Andres
Bonifacio
Andrés Bonifacio y de Castro
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He is a Filipino who was born in Tondo, Manila in
November 30,1863.
The son of Santiago Bonifacio, a simple official,
and Catalina de Castro, a tobacco factory
worker.
His siblings are Procopio, Espiridiona, Troadio,
Maxima and Ciriaco. And Andres is the eldest
among them.
He grew up in the slums and knew from practical
experience the actual conditions of the class
struggle in his society.

He learned the alphabets from his mother’s
sister and eventually began his education at
a private school, possibly run by certain
Guillermo Osmeña from Cebu. He studied
here for seven years only.

When Andrés was still very young, his father
contracted tuberculosis, which forced him to
stop working. He died when Andrés was
barely 13. A year later, his mother also passed
away from the same disease. After that, it fell
upon 14 years old Andrés to look after his
younger siblings.
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In around 1877-1878, Andrés dropped out of
school. However, he continued his studies in
private, reading books on subjects like French
Revolution and biographies of the US
Presidents.
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When he was in his late teens, he also picked
up English and read internationally famous
works like ‘Les Misérables’ by Victor Hugo, ‘Le
Juif errant’ by Eugène Sue and ‘Noli Me
Tángere’ and ‘El Filibusterismo’ by José Rizal
etc. He also grew an interest in contemporary
Philippine penal and civil codes.
EARLY CAREER
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Orphaned early, he interrupted his primary
schooling and started working in the age of 14
in order to earn a living.
He started making fans out of paper and cane,
which he and his siblings sold to sustain
themselves. Later, they began making posters
for business houses.
As a craftsman and then as clerk-messenger
and agent of foreign commercial firms in
Manila.
FAMILY BACKGROUND
Andrés Bonifacio was first
married to one Monica of
Palomar, his neighbor in Tondo.
She died of leprosy a year after
their marriage.
In 1892, 29 years old Bonifacio met 18
years old Gregoria de Jesús. In 1893,
they got married at the Binondo Church
in a Catholic ceremony. The couple
had a son named Andrés, born in early
1896. He died of smallpox when he was
still an infant.
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One of the heroes of the Filipino insurrection
against Spain.
Early 1890s, he used to distribute revolutionary
leaflets against Spanish oppression near the
University of Santo Tomas.
By 1892, he was fully involved in nationalist
movements, becoming one of the cofounders
of ‘La Liga Filipina,’ established formally by Jose
Rizal on 3rd July.
After the group’s first meeting was held, the
Spanish authorities arrested Jose Rizal. On July
7 1892, it was announced that he would be
deported to Dapitan in Mindanao.
ESTABLISHMENT OF KATIPUNAN
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He founded the Katipunan together with
Ladislao Diwa, Teodoro Plata, Deodato Arello,
Valentin Diaz and Jose Dizon.
Along with cofounding Katipunan, Bonifacio
also revived La Liga Filipina. But very soon he
severed ties with the latter organization over
ideological differences. He started focusing
on KKK, which slowly but steadily began to
expand by opening chapters in different
provinces.
Kataastaasan
Kagalang-galangang
Katipunan ng
mga Anak ng
Bayan
It is a Philippine revolutionary
society founded by anti-Spanish
colonialism Filipinos in Manila in
1892; its primary goal was to
gain independence
from Spain through a revolution.
The KKK members agreed on the
following objectives:
▪ The political goal was to completely separate
the Philippines from Spain after declaring the
country’s independence.
▪ The moral goal was to teach the Filipinos good
manners, cleanliness, hygiene, fine morals, and
how to guard themselves against religious
fanaticism..
▪ The civic goal was to encourage Filipinos to
help themselves and to defend the poor
oppressed.
The “Kataastaasang Sanggunian” (supreme
council) was the highest governing body of the
Katipunan. It was headed by a supremo, or
president. Each province had a “Sangguaniang
Bayan” (Provincial Council) and each town had
a “Sangguniang Balangay” (Popular Council).
The Leaders of the Katipunan:
▪ Deodato Arellano -Supremo
▪ Ladislao Diwa -Fiscal
▪ Teodora Plata -Secretary
▪ Valentine Diaz -treasurer
▪ Andres Bonifacio -controller
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Bonifacio first served as its comptroller and
then as its 'fiscal'.
Bonifacio would only become Supremo on
January 5, 1894, with Santiago (Secretary),
Emilio Jacinto (Fiscal), and Molina (Treasurer).
Further reorganization in 1896 led to Jacinto
becoming Secretary, and Pio Valenzuela
becoming Fiscal.
The Katipunan expanded from 30 to 30,000 to
400,000.
RECRUITMENT
METHOD
New recruits to
the secret society
underwent a
rigorous initiation
process, similar to
Masonic
practices.
