Andrés Bonifacio facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Andrés Bonifacio
Portrait photograph, c. 1896
Unofficial President of the Sovereign Tagalog Nation President of the Philippines (unofficial)
In office August 24, 1896 – March 22 or May 10, 1897
Preceded by	Office established
Succeeded by	Office abolished Emilio Aguinaldo (as President of Tejeros Revolutionary Government)
Supremo of Katipunan
In office November, 1895 – May 10, 1897
Preceded by	Román Basa
Succeeded by	Organization defunct
Personal details
Born	Andrés Bonifacio y de Castro (1863-11-30)November 30, 1863 Tondo, Manila, Captaincy General of the Philippines, Spanish Empire
Died	May 10, 1897(1897-05-10) (aged 33) Maragondon, Cavite, Captaincy General of the Philippines, Spanish Empire
Cause of death	Execution
Political party	La Liga Filipina Katipunan
Spouses	Monica ​ (her death)​ Gregoria de Jesús ​ (m. 1893)​
Children	1
Education	Self-educated
Signature
Nickname	Maypagasa
Military service
Allegiance	Katipunan Tagalog Republic Katipunan (Magdiwang)
Years of service	1896–1897
Battles/wars	Philippine Revolution Cry of Pugad Lawin Battle of Manila (1896) Battle of San Juan del Monte Battle of Pasong Tamo Battle of San Mateo and Montalban

Andrés Bonifacio y de Castro (Tagalog: [anˈdɾes (anˈdɾez-) bonɪˈfaʃo], Spanish: [anˈdɾez βoniˈfaθjo] November 30, 1863 – May 10, 1897) was a Filipino Freemason and revolutionary leader. He is often called "The Father of the Philippine Revolution", and considered one of the national heroes of the Philippines.

He was one of the founders and later the Kataastaasang Pangulo (Supreme President, Presidente Supremo in Spanish, often shortened by contemporaries and historians to just Supremo) of the Kataastaasan, Kagalanggalangang Katipunan ng mga Anak ng Bayan or more commonly known as the "Katipunan", a movement which sought the independence of the Philippines from Spanish colonial rule and started the Tagalog Revolution. With the onset of the Revolution, Bonifacio reorganized the Katipunan into a revolutionary government, with himself as President (Pangulo) of a nation-state called "Haring Bayang Katagalugan" ("Sovereign Nation of the Tagalog People" or "Sovereign Tagalog Nation"), also "Republika ng Katagaluguan" ("Tagalog Republic", Republica Tagala in Spanish), where in "Tagalog" referred to all those born in the Philippine islands and not merely the Tagalog ethnic group. Hence, some historians have argued that he should be considered the First President of the Tagalogs instead of the Philippines; that is why he is not included in the current official line of succession.

Early life and education

Andrés Bonifacio y de Castro was born on November 30, 1863, in Tondo, Manila, and was the first of six children of Catalina de Castro, a Spanish Mestiza, and Santiago Bonifacio, an Alcalde of Tondo, a Chinese mestizo. His parents named him after Saint Andrew the Apostle, whose feast day falls on his birth date. He learned the alphabet through his aunt. He was later enrolled in Guillermo Osmeña's private school, and learned English while employed as a clerk-messenger by a British firm. Some sources assert that he was orphaned at an early age, but, considering the existence of an 1881 record that has Bonifacio's parents listed as living in Tondo, it is disputed by others. To support his family financially, Bonifacio made canes and paper fans which he and his young siblings sold (after they were orphaned, according to the traditional view). He also made posters for business firms. This became their thriving family business that continued when the men of the family, namely Andres, Ciriaco, Procopio, and Troadio, were employed with private and government companies, which provided them with decent living conditions.

In his late teens, he worked as a mandatario (agent) for the British trading firm Fleming and Company, where he rose to become a corredor (broker) of tar, rattan and other goods. He later transferred to Fressell and Company, a German trading firm, where he worked as a bodeguero (storehouse keeper) responsible for warehouse inventory. He was also a theater actor and often played the role of Bernardo Carpio, a fictional character in Tagalog folklore.

