Module 9

‘One Past but Many Histories’:

Cry of Pugad-lawin or Cry of Balintawak?

LEARNING OUTCOMES
At the end of this module, you should be able to:

1) Read and/or watch secondary materials on the Cry of Pugad-lawin or Cry of Balintawak:
a) YouTube Video: Ang Sigaw Sa Pugad Lawin(Cry of Pugad Lawin)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rDcvxfK7DqI
b) Newspaper Column: Ambeth Ocampo, “Balintawak or Pugad Lawin?”, Philippine
Daily Inquirer, 03 Sep 2010.
c) YouTube Video: The State Documentary on Andres Bonifacio
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bSY72wDSOw0
From this video, find the Cry of Pugadlawin at 29:00.
2) Read the conflicting accounts or versions
3) Explain the more accepted version of the Cry of Pugad-lawin or Cry of Balintawak.

EXPLORATION
To help you understand this lesson, read and study the following person/s, group/s and
historical event/s in Philippine history.

KATIPUNAN In planning the revolution, Bonifacio contacted

The Kataastaasan, Kagalanggalangang Katipunan ng Rizal for his full-fledged support for the Katipunan in
mga Anak ng Bayan, also known as Katipunan or KKK, exchange for a promise to rescue Rizal from his
was a Philippine revolutionary society founded by anti- detention. In May 1896, the leadership of the Katipunan
Spanish colonialism Filipinos in Manila in 1892; its met with the Captain of a visiting Japanese warship in an
primary goal was to gain independence from Spain attempt to secure a source of arms for the revolution, but
through a revolution. It was organized as early as without success. The Katipunan’s existence was
January 1892 but may not have become active until July revealed to the Spanish authorities. Days after the
7 of the same year; that was when José Rizal was to be Spanish authorities learned of the existence of the secret
banished to Dapitan. society, in August 1896, Bonifacio and his men tore up
their cédulas during the Cry of Balintawak that started
Founded by Filipino patriots Andrés Bonifacio, the Philippine Revolution of 1896.
Teodoro Plata, Ladislao Diwa and others, the Katipunan
was a secret organization until it was discovered in 1896. ANDRÉS BONIFACIO
This discovery led to the outbreak of the Philippine Andrés Bonifacio y de
Revolution. Castro (November 30,
1863–May 10, 1897) was a
Belonging to a secret organization, Katipunan Filipino revolutionary leader
members were subjected to utmost secrecy and were and the president of the
expected to abide by the rules established by the Tagalog Republic. He is
society. Applicants were given standard initiation rites in often called "The Father of
order to become members of the society. At first, the Philippine Revolution".
membership in the Katipunan was only open to male He was one of the founders
Filipinos; later, women were accepted into the society. and later Supremo
The Katipunan had its own publication, Kalayaan (Supreme Leader) of
(Freedom) which issued its first and last printing in March Katipunan, a movement
1896. Revolutionary ideals and works flourished within which sought the
the society, and Filipino literature was expanded by independence of the Philippines from Spanish colonial
some of its prominent members. rule and started the Philippine Revolution.

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PRESENTATION

Like in the previous module, you learned that some events in history have been told through
the generations in different versions. Through time, there have been different versions—or
variations of particular events or milestones in Philippine history.

As a result, we as students of history face are challenged which to believe. Which of

them is more accurate? Which of them is matter-of-fact or truthful? Which of them tells us
the real events?

The study is now as relevant as ever—with fake news proliferating in our midst these
days. Your job in this lesson is to determine for yourself the “fake news”, as it were—and the
real news with the use of the sources provided here.

Read the conflicting versions of this historical event in 1896, which is claimed to have
sparked the Philippine Revolution. At the end of the module, be able to take a side—and be
able to explain at length the version which is more believable.

Cry of Pugad Lawin

T he Cry of Pugad Lawin was the beginning of the Philippine Revolution against the
Spanish Empire. At the close of August 1896, members of the Katipunan secret society
(Katipuneros) led by Andrés Bonifacio rose up in revolt somewhere in an area referred to as
Caloocan, wider than the jurisdiction of present-day Caloocan which may have overlapped
into present-day Quezon City.

