MEMOIRS OF A GENERAL

About the Author:

 Santiago Alvarez
 55 years old on July 25, 1927
 Was born in the year 1872 in Noveleta, Cavite
 Studied under Macario Hernandez at his school located on Camba Street in
Manila
 Attended San Juan De Letran College and University of Santo Tomas
 Resumed studies in 1902 at Law School of Liceo De Manila
 From August 1896 to August 1901 (5 years) He guided the Revolution
 Was already an active member and delegate of Katipunan in the company of
Andres Bonifacio, Emilio Jacinto and Dr. Pio Valenzuela (Even before the
outbreak of Revolution) They organized chapters and propagated the
movement in general
 The events he related in this Katipunan and the Revolution reverberate with
shouts of “Long live our Patriots!” and “Death to the Enemy!” as answer to the
enemy’s assaults
 The Magdiwang Government specifically the Lieutenant General, Gen. Artemio
Recarte honored him as the Captain General of Head of the Army

About the Katipunan and the Revolution:

 The Revolution begins from March 14, 1896
 Alvarez as the author, shall deal only with the organization and activities of the
Society of the Sons of the People (Full Name: Kamahalmahalan at
Kataastaasang Katipunan ng mga Anak ng Bayan or The Most Venerable
Supreme Society of the Sons of the People)
 The Katipunan is based on records which was entrusted to Alvarez by the
original founders of the Katipunan

Chapter One
 On March 14, 1896, Saturday. Santiago Alvarez accompanied the prominent
townsmen of Kawit Cavite (Alvarez’s home province) Emilio F. Aguinaldo and
Raymundo Mata to Manila for their initiation into the Katipunan secret society.
They arrived Manila about 5 in the afternoon and waited at the quarters of
Jacinto Lumbreras, a Katipunan member and caretaker of the Center
Telephone Exchange located on San Jacinto Street in Binondo.
  The Katipunan director arrived about 7 in the evening to bring them in the
Katipunan Headquarters. They leave Lumbreras’s with his two companions
(Emilio and Raymundo) blindfolded and got into a Calesa (Kalesa). After an
hour’s ride, they reached Andres Bonifacio’s home (located on the Cervantes
Street, San Ygnacio area of Bambang) who known as the “Katipunan
Supremo”
 It was surrounded by many guards, some of them were the Katipunan
Members and Directing Operations was Supremo Bonifacio’s wife Gregoria De
Jesus.
 They were lead into a room where they saw a table covered with black cloth
and there was a skull and crossbones from a human skeleton on it. On both
sides of the table found the Katipuneros who were blindfolded with black cloth
and on the wall was a rectangular banner of black cloth which was the same
motif of the human skulls and crossbones and above that banner was 3 letter
K’s painted in white.
 They went to a room where the Ritual and Examination for neophytes being
held. It is where also Aguinaldo and Mata took their oath (signed with their
own blood) as Katipunan Members to destroy oppression despite the risk of
imprisonment or execution.
 After that event, They went back to Lumbreras’s quarters.

