Where Did the Cry of

Rebellion Happen ?

BALINTAWAK or
PUGAD LAWIN
 CRY of REBELLION

 Originally the term “Cry” referred to the first clash between the
Katipuneros and Civil Guards (Guardia Cvil).

 The “Cry” could also refer to the tearing up of community tax

certificates (cedulas personales) in defiance of their allegiance of
Spain. This was literally accompanied by patriotic shouts.

 In 19th century journalist used the phrase “El Grito de Rebellion” or

the “Cry of Rebellion” to describe the momentous events sweeping the
On August 26th, a big meeting was held in Blintawak, at the
house of Apolonio Samson, then cabeza of that barrio of
Caloocan.

Among those who attended were Andres Bonifacio, Emilio

Jacinto, Aguedo del Rosario, Tomas Remigio, Briccio
Pantas, Teodoro Plata, Pio Valenzuela, Enrique Pacheco and
Franscico 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.
Teodoro Plata, Briccio Pantas and Pio Valenzuela were all
opposed to starting the revolution too early.

First place of refuge of Andres Bonifacio, Emilio Jacinto,

Procopio Bonifacio, Teodoro Plata, Aguedo del Rosario was
Balintawak, the first five arriving there on August 19 and
myself on August 20, 1896.

500 members of the Katipunan met on August 22, 1896, was

the house and yard of Apolonio Samson at Kangkong.

Briccio Pantas, Alejandro Santiago, Ramon Bernardo,

Apolonio Samson and others are present at Kangkong.
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.
Different Dates and Places of the Cry
 Lt. Olegario Diaz – a guardia civil, stated that the cry took place in
Balintawak on August 25, 1896.

 Teodoro Kalaw – a filipino historian, marks the place to be in

Kangkong, Balintawak, on the last week of August 1896.

 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.

 Pio Valenzuela – a close associate of Andres 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.

 Teodoro Agoncillo – fellow historian, wrote in 1956 that it took place in Pugad
Lawin on August 23, 1896 based on Pio Valenzuela’s statement.

 Account by Historians; Millagros Guerrero, Emmanuel Encarcion and Ramon

Villegas – claim the event to have taken place in Tandang Sora’s barn in Gulod,
Barangay Banlat, Quezon City.

 In 1935 Valenzuela, Pantas and Pacheco proclaimed “na hindi sa Balintawak

nangyari ang unang sigaw ng paghihimagsik na kinalalagyan ngayon ng bantayog,
kung di sa pook na kilala sa tawag na Pugad Lawin.”
CONCLUSION
 Using the primary and secondary sources four places have been
identified: Balintawak, Kangkong, Pugad Lawin, and Bahay Toro
while the dates vary: 23,24,25 or 26 August 1896.

 According to Guerrero, Encarnacion and Villegas all these places arein

Balintawak, then part of Caloocan, now, in Quezon City. As for the
dates, Bonifacio and his troops may have been moving from one place
to another to avoid being located by the Spanish government, which
could explain why there are several accounts of the cry.

 Valenzuela’s account should be read with caution: He once told a

Spanish investigator that the “cry” happened in Balintawak on
Wednesday, 26 August 1896. Much later, he wrote on his Memoirs of
the Revolution that it happened at Pugad Lawin on 23 August 1896.
Such inconsistencies in accounts should always be seen as a red flag
when dealing with primary sources.
 On 30 June 1983, Quezon City Mayor Adelina S. Rodriguez created the Pugad
Lawin Historical Committee to determine the location of Juan Ramos’s 1896
residence at Pugad Lawin.

 The NHI(National Historical Institute) files on the committee’s findings show the
following:
1. In August 1983, Pugad Lawin in barangay Bahay Toro was inhabited by squatter
colonies. The NHI believed that it was correct in looking for the house of Juan
Ramos and not of Tandang Sora. However, the former residence of Juan Ramos
was clearly defined.
 
2. There was an old dap-dap tree at the site when the NHI conducted its survey I
1983. Tedoro Agoncillo, Gregorio Zaide and Pio Valenzuela do not mention a dap-
dap tree in their books.
REFERENCES:
Primary Source
A. Primary Sources
“Diario o derotero del viage de Magallanes desde el cabo se S. Agustin en el Brazil hasta
el regreso a Espana de la nao Victoria, escrito por Frandsco Albo,” Document no. xxii in Collecion
de viages y descubrimientos que hicieron por mar los Espanoles desde fines del siglo XV, Ed.
Martin Fernandez de Navarette (reprinted Buenos Aires 1945, 5 Vols.) IV, 191-225. As cited in
Miguel A. Bernard “Butuan or Limasawa? The Site of the First Mass in the Philippines: A
Reexamination of Evidence “1981, Kinaadman: A Journal of Southern Philippines, Vol. III, 1-35.
Emma Blair and James Alexander Robertson, The Philippine Islands, Vols. 33 and 34, as
cited in Miguel A. Bernard, “Butuan or Limasawa? The Site of the First Mass in the Philippines: A
Reexamination of Evidence “1981, Kinaadman: A Journal of Southern Philippines, Vol. III, 1-35.
Jose Montero y Vidal, “Spanish Version of the Cavite Mutiny of 1872, “In Gregorio Zaide
and Sonia Zaide, Documentary Sources of Philippine History, Volume 7 (Manila: National Book
Store, 1990), 269- 273.
Rafael Izquierdo, “Official Report on the Cavite Mutiny,” in Gregorio Zaide and Sonia
Zaide, Documentary Sources of Philippine History, Volume 7 (Manila: National Book Store, 1990),
281-286.
Trinidad Pardo de Tavera, “Filipino Version of the Cavite Mutiny, “in Gregorio Zaide and
Sonia Zaide, Documentary Sources of Philippine History, Volume 7 (Manila: National Book Store,
1990), 274-280.
Edmund Plauchut, “The Cavite Mutiny of 1872 and the Martyrdom of Gom-Bur-Za,” in