The Cry of Pugad Lawin (Filipino: Sigaw sa Pugad Lawin, Spanish: Grito de Pugad Lawin) was the beginning of the Philippine Revolution against the Spanish Empire.
In late August 1896, members of the Katipunan led by Andrés Bonifacio revolted somewhere around Caloocan, which included parts of present-day Quezon City.
Originally the term cry referred to the first clash between the Katipuneros and the Civil Guards (Guardia Civil). The cry could also refer to the tearing up of community tax certificates (cédulas personales) in defiance of their allegiance to Spain. This was literally accompanied by patriotic shouts.
Because accounts of the event vary, the exact date and place of the event is unknown. From 1908 until 1963, the event was thought to have occurred on August 26 in Balintawak. In 1963, the Philippine government declared August 23 to be the date of the event in Quezon City.
Characterization of the event
The term "Cry" is translated from the Spanish el grito de rebelión (cry of rebellion) or el grito for short. Thus, the Grito de Balintawak is comparable to the 1810 Grito de Dolores which began the Mexican War of Independence. However, el grito de rebelión strictly refers to a decision or call to revolt, and does not necessarily connote literal shouting, unlike the Filipino term sigáw.
Accounts of the Cry
Guillermo Masangkay’s account
“On August 26, a big meeting was held in Balintawak, at the house of Apolonio Samson, then cabeza of that barrio of Caloocan. Among those who attended, I remember, were Bonifacio, Emilio Jacinto, Águedo del Rosario, Tomás Remigio, Briccio Pantas, Teodoro Plata, Pío Valenzuela, Enrique Pacheco, and Francisco Carreón. They were all leaders of the Katipunan and composed the board of directors of the organization. Delegates from Bulacan, Cabanatuan, Cavite, and Morong were also present.
“At about nine o'clock in the morning of August 26, the meeting was opened with Andrés Bonifacio presiding and Emilio Jacinto acting as secretary. The purpose was to discuss when the uprising was to take place. Teodoro Plata, Briccio Pantas, and Pío Valenzuela were all opposed to starting the revolution too early...Andrés Bonifacio, sensing that he would lose the discussion then, left the session hall and talked to the people, who were waiting outside for the result of the meeting of the leaders. He told the people that the leaders were arguing against starting the revolution early, and appealed to them in a fiery speech in which he said: "You remember the fate of our countrymen who were shot in Bagumbayan. Should we return now to the towns, the Spaniards will only shoot us. Our organization has been discovered and we are all marked men. If we don't start the uprising, the Spaniards will get us anyway. What then, do you say?"
"Revolt!" the people shouted as one.
Bonifacio then asked the people to give a pledge that they were to revolt. He told them that the sign of slavery of the Filipinos were [sic] the cédula tax charged each citizen. "If it is true that you are ready to revolt... I want to see you destroy your cédulas. It will be a sign that all of us have declared our severance from the Spaniards.
The Cry of Balintawak occurred on August 26, 1896. The Cry, defined as that turning point when the Filipinos finally refused Spanish colonial dominion over the Philippine Islands. With tears in their eyes, the people as one man, pulled out their cédulas and tore them into pieces. It was the beginning of the formal declaration of separation from Spanish rule."Long Live the Philippine Republic!", the cry of the people. An article from The Sunday Tribune Magazine on August 21, 1932 featured the statements of the eyewitness account by Katipunan General Guillermo Masangkay, "A Katipunero Speaks". Masangkay recounts the "Cry of Balintawak", stating that on August 26, 1896, a big meeting was held in Balintawak at the house of Apolonio Samson, then the cabeza of that barrio of Caloocan. At about nine o'clock in the morning of August 26, the meeting was opened with Andrés Bonifacio presiding and Emilio Jacinto acting as Secretary. In August 1896, after the Katipunan was discovered, Masangkay joined Bonifacio, Emilio Jacinto, and others in a clandestine meeting held on the 26th of that month at Apolonio Samson’s house in Caloocan.
Initially, the leaders of the movement quarreled over strategy and tactics, and many of its members questioned the wisdom of an open rebellion due to the lack of arms and logistical support. However, after Bonifacio’s intense and convincing speech, everyone destroyed their cedulas to symbolize their defiance towards Spain and, together, raised the cry of “Revolt".
Pío Valenzuela’s account
In 1936, Pío Valenzuela, along with Briccio Pantas and Enrique Pacheco said (translated into English) "The first Cry of the revolution did not happen in Balintawak where the monument is, but in a place called Pugad Lawin." In 1940, a research team of a forerunner of the National Historical Institute (NHI) which included Valenzuela, identified the location as part of sitio of Gulod, Banlat, Kalookan City. IN 1964, the NHI described this location as the house of Tandang Sora.
The first place of refuge of Andrés Bonifacio, Emilio Jacinto, Procopio Bonifacio, Teodoro Plata, Águedo del Rosario, and myself was Balintawak, the first five arriving there on August 19, and I on August 20, 1896. The first place where some 500 members of the Katipunan met on August 22, 1896, was the house and yard of Apolonio Samson at Kangkong. Aside from the persons mentioned above, among those who were there were Briccio Pantas, Alejandro Santiago, Ramón Bernardo, Apolonio Samson, and others. Here, views were only exchanged, and no resolution was debated or adopted. It was at Pugad Lawin, the house, store-house, and yard of Juan Ramos, son of Melchora Aquino, where over 1,000 members of the Katipunan met and carried out considerable debate and discussion on August 23, 1896. The discussion was on whether or not the revolution against the Spanish government should be started on August 29, 1896... After the tumultuous meeting, many of those present tore their cedula certificates and shouted "Long live the Philippines! Long live the Philippines!"
