The Colaboration of Filipinos with the Americans

The Katipunan revolution which had begun in 1896 had formally ended with the Pact of Biak-na-Bato, a truce between the Spanish government and the principal revolutionary leaders which had been signed in November 1897. Emilio Aguinaldo, who held the office of President in the revolutionary government, and other revolutionary leaders were given amnesty and a monetary indemnity by the Spanish government in return for which the rebel government had agreed to go into voluntary exile in Hong Kong.

In April 1898, following on a joint congressional resolution, U.S. President William McKinley signed an ultimatum demanding that the government of Spain at once relinquish its authority and government in the Island of Cuba and withdraw its land and naval forces from Cuba and Cuban waters. This resulted on April 20 in a declaration of war against the United States by Spain, followed on April 25 by a declaration of war by the U.S. against Spain.

On April 24 word was received that the U.S. and Spain were at war, and the squadron was ordered by the British (a non-belligerent) to leave Hong Kong. It first moved 30 miles north to Mirs Bay on the Chinese coast and the departed from there for the Philippines on April 27, reaching Manila Bay on the evening of April 30.

The first battle of the Spanish-American war took place in the Philippines. On May 1, 1898. In a matter of hours, Commodore Dewey's Asiatic Squadron defeated the Spanish squadron under Admiral Patricio Montojo y Pasarón. The U.S. squadron took control of the arsenal and navy yard at Cavite and Dewey cabled Washington stating that, although he controlled Manila Bay, he needed 5000 men to seize Manila itself.

The completeness of Dewey's victory, so early in the war, prompted the administration of President William McKinley to send the troops necessary to capture Manila from the Spanish. The U.S. Army sent substantially more than Dewey asked for, the 10,844 man VIII Corps (PE), under the command of Major General Wesley Merritt. Meanwhile, Dewey dispatched the cutter McCulloch to Hong Kong to transport Aguinaldo to the Philippines. Aguinaldo arrived on May 19 and, after a brief meeting with Dewey, resumed revolutionary activities against the Spanish.

Public jubilance marked the Aguinaldo's return. Several revolutionaries, as well as Filipino soldiers employed by the Spanish army, submitted themselves to Aguinaldo's command and the Philippine Revolution against Spain resumed. Soon, Imus and Bacoor in Cavite, Parañaque andLas Piñas in Morong, Macabebe and San Fernando in Pampanga, as well as Laguna, Batangas, Bulacan, Nueva Ecija, Bataan, Tayabas (now Quezon), and the Camarines provinces, were liberated by the Filipinos and the port of Dalahican in Cavite was secured. The revolution was gaining ground.

Trial and Death of Andres Bonifacio

Bonifacio's actions after the Tejeros Convention have been called counter-revolutionary, the charge of treason justified, and his elimination even necessary to ensure unity of the Filipino revolutionaries. Teodoro Agoncillo writes that Bonifacio's declaration of authority in opposition to Aguinaldo posed a danger to the revolution, because a split in the rebel forces would result in almost certain defeat to their united and well-armed Spanish foe. In contrast Renato Constantino writes that Bonifacio was neither a danger to the revolution in general for he still planned to fight the Spanish, nor to the revolution in Cavite since he was leaving; but Bonifacio was definitely a threat to the Cavite leaders who wanted control of the Revolution, so he was eliminated. Constantino contrasts Bonifacio who had no record of compromise with the Spanish with the Cavite leaders who did compromise, resulting in the Pact of Biak-na-Bato whereas the revolution was officially halted and its leaders exiled, though many Filipinos continued to fight (though Aguinaldo, unofficially allied with the United States, did return to take charge of the revolution during the Spanish-American War).

Historians have also discussed the motives of the Cavite government to replace Bonifacio, and whether it had the right to do so. The Magdalo provincial council which helped establish a republican government led by one of their own was only one of many such councils in the pre-existing Katipunan government. Therefore, Constantino and Alejo Villanueva write they may be considered guilty of violating Bonifacio's constituted authority just as they considered Bonifacio to violate theirs. Aguinaldo's own adviser and official Apolinario Mabini writes that he was "primarily answerable for insubordination against the head of the Katipunan of which he was a member". Aguinaldo's authority was not immediately recognized by all rebels. If Bonifacio had escaped Cavite, he would have had the right as the Katipunan leader to prosecute Aguinaldo for treason instead of the other way around. Constantino and Villanueva also interpret the Tejeros Convention as the culmination of a movement by members of the upper class represented by Aguinaldo to wrest power from Bonifacio who represented the middle and lower classes.  Regionalism among the Cavite rebels, dubbed "Cavitismo" by Constantino, has also been put forward as motivation for the replacement of Bonifacio. Mabini writes: "All the electors [at the Tejeros Convention] were friends of Don Emilio Aguinaldo and Don Mariano Trías, who were united, while Bonifacio, although he had established his integrity, was looked upon with distrust only because he was not a native of the province: this explains his resentment."

