Compilation of 10 facts about Bonifacio: myths we should clarify, trivia we can refresh our

memory with, and of course, his execution one of the most controversial deaths in Philippine
history.

1. Bonifacio was a versatile, young worker

The young Bonifacio, out of necessity, started beefing up his resum at an early age
after his parents died of tuberculosis. As the new head of the family, he made walking
canes and paper fans with his brothers and sisters at night, selling them at premium
prices in Manilas busy streets in the morning.
He also took on other jobs to sustain them:

bodegero (warehouse keeper) in a mosaic tile factory

clerk-messenger for the English firm J.M. Fleming and Company

maker of attractive posters for companies such as clothes dealers (he had a
good penmanship)

bodegero and supply clerk, then promoted as a sales agent at the German firm
Carlos Fressel & Company

Moro-moro performer

2. Is the hero of the masses really poor?

Before Erap, there was Bonifacio a true leader of the masses. But the title does

not mean he was dirt-poor, when his patrons were the rich who bought his canes
and fans.
Bonifacio and his siblings rose to lower middle class status after their parents

death, and the hero even married his second wife Gregoria de Jesus, who
belonged to a lower middle class family.
In the two firms he was employed in, Bonifacio was also promoted. According to
historian Michael Xiao Chua, the heros monthly salary then is equivalent to
P18,000 today.

3. Who dared calling him the 'Bobong Supremo'?

Because he was orphaned and had to support his siblings at a young age, he was often
called uneducated. But according to scholars, he studied in Guillermo Osmeas school
in Cebu, and reached what is now second year high school.
His employer, Doa Elvira Prysler, even remembered Bonifacio holding a book every
lunch time. What does a national hero read? See for yourself:

books by Alexander Dumas, a French writer known for his adventurous historical
novels

Les Miserables (Victor Hugo)

The Wandering Jew (Eugene Sue)

The Ruins of Palmyra: Meditations on the Revolution of the Empire

The Holy Bible

Religion Within the Reach of All

Lives of the Presidents of the United States

Noli Me Tangere and El Filibusterismo (Jose Rizal)

History of the French Revolution

law (international law, civil code, penal code) and medical books

Shutting a book, he would announce to Nonay (Espiridiona) that he had just completed
a course in law or in medicine, Sylvia Mendez Ventura wrote.
4. Undress Bonifacio: Why the camisa de chino?
You know what they say: Picture or it didnt happen.

The same may be said of what the national hero really looks like. Most monuments and
history books like dressing him up in a camisa de chino, with a red handkerchief around
the neck and a bolo in one hand. But in his only surviving photograph, Bonifacio is
wearing what looks like a coat and tie.
Historian Isagani Medina also wrote about how Bonifacio dressed neatly and well in
spite of his meager resources, and of his penchant for carrying an umbrella regardless
of the weather.
5. Promising start: Bonifacios Katipunan name
It was a secret society after all. The final test to be a Katipunero was a blood compact
(sandugo) reminiscent of the first one Filipinos shared with the Spaniards early in
history. It was the Katipunans way of capturing the narrative from the traitors and
making brotherhood their own.
But the twist to the Katipunans sandugo was that they wrote their oath in their own
blood. After this, they chose a symbolic name for themselves. Quite interesting was the
Supremos choice of name, and quite telling too, for a leader of a hopeful nation:
MAYPAG-ASA.
6. Bonifacio picked up a pen too
National Artist and Komisyon sa Wikang Filipino chair Virgilio Almario argued that
Bonifacio is a better writer than Rizal because his works dubbed akdang Katipunero
were more easy to grasp for the masses than the writings of the ilustrados.
Perhaps the best example of this is Bonifacio's Pag-ibig sa Tinubuang Bayan (Love of
Fatherland), a compelling poem about one's love for the nation an ideology at the
very heart of the revolution.
Aling pag-ibig pa ang hihigit kaya / Sa pagkadalisay at pagkadakila / Gaya ng pag-ibig
sa Tinubuang lupa? / Aling pag-ibig pa? Wala na nga, wala.
He also wrote other pieces like Ang Dapat Mabatid ng Mga Tagalog (What the Filipinos
Should Know) and Tapunan ng Lingap (Care a Little)."