(1)in front of a cabinet draped in black. He was then
seated at a dimly-lit table, on which rested a bolo
(2)a revolver
(3)and a set of questions which he must answer to
the satisfaction of the members assembled
Signing the oath of membership in his own blood,
usually drawn from a cut made by a scalpel to the
left forearm.
The organizational structure of the Katipunan
entailed three ranks of membership, with new
members starting out as “katipon,” then moving
up to “kawal” and eventually to “bayani.”
Members were to pay an entrance fee of
one real fuerte, a unit of currency equal to 1/8
of a silver real peso, as well as monthly dues
and other fees paid exclusively to the Benefit
Fund and collected at every session or meeting.
Though the organizational structure of the
Katipunan was constantly in flux, it is generally
believed that they formed small branches,
governed by the sangguniang balangay, and
these small branches would form larger provincial
councils, governed by the sangguniang bayan. All
these would be overseen by the Supreme Council
of the Katipunan (Kataastasang Sanggunian),
which was composed of a president (pangulo),
secretary (kalihim), fiscal (tagausig), treasurer
(tagaingat yaman), and six councilors (kasanguni).
The legislative body of the Katipunan was
known as the Katipunan Assembly, and it was
composed of the members of the Supreme
Council, along with the presidents of the
popular and provincial councils. Judicial power
rested in the sangguniang hukuman, which
were provincial courts that decided on internal
matters; however, judgement on grave matters
(such as betraying the Katipunan or committing
acts penalized by the organization’s laws) were
meted by the “Secret Chamber,” composed of
Andres Bonifacio, Emilio Jacinto, and Dr. Pio
Valenzuela.
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In March 1896, Katipunan also established its
own paper called, Kalayaan (Freedom), with
Bonifacio contributing in it under the
pseudonym of Agapito Bagumbayan. The
paper led to a drastic increase in their
membership, which grew from around 300 at
the beginning of the year to 3000 by July.
On 3 May 1896, Bonifacio held a general
meeting in Pasig, where the leaders of
Katipunan met to discuss the timing of the
revolution. By then, a rebellious mood was
sweeping across the nation and Bonifacio
and his group believed that the time was right
to launch their revolution.
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Others like Santiago Alvarez and Emilio
Aguinaldo believed that they still lacked
adequate firearms; and therefore, they should
wait.
1896
REVOLUTION
A SERIES OF BLOODY REVOLTS
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Bonifacio simultaneously planned an attack
on Manila. However they were caught off
guard, as though the revolutionaries were
greater in number, the Spanish authorities
were more armed.
According to historical accounts, Bonifacio
continued with his plan despite the failure in
his first attempt. The revolt flared up in the
surrounding provinces, including Central
Luzon, San Juan del Monte and Southern
Tagalog (which is why this is also known as
the Tagalog War).
After several unsuccessful revolts, rebels in
Cavite finally had a taste of victory. Under Emilio
Aguinaldo (mayor of Cavite El Viejo) and
Mariano Alvarez (Bonifacio’s uncle), the
Philippine Revolution was in full swing.
REVOLUTION BREAKS OUT
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By August 1996, the Spanish authorities became
aware of the presence of a secret seditious
society and realized that the country was on the
verge of a revolution. On August 19, so as to
preempt the uprising, they arrested and
imprisoned hundreds of Filipinos, many of whom
were not even involved in rebellious activities.
In late August 1896, Andrés Bonifacio organized a
mass gathering in Caloocan. Here, they
kickstarted the revolution by tearing off their
personal identity documents or cedulas, signaling
their refusal to pay taxes under Spanish rule. The
event was later known as the ‘Cry of Balintawak’
or ‘Cry of Pugad Lawin’.
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Bonifacio then reorganized the Katipunan into
an open de facto revolutionary government,
naming the nation as ‘Haring Bayang
Katagalugan’ or ‘Tagalog Republic’. On
August 23, 1896, he declared independence
from Spain, naming himself President and
Commander-in-Chief of the revolutionary
government.
On 28 August 1896, he issued a proclamation,
calling for "all towns to rise simultaneously
and attack Manila”, and sent generals to lead
the rebel forces. He himself led an attack on
San Juan del Monte with the intention of
capturing Manila's metro water station and
the powder magazine on August 30.
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In San Juan del Monte, the Spanish, who were
fewer in number, were able to hold off until
the reinforcement arrived. Ultimately,
Bonifacio’s troops suffered great casualties
and he was forced to withdraw. Thereafter, he
turned his attention to establishing mountain
and hill bases at Balara, Pantayanin, Ugong
and Tungko.
On November 7, 1986, he led attacks on
Marikina, Montalban and San Mateo.
Although he initially succeeded in driving
away the Spaniards from these towns, he later
lost these posts and decided to move to
Cavite where troubles were brewing between
two groups.
