The Katipunan and the Revolution:
Memoirs of a General
By: Santiago V. Alvarez (1992)
Author’s Background
Santiago V. Alvarez
Born: July 25, 1872 in Imus, Cavite
Died: October 30, 1930 in San Pablo City
Santiago V. Alvarez was a revolutionary
general and a founder and honorary president
of the first directorate of the Nacionalista
Party. He was known as "Kidlat ng Apoy"
(Lightning of Fire) because of his inflamed
bravery and dedication as commander of
Cavite's famous battles particularly that in
Dalahican where the victory was crucial for the Agoncillo's "History of the Filipino People"
revolutionary cause, since it prevented the
Spanish send reinforcements across the
isthmus from Cavite to reconquer the province,
the main Philippine bastion. For this reason, he
was rejoiced in the present-day Cavite City as
the “Hero” of the Battle of Dalahican.
Prior to the outbreak of the revolution,
Santiago was already a delegado general of the
provincial council of the Katipunan in Cavite.
He became captain general and later,
commander-in-chief, of the Magdiwang forces
and valiantly fought the Spaniards from 1896
The Revolt of the Masses: The Story of
Bonifacio and the Katipunan
By: Teodoro A. Agoncillo (2002)
Teodoro A. Agoncillo
Born: November 9 1912 in Lemery, Batangas
Died: January 14, 1985
He was a prominent 20th-century Filipino
historian. He and his contemporary Renato
Constantino were among the first Filipino
historians renowned for promoting a distinctly
nationalist point of view of Filipino. He was
also an essayist and a poet.
was first published in (1960). To date, it
remains a popular standard textbook in many
Filipino universities, as are many of
Agoncillo's other works.
Some of his other well-known works include
Revolt of the Masses (1956), Malolos: the
Crisis of the Republic (1960), the Fateful Years
(1965), and History of the Filipino People
(1960) which are all still being used as
textbooks in many schools. For this

to 1897. With his father, Mariano Álvarez, and
cousin, General Pascual Álvarez, they liberated
Noveleta from the Spaniards on
August 31, 1896.
In 1902 he was appointed Chairman of the
Commission of the peace, an organization
created by U.S. authorities to promote the
material reconstruction of the country and the
reconciliation between the two countries. In
this same line created in 1912 the Association
Makabuhay.
When was the account written?
According to Journal of Southeast Asian
Studies, the Original Tagalog text of General
Alvarez’s memoirs was published in 36
installments, from July 24, 1927 to April 15,
1928, in the Tagalog weekly, Sampaguita.
The translation of “Ang Katipunan at
Paghihimagsikan” by Paula Caroline Malay in
English was published in Quezon City, Ateneo
de Manila University Press on 1992.
Mention of Dates
 March 25, 1897 - A convention was held in
Tejeros in order to settle the dispute between
the two councils, The Magdalo and The
Magdiwang group, and to decide on what
type of government should be installed.
outstanding works as a historian, he was
conferred as a National Scientist in (1985).
Agoncillo obtained a bachelor's degree in
philosophy from the University of the
Philippines in (1934) and a master's degree in
the arts from the same university the following
year.
He became linguistic assistant at the Institute
of National Language and as an instructor at
the Far Eastern University and the Manuel L.
Quezon University and a faculty member of
U.P., chairing the Department of History from
1963 to 1969, until his retirement in 1977.
The Revolt of the Masses: The Story of
Bonifacio and the Katipunan was written in
1947 as the authorʼs winning entry in a
national Bonifacio biography contest held in
1948. Another focus of inquiry is the
publication of the manuscript in 1956 by the
College of Liberal Arts of the University of the
Philippines.
 Middle of Decemeber 1896 - Bonifacio with
his wife and two brothers, Ciriaco and
Procopio, left Cavite because Bonifacio
accept the request of Mariano Alvarez his
uncle-in-law.
 March 27, 1897 - Those elected at the
Tejeros convention secretly gathered in the
Tanza parish house. They knelt before a
crucifix and solemnly took their office
despite the Supremo, Andres Bonifacio’s
claim of the votings as null and void.
Mention of Place
 Tejeros - The place where the assembly took
place.
 San Francisco de Malabon - The place
where the election for the new government
took place.
 Tanza (Santa Cruz de Malabon) - (parish
house of the Catholic Church) many attested
seeing Messrs. Mariano Trias. Daniel Tirona,
Emiliano R. de Dios, Santiago Rillo and
others, and that they were conferring with the
 January 2,1897 - Bonifacio wrote from San
Francisco de Malabon to Mariano Alvarez.
Written in that letter was "President Mainam:
Don't fail to come this very moment for I
want to talk to you privately about what
happened to me in Magdalo and so that you
might explain their organization to me."
