and increased our number to more than a
thousand.
The Supremo called a meeting at ten o'clock that morning inside Cabesang Melchora's barn.
Flanking him on both sides at the head of the table were Dr. Pio Valenzuela, Emilio Jacinto, Briccio Pantas,
Enrique Pacheco, Ramon Bernardo, Pantelaon Torres, Francisco Carreon, Vicente Fernandez, Teodoro Plata, and
others.
We were so crowded that some stood outside the barn.
28. The following matters were approved at the meeting:
1. An uprising to defend the people's freedom was to be started at midnight of Saturday,
29 August 1896;
2. To be on a state of alert so that the Katipunan forces could strike should the situation
arise where the enemy was at a disadvantage. Thus, the uprising could be started
earlier than the agreed time of midnight of 29 August 1896 should a favorable
opportunity arise at that date. Everyone should steel himself and be resolute in the
struggle that was imminent; and
3. He immediate objective was the capture of Manila.
– After the adjournment of the meeting at twelve noon, there were tumultuous shouts of
"Long live the Sons of the People!"[
29. Person Place Date
L.T. Olegario Diaz Balintawak August 25, 1896
Teodoro Kalaw Kangkong, Balintawak Last week of August
Santiago Alvarez Bahay Toro, Quezon City August 24, 1896
Pio Valenzuela Pugad Lawin August 23, 1896
Gregorio Zaide Balintawak August 26, 1896
Teodoro Agoncillo (according to
statements of Valenzuela)
Pugad Lawin August 23, 1896
Research (Milagros Guerrero,
Emmanuel Encarnacion, Ramon
Villegas)
Tandang Sora's barn in Gulod,
Barangay Banlat, Quezon City
August 24, 1896
DIFFERENT DATES AND PLACES OF CRY
30. THE "CRY" OF PUGADLAWIN
– The news of the discovery of the Katipunan spread throughout Manila and the suburbs. Bonifacio,
informed of the discovery, secretly instructed his runners to summon all the leaders of the society to
a general assembly to be held on August 24. They were to meet at Balintawak to discuss the steps to
be taken to meet the crisis. That same night of August 19, Bonifacio, accompanied by his brother
Procopio, Emilio Jacinto, Teodoro Plata, and Aguedo del Rosario, slipped through the cordon of
Spanish sentries and reached Balintawak before midnight. Pio Valenzuela followed them the next
day. On the 21st, Bonifacio changed the Katipunan code because the Spanish authorities had already
deciphered it. In the afternoon of the same day, the rebels, numbering about 500, left Balintawak for
Kangkong, where Apolonio Samson, a Katipunero, gave them food and shelter. In the afternoon of
August 22, they proceeded to Pugadlawin. The following day, in the yard of Juan A. Ramos, the son
of Melchora Aquino who was later called the "Mother of the Katipunan", Bonifacio asked his men
whether they were prepared to fight to the bitter end. Despite the objection of his brother-in-law,
Teodoro Plata, all assembled agreed to fight to the last. "That being the case, " Bonifacio said,
"bring out your cedulas and tear them to pieces to symbolize our determination to take up
arms!" The men obediently tore up their cedulas, shouting "Long live the Philippines!" This event
marked the so-called "Cry of Balintawak," which actually happened in Pugadlawin.
31. IN FOCUS: BALINTAWAK: THE CRY
FOR A NATIONWIDE REVOLUTION
In the letter published by The Commission for Culture and Arts dated June 6, 2003
addressed to Milagros C. Guerrero, Emmanuel N. Encarnacion, Ramon N. Villegas
entitled In Focus: Balintawak: The Cry for A Nationwide Revolution presents the
raging controversies, conflicting accounts, the Pugad Lawin maker, carthographics
changes, the determining dates and turning points which gives a wider
perspectives of the controversies and conflicting views in the history of the Cry of
Pugadlawin. Below is the original letter.
32. – MILAGROS C. GUERRERO
– EMMANUEL N. ENCARNACION
– RAMON N. VILLEGAS
– Nineteenth-century journalists used the phrase “el grito de rebelion” or “The Cry of Rebellion”
to describe the momentous events sweeping the Spanish colonies; in Mexico, it was the “Cry
of Dolores” (16 September 1810), Brazil the “City of Ypiraga” (7 September 1822), and in Cuba
the “Cry of Matanza” (24 February 1895).
