The First Cry of the Philippine Revolution

John Paul Anasarias

The strings of facts have been woven by the eyewitnesses in the pages of
history. There has been an attempt to ridicule the history of the “Unang Sigaw” – a
revolt of the Katipunan against the barbaric Spanish colonizers. The eyewitnesses have
declared their versions; historians expressed their minds; critics enraptured with great
deals; however, the dates, places, and folks involved in the historical event in the
documents seemed to offer ambiguity in the pedagogy. Albeit, these are distinct strings
woven by distinct eyewitnesses– re-structured and re-framed.
When the island of the Philippines first caught the attention of Spanish
navigators, interest in the luxuries of the island had been drawn over. Some of our
ancestors were either naïve enough or urged by trepidation to be played by the Spanish
compelling authoritative decorum. Consequently, the plot of reigning the Philippines had
been successful and it continues for almost three hundred years. As the dark clouds
seized over the azure sky, Filipinos were in the hands of the Spanish realm, their cruelty
is ubiquitous. The revolt against the Spanish arises from the ashes of patriotism, as
they tore their cedulas on the 26 th of August in 1896 at Balintawak, with valor they
shouted: “Mabuhay ang Pilipinas!”
At what time did Spanish authorities divulge the secret organization, Katipunan,
the secret organization was shaken by the amount of devastating demolition inflicted by
the Spanish authorities on their fellow countrymen. With cruel promulgation by the
Spanish authorities, the Katipunan hold an urgent meeting. The meeting was held in
Balintawak on August 26, 1896, at the house of Apolonio Samson. The attendees were
Andres Bonifacio, Emilio Aguinaldo, Aguedo del Rosario, Tomas Remigio, Briccio Pantas,
Teodoro Plata, Pio Valenzuela, Enrique Pacheco, and Francisco Carreon. By nine o’clock
in the morning, the meeting commenced by the Supremo Andres Bonifacio as the
presiding body whereas Emilio Aguinaldo was acting as the secretary. The urgent
meeting was purposive to subversion a revolt against the uprising brutality of Spanish
authorities for years. Several members protested to take prompt action against the
Spanish since it jeopardizes the welfare of their countrymen. However, Bonifacio
remained steadfast despite the heating atmosphere, and he asked the people that were
waiting outside if they will take a step against the Spaniards or otherwise, without a
hint of skepticism, they did agree to take a revolt. As nationalism and patriotism
converge, they tore their cedulas as a sign of an end to the Spanish ruling they
shouted: “Mabuhay ang Pilipinas!”. Onwards, as the dawn starts taking up the sky and
the mountain eats the sun, the group was positioned based on their strategic plan to
attack the civil guards. Both groups started firing, and from that moment our ancestors,
living as our heroes fought for our freedom against the Spanish.
 Some disparities are apparent in Pio Valenzuela’s account that diminishes the
credibility of his narrative. Now, we raise the question of whether his integrity keeps his
conscience tormented?
Guillermo Masangkay was born on June 25, 1867, by Victoria Rafael, and his
father Domingo Masangkay, in Tondo, Manila. He was the childhood friend of Andres
Bonifacio and later became the Katipunan General. As maintained in his account, he
witnessed the first cry of the Philippine revolution, against the Spanish regime, held at
the rustic barrio of Balintawak on August 26, 1896.
It is important to highlight the account, the cry of Balintawak, written by
Guillermo Masangkay, a member of the Katipunan and dearest friend of Bonifacio as
the primary source. Hence, his share of the narrative is vastly reliable for about the
event: the first cry of the Philippine revolution, besides, it wasn’t called the primary
account for no good reason. On the contrary, I argue that Pio Valenzuela’s account is a
primary source, however, it is vividly controversial that at the time when we embarked
on writing the narrative, he wasn’t able to review the facts, instead, he counts on his
dying memory. From there, we can draw a thin line between his memory and the facts
in connection with the first cry of the Philippine revolution.
Firstly, Pio Valenzuela claimed that the first staging point of the cry of the
Philippines revolution was in Balintawak, the “Cry of Balintawak.” He mentioned it
himself while his memory serves him right; thus, it justified the Balintawak as the first
cry of the Philippine revolution written by Guillermo Masangkay the Katipunan General.
Contrary to his claims, when he was interviewed to share his narratives on the event, it
is now questionable given the fact that he mentioned different dates and places. We
cannot rest on the extent of guaranteeing the credibility of his narrative. To clear the
air, we are not attacking his credibility as an eyewitness but rather the credibility of his
narrative due to the changing narratives based on his interviews.
Secondly, numerous significant historians of the Philippines cast off Pio
Valenzuela’s impression of the first cry for the reason that the narrative knocked out
certain fallacies. By the time Pio Valenzuela surrender himself to General Ramon Blanco,
he expressed different versions of the matter. He renounces certain facts to ridicule the
events in the uprising revolt against the Spanish. Therefore, Pio Valenzuela’s account
does not deserve earnest credence.
Lastly, as Teodoro Agoncillo maintained, in his book The Revolt of the Masses,
he accentuated that the first cry of the Philippine revolution happened at Balintawak on
August 26, 1896, as the “Sigaw ng Balintawak.” This information has been accepted
and adapted for the first cry of the Philippine revolution. In addition, if you watched the
Katipunan adaptation by the GMA (EP. 5: Makasaysayang pagpunit sa cedula ), the
same date and place were used in the making which is August 1986.
 With thorough diligence in understanding the historical event, it is paramount to
analyze the credibility of the authors, by which we can assess the facts with zero
negligence, because numerous versions of the historical event have been assimilated
into our pedagogy, even up to this day the uncertainty of the information is still vague,
for we cannot attest and conclude because the event occurred before we can breathe
into this world. Taking everything that has been provided into account, the shreds of
evidence were strongly laid over the table, it was precisely argued that the first cry of
the Philippine revolution was staged in Balintawak on August 26, 1896.
References:

Baco, K. M. (Director). (2019). Katipunan [Motion Picture].

Borromeo-Buehler, S. (1998). The Cry of Balintawak. Quezon : Ateneo De Manila
University Press.
Grey, E. J., & Biong, R. D. (2017). First Cry of the Philippine Revolution . In E. J. Grey,
& R. D. Biong, Readings in the Philippine History (pp. 298-305). Iloilo: Malones
Printing Press & Publishing House.
Zafra, N. (1956). The Revolt of the Masses. Philippine Studies, 493-514.