Chapter Two
 On April 6, 1896, Monday. Alvarez accompanied Aguinaldo to see Supremo
Bonifacio again to learn more about Katipunan.
 They traveled from Cavite to Manila through the Spanish Vessels called
“Ynchausti Boats” and when they arrived their Aguinaldo went to the port
office first to attend some business with Ramon Padilla whom exchanged some
sharp words telling that Padilla was rude and uncouth.
 After that they reached the Lavezares Street in Binondo where Dr. Pio
Valenzuela, The Provisional Chairman of Katipunan rented a house. As they
went inside that house they met Supremo Bonifacio, his wife Gregoria , Jose
Dizon and Dr. Pio himself.
 As they were talking about the progress of Katipunan, Alvarez mentioned to
Supremo Bonifacio that Aguinaldo had an argument with Padilla at the port
office.
 After hearing it, Supremo Bonifacio immediately sent Dr. Pio and Jose Dizon in
Ramon Padilla’s office and redress to the dishonor he showed to Aguinaldo and
made an apology.
  At 2 in the afternoon, Dr. Pio and Jose Dizon returned and said Ramon Padilla
offered his peace to Aguinaldo. With his honor intact, Aguinaldo accepted the
apology then he and Alvarez went back to their home in Cavite.
Chapter Three
 The Katipuan continued to spread.
 It was Good Friday in the month of April 1896. At 9 in the morning, Supremo
Bonifacio who was accompanied by Dr. Pio Valenzuela, Emilio Jacinto and
Pantaleon Torres arrived in the Town of Noveleta, Cavite Province to establish
a provincial council of Katipunan.
 The council came to be known as MAGDIWANG and its officers were: Mariano
Alvarez (President), Pascual Alvarez (Secretary), Dionisio Alvarez (Treasurer),
Valentin Salud (Prosecutor), Benito Alix (Sergeant At Arms), Nicolas Ricafrente,
Adriano Guinto, Emeterio Malia and Valeriano Aquino as Directors.
 When the Revolution broke out and succeeded in disabling the enemy, the
Magdiwang Council was acknowledged and honored as the Supreme Organ
responsible for the successful campaigns against the enemy.
 At 5 in the afternoon of that day, Alvarez together with Supremo Bonifacio,
Emilio Jacinto, Dr. Pio Valenzuela and Pantaleon Torres went to Kawit as secret
guests of Emilio Aguinaldo, Baldomero Aguinaldo and Candido Tirona.
 Their purpose is to organized another council based in Kawit and this was
called MAGDALO
 The initiation of new members was held in the home of Emilio Aguinaldo
where a great number enlisted voluntarily and each one signed the Katipunan
Oath with their own blood.
 About 8 in the evening when the initiation ceremonies was about to start they
heard a shout “Fire! Fire in Manila!” and as they look across the Bay to Manila,
they saw the house gone up in flames.
 Two days later, Alvarez received a letter from Supremo Bonifacio confirming
that his house was really burned along with the Katipunan Materials.
 Not long afterwards, the MAGDALO Council was established and the leader
was Emilio Aguinaldo, but because of his responsibilities as a Municipal
Captain, he delegated his duties to Baldomero Aguinaldo as the President and
Benigno Santi as the Secretary of the council.

Chapter Four
 Towards the end of April 1896, Alvarez received a letter from Supremo
Bonifacio inviting him to attend a general meeting of Katipunan to be held in
Pasig on May 3, 1896 in the evening.
 Alvarez notifies Emilio Aguinaldo on his office in the Municipal Hall of Kawit
about the invitation meeting of Supremo Bonifacio and he agreed to meet
Alvarez in Manila on the scheduled date.
 May 3, 1896, Sunday. At 4 in the afternoon, Alvarez together with the
representative from Cavite Province waited the boats readied by the
Katipunan in Quiapo landing of Pasig River.
 They stopped at the Beata River to have supper in the residence of Capt.
Ramon Bernado and as they went back to their boats, other Katipuneros from
Santa Ana, Mandaluyong, San Pedro Makati, Pateros, Taguig, and Pasig joined
them.
 It was about 9 in the evening when they arrived at the spot called Sapang
Nabas where Supremo Bonifacio proposed to hold a meeting but because of
the unexpected heavy rain the meeting was held to another place.
 At the suggestion of Pasig members, the meeting was held in the home of
Katipunero Valentin Cruz which was located behind the Pasig Catholic Church.
 Supremo Bonifacio together with Emilio Jacinto his Secretary and Dr. Pio
Valenzuela, the Prosecutor arrived and they conducted the meeting along
secret Katipunan Procedures.
 The meeting was concerned about the revelations of Katipunan that has been
exposed by the betrayal of 3 wives of unknown Katipunan members. For this
reason, the Spaniards are now closely and secretly watching their move.
 Supremo Bonifacio decided to rise in revolt against the Spaniards to defend the
honor of their land.
 Emilio Aguinaldo was the first member to disagree to this because according to
him the Katipunan are still few in number and their weapons are only bolo,
spear, bow and arrow which is nothing compared to the cannon and guns of
their opponents.
 This was also seconded by Benigno Santi who told the Supremo that the
Spaniards have war vessels that can be used against their land and sea
operations. Thus, they would be overpowered by them and be forced to flee so
he concluded that there is no prospect of victory to this.
 However, Supremo Bonifacio said that what they are discussing was not about
the weaponry but their will to fight and that they should not ignore the fact
that Filipinos is by nature brave especially if what they were fighting was
oppression.
 Alvarez raised his concern and he said that they must first seek the counsel of
Dr. Jose Rizal in Dapitan before of making any decision since the malicious
 rumor to this effect is now being circulated by Friars (Prayle) who are also the
enemies of the patriot Dr. Jose Rizal
 It was already May 4, 1896, Monday 2 in the morning when the meeting
resumed after some rest and exchanging of views and it has been agreed by
majority that Dr. Rizal’s Consent must first be had before approving their
decision to rise in revolt against the Spaniards
 Dr. Pio Valenzuela was the delegated by Supremo Bonifacio to confer with Dr.
Jose Rizal in Dapitan
 It was 8 in the morning of the same day (May 4,1896) when the Katipuneros
went back to their rowboats. They continued discussing the issues there and
after disembarking, they dispersed to go their separate ways.