Originally the term cry referred to the first clash between the Katipuneros and the
Civil Guards (Guardia Civil). The cry could also refer to the tearing up of community tax
certificates (cédulas personales) in defiance of their allegiance to Spain. The inscriptions of
“Viva la Independencia Filipina” can also be referred as term for the cry. This was literally
accompanied by patriotic shouts.

Because of competing accounts and ambiguity of the place where this event took
place, the exact date and place of the Cry is in contention. From 1908 until 1963, the official
stance was that the cry occurred on August 26 in Balintawak. In 1963 the Philippine
government declared a shift to August 23 in Pugad Lawin, Quezon City.

DIFFERENT DATES AND PLACES

Various accounts give differing dates and places for the Cry of Pugad Lawin. An officer of
the Spanish guardia civil, Lt. Olegario Diaz, stated that the Cry took place in Balintawak on
August 25, 1896. Historian Teodoro Kalaw in his 1925 book The Filipino Revolution wrote
that the event took place during the last week of August 1896 at Kangkong, Balintawak.
Santiago Alvarez, a Katipunero and son of Mariano Alvarez, the leader of the Magdiwang
faction in Cavite, stated in 1927 that the Cry took place in Bahay Toro, now in Quezon City
on August 24, 1896. Pío Valenzuela, a close associate of Andrés Bonifacio, declared in 1948
that it happened in Pugad Lawin on August 23, 1896. Historian Gregorio Zaide stated in his
books in 1954 that the “Cry” happened in Balintawak on August 26, 1896.

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 Fellow historian Teodoro Agoncillo wrote in 1956 that it took place in Pugad Lawin
on August 23, 1896, based on Pío Valenzuela’s statement. Accounts by historians Milagros
Guerrero, Emmanuel Encarnacion and Ramon Villegas claim the event to have taken place in
Tandang Sora’s barn in Gulod, Barangay Banlat, Quezon City.

Some of the apparent confusion is in part due to the double meanings of the terms
“Balintawak” and “Caloocan” at the turn of the century. Balintawak referred both to a
specific place in modern Caloocan and a wider area which included parts of modern Quezon
City. Similarly, Caloocan referred to modern Caloocan and also a wider area which included
modern Quezon City and part of modern Pasig. Pugad Lawin, Pasong Tamo, Kangkong and
other specific places were all in “greater Balintawak”, which was in turn part of “greater
Caloocan”.

DEFINITION OF THE CRY

The term “Cry” is translated from the Spanish el grito de rebelion (cry of rebellion) or el grito
for short. Thus the Grito de Balintawak is comparable to Mexico’s Grito de Dolores (1810).
However, el grito de rebelion strictly refers to a decision or call to revolt. It does not
necessarily connote shouting, unlike the Filipino sigaw.

ACCOUNTS OF THE CRY

GUILLERMO MASANGKAY
One of the original members of the Katipunan, GUILLERMO
MASANGKAY was designated to build the KKK in Cavite. His
accounts contribute to our understanding of the Cry of Balintawak
and the death of Bonifacio:
On August 26, a big meeting was held in Balintawak, at the
house of Apolonio Samson, then cabeza of that barrio of Caloocan.
Among those who attended, I remember, were Bonifacio, Emilio
Jacinto, Aguedo del Rosario, Tomas Remigio, Briccio Pantas,
Teodoro Plata, Pio Valenzuela, Enrique Pacheco, and Francisco
Carreon. They were all leaders of the Katipunan and composed the
board of directors of the organization. Delegates from Bulacan,
Cabanatuan, Cavite, and Morong were also present.
At about nine o’clock in the morning of August 26, the
meeting was opened with Andres Bonifacio presiding and Emilio Jacinto acting as secretary.
The purpose was to discuss when the uprising was to take place. Teodoro Plata, Briccio
Pantas, and Pio Valenzuela were all opposed to starting the revolution too early...Andres
Bonifacio, sensing that he would lose the discussion then, left the session hall and talked to
the people, who were waiting outside for the result of the meeting of the leaders.
He told the people that the leaders were arguing against starting the revolution early,
and appealed to them in a fiery speech in which he said: “You remember the fate of our
countrymen who were shot in Bagumbayan. Should we return now to the towns, the
Spaniards will only shoot us. Our organization has been discovered and we are all marked
men. If we don’t start the uprising, the Spaniards will get us anyway. What then, do you
say?”
“Revolt!” the people shouted as one.
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 (sic) the cedula tax charged each citizen.

