Position Paper: The First Cry of

Philippine Revolution

Submitted by:

Calica, Euver

Montero, Jim Brian Khasmir

Ramos, Rheyan Kristofer C.

Redillas, Jade

Tolentino, Elijah

AE – 201

Submitted to:

Asst. Prof. Joel Regala

 Only few are remembered and recorded with proof; those truths and stories may

or may not be true and valid for the others; there will only be a few which will be

embraced by the whole world. In the History of the Philippines, the argument about

when and where the “First Cry of Philippine Revolution” against the Spaniards really first

happened is still a big topic to discuss up to this day. There are a lot of different claims

by researchers and historians spreading all across the Philippines such as it first

happened in Balintawak on August 26, Kangkong on August 22, Pugad-lawin on August

23 and in Bahay-Toro on August 24 are confusing the nation on which date and place

will be written in books and be taught in schools. This information handed to us by the

previous generations and by the data’s we have gathered helped us come up with the

claim that the first cry happened in Balintawak on August 26, 1896.

Historians have argued where the "First Cry of Philippine Revolution" occurred,

and it appears that Pugad Lawin and Balintawak, Kalookan are the two locations that

have the most attention and debated. The allegation that the first cry occurred in Pugad

Lawin is questionable because there are no supporting papers and just one eye

witness, Dr. Pio Valenzuela. Unlike the Balintawak claim, many historians, including

Milagros Guerrero, Emmanuel Encarnacion, and Ramon Villegas, as well as the

statements from Gregoria De Jesus, Captain Oligario Diaz, and Guillermo Masangkay.

According to Guillermo Masangkay’s testimony; In Balintawak, in the residence

of Apolonio Samson, then the cabeza of the barrio of Kalookan, a large assembly was

convened. The conference began at 9 o'clock in the morning of August 26, 1896

(Wednesday), with Andres Bonifacio presiding and Emillio Jacinto serving as secretary.

The goal was to talk about when the revolt will happen. However, some argued that
igniting the revolution now is too early. The time finally comes where Filipinos finally

renounced Spanish colonial domination over the Philippines with tears in their eyes, and

the people as a group ripped out all their cedulas, amidst with a loud cry of "Long Live

the Philippine Republic." At around 5 o’clock in the afternoon, as the crowd at

Balintawak was celebrating the Katipunan leaders' decision to begin the revolt, the

guards who were stationed in trees to keep an eye out for intruders or the approaching

enemy sent a warning that the Spaniards were on their way.

Guerrero, Villegas, and Encarnacion stated that all of the alleged locations for the

First Cry of Revolution were in Balintawak, Kalookan, and that when all of the historians'

claims are added together, it can be seen that Bonifacio and his men managed to move

around those locations to avoid the Spaniards, implying that they held multiple meetings

and not just one cry. According to Captain Oligario Diaz, who verified Katipunan's

discoveries, Bonifacio moved to a neighborhood in Balintawak, followed by 200 men

from Caloocan. Gregoria De Jesus, Andres Bonifacio's wife eho also said that Bonifacio

and his soldiers were assembled on the highlands of Balintawak for the liberation

movement. According to her, the first cry happened near Kalookan.

In the year of 1896, August 22nd, two o’ clock in the morning, Andres Bonifacio

and his other three hundred fellows arrived at the house of Apolonio Samson that

resides on Kangkong, Balintawak. On August 23rd, Bonifacio went to the house of

Tandang Sora at Bahay Toro. They celebrated a festival, in which, Tandang Sora was

the one responsible for feeding five hundred Filipinos with her own wealth. Guillermo

Masangkay, an original member of the Katipunan and serves at the secretary of the

revolutionary society, stated that the Cry of Pugad Lawin happened on August 26th,
nine o’ clock in the morning, a big meeting was held at the house of Apolonio. Bonifacio

then asked the people to give a pledge that they were to revolt. He told them that the

sign of slavery of the Filipinos were the cedula changed each citizen. “If it is true that

you are ready to revolt … I want to see you destroy your cedulas. It will be a sign that all

of us have declared our severance from the Spaniards.” In addition, historian Gregorio

Zaide affirmed in his books that the First Cry of Revolution happened in Balintawak on

August 26, 1896. In that case, the investigators established that the First Cry of

Revolution occurred on August 26, 1896, at Balintawak, Kalookan, based on solid and

verifiable evidence.
Reference:

Chua, X., (2020). Xiao Time: Ang Unang Sigaw ng Himagsikan sa Balintawak,

Caloocan.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dtc9q_V8_hs&t=68s&ab_channel=XiaoChua

Gomez, C., (2020). Cry of Balintawak or Pugad Lawin.

https://www.studocu.com/ph/document/ateneo-de-davao-university/philippine-

history/cry-of-balintawak-or-pugad-lawin/8599383

Guerrero, M. C., Encarnacion, E. N., Villegas R. N. (2003). In Focus: Balintawak: The

Cry for a Nationwide Revolution.

https://ncca.gov.ph/about-culture-and-arts/in-focus/balintawak-the-cry-for-a-

nationwide-revolution/

Sichrovsky, H., (1987). The Cry of Balintawak.

https://www.univie.ac.at/Voelkerkunde/apsis/aufi/rizal/har-cry.htm

Wikipedia. (n.d). Cry of Pugad Lawin.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cry_of_Pugad_Lawin