Chapter Five
 Supremo Bonifacio received threats from the enemy but still he continued to
boost the morale and expand the membership of Katipunan
 Before the end of May 1896, Dr. Pio Valenzuela visited Dr. Jose Rizal in Dapitan
and he was accompanied by Raymundo Mata.
 Valenzuela reported to the Supremo but he neither would talk about his
interview with Dr. Jose Rizal. This just made the other Katipuneros eager to
know Dr. Rizal’s opinion about the armed revolution if he was for or against of
it.
 The silence of Supremo and Dr. Pio Valenzuela about the views of Dr. Jose Rizal
interpreted as a tacit proof of his disapproval of Revolution. However, the
Katipuneros opted for Revolution and their cry was “Better to die fighting!”
 In June of the same year, Dr. Jose Rizal went missing and his wife and children
mourned for his mysterious disappearance.
 This leads to surge of the revolutionary movement and this revolutionary
movement was printed in the shop of Diario De Manila where two individuals,
Patiño (Prostege of the Spaniard La Font) and Apolonio De la Cruz (a
Katipunero and treasurer of MAGHIGANTI) stated their opposing forces.
 July 19, 1896, Sunday. Some of the Katipunan members were tortured and
arrested. Some went hiding.
 On Wednesday of that week, which was July 22, 1896. Rumors spread that
Supremo Andres Bonifacio and the highest members of Katipunan were being
grilled by the troops of Spanish Government when truth is they were being
under the care and protection of the Local Katipunan Chapter in Rizal Province.
 As the crisis worsened, more and more Filipinos joined Katipunan. However,
Supremo Bonifacio was still hiding and that just made the Katipunan members
 despised him for they felt betrayed began to heap scorn on Katipunan.
“Shameless Katipunan!”
 All of those disappointment was accepted by the Supremo stoically and to
appease the feelings of malcontented, he planned to convene a meeting
discussing a strategy for the Revolution

Chapter Six
 August 21, 1896, Friday. The meeting was held at the home of Katipunero Vidal
Acab in Caloocan, Rizal.
 Just as the Supremo was calling the meeting to order, there were guards who
interrupted shouting him “Halt, who are you?” and this made the other
Katipunan members alarmed and raised their weapons
 Capt. Silverio Baltazar, a Katipunan Member and Incumbent Municipal Captain
of Calocoon went down to make a settlement with the guards. After the talk he
went back to tell his comrades that there’s no cause for alarm.
 August 22, 1896, Saturday. Emilio Jacinto as the Secretary of the council was
tasked by Supremo Bonifacio to write down a letter notifying other Katipunan
Councils to join them in discussing the measures they would take against their
enemies in the village of Kangkong, Municipality of Caloocan.
 August 23, 1896, Sunday at Bahay Toro. The number of Katipuneros had grown
to more than 500 coming from different localities. They met Supremo Bonifacio
and some of them presented their arms to him. He received 100 bolos from Lt.
Apolonio Samson.
 August 24, 1896, Monday. More Katipuneros came and increased their number
to more than a thousand. The Supremo called a meeting at 10 in the morning
inside the Cabesang Melchora’s Barn
 They discussed important matters for their revolution against the Spaniards to
defend People’s Freedom.
 The meeting adjourned at 12 noon and there were tumultuous shouts of “Long
Live the Sons of the People!”

Chapter Seven
 August 25, 1896, Tuesday. The enemy came and the Sons of the People
(Katipuneros) prepared to fight.
 They engaged Spanish Troops somewhere between Bahay Toro and Kangkong
Balintawak. The fight didn’t last long when the enemy soon retreated after
sensing that they were outnumbered.
  August 26, 1896 Wednesday. The enemy came again with 200 length of arms
(weapons) with them. Some of the civil guards are with them and they said
that they only came to have an interview with Supremo Bonifacio not knowing
that they real intention was to raise a revolution.
 Among of those who killed were Lieutenant Manuel and Matandang Leon.