There are differing accounts of Bonifacio's manner of execution. The commanding officer of the execution party, Lazaro Macapagal, said in two separate accounts that the Bonifacio brothers were shot to death, which is the orthodox interpretation. Macapagal's second account has Bonifacio attempting to escape after his brother is shot, but he is also killed while running away. Macapagal writes that they buried the brothers in shallow graves dug with bayonets and marked by twigs.

However, another account states that after his brother was shot, Bonifacio was stabbed and hacked to death. This was allegedly done while he lay prone in a hammock in which he was carried to the site, being too weak to walk. This version was maintained by Guillermo Masangkay, who claimed to have gotten this information from one of Macapagal's men. Also, one account used to corroborate this version is of an alleged eyewitness, a farmer who claimed he saw five men hacking a man in a hammock. Historian Milagros Guerrero also says Bonifacio was bayoneted, and that the brothers were left unburied. After bones said to be Bonifacio's - including a fractured skull - were discovered in 1918, Masangkay claimed the forensic evidence supported his version of events. Writer Adrian Cristobal notes that accounts of Bonifacio's captivity and trial state he was very weak due to his wounds being left untreated; he thus doubts that Bonifacio was strong enough to make a last dash for freedom as Macapagal claimed. Historian Ambeth Ocampo, who doubts the Bonifacio bones were authentic, thus also doubts the possibility of Bonifacio's death by this manner.

Cry of Balintawak

The Cry of Pugad Lawin (Filipino: Sigaw ng Pugad Lawin), alternately and originally referred to as the Cry of Balintawak (Filipino: Sigaw ng Balintawak, Spanish: Grito de Balintawak) was the beginning of the Philippine Revolution against Spanish rule.^[1]Because of differing accounts and the ambiguity of place names in these accounts, the exact date and place of the Cry is disputed.

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 Kalookan, wider than the jurisdiction of present-day Caloocan City and overlapping into present-day Quezon City.

Originally the term "Cry" referred to the first skirmish between the Katipuneros and the Civil Guards (Guardia Civil). Other definitions of the term have been made over the years, but today it is popularly understood to refer to the tearing of community tax certificates (cédulas personales) by the rebels to mark their separation from Spain. This was literally accompanied by patriotic shouts.

From 1908 until 1963, the official stance was that the Cry occurred on August 26 in Balintawak. In 1963 the Philippine government declared a shift to August 23 in Pugad Lawin, Quezon City.

Various accounts by participants and historians give differing dates and places for the Cry. An officer of the Spanish guardia civil, Lt. Olegario Diaz, stated that the Cry took place in Balintawak on August 25, 1896. 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. Santiago Alvarez, the 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. Pio Valenzuela, a close associate of Andrés Bonifacio declared in 1948 that it happened in Pugad Lawin on August 23, 1896. Gregorio Zaide stated in his books in 1954 that the "Cry" happened in Balintawak on August 26, 1896. Fellow historian Teodoro Agoncillo wrote in 1956 that it took place in Pugad Lawin on August 23, 1896, based on Pio Valenzuela's statement. Accounts by Milagros Guerrero, Emmanuel Encarnacion and Ramon Villegas claim the event to have taken place in Tandang Sora's barn in Gulod, Barangay Banlat, Quezon City.

Some of the apparent confusion is in part due to the double meanings of the terms "Balintawak" and "Kalookan" at the turn of the century. Balintawak referred both to a specific place in modern Caloocan and a wider area which included parts of modern Quezon City. Similarly, Kalookan referred to modern Caloocan 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".

The name "Pugad Lawin" does not appear on maps before World War II, and in Philippine historiography until some Katipuneros like Valenzuela protested the traditional identification with Balintawak starting in the late 1920s and early 1930s. These assertions were contested by other Katipuneros such as Guillermo Masangkay.

Teachings of the Katipunan

The KKK or Katipunan was founded in a house on Azcarraga street in Tondo, Manila where as a symbol of loyalty, a member needs to perform the sandugoor blood compact wherein each person needs to sign the pact with his own blood. Members agree to recruit more people using the "triangle system." An original member would recruit two new members who are then asked to do the same thing. They were also asked to contribute 25 centavos each month in order to raise funds for the association.

The association aimed to teach Filipinos good manners, cleanliness, fine morals and how to protect themselves against religious fanaticism, and to encourage Filipinos to help themselves and to defend the oppressed.