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“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.”

PIO VALENZUELA
PÍO VALENZUELA Y ALEJANDRINO (July 11, 1869–April
6, 1956) was a Filipino physician and revolutionary
leader who joined Katipunan at 23. Together with
Andrés Bonifacio and Emilio Jacinto, they formed the
secret chamber of the society called Camara Reina. He
took charge of the publication of Ang Kalayaan,
Katipunan's first and only official publication.
In 1935, Pio Valenzuela, along with Briccio
Pantas and Enrique Pacheco said:
“The first Cry of the revolution did not happen in
Balintawak where the monument is, but in a place called
Pugad Lawin.” In 1940, a research team of a forerunner
of the National Historical Institute (NHI) which
included Valenzuela, identified the location as part of
sitio Gulod, Banlat, Kalookan City. In 1964, NHI
described this location as the house of Tandang Sora.
The first place of refuge of Andres Bonifacio,
Emilio Jacinto, Procopio Bonifacio, Teodoro Plata,
Aguedo del Rosario, and myself was Balintawak, the first five arriving there on August 19,
and I on August 20, 1896. The first place where some 500 members of the Katipunan met on
August 22, 1896, was the house and yard of Apolonio Samson at Kangkong. Aside from the
persons mentioned above, among those who were there were Briccio Pantas, Alejandro
Santiago, Ramon Bernardo, Apolonio Samson, and others.
Here, views were only exchanged, and no resolution was debated or adopted. It was at
Pugad Lawin, the house, store-house, and yard of Juan Ramos, son of Melchora Aquino,
where over 1,000 members of the Katipunan met and carried out considerable debate and
discussion on August 23, 1896. The discussion was on whether or not the revolution against
the Spanish government should be started on August 29, 1896... After the tumultuous
meeting, many of those present tore their cedula certificates and shouted “Long live the
Philippines! Long live the Philippines!”

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SANTIAGO ALVAREZ
SANTIAGO VIRATA ÁLVAREZ (July 25, 1872–October 30, 1930) was a revolutionary general
and a founder and honorary president of the first directorate of the Nacionalista Party. Also
known as Kidlat ng Apoy because of his inflamed bravery and dedication as commander of
Cavite's famous battles (Dalahican), he is celebrated as the Hero of the Battle of Dalahican.
Santiago Alvarez stated:
We started our trek to Kangkong at about eleven
that night. We walked through the rain over dark
expanses of muddy meadows and fields. Our clothes
drenched and our bodies numbed by the cold wind, we
plodded wordlessly. It was nearly two in the morning
when we reached the house of Brother Apolonio
Samson in Kangkong. We crowded into the house to
rest and warm ourselves. We were so tired that, after
hanging our clothes out to dry, we soon feel asleep. The
Supremo began assigning guards at five o’clock the
following morning, Saturday 22 August 1896. He
placed a detachment at the Balintawak boundary and
another at the backyard to the north of the house where
we were gathered. No less than three hundred men
assembled at the bidding of the Supremo Andres
Bonifacio.

