Gregoria de Bonifacio, “Kasulatan” sent to Emilio Jacinto, c.

June
1897: the annex to Mga tala ng aking buhay

Jim Richardson
February 2014, revised May 2018

Source: Photographs of the original document, taken by León Gallery for the catalogue of the
Gallery’s 2018 mid-year auction; Transcription by Ambeth R. Ocampo from a photocopy of
the document, appended to his “Andres Bonifacio: Mito o Realidad?” First Annual Andres
Bonifacio/ Parian Lectures, Bulwagang Katipunan, Manila City Hall, November 29, 1989
(mimeograph).1

Introduction

Gregoria de Jesus concludes her brief memoir Mga tala ng aking buhay at
the point she went to join Bonifacio in the Katipunan camp at Balara in
November 1896. The subsequent tragedy in Cavite is an episode she
understandably chooses not to revisit. “With respect to the controversy
between Bonifacio and Aguinaldo,” she writes, “which originated from
the disorderly elections at Tejeros, and… which culminated in the
execution of Bonifacio, I will say nothing here, since [an account of] the
same can be read in a document (“kasulatan”) I sent to Emilio Jacinto…”2
The full text of this document has still not been published to this day.

The document bears neither a date nor any indication of where it was
written, but its content suggests that Gregoria dispatched it very soon
after she came back from Cavite to the vicinity of Manila. Most probably
it was written around June 1897, and the place it was written – the place
she refers to as “here” – was most probably the town of Pasig, which is
where the KKK government “in the north” was based, headed by Julio
Nakpil.3 It is not known where the document would have reached Emilio
Jacinto at this time – perhaps in Laguna – and nor is it known who else,
besides Jacinto, she is addressing when she exclaims “Ay, my brothers!”

Gregoria signs the “kasulatan” in her married name, Gregoria de

Bonifacio. Twenty-two years old and just widowed, her loss is fresh and
raw. Her pained outrage at her husband’s killing is intensified by the
cruelty she herself has suffered. Bonifacio’s executioners had not even
had the honesty or common decency to tell her what they had done. They
had left her with the false hope that he was still alive, and had let her
roam for days and weeks in the mountains, vainly searching for him.

1
The man who had ordered the execution, Gregoria concludes bitterly,
Emilio Aguinaldo, was the foremost traitor to the Katipunan. If he had
been expelled, as he should have been, the division and bloodshed could
have been averted.

Gregoria’s chronicle of the discord that came to a head in May 1897,

therefore, is at once personal and political. As might be expected, her
narrative touches on many of the same disputes and tensions that
Bonifacio himself had recounted in his own letters to Jacinto, and it
obviously takes the same partisan perspective. She alludes, for example,
to the hostility toward Bonifacio that existed within the Magdalo council
virtually from the start of his time in Cavite; to the furtive manner in
which the Magdalo leaders dealt with Spanish peace overtures; to the
agenda for the Tejeros convention being changed at a late hour to give
precedence to the formation of a government; to the cheating that sullied
Aguinaldo’s election as president at the convention; and to how
Bonifacio’s ability to serve in the new government had been challenged
by Daniel Tirona, an insult that caused the convention to end in disarray.

But the “kasulatan” also alludes to frictions that Bonifacio’s letters do not
mention, and which rarely, if ever, figure in the secondary literature. An
assembly of the leading revolutionists held after Bonifacio’s arrival,
Gregoria indicates, foreshadowed the strife that beset the Tejeros
convention three months later. There were disagreements about how the
meeting – presumably the Imus assembly of December 1896 – should be
convened, and about whether the decisions taken by assembly should
stand or be revoked. Another vexed issue, Gregoria says, was weaponry.
Bonifacio and his associates angrily believed that Magdalo people were
intercepting and stealing the military supplies that were being sent down
from the north, and had perhaps also taken all the rifles that were
supposedly to be delivered by ship from overseas.4 There are hints in the
document, too, about the antagonisms inflamed by the desperate shortage
of food in the liberated zone of Cavite, particularly in April and May
1897.5

The history of the “kasulatan”

Like so many Katipunan documents, the “kasulatan” written by Gregoria

de Jesus has a complicated history. Together with other papers that had
belonged to Emilio Jacinto, it was probably acquired by the historian
Epifanio de los Santos in 1904 or thereabouts.6 He first brought it to
public notice when he included a translation of a lengthy extract (more or
less the latter half of the text) in a biographical article on Bonifacio that

2
appeared in Philippine Review, in Spanish in 1917 and in English the
following year.7

Upon the death of De los Santos in 1928, his collection was inherited by
his son, José P. Santos, who was also a historian. Santos was acquainted
with Gregoria de Jesus, and in fact she dedicated Mga tala ng aking
buhay to him, perhaps thankful that he had encouraged her to write the
memoir, and had possibly helped her in some way. He wrote the
foreword to the memoir when the Tagalog text was published as a booklet
in 1932.8 But when she refers in Mga tala to the “kasulatan” she sent to
Jacinto, Gregoria de Jesus rather oddly remarks that it is now in the
collection of José P. Santos “according to General [Cipriano] Pacheco.” If
she was in contact with Santos about her memoir, as she evidently was,
why could she not clarify the whereabouts of the document with him
directly, rather than rely on what General Pacheco said? The answer is
that Santos, doubtless to his embarrassment, had misplaced it, just as he
misplaced four of Bonifacio’s letters to Jacinto.9

When the historian Leandro H. Fernandez made the first translation of

Mga tala into English in 1930, he noted that “certain portions” of the
“kasulatan” could not be found, but that the “available portions” had been
published in Spanish translation by Epifanio de los Santos in 1917.10 This
seems to have been a euphemistic way of saying that the document had
been lost in its entirety, because whenever a Tagalog version of the
“available portions” was reproduced over the next few decades it was not
taken from the original text. It was a retranslation into Tagalog,
presumably made in the first instance by José P. Santos from his father’s
Spanish. Teodoro Agoncillo, most notably, included this partial,
retranslated text in the appendices to The Revolt of the Masses.11

José P. Santos died in 1964, and his collection then passed to his eldest
daughter. In the 1980s she sold the collection to a dealer, and he in turn
sold it to private collectors. At some point during this passage of time,
the long-lost document sent by Gregoria to Emilio Jacinto was
fortuitously found.

It is not known in whose hand the document is written. Isagani Medina,

who published a portion of the text (three or four pages) in 1996, notes
that although the final page of the document bears Gregoria’s signature,
the body of the text may well have been penned by an escribano.12
Possibly the document was copied from a draft that Gregoria penned
herself, or possibly Gregoria dictated what she wanted to say.