CONFLICT WITH EMILIO
AGUINALDO
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The rebels in Cavite were divided into two
factions; Magdalo, headed by General Emilio
Aguinaldo and Magdiwang, headed by
Andrés Bonifacio’s relative Mariano Álvarez.
When Bonifacio reached Cavite, Aguinaldo,
who was militarily more successful and
belonged to a wealthy family, started
challenging him on various matters.
The first assembly in Imus achieved little. So,
they decided to meet in Tejeros on March 22,
1897 and hold an election in order to settle
the issue of governance within the Katipunan
once-and-for-all.
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To settle the leadership dispute, the Tejeros
Convention was established. This assembly of
officials was intended to unite the two factions
and elect officers for the revolutionary
government. After a makeshift election,
Bonifacio lost to Aguinaldo and leadership
was turned over to him.
Bonifacio was given the role of Director of the
Interior, but his qualifications were
questioned. Under this further scrutiny he left
the assembly – Aguinaldo took oath as
President the following day.
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The election was won by Emilio Aguinaldo,
who became the President of the new
Philippine republic. Bonifacio received the
second highest number of votes, by virtue of
which, he should have become the vice
president. But he was appointed to the post of
Secretary to the Interior, a relatively lower
position.
Since Bonifacio did not have any university
degree, Daniel Tirona questioned his fitness for
the job of Secretary to the Interior. Humiliated,
Bonifacio pulled out his gun to shoot Tirona,
but was stopped. He later dissolved the
assembly and declared the result null and
void.
The arrival of the Americans
and the Declaration of
Independence
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April 1898 marked the second phase of
the Philippine Revolution. After a US Navy
warship exploded and sunk in Havana
harbor, the Americans declared a war against
Spain known as the Spanish-American War.
The US Navy’s Asiatic Squadron, led by
Commodore George Dewey, sailed to Manila
and defeated the Spanish Navy. In just a few
hours all Spanish ships were destroyed and
the US gained control of the Philippine capital.
And on June 12, 1898, Aguinaldo declared the
country’s independence and the birth of the
Philippine Republic. From his balcony in his house
in Kawit, Cavite, the Philippine flag was unfurled.
The Philippines’ National Anthem, “Lupang
Hinirang” was first heard by the Filipino people.
 By April 1897, Emilio Aguinaldo had
consolidated his position, with many of Andrés
Bonifacio’s supporters switching sides. Sensing
trouble, Bonifacio decided to get out of Cavite.
He therefore left for Indang on his way to
Morong.
 While he was in Indang, Aguinaldo issued an
arrest warrant for him, accusing him of fostering
disunity and sedition. According to some
sources, he also received complaint that
Bonifacio’s troops had stolen work animals and
burned down a village because the villagers
refused to provide provisions.
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On April 25, 1897, while he was camping at
barrio Limbon, Indang, Bonifacio was
surprised to see Aguinaldo's men led by
Colonel Agapito Bonzón and Major José
Ignacio Paua coming to visit them. He did not
suspect anything and received them
cordially. The day passed peacefully.
Early on April 26, 1897, Bonzón and Paua
opened fire on Bonifacio's men. Although
surprised, Bonifacio told his men not to fight
against their own people. But shots were
nevertheless exchanged. One of his brothers
was killed while another was beaten and his
wife was raped.
o
Bonifacio was shot in the arm by Bonzón and
stabled in the neck by Paua. He survived only
because one of his men prevented Paua from
striking again, sacrificing himself in the
process. He was then taken to President
Aguinaldo’s headquarters in Naic along with
other captives.
TRIAL AND EXECUTION
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At Naic, Andrés Bonifacio and his brother
Procopio were tried for treason and sedition
against the revolutionary government as well
as for attempting to murder Aguinaldo. The
jury was composed entirely of Aguinaldo’s
men. So was his defense lawyer, who acted
more like the prosecutor.
As Bonifacio’s trial started, his defense lawyer,
instead of defending him, confirmed his guilt.
Bonifacio was not allowed to confront the
witnesses. Therefore, in spite of insufficient
proof of his guilt, he and his brother were
sentenced to death by a firing squad.
 On
8 May 1897, President Aguinaldo
commuted the death sentence into
deportation to an isolated island nearby.
But on being persuaded by his generals to
withdraw the order, he ultimately signed
the death sentence.
 On May 10, 1897, the Bonifacio brothers
were taken to Mount Nagpatong, near
Mount Buntis in Maragondon, where they
were shot dead by a firing squad. At that
time, Andrés Bonifacio was 34 years old.
THANK YOU!
Ma’am Deng,
Ma’am we just want to inform you that the
other informations about Andres Bonifacio
are not included in our presentation for we
will provide it as supplement during the
actual reporting. Thank you!
MEMBERS
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