Gregoria de Bonifacio, “Kasulatan” sent to Emilio

Jacinto, c. June 1897: the annex to Mga tala ng aking buhay

Jim Richardson
February 2014, revised May 2018

Source: Photographs of the original document, taken by León Gallery for the
catalogue of the Gallery’s 2018 mid-year auction; Transcription by Ambeth R.
Ocampo from a photocopy of the document, appended to his “Andres Bonifacio:
Mito o Realidad?” First Annual Andres Bonifacio/ Parian Lectures, Bulwagang
Katipunan, Manila City Hall, November 29, 1989 (mimeograph).1

Introduction

Gregoria de Jesus concludes her brief memoir Mga tala ng

aking buhay at the point she went to join Bonifacio in the
Katipunan camp at Balara in November 1896. The subsequent
tragedy in Cavite is an episode she understandably chooses not
to revisit. “With respect to the controversy between Bonifacio
and Aguinaldo,” she writes, “which originated from the
disorderly elections at Tejeros, and… which culminated in the
execution of Bonifacio, I will say nothing here, since [an account
of] the same can be read in a document (“kasulatan”) I sent to
Emilio Jacinto…”2 The full text of this document has still not
been published to this day.

The document bears neither a date nor any indication of where

it was written, but its content suggests that Gregoria
dispatched it very soon after she came back from Cavite to the
vicinity of Manila. Most probably it was written around June
1897, and the place it was written – the place she refers to as
“here” – was most probably the town of Pasig, which is where
the KKK government “in the north” was based, headed by Julio
Nakpil.3 It is not known where the document would have
reached Emilio Jacinto at this time – perhaps in Laguna – and
nor is it known who else, besides Jacinto, she is addressing
when she exclaims “Ay, my brothers!”

Gregoria signs the “kasulatan” in her married name, Gregoria

de Bonifacio. Twenty-two years old and just widowed, her loss

1
is fresh and raw. Her pained outrage at her husband’s killing is
intensified by the cruelty she herself has suffered. Bonifacio’s
executioners had not even had the honesty or common decency
to tell her what they had done. They had left her with the false
hope that he was still alive, and had let her roam for days and
weeks in the mountains, vainly searching for him.

The man who had ordered the execution, Gregoria concludes

bitterly, Emilio Aguinaldo, was the foremost traitor to the
Katipunan. If he had been expelled, as he should have been,
the division and bloodshed could have been averted.

Gregoria’s chronicle of the discord that came to a head in May

1897, therefore, is at once personal and political. As might be
expected, her narrative touches on many of the same disputes
and tensions that Bonifacio himself had recounted in his own
letters to Jacinto, and it obviously takes the same partisan
perspective. She alludes, for example, to the hostility toward
Bonifacio that existed within the Magdalo council virtually
from the start of his time in Cavite; to the furtive manner in
which the Magdalo leaders dealt with Spanish peace overtures;
to the agenda for the Tejeros convention being changed at a late
hour to give precedence to the formation of a government; to the
cheating that sullied Aguinaldo’s election as president at the
convention; and to how Bonifacio’s ability to serve in the new
government had been challenged by Daniel Tirona, an insult
that caused the convention to end in disarray.

But the “kasulatan” also alludes to frictions that Bonifacio’s

letters do not mention, and which rarely, if ever, figure in the
secondary literature. An assembly of the leading revolutionists
held after Bonifacio’s arrival, Gregoria indicates, foreshadowed
the strife that beset the Tejeros convention three months later.
There were disagreements about how the meeting – presumably
the Imus assembly of December 1896 – should be convened, and
about whether the decisions taken by assembly should stand or
be revoked. Another vexed issue, Gregoria says, was weaponry.
Bonifacio and his associates angrily believed that Magdalo
people were intercepting and stealing the military supplies that
were being sent down from the north, and had perhaps also
taken all the rifles that were supposedly to be delivered by ship

2
from overseas.4 There are hints in the document, too, about the
antagonisms inflamed by the desperate shortage of food in the
liberated zone of Cavite, particularly in April and May 1897.5