3
Difficulties

Whoever penned the “kasulatan,” the normal difficulties of translating

19th century Tagalog texts are exacerbated in this instance by the virtual
absence of sentence breaks, and the rarity of other punctuation. The sense
of several passages can be rendered in a different way if the breaks are
inserted in a different manner.13 As always, I am grateful to my wife
Clarita Policarpio Richardson for her help in divining the likely meaning
of the text whenever I got stuck. We are both conscious that the English
translation is open to debate at many points, and any corrections or
suggestions as to how it might be improved will be most appreciated.14

Words in the text are sometimes unconventionally joined, and at other

times unconventionally split. The temptation to amend these
idiosyncrasies has been fought hard, and aside from minor typographical
corrections the orthography of the document is reproduced here exactly as
it was transcribed by Ambeth Ocampo back in 1989. It seems likely,
though, that the pages of the document were out of sequence when
Ocampo made his transcription, and so an attempt has been made here to
put them into an order that provides a more chronological narrative of
events.15 Although the transitions between the reshuffled pages seem to
work, it is possible that the order is still not quite right, and the Tagalog
text has therefore been presented below with the individual pages clearly
demarcated. Again, any comments on the ordering of the text will be
welcome.

› › › › › › › › › › › › › › › › › › › › ›› › › › › › › › › › › ›

Tagalog text

[p.1]
1
Nang kami nasa Balara ay di kami hinuhumpayan ng pagsundo nila at
sulat ng sulat alang alang sa mabuti nilang hikayat sa kaniya ay kami
naparoon ng kami naman ay dumating sinalubong kami sa Bakood at
tuloy ng Ymus hindi kami tumigil doon at mag tuloy ng Malabon
sinalubong namang mahusay at ipinakilala nila sa boong nasasakop ng
Cabite, na iyon ang ikinikilala nilang puno, datapua at dinalaon at inataki

4
agad ng Presidensia ng Magdalo ng magkaganoon ay nag papaalam sa
kanila datapuat pinigil agad nilang dalawang kaharian at humingi ng
tawad ang Magdalo napigil nila hindi nalaon at hiniling nilang mag
Asamblea ngunit hindi pumayag sa kanilang kahilingan kundi tumawag
muna dito sa atin o magpadala kaya ng Cirkular ayaw sila atang sabi nila
ay dinabali at ipahahayag din kung anomang mangyari susunod sa
kanilang kahilingan at ginawa na nila ang kapulungan at pinagkaisahan
nila na sia rin ang Presidente Supremo ng makaraan ang kinabukasan
ayaw na silang pumayag hindi naman kumibo sa kanilang ginawa at ang
ng yari ang balang parte namagdaan sa kanila ay binubuksan gayon din
ang gaua nila sa Polvora at baril, bala na ng gagaling dito ay hinaharang
nila ngunit hindi rin kumikibo sa ginagawa nilang hindi matuid di kagisa
gisay pinagkaisa-

[p.2]

–han naman nila ng dumating si Jocson sa Magdalo napalakarin sa Hong

Kong na gumawa sila ng poder na pinapirmahan nila pumayag sa
kanilang kahilingan, at ng dumating sa Magdalo ay pinalitan nila ang
poder na ginawa at malagay ang kanilang Presidencia na lamang, di hindi
rin kumikibo sa kanila at nag titiis ng kanilang ginagawa alang- alang sa
kaibigan niyang dumating ang Armas, humingi ng salapi binigian naman
agad at ng makakuha na ay kahit isang balita ay walang dumarating sa
Magdiwang, walang ano ano namay nabalitaan ni Dn Pasiano Rizal na
darating ang Armas ang ginawa ay napasa Looc sia agad hindi naman
nalaon at sumunod si Andres linapit na kung ilang araw o Lingo doon na
nag titiis ng hirap araw gabi sa Bundoc na yaon walang anoano ay may
dumating sa Ymus na tatlong babay na maydalang sulat ni Polavieja na
humihingi raw ng anomang gusto nating Tagalog sa kanila o

5
makipagusap ang Puno sa Kastila silay pumapayag na bago sinabi sa
Magdiwang ay silay nag Junta muna ng lihim na di nila pinaalaman sa
Magdiwang at silay sumirkular sa nasasakop ng Magdiwang ng matapos
ang hunta nilang lihim ay bago ipinag sabi ang sulat sa nasabing
Magdiwang at ipinadala ang Kopia na hinihingi agad ang sagot. Ngunit
sinabi sa kanila na wala ang Supremo hindi sila makapapayag at wala
silang disposision napa silay sumagot sa bagay nayaon

[p.3]

ngunit ayaw silang pumayag kundi sagutin din ang nasabing sulat at
ipinasusundo nila sa Look kaya napa owi naman ng dumating ay ayaw
ngang makipagusap o makipagkasundo sa kaaway natin, ng makaraan
yaon nabalita na sila ang pumayag namakikipag usap ng may roon ng
dalawang araw ay nag tayo sila ng Hunta ang kaniyang boong akala ang
paghuhuntahan ang bagay nahiling ng ating kaaway ng silay dumating sa
bahay o Hasienda ng Tejero ay ang pagtatayo ng Gobierno sa bagay na
iyon ay pumayag siya ngunit bago binuksan ang hunta siya ay nag
paunawa sa lahat nasiya ay walang representante sa kaniyang sakop kundi
liban nalamang sailang naroroon at ipinauunawa din niya sa kalahatan na
ang sino mang kalabasan sa paghahalal na yaon ay siya ang unang
kikilala kung pagkakaisahan ng kalahatan at siya rin ang magpapakilala
sa kaniyang sakop nguni at kung mangyayari ay sa maruming kaparaanan
at hindi masusunod. Ang sa talagang kalooban ng Bayan at ng kalahatan
ay ako ang unang hindi kikilala, samaipahayag itoy ng yaring binuksan na
ang pulong at pinag kaisahan ng kalahatan nadaanin sabotosan, ngunit
hindi rin nasunod ang talagang kalinisan at ang ng yari ang lahat ng taong
pumanhik sa bahay Hacienda ay isinali kahit hindi nalalaman ang pinag
uusapan at kung mag tanong ang nasabing mga tao kung ano ang ilalagay

6
sa

[p.4]

mga papel naibinigay nila ang sinasabi ay susulatan ng Emilio Aguinaldo,

bukod dito’y ang mga taong hindi marunong sumulat ay pinagbibigyan
ng papel na may roong sulat na, kayat malabis na nakilala sa kanila ang
gawang hindi matoid at sa katunayan ay parepareho ang sulat, ang isa
pang ng yari sa isang tao o representante ni Maypagasa na nag
angangalang Apolonio Samson ay pinagkamalang binulungan nila na ang
ipinasusulat ay Emilio Aguinaldo at makapagsasabi din namang ang iba,
at bukod pa sa roon ay may katunayan sa bagay nayaon ay di siya kumibo
at pinabayaan din niya, ng siyay lumabas na Direktor del Ynterior ay
inahiaw sila ng kalahatan ng Viva hangang ikalawa ikatlong hiyaw ay
nag tindig ang kanilang Ministro de Gerra at sinabi sa tauo na hintay
muna at dito’y kinakailangan ang isang Abogado sa Katungkulang iyan o
may talento kaya na nag damdam ang karamihan pinuno na nangag
sipagalsa at sinabing nolo ang hunta at totoong magulo ngunit siya ay di
kumikibo sa kaniyang pagkalagay ng may katahimikan na ay silay umalis
na at ayaw ipatuloy nga ng ibang kasamahan ng kinabukasan ay silay
magkakaayon ay mag hunta ng lihim sa Convento ng Tanza at sila sila ay
humarap sa gitna ng antisalo at si G. Artemio Rikarte ay kanilang pinipilit
na maging Grl. en Jefe ng sangkapuluan, ay ayaw pumayag sa kanilang
kagustuhan at sa katunayan ay gumawa pa ng protesta at inyo ring
mababasa, ng kami naman