7. Is Rizal Bonifacios hero?

Theres no doubt Bonifacio read Rizals work, considering how widely-read the books
were at the time. But to say Bonifacio was merely inspired by Rizal to revolt is only half
the truth, Chua said.
If you look at it, when Bonifacio created the Katipunan, it was so different from what the
Ilustrados are thinking...Bonifacio had a clear concept of who we are as a people, and
I'm sorry to say, even more than Rizal.
In Bonifacios Katipunan...

They revived the indigenous practices of the Filipinos (blood compact orsandugo,
a sign of brotherhood)

Love is the key to his concept of nationhood

Freedom is not a mere declaration of independence but a result of complete rest

coming from goodness within

They existed not only to fight Spaniards, but also to uphold righteousness and the
unity of Filipinos

8. The tragedies and struggles of 1896

The year 1896 was so tough for Bonifacio that "A Series of Unfortunate Events" may
actually pale in comparison:
Holy Week: The nipa-roofed house of Bonifacio and his wife Gregoria de Jesus
(Katipunan name: Lakangbini or Lakambini) in Sta. Cruz was burned down during the
Holy Week of 1896
Shortly after the loss of their home: Their baby boy Andres died of smallpox

August 19: Katipunan was discovered after Teodoro Patio, an unhappy member of the
Katipunan, told Fr Mariano Gil about the secret society. Many Filipinos were arrested,
jailed, and shot as a result. Andres and Gregoria went into hiding.
August 23: Bonifacio, with other Katipunan leaders, met in Pugadlawin, tore up their
cedulas (residence tax papers) and vowed to fight the Spaniards down to the last man.
August 30: The first battle of the Philippine Revolution commenced, led by Andres
Bonifacio and his best friend Emilio Jacinto. Out of their 800-man army, more than 150
Katipuneros died and another 200 were captured.
9. Not your hot-tempered kind of hero
There has been a longstanding debate on who our national hero really should be, with
supporters of Rizal arguing that Bonifacio revolted through violent means when their
hero was a peace-loving man. It doesnt help Bonifacios image either that he pointed a
gun at Daniel Tirona during the Tejeros Convention.
But context is always important, Chua said. At that time, Bonifacio drew his gun to
challenge Tirona to a duel what Chua called "defending [one's] honor with blood"
after Tirona called him an uneducated man.
And if his war strategy during the 1896 Battle of Manila is any indication, it supports
accounts that he doesnt attack aimlessly. E. R. Azicate wrote in Filipino: Bonifacio had
great capacity as a military leader if the basis is planning, preparing, coordinating, and
executing the game plan. In short, he is good at strategy and tactics.
10. What were the last scenes leading to Bonifacios death? Choose your own
ending.
On April 26, 1897, Bonifacio was arrested. Tried by a military court in Maragondon,
Cavite, for only 12 days, he was charged with treason for trying to overthrow Emilio
Aguinaldo and his government.

As if his trial was not controversial enough, Ambeth Ocampo even mentioned in his
book, Bones of Contention, what he called an ugly bit of history in the narrative: the
supposed rape of Gregoria de Jesus:
Bonifacio in his testimony told the court that Col. Yntong was forcing his wife into an
empty house sa talagang kilos na ilugso ang kapurihan but this was averted when the
other officers objected. Later in Indang, Col. Yntong attempted to rape Aling Oryang
again but this time, Bonifacio pleaded with Tomas Mascardo who mercifully
intervened...It was possible that one of the motives for raping Aling Oryang was that it
would further humiliate Bonifacio.
Yntong is Col. Agapito Bonzon, head of the officers sent by the new government to
arrest Bonifacio.
Bonifacio and his brother Procopio were sentenced to death on May 8, 1897,
supposedly on Aguinaldo's orders. Two days after, they were brought to Mt Nagpatong,
where Gen Lazaro Makapagal carried out the sentence and shot the brothers. This is
the widely-accepted ending to the life of the Father of the Philippine Revolution.
That is, until the 1950s and 1960s, when Ocampo said another narrative from Guillermo
Masangkay, one of the first members of the Katipunan, claimed Bonifacio was hacked to
death with bolos.
As they did not want to waste precious ammunition they decided to use bladed
weapons. with research by Buena Bernal and Nigel Tan/Rappler.com
Sources: interviews with Michael Xiao Chua and Virgilio Almario; writings of Digna B.
Apilado, E. R. Azicate, Glenn May, Isagani R. Medina, Ambeth Ocampo, Zeus Salazar,
and Sylvia Mendez Ventura.