Cry of Pugad Lawin
Encyclopedia
The Cry of Pugad Lawin , alternately and originally referred to as the Cry of Balintawak was the beginning of the Philippine Revolution
against Spanish
rule.
At the close of August 1896, members of the Katipunan
secret society (Katipuneros) led by Andrés Bonifacio
rose up in revolt somewhere in an area referred to as Kalookan, wider than the jurisdiction of present-day Caloocan City
and overlapping into present-day Quezon City
.
Originally the term "Cry" referred to the first skirmish between the Katipuneros and the Civil Guard
s (Guardia Civil). Other definitions of the term have been made over the years, but today it is popularly understood to refer to the tearing of community tax certificates (cédulas personales) by the rebels to mark their separation from Spain. This was literally accompanied by patriotic shouts.
Because of differing accounts and the ambiguity of place names in these accounts, the exact date and place of the Cry is disputed. From 1908 until 1963, the official stance was that the Cry occurred on August 26 in Balintawak. In 1963 the Philippine government declared a shift to August 23 in Pugad Lawin, Quezon City.
, stated in 1927 that the Cry took place in Bahay Toro, now in Quezon City
on August 24, 1896. Pio Valenzuela
, a close associate of Andrés Bonifacio
declared in 1948 that it happened in Pugad Lawin on August 23, 1896. Gregorio Zaide stated in his books in 1954 that the "Cry" happened in Balintawak on August 26, 1896. Fellow historian Teodoro Agoncillo
wrote in 1956 that it took place in Pugad Lawin on August 23, 1896, based on Pio Valenzuela's statement. Accounts by Milagros Guerrero, Emmanuel Encarnacion and Ramon Villegas claim the event to have taken place in Tandang Sora's barn in Gulod, Barangay Banlat, Quezon City.
Some of the apparent confusion is in part due to the double meanings of the terms "Balintawak" and "Kalookan" at the turn of the century. Balintawak referred both to a specific place in modern Caloocan and a wider area which included parts of modern Quezon City. Similarly, Kalookan referred to modern Caloocan and also a wider area which included modern Quezon City and part of modern Pasig. Pugad Lawin, Pasong Tamo, Kangkong and other specific places were all in "greater Balintawak", which was in turn part of "greater Caloocan".
The name "Pugad Lawin" does not appear on maps before World War II, and in Philippine historiography until some Katipuneros like Valenzuela protested the traditional identification with Balintawak starting in the late 1920s and early 1930s. These assertions were contested by other Katipuneros such as Guillermo Masangkay.
(1810). However, el grito de rebelion strictly refers to a decision or call to revolt. It does not necessarily connote shouting, unlike the Filipino Sigaw.
For his 1956 book The Revolt of the Masses Teodoro Agoncillo defined "the Cry" as the tearing of cedulas, departing from precedent. His version was based on the later testimonies of Pio Valenzuela and others who claimed the cry took place in Pugad Lawin instead of Balintawak. Valenzuela's version, through Agoncillo's influence, became the basis of the current stance of the Philippine government. In 1963, President Diosdado Macapagal
ordered the official commemorations shifted to Pugad Lawin, Quezon City
on August 23.
nation state" involves the setting up of an national insurgent government through the Katipunan with Bonifacio as President in Banlat, Pasong Tamo on August 24, 1896 - after the tearing of cedulas but before the first skirmish. This was called the Republika ng Katagalugan (Tagalog
Republic).
and other Katipuneros spent Good Friday
in the caves of Mt. Pamitinan in Montalban (now part of Rizal province). They wrote "long live Philippine independence" on the cave walls, which some Filipino historians consider the "first cry" (el primer grito).
in the Philippines.
The first annual commemoration of the Cry occurred in Balintawak in 1908 after the American colonial government repealed the Sedition Law. In 1911 a monument to the Cry (a lone Katipunero popularly identified with Bonifacio) was erected at Balintawak; it was later transferred to Vinzons Hall in the University of the Philippines-Diliman, Quezon City. In 1984, the National Historical Institute of the Philippines
installed a commemorative plaque in Pugad Lawin.
Philippine Revolution
The Philippine Revolution , called the "Tagalog War" by the Spanish, was an armed military conflict between the people of the Philippines and the Spanish colonial authorities which resulted in the secession of the Philippine Islands from the Spanish Empire.The Philippine Revolution began in August...
against Spanish
Spanish Empire
The Spanish Empire comprised territories and colonies administered directly by Spain in Europe, in America, Africa, Asia and Oceania. It originated during the Age of Exploration and was therefore one of the first global empires. At the time of Habsburgs, Spain reached the peak of its world power....
rule.