[p.5]
2
ay gumagayak na umuwi ng malibang araw na yaon ay nangagkagulo ang

7
Malabon Naik at iba pang bayan at ang sabi na kung siya’y aalis ay silay
sasamang lahat at ang lahat ng ibang mga tauo ay hinanap at
pinagabangan ang mga pinuno nanag sipag hunta ng lihim na taga
Magdalo kayang kaniyang malaman ay pinayapa ang kaguluhan ng lahat
at ng matahimik na ang nasabing gulo ay nag sadiya sa kaniya ang
nasabing mga pinuno na kaakbay ang Sari sa Magdiwang at silay
humingi ng tawad at sinabi nila na kung ang ipagkakagalit ng bayan ay
dahil sa bagay ng hunta ay kanilang pupunitin ang akta kaya natahimik
sila at diyan kami dinaan sa bengansa at ng mapasok ang Ymus sila’y nag
tuloy ng Tanza ng mapasok naman ang Malabon mag takbo sila sa Naik
doon kami nagkasasama ng mabalitaan ng lahat ng mga sundalo at mga
pinuno nila ay naparoon sa bahay naming kinalalagyan at sinabi nasilay
hindi nangag sisikain at wala silang madamit at naiwan sa Ymus at wala
din silang sukat pakain sa kanilang familia ng malaman ay wala siyang
sukat na magawang paraan kaya sinabi niya sa Presidente sa Magdiwang
na si G. Mariano Alvares kapagkarakay binigyan agad pati ng
karamihang viuda na ayaw nilang limusan ng magkaganoon tuloy naman
pumanhik si G. Pio del Pilar at iba pang mga pinuno at sinabi namang
yata lamang na isahin ang tropa at ng magkaroon ng husay at sa
katunayan nariang ang pinagpirmahanan ng lahat ng matapus na ay
dumating ang paghingi ng sokoro sa Yndang ngunit wala silang bigay at
nasa puestong lahat sinabi nila

[p.6]

na yaong kaonti nating natirang baril ay siya ng dalhin doon pumayag din
sa kanila nguni ang kanilang hahalinhan doon o kondi kaya daragdagan
hindi sila susunod ang kanilang pangako at hindi kami asikaso doon ng
kami ay dumating naman ay gabi ng kinabukasan ay siyay naparoon sa

8
Tribunal at sinabi niya na pagtibayin ang bayan sapagkat sa tingin niya ay
marupok na totoo ang bayan, sumagot ang Pang-ulo na hindi kailangan na
tibayan ang kanilang bayan bigyan lamang sila ng ilalaban at hindi sila
mapapasok, ang sagot sa kanila ay kung ayaw nilang tibayan ang bayan
ay segurong di kaila sa inyo na kasakali at ipagkakaloob ang bayan ay di
kailangang tibayan ngunit kung hindi ipagkakaloob ay kinakailangan
tibayan ang simbahan sapagkat di kaila sa inyo nawalang ibang tinutungo
ang kalaban kundi iyan din at iyan ang kanilang pinagtitibay, diyan na
minulan ang pagtirin at halos ayaw pakanin ang mga sundalo at kung
pakanin pa ay bigas na pinawa, isang araw naman ay nag diskubierta ang
ating tropa at tuloy kumuha ng bakal nagagamitin sa frensa at
kasangkapang panggawa ng kapsula ng dumating aydi pinahapon at ang
sabi ay bukas na nagtiis ng kinabukasan ng magaalas onse ang araw ay
totoong nagugutom na ang sundalo ay lumapit na lahat sa ranchero at
tinanong nila kung lutuna ang sagot ng ranchero ay ang biling daw ng
Pang-ulo na kung sakali ay hihingi ng rancho ang ating tropa ay hingan
ng relasion sa ganitong bagay napalit ang tropa at pinagkaisahang siyay
hanapin ng matanawan sa bahay nang nanagkakagulo ang mga sundalo ay
nanaog silang lahat sa bahay at pinayapa ng matapos ay nag tuloy sila sa
Tribunal at sinabi agad ng Pang-ulo na siya ay

[p.7]

patatawarin sa lahat ng nang yari nag kasundo na naman sa pag uusap

nila ay nag salita ng ganito paris ngapo ang wika ni Capitang Emilio sa
akin ay ganito magmula raw ng kayong dumating dito ay di nasila
nagkasundong mag aamain at mag kakamaganak sumagot sa kanila ng
ganito, ganoon ba hindi ko nalalaman na ang Revoluciong ito ay sa mag
kakamaganak lamang kondi ang aking pagkaalam ay sa pagtatangol ng

9
Bayang tinubuan kaya kami naparito nguni at kung hindi kami ay aalis
din ngayon kaya pala ganoon na ang pag tirin sa amin dito iyan ang dahil.
Kaya noon din gabing yaon kami ay umalis na bigla at lumabas na
patungo na rito sa pagkat kung ang nagsabi lamang ay isang hamak na ay
dinabali nguni at isang Pang-Ulo na lagui nilang kausap at ng kami ay
walana ay silay nagpulong ng lihim oli at kanilang binuhay ang
ipinangakong akta na kanilang pupunitin at ang ngyari ay siya rin ang
Precidente at ang Pang-Ulong nagsalita ay Ministro de Gracia y Justicia
ang ginawang katungkulan. Nang natapus yaon ay kami naman ang
pinaghuntahan ng lihim na ipahabol at gawan ng paraan na ikagagalit at
ang bilin nilang lahat na pinuno ay kung magalit ay iyong bangkay na
lahat o kaya ay kuning lahat ang armas at gapusin siya pati ng mga
sundalo niya di nga pinaparoon na ang tropa ng malayo pa ay nagpasabi
sa bahay namin na sasamsaman ng Armas kaming lahat hindi rin namin
asikaso maya maya ay dumating na at kinubkob ang bahay paglapit at
saka pumanhik ang Koronel nila sinalubong namang mahusay at
itananong kun sa-

[p.8]

-an sila paparoon ang sagot ay mag didiskubierta sa Silang at kaya

lamang sila tumigil ay dipa sila nag aalmusal at tuloy kinakumusta nila
ang lagay at seguro raw ay mahirap sa pagkain sumagot ng hindi at sa
ngayon ay mabuti ang tayo namin dito kesa sa Yndang sapagkat
mayroong nag lilimos dito sa amin ng bigas na hindi pinawa. Tumugon
ang Korl. na ngayon po ay mabuti ng kaunti sa bayan ay may dumarating
na bigas na galing sa Naik kung ibig po ninyo ay tayo’y magsamasamama
sa bahay, ang sagot sa kanila ay kung sa bayan din lamang ng Yndang na
totoong malabis na pag api ang ginagawa sa akin at dahil sa gawa ng