The history of the “kasulatan”

Like so many Katipunan documents, the “kasulatan” written by

Gregoria de Jesus has a complicated history. Together with
other papers that had belonged to Emilio Jacinto, it was
probably acquired by the historian Epifanio de los Santos in
1904 or thereabouts.6 He first brought it to public notice when
he included a translation of a lengthy extract (more or less the
latter half of the text) in a biographical article on Bonifacio that
appeared in Philippine Review, in Spanish in 1917 and in
English the following year.7

Upon the death of De los Santos in 1928, his collection was

inherited by his son, José P. Santos, who was also a historian.
Santos was acquainted with Gregoria de Jesus, and in fact she
dedicated Mga tala ng aking buhay to him, perhaps thankful
that he had encouraged her to write the memoir, and had
possibly helped her in some way. He wrote the foreword to the
memoir when the Tagalog text was published as a booklet in
1932.8 But when she refers in Mga tala to the “kasulatan” she
sent to Jacinto, Gregoria de Jesus rather oddly remarks that it
is now in the collection of José P. Santos “according to General
[Cipriano] Pacheco.” If she was in contact with Santos about her
memoir, as she evidently was, why could she not clarify the
whereabouts of the document with him directly, rather than
rely on what General Pacheco said? The answer is that Santos,
doubtless to his embarrassment, had misplaced it, just as he
misplaced four of Bonifacio’s letters to Jacinto.9

When the historian Leandro H. Fernandez made the first

translation of Mga tala into English in 1930, he noted that
“certain portions” of the “kasulatan” could not be found, but
that the “available portions” had been published in Spanish
translation by Epifanio de los Santos in 1917.10 This seems to
have been a euphemistic way of saying that the document had
been lost in its entirety, because whenever a Tagalog version of
the “available portions” was reproduced over the next few

3
decades it was not taken from the original text. It was a
retranslation into Tagalog, presumably made in the first
instance by José P. Santos from his father’s Spanish. Teodoro
Agoncillo, most notably, included this partial, retranslated text
in the appendices to The Revolt of the Masses.11

José P. Santos died in 1964, and his collection then passed to

his eldest daughter. In the 1980s she sold the collection to a
dealer, and he in turn sold it to private collectors. At some
point during this passage of time, the long-lost document sent
by Gregoria to Emilio Jacinto was fortuitously found.

It is not known in whose hand the document is written. Isagani

Medina, who published a portion of the text (three or four
pages) in 1996, notes that although the final page of the
document bears Gregoria’s signature, the body of the text may
well have been penned by an escribano.12 Possibly the
document was copied from a draft that Gregoria penned herself,
or possibly Gregoria dictated what she wanted to say.

Difficulties

Whoever penned the “kasulatan,” the normal difficulties of

translating 19th century Tagalog texts are exacerbated in this
instance by the virtual absence of sentence breaks, and the
rarity of other punctuation. The sense of several passages can
be rendered in a different way if the breaks are inserted in a
different manner.13 As always, I am grateful to my wife
Clarita Policarpio Richardson for her help in divining the likely
meaning of the text whenever I got stuck. We are both
conscious that the English translation is open to debate at
many points, and any corrections or suggestions as to how it
might be improved will be most appreciated.14

Words in the text are sometimes unconventionally joined, and

at other times unconventionally split. The temptation to amend
these idiosyncrasies has been fought hard, and aside from
minor typographical corrections the orthography of the
document is reproduced here exactly as it was transcribed by
Ambeth Ocampo back in 1989. It seems likely, though, that the
pages of the document were out of sequence when Ocampo
made his transcription, and so an attempt has been made here

4
to put them into an order that provides a more chronological
narrative of events.15 Although the transitions between the
reshuffled pages seem to work, it is possible that the order is
still not quite right, and the Tagalog text has therefore been
presented below with the individual pages clearly demarcated.
Again, any comments on the ordering of the text will be
welcome.

