John Danielle M.
Giducos
BSTM – 1I
The Katipunan’s Cry: Pugad Lawin vs Balintawak
The Katipunan, a covert revolutionary organization that aimed to free the
Philippines from Spanish colonial control, was led by Andrés Bonifacio, who started the
Philippine Revolution against more than 300 years of Spanish domination. With the
establishment of "Kataastaasan, Kagalanggalangang Katipunan ng mga Anak ng Bayan"
(KKK) on July 7, 1892, the Katipuneros chose to defy more than three centuries of
Spanish control by tearing their "cedulas," or residence certificates, into pieces, a symbol
of Filipino enslavement. The demand for freedom and independence from Spanish
colonial control was the Katipunan's catchphrase. Andrés Bonifacio led a rebellion of
Katipuneros in August 1896 in the locality of Pugad Lawin in Balintawak, which is now
part of Quezon City. This event, known as the "Cry of Pugad Lawin," was officially
recognized as the beginning of the Philippine Revolution against Spain through the use
of violence and weapons. It was previously celebrated as the "Cry of Balintawak" on
August 26 every year since 1908, but disputes arose when the celebration's location and
date were changed to August 23 in 1962 and Pugad Lawin in the same year.
A monument honoring the Heroes of 1896 was built in Balintawak in 1911. It was
thought that the "First Cry," or the first action taken by the Filipino people to start the
independence revolution, took place there on August 26 of that year. Nevertheless, other
Katipunan figures who claimed to have been present at the time later denied the event's
date and location. Following a thorough examination of historical materials, the National
Historical Commission (NHCP) determined in 1963 that the First Cry of the Philippine
Revolution of 1896 took place on August 23, 1896, at Pugad Lawin, which is today a
portion of Quezon City (Edmilao, 2020). According to Dr. Pio Valenzuela’s first account,
he said that the rebellion was held in Balintawak on Wednesday, August 26, 1896.
However, in his second account, he later on wrote his memoirs of the revolution and
claimed that the cry took place at Pugad Lawin on August 23, 1896. Several accounts
providing different dates and places of the First Cry aroused, but eyewitnesses of the
historic event made considerable efforts to prove the real place one way or another. Being
a close associate to Andrés Bonifacio, Valenzuela was present at the meeting prior to the
actual first cry. Teodoro Agoncilio, a Filipino historian who rose to prominence in the post-
war era, believed Valenzuela's story and credibly used his considerable influence to
campaign to move the first cry's date and location to August 23, 1896, at Pugad Lawin.
Moreover, President Macapagal ruled in 1963 that the Cry of Balintawak should be
renamed the Cry of Pugad Lawin and commemorated on August 23 rather than August
26.
Primary sources recognized by historians were evidently presented to further
strengthen their claim of the place where the first cry happened. Valenzuela was one of
the eyewitnesses who accounted that the cry happened in Pugad Lawin, which was later
on based on Agoncilio’s “The Revolt of the Masses.” However, the precise time and
location of the revolution's spark were disputed by several Filipino historians and even
several veterans of the actual uprising. The addition of place names like Pasong Tamo,
Banlat, Kangkong, and Bahay Toro, among others, and the mention of several 1896 dates
like August 20, 23, 24, 25, and 26 caused even more confusion (Samonte, 2023).
Eventually, President Diosdado Macapagal directed that on August 23, 1963, the official
commemorations be moved to Pugad Lawin and declared it a special public holiday in
Quezon City under Proclamation No. 149, s. 1963.
References:
Debate on the date and place of 1896 “Cry” for PH freedom | Philippine News Agency. (n.d.).
https://www.pna.gov.ph/opinion/pieces/739-debate-on-the-date-and-place-of-1896-cry-for-ph-
freedom
Pjung. (2023, February 21). FIRST-CRY-OF-BALINTAWAK-OR-PUGADLAWIN.pptx [Slide
show]. SlideShare.
https://www.slideshare.net/slideshow/firstcryofbalintawakorpugadlawinpptx/255979822
Wikipedia contributors. (2024, October 25). Cry of Pugad Lawin. Wikipedia.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cry_of_Pugad_Lawin#:~:text=In%201963%2C%20President%20Di
osdado%20Macapagal,Quezon%20City%20on%20August%2023.