10
ating mga kapd. aydi kuna ibig tunghayan pa ng aking dalawang mata sa
salitang yaon ay tumigil at nag sipag almusal pa pagkatapus kumain ay
nag sipag paalam at ang sabi ay silay tatanhaliin kayat nangako pa na
silay doon manananghali pati ng tropa, sapag alis na yaon ang ginawa
nila ay ganito pag labas ng bateria ng kanilang tropa ay pinasarhan at ang
bilin sa bantay ultimong familia nan sundalo ng Supremo ay huag
pararaanin at kapagka pinaraan ay kapalit na lahat ang kanilang buhay
iyan ang pabilin na nasabing bateria at nag iwan sila ng ilang puersa, ng
magdadaan ang ating tauo na magdadala ng rancho salabas ng bateria ay
ayaw ng palabasin ng mga bantay kapagkasakay nag parte an ang mga
tauong ayaw palabasin kaya lamang na laman ang kanilang mga gawa at
ang isapa ang lahat nating kasama sa labas ay sinamsam ng armas at
dinala nilang lahat ang lalaki, sa bagay na iyon ay sinondan sila at
itatanong kung ano ang dahilan at silay gumawa ng ganoon, sa paghabol
na iyon ay di sila inabot ng di nila abutin ay nangag babalik ang
nagsihabol at silay inaantabayanan magdaan

[p.9]
3
at itatanong kun talagang utos sa kanila ng puno ang kanilang ginagawa
sa pag aantay ay dumating ang gabi ay kinuha nilang lahat ang mga
babay at pati ng kasankapan namin at sa lahat ng kasamahan may isang
nag takbo sa amin nanag sabi sa mga sundalo natin nakinuha ang
kanilang mga asawawa ay ibig paroonan at usigin ang kanilang ginawa
ngunit napigil at hindi na umalis sa bateria at inaantay sila doon sapagkat
ang kanilang kasamahan ng magkaganoon ay nagutos siya at ipinasabi ng
na mangyaring magkausap usap silang mga pinuno sapagkat mahalay ika
ang tayo tayo ay magkagalit, ang sagot sa inutusan ay silay hindi
makapapayag na makipagusap at ang bala raw ang bahala sa kaniya kaya

11
ang ginawa ay nag balik na ang inutusan, at naririto at buhay, ng
magmamadaling araw ay paputok na ng paputok sila sa kahilang ibayo
ang ginawa ko ay siyay aking ginising ng manaog na ay may nasalubong
ng sundalo na ang sabi ay na nagkakagulo na ang tropang darating at
sinabing malapit napo kayat ng siyay dumating ay nag sisi putok na ang
karamihan at ginarilla nila kami kaya ang utos niya sa ating sundalo ay
huag puputok ni isa at ang sigaw ng lahat nating kasamahang mga kapatid
huag kayong puputok at magusap usap tayong mahusay kung ano ang
inyong gusto hindi inasikaso ang sigaw at ng nalalapit na ay siya ang
pinagsabayang binaril at ng matumbana ay sinaksak nila ng puñal at
kinulata pa at ang aking bayaw na si Ciriako ay hinawakan ng dalawa at
binaril kaya nila napatay at si Prokopio ay ginapos at pinagsasak-

[p.10]

–sak ng rebolver ng matapus yaon ay isinakay sa duyan ang may sugat at

pati ng mga gapos ay dinala nila sa bayan at ng akoy makita nila na akoy
ng gagaling sa pinag kublihan ay akoy sinalubong ng nasabing mga
pinuno ng tropa at akoy pinipilit na isigaw ko ang salapi ng Cavite o kaha
at kinuhang pilit ang aking revolver pati ng kaonti naming kuartang baon
at pagkatapos ay akoy pinipilit na igapos sa puno ng kahoy at
ipinasisigaw sa aking ang salapi raw na aking hinakot ang mga kapatid ay
makapagsasabi ang ibang mga tagarito na siyang nagdadala sa buanbuan
ng aming kinakain, pagkatapos na di ako mapilit ay akoy dinala sa
Tribunal ng Yndang at dooy dinaanan ko ang may sugat na kanilang
hinubaran at kinuha pa pati ng damit sa katauan at kanilang tinakpan
lamang ng kumot, ng akoy lumapit di pa halos natatapus na kung husayin
ay akoy ibig gapusin at dalhin sa Naik ng maipamanhik ako ng iba ay

12
akoy iniwan at sa kinabukasan kami dinala ng tropa at kami ay
pinagpasapasa mula sa Yndang hangang Marigondong tuloy ng Naik. Ay
mga kapatid ng kami ay dumating sa bayang yaon ay itinuloy kami sa
kuartel ng kalaban ng kami ay dumating doon ay may dalawang oras
kami sa pinto bago pinapasok at may isang oras sa puno ng hagdan ng
matapos yaon inaakyat kami sa itaas tuloy ng kosina sa lugar ng baño ng
kura at doon siya kinulong na parang bartolina na halos ayaw akong
palapitin ng magpipilit akong lumapit at akoy ibinilango sa isang kuarto
at inilagay akong Ynkomunicado, sa bagay na yaon ay aking

[p.11]

hiniling sa dalawang Grl. nila sapagkat sinabi na kami ay kuhunan ng

deklarasion na mangyari lamang gawin ang pagka hustisia sa amin, na
baka po ikako mangyayari na bago siya kunan ng deklarasion ay tawagin
ang ibang mga pinuno at sa harap ng lahat niya tanungin, sila ay sumang
ayon sa aking hiling at siya raw nararapat hindi natuloy at nakaraan ang
isang Linggong mahigit at kami munay ipinasaoli sa Marigondong at sa
ikatlong araw bago kinunan ng deklarasion, at si Pedro Jiron ay kanilang
inupahan ng salapi at tinuruan nila ng deklarasiong mabuti na di inaauay
silay ipinapapatay na lahat sumangayon sa kanila sapagkat silay may
pangako na hindi nila papalayin at ang katotohanan ay kanilang pinaalis
agad doon pagkatapos na matanong kayat ng hilingin sa kanila naiharap
ang tauong iyan ang sagot nilay napatay nasa Naik bakin ngayoy
kasamasama nila. Ng matapos ang pag sumaria nila ay sinabi raw ni
Capitang Emilio na pag dating ng 24 oras ay barilin ni ayaw nilang
pangatuiranin at ang hinihiling na Padrino ay ayaw payagang lumabas,
nakaraan yaon pinanangan ng Yndulto, ng may apat o limang araw
nanaog na madedestierro, ng siyay bigyan ng sentensia ay pinakialaman

13
ko sa ibang pinuno kung totoo ang hatol sumagot sila na kung maniwala
sa salita ng iba at sa katunayan na paroon pa sa amin ang nag uusig na
piskal