– In August 1896, northeast of Manila, Filipinos similarly declared their rebellion against the
Spanish colonial government. It was Manuel Sastron, the Spanish historian, who
institutionalized the phrased for the Philippines in his 1897 book, La Insurreccion en Filipinas.
All these “Cries” were milestones in the several colonial-to-nationalist histories of the world.
33. RAGING CONTROVERSY
– If the expression is taken literally –the Cry as the shouting of nationalistic slogans in mass assemblies
–then there were scores of such Cries. Some writers refer to a Cry of Montalban on April 1895, in the
Pamitinan Caves where a group of Katipunan members wrote on the cave walls, “Viva la indepencia
Filipina!” long before the Katipunan decided to launch a nationwide revolution.
– The historian Teodoro Agoncillo chose to emphasize Bonifacio’s tearing of the cedula (tax receipt)
before a crowd of Katipuneros who then broke out in cheers. However, Guardia Civil Manuel Sityar
never mentioned in his memoirs (1896-1898) the tearing or inspection of the cedula, but did note the
pacto de sangre (blood pact) mark on every single Filipino he met in August 1896 on his reconnaissance
missions around Balintawak.
– Some writers consider the first military engagement with the enemy as the defining moment of the
Cry. To commemorate this martial event upon his return from exile in Hong Kong, Emilio Aguinaldo
commissioned a “Himno de Balintawak” to herald renewed fighting after the failed peace of the pact of
Biyak na Bato.
34. – On 3 September 1911, a monument to the Heroes of 1896 was erected in what is now the
intersection of Epifanio de los Santos Avenue (EDSA) and Andres Bonifacio Drive –North Diversion
Road. From that time on until 1962, the Cry of Balintawak was officially celebrated every 26 August.
– It is not clear why the 1911 monument was erected there. It could not have been to mark the site of
Apolonio Samson’s house in barrio Kangkong; Katipuneros marked that site on Kaingin Road,
between Balintawak and San Francisco del Monte Avenue.
– Neither could the 1911 monument have been erected to mark the site of the first armed encounter
which, incidentally, the Katipuneros fought and won. A contemporary map of 1896 shows that the
August battle between the Katipunan rebels and the Spanish forces led by Lt. Ros of the Civil Guards
took place at sitio Banlat, North of Pasong Tamo Road far from Balintawak. The site has its own
marker.
35. – It is quite clear that first, eyewitnesses cited Balintawak as the better-known reference point for a
larger area. Second, while Katipunan may have been massing in Kangkong, the revolution was
formally launched elsewhere. Moreover, eyewitnesses and therefore historians, disagreed on the site
and date of the Cry. But the issue did not rest there. In 1970, the historian Pedro A. Gagelonia
pointed out: The controversy among historians continues to the present day. The “Cry of Pugad
Lawin” (August 23, 1896) cannot be accepted as historically accurate. It lacks positive
documentation and supporting evidence from the witness. The testimony of only one eyewitness
(Dr. Pio Valenzuela) is not enough to authenticate and verify a controversial issue in history.
Historians and their living participants, not politicians and their sycophants, should settle this
controversy.
36. CONFLICTING ACCOUNTS
– Pio Valenzuela had several versions of the Cry. Only after they are compared and
reconciled with the other accounts will it be possible to determined what really
happened. Was there a meeting at Pugad Lawin on 23 August 1896, after the
meeting at Apolonio Samson’s residence in Hong Kong? Where were the cedulas
torn, at Kangkong or Pugad Lawin?
– In September 1896, Valenzuela stated before the Olive Court, which was charged
with investigating persons involved in the rebellion, only that Katipunan meetings
took place from Sunday to Tuesday or 23 to 25 August at Balintawak.
– In 1911, Valenzuela averred that the Katipunan began meeting on 22 August
while the Cry took place on 23 August at Apolonio Samson’s house in Balintawak.