Altogether, they carried assorted weapons, bolos, spears, daggers, a dozen small
revolvers and a rifle used by its owner, one Lieutenant Manuel, for hunting birds. The
Supremo Bonifacio was restless because of fear of sudden attack by the enemy. He was
worried over the thought that any of the couriers carrying the letter sent by Emilio Jacinto
could have been intercepted; and in that eventuality, the enemy would surely know their
whereabouts and attack them on the sly. He decided that it was better to move to a site called
Bahay Toro. At ten o’clock that Sunday morning, 23 August 1896 we arrived at Bahay Toro.
Our member had grown to more than 500 and the house, yard, and warehouse of Cabesang
Melchora was getting crowded with us Katipuneros.
The generous hospitality of Cabesang Melchora was no less than that of Apolonio
Samson. Like him, she also opened her granary and had plenty of rice pounded and animals
slaughtered to feed us. The following day, Monday, 24 August, more Katipuneros came and
increased our number to more than a thousand. The Supremo called a meeting at ten o’clock
that morning inside Cabesang Melchora’s barn. Flanking him on both sides at the head of the
table were Dr. Pio Valenzuela, Emilio Jacinto, Briccio Pantas, Enrique Pacheco, Ramon
Bernardo, Pantelaon Torres, Francisco Carreon, Vicente Fernandez, Teodoro Plata, and
others. We were so crowded that some stood outside the barn. The following matters were
approved at the meeting:
An uprising to defend the people’s freedom was to be started at midnight of Saturday,
29 August 1896;
To be on a state of alert so that the Katipunan forces could strike should the situation
arise where the enemy was at a disadvantage. Thus, the uprising could be started earlier than
the agreed time of midnight of 29 August 1896 should a favorable opportunity arise at that
date. Everyone should steel himself and be resolute in the struggle that was imminent; and
His immediate objective was the capture of Manila.
After the adjournment of the meeting at twelve noon, there were tumultuous shouts of
“Long live the Sons of the People!”

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ASSERTED DATES AND LOCATIONS

DIFFERENT DATES AND PLACES OF CRY

PERSON PLACE DATE
L.T. Olegario Diaz Balintawak August 25, 1896
Teodoro Kalaw Kangkong, Balintawak Last week of August
Santiago Alvarez Bahay Toro, Quezon City August 24, 1896
Pio Valenzuela Pugad Lawin August 23, 1896
Gregorio Zaide Balintawak August 26, 1896
Teodoro Agoncillo Pugad Lawin August 23, 1896
(according to statements of
Pio Valenzuela)
Research Tandang Sora’s barn in August 24, 1896
(Milagros Guerrero, Gulod, Barangay Banlat,
Emmanuel Encarnacion, Quezon City
Ramon Villegas)

TEARING OF CÉDULAS
Not all accounts relate the tearing of cédulas in the last days of August. Of the accounts that
do, older ones identify the place where this occurred as Kangkong in Balintawak/Kalookan.
Most also give the date of the cédula-tearing as August 26, in close proximity to the first
encounter. One Katipunero, Guillermo Masangkay, claimed cédulas were torn more than
once – on the 24th as well as the 26th.

For his 1956 book The Revolt of the Masses Teodoro Agoncillo defined “the Cry” as
the tearing of cedulas, departing from precedent which had then defined it as the first
skirmish of the revolution. His version was based on the later testimonies of Pío Valenzuela
and others who claimed the cry took place in Pugad Lawin instead of Balintawak.
Valenzuela’s version, through Agoncillo’s influence, became the basis of the current stance
of the Philippine government. In 1963, President Diosdado Macapagal ordered the official
commemorations shifted to Pugad ng uwak, Quezon City on August 23.

FORMATION OF AN INSURGENT GOVERNMENT

An alternative definition of the Cry as the “birth of the Filipino nation state” involves the
setting up of a national insurgent government through the Katipunan with Bonifacio as
President in Banlat, Pasong Tamo on August 24, 1896 – after the tearing of cedulas but
before the first skirmish. This was called the Haring Bayang Katagalugan (Sovereign Tagalog
Nation).

WHY BALINTAWAK?
The Cry of Rebellion in the Philippines happened in August 1896. There are lot of
controversies puzzling the minds of the readers regarding the real place and date of this event.
Some accounts pointing directly to Balintawak are associated with ‘The Cry’. Lt. Olegario
Diaz of the Spanish Civil Guards wrote in 1896 that the event happened in Balintawak, which
corroborates the accounts of the historian Gregorio Zaide and Teodoro Kalaw. On the other
hand, Teodoro Agoncillo based his account from that of Pio Valenzuela that emphasized
Pugad Lawin as the place where the ‘cry’ happened.

Here are some reasons why Pugad Lawin is not considered as the place of the ‘cry’.