[p.12]

at sinabing itahimik ang loob at walang anoman kamala mala ay may

dumating

[p.13]
4
nag utos sa Kapitang Kastila ng kinamakalauaha ng alas socho ang gabi
na tutoong malakas ang ulan ay pinapanaog napilet sa bahay, akoy na
manhik sa pinakakomandante nila si Lasaro Makapagal na siang nag
hatid at pumatay sa kania na baca ika ko mang yayari sa pag tila na o sa
kinabukasan ilakad ang may sakit ay ayaw pumayag sa pagcat utos daw
ng puno at sinabi nila na acoy pumaroon kay Kapitang Emilio at doon
ako na manhik di akoy lumakad, ang kasama ko ay dalawang babay na
halos kami ay gumapang sa dilim at lakas ng ulan ng pag tawid sa ibayo
ng ilog ng kami ay dumating sa lugar ni Emilio di ako makatuloy agad sa
pagca,t, tumutulo ang damit namin sa katawan, ng kami ay makapanhik
ay nagtago sa kuarto si Emilio at sinabing may sakit daw at tutulog,
naririnig kong gisin at causap ni Jokson ng lumabas si Jokson ay lumapit
sa kay Pedro Lipana na sikretario raw ni Emilio ang guinawa ay lumapi
sa aquing at tinanong kong ano ang gusto ko si nabi kona na bala [?]
nabaka ma a ari ay sa kinabukasan ilacad ang may sa quit ay sumagot ng
hindi ma a ari ang guinawa ko ay kami nag pa alam at kami umuwi na ng

14
kami ay mananaog na ay piniguil kami at sinabin antayin ko ang sulat na
ibibigay sa bantay ng matapos ang sulat ay iniabot sa dalawang sundalo
nila at ang sabi ay kami samahan yaong pala ay ipapasa sa tribunal at
pagcatapos nag tuloy sa bahay ng Pang Ulo at acoy ibinilango at ng
sinasabi ko ang katuwiran ay babarilen daw ako

[p.14]

at wala ng makalapit sa akin at sa kinabukasan ng tanghali nila inalis ang

dalawang magkapatid, at ng bandang hapon na ay nagkaroon ng laban sa
labas ng bayan na di malayo sa aking kinalalagyan ay saka lamang ako
pinakawalan ng akoy makakawala at akoy tumawid ng ibayo at aking
hahanapin ay nasalubong ko ang nangag hatid nadala ang pinag
palimusan kong damit na siya kong ibinibihis pati ng kumot gamot sa
katawan ng aking bayaw ng aking itanong kung saan naroon ang kanilang
dala ang sagot sa akin ay naroon sa Bondok sa isang bahay ng tininti,
itinanong ko kung bakit nila dala ang damit ang sagot ay ako naraw ang
siyang biling magdala. Ay mga kapd. minulan kuna ang hanap sa
pinagturuan sa akin ay natagpuan ko pag dating doon ay itinuro ako sa
kabilang Bondok na labis ng taas aking inakyat ng kami ay dumating ay
wala lakad na naman kami. Ay mga kapd. may dalawang Lingo kong
hinahanap sa Bondok na walang tigil kami kundi gabi, ng diko makita ay
walang makapagsabi kami ay sumunod sa kanilang tropa at kahit sino ang
aking pagtanungan sa kanila ay kung saan saan ako itinuturo
magpahangang ngayon kaya lamang ako natuluyang ng paglabas ay ng
makausap ko ang aking amain na sinabi sa akin ng tapat at siya pang
nagpakain bago inaalis sa pinagtigilan nila, kaya isipin ninyo mga kapd.
kung katoiran o hindi ang kanilang ginagawa pag api sa amin ay may iba
pang makapag sasabi ng ba-

15
[p.15]

-gay na pinag buhatan at iniyong makakausap na di malalaon.

Salamat nalamang mga kapatid at akoy nabuhay pa sa hirap na pinag

daanan ko na may isang buan akong lumakad na wala kaming kinakain
kundi saging na bubot at kung makapagpalimos ng kaonting bigas ang
aking mga kasamahan at ilulugaw at siyang ipakakain sa akin at ang
damit ko sa katawan ay dina halos masunog.

Yto nalamang po at wala ng iba at tuloy laganap ang maraming kumusta

sa inyong lahat diyan at wala akong ibang hiling kung mamarapatin ng
inyong loob ay akoy kaawaan o kondi kaya ay tayoy magkausap at ng
inyong mapag aninawang lahat, tuloy antay ko po ay sagot ng inyong
mga kamahalan isipin ninyong sumandali na ang lahat na guinagawa ng
sira ay siyang unang taksil sa Katipunan at espolsado noong pamang araw
na hindi nag kakagulo kaya gauian ang mga gawa ngayon.

Wakas

Gregoria de Bonifacio

Lakanbini

› › › › › › › › › › › › › › › › › › › › ›› › › › › › › › › › › ›

English translation

[p.1] When we were in Balara, they kept sending people to fetch him
[Bonifacio], and letters persuading him that we should go there. We went

16
there, and when we arrived we were met in Bacoor. We went on to Imus,
though we did not stop there, and then on to [San Francisco de] Malabon.
They greeted us warmly and and recognized us throughout the whole
territory of Cavite, acknowledging him as their leader.

But before long, there was suddenly criticism from the Presidency of
Magdalo. When this matter was brought to their attention, however, the
two presidencies [Magdalo and Magdiwang] quickly dealt with it, and the
Magdalo apologized and put a stop to it.

Not long afterwards they [the Magdalo] wanted to convene an Assembly,

but we would not agree to their proposal unless they consulted us here
first, or sent round a Circular. They did not want to, saying it would be
alright, and that they could send round a notification afterwards about
whatever happened. The congress was then held, as they wished, and they
agreed that he [Bonifacio] would be the Supreme President as in the past.
The following day, they did not want to agree.

They did not change the way they acted. Everything being sent [to us]
through them was being opened. They also stole the gunpowder, rifles,
and cartridges that came from here, and again they would not stop acting
in a dishonest manner.

[p.2] When [Feliciano] Jocson was coming to Magdalo on his way to

Hong Kong, they undertook to provide him with a signed authorization.
Their proposal was agreed, but when he arrived at Magdalo they
substituted the authorization that had been prepared with another that was
in the name of their Presidency alone. Again they would not change their
position, and their actions caused problems. The weapons arrived, on
account of his friend; payment was demanded straightaway, and the
money was obtained. Not a single word was heard about this in
Magdiwang. Then out of the blue Don Paciano Rizal heard that the
weapons would arrive at Looc, and he went there immediately. Andres
followed not long afterwards, and endured hardship in the mountains
there, night and day, for days or weeks.

Without prior notice, three women arrived in Imus bringing a letter from
Polavieja asking, it was said, what we Tagalogs wanted from them, or
wanted to discuss with the Chief in Spain. Without consulting the
Magdiwang, they [the Magdalo] decided to have a secret meeting about
the matter. Without telling the Magdiwang [leadership], they sent a
circular about it to the towns within the territory of the Magdiwang.
After their secret meeting, before talking to the said Magdiwang

17
[leadership] about the letter, they sent a copy and asked for an immediate
reply. But they [the Magdiwang leadership] told them [the Magdalo] that
the Supremo was not there, and that they [the Magdiwang leadership]
could not make a decision on the matter, although their inclination was
not to send a response [to the Spaniards]. [p.3 ] But they [the Magdalo]
did not agree, and still wanted to send a reply to the said letter. They
[the Magdiwang] went to fetch [Bonifacio] from Look, and he came
back. When he arrived he was firmly opposed to negotiating or reaching
an agreement with our enemy.