                               

Tagalog text

[p.1]
1
Nang kami nasa Balara ay di kami hinuhumpayan ng
pagsundo nila at sulat ng sulat alang alang sa mabuti nilang
hikayat sa kaniya ay kami naparoon ng kami naman ay
dumating sinalubong kami sa Bakood at tuloy ng Ymus hindi
kami tumigil doon at mag tuloy ng Malabon sinalubong
namang mahusay at ipinakilala nila sa boong nasasakop ng
Cabite, na iyon ang ikinikilala nilang puno, datapua at
dinalaon at inataki agad ng Presidensia ng Magdalo ng
magkaganoon ay nag papaalam sa kanila datapuat pinigil
agad nilang dalawang kaharian at humingi ng tawad ang
Magdalo napigil nila hindi nalaon at hiniling nilang mag
Asamblea ngunit hindi pumayag sa kanilang kahilingan kundi
tumawag muna dito sa atin o magpadala kaya ng Cirkular
ayaw sila atang sabi nila ay dinabali at ipahahayag din kung
anomang mangyari susunod sa kanilang kahilingan at ginawa
na nila ang kapulungan at pinagkaisahan nila na sia rin ang

5
Presidente Supremo ng makaraan ang kinabukasan ayaw na
silang pumayag hindi naman kumibo sa kanilang ginawa at
ang ng yari ang balang parte namagdaan sa kanila ay
binubuksan gayon din ang gaua nila sa Polvora at baril, bala
na ng gagaling dito ay hinaharang nila ngunit hindi rin
kumikibo sa ginagawa nilang hindi matuid di kagisa gisay
pinagkaisa-

[p.2]

–han naman nila ng dumating si Jocson sa Magdalo

napalakarin sa Hong Kong na gumawa sila ng poder na
pinapirmahan nila pumayag sa kanilang kahilingan, at ng
dumating sa Magdalo ay pinalitan nila ang poder na ginawa at
malagay ang kanilang Presidencia na lamang, di hindi rin
kumikibo sa kanila at nag titiis ng kanilang ginagawa alang-
alang sa kaibigan niyang dumating ang Armas, humingi ng
salapi binigian naman agad at ng makakuha na ay kahit isang
balita ay walang dumarating sa Magdiwang, walang ano ano
namay nabalitaan ni Dn Pasiano Rizal na darating ang Armas
ang ginawa ay napasa Looc sia agad hindi naman nalaon at
sumunod si Andres linapit na kung ilang araw o Lingo doon na
nag titiis ng hirap araw gabi sa Bundoc na yaon walang anoano
ay may dumating sa Ymus na tatlong babay na maydalang
sulat ni Polavieja na humihingi raw ng anomang gusto nating
Tagalog sa kanila o makipagusap ang Puno sa Kastila silay
pumapayag na bago sinabi sa Magdiwang ay silay nag Junta

6
muna ng lihim na di nila pinaalaman sa Magdiwang at silay
sumirkular sa nasasakop ng Magdiwang ng matapos ang hunta
nilang lihim ay bago ipinag sabi ang sulat sa nasabing
Magdiwang at ipinadala ang Kopia na hinihingi agad ang
sagot. Ngunit sinabi sa kanila na wala ang Supremo hindi sila
makapapayag at wala silang disposision napa silay sumagot sa
bagay nayaon

[p.3]

