Andres Bonifacio: Matapang Na Tao

Andres Bonifacio: Matapang Na Tao

            

           Do not engage the enemy or rival on his own turf. This is one tenet with which political leaders, military strategists, sports mentors and even management specialists usually subscribe to and apply in their work. Apparently, nationalist Andres Bonifacio ignored this.  Or he was too confident that he had the support and loyalty of majority of those present at the Tejeros Convention.

The Convention was held at Casa Hacienda de Tejeros in Rosario, Cavite.  It was a friar estate house.

           Though not part of the agenda, the revolutionaries from the Magdalo and Magdiwang factions of Cavite decided to elect officers of a new revolutionary government at the Tejeros Convention on March 22, 1897.  Bonifacio was present yet he allowed it to take place. He was the Supremo of the Katipunan and that organization was still recognized nationwide.  There was no need to set up a new government.  Yet Bonifacio allowed the elections to take place.  He even presided. And the venue was Cavite and those present were mostly Cavitenos. This transpired about three months after the execution of Jose Rizal.

Though not present during the Convention, General Emilio Aguinaldo challenged Andres Bonifacio for the presidency..

          The Magdalo group was identified with Emilio Aguinaldo and the Magdiwang faction was supposedly pro-Bonifacio.  Aguinaldo and Bonifacio were contesting the presidency. Before the actual voting took place, Bonifacio was even warned that it could be rigged. There were 265 voters, mostly from Cavite.  After the tabulation, here were the results: Aguinaldo- 146, Bonifacio- 80, Trias- 30. Many Magdiwang supporters of Bonifacio voted for Aguinaldo instead. Next to be elected was General Mariano Trias of Cavite as Vice President.  Bonifacio was elected as Secretary of the Interior.

Candidate	Party	Results
		Votes	%
Emilio Aguinaldo	Magdalo Party	146	57.03%
Andrés Bonifacio	Magdiwang Party	80	31.25%
Mariano Trías	Magdalo Party	30	11.72%
Valid votes		256	100.00%
Votes cast		256	100.00%
Registered voters		256	100.00%

                                             Results of the election for President

         
          But his election to the post as Secretary of Interior was even questioned by another Caviteno, Daniel Tirona, who argued that Bonifacio was not qualified.  Humiliated, Bonifacio drew his pistol and was about to shoot Tirona but he was subdued by a supporter. Then Bonifacio and his group walked out, after proclaiming that the results were invalid as they were rigged.  He and his group said they would not recognize the new officials.  So sure was Aguinaldo of winning that he deemed it unnecessary to be present during the entire proceedings.

            After Aguinaldo and the other winners took their oath, a meeting was held where it was decided that Bonifacio and his men should be arrested for the crime of sedition. Bonifacio and his followers were arrested at Indang, Cavite where brother Ciriaco was shot dead, Andres was wounded and wife Gregoria de Jesus was said to have been raped by the leader of the arresting team, Colonel Agapito Bonzon. A one-day trial was conducted in Maragondon. Bonifacio and his other brother were found guilty as charged.  They were to be executed by firing squad at the mountains of Maragondon.

The wife of Andres Bonifacio, Gregoria de Jesus, was said to have been raped by Colonel Agapito Bonzon who was the leader of the arresting team.  She was a niece of Magdiwang's General Mariano Alvarez who was from Cavite.

House in Maragondon, Cavite where Andres Bonifacio and his brother Procopio were tried and sentenced to die by firing squad.

          At the mountains of Maragondon, specifically Mount Nagpatong, which is next to Mount Buntis, Andres and his brother were shot to death allegedly for trying to escape on May 10, 1897.  But others believe that it was similar to a rubout.  Some witnesses were saying that after Procopio was shot dead, Andres was hacked several times by five men while in a hammock. Their bodies were just dumped at Mount Nagpatong.

Procopio Bonifacio was a younger brother of Andres Bonifacio. He was killed at Mount Nagpatong.  Brother Ciriaco was shot to death by Aguinaldo's arresting team at Indang, Cavite. All three Bonifacio brothers were killed in Cavite.

          Upon close scrutiny, the sequence of events was too fast.  The snap elections, the arrest at Indang, the trial and the execution happened in 2 months. Bonifacio's group did not make it back to Manila. Was everything premeditated?  Was there a conspiracy? Was Bonifacio eliminated to pave the way for the assumption into office by a group predominantly from Cavite?

         Aguinaldo went on to become the 1st president of the Republic. Bonifacio, the founder of the KKK, is viewed by many Filipinos as a national hero and numerous monuments have been erected in his honor. But the incident at Mount Nagpatong, near Mount Buntis, though 115 years have passed, remains a puzzle for some.

Historical site at Mount Nagpatong in Maragondon, Cavite.

While the marker states that Andres Bonifacio was shot to death, reports persist that the Supremo was hacked by five men at Mount Nagpatong.

*All pics from Google

                                                                                                                                                                    - Konted