Philippines: Country Profile Part II - A

Andres Bonifacio Profile

Bonifacio’s Family, Education and Work

Father: Santiago Bonifacio

Mother: Catalina de Castro

Brother and Sisters: Ciriaco, Procorpio, Espiridina, Troadio and Maxima

Wife: Monica - First wife who died of leprosy; Gregoria - Second wife

Education: High School (Primary) Drop-out; Self-Educated Individual

Professional Jobs: Market Peddler, Clerk-Messenger and Sales Agent

Place of Birth: Tondo, Manila

Date of Birth: November 30, 1863

Date of Demise: May 10, 1897

Notes on Bonifacio’s Family and Education

Andres Bonifacio was born on November 30, 1863 in Tondo which was one of the poor and heavily populated areas of Manila.
His parents, Santiago and Catalina, were a couple who belonged to the working class, although at one time his father worked as mayor of Tondo.
Andres was the eldest son of the Bonifacio couple. He had three brothers and two sisters. His brothers were Ciriaco, Procorpio and Troadio while his sisters were Espiridina and Maxima.
Santiago and Catalina had a very difficult time supporting their family but they were able to send Bonifacio to a school managed by Guillermo Osmena of Cebu. However, the early deaths of Santiago and Catalina during the early 1980’s forced Andres to leave school and to find work.
Andres became the head of the family. He worked as a market peddler in order to support himself and his brothers and sisters. He was a good draftsman and he possessed a good penmanship. These were talents which he applied in work. He made canes and paper fans which he and his brothers and sisters sold in the market, and he made posters for a business firm.
During the latter part of his adolescence, he worked for Fleming and Company as clerk-messenger. After sometime, he was promoted to the position of sales agent because of his honesty and hard-work. Later, he transferred to Fressell and Company to earn a higher income; at the same time he continued to sell canes and paper fans to augment his income.
Bonifacio spent his free time reading books. He had little leisure time because of his work but he was a voracious reader and a smart individual with a thirst for knowledge. He had a collection of books which included Rizal’s Noli Me Tangere and El Filibusterismo, Hugo’s Les Miserables and Sue’s The Wandering Jews. Also in his collection were the Bible and books on the French Revolution, the Ruins of Palmyra, International Law, Penal and Civil Codes and the Lives of U.S. Presidents.
When Bonifacio reached the age of maturity, he married Monica who was his neighbor and who died of leprosy. In 1892, Andres met an eighteen year old woman named Gregoria whom he married. In 1895, Gregoria gave birth to a son who died due to smallpox a few months later.

Notes on Andres Bonifacio and the Katipunan

It was Andres Bonifacio and a handful of Filipino patriots who organized and established the secret society called the Kataastaasan Kagalanggalangang Katipunan ng mga Anak ng Bayan (Highest and Most Respected Sons of the People) or the Katipunan. The original members of the Katipunan included Andres Bonifacio, Valentin Diaz, Teodoro Plata, Ladislao Diwa and Deodato Arellano.
The birth of this revolutionary organization came on July 7, 1892 in Tondo, Manila. It was a direct outcome of the arrest of Jose Rizal on July 6. Rizal was the leading figure of the reform movement that was sweeping the Philippines during the last two decades of the 19th century when the Philippines was under Spanish colonial rule. Rizal’s arrest and deportation to Dapitan in Mindanao was a gut-wrenching signal that Spain was not about to grant the reforms they were asking for.
The Katipunan had three main goals. These were: 1) to establish a free and independent Philippine state; 2) to assist the poor and the oppressed and to defend them when needed; and 3) to instruct Filipino patriots on good morals and manners and strength of character and to teach them about the evils of religious fanaticism.
Structurally, the Katipunan was built upon three governing bodies. These were the Kataastaasang Sanggunian or the Supreme Council which was the highest governing body, the Sanggunian Bayan or Provincial Council which represented the Katipunan members in the provinces and the Sangguniang Balangay or Popular council which represented the Katipunan members of a municipality or town. In addition to this, members were ranked according to grades. There were three levels of membership: the first grade, the second grade and the third grade. First-grade members were called “Katipon,” second-grade members were called “Kawal” and third-grade members were called “Bayani.” The third grade was the highest level.
Having fully established the Katipunan, Bonifacio continued to work hard for the revolutionary society. In order to increase the Katipunan’s membership, he abolished the triangle system which was the initial method of recruitment and allowed members to take in as many new recruits as possible. New members were required to undergo initiation rites which required them to swear to the secrets of the Katipunan, to defend the ideals and objectives of the society and to sign the Katipunan membership register with their own blood, which was an ancient ritual called blood compact. In addition, new members were required to pay an entrance fee of one real fuerte or twenty-five centavos while all members were required to give a monthly contribution of medio real or twelve centavos.
The first president of the Katipunan was Deodato Arellano. In 1893, he was replaced by Ramon Basa who was also replaced by Bonifacio as president or supremo of the Katipunan in 1895.
The main objective of the Katipunan was to establish an independent and democratic Philippine state. To achieve this objective, members had to be indoctrinated with the rules and ideals of the society which were laid down by Andres Bonifacio and Emilio Jacinto and they were expected to follow, strictly, the rules and to take into their hearts the ideals of the society.