Not finishing his formal education, Bonifacio turned to self-education by reading books. He read books about the French Revolution, biographies of the presidents of the United States, books about contemporary Philippine penal and civil codes, and novels such as Victor Hugo's Les Misérables, Eugène Sue's Le Juif errant and José Rizal's Noli Me Tángere and El filibusterismo. Aside from Tagalog and Spanish, he could speak and understand English, which he learned while working at J.M. Fleming and Co.

Marriages

Bonifacio's first wife, Monica (surname unknown), was his neighbor in Palomar, Tondo. She died of leprosy and they had no recorded children.

In 1892, Bonifacio, a 29-year-old widower, met the 18-year-old Gregoria de Jesús through his friend Teodoro Plata, who was her cousin. Gregoria, also called Oriang, was the daughter of a prominent citizen and landowner from Caloocan. Gregoria's parents did not agree at first to their relationship, for Andrés was a Freemason, and Freemasons were at that time considered enemies of the Catholic Church. Her parents eventually acquiesced, and Andrés and Gregoria were married in a Catholic ceremony at Binondo Church in March 1893 or 1894. The couple also were married through Katipunan rites in a friend's house in Santa Cruz, Manila on the same day of their church wedding.

They had one son, born in early 1896, who died of smallpox in infancy.

Early political activism

In 1892, Bonifacio was one of the founding members of José Rizal's La Liga Filipina, an organization which called for political reforms in Spain's colonial government of the Philippines. However, La Liga disbanded after only one meeting, for Rizal was arrested and deported to Dapitan in the Western Mindanao region. Bonifacio, Apolinario Mabini and others revived La Liga in Rizal's absence and Bonifacio was active at organizing local chapters in Manila. He would become the chief propagandist of the revived Liga.

La Liga Filipina contributed moral and financial support to the Propaganda Movement of Filipino reformists in Spain.

Katipunan

On the night of July 7, 1892, the day after Rizal's deportation was announced, Bonifacio and others officially "founded" the Katipunan, or in full, Kataas-taasan, Kagalang-galang na Katipunan ng mga Anak ng Bayan ("Highest and Most Respected Society of the Country's Children"; Bayan can also denote community, people, and nation). The secret society sought independence from Spain through armed revolt. It was influenced by Freemasonry through its rituals and organization, and several members including Bonifacio were also Freemasons. Within the society Bonifacio used the pseudonym May pag-asa ("There is Hope"). Newly found documents though suggest that Katipunan has already been existing as early as January 1892.

For a time, Bonifacio worked with both the Katipunan and La Liga Filipina. La Liga eventually split because some members like Bonifacio lost hope for peaceful reform and stopped their monetary aid. The more conservative members, mostly wealthy members, who still believed in peaceful reforms set up the Cuerpo de Compromisarios, which pledged continued support to the reformists in Spain. The radicals were subsumed into the Katipunan. From Manila, the Katipunan expanded to several provinces, including Batangas, Laguna, Cavite, Bulacan, Pampanga, and Nueva Ecija. Most of its members, called Katipuneros, came from the lower and middle classes, and many of its local leaders were prominent figures in their municipalities. At first exclusively male, membership was later extended to females, with Bonifacio's wife Gregoria de Jesús as a leading member.

From the beginning, Bonifacio was one of the chief Katipunan officers, although he did not become its Presidente Supremo (Supreme President) until 1895. He was the third head of the Katipunan after Deodato Arellano and Román Basa. Prior to this, he served as the society's comptroller and then as its 'fiscal' (advocate/procurator). The society had its own laws, bureaucratic structure and elective leadership. For each province involved, the Katipunan Supreme Council coordinated with provincial councils in charge of public administration and military affairs, and with local councils in charge of affairs on the district or barrio level.

Within the society, Bonifacio developed a strong friendship with Emilio Jacinto, who served as his adviser and confidant, as well as a member of the Supreme Council. Bonifacio adopted Jacinto's Kartilya primer as the official teachings of the society in place of his own Decalogue, which he judged as inferior. Bonifacio, Jacinto and Pío Valenzuela collaborated on the society's organ, Kalayaan (Freedom), which had only one printed issue. Bonifacio wrote several pieces for the paper, including the poem Pag-ibig sa Tinubúang Lupà (approx. "Love for One's Homeland) under the pseudonym Agapito Bagumbayan. The publication of Kalayaan in March 1896 led to a great increase in the society's membership. The Katipunan movement spread throughout Luzon, to Panay in the Visayas and even as far as Mindanao. From less than 300 members in January 1896, it had 30,000 to 40,000 by August 1896.

