THE REVOLUTION: First Phase

 Bonifacio commissioned Dr. Pio Valenzuela to go to Dapitan in June 1896 to confer with
Rizal.
 Rizal believes that revolution might break out prematurely because of the impatience of the
masses and insufficient arms.
 Bonifacio ordered the manufacture of bolos to be distributed to the members of society.
 The Japanese warship Kongo, with Admiral Kanimura on board, had dropped anchor in the
Manila Bay and that it might be possible for them to seek aid.
 Tito Miguel and Roman Ramos (members of Katipunan) who were employed in the
Maestranza were ordered by Bonifacio to steal rifles and pistols
 The new members met nightly, a circumstance that aroused suspicion of the authorities.
 From Batangas, a rumor circulated that there were secret gatherings and that rifles and
ammunition from Hongkong and Yokohama were being landed.
 Ramon Blanco, the governor-general, was reluctant to act upon the suggestion of the friars,
for he was not sympathetic to the friars
 Father Mariano Gil told the military governor, General Echaluce and revealed what he
knew about the Katipunan.
 Apolonio de la Cruz and Teodoro Patino who were working in Diario de Manila had
misunderstanding and Patino took his revenge by revealing the secrets to his sister, Honoria.
 The litographic stone used to print the Katipunan Receipts was found where the signature of
Policarpio Turla appeared.
 Turla’s locker was forced open and found:
- a dagger
- the rules of the society
- pertinent documents
 Mass arrest of Filipinos numbering about 500 were rounded up and convicted of illegal
association and treason.
 In order to force the wealthy Filipinos, they make them appear in such a way that they were
deeply involved in the Katipunan.
 The alleged documents contained that such wealthy men as Luis R. Yangco, Francisco L.
Roxas, and others were heavy contributors to Katipunan, but they denounced and denied its
existence.

1896

August 19
- Bonifacio instructed his runners to summon all leaders of the society for a general
assembly on August 24.
August 21
- Bonifacio changed the Katipunan code
- 500 Katipuneros left Balintawak for Kangkong where Apolonio Samson gave them
food and shelter
August 22
- They proceeded to Pugadlawin
August 23
- In the yard of Juan Ramos, son of Melchora Aquino, Bonifacio asked his men if they
were ready to fight for the bitter end, and tore up their cedulas, shouting “Long live
the Philippines”. This event marked the so-called “Cry of Balintawak” which
actually happened in Pugadlawin
August 24
- The rebels marched toward Pasong Tamo and arrived at the yard of Tandang
Sora
- All rebels in the surrounding towns be notified on the general attack on Manila on the
night of August 29, 1896
August 25
- First skirmish happened where the rebels lost two men and the enemy one.
- Both the Katipuneros and Spaniards retreated that prevented a bloody encounter
August 26
- Spaniards were reinforced to Pasong Tamo but the rebels were already in Balara
- In frustration, the Spaniards shot two innocent farmers and boasted that a great fight
happened. This is the origin of the so-called “Cry of Balintawak” which neither
happened on August 26 nor in Balintawak
August 27
- The rebels arrived at Mariquina and proceeded to Hagdang Bato.
August 28
- Bonifacio issued a manifesto inciting the people to take up the Filipino cause and to
get set for a concerted attack on August 29.
August 29
- The intended attack on Manila did not materialize because there were no sufficient
arms
August 30
- Bonifacio and Jacinto led their men in an attack on the powder magazine at San Juan
del Monte
- Spaniards were outnumbered until reinforcements arrive. With the arrival of fresh
Spanish troops, Bonifacio and his men were driven back with heavy casualties.
- Governor-General Ramon Blanco issued a decree declaring a state of war and put
the following provinces under martial law:
 Manila
  Cavite
 Laguna
 Batangas
 Bulacan
 Pampanga
 Tarlac
 Nueva Ecija
September 2,3,4
- In the north, the rebels of San Isidro led by Mariano Llanera, armed with bolos and
pointed sticks, attacked the Spanish garrison but were repulsed.
September 4
- Four Katipuneros were executed at the Luneta
September 12
- Thirteen men from Cavite were executed. They have since been known as ”Los
Trece Martires de Cavite”
October
- The Spaniards executed an unknown number of Filipinos in Mindanao
December 30
- Jose Rizal was executed at the old Bagumbayan Field

