Bonifacio Revisited

6 February 2008
Wednesday

Here is an intriguing and very interesting read written by my brod Dante B.'77. Gives me a whole new perspective...

Read on.

How to cure a sick culture

One aspect of my job as an Engineering & Manufacturing Technology Specialist is to find ways to improve the process. When a negative trend occurs, a root cause analysis is required to prevent reoccurrence, inform the workforce, and improve the culture. With this in mind, I decided to write this article after witnessing a number of incidents that showed a negative cultural trend. These incidents happened in the Los Angeles area in the early 1990s, but similar situations occurred among Filipino organizations in other cities in the U.S.

The events concerned three local organizations: the alumni associations of the University of the Philippines and Ateneo University, as well as Radyo Pinoy (a CB radio hobby group). These groups had similar experiences. They had normal disagreements, but what followed wasn’t. Instead of making up by finding common ground, some members decided to quit and form rival groups. In one case, the feud was serious enough that it ended in court! In Radyo Pinoy’s situation, new chapters sprung up as a result of internal conflicts. In a five-mile radius, there were 5 chapters. This was extraordinary because distance or communications were non-factors. CB’s range thousands of miles and every member owned cars. Yet they couldn’t find common ground to unite. This wasn’t normal for educated people for education teaches unity based on common goals. This spurred me to do a root cause analysis for such odd behavior and take appropriate action to reverse the trend.

I was disappointed when the cause led to the second most popular national hero, Andres Bonifacio, my idol since Philippine Science High. If heroes were meant to be role models, then the members of these fractious organizations were consciously or subconsciously imitating the infamous act that led to Bonifacio’s execution. In that incident, Bonifacio attempted to split the revolutionary movement by forming a rival group after losing the leadership. With its possible impact on Filipinos, I decided to research whether Bonifacio deserved to be a national hero or villain. The results were more disappointments. What Bonifacio did reflects the modern ills of Philippine society. Here are some of the results in timeline.

- July 7, 1892, Katipunan, the secret organization that will eventually lead the fight for Philippine independence was founded in Manila by a group of natives. The first president or supremo was Deodato Arellano. Bonifacio was the first comptroller.

- Feb. 1893, Roman Basa replaced Deodato Arellano for being ineffective.

- 1894, Tomas Remigio accused Andres Bonifacio of mismanaging Katipunan funds.

- Early 1895, Andres Bonifacio deposed Roman Basa as supremo due to disagreements over the management of Katipunan funds and personal issues.

- Aug. 19, 1896, Teodoro Patino exposed the Katipunan to Father Jil of Tondo. It was Bonifacio’s idea to implicate innocent Filipinos who wished to remain neutral by drafting fake documents against them. More than 500 were imprisoned, tortured, or executed based on pretext.

- Aug. 29, 1896 – Bonifacio failed to give the signal for a coordinated uprising at midnight. He overslept. Bonifacio’s tardiness was partially blamed for their defeat.

- Early Dec. 1896, 2,000 soldiers and 6,000 rifles arrived from Spain. On Dec. 17, Bonifacio went to Cavite in order to settle the feud between the two dominant Katipunan factions, the Magdalo and the Magdiwang. It was written that Bonifacio already lost the fight in his areas of Manila and Morong. According to two Jesuit historians, Andres lost all twenty-seven (27) of his battles. The last province left able to fight was Cavite. Andres would be welcomed at the border by Emilio Aguinaldo and Edilberto Evangelista. Emilio would later get elected as the first president of the republic. Edilberto, a native of Manila with an engineering degree from Belgium, would later die from a sniper’s bullet. Edilberto was responsible for training the natives in trench warfare. Emilio Aguinaldo and other prominent Magdalo’s wished for Edilberto the presidency because he was educated and effective. It was reported after that meeting that Aguinaldo & Evangelista had the same impression. That Bonifacio acted like "parang Diyos" one who suffers from god complex. The 27 defeats weren’t enough to humble the supremo.

- Dec. 29, 1896 – the first attempt (the 2^nd would be Tejeros Convention) to consolidate the Katipunan factions through an election was held in the house of Baldomero Aguinaldo (then leader of Magdalo) in Imus. The event quickly fell apart thanks to Andres Bonifacio’s lack of decorum, divisive action and arrogance. From the onset, Andres invited himself to the presidential table, as well as his Magdiwang allies, to sit with him (the Magdiwang’s was led by Mariano Alvarez, a relative of Bonifacio’s wife). Andres then proceeded to preside over the occasion without allowing the homeowner and leader of the rival Magdalo faction to say anything. It was total insult. The meeting was called off without resolution.

