Peña, Eufie & Ocampo, Cherrylyn A.

THIRD CONTROVERSY
CRY OF BALINTAWAK OR CRY OF PUGADLAWIN

ARGUMENT FAVORING PUGADLAWIN

In the event that the expression is taken actually –the Cry as the shouting of nationalistic
mottos in mass gatherings –then there were scores of such Cries. Before that lets have a short
background, what happened before the cry of Pugadlawin happened. By the middle of 1896, as
the Katipunan was busy preparing for a revolution, hints about its existence reached the Spanish
authorities. On July 5, 1896, Manuel Sityar, the Spanish lieutenant of the Civil Guards stationed
at Pasig, reported the questionable activities of some Filipinos. On August 13, 1896, Father
Agustin Fernandez, Augustinian curate of San Pedro, Makati, wrote to Don Manuel Luengo, the
civil governor of Manila, about the evening gatherings in his parish, apparently by men plotting
against the Spaniards. The Katipunan was finally discovered on August 19. Teodoro Patino, a
member of the Katipunan betrayed the secrecy of it to Father Mariano Gil, an Augustinian parish
curate. On the basis of Patino's information, the Spanish authorities acted immediately. The
Spanish cazadores (civil guards) began making hundreds of arrests. Many of them died of
suffocation while detained at the overcrowded Fort Santiago. Two Katipuneros acting as spies for
the governor of Manila told Bonifacio about the discovery. On August 21-22, Bonifacio called
for a meeting at the house of Vidal Acab, then to the residence of Apolonio Samson in
Kangkong, Caloocan to issue the call to arms. Emilio Jacinto summoned the heads of Katipunan
Councils to Kangkong to discuss their measures against the Spanish forces.

Cry of Pugadlawin is alternately and initially allude to as the Cry of Balintawak. Since of
contrasting accounts and the uncertainty of place names in these accounts, the precise date, and
place of the Cry is debated. 1908-1963 the official stance was that the Cry happened on August
26 in Balintawak. But in 1963 the Philippine government announced a shift to August 23 in
Pugadlawin, Quezon City. In the inscription on the marker at the location says that “In the
vicinity of this place, August 23, 1896 was the day that Andres Bonifacio immediately called for
a general meeting and decided to launch the revolution against the Spanish government in the
Philippines. It was held in the yard of a son of Melchora Aquino, known as Tandang Sora. In the
mass meeting held in the yard of a son of Melchora Aquino, the Katipuneros tore their cedula
personates (certificates), the symbol of the Filipino vassalage to Spain .it the same time shouting,
"Long live the Philippines! Long live the Katipunan!" This event is recorded in history as the
Cry of Pugadlawin, which proclaimed their defiance to the Spanish government. More over here
are the other source that will prove that it was Cry of Pugadlawin. It was the time that Bonifacio
asked his men whether they were willing to fight to the bitter end. Everyone shouted their
approval, except for Teodoro Plata, who though that it was too soon for a revolution. Heartened
by his men’s response, Bonifacio then asked them to tear their cedulas (residence certificates) to
pieces, as a sign of their defiance and determination to rise against the Spaniards. The men
immediately tore up their cedulas, shouting, Mabuhay ang Pilipinas (long live the Philippines)
known as the Cry of Pugadlawin.

Here are the different accounts by the participant historian gives different dates and
places for the cry. The first one is Santiago Alvarez, the 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. Second, Pio Valenzuela had several versions of the Cry. Only
after they are compared and reconciled with the other accounts will it be possible to determined
what really happened. Pio stated that there was a meeting in Pugadlawin, on 23 August 1896,
after the meeting at Apolonio Samson’s residence in Hong Kong? Where were the cedulas torn.
In 1935 Valenzuela, Pantas and Pacheco proclaimed that the first Cry of the revolution did not
happen in Balintawak where the monument is, but in a place called Pugadlawin. Valenzuela
memoirs averred that the Cry took place on 23 August at the house of Juan Ramos at
Pugadlawin. The NHI (Historical Institute) was obviously influenced by Valenzuela’s memoirs.
In 1963, upon the NHI endorsement, President Diosdado Macapagal ordered that the Cry be
celebrated on 23 August and that Pugadlawin be recognized as its site. Lastly, according to
Teodoro Agoncilio in Revolt of the masses (1956). It was in Pugadlawin, where they proceed
upon leaving Samson’s place in the afternoon of the 22nd, that the more than 1,000 members of
the Katipunan met in the yard of Juan A. Ramos, son of Melchora Aquino. It was the day that
Bonifacio said to the Katipuneros “bring out your cedulas and tear them to pieces to symbolize
our determination to take arms!” Amidst the ceremony he rebels, tear-stained eyes, shouted:
“Long live the Philippines! Long live the Katipunan! That was the day that the first cry was held
in Pugadlawin.
According to Dr. Pio Valenzuela, as he claimed himself an eyewitness of the event, the
cry of the revolutionaries took place at Pugad Lawin on August 23, 1896. It was at Pugad Lawin,
in the house and yard of Juan Ramos, son of Melchora Aquino, where 1,000 katipuneros met
each other and carried out their plan whether or not the revolution against the Spanish
government should be started on August 29, 1896.

The beginning of the insurgency against Spain has been formally celebrated as of late as
"The Cry of Pugad Lawin." The alleged site of "Pugad Lawin" is arranged in Brgy. Bahay Toro,
Quezon City, and is memorialized with a scene of life-sized, strangely inflexible Katipuneros
tearing their cedulas.

The engraving on the marker at the site says that "In the region of this spot, Andres
Bonifacio and around 1,000 Katipuneros met on the morning of August 23, 1896 and chose to
dispatch the insurgency against the Spanish government in the Philippines. They confirmed their
choice by tearing their cedulas, images of the oppression of the Filipinos. This was the primary
cry of the abused individuals against the Spanish country, and was given power by methods for
arms." In 1896, as per the National Historical Commission (NHCP), the house and yard of Juan
Ramos had remained on this site.
SOURCE

The Cry of Pugadlawin. (2020, January 11). Retrieved from https://www.philippine-

Guerrero, M. C., Encarnacion, E. N., & Villegas, R. N. (2003, June 06). In Focus:
Balintawak: The Cry for a Nationwide Revolution. Retrieved from http://gwhs-
stg02.i.gov.ph/~s2govnccaph/about-culture-and-arts/in-focus/balintawak-the-cry-for-a-
nationwide-revolution/

Halili, M. C. (2010). Philippine history. Manila: Rex Book Store.

Ojo, P. (2018, July 17). The Cry of Pugad Lawin and the Birth of the Revolution. Retrieved
from https://www.warhistoryonline.com/history/pugad-lawin-birth-revolution.html

Cry of Pugad Lawin. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://military.wikia.org/wiki/Cry_of_Pugad_