Can Andres Bonifacio be Considered as the

First President of the Philippines?

Submitted By:

Sonya Amara T. Sison

Submitted to:

Sir Mariano Bagasol

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According to Encarnacion, Guerrero and Villegas (1994), in the late 1980s,

Epifanio Delos Santos – historian and former director of the prewar Philippine

Library and Museum – made a part of the collection of noted letters and other

important documents signed by Bonifacio accessible. Three letters and one

appointment paper, written by Bonifacio on printed letterheads dated from 8

March to 24 April 1897, and all addressed to Emilio Jacinto, prove that Bonifacio

was the first president of a national government. These letters contained the

following titles and designations: Pangulo ng Kataastaasang Kapulungan

(President of the Supreme Council), Ang Kataastaasang Pangulo (The Supreme

President), Pangulo ng Haring Bayang Katagalugan (President of the Sovereign

Nation of Katagalugan), Ang Pangulo ng Haring Bayan, May Tayo ng Katipunan

ng mga Anak ng Bayan, Unang nag galaw ng Panghihimagsik (The President

Sovereign Nation Founder of the Katipunan, Initiator of the Revolution),

Kataastaasang Panguluhan at Pamahalaang Panghihimagsik (Office of the

Supreme President and Government of the Revolution). Also, based on the

documents retrieved from Archivo General Militar de Madrid (AGMM), Bonifacio

rarely signed himself as Supremo. He was always Pangulo ng Kataas-taasang

Kapulungan, Pangulo ng Haring Bayan, or Kataas-taasang Pangulo to distinguish

himself from the local presidents (Richardson, 2013). Ignacio Bunye (2014) also

mentioned that Bonifacio was referred as the Kataastaasang Pangulo and

General’ No. 1 by the prewar scholar Jose P. Bantug. Bunye also added that in
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1933 and 1939, historians Jose P. Santos and Gregorio F. Zaide both had the same

conclusions, and recognized Bonifacio’s presidency respectively.

Bonifacio has also displayed his leadership prowess and battle skills in the

confrontations that he has fought and won. One of his most prominent moments

is the Cry of Pugadlawin in which the Katipuneros, after being discovered and

fleeing, announced their allegiance to the Haring Bayan by shredding their

cedulas into pieces (Constantino & Constantino, 1975). That is as good as raising

and waving a flag of the country for by doing that, they have proved that they

are not under the influence or power of the Spanish regime anymore. Their battle

cry “Mabuhay ang Pilipinas!” served as the shout that led to the rise of the

Philippine Republic from the ashes that the Spanish colonialization has buried it in.

That, more than anything, is surely an action of patriotism and it is a movement

that can only be led by no less than a president. A president by the name of

Andres Bonifacio.

As the supreme president, Bonifacio also acted as the commander-in-

chief. He supervised the strategies and planned the preparation of orders,

manifests, and decrees (Encarnacion, Guerrero, & Villegas, 2003). He judicially

settled the offences against the nation and intervened in political disputes. Also,

according to Encarnacion, Guerrero, and Villegas (1994), the organization

engaged mostly in attack-and-withdraw operations, and neutralized the enemies

by seizing town halls and capturing supplies. Unlike Aguinaldo’s consecutive

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victories in Cavite, the fact that the Guardia Civil were well concentrated in

Manila made it even more difficult for Bonifacio to win (Constantino &

Constantino, 1975). On the basis of command and responsibility, all victories and

defeats all over the archipelago is credited to Bonifacio himself. He was

responsible for the whole archipelago’s struggles, and defeat cannot be avoided

(Salazar, 1997). Of course, Bonifacio will look like he lost most of his battles even

though he didn’t. Thus, the claims that Aguinaldo was better than Bonifacio when

it comes to battle strategies and methods, and that Bonifacio lost almost every

battle are invalid because the number of opponents and areas subjugated were

not taken into consideration.

Evidences prove that Bonifacio’s form of government is the same form that

Aguinaldo has assumed. The same system of governance was adopted and

followed. General Emilio Aguinaldo based the constitution of Biac-na-Bato on the

Katipunan’s Kartilya and he also replicated the same military exploitations and

schemes against the Spanish regime. That is to say that Aguinaldo chose to base

his governance on Bonifacio’s regime because it is a fully functioning successful

model of a government.

Bonifacio should be the first president of the Philippines because he has

more factual claims over Aguinaldo than history books have given him credit for.

He was a hardwired leader for he has carried the burden of raising a family from

an early age. He is the model of a self-sufficient Filipino because he has trained

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his mind during his free time while not neglecting his duties to his family. He

founded the Katipunan as an armed revolutionary movement because of the

fact that the propagandist movement is failing. He started the unification of the

different provinces of the Philippines as duly represented inside the Katipunan.

And last, he turned the said organization into an established government that is

truly ours – molded by love for one’s land and courage, and built by the bright

minds of our countrymen. He showed the people that anyone can lead, even an

orphan who didn’t finish school. He was the face of the masses and he showed

us that that face is the one no one shall forget. There may be claims that he lost

most of his battles and lost his presidency on the elections, but facts don’t lie.

Whatever was left in the Archivo General Militar de Madrid (AGMM) papers, and

the documents and letters at the Emmanuel Encarnacion and Epifanio Delos

Santos collection proves the fact that the Katipunan was a government, and

Andres Bonifacio is the first and supreme president of the Katipunan. By this, he

has served his countrymen, and the nation by being the primary figure of the

Philippine revolution, and the patriarch of Filipino independence. Andres

Bonifacio was the hero and the president the nation needed and for that, he

deserves justice and proper credit.

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References

A. Books

Andaquig, J., Estrella, Y., Galves, M., & Oliveros, R. (2007). Ang kasaysayan at

pamahalaan ng Pilipinas. Quezon City: IBON Foundation, Inc.

B. Pub. Services.

Encarnacion, E., Guerrero, M. & Villegas, R. (1994). Andres Bonifacio: Father of the

Filipino nation. In Tutuban: Progress and transformation. Manila: Tutuban

Properties.

Encarnacion, E., Guerrero, M. & Villegas, R. (2003). Andres Bonifacio and the 1896

revolution. Retrieved May 2, 2015, from http://www.ncca.gov.ph/about-

culture-and-arts/articles-on-c-n-a/article.php?i=5=1