 January 1897 - The feast of San Francisco
de Malabon and is when the rebels enjoyed
the fiesta and relaxed.
 March 22,1897 - General Emilio
Aguinaldo's Birthday. Also it is when the
battle raged between the Spaniards and the
Magdalo soldiers and the assembly convened
the Tejeros.
 Cavite - The Tejeros Convention was the
meeting held on March 22, 1897 between the
Magdiwang and Magdalo factions.
 Mountains of Montalban & Mariquina - A
delegate was sent in the mountains to look
for the Supremo to apprise to him of the
urgent necessity of mediating of the widening
rift between the two popular councils.
 Noveleta - The place where Esteban San
Juan invited Bonifacio to attend the
demonstration of the Magdiwang rebels.
 priest, Fr. Cenon Villafranca. The former
summer resort of the friars that witnessed the
first important election held under the
auspices of the Katipunan government
Towns under the sovereign power of each
faction:
 Kin Batangas and other towns (Magdalo)
 Nasugbu, Tuwi and Look, in the same
province (Magdiwang)
 Mountains of Montalban and Mariquina -
The search for Supremo, to apprise him of
the urgent necessity of mediating of the
widening rift between the two popular
councils.
 Zapote - Emilio Aguinaldo, Candido Tirona
and Edilberto Evangelista were on hand to
meet the Supremo and and his entourage
 Imus (house of Juan Castaneda) -
Bonifacio was brought by the rebel leaders
where he was visited by Baldomero
Aguinaldo, Daniel Tirona, Vicente
Fernandez and others. Bonifacio ordered the
arrest of Fernandez.
Key Personalities
 Emiliano de Dios - Elected as Secretary of
War
 Daniel Tirona - He went against the result of  Artemio Ricarte - Magdalo's military
 Estate house of Tejeros - The place where
the leaders of the Magdiwang planned to
hold another convention.
 Town of Kawit, Bakood, and Imus – The
place where the Spanish army seriously
threatened it for battle.
 Barrio between the towns of Imus and
Dasmarinas - General Emillio Aguinaldo
lead the Magdalo Soldiers to face the
Spaniards.
 Santa Cruz de Malabon - The place where
a bridge is connected to San Francisco de
Malabon and is the place where the former
summer resort of the friars, that witnessed the
first important election held under the
auspices of the Katipunan government.
 San Juan del Monte/Laguna - The place
where they were going to attack the
Spaniards.
 Andres Bonifacio - Supreme Head of the
Katipunan
 the votings when Andres Bonifacio was
elected as Secretary of the Interior
 Ariston Villanueva - Previous Secretary of
war
 Apoy - Previous Captain General
- He was insulted by Antonio
Montenegro’s remark about the
revolution and made an order to arrest
him
 Anotonio Montenegro - He was arrested by
General Apoy because he compared the
revolution to a pack of bandits or of wild,
mindless animals if they did not agree on the
kind of revolutionary government they were
to have
 Trining & Josephine - Pleaded with Apoy
not to arrest Montenegro but to let him stay
at the estate house
 Jacinto Lumbreras - Previous Chairman of
the Katipunan
 Fr. Cenon Villanueva - Officated the oath
taken by the newly elected officers
 Severino de las Alas and Daniel Tirona-
Witness of the oath taking
commander brigadier-general
 Mariano Alvarez - Magdiwang's chosen
President
 Gen. Emilio Aguinaldo - Leading the
Magdalo Soldiers, faced the Spaniards in
Salitran
 Candido Tirona - Magdiwang's minister of
war
 Edilberto Evangelista - Magdalo's elected
Lieutenant General
 Baldomero Aguinaldo - Made the proposal
to establish a revolutionary government
 Daniel Tirona - Magdalo man
 Esteban San Juan - Invited Bonifacio to
attend the demonstration of the Magdiwang
rebels in Noveleta
 Ariston Villanueva - Magdiwang's Minister
of War who stood up and said that if new
government was to be established, Andres
Bonifacio who had organized and planned
the entire revolutionary movement, must of
right occupy presidency without any election
 Santiago Alvarez - Magdalo's commander in
chief
 Pascual Alvarez - Magdalo's executive
secretary
 Luciano San Miguel - Magdiwang
representative
 Mariano Trias - Magdalo's minister of grace
and justice

Sequencing of Events
In the Philippine Revolution of 1896, there was The Katipunan of Cavite, divided into two
a conflict that emerged between Andres
Bonifacio, the supremo of the Katipunan, the
secret society that launched the uprising
against Spain in August 1896, and Emilio
Aguinaldo, a leader of the Filipino forces in
Cavite province who replaced Bonifacio as
head of the revolutionary movement in March
1897.
