THE CRY OF

BALINTAWAK OR THE
CRY OF PUGADLAWIN
GROUP 3: ALOMBRO, BANIEL, GALON,
MAGBANUA AND MANZO
INTRODUCTION

The Cry of Balintawak or cry of Pugad Lawin

-(Tagalog: Sigaw ng Pugad Lawin, Spanish:

Grito de Pugad Lawin) was the “First Cry of
Revolution” became the movement of the
Filipinos to fight back on the tyrannical rule of
the Spanish regime

• - it is also called as the “First Cry”, the

revolution of independence
WHAT HAPPENED?

In August 1896 in the sitio of Pugad Lawin in

Balintawak, now part of Katipuneros led by
Andrés Bonifacio rose up in revolt by tearing
up their,Quezon City, the “cedulas” which
became a sign of enslavement of the Filipinos.
• In this scenario the Filipinos tore their
cedulas (tax receipt) and proclaimed the start
to fight for independence-the main goal.
THE CRY OF BALINTAWAK OR THE CRY OF
PUGADLAWIN
• Considered as the beginning of the
PHILIPPINE revolution against more
than 300 years of Spanish occupation.

• Initial move of the Filipinos to begin the

revolution for independence.
DEFINING “CRY ”

Cry is the shouting of nationalistic slogans in mass assemblies.

Cry as writing cave wall in protest.

Cry as Bonifacio’s tearing of the tax certificate (Cédulas

Personales) before a crowd katipuneros who then shout in
cheers.

Cry as the first military engagement with the enemy.

Cry or Sigaw means EL GRITO DE REBELLION

The Cry of Pugad Lawin (Tagalog)

• Sigaw ng Pugad Lawin, Spanish: Grito de Pugad Lawin)
• Cry as Bonifacio’s tearing of the tax
was the beginning of the Philippine Revolution against the
certificate (Cédulas Personales) before a Spanish Empire.
crowd katipuneros who then shout in cheers.
WHY BALINTAWAK?

• The cry of revolution in the Philippines happened on August 1896.

• There are many controversies puzzling the readers minds regarding the real place and date of
event. Some account pointing directly to balintawak are associated with “the cry”
• Lt. Oligario Diaz of the Spanish civil guards wrote in 1896 that the event happened in
Balintawak. Which corroborates the account of the historian Gregorio Zaide and Teodoro
Kalaw.
SOME REASON WHY PUGADLAWIN IS NOT
CONSIDERED AS THE PLACE OT THE CRY:
1. People of Balintawak initiated the revolution against the Spanish that is why is not
appropriate to call it “Cry of Pugadlawin”.
2. The place Pugad Lawin only existed in 1935 after rebellion in 1896.
3. The term “Pugad Lawin” was only made up because of the hawks nest ay 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.
WHAT WE’LL DISCUSS

• Santiago Alvarez’s Account

• Pio Valenzuela’s Account
• Guillermo Masangkay’s Account
• Gregoria De Jesús Account
BACKGROUND OF THE AUTHOR

SANTIAGO ALVAREZ
July 25, 1872 October 30, 1930

Son of Mariano Alvarez and Nicolasa Virata

Also known as Kidlat ng Apoy

Santiago was already a delegado general of the provincial

council of the Katipunan in Cavite.
• He became captain general and later, commander-in-
chief, of the Magdiwang forces and valiantly fought the
Spaniards from 1896 to 1897.
BACKGROUND OF THE AUTHOR

SANTIAGO ALVAREZ
• A well-known Katipunero from Cavite and a son of
Mariano Alvarez. Santiago is a relative of Gregoria
de Jesus, who happened to be the wife of Andres
Bonifacio. Unlike the author of the first version
mentioned (Valenzuela), Santiago Alvarez is not an
eyewitness of this event. As a result, this version of
him is not given of equal value as compared with the
other versions for authors of other accounts are
actually part of the historic event.
ACCOUNT

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 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 a 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 number had grown to more
than 500 and the house, yard, and warehouse of Cabesang Melchora was crowded with us Katipuneros. The
generous hospitality of Cabeasng Melchora was no less than that of Apolonio Samson. Like him, she also opened
her granary and he 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, Pantaleon
Torres, Francesco 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: 1. An uprising to defend the people’s freedom was to be started at
midnight of Saturday, 29 August 1896….
• 4. 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 29 August 1896 should a
favorable opportunity arise at that date. Everyone should steel himself and be resolute in the struggle that was
imminent….5. The 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!”
BACKGROUND OF THE AUTHOR

PIO VALENZUELA
• July 11, 1869 – April 6, 1956)
• was a Filipino physician and revolutionary
leader.
• At the age of 23, he joined the society of
Katipunan, a movement which sought the
independence of the Philippines from Spanish
colonial rule and started the Philippine
Revolution.
BACKGROUND OF THE AUTHOR

PIO VALENZUELA
Dr. Pio Valenzuela has been authorized the
“Cry of Pugad Lawin, who happened to
eyewitness the event.
• . He was also an official of the
Katipunan and a friend of Andres
Bonifacio.
ACCOUNT

