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First Cry of the Philippine Revolution

Question: Where was the first cry of the Philippine revolution happened, is
it in Pugad Lawin or in Balintawak?
(1) Document 372: Cry of Pugad Lawin
Written by: Pio Valenzuela
FACTS:
- The controversial “Cry of Pugad Lawin” was confirmed by Dr. Pio
Valenzuela who has been said that witnessed the alleged event.
- Assuming that Valenzuela participated in a secret society against
Spaniards, in line with his account, he returned to Manila on the third
of September in the year 1896 to come clean and surrender himself to
Governor Ramon Blanco.
- Henceforth, where Dr. Valenzuela was on hold by Spanish
authorities, he wrote his narrative in his strength of understanding–
as far as his memory served right. In his narrative, on August 19,
1896, Andres Bonifacio and other members of the Katipunan arrived
at Balintawak to spark a meeting.
- Albeit, on August 22, 1896, the 500 members of the Katipunan
gathered in the yard of Apolinario Samson and Kangkong. But there
was no commotion occurred, it was just a normal gathering.
- It was on August 23, 1896, that 1,000 Katipuneros’ in Pugad Lawin
had a debate and discussion. The discussion was purposive to decide
whether to revolt against the Spanish or otherwise on August 29,
1896.
VAGUE CONTEXTS:
- Two confusing statements by Dr. Valenzuela intertwined that
appeared ambiguous, as maintained by his first version of the event,
he said that the first staging point of the Philippine Revolution took
place at Balintawak – generally known as the “Cry of Balintawak,”
which was the latter part of the narrative (while he was interrogated
by the Spanish authority) supported his claim that it was in
Balintawak.
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- However, his latter statements were widely opposed to the narrative

he wrote. In his memoirs, he claimed that the cry was staged at
Pugad Lawin on August 23, 1896.
ARGUMENTS:
- I’ll argue that Dr. Valenzuela had a memory failure, perhaps, due to
traumatic events he had been through that ended up appeasing
himself to Blanco on September 3, 1896; or,
- it was all a directional consensual motion of the organization to
deceive Spanish folks, to keep their society kicking against Spanish
assimilation. In addition, to expose the mobility of the Katipunan.
CONCLUSION:
With that analysis of the facts, therefore, the first cry of the Philippine
revolution was in Pugad Lawin on August 23, 1896.
(2) Document 373: The Cry of Bahay-Toro
Written by: Santiago Alvarez
FACTS:
- Santiago Alvarez was one of the staunch members of the Katipunan,
based on his account he was in Cavite when the first cry happened.
But he did not witness the said event.
- On August 23, 1896, Sunday, the first meeting was held in
Samapalukan barrio Bahay Toro with 500 Katipuneros’.
- On August 24, 1896, Monday, the second meeting was held inside the
big barn. When the meeting adjourned the Katipuneros’ cried “Long
Live the Sons of the Country” (Mabuhay ang mga anak ng Bayan).

(3) Document 374: The First Cry

Written by: Gregoria De Jesus
FACTS:
- In the narrative of the Philippine Revolution, the presence of
Gregoria de Jesus, the wife of Supremo, had her own version of the
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event. She was the custodian of the secret documents of the secret
society.
- At the peak of the revolt, the secret organization was no longer a
secret because the Spanish authorities had found the group. In
August 1896, Andres Bonifacio and his men gathered in Balintawak
for the war of liberation.
- According to her version the cry was first staged in Caloocan on
August 25, 1896.
(4) The Cry of Balintawak: The Guardia Civil’s Report
FACTS: