Unlike most heroes, local or foreign, with official holidays dedicated to them in the calendar, Andres Bonifacio’s day is celebrated not on the day he was “martyred” for his cause but on his birthday, the feast of St. Andrew. Hence, Bonifacio Day comes every November 30.
The reason for this is not alien to most, as the founder of the Katipunan’s death was not one many are particularly fond of recalling. Bonifacio, as history tells us, was executed and his body was never to be found.
So, how did one of the leading figures in the movement that ignited the spark that eventually — although it was a long eventuality — led to the freedom of Filipinos from foreign control? Was Bonifacio really who historians have loved to portray him to be?
Born in 1863 on la fiesta de San Andres, Bonifacio was born the first of six children to a mestiza mother from Zambales and, to use the term of his times, an indio father from Taguig. Although supposedly orphaned and left alone to fend for his family, he managed to educate himself and even had time to pursue hobbies like acting in theater. He also did not work as a simple laborer, because his post as “bodeguero” was more akin to a store or factory manager today.
The reason why some of what we know about Bonifacio is flawed is because there are no clear primary sources that give use these details — details that first appeared in the biography of the Katipunan leader written by Epifanio de los Santos, who did not make it clear where he got the information about Bonifacio’s early life.
It does not help that the most famous image of Bonifacio that many Filipinos have is one of him sporting a camisa chino and a neckerchief, often depicted to be red. This is sometimes coupled with the Katipunero wielding a bolo, an image we owe to the respective monuments made by Ramon Martinez y Lazaro and Guillermo Tolentino. This image, however, contrasts with the only extant photo of the Supremo, which shows him wearing a suit and a tie.
What is clear, however, from the various biographies and from letters by and about Bonifacio, is his personality. From narratives by contemporaries, it is known that the co-founder of the Katipunan had a very strong personality. He was charismatic, to be sure. But he was also quick to anger, as has been described on more than one occasion. He was a romantic, in the original sense of the word, having taught himself an appreciation for the classics and for the enlightenment ideals in vogue during his time.
It was a combination of these, plus his ill-fated Katipunan in Tondo and his journey to Cavite that led to his downfall.
It is, perhaps, a better service to the nation and to Bonifacio to acknowledge not just his heroism but also his flaws. Heroes, after all, are also human and it is not uncommon for them to be flawed. One might argue that it is precisely because of these flaws, which they fought to overcome, that they deserve to be counted as heroes.
Bonifacio turned tragic hero not entirely because of his fault, but also because of the ambitions of those around him. Some might argue that it was Bonifacio who had ambitions that did not serve the revolution well. Perhaps. But, at the end of the day, it was not Bonifacio who had his way.
Arrested and subjected to a military trial that, for all intents and purposes, was a farce (Bonifacio’s lawyer, for example, also acted as a judge), Bonifacio was sentenced to death. Although the sentence was later changed by Aguinaldo, this commutation was not communicated through the ranks, as Bonifacio and his brother Procopio were shot in the mountains of Maragondon as the Spanish troops reclaimed Cavite with more seasoned troops. It was in that panicked moment that the once Supremo of the Katipunan met his end.
Is Bonifacio a hero? He is because, as history shows, heroes leave great lessons. And Bonifacio’s life (and death) is one lesson that many Filipinos are yet to fully learn from.