Chapter Eight
 August 28, 1896, Friday. Supremo Bonifacio tasked Genaro (A Katipunan
member) to go to Santolan Chapter at the house of Katipunero Feliciano Del
Rosario and their he listed the weapons (rifles, guns, revolvers) in the hands of
Santolan Katipuneros.
 August 29, 1896. The Katipuneros prepared their arms for the coming battle at
night. The Supremo arrived with a news that saddened them all. Dr. Pio
Valenzuela was arrested and being tortured inside the Parish house of the
Catholic Church in San Mateo.

Chapter Nine
 The first battle cry of the Katipunan coincided with the pealing of the church
bell at 9 in the fateful night of August 29, 1896.
 The Katipuneros rushed to the town hall. Half of them entered the building to
seize the guns of Civil Guards. Luckily, the other guards willingly surrendered
their arms.
 While all the Katipuneros in Manila suburbs, the Katipuneros in Cavite were
waiting for the cue to strike.
 At 11 that night, after the siege at Mandaluyong, Supremo Bonifacio and his
troops proceeded to San Juan Del Monte.
 The Katipuneros continued their march toward the Catholic Church of the town
but they were soon halted by the enemy near the place called Kaseta.

Chapter Ten
 August 30, 1896, Sunday. After waiting in readiness since 11 in the previous
night (August 29) the troops under Gen. Ramon Bernardo continued their vigil
until morning.
 While they were inside gulping down their soup, their enemies were waiting
outside, furtively watching them, finding the right time to attack them any
soon.
 The chase of Katipuneros and their enemies led to the Santa Mesa River where
unexpected reinforcements joined the pursuit.
  At about 7 in the morning, they reached the village called Ermitaño. Suddenly
they were fired by the Spanish Cavalry and Infantry units. Some of the
Katipuneros who died were Hemorgenes Losada, Apolonio Ordino, Anastasio
Reyes, Venancio Binangunan, Francisco Vicencio and Jose Magno.
 Supremo Bonifacio together with the survivors retreated in Balara for
reorganization and preparation for new encounters.

Chapter Eleven
 August of 1896 (date not mentioned) Katipunero Bernabe Sunga and his wife
Francisca Angeles joined the Katipunan.

Chapter Twelve
 Alvarez mentioned that a nom de guerre was adopted by each Katipunan
neophyte. Examples are the Katipunan councils, MAGDIWANG (to celebrate)
for Noveleta (known as Tierra Alta, one of the provinces in Cavite), MAPAGTIIS
(forbearing) for San Francisco de Malabon (now General Trias) and MAGDALO
for Kawit Cavite.
 The MAGDALO Leadership, protested against the launching of revolution at a
large meeting of the Katipunan held in Pasig, May 1896.
 At the meeting in Pasig, when it has been agreed to start the rebellion at
Midnight of August 29, 1896, Saturday, the MAGDIWANG and MAPAGTIIS
Chapters gathered waiting for the signals of Katipunan units that were
mandated to attack Manila.
 They waited the whole night without receiving any signals so they were
disappointed over the aborted strike. In their anxiety, the fever of Revolution
rose higher so they were really eager to start the uprising with or without the
participation of Manila Katipuneros.
 However, they were cautioned by Commander Mainam (Mariano Alvarez),
who told them not to take the haste unless they are opportune to strike. They
already have shed blood and risked life itself so they will only strike only when
they are sure of victory, he added.

Chapter Thirteen
 August 31, 1896, Monday. There’s still no prospect of imminent uprising
who brought them impatience.
 Early that morning, Katipunero Vibora arrived in Noveleta from San
Francisco de Malabon to confer with Katipunero Mainam, Apoy and
Mabini on what to do about the waited insurrection.
 At the suggestion of President Mainam, they decided to start the
revolution at 2 in the afternoon on that day.
 All steps would be taken to ensure victory, including those surveillance
of Magdalo group.
 Still early in that day, the house of Katipunero Malimlim (Emeterio
Malia) was in readiness with abundance of food for the armed groups.
The streets were full of men in battle gear.
 It was nearly 11 that morning when Katipunero Kugon (Aquilino
Moton) came rushing from San Francisco de Malabon and reported to
President Mainam that the Mapagtiis Katipuneros were already
attacking the enemy.
 The 3 Alvarezes –Mariano, Pascual and Santiago (Mainam, Mabini and
Apoy) organized and assigned troops at the street corners and at the
town hall. They instructed the men not to attack until provoked.
 Although it was already Midnight of the same date, the leaders of the
Revolution decided to call a mass meeting of the Sons of the People
(Katipunan). The purpose was to consolidate the People’s forces to
organize them under one stable and strong leadership that would give
direction to a revolution that had become inevitable.