The rapid increase in Katipunan activity drew the suspicion of the Spanish authorities. By early 1896, Spanish intelligence was aware of the existence of a seditious secret society, and suspects were kept under surveillance and arrests were made. On May 3, Bonifacio held a general assembly of Katipunan leaders in Pasig, where they debated when to start the revolution. While some officers, especially Bonifacio, believed a revolution was inevitable, some members, especially Santiago Alvarez and Emilio Aguinaldo both of Cavite, expressed reservations and disagreement regarding the planned revolt due to lack of firearms. The consensus was to consult José Rizal in Dapitan before launching armed action, so Bonifacio sent Pío Valenzuela to Rizal. Rizal turned out to be against the revolution, believing it to be premature. He recommended more preparation, but suggested that, in the event the revolution did break out, they should seek the leadership of Antonio Luna, who was widely regarded as a brilliant military leader.

Philippine Revolution

Start of the uprising

The Spanish authorities confirmed the existence of the Katipunan on August 19, 1896. Hundreds of Filipino suspects, both innocent and guilty, were arrested and imprisoned for treason. José Rizal (José Protasio Rizal Mercado y Realonda) was then on his way to Cuba to serve as a doctor in the Spanish colonial army in exchange for his release from Dapitan. When the news broke, Bonifacio first tried to convince Rizal, quarantined aboard a ship in Manila Bay, to escape and join the imminent revolt. Bonifacio, Emilio Jacinto and Guillermo Masangkay [nl] disguised themselves as sailors and went to the pier where Rizal's ship was anchored. Jacinto personally met with Rizal, who rejected their rescue offer. Rizal himself was later arrested, tried and executed.

Eluding an intensive manhunt, Bonifacio called thousands of Katipunan members to a mass gathering in Caloocan, where they decided to start their uprising. The event, marked by the tearing of cedulas (personal identity documents) was later called the "Cry of Balintawak" or "Cry of Pugad Lawin"; the exact location and date of the Cry are disputed. The Supreme Council of the Katipunan declared a nationwide armed revolution against Spain and called for a simultaneous coordinated attack on the capital Manila on August 29. Bonifacio appointed generals to lead rebel forces to Manila. Other Katipunan councils were also informed of their plans. Before hostilities erupted, Bonifacio reorganized the Katipunan into an open de facto revolutionary government with him as Supremo of the rebel army and the Supreme Council as his cabinet.

On August 30, 1896, Bonifacio personally led an attack on San Juan del Monte to capture the town's powder magazine and water station (which supplied Manila). The defending Spaniards, outnumbered, fought a delaying battle until reinforcements arrived. Once reinforced, the Spaniards drove Bonifacio's forces back with heavy casualties. Bonifacio and his troops regrouped near Marikina, San Mateo and Montalban. Elsewhere, fighting between rebels and Spanish forces occurred in Mandaluyong, Sampaloc, Santa Ana, Pandacan, Pateros, Marikina, Caloocan, Makati and Taguig. The conventional view among Filipino historians is that the planned general Katipunan offensive on Manila was aborted in favor of Bonifacio's attack on San Juan del Monte, which sparked a general state of rebellion in the area. However, more recent studies have advanced the view that the planned offensive did push through and the rebel attacks were integrated; according to this view, Bonifacio's San Juan del Monte battle was only a part of a bigger whole – an unrecognized "Battle for Manila". Despite his reverses, Bonifacio was not completely defeated and was still considered a threat. Further, the revolt had spread to the surrounding provinces by the end of August.