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 People of Balintawak initiated the revolution against the Spaniards that is why it is not
appropriate to call it ‘Cry of Pugad Lawin’.
 The place Pugad Lawin only existed in 1935 after the rebellion happened in 1896.
 The term ‘Pugad Lawin’ was only made up because of the hawk’s nest at the top of a tall
tree at the backyard of Tandang Sora in Banlat, Gulod, Kaloocan where it is said to be
one of the hiding places of the revolutionary group led by Andres Bonifacio.

OTHER CRIES
In 1895, Bonifacio, Masangkay, Emilio Jacinto and other Katipuneros spent Good Friday in
the caves of Mt. Pamitinan in Montalban (now part of Rizal province). They wrote “long live
Philippine independence” on the cave walls, which some Filipino historians consider the
“first cry” (el primer grito).

COMMEMORATION
The Cry is commemorated as National Heroes’ Day, a public holiday in the Philippines.

The first annual commemoration of the Cry occurred in Balintawak in 1908 after the
American colonial government repealed the Sedition Law. In 1911 a monument to the Cry (a
lone Katipunero popularly identified with Bonifacio) was erected at Balintawak; it was later
transferred to Vinzons Hall in the University of the Philippines-Diliman, Quezon City. In
1984, the National Historical Institute of the Philippines installed a commemorative plaque in
Pugad Lawin.

REFERENCES

Ocampo, Ambeth R. (1995). Borromeo-Buehler, Soledad M.

Bonifacio’s bolo. Anvil Pub. p. 8. ISBN
978-971-27-0418-5.
Guerrero, Milagros; Encarnacion,
Emmanuel; Villegas, Ramon (1996),
“Balintawak: the Cry for a Nationwide
Revolution”, Sulyap Kultura, National
Commission for Culture and the Arts, 1
(2): 13–22.
(1998), The cry of Balintawak: a contrived
controversy : a textual analysis with
appended documents, Ateneo de Manila
University Press, ISBN 978-971-550-278-
8.
Zaide, Gregorio (1990). “Cry of
balintawak”. Documentary Sources of
Philippine History. 8: 307–309.

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 BALINTAWAK OR PUGAD LAWIN?
Philippine Daily Inquirer, 03 Sep 2010

Read the newspaper column by renowned historian Ambeth Ocampo. Note how he clarifies the many
versions of the cry of pugadlawin. also note at the end of the article how he settles for a particular
version.

O ver two decades ago, the late National Artist Nick Joaquin argued repeatedly for a return
to the traditional “Cry of Balintawak.” All our textbooks, following a resolution from
the National Historical Commission, state that the spark of the Revolution started with a cry,
followed by the tearing of cedulas led by Andres Bonifacio in Pugad Lawin, Quezon City.
The issue is not just historiographical but political. If the National Historical Commission,
upon review of the facts, reverses its earlier resolution and moves the site of the “Cry” back
to Balintawak then history will be moved from Quezon City to Caloocan.

Re-opening the issue looks simple
because people think it’s just like tossing a
coin to decide between Balintawak or
Pugad Lawin. If you bring two to three
historians together you would not get a
consensus.
To the above options, you must add
other contenders to the historical site:
Kangkong, Bahay Toro, Pasong Tamo,
Banlat—and God knows where else,
depending on the primary source being
cited.
If you think location is the only
issue, look again. The date declared by the
National Historical Commission as the
start of the Philippine Revolution—Aug.
23, 1896—is but one date proposed, the
others being Aug. 20, 24, 25 and 26, 1896.
And, if I remember from a historical forum
in UP, one scholar even insisted on a
wildcard date of Sept. 5, 1896!
security checkpoints carrying their bolos
because Malabon is famous for
manufacturing a long bladed weapon
called “ sangbartolome.” Bonifacio and his
men were in Balintawak on August 19.
They left Balintawak for Kangkong on
August 21, and on the afternoon of August
22 they proceeded to Pugad Lawin. The
next day, August 23, in the yard of Juan
Ramos, son of Melchora Aquino, better
known as “Tandang Sora,” the
Katipuneros listened to the rousing speech
of Bonifacio, tore their cedulas, and vowed
to fight.
Teodoro Agoncillo convinced the
National Historical Commission to move
the traditional Aug. 26 date to Aug. 23 and
transfer the historical site from Balintawak
to Pugad Lawin. If Agoncillo’s personality
wasn’t enough for the Commission, he
cited as his principal source Dr. Pio
Valenzuela, a close associate of Bonifacio.