ngunit ayaw silang pumayag kundi sagutin din ang nasabing

sulat at ipinasusundo nila sa Look kaya napa owi naman ng
dumating ay ayaw ngang makipagusap o makipagkasundo sa
kaaway natin, ng makaraan yaon nabalita na sila ang
pumayag namakikipag usap ng may roon ng dalawang araw ay
nag tayo sila ng Hunta ang kaniyang boong akala ang
paghuhuntahan ang bagay nahiling ng ating kaaway ng silay
dumating sa bahay o Hasienda ng Tejero ay ang pagtatayo ng
Gobierno sa bagay na iyon ay pumayag siya ngunit bago
binuksan ang hunta siya ay nag paunawa sa lahat nasiya ay
walang representante sa kaniyang sakop kundi liban nalamang
sailang naroroon at ipinauunawa din niya sa kalahatan na ang
sino mang kalabasan sa paghahalal na yaon ay siya ang unang
kikilala kung pagkakaisahan ng kalahatan at siya rin ang
magpapakilala sa kaniyang sakop nguni at kung mangyayari
ay sa maruming kaparaanan at hindi masusunod. Ang sa
talagang kalooban ng Bayan at ng kalahatan ay ako ang unang

7
hindi kikilala, samaipahayag itoy ng yaring binuksan na ang
pulong at pinag kaisahan ng kalahatan nadaanin sabotosan,
ngunit hindi rin nasunod ang talagang kalinisan at ang ng yari
ang lahat ng taong pumanhik sa bahay Hacienda ay isinali
kahit hindi nalalaman ang pinag uusapan at kung mag tanong
ang nasabing mga tao kung ano ang ilalagay sa

[p.4]

mga papel naibinigay nila ang sinasabi ay susulatan ng Emilio

Aguinaldo, bukod dito’y ang mga taong hindi marunong
sumulat ay pinagbibigyan ng papel na may roong sulat na,
kayat malabis na nakilala sa kanila ang gawang hindi matoid
at sa katunayan ay parepareho ang sulat, ang isa pang ng yari
sa isang tao o representante ni Maypagasa na nag angangalang
Apolonio Samson ay pinagkamalang binulungan nila na ang
ipinasusulat ay Emilio Aguinaldo at makapagsasabi din
namang ang iba, at bukod pa sa roon ay may katunayan sa
bagay nayaon ay di siya kumibo at pinabayaan din niya, ng
siyay lumabas na Direktor del Ynterior ay inahiaw sila ng
kalahatan ng Viva hangang ikalawa ikatlong hiyaw ay nag
tindig ang kanilang Ministro de Gerra at sinabi sa tauo na
hintay muna at dito’y kinakailangan ang isang Abogado sa
Katungkulang iyan o may talento kaya na nag damdam ang
karamihan pinuno na nangag sipagalsa at sinabing nolo ang
hunta at totoong magulo ngunit siya ay di kumikibo sa
kaniyang pagkalagay ng may katahimikan na ay silay umalis

8
na at ayaw ipatuloy nga ng ibang kasamahan ng kinabukasan
ay silay magkakaayon ay mag hunta ng lihim sa Convento ng
Tanza at sila sila ay humarap sa gitna ng antisalo at si G.
Artemio Rikarte ay kanilang pinipilit na maging Grl. en Jefe ng
sangkapuluan, ay ayaw pumayag sa kanilang kagustuhan at sa
katunayan ay gumawa pa ng protesta at inyo ring mababasa,
ng kami naman

[p.5]
2
ay gumagayak na umuwi ng malibang araw na yaon ay
nangagkagulo ang Malabon Naik at iba pang bayan at ang sabi
na kung siya’y aalis ay silay sasamang lahat at ang lahat ng
ibang mga tauo ay hinanap at pinagabangan ang mga pinuno
nanag sipag hunta ng lihim na taga Magdalo kayang kaniyang
malaman ay pinayapa ang kaguluhan ng lahat at ng
matahimik na ang nasabing gulo ay nag sadiya sa kaniya ang
nasabing mga pinuno na kaakbay ang Sari sa Magdiwang at
silay humingi ng tawad at sinabi nila na kung ang
ipagkakagalit ng bayan ay dahil sa bagay ng hunta ay kanilang
pupunitin ang akta kaya natahimik sila at diyan kami dinaan
sa bengansa at ng mapasok ang Ymus sila’y nag tuloy ng Tanza
ng mapasok naman ang Malabon mag takbo sila sa Naik doon
kami nagkasasama ng mabalitaan ng lahat ng mga sundalo at
mga pinuno nila ay naparoon sa bahay naming kinalalagyan at
sinabi nasilay hindi nangag sisikain at wala silang madamit at
naiwan sa Ymus at wala din silang sukat pakain sa kanilang