After that word came that they [the Magdalo] had agreed the matter
should be discussed further, and two days later they convened a meeting.

His [Bonifacio’s] only intention was that the meeting should discuss the
matter of the overtures of our enemy. When they [Bonifacio and his
associates] arrived at the house or estate of Tejero it was the formation of
a Government [that was the issue]. He [Bonifacio] assented to this, but
before opening the meeting he made it clear to everybody that there were
no representatives there from his zone, aside from just a few. He also
explained to everybody that whatever the result of the elections to be
held, he would be the first to respect the outcome if it represented the
general will of all, and he would also urge his followers to respect it.

But what happened was dishonest and invalid. [Bonifacio said]: “Out of
respect for the Nation and the general will, I will be the first not to
recognize these proceedings.”

The procedure for voting was announced and agreed by everybody at the
start of the meeting, but it was not followed in a clean manner. What
happened was that all the people upstairs at the estate house were allowed
to participate, even if they did not know what was being discussed. And
when these people asked what to write on the papers [p.4 ] they had been
given, they were told to write “Emilio Aguinaldo”. Aside from this,
people who did not know how to write were given papers that already had
writing on them. So it was really evident to them that what was
happening was not proper, and in fact the writing was all the same. And
another thing is that a man or representative of Maypagasa by the name
of Apolonio Samson happened to overhear them whispering that they
were supposed to write “Emilio Aguinaldo”. Other people can say the
same thing, and in any event that was what really happened.

18
He [Bonifacio] did not intervene, and he also was cheated. When he was
elected Director of the Interior, the crowd shouted out “Viva!” two or
three times.

Their Minister of War [Daniel Tirona] then stood up, and called on the
people to wait first, because a lawyer or someone with talent was needed
to fill that position. The majority of the leaders were outraged by this, and
said the meeting should be declared null and void. It was truly chaotic,
but he [Bonifacio] did not move from his place. When there was quiet
they [Bonifacio and his associates] left, for they did not want to continue
with the others.

The next day they [the others] decided to have a secret meeting at the
Convent in Tanza, and they gathered in the middle of the entrance hall.
They tried to force Mr. Artemio Ricarte to become the General in Chief
of the archipelago, but he did not want to agree to their wishes and in fact
made a protest which you can also read.

Then we were really [p.5] intending to go home, but that day there was
disorder in [San Francisco de] Malabon, Naik and other towns. They
were saying that if he [Bonifacio] left, then they would all go together,
and all the other people were searching and waiting for the leaders. The
Magdalo people were holding a secret meeting.

[Bonifacio] knew how to calm everybody down. Once the disorder had
subsided and it was peaceful again, the said [Magdalo] leaders
approached him [Bonifacio], walking together with some of the
Magdiwang. They asked for forgiveness, and said that if the anger of the
people had been caused by what happened at the meeting they would tear
up the record of the proceedings. So they [the angry people] were then
placated.

From that point they [the Magdalo] wanted to get vengeance on us.

When [the Spaniards] entered Imus, they [the Magdalo] proceeded to

Tanza, and when [San Francisco de] Malabon fell they [all the forces]
retreated to Naik. It was there that we [the Magdiwang and the Magdalo]
came together.

When all the soldiers and their troops got the news [that we were there]
all the troops and their leaders gathered at the house we had been
allocated, saying that they had nothing to eat, and no clothes because
everything had been left at Imus. They also did not have enough food for

19
their families. Knowing that he did not have sufficient resources,
[Bonifacio] asked the President of Magdiwang, G. Mariano Alvarez, to
distribute [supplies] immediately, and to include the many widows, who
did not like to ask for alms.

Later, G. Pio del Pilar and other leaders went upstairs and appealed for
the troops to be brought together under single command, in order to more
effective, and in fact everybody endorsed and signed an agreement to that
effect.

After that, the request for help from Indang arrived, but they did not give
any.

In the barracks everybody said [p.6] that our few remaining rifles had
been brought there, and that he [Bonifacio] had agreed to hand them over
to them [the Magdalo]. But they [the Magdalo] were supposed to replace
[those rifles], or even give us more, and they did not keep their promise,
and they took no notice of us.

When we arrived there [Indang] it was dark. The next day he [Bonifacio]
was there at the Tribunal and he said the town should be fortified because
in his judgment it was really vulnerable. The [municipal] President
replied that it was not necessary to strengthen their town, but just to
engage [the Spaniards] in battle, and they [the Spaniards] would not be
able to enter. The answer to them was that if they did not want to fortify
the town, and if they could be sure that it would be spared, then perhaps it
was not vital to fortify it. But in case the town could not be saved, the
church at least should be fortified, because it was obvious that was where
the enemy would head, and so [the church] was what they fortified.

In that place [Indang] trouble started because they practically did not
want to feed the soldiers, unless the food was just unpolished rice.

One day our detachment went out reconnoitering, and then got some iron
to use for the press, and tools for making cartridges. When they came
back there was no dinner, and they were told they would have to starve
until the next day. By around eleven o’clock the following morning the
soldiers were already very hungry. They all came up to the mess and
asked if any food had been cooked. The cook replied that the order from
the President was that if our detachment wanted food they should [be told
to] ask their relations. Because of this issue, the detachment was stood
down, and they decided to go and look for him [Bonifacio]. When they
saw him at the house, the soldiers made a commotion, and they

20
[Bonifacio and his companions] all went down from the house and
pacified them. Afterwards they continued to the Tribunal, and the
[municipal] President at once apologized [p.7] for everything that had
happened, and it was settled.

But in their conversations they really still spoke in the same way. What
Capitan Emilio said to me was this: “From the time you arrived here, they
[the Magdiwang] did not agree to behave as family and kinfolk.” I
answered like this “I was not aware that this Revolution was only about
kinfolk. To my knowledge, it is for the defence of our native land. That
is why we are here, and if that is not the case then we shall leave right
away.” And so that was the reason we decided to come here [to the
vicinity of Manila], and that same night we abruptly left and set off
towards here.

It would not matter if someone unimportant had said it, but it was the
President.

They were always talking amongst themselves, and when we were

already gone, they met in secret again, and they brought back to life the
decisions [taken at Tejeros] which they had pledged to revoke. The
outcome is that he [Aguinaldo] is again the President and the principal
spokesman is the one whose position is Minister of Grace and Justice.16

After that they had a secret meeting about us, [and they decided] to force
the issue and pick a quarrel with him [Bonifacio]. The order from all their
chiefs was that once he became angry, everyone should be slaughtered, or
at least disarmed, and that he should be tied up, together with his soldiers.

Before the detachment approached they sent a message to our house,

from afar off, that we should all lay down our arms. We did not respond.