1897

January 4
- Twelve Bicolano rebels were executed, thus making them the “Twelve Bicol
Martyrs”
- In Kalibo, Kapis, nineteen patriots were shot to death

 A thousand men marched toward Pasig and attacked the small force of civil guards.
 400 rebels attacked the church of Pandakan and captured it without any resistance.
 Towns that rose as one man and pursued Spanish enemy:
- Pateros
- Tagig
- Kalookan
- Kawit
- San Francisco de Malabon
- Noveleta
- San Pedro Makati
 The Spanish volunteers and Corps of Vigilantes promptly invaded the houses of Filipinos
searching for evidences against those who were directly and indirectly involved in the
uprising.
 Hundreds were arrested and jailed. Suspects in the provinces were brought to Manila to
receive what the Spaniards considered their “just punishments”
 Spanish took advantage of the martial law and extracted money from wealthy Filiipinos in
exchange of their lives and freedom
 Fort Santiago was so packed with Filipino suspects that many of them died of suffocation
 Magdalo
- led by Baldemero Aguinaldo
- headquarters located at Cavite el Viejo (Kawit)
- raising the standards of revolt, they attacked attacked the tribunal (municipal
building) of San Francisco, Malabon on August 31, 1896
- took the offensive against the enemy garrison led by Candido Tirona
 Emilio Aguinaldo: General Miong
- Marched against Bakood (Bacoor) to intercept the Spanish forces from Manila but
was defeated
- Returned to Imus and on September 5, he defeated the troops under General Aguirre
- The latter, hundreds of Spanish men and sixty guns were lost in his haste to escape
the Filipinos
- Became an instant hero after his victory from Spanish soldiers
- Effects of the victory to the people:
o Triumph fired imagination of young and old men, always ready to fight
o Enthusiasm encouraged Aguinaldo to fight
• Magdiwang
- led by Mariano Alvarez
- headquarters in Noveleta, Cavite
- attacked the Spaniards in Cavite
 Spaniards had enough
- Defeated in many sectors, Spaniards decided to fight in Cavite
- Early November: Gov-Gen Ramon Blanco was egged on by the friars and took the
offensice in Cavite. He assaulted Binakayan and Noveleta had a big loss
 Magdiwang invited Bonifacio to patch up matters on the rivalry between Magdalo and
Magdiwang: unity was indispensable in Katipunan
 Bonifacio refused because he was needed in Morong but the insistent request of Artemio
Ricarte and Mariano Alvarez, Bonifacio accepted the invitation
 He went with his wife and his brothers, Procopio and Ciriaco at the end of December 1896
 He met at Zapote by Emilio Aguinaldo, Edilberto Evangelista, and people who want to meet
him personally
 On December 31, an assembly was held at Imus to determine whether the Katipunan should
be replaced by another form of government
 Magdiwang: contented that Katipunan should remain the government because it already had
a constitution and by laws recognized by all
 Magdalo: There is a need for a new government because Katipunan was no longer a secret
 The meeting ended without having accomplished anything

The Tejeros Convention

 After months of rebels receiving end of Spanish armed powers, leaders thought it's timely to
call another meeting of both factions to solve their internal problems
 March 22, 1897, two factions met again at Tejeros, a barrio of San Francisco de Malabon, in
an estate-house of the friars which the rebels had captured
 Session:
- started at about 2 o'clock in the afternoon with Jacinto Lumbreras (Magdiwang) as
presiding officer, and Teodoro Gonzales (Magdiwang) as secretary
- Severino de las Alas (Magdiwang) suggested that the convention should solve the
problem of whether a new government should be formed
- suggestion led to argument after another then both camps almost came to blows
- So, Lumbreras called for a recess to cool off people
- the session resumed with Bonifacio as chairman
- he raised the wish of some for a new government to be established and he stated, the
principle that the will of the majority should be respected and must be followed and
was adopted by the convention
- with this thorny question resolved, the Republic of the Philippines was proclaimed
- before election, Bonifacio reminded that the results of election should be respected
 Elected were:
1. Emilio Aguinaldo - President
2. Mariano Trias - Vice President
3. Artemio Ricarte - Captain General
4. Emiliano Riego de Dios - Director of War
5. Andres Bonifacio - Director of the Interior