• 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, in 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 29, 1896. Only one man protested and fought against a war and that was Teodoro Plata.
Besides the persons named above, among those present at this meeting were Enrique Cipriano, Alfonso Pacheco,
Tomas Remigio, Sinforoso San Pedro, and others. After the tumultuous meeting many of those present tore their
cedula certificates and shouted “Long live the Philippines! Long live the Philippines!”
BACKGROUND OF THE AUTHOR

GUILLERMO MASANGKAY
Born on June 25, 1867 at Tondo, Caviteño

Was Bonifacio’s childhood friend

A member of the Katipunan

Given a mission to initiate members in Cavite

Assisted in holding the First Labor Congress on May 1, 1913

Responsible for the erection of Bonifacio Monument in Caloocan

City
• Died on May 31, 1963 at the age of 96
BACKGROUND OF THE AUTHOR

GUILLERMO MASANGKAY
• Is an eyewitness of the historic event and a
childhood friend of Bonifacio. According to him,
the first rally of the Philippine Revolution
happened on August 26, 1896 at Balintawak
Correspondingly, the date and site presented were
accepted by the preliminary years of American
government. Below is General Guillermo
Masangkay’s version of the “Cry of Balintawak”:
ACCOUNT

On August 26, a big meeting was held in Balintawak at the house of Apolonio Samson, then the cabeza of
that barrio of Caloocan. Among those who attended, I remember were Bonifacio. Emilio Jacinto. Aguedo del
Kosario, 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 (now Rizal) were also present.

• At about nine o’clock in the morning of August 26, the meeting was opened with Andres Bonifacio
presiding and Emilo 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. They reasoned that the people would be in distress if the revolution were
Started without adequate preparation. Plata was very forceful in his argument, stating that the uprising could not very well be started without arms and food
for the soldiers. Valenzuela used Rizal’s argument about the rich not siding with the Katipunan organization.

Andres Bonifacio, sensing that he would lose in the discussion then left the session hall and talked to the people who were waiting outside for the result of
the meeting 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. “If it is true that you are ready to revolt.” Bonifacio said, 5 “I want to see you destroyed your cedulas. It will sign that all of us have
declared our severance from the Spaniards.” With tears in their eyes, he people, as one man. Pulled out their cedulas and tore them to pieces. It was the
beginning of the formal declaration of the separation from Spanish rule…. When the people’s pledge was obtained by Bonifacio, he returned to the
session hall and informed the leaders of what took place outside. “The people want to revolt, and they destroyed their cedulas, “Bonifacio said. “So now
we have to start the uprising, otherwise the people by hundreds will be shot. There was no alternative. The board of directors, in spite of the protests of
Plata, Pantas, and Valenzuela, voted for the revolution. And when this was decided, the people shouted, “Long Live the Philippine Republic.
BACKGROUND OF THE AUTHOR
GREGORIA DE JESUS

• May 9, 1875- March 15, 1943

• Also known as Oriang
• Wife of supremo Andres Bonifacio
• “lakambini ng katipunan”
• Custodian of the secret documents, seal, and
some weapons of the Katipunan and constantly
risk her life is safeguarding them.
BACKGROUND OF THE AUTHOR

GREGORIA DE JESUS
• Gregoria de Jesús y Álvarez, also known
by her nickname Oriang, was the founder
and vice-president of the women’s
chapter of the Katipunan of the
Philippines. She was also the custodian
of the documents and seal of the
Katipunan.
ACCOUNT

• “The activities of the Katipunan had reached nearly all corners of the Philippine Archipelago, so that when
its existence was discovered and some of the members arrested, we immediately returned to Caloocan.
However, as we were closely watched by the agents of the Spanish authorities, Andres Bonifacio and other
Katipuneros left the town after some days. It was then that the uprising began, with the first cry for
freedom on August 25, 1896. Meanwhile, I was with my parents. Through my friends, I learned that
Spanish were coming to arrest me. Immediately, I fled town at eleven o’clock at night, secretly going
through the rice fields to La Lorna, with the intention of returning to Manila. I was treated like an
apparition, for, sad to say, in every house where I tried to get a little rest, I was driven away as if people
therein were frightened for their own lives. Later, I found out that the occupants of the houses which I had
visited were seized and severely punished – and some even exiled. One of them was an uncle of mine
whom I had visited on that night to kiss his hands, and he died in exile.”
 THIS CONTROVERSY REMAINS
UNRESOLVED
• There were five dates for the Cry –
August 20, 23, 24, 25, and 26.
• There were also five different venues for
the first cry: Balintawak. Pugadlawin,
Bahay Toro, Caloocan and Pasong Tamo
SO WHEN AND WHERE DID IT
ACTUALLY HAPPEN?
• “the cry occurred towards the end of
August 1896 and that all the places
mentioned are in Caloocan. Which in
those times was a district of
Balintawak!”
CONCLUSION

• In 1963. NHCP decided that following extensive research of primary sources, the First
Cry of the Philippine Revolution of 1896 happened on August 23, 1896 at Pugad Lawin,
now part of Project 8 in Quezon City. The controversy, however, persists, with historians
and other personalities (especially the descendants of the Katipunero witnesses) claiming
that the official date and place are wrong. [Proclamation No. 149, s. 1963 by President
Diosdado Macapagal]
The officially recognized
location of the first cry of
the revolution.