When they arrived, they surrounded the house, and their Colonel came
upstairs and greeted us in a peaceable manner. Asked where [p.8] they
were going, he replied that they were making a reconnaissance towards
Silang, and had only stopped because they had not yet had their breakfast.
He then asked about our situation, and said that we must be short of food.
We replied that we were not, and that we were now better off here than in
Indang, because there was somebody here who donated rice to us that
was not unpolished. The Colonel responded that things were now a little
better in the town because some polished rice had arrived from Naik, and
that if we wished we could live in a house together. In reply, [Bonifacio]

21
said: “Since the way I was so mistreated in the town of Indang was the
doing of our own brethren, I do not even want to set eyes on them again.”

Upon these words there was a pause, and they had their breakfast. After
they had eaten, they [the Colonel and his companions] said farewell,
saying that it was time they were on the move, but promising that they
would return with their soldiers to have lunch with us.

Once outside what they did was this: their soldiers blocked off the exit
from the fortified encampment, and guards were posted there with orders
not to allow any member of the family or soldier of the Supremo to pass,
on pain of death. That was the order given to the detachment of their
soldiers detailed to watch over the said encampment. Some of our people
then wanted to leave in order to get rations outside the camp, but the
sentries refused to let them pass. The people who had been stopped from
leaving came back to tell us, and it was only then that we learned what
was being done. They [the soldiers] also disarmed all our comrades
outside, and took all the men away.

When that happened, [Bonifacio] went after them in order to ask them
why they were acting in this manner, but he was not able to catch up with
them. Since he was unable to reach them, the pursuer came back and
waited for them to return so that he could [p.9] ask them whether they
had been acting under orders from their officers. While we were waiting,
night fell. They took away all the women and even our utensils, but one
of the group was able to run away. She came back and told our soldiers
that their wives had been taken away. Some wanted to go and find out
what they [the other soldiers] had done, but they were stopped from
leaving the camp, and waited there together with their comrades.

[Bonifacio] gave orders for a message to be sent to their chiefs requesting

a conference, because, he said, it was not proper that there should be any
quarrel between us. They [their chiefs] told the messenger that they
refused to parley and that the matter would have to be settled by bullets.
The messenger then returned, and is living here now.

At dawn they started shooting, and there was more gunfire away on the
other side. I woke him up, and when he went down he met a soldier who
told him that the commotion had been caused by advancing troops, who
he said were already near. When he [Bonifacio] appeared most of them
were already firing, and they had surrounded us.

22
He [Bonifacio] ordered our soldiers not to return their fire, and all our
people shouted out: “Brothers, don’t shoot; let us talk in peace about what
you want.”

They paid no attention to the shouts, and when they were close they fired
a volley at [Bonifacio]. When he fell, they stabbed him with a dagger and
struck him with the butts of their guns. My brother-in-law Ciriaco was
seized by two men and shot to death, and they tied up Procopio and beat
him [p.10] with a revolver.

They then placed the wounded in hammocks, and also those they had
bound, and took them to the town.

When they saw me emerge from the place where I had been hiding, the
officers of the detachment came up to me and tried to force me to make a
confession about the money of Cavite or the treasury. They forcibly took
away my revolver, and even the little money we had. They then roughly
tied me to the trunk of a tree, and yelled at me about the money they said
I had carried away. The brethren can testify that it is other people from
here [the north ?] who were bringing us food every month.

When I could not be cowed, I was taken to the Tribunal at Indang, and
there I found the wounded man [Bonifacio], whom they had stripped.
They had taken the clothes from his body and covered him in just a light
blanket. I went to him, but was hardly able to finish attending to him.
They wanted to bind me and take me to Naik, but upon the entreaties of
others they left me alone.

The next day the soldiers took us away, and we were taken from Indang
to Maragondon and then to Naik.

Ay, my brothers!

When we arrived at that town, we went to the barracks of our adversaries.

When we got there they left us at the door for two hours before we were
taken in, and for another hour at the foot of the stairs. Then we went up
and through the kitchen to the priest’s bathroom, where he [Bonifacio]
was confined as if he was in a dungeon. They did not want me to go near
him, and when I struggled to get closer I was imprisoned in another room
and held incommunicado.

[p.11] They said they were going to take statements from us, so I asked
two of their generals to treat us with justice. Before they took statements

23
from us, I said, they should call the other chiefs and question him
[Bonifacio] in front of everybody. They agreed to my request, saying it
was just. But it was not done, and after more than a week had elapsed, we
were moved to Maragondon, and it was not until the third day that our
testimony was heard.

They bribed Pedro Giron and coached him well in what they wanted him
to testify: that he [Bonifacio] had ordered them all killed. [Giron] agreed,
because they promised they would spare his life, and in fact they let him
leave immediately after he had testified. When [Bonifacio] asked to
confront the man face-to-face, their reply was that Giron had been killed
at Naik. Why is he with them now?

When the summary trial was over, it was said, Capitan Emilio ordered
[them] to be shot within twenty-four hours. They did not even allow
[Bonifacio] to present his case, or consent to his request for a defense
counsel. Subsequently a pardon was decreed, and four or five days later a
banishment order was handed down. When he [Bonifacio] was given the
sentence, I asked various chiefs whether that decision was true.

They replied that it was, if what other people were saying was to be
believed, and to prove this, the fiscal who had prosecuted the case came
and [p.12] told us not to worry, because nothing had happened. [p.13]

Then on the second day, at eight o’clock at night, when there was
torrential rain, somebody arrived with an order to Capitan Kastila that
they should be forcibly taken away from the house.

I beseeched their commandant, Lazaro Macapagal, who was the one who
took him [Bonifacio] away and killed him, not to take the sick man
outside until after the rain had stopped, or until the next morning. He
[Macapagal] would not agree because, he said, it was by order of the
chief, but they said I could go to Capitan Emilio’s house to plead with
him.

I could not walk. My two women companions and I practically had to

crawl on all-fours through the darkness and the heavy rain in order to get
to the other side of the river.

When we arrived at Emilio’s place, I was not able to proceed

straightaway because our clothes were soaking wet. When we went
upstairs, Emilio hid in his room and we were told that he was ill and
sleeping, but I could hear that he was awake and talking to [Gregorio]

24
Jocson. When Jocson came out he went up to Pedro Lipana, who was said
to be Emilio’s secretary. [They] then approached me, and asked what I
wanted. I asked whether it would be possible for the sick man not to be
taken away until the next day. The answer was that it was not possible.

We took our leave and started to go, but as we were going downstairs we
were stopped, and I was told to wait for a letter to give to the guard.
Once the letter had been written, it was handed to two of their soldiers,
who were told to accompany us. We were taken to the Tribunal and then
on to the house of the [municipal] president, where I was imprisoned. I
was told it would be justice if were to be shot, [p.14] and thereafter
nobody was allowed to come near me.

In the late morning of the following day they took the two brothers out.
Towards the afternoon there was fighting outside the town, not far from
the place where I was, and then they just let me go.

Upon being released, I crossed over to the other side to search [for the
two brothers], and I met those who had taken them away. They were
carrying the clothes I had obtained for [Bonifacio] through an act of
charity, and also the medicine, and the blanket which my brother-in-law
had been wearing round his body. When I asked them where they had
taken them, they answered me that they had left them over there in the
mountains, in the house of a teniente. I asked them why they were
carrying the clothes, and they replied that he [Bonifacio] had told them
that I should bring them to him.

