“Matakot kayo sa kasaysayan na siyang ‘di mapagkakailaan ng inyong mga kagagawan.” –  Andres Bonifacio

A couple of days ago was the 129^th death anniversary of the great plebeian, Gat Andres Bonifacio. There is no iota of doubt that his bloody execution from the hands of the alleged “brothers” and the brutally gruesome manner of his death still leaves us not only a bad taste in the mouth, but indeed a sense of an indelible shame and an unerasable humiliation as a “nation”. Irrefutably, the treacherous and the extrajudicial murder of the Father of the emerging nation then had cursed us with an unescapable moral stain to our collective soul as a people.

A national shame and collective tragedy

What happened to Bonifacio, to his family and the movement is not an isolated case, but incontestably a national tragedy and continuing shame that still reverberates up to the present.

On the actual date of his death anniversary, a “senator” said the following ridiculously stupid and undeniably idiotic pronouncement concerning the impending arrest by the International Criminal Court (ICC) of his “associate”. That bloody fool said that:

“Kung ang humahanap kay Bato ay Philippine law, ako pa ang magsu-surrender, pero hangga’t dayuhan, hindi kaya ng puso ko…Kapag ibinigay  ko si Bato, nagtaksil na ako kay Andres Bonifacio.”

Commentaries:

This analogy is not only false but a bastardization of the truth in the lowest order ever.  The desecration and profanation of the nation’s true heroes is a sin that can never be forgiven. Indeed, this historical, factual and actual transgression is unpardonable and beyond salvation. You cannot equate angels from demons or legitimate heroes from those of mass murderers.

Hence, I directly say: Foolish one, you speak without knowledge! Supremo Bonifacio never sheds the blood of true brothers and Sons of the Nation (Mga Anak ng Bayan). The bitter truth is that he himself was mercilessly slain by false and treacherous false brothers. The grim truth is that Bonifacio is not your idol, but rather Duterte and Aguinaldo — evil men marked by bad evil blood, who, like your fellow enabler and a co-conspirator, whose favorite sports is track and field, wrestled with the wind and lived in constant concealment. Do not profane the noble name of Supremo Bonifacio with your ignorance and unparalleled folly. The Supremo faced his death with honor. He did not run, beg or hide. He died heroically. Such characteristic and courage are a galaxy away from your so-called “hero”. Recently, you said you wished to go abroad? Then do so — perhaps to The Hague, where you may join your Tatay Digs aka Mang Kanor, and keep each other’s company. Spare us your stupidity and idiocy.

Bonifacio as a noble and pure revolutionary

To reiterate for the benefit of our young and our future generation who is the hope of this nation; never in the life of Supremo Bonifacio as a revolutionary and even in his tenure as a leading member of the Supreme Council of the Katipunan that he used his position to abuse anyone neither did he ordered the execution of any brother or adherents of the movement. Instead, as already mentioned, it was he who was killed by the fake brothers and opportunistic alleged allies. He has no blood in his hands.

On the issue of “surrendering to the foreigners”

That idiotic statement of that “senator” clearly betrays his ignorance not only of our history but of the laws (both the local and international one). We are not surrendering the sovereignty of the country, we are merely complying with a treaty obligation, an international convention that we entered in good faith. Even the Supreme Court of the land recognized that (see, the case of Pangilinan v. Cayetano [G.R. No. 238875]). Furthermore, we also have a local law, Republic Act 9851 otherwise known as  “Philippine Act on Crimes Against International Humanitarian Law, Genocide, and Other Crimes Against Humanity” that reinforces that treaty commitment of ours. The ICC is not a foreign court, but rather an international court whose jurisdiction is universal.

On our revolutionary history

That yokel clearly betrays his lack of knowledge of our revolutionary history. The Katipunan is not solely a secret society of nationalists and patriots, but revolutionaries with internationalist viewpoints and universal aspirations. As I lucidly stated in my article, Light and justice vs darkness and tyranny (PDI, April 17, 2025):

As noted by the Katipunan’s Kartilya, tenet number 8: “Defend the oppressed and fight the oppressor before the law or in the field.” We must highlight the universalist spirit of the Katipunan aspirations in light and in consideration of what is happening in contemporary society.

This is in line with the views of Jim Richardson (2013):

The Katipuneros shared the nineteenth century’s optimistic sense of world history, of mankind’s march from despotism, religious dogmatism, and poverty towards liberty, reason, and progress. Their own battle to be free from subjugation by Spanish autocrats and Catholic friars, they perceived, was part of a wider, transnational war. They cheered the rebels in Cuba, wanted to establish a presence in Hong Kong, and sought aid from Japan.

Being a true revolutionary in the Katipunan Tradition

In the end, it is not enough to merely say that you love Bonifacio, or that you are pro‑Bonifacio, or he is your idol, or even to portray the life of Supremo Bonifacio in film. These alone are not sufficient to make you Bonifacio himself. For ultimately, to be a revolutionary like Bonifacio, Jacinto, Sakay, and the Katipuneros is not in words, but above all in deeds — in being good men, in sacrifice, and in struggle for the nation (Bayan) and all its children (at lahat niyang mga Anak ng Bayan) with honor and dignity.

Therefore, brothers and fellow countrymen, let us reject and expose the pretenders, the chameleons, the hypocrites, and all the corrupt and deceitful ones who desecrate and exploit Supremo and his legacy only for their own wicked and dark interests. In the words of the Supremo (1896) himself:

Kaya! Oh mga kababayan! Ating idilat ang bulag na kaisipan at kusang igugol sa kagalingan ang ating lakas sa tunay at lubos na pag asa na mag tagumpay sa nilalayong kaguinhawahan ng bayang tinubuan.

#Maypagasa!!!

Jose Mario D. De Vega

Faculty, General Education and Experiential Learning

College of Teacher Development

Philippine Normal University