Cry of Balintawak or Cry of Pugad Lawin

Based on the debate, it discusses the event happened known as the beginning of
the Philippine revolution against the Spanish rule. The said event was led by the
Katipuneros who are the members of the Katipunan which is a secret society founded
by Andres Bonifacio. Also, the event was being held at Kalookan (Caloocan in the
present day) and overlapping into Quezon City at the present day. Originally, the term
“cry” referred to the first skirmish between the Katipuneros and Civil Guards (Guardia
Civil) but today, it refers to the tearing of the cedulas of the Katipuneros which marked
their separation from the Spain. However, because of different accounts, the place and
exact date of the said event is disputed.
According to the account of Pio Valenzuela, the first cry of the revolution did not
happen in Balintawak but in a place called Pugad Lawin wherein the location was being
identified as part of Sitio Gulod, Banlat, Kalookan City. He also stated that the first cry of
Pugad Lawin happened on August 23, 1896.
On the contrary, based on the account of Guillermo Masangkay, on August 26,
1896, a big meeting was held in Balintawak, at the house of Apolonio Samson, the
cabeza of barrio Caloocan. The meeting was all about the plan to execute the revolution
against Spain which is being talked by the leaders of the Katipunan. In their meeting,
most of the leaders opposed to start the revolt against Spain too early as they are not
ready yet. But, Andres Bonifacio, leave the meeting and talked to the people outside
wherein he persuaded them to revolt against the Spain through tearing their cedulas
and saying “Long live the Philippine Republic”.
In conclusion, the account of Guillermo Masangkay was the one which is being
considered as the more accurate and reliable source, even though the presenter made
a mistake in which side they will favor, I gained additional knowledge about this. The
account of Guillermo Masangkay is the reliable one because according to my research
the people of Balintawak initiated the revolution against the Spaniards that is why it is
not appropriate to call it “Cry of Pugad Lawin”. Also, the place Pugad Lawin only existed
in 1935 after the rebellion happened in 1896.This specific event is really a very
important part of our history as it is all about the beginning of the Philippine revolution
against Spain. It clearly shows the love of our forefathers to our country by fighting
against our enemy that conquered our own Mother land. Witnessing this debate brought
a lot of feelings for me since it shows the cruelty of Spaniards to all the Filipinos at that
time. Knowing what was really happened in that particular event is crucial to know by all
of us as it is the one which makes us all free to do whatever we want today.