The Cry of Balintawak was an important event for the Filipinos that marked the beginning the rebellion

of the Filipinos against the Spanish colonial government. This event serves as the colonies’ struggles for
independence against the colonizers. However, there are uncertainties and controversies as to where
and when the Cry of Balintawak happened. There are 4 versions which some of them witnessed the Cry.
One of them was Pio Valenzuela. He stated that the Cry happened on August 23, 1896, in the house of
Juan Ramos, the son of Melchora Aquino. On the second and third version, there were Gregoria de Jesus
and Santiago Alvarez, respectively. Lastly, the most recognized version was by Guillermo Masangkay,
who was the nearest witness of the Cry. He was also the one who opposed the revolution since it was
too early to impose and hundreds would be vulnerable. He also emphasized that the Cry happened on
August 26th, 1896. He stated that Bonifacio asked the people outside and when they wanted revolt,
Bonifacio urged to stripped their cedulas and shouted, “Long Live the Republic of the Philippines!”

Eventually, the government found out about the revolt and imprisoned those who participated. The
inconsistencies of the details from the witnesses created debate to some historians as to where and
when the Cry of Balintawak happened.