The Andrés Bonifacio Monument, also widely recognized as the Bonifacio Monument or the
Monumento, is a memorial monument in Caloocan designed by National Artist Guillermo Tolentino to
honor Philippine revolutionary Andrés Bonifacio, the founder as well as Supremo of the Katipunan. Andrés
Bonifacio decided to fight for independence from Spain's ruthless colonial rule, both politically and
socially. The "Cry of Balintawak," a 13.7 m tall monument with symbolic images as well as other features,
is regarded as being one of the finest monuments in the modern age.
The monument exists at the end of Avenida and the start of Manila North Road, where it greets
all visitors coming from the north. Road travelers from Ilocos, Baguio, Cagayan Valley, and the Central
Luzon regions of Bulacan, Bataan, Zambales, Pampanga, Nueva Ecija, and Pangasinan—the latter now part
of the Ilocos Region—always hit the MacArthur Highway, which snaked through the country's far
northwest, and were always greeted by the Monumento.
According to historians, the three steps leading up to the monument represent the three
centuries of Spanish rule in our country. The octagonal base with eight rays of the sun out from Philippine
flag represents the eight key provinces (as printed on the surrounding pavement) where the Spanish
governor-general declared Martial Law for the first time.
This monument is an important place as it reminds us that it was the site of major uprisings by
the Katipunan against the Spanish authorities. The monument depicts the first encounter by Bonifacio as
well as the Katipunan with the Spanish colonial army on Aug. 30, 1896. According to some historians, the
Bonifacio Monument was erected in Caloocan—the 3rd most highly populated city in the country the size
of almost 1.5 million, as per the 2010 census—because the area was the center of activity for the
Katipunan, the highly classified militant society that launched the Philippine Revolution during the Spanish
colonization of the Philippines. They claim that Bonifacio and his men held secret meetings in a house in
Caloocan.
Official Gazette of the Republic of the Philippines. n.d. Bonifacio Sesquicentennial: Monumento. Retrieved
from https://www.officialgazette.gov.ph/bonifacio-150/
Philippine Cultural Education. (2015). In V. Almario (Ed.), Sagisag Kultura (Vol 1). Manila: National
Commission
for
Culture
and
the
Arts.
Retrieved
from
https://philippineculturaleducation.com.ph/monumento/
Google
Arts
and
Culture.
n.d.
Monumento.
https://artsandculture.google.com/entity/monumento/m0cvjrb?hl=en
Retrieved
from
Dacumos, J. 2012. I am a Filipino! The Story Behind Bonifacio Monument. Retrieved from
https://www.vigattintourism.com/tourism/articles/I-am-a-Filipino-The-Story-Behind-BonifacioMonument
As a Filipino, we can gain valuable viewpoints on our modern society's problems by studying
history. Many modern Philippine society's problems, features, as well as characteristics can be tracked
down related to past questions about our colonial past and also our pre-colonial customs. Philippine
history is fascinating in and of itself. The history of the Philippines is a one-of-a-kind story of colonial rule,
reaction, and even revolution. It is also a multicultural country dating back to pre-colonial times. The
country's colonial experience, the rise of patriotic feelings, and the people's subsequent reaction may
provide us with fresh insights on nationalism and revolutionary movements. History would be the key to
understanding a country's past, present, and future. History inevitably repeats itself. This is true not only
of Philippine history, but of history in general. Whatever errors we are making now, humanity made them
centuries ago, and if we do not learn from those poor decisions, we will repeat them in the future.