All these debates on dates and I wonder if other members of the

places, which may seem trivial to the
general public, is the lifeblood of
historians.
Teodoro A. Agoncillo said that
Bonifacio scheduled a general assembly of
the Katipunan for Aug. 24, 1896, the Feast
of San Bartolome, in Malabon. This date
was chosen to enable Katipuneros to pass
commission bothered to remind Agoncillo
that Valenzuela may have been in
Bonifacio’s inner circle, but may be
unreliable as a primary source. In
Wenceslao Emilio’s fivevolume
compilation of historical documents,
Archivo del Bibliofilo Filipino,
Valenzuela’s signed testimony before
Spanish interrogators dated September

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1896 stated that the Cry of Balintawak was
held in Balintawak on Aug. 26, 1896.
Years later, in his memoirs published in
English after World War II, Valenzuela
stated that the Cry was actually held in
Pugad Lawin on Aug. 23, 1896. Agoncillo
explained that the September 1896 account
was extracted from Valenzuela under
duress and couldn’t be trusted.
Balintawak was the place
determined by tradition and many
eyewitness accounts, including Guillermo
Masangkay who, in an interview in the
Sunday Tribune in 1932, declared the
place as Balintawak and the date Aug. 26,
1896. Spanish Lt. Olegario Diaz in 1896
pinpointed the place as Balintawak but
placed the date on Aug. 24, 1896.
Depending on your source, the
dates and places do not seem to match.
revered as the muse, the Lakambini of the
Katipunan.
To complicate things further,
another Bonifacio associate, the composer
of the Katipunan, Julio Nakpil, second
husband of Gregoria de Jesus, deposited
his handwritten notes on the Philippine
Revolution in the National Library under
Teodoro M. Kalaw in 1925. Here he
wrote, “swearing before God and before
history that everything in these notes is the
truth”: “The revolution started in
Balintawak in the last days of August
1896.” On another page he wrote,
“Bonifacio uttered the first cry of war
against tyranny on Aug. 24, 1896.”
Finally, he remembered that “the first cry
of Balintawak was in Aug. 26, 1896 in the
place called Kangkong, adjacent to Pasong
Tamo, within the jurisdiction of
Balintawak, Caloocan, then within the
province of Manila.”

In 1928 Gregoria de Jesus Nakpil, Now, which of these three

widow of Andres Bonifacio, wrote a short
autobiography, entitled “Mga tala ng aking
buhay,” where she stated, among other
things, that the Cry of Balintawak took
place on Aug. 25, 1896 in Pasong Tamo!
This place isn’t in Makati but in Caloocan.
How more authoritative can you get than
the Supremo’s widow? Oryang was
declarations do we choose? Last but not
least, we have Santiago Alvarez whose
memoirs identify the place as Bahay Toro
and the date as Aug. 25, 1896. There are
more conflicting sources available, so to
keep the peace, and until more conclusive
evidence can be presented, let’s just stick
to Pugad Lawin and Aug. 23, 1896.

SEATWORK ASSIGNMENT
On your notebook, answer the following questions:

1. What happened in the Cry of Pugadlawin and/or Cry of Balintawak in our history?
2. According to Ambeth Ocampo, when and where did the Cry of Pugadlawin take
place?
3. Aside from Pugadlawin and Balintawak, where else did the ‘Cry’ allegedly take
place? Why are many versions of the place and dates for what happened
4. Who are the sources of these other versions? Are they believable? Explain your
answer.
5. Why is the version of Pio Valenzuela not very convincing? Support your answer.
6. Is Gregoria de Jesus’s version (wife of Andres Bonifacio) more accurate? Why
7. If it’s not and the date and the place being contested throughout history, what is
most certain thing about the Cry of Pugadlawin and/or Cry of Balintawak?
Discuss.