In hopes of uniting the conflicting factions and
establishing a new government of the
Katipunan, Andres Bonifacio and Emilio
Aguinaldo agreed to hold the Tejeros
Convention. The assembly at Tejeros took
place on March 25, 1897, which was initially
presided by Secretary Jacinto Lumbreras of the
Magdiwng Council.
Secretary Jacinto Lumbreras announced the
main topic of discussion, which was how to
 Severino de las Alas - Magdiwang
representative
 Santos Nocon - Magdiwang representative
 Cayetano Topacio - Magdiwang's minister
of finance
 Antonio Montenegro - Magdiwang
representative
 Jacinto Lumbrera - Acting president of
magdiwang in the meeting
factions, the Magdiwang and the Magdalo, and
each factions exercised sovereign power over a
number of towns. Leaders of each council
never got together to elect their leader; they
proceeded independently their elected leader.
Both factions attempted to make their uniform
to recognized their council, however the plan
did not go beyond the paper stage due to lack
of budget.
When Cavite led by its two factions,
successfully rose in their revolt, disputes arises
between the leaders of rival factions for their
desire to control the other faction. But neither
both sides would bow nor allow the other
faction to rule the other faction, and this led to
rebel's defeat at the hands of Polavieja and the
Spaniards. The Magdiwang men initiated to
invite Andres Bonifacio to visit Cavite and
intervene in the conflict of the two factions. A
delegate was sent to look and inform him, but
bolster the defenses in the areas under
Magdiwang control. Severino de las Alas
interrupted and announced that the major
issues should be tackled first such as what kind
of government should we have and how should
we establish it. Secretary Lumbreras
emphasized that the Katipunan now holds
authority over the island that has a government
of law and a definite program. Severino de las
Alas disagreed otherwise.
A disorder ensued between General Apoy and
Antonio Montenegro, which disrupted the
assembly. Antiono Montenegro said the they
who were in the Revolution would be no better
than a pack of bandits or of wild, mindless
animals. Hurt by the words of Montenegro,
General Apoy emphasized that they are true
revolutionaries fighting for the freedom of the
native land and they are not bandits who rob
others of their property and wealth. General
Apoy then ordered the arrest of Antonio
Montenegro.
When order was restored, Andres Bonifacio
presumed the chairman of the assembly, for he
is the Father of the Katipunan and the
Revolution. Secretary Lumbreras thought
Bonifacio to be the rightful chairman because
the as the leader of the Katipunans, he was
responsible for the spread of the revolutionary
he refuses to heed the request.
Periodic exchanges of communication between
Bonifacio and Magdiwang chieftains led to
accepting the third invitation written to
Bonifacio. Bonifacio left for Cavite in the
middle of December 1896. A
misunderstanding arose between Magdalo
leaders and Bonifacio at the preliminary
meeting, that they regarded Bonifacio's
behavior and "acted as if he were a king". After
the meeting, Bonifacio met Fernandez, who
was his comrade in the battle of San Juan,
promised to help him, but didn't carried out his
promise had led to their defeat, ordered his
arrest. But Magdalo chieftains, whom
Fernandez had run for shelter, refused to give
him up and Bonifacio concluded that he had
little influence in Magdalo area.
Bonifacio was invited to attend an event in
Noveleta. A parade took place and Emilio
Aguinaldo, a Magdiwang, observed the parade,
while having a plan to nominate Edilberto
Evangelista, with the intention of his faction to
propose an establishment of a revolutionary
government. Bonifacio knowing the plan of
Aguinaldo was hurt for the presidency must be
given to him for he is the founder of
Katipunan. After, an assembly was opened
with Bonifacio as chairman. And both factions
movement throughout the Philippines.
An election took place for the following
positions: President, Vice President, Minister
of Finance, Minister of Welfare and Justice,
and Captain General. The Supremo Bonifacio
emphasized that all decisions discussed and
approved in the meetings should be respected
and all should abide by the wished of the
majority, no matter what his station in life or
his educational attainment. The Magdiwang
secretary of the treasury warned Bonifacio that
the ballots were tampered and some were
already filled out, however, Bonifacio ignored
this and proceeded with the election.
In the voting for the presidency position in the
revolutionary government, Emilio Aguinaldo
prevailed over Andres Bonifacio. The next
most important posts went to members of the
Magdiwang: Mariano Trias was elected Vice
President, Artemio Ricarte, and Emiliano
Riego de Dios was elected Secretary of War.