Haring Bayang Katagalugan

Influenced by Freemasonry, the Katipunan had been organized with "its own laws, bureaucratic structure and elective leadership". For each province it involved, the Supreme Council coordinated provincial councils which were in charge of "public administration and military affairs on the supra-municipal or quasi-provincial level" and local councils, in charge of affairs "on the district or barrio level". In the last days of August, the Katipunan members met in Caloocan and decided to start their revolt (the event was later called the "Cry of Balintawak" or "Cry of Pugad Lawin"; the exact location and date are disputed). A day after the Cry, the Supreme Council of the Katipunan held elections, with the following results:

The above was divulged to the Spanish by the Katipunan member Pío Valenzuela while in captivity.

Milagros C. Guerrero and others have described Bonifacio as "effectively" the commander-in-chief of the revolutionaries. One name for Bonifacio's concept of the Philippine nation-state appears in surviving Katipunan documents: Haring Bayang Katagalugan ("Sovereign Nation of Katagalugan", or "Sovereign Tagalog Nation") – sometimes shortened into Haring Bayan ("Sovereign Nation"). Bayan may be rendered as "nation" or "people". Bonifacio is named as the president of the "Tagalog Republic" in an issue of the Spanish periodical La Ilustración Española y Americana published in February 1897 ("Andrés Bonifacio – Titulado "Presidente" de la República Tagala"). Another name for Bonifacio's government was Repúblika ng Katagalugan (another form of "Tagalog Republic") as evidenced by a picture of a rebel seal published in the same periodical the next month.

Official letters and one appointment paper of Bonifacio addressed to Emilio Jacinto reveal Bonifacio's various titles and designations, as follows:

• President of the Supreme Council
• Supreme President
• President of the Sovereign Nation of Katagalugan / Sovereign Tagalog Nation
• President of the Sovereign Nation, Founder of the Katipunan, Initiator of the Revolution
• Office of the Supreme President, Government of the Revolution

Later, in November 1896, while encamped at Balara, Bonifacio commissioned Julio Nakpil to compose a national anthem. Nakpil produced a hymn called Marangal na Dalit ng Katagalugan ("Honorable Hymn of the Tagalog Nation/People").

Eventually, an 1897 power struggle in Cavite led to command of the revolution shifting to Emilio Aguinaldo at the Tejeros Convention, where a new government was formed. Bonifacio was executed after he refused to recognize the new government. The Aguinaldo-headed Philippine Republic (Spanish: República Filipina), usually considered the "First Philippine Republic", was formally established in 1899, after a succession of revolutionary and dictatorial governments (e.g. the Tejeros government, the Biak-na-Bato Republic) also headed by Aguinaldo.

Campaigns around Manila

By December 1896, the Spanish government recognized three major centers of rebellion: Cavite (under Mariano Alvarez, Emilio Aguinaldo and others), Bulacan (under Mariano Llanera) and Morong (under Bonifacio). The revolt was most successful in Cavite, which mostly fell under rebel control by September–October 1896.

While Cavite is traditionally regarded as the "Heartland of the Philippine Revolution", Manila and its surrounding municipalities bore the brunt of the Spanish military campaign, becoming a no man's land. Rebels in the area were generally engaged in hit-and-run guerrilla warfare against Spanish positions in Manila, Morong, Nueva Ecija and Pampanga. From Morong, Bonifacio served as tactician for rebel guerrillas and issued commands to areas other than his personal sector, though his reputation suffered when he lost battles he personally led.

From September to October 1896, Bonifacio supervised the establishment of Katipunan mountain and hill bases like Balara in Marikina, Pantayanin in Antipolo, Ugong in Pasig and Tungko in Bulacan. Bonifacio appointing generals for these areas, or approving selections the troops themselves made.

On November 7, 1896, Bonifacio led an assault on San Mateo, Marikina and Montalban. The Spanish were forced to retreat, leaving these areas to the rebels, except for the municipal hall of San Mateo where some Spanish troops had barricaded. While Bonifacio's troops laid siege to the hall, other Katipunan forces set up defensive lines along the nearby Langka (or Nangka) river against Spanish reinforcements coming from the direction of Marikina. After three days, Spanish counterattacks broke through the Nangka river lines. The Spanish troops thus recaptured the rebel positions and surprised Bonifacio in San Mateo, who ordered a general retreat to Balara. They were pursued, and Bonifacio was nearly killed shielding Emilio Jacinto from a Spanish bullet which grazed his collar.

