Today, November 30, 2011, we Filipinos celebrate the life and labors of a revolutionary hero, Andres Bonifacio.
We know him as the Supremo of the Kataastaasang Kagalanggalangan Katipunan ng mga Anak ng Bayan (KKK) or the Katipunan and regarded him as the Father of the Revolution. But we may all agree in the things we know about him as a great man of our history, it is though ironical that we still know little about who he really was in our very history as a Filipino nation. I mean to say that we may venerate him as a great national hero who fought for our independence and be very gratitude of his contributions to our country, yet on the other hand, many of us especially the youth (with the exemption of those who did studied history reasonably well) have considered him still as an underdog hero and distorted his image in our historical viewpoints. He has been treated as a too radical, dictatorial and worst ignorant revolutionary hero who is as a plebeian grew up in the slums, devoid of proper education. We treated the Independence movement he headed as a “revolution from below” but missed to realize that what transpired from that revolution was the arousal of a nationalist sentiment that united all classes in our society during the Spanish colonial rule. This may be for the fact that Jose Rizal has overshadowed his significance.
Bonifacio just like Rizal flared the flame of nationalism in our hearts in a brave act of love for country. His insights of independence were so noble that he said freedom of country is measured in liberating the oppressed from their chains. He is him who said that love of God is love of country, and as well, the love of one’s fellowmen. His ideals are a great part of our making as a nation.
The fight to achieve a Filipino nation started by the middle class Propagandists and Filipino reformists like Jose Rizal was continued by the Katipunero government spearheaded by Bonifacio at the same breadth albeit by means of armed struggle. He never failed to be there for our Inang Bayan just as the pursuit for reforms already stopped working on our desires and hopes. With the middle class so disheartened to do anything more, the presence and leadership Bonifacio displayed with great bravery and the strong desire for the good of our country echoed out to make a powerful national force to stand against the oppressors. Though he failed, his actions and ideals were successful to cause great changes. We missed the point to realize that in our constant struggle for independence, a great man stood out to awaken the spirit of our aspirations and ideals of a Filipino nation, the pride that was dearly held and hardly strived by our heroes and forefathers to attain. With this, he is rightfully of character to be admired as a hero of great heart. He could not be judged of poor education just as he had proven himself possessing not just a great heart but also of as such a mind and philosophy so great and honourable in purpose and action he heeded to the realization of his country’s goals and aspirations.
Who is now Andres Bonifacio in relation to the youth of today? It is somehow obsequious to know that just in time of our commemoration of Bonifacio’s 148th birthday, a bill in Congress for the inclusion of the life, works and ideals of Andres Bonifacio in the college curricula is being pushed and urged. The bill, HB 4353 or “Andres Bonifacio Act of 2011”, proposed by Kabataan Partylist Rep. Raymond “Mong” Palatino, aims to “strengthen the values of nationalism and patriotism among the youth”. This bill reminded me of our Rizal Course which started as a proposal and passed into law on June 12, 1956 by President Ramon Magsaysay. Its passage was one of the most controversial in our country. But its relevance to the enlightenment and awakening of Filipino nationalism among the youth today is unparalleled if not only for certain factors such as on the part of the youth taking it in less relevance to their studies, treating it only as another required course to be passed. Asked for my opinion, I have nothing to be against the Andres Bonifacio Act as a student but I am not quite amenable for such another failure of making a separate course for the study of Andres Bonifacio. Here I mean to point out our hypocrisy and failure of passing into a law another 3 units of burden for college students like me. My position is on the part of us students being those still who remain the one that carry the burden of our ignored lack of a sense of history and value of heritage for our policy-makers to rather improve our use of history as a tool for nation-building. Well, let us agree to the fact that we still do not have a common history to represent us as a Filipino nation. And on the part of the students of history, let us acknowledge that we are not taking our history too seriously. Just in our one hour of studying our History, Filipino and Rizal course classes, we do not pay much attention to the relevance and essence of our lessons of our past, heritage and culture. We even have this tendency to exalt and look up to the history of the west than our very own. We do not make ourselves aware of our love of country and realize our national-identity. Personally, I find returning the study of Spanish language more urgent and critical in studying our history. We might understand our history better if our primary sources will be accessible in terms of language than our ignorance of them now. But if the bill on the study of the life, works and ideals of Andres Bonifacio is to be ever passed, I will not be somehow against it but I would rather love to seat in that class discussing the examples of a Filipino like Andres Bonifacio.
For me, his life is of great importance to us Filipinos especially the youth today. His life has been a great example of persistence amidst the difficulties in life, a model of leadership and love for education despite his misfortunes, and a defender of freedom till death is the price. He portrays the life of most of us Filipinos today. He is, in his life, among us. He understands our situation and he would have not wanted to see us remain under these chains and as much as he could with all his strength will fight to his life for our liberation from our many imprisonments as a country today. His life is a message of taking stance and that of standing up for the cause of our country and for the sake of our fellowmen. He still calls each one of us for this purpose. Bonifacio and the other Katipuneros’ vigorous campaign, as well as the labors of the Propagandists and Reformists like Jose Rizal, to attain the independence and nation-state-hood of our country, the Philippines, is not yet finished. We need more Filipinos, the like of Jose Rizal and Andres Bonifacio to lead among us and we must make it true that each of us is to take our stand among the long line of great patriotic and nationalistic Filipinos in blood and spirit. Our national consciousness is what will all take us to our aspirations of a better Philippines in the future.
References:
Agoncillo, Teodoro A. (1990) History of the Filipino People. Quezon City: Garotech Publishing.
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