Comparing bonifacio and rizal


LET ME EXPRESS THESE NON-HISTORIAN'S thoughts about a patriot of our
land whose birth anniversary we shall celebrate this coming Wednesday.
It is an official holiday declared by law in his honor as Bonifacio
Day.

Andres Bonifacio was the unknown indio who organized and led the
Katipunan that was to ignite the Philippine Revolution of 1896 and
ultimately free this country from Spanish rule after more than three
centuries of oppression. That enslavement might have continued
indefinitely (probably up to now, considering the tribulation we
patiently endured during the ordeal of martial law), if he had not
chosen to defy the alien tyrant in his impregnable citadel.

Bonifacio was not known as a civic leader and did not belong to the
principalia of middle-class educated natives that included among its
members Jose Rizal and other propagandists. He joined the Liga Filipina
but was not prominently active in it. He was a private person with a
secret dream and consuming passion: to

form the Kataastaasan at Kagalanggalang na Katipunan ng manga Anak ng
Bayan. It was a task in which he excelled and succeeded as an efficient
organizer and a dedicated plotter.

I think it was the historian Teodoro Agoncillo who disagreed with the
popular notion that as between Bonifacio and Rizal, it was the former
who was the realist and the latter the idealist. Agoncillo held the
opposite view, with which I humbly concur.

Bonifacio was the idealist because he believed the Katipuneros would
win despite their limited resources because they were fired by the
spirit of liberty. Rizal, who was more practical, argued that an appeal
to reason and justice was sharper than the Filipinos' rusted bolos
against the Spanish artillery that he challenged with the Noli and the
Fili.

Both of them, to their everlasting credit, died for their convictions.
It is regrettable, though, that while Rizal's execution inspired the
nation to great sacrifices in their fight for freedom, Bonifacio's
death did not attract similar sentiments. He was killed in a secluded
place away from the now hallowed field where Rizal was felled. And to
deepen Bonifacio's tragedy, it created little interest among the people
he had died to help make free.

It is a sad but unavoidable assessment that for all his achievements in
forming the Katipunan that began with a small group of patriots until
it swelled into an avenging nation, Bonifacio was less successful as a
soldier on the field of battle. Let us note, but not derisively, that
his military record was less than impressive, unlike that of the former
school teacher from Kawit who became a better general.

Emilio Aguinaldo's skirmishes against the Spanish forces catapulted him
to national prominence and potential leadership in the fight for
independence. Soon people were comparing him with, and even against,
the Supremo of the Katipunan. The man who shouted the historic Cry of
Pugad Lawin on Aug. 26, 1896, was now facing a formidable rival for the
leadership of the Revolution. Bonifacio was to lose that final fight.

To the military shortcomings of Bonifacio must be added his lack of
political acumen. This was demonstrated when he agreed to go to Cavite
for what turned out to be a showdown between him and Aguinaldo.
Bonifacio might have proposed that the meeting be held in his native
Manila, which was after all the capital of the country, or if this was
impractical, at least a neutral place. Instead he willingly went to his
rival's bailiwick, where his followers were outnumbered by Aguinaldo's
comprovincianos.

Aguinaldo was elected president of the new government to replace the
Katipunan, and Bonifacio, the erstwhile acknowledged leader of the
Revolution, was demoted to a mere member of the Cabinet. Outwitted and
outflanked, Bonifacio refused to recognize the election and angrily
marched away with his followers. His defiance was considered treasonous
by a special military tribunal that sentenced him to death.

Aguinaldo reportedly commuted the sentence but later restored the
original penalty upon the advice, or pressure, of some generals. It was
unceremoniously carried out on May 10, 1897, and Andres Bonifacio died,
like Rizal and in his own words, "without seeing the dawn."

When the United States took over our country while our forebears were
still savoring that elusive dawn, the new rulers had to choose for our
national hero between Jose Rizal and Andres Bonifacio. They opted for
Rizal as the man of peace in preference to Bonifacio whose tempestuous
nature might start another revolution, this time against them.

It was a wise choice for there is no denying the magnificent role Rizal
played in the winning of our freedom. But his selection did not
diminish the greatness of Andres Bonifacio, who stands equally tall
with him among the heroes of our race.

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