Bonifacio urged his soldiers to stand down, refusing to attack his "fellow Tagalogs," – appeals that were futile. After a few rounds were exchanged, Bonifacio was shot in the arm by Bonzon and stabbed in the neck by Paua. Bonifacio's brother, Ciriaco, was shot dead. His other brother, Procopio, suffered a beating. His wife, Gregoria de Jesus, was raped by Bonzon. Bonifacio, starving and injured, was carried in a hammock to Naic, where Aguinaldo was waiting. (Umali, 2019).
The aforementioned scene depicts the gruesome arrest of Andres Bonifacio at Indang, Cavite by Emilio Aguinaldo’s orders as he decided to exercise his sovereignty as president. Aguinaldo was armed with allegations to Bonifacio regarding treason, sedition, and conspiracy to murder the president himself. On the fifth of May 1897, Bonifacio was to stand trial in the Teodorico Reyes Ancestral House, which is recognized today as one of the historic houses in the country, the “Bonifacio Trial House.”
The Bonifacio Trial House is a two-storey Bahay-na-Bato (stone house) built by Teodorico Reyes in 1889. It is the site where Andres, together with his brother, Procopio Bonifacio, were court-martialed on May 5-6, 1897, by a military court. According to the official National Historical Commission of the Philippines (NHCP) website, this house-turned-museum exhibits five galleries.
The museum’s first gallery is called “Maypagasa,” wherein a brief rundown on Bonifacio and the Katipunan is presented. It is historically known that Andres Bonifacio is the founding father of the Philippine Revolution, the Katipunan movement. The said movement was the impetus behind the insurrection that led to independence from colonial Spain, and Bonifacio once served as its “Supremo,” or Supreme Leader.
Second is the gallery of “Pagsalubong,” which highlights the rivalry between the Magdalo and Magdiwang factions of the Katipunan in Cavite. During this time, the election of the Tejeros Convention for the first president of the revolutionary government was decided. There were accounts that the elections held on that day were rigged and that the ballots had been filled out before the voting even began, in favor of Aguinaldo. It turned out that Bonifacio was instead elected as Interior Secretary. This drove him mad, leading to the “Acta de Tejeros,” which aimed to nullify what took place during the Tejeros Convention, but to no avail did it prevent Aguinaldo from taking his oath of office, albeit covertly (Lamudi, 2019).
Next, is the third gallery of “Pagdakip,” which narrates the incidents that led to Bonifacio's capture, as previously described. Shortly after is the Bonifacio brothers’ court trial, which is re-enacted by the fourth gallery, “Ang Paglilitis,” through a light and sound presentation. During the trial, Bonifacio was guaranteed to lose the case. This is because he would be decided by a jury of Aguinaldo's peers and would be represented by a lawyer who would admit to his guilt. Also, because the witness who accused him of conspiracy “died in battle”, he was unable to question him. However, the trial had the witness in attendance. Some people think that the proceedings at the Bonifacio Trial House were a farce – they may just be right to believe that.
Finally, the fifth gallery, “Kadakilaan” depicts Gregoria de Jesus, Bonifacio's widow, of her anguish as she learned of her husband's death. On May 10, 1897, soldiers led by Major Lazaro Macapagal executed Andres Bonifacio and his brother Procopio. Macapagal shared accounts apropos of the situation. He said that General Mariano Noriel gave him orders to take Andres Bonifacio and Procopio Bonifacio from where they were detained and transport them to the hill of Tala in Maragondon, Cavite. Macapagal then opened the letter from Aguinaldo and read the sentence aloud – it was an order for execution. This is where his accounts diverge. According to one account, he turned away before his men shot Procopio and Andres. Also, from another account, Procopio was shot first, and the Supremo attempted to flee, forcing Macapagal to pursue and shoot him (Ocampo, 2021). Either way, both brothers faced an ill fate; the Supremo stood in the way of those seeking personal gain during the revolution.
Andrés Bonifacio y de Castro – he enveloped himself in the spirit of patriotism, a figure who sought true independence. Although a hundred years have already passed, his story of tragedy still echoes through the political state of our country. Bonifacio was killed by the very revolution he started, and while it was the colonizers from foreign countries who were the villains in our history, Bonifacio’s death points to our own.
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