 when Bonifacio was proclaimed, Daniel Tirona (Magdalo) objected, said that Bonifacio is
not the right person for the exalted position because he does not have a lawyer's diploma
 Bonifacio was insulted and demanded for apology but Tirona disappeared from the scene, he
was about to fire the pistol to Tirona but Ricarte held his arm
 People began leaving the hall, and Bonifacio was still angry:
 "I, as chairman of this assembly, and as President of the Supreme Council of the Katipunan,
as all of you do not deny, declare this assembly dissolved, and I annul all that has been
approved and resolved."
 Aguinaldo was notified the following day of his election to the Presidency, at first he refused
for he wont leave his men but his brother, Crispulo, persuaded to take oath
 He proceeded to Santa Cruz de Malabon (now Tanza) and took oath of office with others,
except Bonifacio
 Meanwhile, Bonifacio and his men met again in Tejeros on March 23 felt bad with the results
and believed there were anomalies during balloting so he drew document called Acta de
Tejeros, giving the reasons for not accepting the results of the convention
- election of officers was not well conducted: there is a conspiracy
- they discovered the secret plan to place the Presidency under control of Magdalo
- Bonifacio forces not once have asked for help from Magdalo whereas they asked
from Bonifacio
- Bonifacio began the rebellion and they came later
- Bonifacio and men proceeded to Naik to be far from Magdalo men
- Aguinaldo sent men to persuade Bonifacio to cooperate but Bonifacio refused
 At Naik, they drew another document in which they resolved to establish a separate
government
 An army was to be organized "by persuasion or force" and a military commander was to take
command
 The document posed a potential danger to the cause of Revolution for it meant a definite split
of revolutionists and almost certain defeat in the face of a united and well armed enemy
 Naik Military Agreement came to knowledge of Aguinaldo and ordered the arrest of
Bonifacio brothers
- group of soldiers under Colonel Agapito Bonzon to arrest
- his men surround Bonifacio's house and an encounter was inevitable
- Bonifacio was stabbed in the larynx, Ciriaco was killed, Procopio was wounded
- Bonifacio was placed in a hammock and brought to Naik
- April 28, personnel of the Council of War was completed: Colonel Pedro Lipana
(Judge Advocate), Jose Elises (Fiscal), Placido Martinez and Teodoro Gonzales
(defense attorneys)
- trial is from April 29 to May 4
 Bonifacio brothers were found guilty of treason and sedition with no sufficient evidence
 On May 8, Aguinaldo recommend Council of War's decision: execution of the brothers
 On the same day, Aguinaldo commuted the death sentence to banishment
 Change of order reached headquarters of General Mariano Noriel and Pio del Pilar, asked
Aguinaldo to withdraw his order
 Reasoned that Bonifacio alive will cause the disrupt of unity of the revolutionary forces
 Seconded by Clemente Jose Zulueta, Dr. Anastacio Francisco, and General Mamerto
Natividad, all hated Bonifacio
 Under pressure, Aguinaldo withdrew his order
 May 10, General Noriel ordered Major Lazaro Makapagal to bring the brothers to Mount
Tala
 Makapagal was handed a letter containing the order to execute the brothers followed the
order: Bonifacio's grave was shallow and few twigs on the grave
 As Makapagal returned from Mount Tala, he found Filipino forces retreating and Spaniards
pounding the towns
 Spaniards also suffered, most who were not accustomed to the tropical climate
 General Camilo de Polavieja asked for relief and was replaced by former governor general
Fernando Primo de Rivera
 Arrived on April 23, immediately found out that Filipinos were united against the Spaniards
than be demoralized
 At the end of the month, marched to Cavite for military operations
 ssued a decree granting pardon to those who will surrender (up to May 17) but Filipino
ignore the decree
 With almost all of Cavite in Spanish control, he issued another decree extending pardon
 Aguinaldo established his headquarters in Talisay, Batangas
