Case Study: Where did the Cry of Rebellion Happened?
INTRODUCTION
In August 1896, The Cry of Pugad Lawin or Sigaw ng Pugad Lawin was the beginning of the
Philippine Revolution against Spanish rule where in the members of the Katipunan secret
society: Katipuneros which led by Andres Bonifacio rose up in revolt. The historical event
marked the beginning of Philippine revolution and their act of defiance against Spanish
empire. By tearing up their cedulas became a sign of enslavement of the Filipinos. Originally
the term “Cry" referred to the first skirmish between the Katipuneros and the Civil Guards.
Other definitions of the term have been made over the years, but today it is popularly
understood to refer to the tearing of community tax certificates by the rebels to mark their
separation from Spain.
Because of differing accounts and the ambiguity of place names in these accounts, the exact
date and place of the Cry is disputed. Various accounts give differing dates and places for the
Cry of Pugad Lawin. Balintawak. Santiago Alvarez, a Katipunero and son of Mariano Alvarez,
the leader of the Magdiwang faction in Cavite, stated in 1927 that the Cry took place in
Bahay Toro, now in Quezon City on August 24, 1896. Next is an officer of the Spanish
Guardia civil, Lt. Olegario Diaz. He stated that the Cry took place in Balintawak on August 25,
1896. On the other hand, Historian Teodoro Kalaw in his 1925 book The Filipino Revolution
wrote that the event took place during the last week of August 1896 at Kangkong, Pío
Valenzuela, a close associate of Andrés Bonifacio, declared in 1948 that it happened in
Pugad Lawin on August 23,1896. Historian Gregorio Zaide stated in his books in 1954 that
the "Cry" happened in Balintawak on August 26, 1896. Fellow historian Teodoro Agoncillo
wrote in 1956 that it took place in Pugad Lawin on August 23, 1896, based on Pío
Valenzuela's statement. Accounts by historians Milagros Guerrero, Emmanuel Encarnacion
and Ramon Villegas claim the event to have taken place in Tandang Sora's barn in Gulod,
Barangay Banlat, Quezon City. And Finally, from 1908 until 1963, the official stance was that
the cry occurred on August 26 in Balintawak. In 1963 the Philippine government declared a
shift to August 23 in Pugad Lawin, Quezon City.
SECONDARY and TERTIARY SOURCES
1.Sichrovsky, Harry. “An Austrian Life for the Philippines: The Cry of Balintawak”. Retrieved
August 29, 2009.
2.Ambeth R. Ocampo a Filipino historian. Looking Back, bi-weekly editorial page column in
the Philippine Daily Inquirer.
3.Borromeo-Buehler, Soledad Masangkay (1998) The Cry of Balintawak: A Contrived
Controversy: A Textual Analysis with Appended Documents. to August 23 and transfer the
historical site from Balintawak to Pugad Lawin with the support of Dr. Pio Valenzuela’s
statements. Bonifacio and the Katipunan attacked or risked their annulation of their
organization on August 26 at the hills of Balintawak North Manila. Teodoro convinced
the National Historical Commission to move the traditional August 26 to August 23
and transfer the historical site from Balintawak to Pugad Lawin with the support of Dr.
Pio Valenzuela’s statements. Ocampo’s research is archival and writings on history are
based on primary sources. He cited some people who is associated with Andres
Bonifacio. According to him, there are more conflicting sources available, and to keep
the peace, the Cry of the Rebellion happened at Pugad Lawin on August 23, 1986. She
resolved the controversy by analyzing eyewitness accounts and contemporary
documents heretofore unquoted, misquoted or misinterpreted. In her reconstruction of
what transpired in Balintawak where Katipuneros , led by Andres Bonifacio, assembled
at Pook Kangkong in August 1896, she demonstrate that the Cry of Pugad Lawin was a hoax.
4.Wenceslao Emilio In his five volume compilation of historical documents, Archivo del
Bibliofilo Filipino, Valenzuela signed testimony before Spanish interrogators dated
September 1896 stated that the Cry of Balintawak was held in Balintawak on August
26, 1896, years later, in his memoirs published in English after World War II,
Valenzuela stated that the cry was actually held in Pugad Lawin on August 23, 1896.
Agoncillo explained that the September 1896 account was extracted from Valenzuela
under duress and couldn’t be trusted.
CONCLUSION
From all the sources that we have gathered, we conclude that the Cry of Rebellion
first happened at Balintawak. Considering the article of Pio Valenzuela saying that the Cry of
Rebellion happened in Balintawak and then transferred to Pugad Lawin which shows
inconsistencies of his stand. But looking at Guillermo Masangkay’s article, aside that he is a
good friend and an adviser of Andres Bonifacio he is also a member of the Katipunan and he
was in attendance that time when the rebellion happened. He then said that the first Cry of
Rebellion happened in Balintawak and not in Pugad Lawin.