The First Cry of the Revolution
In 1911, a monument to the Heroes of 1896 was erected in Balintawak where beginning in 1908, it was believed that
the "First Cry" or the initial move of the Filipinos to befin the revolution for independence occurred there on August
26. However, the date and place of the event were later contradicted by different Katipunan personalities who
claimed that they were there at the time. In 1963, the National Historical Commission (today's NHCP) decided that,
following extensive research of primary resources, 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.
Account of Dr. Pio Valenzuela
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 23, 1896. The discussions
was whether or not the revolution against the Spanish government should be started on August 29, 1896.
Only one man protested and fought against a war and that was Teodoro Plata. Besides the persons named
aboved, 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!”
Account of Santiago Alvarez
We started our trek at 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 fell 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 getting crowded
with us Katipuneros. The generous hospitality of Cabesang Melchora was no less than that of Apolonio
Samson. Like him, she also opened her granary and 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, Francisco 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 of 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!”
Account of Guillermo Masangkay
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 Rosario, 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 Emilio 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 weapons 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 of 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 Spaniard 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, “I want to see you destroyed your cedulas. It will be the sign that all of us have
declared our severance from the Spaniards.”
With tears in their eyes, the 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 outside shouted, “Long Live the Philippine
Republic.”
REFERENCE
Jose Victor Torres. Batis: Sources in Philippine History. C&E Publishing, 2018