Santiago Álvarez’s account
Santiago Álvarez, regarding the Cry of Balintawak flaunted specific endeavors, as stated:
“We started our trek to Kangkong at about eleven that night. We walked through the rain over dark expanses of muddy meadows and fields. Our clothes drenched and our bodies numbed by the cold wind, we plodded wordlessly. It was nearly two in the morning when we reached the house of Brother Apolonio Samson in Kangkong. We crowded into the house to rest and warm ourselves. We were so tired that, after hanging our clothes out to dry, we soon fell asleep. The Supremo began assigning guards at five o'clock the following morning, Saturday 22 August 1896. He placed a detachment at the Balintawak boundary and another at the backyard to the north of the house where we were gathered. No less than three hundred men assembled at the bidding of the Supremo Andrés Bonifacio. Altogether, they carried assorted weapons, bolos, spears, daggers, a dozen small revolvers and a rifle used by its owner, one Lieutenant Manuel, for hunting birds. The Supremo Bonifacio was restless because of fear of a sudden attack by the enemy. He was worried over the thought that any of the couriers carrying the letter sent by Emilio Jacinto could have been intercepted; and in that eventuality, the enemy would surely know their whereabouts and attack them on the sly. He decided that it was better to move to a site called Bahay Toro.
At ten o'clock that Sunday morning, 23 August 1896 we arrived at Bahay Toro. Our membership had grown to more than 500 and the house, yard, and warehouse of Cabesang Melchora was getting crowded with us Katipuneros. The generous hospitality of Cabesang Melchora was no less than that of Apolonio Samson. Like him, she also opened her granary and had plenty of rice pounded and animals slaughtered to feed us. The following day, Monday, 24 August, more Katipuneros came and increased our number to more than a thousand. The Supremo called a meeting at ten o'clock that morning inside Cabesang Melchora's barn. Flanking him on both sides at the head of the table were Dr. Pío Valenzuela, Emilio Jacinto, Briccio Pantas, Enrique Pacheco, Ramón Bernardo, Pantaleón Torres, Francisco Carreón, Vicente Fernández, Teodoro Plata, and others. We were so crowded that some stood outside the barn. The following matters were approved at the meeting:
- An uprising to defend the people's freedom was to be started at midnight on Saturday, 29 August 1896;
- To be on a state of alert so that the Katipunan forces could strike should the situation arise where the enemy was at a disadvantage. Thus, the uprising could be started earlier than the agreed time of midnight of 29 August 1896 should a favorable opportunity arise at that date. Everyone should steel himself and be resolute in the struggle that was imminent; and
- The immediate objective was the capture of Manila.
After the adjournment of the meeting at twelve noon, there were tumultuous shouts of "Long live the Sons of the People!"
Asserted dates and venues
Various accounts give differing dates and places for the Cry of Pugad Lawin. An officer of the Spanish Guardia Civil, Lt. Olegario Díaz, stated that the Cry took place in Balintawak on August 25, 1896. Historian Teodoro Kalaw in his 1925 book The Filipino Revolution wrote that the event took place within the last week of August 1896 at Kangkong, Balintawak. Santiago Álvarez, a "Katipunero" and son of Mariano Álvarez, 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. Pío Valenzuela, a close associate of Andrés Bonifacio, declared in 1948 that it happened in Pugad Lawin on August 23, 1896. Historian 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 Pío Valenzuela's statement. Accounts by historians Milagros Guerrero, Emmanuel Encarnación and Ramón Villegas claim the event to have taken place in Tandang Sora's barn in Gulod, Barrio Banlat, Caloocan (now part of Quezon City).
Some of the apparent confusion is in part due to the double meanings of the terms Balintawak and Caloocan. 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, Caloocan 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".
Prior events
These events vitalized the unity of the Filipino People and brought "thirst" for independence. The Cry of the Rebellion in Pugad Lawin, marked the start of the Philippine Revolution in 1896 which eventually led to the Philippine Declaration of Independence in 1898.
Cavite Mutiny
On January 20, 1872, about 200 Filipino military personnel of Fort San Felipe Arsenal in Cavite, Philippines, staged a mutiny which in a way led to the Philippine Revolution in 1896. The 1872 Cavite Mutiny was precipitated by the removal of long-standing personal benefits to the workers such as tax (tribute) and forced labor exemptions by order from the Governor-General Rafael de Izquierdo.
Izquierdo had replaced Governor-General Carlos María de la Torre some months earlier in 1871, immediately rescinding Torre’s liberal measures and imposing his iron-fisted rule. Opposed to any hint of reformist or nationalistic movements in the Philippines, his tenure of less than two years is remembered for his cruelty to the Filipinos. Of note is how he used the mutiny to implicate liberals, as well as the barbaric February 1872 execution of three priests blamed for the unrest: Mariano Gómez, José Burgos, and Jacinto Zamora, later collectively known as Gomburza.
They soon became a watchword for down-trodden Filipinos seeking justice and freedom from Spain. It is well to remember that the seeds of nationalism that were sown in Cavite blossomed to the Philippine Revolution and later to the Declaration of Independence by Emilio Aguinaldo which took place also in Cavite.