Bonifacio in Cavite

In late 1896, Bonifacio, as the recognized overall leader of the revolution, was invited to Cavite province by rebel leaders to mediate between them and unify their efforts. There were two Katipunan provincial chapters in Cavite that became rival factions: the Magdalo, headed by Emilio Aguinaldo's cousin Baldomero Aguinaldo, and the Magdiwang, headed by Mariano Álvarez, uncle of Bonifacio's wife. Leaders of both factions came from the upper class, in contrast to Bonifacio, who came from the lower middle class. After initial successes, Emilio Aguinaldo issued a manifesto in the name of the Magdalo ruling council which proclaimed a provisional and revolutionary government – despite the existence of the Katipunan government. Emilio Aguinaldo in particular had won fame for victories in the province. The Magdalo and Magdiwang clashed over authority and jurisdiction and did not help each other in battle. After multiple letters were sent to Bonifacio urging him to come, in December 1896 he traveled to Cavite accompanied by his wife, his brothers Procopio and Ciriaco, and some troops, including Emilio Jacinto, Bonifacio's secretary and right-hand man. Jacinto was said to be against Bonifacio's expedition to Cavite.

Upon his arrival at Cavite, friction grew between Bonifacio and the Magdalo leaders. Apolinario Mabini, who later served as Emilio Aguinaldo's adviser, writes that at this point the Magdalo leaders "already paid little heed to his authority and orders." Bonifacio was partial to the Magdiwang, perhaps due to his kinship ties with Mariano Álvarez, or more importantly, due to their stronger recognition of his authority. When Aguinaldo and Edilberto Evangelista went to receive Bonifacio at Zapote, they were irritated with what they regarded as his attitude of superiority. In his memoirs Aguinaldo wrote that Bonifacio acted "as if he were a king". Another time, Bonifacio ordered the arrest of one Katipunan general from Laguna named Vicente Fernandez, who was accompanying the Magdalo leaders in paying their respect to Bonifacio, for failing to support his attack in Manila, but the other Magdalo leaders refused to surrender him. Townspeople in Noveleta (a Magdiwang town) acclaimed Bonifacio as the ruler of the Philippines, to the chagrin of the Magdalo leaders, (Bonifacio replied: "Long live Philippine liberty!"). Aguinaldo disputed with Bonifacio over strategic troop placements and blamed him for the capture of the town of Silang. The Spanish, through Jesuit Superior Pio Pi, wrote to Aguinaldo about the possibility of peace negotiations. When Bonifacio found out, he and the Magdiwang council rejected the proposed peace talks. Bonifacio was also angered that the Spanish considered Aguinaldo the "chief of the rebellion" instead of him. However, Aguinaldo continued to arrange negotiations which never took place. Bonifacio believed Aguinaldo was willing to surrender the revolution.

Bonifacio was also subject to rumors that he had stolen Katipunan funds, his sister was the mistress of a priest, and he was an agent provocateur paid by friars to foment unrest. Also circulated were anonymous letters which told the people of Cavite not to idolize Bonifacio because he was a Mason, a mere Manila employee, allegedly an atheist, and uneducated. According to these letters, Bonifacio did not deserve the title of Supremo since only God was supreme. This last allegation was made despite the fact that Supremo was meant to be used in conjunction with Presidente, i.e. Presidente Supremo (Supreme President, Kataas-taasang Pangulo) to distinguish the president of the Katipunan Supreme Council from council presidents of subordinate Katipunan chapters like the Magdalo and Magdiwang; in other words, while Mariano Álvarez was the Magdiwang president, and Baldomero Aguinaldo was the Magdalo president, Bonifacio was the Supreme President. Bonifacio suspected the rumor-mongering to be the work of the Magdalo leader Daniel Tirona. He confronted Tirona, whose airy reply provoked Bonifacio to such anger that he drew a gun and would have shot Tirona if others had not intervened.