 Enemies surrounded the area in the hopes of capturing him but he escaped and went to
Morong
 With 500 men, they crossed Pasig to Malapad-na-Bato, secretly passed through San Juan del
Monte and Montalban, and on Mount Puray
 Then proceeded to Biyak-na-Bato, where he established his headquarters
 News of the arrival of Aguinaldo reached towns of Central Luzon and armed men from
Pangasinan, Zambales, Tarlac, Ilocos, Nueva Ecija, renewed their resistance against
Spaniards
 Aguinaldo joined forces with General Llanera of Nueva Ecija
 Harassed Spanish soldiers in the Central Luzon provinces
 Rebels met at Puray, in the camp of General Licerio Geronimo
 Established the Departmental Governmental of Central Luzon comprising Manila, Morong,
Bulakan, Laguna, Nueva Ecija, Bataan, Tarlac, and Pangasinan
 Assembly elected:
- Father Pedro Dandan – President
- Anastascio Francisco – Vice President
- Paciano Rizal – Secretary of Treasury
- Cipriano Pacheco – Secretary of the War
- Teodoro Gonzales – Secretary of the Interior
- Feliciano Jocson – Secretary of Welfare
 Unable to persuade the Filipinos to give up their arms, Primo de Rivera issued a decree
which prohibited all inhabitants to leave their villages and towns
 Effect of decree was contrary; people continued fighting for the Filipino
 Aguinaldo issued a proclamation entitled “To the Brave Sons of the Philippines”, listed are
revolutionary demands
1. the expulsion of the friars and the return to the Filipinos of the lands
2. representation in the Spanish Cortes
3. freedom of the press and tolerance of all religious aspects
4. equal treatment and pay for Peninsular and Insular civil servants
5. abolition of the power of the government to banish citizens
6. legal equality for all persons
 Aguinaldo and his men already established republican government at Biyak-na-Bato, known
as the Biyak-na-Bato Republic
 Prepared by Felix Ferrer and Isabelo Artacho, who copied the Cuban constitution of
Jimaguayu
 Provides the creation of a Supreme Council composed of a President, a Vice-President, a
Secretary of War, and a Secretary of the Treasury
 Article VIII: reflects nationalism of the revolutionists: “Tagalog shall be the official language
of the Republic”
 Provides religious liberty, freedom of education, freedom of the press
 In accordance with Article 1, the Supreme Council:
- Emilio Aguinaldo – President
- Mariano Trias – Vice President
- Antonio Montenegro – Secretary of Foreign Affairs
- Isabelo Artacho – Secretary of the Interior
- Emiliano Riego de Dios – Secretary of War
- Baldomero Aguinaldo – Secretary of the Treasury
 Pedro Paterno, a mestizo, asked Primo de Rivera that he can be made a mediator between the
Filipinos and Spaniards
 Governor general approved his request
 From August to December, he negotiated with Aguinaldo and de Rivera on their conditions
 The Truce of Biyak-na-Bato was the first document signed by Paterno and Primo de Rivera,
November 18, the second document was “Programme” on December 14, third and last was
signed on December 15
 Aguinaldo and his companions would go into voluntary exile abroad
 Primo de Rivera would pay P800,000 to the rebels in three installments
 P400,000 to Aguinaldo upon his departure from Biyak-na-Bato, P200,000 when arms
surrendered exceeded 700, P200,000 when Te Deum was sung
 Primo de Rivera would pay the additional sum P900,000 to families of non-combatant
Filipinos
 Held two Spanish generals as hostages to make sure the sincerity of the agreement
 Filipino generals left in Biyak-na-Bato did everything in their power to surrender the arms
given up by rebels
 Some Filipino leaders were suspicious of Spanish aims and Spanish authorities did not trust
Filipinos too
 Result was periodic clashes between Filipinos and Spaniards starting from mid-February
until Spanish power was destroyed by Filipino-American forces
 Central Executive Committee (Constitution of Makabulos) by General Francisco Makabulos
was intended to be a provisional one
 Constitution provided for an executive committee
 Abuse of Spaniards still continued making Filipinos think that the truce was just a mask to
cover up the true intention