At the close of August 1896, members of the Katipunan
Katipunan
The Katipunan was a Philippine revolutionary society founded by anti-Spanish Filipinos in Manila in 1892, whose primary aim was to gain independence from Spain through revolution. The society was initiated by Filipino patriots Andrés Bonifacio, Teodoro Plata, Ladislao Diwa, and others on the night...
secret society (Katipuneros) led by Andrés Bonifacio
Andres Bonifacio
Andrés Bonifacio y de Castro was a Filipino nationalist and revolutionary. He was a founder and later Supremo of the Katipunan movement which sought the independence of the Philippines from Spanish colonial rule and started the Philippine Revolution...
rose up in revolt somewhere in an area referred to as Kalookan, wider than the jurisdiction of present-day Caloocan City
Caloocan City
The City of Caloocan is one of the cities and municipalities that comprises the Metro Manila region in the Philippines. It is a major residential area inside Metro Manila...
and overlapping into present-day Quezon City
Quezon City
Quezon City is the former capital and the most populous city in the Philippines. Located on the island of Luzon, Quezon City is one of the cities and municipalities that make up Metro Manila, the National Capital Region. The city was named after Manuel L...
.
Originally the term "Cry" referred to the first skirmish between the Katipuneros and the Civil Guard
Civil Guard
The Civil Guard , often abbreviated in Hebrew to Mash'az is a volunteer organization of Israeli citizens which assists in daily police work. It is a subdivision of the Israel Police.-Organization:...
s (Guardia Civil). Other definitions of the term have been made over the years, but today it is popularly understood to refer to the tearing of community tax certificates (cédulas personales) by the rebels to mark their separation from Spain. This was literally accompanied by patriotic shouts.
Because of differing accounts and the ambiguity of place names in these accounts, the exact date and place of the Cry is disputed. From 1908 until 1963, the official stance was that the Cry occurred on August 26 in Balintawak. In 1963 the Philippine government declared a shift to August 23 in Pugad Lawin, Quezon City.
Different dates and places
Various accounts by participants and historians give differing dates and places for the Cry. An officer of the Spanish guardia civil, Lt. Olegario Diaz, stated that the Cry took place in Balintawak on August 25, 1896. Teodoro Kalaw in his 1925 book The Filipino Revolution, wrote that the event took place during the last week of August 1896 at Kangkong, Balintawak. Santiago Alvarez, the son of Mariano Alvarez, the leader of the Magdiwang faction in CaviteCavite
Cavite is a province of the Philippines located on the southern shores of Manila Bay in the CALABARZON region in Luzon, just 30 kilometers south of Manila. Cavite is surrounded by Laguna to the east, Metro Manila to the northeast, and Batangas to the south...
, stated in 1927 that the Cry took place in Bahay Toro, now in Quezon City
Quezon City
Quezon City is the former capital and the most populous city in the Philippines. Located on the island of Luzon, Quezon City is one of the cities and municipalities that make up Metro Manila, the National Capital Region. The city was named after Manuel L...
on August 24, 1896. Pio Valenzuela
Pio Valenzuela
Pío Valenzuela was a Filipino physician and patriot who was among the leaders of the Katipunan that started the Philippine Revolution against Spain...
, a close associate of Andrés Bonifacio
Andres Bonifacio
Andrés Bonifacio y de Castro was a Filipino nationalist and revolutionary. He was a founder and later Supremo of the Katipunan movement which sought the independence of the Philippines from Spanish colonial rule and started the Philippine Revolution...
declared in 1948 that it happened in Pugad Lawin on August 23, 1896. Gregorio Zaide stated in his books in 1954 that the "Cry" happened in Balintawak on August 26, 1896. Fellow historian Teodoro Agoncillo
Teodoro Agoncillo
Teodoro Andal Agoncillo was a 20th-century Filipino historian. He and his contemporary Renato Constantino were among the first Filipino historians renowned for promoting a distinctly nationalist point of view of Filipino history...
wrote in 1956 that it took place in Pugad Lawin on August 23, 1896, based on Pio Valenzuela's statement. Accounts by Milagros Guerrero, Emmanuel Encarnacion and Ramon Villegas claim the event to have taken place in Tandang Sora's barn in Gulod, Barangay Banlat, Quezon City.
Some of the apparent confusion is in part due to the double meanings of the terms "Balintawak" and "Kalookan" at the turn of the century. Balintawak referred both to a specific place in modern Caloocan and a wider area which included parts of modern Quezon City. Similarly, Kalookan referred to modern Caloocan and also a wider area which included modern Quezon City and part of modern Pasig. Pugad Lawin, Pasong Tamo, Kangkong and other specific places were all in "greater Balintawak", which was in turn part of "greater Caloocan".
The name "Pugad Lawin" does not appear on maps before World War II, and in Philippine historiography until some Katipuneros like Valenzuela protested the traditional identification with Balintawak starting in the late 1920s and early 1930s. These assertions were contested by other Katipuneros such as Guillermo Masangkay.