On December 31, Bonifacio and the Magdalo and Magdiwang leaders held a meeting in Imus, ostensibly to determine the leadership of Cavite in order to end the rivalry between the two factions. The issue of whether the Katipunan should be replaced by a revolutionary government was brought up by the Magdalo, and this eclipsed the rivalry issue. The Magdalo argued that the Katipunan, as a secret society, should have ceased to exist once the Revolution was underway. They also held that Cavite should not be divided. Bonifacio and the Magdiwang contended that the Katipunan served as their revolutionary government since it had its own constitution, laws, and provincial and municipal governments. Edilberto Evangelista presented a draft constitution for the proposed government to Bonifacio but he rejected it as it was too similar to the Spanish Maura Law. Upon the event of restructuring, Bonifacio was given carte blanche to appoint a committee tasked with setting up a new government; he would also be in charge of this committee. He tasked Emilio Aguinaldo to record the minutes of the meeting and requested for it to establish this authority, but these were never done and never provided.

The Tejeros Convention

On March 22, 1897, the revolutionary leaders held an important meeting in a Friar Estate Residence at Tejeros to resume their discussions regarding the escalating tension between the Magdalo and Magdiwang forces; And also to settle once-and-for-all the issue of governance within the Katipunan through an election. Amidst implications on whether the government of the "Katipunan" should be established as a monarchy or as a republic, Bonifacio maintained that it should be established as a republic. According to him, they were all in opposition to the King of Spain, and all of the government's members of any given rank should serve under the principle of liberty, equality, and fraternity, upon which republicanism was founded. Despite Bonifacio's concern on the lack of officials and representatives from other provinces, he was obliged to proceed with the election.

Before the election began, he asked that the results be respected by everyone, and all agreed. The Magdalo faction voted their own Emilio Aguinaldo President in absentia, as he was involved in the battle of Perez Dasmariñas, which was then ongoing. The resulting revolutionary government established at Tejeros, calling itself the Republica de Filipinas (Republic of the Philippines) around a month later, was later superseded by a number of reorganized revolutionary governments also headed by Aguinaldo. These included the Republica de Filipinas of November 1897, commonly known today as the "Republic of Biak-na-Bato", the Hong Kong Junta government-in-exile, the dictatorial government under which Philippine independence was proclaimed on June 12, 1898, and the revolutionary government now commonly known as the First Philippine Republic or "Malolos Republic", inaugurated on January 23, 1899 as the Republica Filipina (Philippine Republic). The 1899 government is now officially considered to be the true "first" Republic of the Philippines, with the present-day government of the Philippines thus being the "fifth" Republic.

Bonifacio received the second-highest number of votes for president. Though it was suggested that he be automatically be awarded the Vice Presidency, no one seconded the motion and the Election continued. Mariano Trías of the Magdiwang was elected vice president. Bonifacio was the last to be elected, as Director of the Interior. Daniel Tirona, protested Bonifacio being appointed as Director of the Interior on the grounds that the position should not be occupied by a person without a lawyer's diploma. Tirona suggested a prominent lawyer for the position such as Jose del Rosario. Insulted and angered, Bonifacio demanded an apology, since the voters had agreed to respect the election results. Tirona ignored Bonifacio's demand for apology which drove Bonifacio to draw his gun and again he nearly shot Tirona, who hid among the people, but he was restrained by Artemio Ricarte of the Magdiwang, who had been elected Captain-General. Bonifacio declared: "In my capacity as chairman of this convention, and as Presidente Supremo of the Most Venerable Katipunan of the Sons of the People, which association is known and acknowledged by all, I hereby declare null and void all matters approved in this meeting." He then promptly left the premises.

After the Tejeros Convention

On March 23, 1897, the day after the Tejeros convention, Aguinaldo surreptitiously took his oath of office as president in a chapel officiated by a Catholic priest Cenon Villafranca who was under the authority of the Pope in Rome. According to Gen. Santiago Alvarez, guards were posted outside with strict instructions not to let in any unwanted partisan from the Magdiwang faction while the oath-taking took place. Artemio Ricarte also took his office "with great reluctance" and made a declaration that he found the Tejeros elections "dirty or shady" and "not been in conformity with the true will of the people."