9
familia ng malaman ay wala siyang sukat na magawang
paraan kaya sinabi niya sa Presidente sa Magdiwang na si G.
Mariano Alvares kapagkarakay binigyan agad pati ng
karamihang viuda na ayaw nilang limusan ng magkaganoon
tuloy naman pumanhik si G. Pio del Pilar at iba pang mga
pinuno at sinabi namang yata lamang na isahin ang tropa at
ng magkaroon ng husay at sa katunayan nariang ang
pinagpirmahanan ng lahat ng matapus na ay dumating ang
paghingi ng sokoro sa Yndang ngunit wala silang bigay at nasa
puestong lahat sinabi nila

[p.6]

na yaong kaonti nating natirang baril ay siya ng dalhin doon

pumayag din sa kanila nguni ang kanilang hahalinhan doon o
kondi kaya daragdagan hindi sila susunod ang kanilang
pangako at hindi kami asikaso doon ng kami ay dumating
naman ay gabi ng kinabukasan ay siyay naparoon sa Tribunal
at sinabi niya na pagtibayin ang bayan sapagkat sa tingin niya
ay marupok na totoo ang bayan, sumagot ang Pang-ulo na
hindi kailangan na tibayan ang kanilang bayan bigyan lamang
sila ng ilalaban at hindi sila mapapasok, ang sagot sa kanila ay
kung ayaw nilang tibayan ang bayan ay segurong di kaila sa
inyo na kasakali at ipagkakaloob ang bayan ay di kailangang
tibayan ngunit kung hindi ipagkakaloob ay kinakailangan
tibayan ang simbahan sapagkat di kaila sa inyo nawalang
ibang tinutungo ang kalaban kundi iyan din at iyan ang

10
kanilang pinagtitibay, diyan na minulan ang pagtirin at halos
ayaw pakanin ang mga sundalo at kung pakanin pa ay bigas na
pinawa, isang araw naman ay nag diskubierta ang ating tropa
at tuloy kumuha ng bakal nagagamitin sa frensa at
kasangkapang panggawa ng kapsula ng dumating aydi
pinahapon at ang sabi ay bukas na nagtiis ng kinabukasan ng
magaalas onse ang araw ay totoong nagugutom na ang sundalo
ay lumapit na lahat sa ranchero at tinanong nila kung lutuna
ang sagot ng ranchero ay ang biling daw ng Pang-ulo na kung
sakali ay hihingi ng rancho ang ating tropa ay hingan ng
relasion sa ganitong bagay napalit ang tropa at pinagkaisahang
siyay hanapin ng matanawan sa bahay nang nanagkakagulo
ang mga sundalo ay nanaog silang lahat sa bahay at pinayapa
ng matapos ay nag tuloy sila sa Tribunal at sinabi agad ng
Pang-ulo na siya ay

[p.7]

patatawarin sa lahat ng nang yari nag kasundo na naman sa

pag uusap nila ay nag salita ng ganito paris ngapo ang wika ni
Capitang Emilio sa akin ay ganito magmula raw ng kayong
dumating dito ay di nasila nagkasundong mag aamain at mag
kakamaganak sumagot sa kanila ng ganito, ganoon ba hindi ko
nalalaman na ang Revoluciong ito ay sa mag kakamaganak
lamang kondi ang aking pagkaalam ay sa pagtatangol ng
Bayang tinubuan kaya kami naparito nguni at kung hindi kami
ay aalis din ngayon kaya pala ganoon na ang pag tirin sa amin