37. – From 1928 to 1940, Valenzuela maintained that the Cry happened on 24 August at the house of
Tandang Sora (Melchora Aquino) in Pugad Lawin, which he now situated near Pasong Tamo
Road. A photograph of Bonifacio’s widow Gregoria de Jesus and Katipunan members Valenzuela,
Briccio Brigido Pantas, Alfonso and Cipriano Pacheco, published in La Opinion in 1928 and 1930,
was captioned both times as having been taken at the site of the Cry on 24 August 1896 at the
house of Tandang Sora at Pasong Tamo Road.
– In 1935 Valenzuela, Pantas and Pacheco proclaimed “na hindi sa Balintawak nangyari ang
unang sigaw ng paghihimagsik na kinalalagian ngayon ng bantayog, kung di sa pook na kilala sa
tawag na Pugad Lawin.” (The first Cry of the revolution did not happen in Balintawak where the
monument is, but in a place called Pugad Lawin.)
38. – In 1940, a research team of the Philippines Historical Committee (a forerunner of the National
Historical Institute or NHI), which included Pio Valenzuela, identified the precise spot of Pugad Lawin
as part of sitio Gulod, Banlat, Kalookan City. In 1964, the NHI’s Minutes of the Katipunan referred to
the place of the Cry as Tandang Sora’s and not as Juan Ramos’ house, and the date as 23 August.
– Valenzuela memoirs (1964, 1978) declared that the Cry took place on 23 August at the house of Juan
Ramos at Pugad Lawin. The NHI was obviously influenced by Valenzuela’s memoirs. In 1963, upon the
NHI endorsement, President Diosdado Macapagal ordered that the Cry be celebrated on 23 August and
that Pugad Lawin be recognized as its site.
39. Pugad Lawin Shrine in Quezon City: The shrine is located in Pugad Lawin, Quezon City, which is near
Congressional Avenue and which is populated by people coming from the lower and middle classes.
40. John N. Schumacher, S.J, of the Ateneo de Manila
University was to comment on Pio Valenzuela’s credibility:
– “I would certainly give much less credence to all accounts coming from Pio Valezuela, and to the
interpretations Agoncillo got from him verbally, since Valenzuela gave so many versions from the time he
surrendered to the Spanish authorities and made various statements not always compatible with one
another up to the time when as an old man he was interviewed by Agoncillo. Pio Valenzuela backtracked
on yet another point. In 1896, Valenzuela testified that when the Katipunan consulted Jose Rizal on
whether the time had come to revolt, Rizal was vehemently against the revolution. Later, in Agoncillo’s
Revolt of the masses, Valenzuela retracted and claimed that Rizal was actually for the uprising, if certain
pre-requisites were met. Agoncillo reasoned that Valenzuela had lied to save Rizal.”
41. THE PUGAD LAWIN MARKER
– The prevalent account of the Cry is that of Teodoro Agoncillo in Revolt of the masses
(1956): It was in Pugad Lawin, where they proceeded upon leaving Samson’s place in
the afternoon of the 22nd, that the more than 1,000 members of the Katipunan met in the
yard of Juan A. Ramos, son of Melchora Aquino, in the morning of August 23rd.
Considerable discussion arose whether the revolt against the Spanish government should
be started on the 29th. Only one man protested… But he was overruled in his stand…
Bonifacio then announced the decision and shouted: “Brothers, it was agreed to continue
with the plan of revolt. My brothers, do you swear to repudiate the government that
oppresses us?” And the rebels, shouting as one man replied: “Yes, sir!” “That being the
case,” Bonifacio added, “bring out your cedulas and tear them to pieces to symbolize our
determination to take arms!” . Amidst the ceremony, the rebels, tear-stained eyes,
shouted: “Long live the Philippines! Long live the Katipunan!
42. – Agoncillo used his considerable influenced and campaigned for a change in the recognized site to
Pugad Lawin and the date 23 August 1896. In 1963, the National Heroes Commission (a forerunner of
the NHI), without formal consultations or recommendations to President Diosdado Macapagal.
– Consequently, Diosdado Macapagal ordered that the Cry of Balintawak be called the “Cry of Pugad
Lawin,” and that it be celebrated on 23 August instead of 26 August. The 1911 monument in Balintawak
was later removed to a highway. Student groups moved to save the discarded monument, and it was
installed in front of Vinzons Hall in the Diliman campus of the University of the Philippines on 29
November 1968.