Meanwhile, Bonifacio met with his remaining supporters and drew up the Acta de Tejeros, wherein they gave their reasons for not accepting the election results. Bonifacio alleged the election was fraudulent due to cheating and accused Aguinaldo of treason for his negotiations with the Spanish. In their memoirs Santiago Álvarez (son of Mariano) and Gregoria de Jesús both alleged that many ballots were already filled out before being distributed, and Guillermo Masangkay contended there were more ballots prepared than voters present. Álvarez writes that Bonifacio had been warned by a Cavite leader Diego Mojica of the rigged ballots before the votes were canvassed, but he had done nothing. The Acta de Tejeros was signed by Bonifacio and 44 others, including Artemio Ricarte, Mariano Alvarez and Pascual Alvarez. Then, in a later meeting on April 19 in Naic, another document, the Naic Military Agreement, was drawn up which declared that its 41 signatories, "... having discovered the treason committed by certain officers who have been sowing discord and conniving with the Spaniards [and other offensive acts]", had "agreed to deliver the people from this grave danger" by raising an army corps "by persuasion or force" under the command of General Pio del Pilar. The document's 41 signatories included Bonifacio, Ricarte and del Pilar. The meeting was interrupted by Aguinaldo and del Pilar. Mariano Noriel and others present then promptly returned to Aguinaldo's fold. Aguinaldo attempted to persuade Bonifacio to cooperate with his government, but Bonifacio refused and proceeded to Indang, Cavite planning to get out of Cavite and proceed back to Morong.

In late April, Aguinaldo fully assumed the presidential office after consolidating his position among the Cavite elite – most of Bonifacio's Magdiwang supporters shifting allegiance to Aguinaldo. Aguinaldo's government then ordered the arrest of Bonifacio, who was then moving out of Cavite.

Trial and death

The Bonifacio shrine at the foot of Mount Nagpatong and Mount Buntis in Maragondon, Cavite where it is believed he was executed, on May 10, 1897.

In April 1897, Aguinaldo ordered the arrest of Bonifacio.

Bonifacio's party was brought to Naic initially and then to Maragondon, Cavite, where he and Procopio stood trial on May 5, 1897, on charges of sedition and treason against Aguinaldo's government and conspiracy to murder Aguinaldo. The jury was composed entirely of Aguinaldo's men and even Bonifacio's defence lawyer himself declared his client's guilt.

The Bonifacio brothers were found guilty, despite insufficient evidence, and were recommended to be executed. Aguinaldo commuted the sentence to deportation on May 8, 1897, but Pío del Pilar and Mariano Noriel persuaded him to withdraw the order for the sake of preserving unity.

The Bonifacio brothers were executed on May 10, 1897, in the mountains of Maragondon. Apolinario Mabini wrote that Bonifacio's death demoralized many rebels from Manila, Laguna and Batangas who had come to help those in Cavite, and caused them to quit. In other areas, Bonifacio's close associates like Emilio Jacinto and Macario Sakay continued the Katipunan and never recognized Aguinaldo's authority.

List of works

• "Mi abanico" (circa. 1870s)
• "Katapusang Hibik ng Pilipinas"
• "Ang Dapat Mabatid ng Mga Tagalog" (1896)
• "Pag-ibig sa Tinubuang Lupa" (1896)

Portrayal in the media

• Portrayed by Julio Diaz in the film Bayani (1992) and the unrelated TV series Bayani (1995).
• Portrayed by Gardo Versoza in the film José Rizal (1998).
• Portrayed by Alfred Vargas in the film The Trial of Andres Bonifacio (2010) and in the film Supremo (2012).
• Portrayed by Mark Anthony Fernandez in GMA Lupang Hinirang music video in 2010
• Portrayed by Cesar Montano in the film El Presidente (2012).
• Portrayed by Jolo Revilla in the TV series Indio (2013).
• Portrayed by Sid Lucero in the TV series Katipunan (2013) and Ilustrado (2014).
• Portrayed by Robin Padilla in the film Bonifacio: Ang Unang Pangulo (2014).
• Portrayed by Nico Antonio in the film Heneral Luna (2015).
• Portrayed by Jhong Hilario in the film Unli Life (2018).

See also

In Spanish: Andrés Bonifacio para niños