11
dito iyan ang dahil. Kaya noon din gabing yaon kami ay umalis
na bigla at lumabas na patungo na rito sa pagkat kung ang
nagsabi lamang ay isang hamak na ay dinabali nguni at isang
Pang-Ulo na lagui nilang kausap at ng kami ay walana ay silay
nagpulong ng lihim oli at kanilang binuhay ang ipinangakong
akta na kanilang pupunitin at ang ngyari ay siya rin ang
Precidente at ang Pang-Ulong nagsalita ay Ministro de Gracia y
Justicia ang ginawang katungkulan. Nang natapus yaon ay
kami naman ang pinaghuntahan ng lihim na ipahabol at
gawan ng paraan na ikagagalit at ang bilin nilang lahat na
pinuno ay kung magalit ay iyong bangkay na lahat o kaya ay
kuning lahat ang armas at gapusin siya pati ng mga sundalo
niya di nga pinaparoon na ang tropa ng malayo pa ay
nagpasabi sa bahay namin na sasamsaman ng Armas kaming
lahat hindi rin namin asikaso maya maya ay dumating na at
kinubkob ang bahay paglapit at saka pumanhik ang Koronel
nila sinalubong namang mahusay at itananong kun sa-

[p.8]

-an sila paparoon ang sagot ay mag didiskubierta sa Silang at

kaya lamang sila tumigil ay dipa sila nag aalmusal at tuloy
kinakumusta nila ang lagay at seguro raw ay mahirap sa
pagkain sumagot ng hindi at sa ngayon ay mabuti ang tayo
namin dito kesa sa Yndang sapagkat mayroong nag lilimos dito
sa amin ng bigas na hindi pinawa. Tumugon ang Korl. na
ngayon po ay mabuti ng kaunti sa bayan ay may dumarating na

12
bigas na galing sa Naik kung ibig po ninyo ay tayo’y
magsamasamama sa bahay, ang sagot sa kanila ay kung sa
bayan din lamang ng Yndang na totoong malabis na pag api
ang ginagawa sa akin at dahil sa gawa ng ating mga kapd.
aydi kuna ibig tunghayan pa ng aking dalawang mata sa
salitang yaon ay tumigil at nag sipag almusal pa pagkatapus
kumain ay nag sipag paalam at ang sabi ay silay tatanhaliin
kayat nangako pa na silay doon manananghali pati ng tropa,
sapag alis na yaon ang ginawa nila ay ganito pag labas ng
bateria ng kanilang tropa ay pinasarhan at ang bilin sa bantay
ultimong familia nan sundalo ng Supremo ay huag pararaanin
at kapagka pinaraan ay kapalit na lahat ang kanilang buhay
iyan ang pabilin na nasabing bateria at nag iwan sila ng ilang
puersa, ng magdadaan ang ating tauo na magdadala ng rancho
salabas ng bateria ay ayaw ng palabasin ng mga bantay
kapagkasakay nag parte an ang mga tauong ayaw palabasin
kaya lamang na laman ang kanilang mga gawa at ang isapa
ang lahat nating kasama sa labas ay sinamsam ng armas at
dinala nilang lahat ang lalaki, sa bagay na iyon ay sinondan
sila at itatanong kung ano ang dahilan at silay gumawa ng
ganoon, sa paghabol na iyon ay di sila inabot ng di nila abutin
ay nangag babalik ang nagsihabol at silay inaantabayanan
magdaan