– In 1962, Teodoro Agoncillo, together with the UP Student Council, placed a marker at the Pugad
Lawin site. According to Agoncillo, the house of Juan Ramos stood there in 1896, while the house of
Tandang Sora was located at Pasong Tamo.
– On 30 June 1983, Quezon City Mayor Adelina S. Rodriguez created the Pugad Lawin Historical
Committee to determine the location of Juan Ramos’s 1896 residence at Pugad Lawin.
43. In August 1983, Pugad Lawin in barangay Bahay Toro was inhabited by squatter
colonies.• The NHI believed that it was correct in looking for the house of Juan
Ramos and not of Tandang Sora. However, the former residence of Juan Ramos
was clearly defined.• There was an old dap-dap tree at the site when the NHI
conducted its survey I 1983. Teodoro Agoncillo, Gregorio Zaide and Pio
Valenzuela do not mention a dap-dap tree in their books.
– • Pio Valenzuela, the main proponent of the “Pugad Lawin” version, was dead
by the time the committee conducted its research.
– • Teodoro Agoncillo tried to locate the marker installed in August 1962 by the
UP Student Council. However, was no longer extant in 1983.
44. – In spite of the above findings and in the absence of any clear evidence, the NHI
disregarded its own 1964 report that the Philippine Historical Committee had
determined in 1940 that the Pugad Lawin residence was Tandang Sora’s and not
Juan Ramos’s and that the specific site of Pugad Lawin was Gulod in Banlat.
– The presence of the dap-dap tree in the Pugad Lawin site determined by
Agoncillo and the NHI is irrelevant, since none of the principals like Pio
Valenzuela, Santiago Alvarez, and others, nor historians like Zaide- and even
Agoncillo himself before that instance- mentioned such a tree.
– On the basis of the 1983 committee’s findings, the NHI placed a marker on 23
August 1984 on Seminary Road in barangay Bahay Toro behind Toro Hills High
School, the Quezon City General Hospital and the San Jose Seminary. It reads:
45. Ang Sigaw ng Pugad Lawin (1896)
– Sa paligid ng pook na ito, si Andres Bonifacio at mga isang libong Katipunero at nagpulong
noong umaga ng ika-23 Agosto 1896, at ipinasyang maghimagsik laban sa Kastila sa Pilipinas.
Bilang patunay ay pinag-pupunit ang kanilang mga sedula na naging tanda ng pagkaalipin ng mga
Pilpino. Ito ang kaunaunahang sigaw ng Bayang Api laban sa bansang Espanya na pinatibayan sa
pamamagitan ng paggamit ng sandata.
– (On this site Andres Bonifacio and one thousand Katipuneros met in the morning of 23 August
1896 and decided to revolt against the Spanish colonial government in the Philippines. As an
affirmation of their resolve, they tore up their tax receipts which were symbols of oppression of the
Filipinos. This was very first Cry of the Oppressed Nation against Spain which was enforced with
use of arms.)
– The place name “Pugad Lawin “, however, is problematic. In History of the Katipunan (1939),
Zaide records Valenzuela’s mention of the site in a footnote and not in the body of text, suggesting
that the Historian regarded the matter as unresolved.
46. Was there a Pugad Lawin in maps or
literature of the period?
– A rough sketch or croquis de las operaciones practicadas in El Español showed the movements of Lt. Ros against
the Katipunan on 25, 26, and 27 August 1896. The map defined each place name as sitio “Baclac” (sic: Banlat). In 1897,
the Spanish historian Sastron mentioned Kalookan, Balintawak, Banlat and Pasong Tamo. The names mentioned in
some revolutionary sources and interpretations- Daang Malalim, Kangkong and Pugad Lawin- were not identified as
barrios. Even detailed Spanish and American maps mark only Kalookan and Balintawak.
– In 1943 map of Manila marks Balintawak separately from Kalookan and Diliman. The sites where revolutionary
events took place are within the ambit of Balintawak.
– Government maps issued in 1956, 1987, and 1990, confirm the existence of barangays Bahay Toro, but do not
define their boundaries. Pugad Lawin is not on any of these maps.