The highest governing body of the Katipunan was called the Kataas-taasang Sanggunian or the Supreme Council which was headed by thesupremo or the president. Each province had a Sangguniang Bayan and each town had a Sangguniang Balangay.

Jose Rizal did not become part of the Katipunan but its members still looked up to him as a leader.

The Kartilya ng Katipunan (English: Primer of the Katipunan) served as the guidebook for new members of the organization, which laid out the group's rules and principles. The first edition of the Kartilya was written by Emilio Jacinto.

TEACHINGS OF THE KATIPUNAN

1.    A life that is not dedicated to a noble cause is like a tree without a shade or a poisonous weed.

2.    A deed lacks nobility if it is motivated by self-interest and not by a sincere desire to help.

3.    True piety consists of being charitable, loving one’s fellow men, and being judicious in behavior, speech and deed.

4.    All persons are equal, regardless of the color of their skin. While one could have more schooling, wealth, or beauty than another, all that does not make one more human than anybody else.

5.    A person with a noble character values honor above self-interest, while a person with a base character values self-interest above honor.

6.    To a person of honor, his/her word is a pledge.

7.    Don’t waste time; lost wealth can be retrieved, but time lost is lost forever.

8.    Defend the oppressed and fight the oppressor.

9.    The wise person is careful in all he/she has to say and is discreet about things that need to be kept secret./ An intelligent man is he who is cautious in speech and knows how to keep the secrets that must be guarded.

10. In the thorny path of life, the man leads the way and his wife and children follow. If the leader goes the way to perdition, so do the followers. (Note: This begins with an observation of the vertical relationship of husband and wife during the time of the Katipunan; now, we can say that the parents lead the way and the children follow.)

11. Never regard a woman as an object for you to trifle with; rather you should consider her as a partner and helpmate. Give proper consideration to a woman’s frailty and never forget that your own mother, who brought you forth and nurtured you from infancy, is herself such a person.

12. Don’t do to the wife, children, brothers, and sisters of others what you do not want done to your wife, children, brothers, and sisters.

13. A man’s worth is not measured by his station in life, neither by the height of his nose nor the fairness of skin, and certainly not by whether he is a priest claiming to be God’s deputy. Even if he a tribesman from the hills and speaks only his tongue, a man has fine perceptions and is loyal to his native land.

14. When these teachings shall have been propagated and the glorious sun of freedom begins to shine on these poor Islands to enlighten a united race and people, then all the lives lost, all the struggle and the sacrifices will not have been in vain.

Results of Propaganda Movement

The Propaganda Movement was a literary and cultural organization formed in 1872 byFilipino émigrés who had settled in Europe. Composed of Filipino liberals exiled in 1872 and students attending Europe's universities, the organization aimed to increase Spanish awareness of the needs of its colony, the Philippines and to propagate a closer relationship between the colony and Spain.

Its prominent members included José Rizal, author of Noli Me Tangere (novel) and El Filibusterismo, Graciano López Jaena, publisher of La Solidaridad, the movement's principal organ, Mariano Ponce, the organization's secretary and Marcelo H. del Pilar.

Specifically, the Propagandists aims were:

1.              Representation of the Philippines in the Cortes Generales, the Spanish parliament;

2.              Secularization of the clergy;

3.              Legalization of Spanish and Filipino equality;

4.              Creation of a public school system independent of the friars;

5.              Abolition of the polo (labor service) and vandala (forced sale of local products to the government);

6.              Guarantee of basic freedoms of speech and association;

7.              Equal opportunity for Filipinos and Spanish to enter government service.

8.              Recognition of the Philippines as a province of Spain

9.              Secularization of Philippine parishes.

10.          Recognition of human rights

Philippine nationalism is an upsurge of patriotic sentiments and nationalistic ideals in the Philippines of the late 1800s that came as a result of the Filipino Propaganda Movement from 1872 to 1892. It became the main ideology of the first Asian nationalist revolution, the Philippine Revolution of 1896.

The development of native patriotism that resulted from the execution of Fathers Gomez, Burgos and Zamora also began the unconsicous formation of the ideological side of patriotism--nationalism. The Propaganda Movement (1872-1892) called for the assimilation of the Philippines as a province of Spain so that the same laws will be applied in the Philippines and that the inhabitants of the Philippines will experience the same civil liberties and rights as that of a Spanish citizen. Men like Marcelo H. del Pilar, Graciano Lopez Jaena, and Jose Rizal bombarded both the Spanish and Filipino public with nationalist literature. Rizal's novels Noli Me Tangere and El Filibusterismo became the bibles of Philippine nationalism. This time, the term Pilipino was not only for Spaniards born in the Philippines but was generically applied to every inhabitants born in the Philippine Islands. The movement ended in a failure, but the literature that resulted from it became the source of what came to be Philippine nationalism.