Film Reflection

Ronnah Rei Berganio

1. According to the films what led or motivated the Tejeros convention?
In the film El Presidente the Tejeros convention was conducted to discuss
the the defense of Cavite against the Spaniards subsequently the Magdiwang wants
to conjoin with the Magdalo group, they wanted to remove the two factions of the
katipunan and create a one form of government. With that reason, they conducted
an election for the leaders of the revolutionary movement.
In the film Bonifacio: Ang Unang Pangulo. The comrades of Aguinaldo
were concerned that Bonifacio’s leadership will be the death of the revolution,
that’s why they advised Aguinaldo to invite Bonifacio for a meeting and suggested
to reunify the two factions of the Katipunan, for that reason they wanted to conduct
an election for the new leaders of the revolutionary movement.
2. How was the battle led by Bonifacio described in both films?
The film made it seem that Andres Bonifacio is a person who acts so
impulsively, he is easily insulted by people who are constantly making him feel
inferior to Emilio Aguinaldo. He wanted to unify the two faction of the Katipunan
so they would have a higher chance of winning the revolution. It is not mentioned
in the film that the battles held in Manila were consecutively losing rather the film
has shown that each battle held in Cavite which is led by Aguinaldo were winning.
In Bonifacio: Ang Unang Pangulo, Not all the battles led by the supremo
won, for the reason that they were lacking with defense weapons that led to the
death of many katipuneros who fought for the freedom that we enjoy today. In
addition, the battles in manila (led by Bonifacio) were consecutively losing,
moreover, the three comrades of Aguinaldo were doubtful of Bonifacio’s
leadership abilities and they soon started plotting against Bonifacio.
3. What led to the trials of the Bonifacio brothers and what were the basis of their
conviction?
In El Presidente Aguinaldo assumed that Bonifacio were plotting something
against him after he saw that Bonifacio held a meeting with the council without
him, he was somehow insulted and with that Aguinaldo secretly held a meeting of
his own and his comrades, Aguinaldo was concerned with Bonifacio‘s actions,
since he is becoming a threat not just in Katipunan but also with his countrymen so
they soon planned to have Bonifacio arrested.
In the film Bonifacio ang unang pangulo, there is a scene where the council
of the Katipunan were discussing that Bonifacio was not cooperating with the ne
counci . Since most members of the Katipunan are followers of Bonifacio the
council are threatened that most of the katipuneros are going to rebel against them.
 In addition, Bonifacio's act of rebellion against the new government can cause the
death of revolution.
4. In both films compare and contrast what motivated Aguinaldo to reverse the decision
of the War Council and what motivated him to reverse it?
In the film El Presidente, Aguinaldo and the council accused Bonifacio of
treason without a sufficed evidence. Aguinaldo and the council rashly made the
decision to have Bonifacio arrested without proving that Bonifacio was really going
to kidnap Aguinaldo, the council were threatened for the safety of the new president
furthermore a member of the council suggested to have Bonifacio arrested and must
be executed however, Aguinaldo protested to have Bonifacio killed. Moreover,
Bonifacio made a ruckus in Indang and threatened the villagers to burn down the
village if they wouldn’t comply with the supremo’s orders. As Aguinaldo heard
about the Indang incident he made the decision to arrest Bonifacio.

In the Bonifacio: Ang Unang Pangulo, the new council are threatened that
Bonifacio’s act of rebellion on the new government may result to discordance
between some of the members of the katipunan, they wanted to eliminate Bonifacio
so they would be able to fully manipulate the katipuneros. The final decision of the
council was to arrest Bonifacio including his brother and cousin under treason and
allegedly burning a village, they were then found guilty with no sufficed evidence
and was sentenced for execution.
5. How was the death of the brothers described in both films?
In the El Presidente after Bonifacio and Procopio were arrested and were
sentenced up for a trial, the council's verdict on Andres Bonifacio and Procopio
Bonifacio was guilty. Aguinaldo wanted them exiled but General Pio Del Pilar and
General Mariano Noriel wanted him executed, because they do not want to give
the American's the wrong idea if they have Bonifacio exiled, however Aguinaldo
insisted that they must keep Bonifacio alive. After the trial General Macapagal and
his troops led Procopio and Andres to the mountains, the two were confused since
they have been walking for a while and they do not know what's the intention why
the troops have led them both to the mountains, Bonifacio asked the general to read
the order which is signed by Aguinaldo, the order was to have them both executed,
Procopio tried to escape but he was shot dead, Andres ran towards Procopio and
held his dead body General Macapagal gave him a chance to escape but he did not
take the chance instead he stole the sword of Macapagal and shouted "long live
freedom!" he was about to attack the rest of the troops but he was shot dead.
In the film Bonifacio ang unang pangulo, Bonifacio was stabbed in the neck
and was shot in the arm while his brother Ciriaco si shot dead while his cousin
Procopio was beaten and his wife Oriang was possibly raped by one of the generals.
 The three were both exiled, it was torture for Oriang to see her husband suffering
from his untreated wounds, Oriang decided to ask help from Aguinaldo but he
didn't show up. Procopio and Andres were up for a trial but the were falsely accused
of treason and was sentence to death. They were taken to the mountains, both were
shot dead from behind. In addition, Bonifacio's last words was "wag niyo ko patayin
ng nakatalikod!" (don't kill me from behind!). This statement depicts the act of
treason of Bonifacio's fellow katipuneros and it is indeed a bittersweet ending for
him since he died in vain in the hands of his own countrymen.