– According to the government, Balintawak is no longer on the of Quezon City but has been replaced by several
barangays. Barrio Banlat is now divided into barangays Tandang Sora and Pasong Tamo. Only bahay Toro remains
intact.
– Writer and linguist Sofronio Calderon, conducting research in the late 1920s on the toponym “Pugad Lawin,” went
through the municipal records and the Census of 1903 and 1918, could not find the name, and concluded that
“Isang…pagkakamali… ang sabihing mayroong Pugad Lawin sa Kalookan.” (It would be a mistake to say that there is
such as Pugad Lawin in Kalookan.)
47. WHAT CAN WE CONCLUDE
FROM ALL THIS?
– First, that “Pugad Lawin” was never officially recognized as a place name on any
Philippine map before Second World War.
– Second, “Pugad Lawin “ appeared in historiography only from 1928, or some 32
years after the events took place.
– Third, the revolution was always traditionally held to have occurred in the area
of Balintawak, which was distinct from Kalookan and Diliman.
– Therefore, while the toponym “Pugad Lawin” is more romantic, it is more
accurate to stick to the original “Cry of Balintawak.”
48. DETERMINING THE DATE
– The official stand of NHI is that the Cry took place on 23 August 1896. That
date, however, is debatable. The later accounts of Pio Valenzuela and Guillermo
Masangkay on the tearing of cedulas on 23 August are basically in agreement, but
conflict with each other on the location. Valenzuela points to the house of Juan
Ramos in Pugad Lawin, while Masangkay refers to Apolonio Samson’s in
Kangkong. Masangkay’s final statement has more weight as it is was corroborated
by many eyewitnesses who were photographed in 1917, when the earliest 23 August
marker was installed. Valenzuela’s date (23 August ) in his memoirs conflict with
1928 and 1930 photographs of the surveys with several Katipunan officers,
published in La Opinion, which claim that the Cry took place on the 24th.
49. THE TURNING POINT
– What occurred during those last days of August 1896? Eyewitness accounts mention
captures, escapes, recaptures, killings of Katipunan members; the interrogation of
Chinese spies; the arrival of arms in Meycauyan, Bulacan; the debate with Teodoro Plata
and others; the decision to go war; the shouting of slogan; tearing of cedulas; the sending
of letters presidents of Sanggunian and balangay councils; the arrival of civil guard; the
loss of Katipunan funds during the battle. All these events, and many others, constitute
the beginning of nationwide revolution.
– The Cry, however, must be defined as that turning point when the Filipinos finally
rejected Spanish colonial dominion over the Philippine Islands, by formally constituting
their own national government, and by investing a set of leaders with authority to initiate
and guide the revolution towards the establishment of sovereign nation.
50. WHERE DID THIS TAKE PLACE?
– The introduction to the original Tagalog text of the Biyak na Bato Constitution
states:
– (The separation of the Philippines from the Spanish Monarchy, constituting an
independent state and with a proper sovereign government, named the Republic of
the Philippines, was the end pursued by the revolution through the present
hostilities, initiated on 24 August 1896…)
– These lines- in a legal document at that – are persuasive proof that in so far as
the leaders of the revolution are concerned, revolution began on 24 August 1896.
The document was written only one and a half years after the event and signed by
over 50 Katipunan members, among them Emilio Aguinaldo , Artemio Ricarte and
Valentin Diaz.