Andres Bonifacio was elected to a position, the
Secretary of the Interior. After that, an
argument broke out between Bonifacio and
Daniel Tirona, where the later insisted that the
position of Secretary of the Interior should be
entrusted to a lawyer and elect Jose del Rosario was to be recognized and respected regardless
instead. Bonifacio adjourned the meeting,
announcing that all matters approved in the
have different sides that never come to
understanding. Magdalo proposes to have a
government with the Katipunan for it was no
longer necessary, and Magdiwang opposes the
proposal. At the end the assembly was
adjourned, but as tension between the
Magdiwang and Magdalo continues to rise.
The leaders held another convention at the
estate-house in Tejeros. This was during
Aguinaldo’s birthday March 22,1987 and when
he was facing the Spaniards in Salitran. The
convention was mostly attended by
Magdiwang soldiers. The convention was
opened by Jacinto Lumbreras, however
Severino de las Alas took the floor and wanted
to discuss on what kind of government should
be set up. Andres Bonifacio explaining that the
K in the Katipunan flag already identified the
type of government but de las Alas was not
satisfied. The tension was heated up as Antonio
Montenegro insulted the Katipunan which was
not taken lightly by Santiago Alvarez.
Lumbreras then proceeded to gave the seat to
Andres Bonifacio in spearheading the
convention.
An election was held where whoever elected
of social status and education. Emilio
Aguinaldo was elected President, Mariano
meeting are null and void.
Baldomero Aguinaldo, the Magdalo president,
convinced the Magdiwang leaders to
reconvene the disrupted meeting at the same
friar estate house in Tejeros the following day
to continue and revalidate the proceeding of
the election; however, the Magdalo members
did not came. It was rumored that a meeting
had taken place at the Tanza parish house and
Bonifacio’s decision regarding the election
being null and void were not respected. At the
gathering in the Tanza parish house, those
elected at the Tejeros Convention took their
oaths office, which was officiated by Fr. Cenon by the people either.
Villafranca. Unknown to the Magdiwang
Council, the Magdalo posted troops to guard
the Tarzan parish house and not to admit any
unwanted Magdiwang partisans.
Differences between the two accounts
Date of the Tejeros Convention:
Revolutionary leader, Santiago Alvarez stated
that the Tejeros Convention occurred on
March 25, 1897.
Details of the Events:
Alvarez’s account of the events that transpired
during the Tejeros Convention was short and
brief but clear; expressing what needs to be
conveyed without unnecessary words.
Trias as Vice President, Ricarte as Captain
General, Emilio R. de Dios as director of war
and Andres Bonifacio as Director of Interior.
The position of Bonifacio was opposed by
Daniel Tirona, which offended the Supremo,
that led him to call the assembly off and all that
was discussed as null.
Bonifacio believed that that he should have
been given the presidency but was not due to
the dirty work of the Magdalo men. In his letter
to Mariano Alvarez he also said that he would
not recognize the chiefs elected during the
Imus Convention and should not be recognized
According to historian Teodoro Agoncillo, the
Tejeros Convention occurred on
March 22, 1897, which was Aguinaldo’s
birthday.
Agoncillo’s Seeds of Discontent was
comprehensive since it has many details and
facts; giving the full particulars of the events.
This account started with the The Katipunan of
Cavite, which was divided into two factions,
This account started with the assembly at
Tejeros that convened on March 25, 1897.
Alvarez’s missed to account the events that
lead to the assembly.
Events after the Tejeros Convention:
In Alvarez’s account, he did not mention that
Andres Bonifacio wrote a letter to his uncle-in-
law, Mariano Alvarez venting his anger which
was triggered by Daniel Tirona and in his letter
he reiterated his nullification of all that had
been agreed upon.
Own analysis of the differences between the two accounts
Alvarez’s account was not detailed enough to The group thinks that it was unfair for
really understand about what happened even
before and even after of that event. It only
briefly explained the situation unlike the 2nd
reading that is much more detailed of the
occurrences.
Alvarez’s account focuses more on the election
that occurred and how the officers opposed to
Bonifacio’s decision of declaring it as null and
void.
the Magdiwang and the Magdalo. The disputes
between the two factions lead the need to unite
the conflicting factions and establish a new
government of the Katipunan.
In Agoncillo’s account, he did not mention that
the Magdalo President Baldomero Aguinalo
intended to continue the disrupted assembly,
however the Magdalo members did not show
up on the agreed place. Rather, the Magdalo
members secretly gathered in Tanza to take
their oaths of office.
Bonifacio to die when he wrote the letter to his
uncle in law.
Agoncillo’s account was very detailed and
everything was described on how the election
became a null and later on was dismissed.
The significant events that happened in
Agoncillo’s account were more on the conflicts
they encountered and what the outcome of the
election was.