Mylene Manalo

BSTM 1.1

Controversy about Katipunan’s Cry

Introduction

What is the truth about the Katipunan’s Cry? 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.

Until now Katipunan’s Cry are confidential and controversial issue in our country. Many
historians said that it was happened on august 20, 24, 25, and 26 but Pio Valenzuela who one
witness that it was happened on 23 August 1986. Other issues that must be controversy is the place
where did it happened; Pugadlawin or Balintawak ? Many books was published that it was happened
on the 23 of August 1986 in Pugadlawin. On 23 August 1896, the Supremo and his troops formally
launched an armed revolution against Spain. They tore their resident certificates or cedulas which
symbolized their defiance against from the colonizers. This became known in history as “ The Cry of
Pugadlawin”.

Body

The Cry of Pugad Lawin, also known as Sigaw ng Pugad Lawin, alternately and originally
referred to as the Cry of Balintawak, was the beginning of the Philippine Revolution against Spanish
rule. National Historical Commission, state that the spark of the Revolution started with a cry,
followed by the tearing of cedulas led by Andres Bonifacio in Pugadlawin, Quezon City. The issue is
not just historiographical but political. Re-opening the issue looks simple because people think it’s
just like tossing a coin to decide between Balintawak or Pugadlawin. The other options for historical
sites are Pasong Tamo, Bahay Toro, Kangkong, and Banlat. If you think location is the only issue, look
again. The date declared by the National Historical Commission as the start of the Philippine
Revolution on August 23, 1896 but one date proposed, the others being August 20, 24, 25 and 26,
1896.

Dr. Pio Valenzuela is one of the surviving witnesses of the Cry of Pugad Lawin, and this is
confirmed by the list drawn up by Guillermo Masangkay (who himself was present). If we are to
believe Masangkay, Dr. Valenzuela would be the only doctor participating in the cry. 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, he conclude that
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 and is very easy
to cleaned up.

In the 1980s, the search for Pugad Lawin continued. This time, there seems to be stronger
evidence of the cry happening at Pugadlawin near Bahay Toro than at Pugad Lawin near Pasong
Tamo. It is also concluded that it is the house of Juan Ramos in Bahay Toro, not in the house of
Melchora Aquino in Pasong Tamo, where the cry happened. This is supported by the recollection of
the descendants of Juan Ramos, who pointed out where his house is located. Thus, from August 23,
1984 to this day, the official marker for Pugad Lawin lies in Bahay Toro, which is now part of Quezon
City.

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 kauna-unahang sigaw ng Bayang Api laban sa bansang Espanya na pinatibayan sa
pamamagitan ng paggamit ng sandata. That was read on the marked that place on the monument
and it wasn’t place that if the date and place are not validated and reliable.

Conclusion

All these debates about dates and places which may seem trivial to the general public, It is
the lifeblood of historians. Based on many article what I’ve read about what historians said about
Katipunan’s cry. They conclude and justified that it was happened on August 23, 1986 at Pugad
Lawin and not on other date and place that other historians said. In 1940, research team of the
Philippines Historical Committee (NHI), which included Pio Valenzuela, identified the precise spot of
Pugad Lawin as part of sitio Gulod Banlat, Kalookan City. In Valenzuela memoirs (1964,1978) averred
that the Cry took place on August 23 at the house of Juan Ramos at Pugad Lawin. In 1963, upon the
NHI endorsement, President Diosdado Macapagal ordered that the Cry be celebrated on 23 of
August and that Pugadlawin be recognized as its site. The proof was validated and reliable according
to the basis of 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.