6. There may be differences in the stories of both films, but what can we learn from it
and how can this film be used in educating the youth on the Philippine History as
accurate as possible?
Each film is a bit biased, so I don’t really know which film is telling the
truth, since both stories are a bit tampered with. In El Presidente it is shown how
Aguinaldo was somehow manipulated to have Bonifacio arrested and executed. He
didn't want Bonifacio to be killed but if it weren't for Bonifacio's arrogance he
would have the chance to live. In Bonifacio; Ang Unang Pangulo, it is shown that
Bonifacio was cheated on, he was the real victim and he was killed without being
able to defend himself.
As I watched both films I realized that we Filipinos have this common trait
and that is crab mentality, we tend to drag down our fellow men as they succeed.
And, I want the youth to realized that this is a predicament that must be addressed
by most Filipinos. If we keep having this mentality then we may not be able to
progress as a country, since we will be too busy competing with others that we tend
to forget to help those who really are in need.
Lynette Cabanting

According to the films what led or motivated the Tejeros convention?

1. Tejeros Convention is a.meeting held between the two katipunan faction, the magdalo and
magdiwang faction, at San Francisco de Malabon (General Trias cavite) on 1897, March 25. The
magdala was led by aguinaldos cousin baldomero aguinaldo. While the magdiwangs president was
mariano alvarez, related by marriage to andres. The tejeros convention was supposed to be
a.discussion for the defense of cavite against the spaniards, during the Philippine revolution.
Instead the convention became a discussion for the magdalo and magdiwang faction feud and to
settle the governance through election.

How was the battle led by Bonifacio described in both films?

2. The battle led by bonifacio wasn't winning all the time, this was because of the lack of weapons,
and this leds the death of many katipuneros. That's why aguinaldos comrade doubted the bonifcios
education, livelihood, and ability in leadership. In the film Bonifacio: ang unang pangulo, the
comrade of aguinaldos was concerned that bonifacios leadership might be the death of the
revolution. They've come up to the idea of having an election, this was the tejeros convention.

What led to the trials of the Bonifacio brothers and what were the basis of their conviction?

3. Bonifacio, Gregoria de jesus, his wife, and his brother Procopio and Ciriaco were arrested by
aguinaldos troops, col. Agapito Bonzon in indang cavite on april 28, 1897. On may 5 1897
bonifacios brothers was accused of treason, betraying one's country and recommended an
execution along with andres. The court of martial was held in Maragondon, Cavite at Bahay-na-
bato in 1889.

In both films compare and contrast what motivated Aguinaldo to reverse the decision of the
War Council and what motivated him to reverse it?

4.In the Film El Presidente, bonifacio was accused of treason by aguinaldo and his council without
any sufficed evidence. Aguinaldo and his troops recklessly made a decision to have andres arrested
without any proof that bonifacio waa going to kidnap aguinaldo. Emilio’s council were threatened
for the safety of of the new president, moreover aguinaldo wanted to arrest bonifacio, but a member
of war council that instead of arresting bonifacio why not exiled him. Since he bonifacio made a
commotion threatening the villagers to burn down the village if they wouldn't comply to what the
supremos orders. This happened in Indang, Cavite when aguinaldo heard the commotion of andres,
he finally made a decision to arrest and execute the supremo. While in the film bonifacio: ang
unang pangulo thw council were threatened that bonifacios act of rebellion on the new government
may result a conflict between the new government and some members of katipuneros. They wanted
to get rid of bonifacio so that they can trully manipulate the katipuneros.

How was the death of the brothers described in both films?

5. In the film bonifacio: ang unang pangulo, andres was stabbed and suffers a gunshot, while his
brother Ciriaco was shot dead, Procopio was beaten to death, and his wife Oriang was possibly
raped. The war council advises aguinaldo to execute bonifacio instead of exile since aguinaldo
was concerned about bonifacios actions, he did approved to the idea later on.

There may be differences in the stories of both films, but what can we learn from it and how
can this film be used in educating the youth on the Philippine History as accurate as possible?

6. The El Presidente and Bonifacio : Ang Unang Pangulo may have a difference to tell but we an
clearly see that both films were biased. The lesson that we learn from the film was to never drag
down your fellow just because they're succeeding, let's stop competing from one another and learn
how to lend your hands specially for those who are in need.