Definition of the Cry
The term "Cry" is derived from the Spanish el grito de rebelion (cry of rebellion) or el grito for short. Thus the Grito de Balintawak is comparable to Mexico's Grito de DoloresGrito de Dolores
The Grito de Dolores also known as El Grito de la Independencia , uttered from the small town of Dolores, near Guanajuato on April 19, 1810 is the event that marks the beginning of the Mexican War of Independence and is the most important national holiday observed in Mexico...
(1810). However, el grito de rebelion strictly refers to a decision or call to revolt. It does not necessarily connote shouting, unlike the Filipino Sigaw.
First skirmish
Up to the late 1920s, the Cry was generally identified with Balintawak. It was commemorated on August 26, considered the anniversary of the first encounter between the Katipuneros and the Guardia Civil. The "first shot" of the Revolution (el primer tiro) was fired at Banlat, Pasong Tamo, then considered a part of Balintawak and now part of Quezon City.Tearing of cédulas
Not all accounts relate the tearing of cédulas in the last days of August. Of the accounts that do, older ones identify the place where this occurred as Kangkong in Balintawak/Kalookan. Most also give the date of the cédula-tearing as August 26, in close proximity to the first skirmish. One Katipunero, Guillermo Masangkay, claimed cédulas were torn more than once - on the 24th as well as the 26th.For his 1956 book The Revolt of the Masses Teodoro Agoncillo defined "the Cry" as the tearing of cedulas, departing from precedent. His version was based on the later testimonies of Pio Valenzuela and others who claimed the cry took place in Pugad Lawin instead of Balintawak. Valenzuela's version, through Agoncillo's influence, became the basis of the current stance of the Philippine government. In 1963, President Diosdado Macapagal
Diosdado Macapagal
Diosdado Pangan Macapagal was the ninth President of the Philippines, serving from 1961 to 1965, and the sixth Vice President, serving from 1957 to 1961. He also served as a member of the House of Representatives, and headed the Constitutional Convention of 1970...
ordered the official commemorations shifted to Pugad Lawin, Quezon City
Quezon City
Quezon City is the former capital and the most populous city in the Philippines. Located on the island of Luzon, Quezon City is one of the cities and municipalities that make up Metro Manila, the National Capital Region. The city was named after Manuel L...
on August 23.
Formation of an insurgent government
An alternative definition of the Cry as the "birth of the FilipinoFilipino people
The Filipino people or Filipinos are an Austronesian ethnic group native to the islands of the Philippines. There are about 92 million Filipinos in the Philippines, and about 11 million living outside the Philippines ....
nation state" involves the setting up of an national insurgent government through the Katipunan with Bonifacio as President in Banlat, Pasong Tamo on August 24, 1896 - after the tearing of cedulas but before the first skirmish. This was called the Republika ng Katagalugan (Tagalog
Tagalog people
The Tagalog people are an ethnic group in the Philippines. The name Tagalog comes from either the native term tagá-ilog, meaning 'people living along the river', or another native term, tagá-alog, meaning 'people living along the ford', a ford being a shallow part of a river or stream where people,...
Republic).
Other Cries
In 1895 Bonifacio, Masangkay, Emilio JacintoEmilio Jacinto
Emilio Jacinto y Dizon , was a Filipino revolutionary known as the Brains of the Katipunan.-Biography:Born in Trozo, Tondo, Manila. Jacinto was the son of Mariano Jacinto and Josefa Dizon...
and other Katipuneros spent Good Friday
Good Friday
Good Friday , is a religious holiday observed primarily by Christians commemorating the crucifixion of Jesus Christ and his death at Calvary. The holiday is observed during Holy Week as part of the Paschal Triduum on the Friday preceding Easter Sunday, and may coincide with the Jewish observance of...
in the caves of Mt. Pamitinan in Montalban (now part of Rizal province). They wrote "long live Philippine independence" on the cave walls, which some Filipino historians consider the "first cry" (el primer grito).
Commemoration
The Cry is commemorated as National Heroes' Day, a public holidayPublic holiday
A public holiday, national holiday or legal holiday is a holiday generally established by law and is usually a non-working day during the year....
in the Philippines.
The first annual commemoration of the Cry occurred in Balintawak in 1908 after the American colonial government repealed the Sedition Law. In 1911 a monument to the Cry (a lone Katipunero popularly identified with Bonifacio) was erected at Balintawak; it was later transferred to Vinzons Hall in the University of the Philippines-Diliman, Quezon City. In 1984, the National Historical Institute of the Philippines
National Historical Institute (Philippines)
The National Historical Commission of the Philippines is part of the government of the Philippines...
installed a commemorative plaque in Pugad Lawin.