“The courage showed by
Bonifacio and the Katipuneros in Pinaglabanan served as the flame that
started the wildfire of revolution [against colonial Spain],” Aquino
said on Friday in a speech at the Pinaglabanan Shrine in suburban San
Juan.
“Every Filipino knows the
story of Bonifacio. He was orphaned at a young age and forced to eke
out a living and support his siblings. He had no formal education but
this did not prevent him from teaching himself how to read and write.
The readings spurred critical thinking, and his self-upbringing
strengthened his character. He grew up in poverty and these factors
opened his eyes to injustices around him and caused him to strive for
justice and lead a revolution,” Aquino said.
The Pinaglabanan was where
the members of revolutionary Katipuneros fired the opening salvos on
August 30, 1896, in the war for independence against Spain. A shrine
with a woman brandishing a bolo or machete and holding her two young
sons now stands at the site.
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“It was in Pinaglabanan that
the seed of revolution was planted in the minds of Filipinos, it is also
where it was realised that victory against a colonial oppressor is
possible. The shrine is also a symbol that our freedom was not won
without a struggle,” Aquino said.
Aquino hoped the Philippines will never run out of Bonifacios.
“There will
always be Filipinos who will be ready to answer the call of the flag…to
bring change. There will always be Andreses who will say that: ‘I may
fall but I will always stand up, prevail and dream’,” Aquino said.
The activities in
Pinaglabanan are part of a year-long commemoration of the life, works,
and achievements of the nobleman Bonifacio culminating in the
sesquicentennial of his birth on November 30, 2013.
Spearheaded by the National
Historical Commission of the Philippines with the support of the
uniformed services, and other government agencies, numerous activities
and events are lined up for Filipinos to remember and celebrate
Bonifacio, who is the recognised “Supremo) of the Katipunan, the secret
society that started the revolution.
Bonifacio’s death was a
tragic one in the country’s struggle for independence and a
controversial one. He was allegedly killed by rivals in the
revolutionary movement in a faction led by Emilio Aguinaldo, the First
President of the Philippine Republic
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