- Feb. 16, 1897, Edilberto Evangelista, who was supposedly out of range from the ongoing battle in Binakayan, was killed by a sniper’s bullet. It was suspected to be an assassin hired by Bonifacio, because Edilberto was the biggest threat to Bonifacio’s leadership at this point.

- March 1897, Bonifacio prevented Magdiwang fighters from reinforcing the Magdalo’s who were fighting a major battle. Bonifacio went to the extent of threatening bodily harm to whoever disobeyed him. In another incident, Bonifacio handed out cash like it was his, to the Magdiwang forces that won a battle. The money came from Katipunan funds because Bonifacio was poor.

- March 22, 1897, Tejeros convention/election was held. A great majority of voters were Bonifacio’s men and his Magdiwang allies. The result, all elected officers except the presidency was Magdiwang’s. Emilio Aguinaldo, the only Magdalo and president-elect, was absent during this event; he was leading his men in the battle of Salitran. Bonifacio didn’t win any post because even his own men knew he was incapable of leading. This was an example of democracy that worked because it was able to expel the ineffective without bloodshed.

- March 24, 1897 Gen. Crispulo Aguinaldo (Emilio’s brother), who assumed command in order for Emilio to take his oath of office, was killed in the battle of Salitran.

- April 29-30, 1897, during the trial of the Bonifacio brothers in Naic, it was divulged that Andres refused to honor the result of the Tejeros Convention. That Andres tried to form a splinter group and paid an assassin to kill Emilio Aguinaldo.

- May 10, 1897, the Bonifacio brothers were executed for treason.

- Early 20^th century, the Bonifacio letters were touched up, improved, or forged.

- 1932, Philippine Congress declared Nov. 30 Bonifacio Day, one of only two national holidays named after individuals (the other was Jose Rizal).

Before passing judgment, I’d like to share this story for perspective. It happened to a country with better unity and loyalty. Thanks to farsighted founding fathers that understood their choice of heroes and villains will likely become the blueprint for the national conscience.

It involved the most brilliant general of the American Revolution. A man who won so many battles that if not for a bullet to the leg that ended his military career, he could have taken Canada for the US. In one victory, they were outnumbered 20-to-1. Yet, this man turned traitor for he tried to set the capture of George Washington to the British. His name was Benedict Arnold. There’s a statue of his likeness in New York State without his name. For even today, the name Benedict Arnold stands for treachery, the biggest obstacle to nation building. The Americans anticipated the consequences if Arnold got a favorable verdict; his bad example would be copied. I believe the negative cultural pattern in the Philippines was the result of Bonifacio being declared a national hero. Comparing outcomes, it’s obvious the American founding fathers made the right call. They had the foresight to anticipate that elevating a man guilty of treason to hero status was like poisoning the mind or injecting virus to a computer. The result will be total system failure. By branding Arnold a traitor, American founding fathers started a positive cultural pattern for future generations to follow. Comparing Arnold’s plan to sell Washington to the British and Bonifacio’s idea of starting a civil war in the midst of revolution would be like surgical cut to major depopulation. Yet as bloody as Bonifacio’s plan was compared to Arnold, Bonifacio became a Philippine national hero while Arnold the unofficial "national villain" of America! The Americans knew the importance of setting high standards for their heroes.

It’s worth noting Bonifacio’s character traits, for his mirrors the worst in modern Philippine society. I’m referring to the pride, divisiveness, corruption, crab-mentality, and last but not least, selfishness. For it was said that all sins stem’s from selfishness. Bonifacio deserved to be called the most selfish revolutionary of his generation. He chose self-interest over greater the good. For this, he shouldn’t be considered a true warrior. With these in mind, it could be said that the congressional act of 1932 was the catalyst for the corruption of modern Filipino psyche (pilipit na katwiran). For that irresponsible stroke of legislative pen pried the pegs of reason and virtue off the cultural foundation, plunging the country into dysfunction. For morality and critical thinking was replaced by what could be termed the Andres Bonifacio complex. These are splitting the organization to form a rival group, showing extreme pride after committing shameful acts and refusing t o relinquish power. His elevation to heroism condemned future generations to unjust suffering by holding on to wrongful or superficial values. Isn’t it amazing how a talented hard-working people, with solid basics at hand by the middle of the 20^th century, managed to squander everything? It’s like inheriting a bad habit of snatching defeat from the jaws of victory.

In case this article offends any one, please accept my apologies. I felt this obligation to reverse the trend for the sons and daughters of the Philippines to have a better future. On the other hand, if you see its merit, please contact your legislators: the senators, congressmen and women, to undo what the Philippine Congress did in 1932. It is time to cast the name Andres Bonifacio from the roster of Philippine national heroes. A decent country deserves a better role model than a "hero" with a legacy of conceit, deceit and defeat.

Dante G. Balacanao, Los Angeles, Ca.