Ay, brothers!

I then set off to look for them in the area they had indicated, but when I
arrived there I was told they were on a mountain on the other side, which
was extremely high. We climbed up, but when we arrived we found
nothing, and so we trekked still further.

Ay, my brothers!

For two weeks I searched in the mountains, and we rested only at night.
As I did not see him and there was nobody who could tell us anything, we
went after their detachment, and I asked them where to look, but even
then I was told nothing. I only decided to leave when my uncle told me
the truth. He had given them food before they left the place where they
had stopped.

25
So just think, brothers, whether or not there was any justice in the cruelty
they committed against us.

Someone else may be able to say [p.15] ... from that source, and you will
be able to talk before too long.

I am just thankful, my brothers, to still be alive after all I have gone

through.

For a whole month I was roaming about, and we had nothing to eat but
unripe bananas. When my companions obtained a little rice through an
act of charity, they made gruel for me to eat. The clothes I wore [were in
such a state that they] would hardly burn.

This is all for now, and nothing remains but to wish you all well there.

I ask for nothing else than your heartfelt compassion for my pitiful
situation.

Perhaps we will be able to speak, and you will be able to understand

everything.

I will wait, sirs, for your answer and your valued thoughts at this moment
when so much damage is being done.

He [Aguinaldo] is the foremost traitor to the Katipunan, and he should

have been expelled a long time ago so that the disorder now being
perpetrated would not have happened.

End

Gregoria de Bonifacio
Lakanbini

26
1
I am grateful to León Gallery for the photographs, and to Ambeth Ocampo for granting me permission
to reproduce his transcription.
2
Gregoria de Jesus, “Mga tala ng aking buhay,” in Julio Nakpil and the Philippine Revolution, with the
Autobiography of Gregoria de Jesus (Manila: Heirs of Julio Nakpil, 1964), 161. Dated “Kalookan,
Rizal, 5 ng Nobyiembre, 1928,” the memoir appeared in Spanish and English translations before it was
published in the original Tagalog. A Spanish translation appeared in two instalments under the title
““La princesa del Katipunan” in the Philippines Free Press, November 24, 1928 and December 1,
1928; and an English translation appeared under the title “Autobiography of Gregoria de Jesus,”
translated and annotated by Leandro H. Fernandez, in Philippine Magazine, XXVII:1 (June 1930), 16-
8; 65-8. This is available online at
http://quod.lib.umich.edu/p/philamer/acd5869.0027.001/24?
q1=gregoria+de+jesus&view=image&size=100.
3
Gregoria later fell in love with Nakpil and married him in December 1898 (her recollection) or
December 1901 (his recollection). De Jesus, “Mga tala ng aking buhay,” 161; Typescript copy of
Leandro H. Fernandez’s English translation of “Mga tala ng aking buhay,” marked “Some Errors
Corrected by Julio Nakpil, October 27, 1950” [Private collection].
4
No evidence has yet been found that any rifles actually did arrive from abroad in 1897.
5
The food crisis in Naik and other Cavite towns at this time is described in Glenn Anthony May,
“Civilian Flight during the Philippine Revolution of 1896,” in Florentino Rodao and Felice Noelle
Rodriguez, eds, The Philippine Revolution of 1896: Ordinary Lives in Extraordinary Times (Quezon
City: Ateneo de Manila University Press, 2001), 125-42.
6
For detail on De los Santos’s acquisition of Andres Bonifacio’s letters to Emilio Jacinto, see Glenn
Anthony May, Inventing a Hero: The Posthumous Re-creation of Andres Bonifacio. (Madison: Center
for Southeast Asian Studies, University of Wisconsin-Madison, 1996), 62.
7
Epifanio de los Santos, “Andres Bonifacio” [Spanish version], Philippine Review (Revista Filipina),
II:11 (November 1917), 72-3; and idem, “Andres Bonifacio” [English version], Philippine Review
(Revista Filipina), III: 1-2 (January-February 1918), 47-9.
8
The Tagalog text was first published as a 21-page booklet in 1932: Gregoria de Jesus, Mga tala ng
aking buhay at mga ulat ng Katipunan. May paunang salita ni José P. Santos. (Maynila, Limbagang
Fajardo, 1932).
9
See the posting on this website “Bonifacio’s letters to Emilio Jacinto” at
https://sites.google.com/site/katipunandocumentsandstudies/studies/bonifacio-s-letters-to-emilio-
jacinto
10
“Autobiography of Gregoria de Jesus” in Philippine Magazine (1930), as cited, 65-8.
11
Teodoro A. Agoncillo, The Revolt of the Masses: The Story of Bonifacio and the Katipunan (Quezon
City: University of the Philippines, 1956), 403-7. Agoncillo does not cite the source of the text, but
according to Isagani R. Medina he took it in its entirety (“walang labis, walang kulang”) from an
unpublished manuscript written by José P. Santos and this daughters Teresita Santos and Nena Santos
under the nom-de-plume Tenepe, “Si Andres Bonifacio at ang Katipunan” (n.pub, 1948), 138-41.
Carlos Ronquillo, Ilang talata tungkol sa paghihimagsik nang 1896–1897 [1898], edited by Isagani R.
Medina (Quezon City: University of the Philippines Press, 1996), 48.
12
In order to make the Tagalog more accessible to contemporary readers, Medina modernized the
orthography (“Binago ko ang pagbabaybay”). Ronquillo, Ilang talata, 49-50.
13
Gregoria de Jesus finished her schooling after the first grades, she writes in her memoir, in order that
her two brothers could continue their studies. Commenting on one of her poems, Teodoro Agoncillo
remarks with characteristic bluntness that “Aling Oriang does not know the rules of Tagalog prosody.
Aside from violating the syllable number in every line, she violates the rule of rhyme.” Teodoro A.
Agoncillo, footnote in Julio Nakpil and the Philippine Revolution, 174.
14
An English translation of most of the latter half of the document, as mentioned, was published in
Philippine Review in 1918 (see note 7 above). The translation posted here draws heavily in places on
that translation, but the culpability for any errors is mine.
15
Only four of the pages are numbered, and in the ordering presented here the numbers appear at
regular 4-page intervals, - i.e. p.1 is headed with the number “1”; p.5 is headed “2”; p.9 is headed “3”;
and p.13 is numbered “4”.
16
The reference here to the Minister of Grace and Justice is almost certainly to Mariano Trias, who had
held that position in the Magdiwang council, but whose position in Aguinaldo’s new government was
Vice-President.

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 The fourth page of the document.
[Source: Carlos Ronquillo, Ilang talata tungkol sa paghihimagsik nang 1896–1897 [1898], edited by
Isagani R. Medina (Quezon City: University of the Philippines Press, 1996), 49.]
 Part of the final page of the document (p.15)
[Source: Adrian E. Cristobal, The Tragedy of the Revolution, (Makati City: Studio 5 Publishing Inc.,
1997)]