51. – Emilio Aguinaldo’s memoirs, Mga Gunita ng Himagsikan (1964), refer to two letters from Andres Bonifacio dated
22 and 24 August. They pinpoint the date and place of the crucial Cry meeting when the decision to attack Manila was
made:
– (On 22 August 1896, the Magdalo Council received a secret letter from Supremo Andres Bonifacio, in Balintawak,
which stated that the Katipunan will hold an important meeting on the 24th of the said month, and that it was extremely
necessary to send two representatives or delegates in the name of the said Council. The meeting would be timed to
coincide with the feast day of Saint Bartolomew in Malabon, Tambobong. Upon receiving the said invitation, our
President, Mr. Baldomero Aguinaldo, called a meeting at Tribunal of Cavite el Viejo…We were apprehensive about
sending representatives because the areas they would have pass through were dangerous and was a fact that the Civil
Guard and Veterans were arresting travelers, especially those suspected of being freemasons and members of
Katipunan. Nevertheless, we agreed and nominated to send a single representative in the person of our brave brother,
Mr. Domingo Orcullo… Our representative arrived safely at his destination and also returned unharmed, bearing a
letter from the Supremo dated 24 August. It contained no orders but the shocking announcement that the Katipunan
would attack Manila at night on Saturday, 29 August, the signal for which would be the putting out of the lamps in
Luneta. He added that many of his comrade had been captured and killed by the Civil Guard and Veterans in Gulod…)
52. – The first monument to mark the Cry was erected in 1903 on Ylaya Street in
Tondo, in front of the house were Liga Filipina was founded. The tablet cites Andres
Bonifacio as a founding member, and as “ Supreme Head of the Katipunan, which
gave the first battle Cry against tyranny on August 24, 1896.”
– The above facts render unacceptable the official stand that the turning point of
the revolution was the tearing of cedulas in the “Cry of Pugad Lawin” on 23 August
1896, in the Juan Ramos’s house in “Pugad Lawin” Bahay Toro, Kalookan.
– The events of 17-26 August 1896 occurred closer to Balintawak than to
Kalookan. Traditionally, people referred to the “Cry of Balintawak” since that barrio
was a better known reference point than Banlat.
53. – In any case, “Pugad Lawin” is not historiographically verifiable outside of the statements of Pio Valenzuela in the
1930s and after. In Philippine Historical Association round-table discussion in February this year, a great granddaughter
of Tandang Sora protested the use of toponym “Pugad Lawin” which, she said, referred to a hawks nest on top of a tall
sampaloc tree at Gulod, the highest elevated area near Balintawak. This certainly negates the NHI’s premise that “Pugad
Lawin” is on Seminary Road in Project 8.
– What we should celebrate is the establishment of a revolutionary or the facto government that was republican in
aspiration, the designation of Bonifacio as the Kataastaasang Pangulo (Supreme President), the election of the members
of his cabinet ministers and Sanggunian and Balangay heads which authorized these moves met in Tandang Sora’s barn
near Pasong Tamo Road, in sitio Gulod, barrio Banlat then under the jurisdiction of the municipality of Kalookan. This
took place at around noon of Monday, 24 August 1896.
– It is clear that the so-called Cry of Pugad Lawin of 23 August is an imposition and erroneous interpretation,
contrary to indisputable and numerous historical facts.
– The centennial of the Cry of Balintawak should be celebrated on 24 August 1996 at the site of the barn and house of
Tandang Sora in Gulod, now barangay Banlat, Quezon City.
– That was when and where the Filipino nation state was born.
54. Going back to the questions
Why Cry of Pugad Lawin?
“Cries” refers to milestones in the several colonial-to-nationalist histories of the
world according to Manuel Sastron, the Spanish historian.
“el grito de rebelion” or “The Cry of Rebellion” in the 19th century describes the
momentous events sweeping the Spanish colonies. in Mexico, it was the “Cry of
Dolores” (16 September 1810), Brazil the “City of Ypiraga” (7 September 1822),
and in Cuba the “Cry of Matanza” (24 February 1895).and “Cry of Pugadlawin”
in, northeast of Manila in August 1896
55. It has been widely believed that the First Cry of the revolution took place in
Balintawak, Caloocan on August 23, 1896.
The “Cry of Pugadlawin” is the event so-called "Cry of Balintawak," which
happened in Pugadlawin. It describes Andres Bonifacio saying, "bring out your
cedulas and tear them to pieces to symbolize our determination to take up arms!"
and shouting "Long live the Philippines!"
56. This controversy remains unresolved there were five dates for the Cry – August
20, 23, 24, 25, and 26 – and five different venues for the first cry: Balintawak,
Pugadlawin, Kangkong, Bahay Toro, and Pasong Tamo.
In 1963, upon the NHI endorsement, President Diosdado Macapagal ordered that
the Cry be celebrated on 23 August and that Pugad Lawin be recognized as its
site.