[p.9]
3
at itatanong kun talagang utos sa kanila ng puno ang kanilang

13
ginagawa sa pag aantay ay dumating ang gabi ay kinuha
nilang lahat ang mga babay at pati ng kasankapan namin at sa
lahat ng kasamahan may isang nag takbo sa amin nanag sabi
sa mga sundalo natin nakinuha ang kanilang mga asawawa
ay ibig paroonan at usigin ang kanilang ginawa ngunit napigil
at hindi na umalis sa bateria at inaantay sila doon sapagkat
ang kanilang kasamahan ng magkaganoon ay nagutos siya at
ipinasabi ng na mangyaring magkausap usap silang mga
pinuno sapagkat mahalay ika ang tayo tayo ay magkagalit, ang
sagot sa inutusan ay silay hindi makapapayag na makipagusap
at ang bala raw ang bahala sa kaniya kaya ang ginawa ay nag
balik na ang inutusan, at naririto at buhay, ng
magmamadaling araw ay paputok na ng paputok sila sa
kahilang ibayo ang ginawa ko ay siyay aking ginising ng
manaog na ay may nasalubong ng sundalo na ang sabi ay na
nagkakagulo na ang tropang darating at sinabing malapit napo
kayat ng siyay dumating ay nag sisi putok na ang karamihan at
ginarilla nila kami kaya ang utos niya sa ating sundalo ay
huag puputok ni isa at ang sigaw ng lahat nating kasamahang
mga kapatid huag kayong puputok at magusap usap tayong
mahusay kung ano ang inyong gusto hindi inasikaso ang sigaw
at ng nalalapit na ay siya ang pinagsabayang binaril at ng
matumbana ay sinaksak nila ng puñal at kinulata pa at ang
aking bayaw na si Ciriako ay hinawakan ng dalawa at binaril
kaya nila napatay at si Prokopio ay ginapos at pinagsasak-

14
[p.10]

–sak ng rebolver ng matapus yaon ay isinakay sa duyan ang

may sugat at pati ng mga gapos ay dinala nila sa bayan at ng
akoy makita nila na akoy ng gagaling sa pinag kublihan ay
akoy sinalubong ng nasabing mga pinuno ng tropa at akoy
pinipilit na isigaw ko ang salapi ng Cavite o kaha at kinuhang
pilit ang aking revolver pati ng kaonti naming kuartang baon
at pagkatapos ay akoy pinipilit na igapos sa puno ng kahoy at
ipinasisigaw sa aking ang salapi raw na aking hinakot ang
mga kapatid ay makapagsasabi ang ibang mga tagarito na
siyang nagdadala sa buanbuan ng aming kinakain,
pagkatapos na di ako mapilit ay akoy dinala sa Tribunal ng
Yndang at dooy dinaanan ko ang may sugat na kanilang
hinubaran at kinuha pa pati ng damit sa katauan at kanilang
tinakpan lamang ng kumot, ng akoy lumapit di pa halos
natatapus na kung husayin ay akoy ibig gapusin at dalhin sa
Naik ng maipamanhik ako ng iba ay akoy iniwan at sa
kinabukasan kami dinala ng tropa at kami ay pinagpasapasa
mula sa Yndang hangang Marigondong tuloy ng Naik. Ay mga
kapatid ng kami ay dumating sa bayang yaon ay itinuloy kami
sa kuartel ng kalaban ng kami ay dumating doon ay may
dalawang oras kami sa pinto bago pinapasok at may isang oras
sa puno ng hagdan ng matapos yaon inaakyat kami sa itaas
tuloy ng kosina sa lugar ng baño ng kura at doon siya kinulong
na parang bartolina na halos ayaw akong palapitin ng
magpipilit akong lumapit at akoy ibinilango sa isang kuarto at

15
inilagay akong Ynkomunicado, sa bagay na yaon ay aking

[p.11]

hiniling sa dalawang Grl. nila sapagkat sinabi na kami ay

kuhunan ng deklarasion na mangyari lamang gawin ang pagka
hustisia sa amin, na baka po ikako mangyayari na bago siya
kunan ng deklarasion ay tawagin ang ibang mga pinuno at sa
harap ng lahat niya tanungin, sila ay sumang ayon sa aking
hiling at siya raw nararapat hindi natuloy at nakaraan ang
isang Linggong mahigit at kami munay ipinasaoli sa
Marigondong at sa ikatlong araw bago kinunan ng deklarasion,
at si Pedro Jiron ay kanilang inupahan ng salapi at tinuruan
nila ng deklarasiong mabuti na di inaauay silay ipinapapatay
na lahat sumangayon sa kanila sapagkat silay may pangako
na hindi nila papalayin at ang katotohanan ay kanilang
pinaalis agad doon pagkatapos na matanong kayat ng hilingin
sa kanila naiharap ang tauong iyan ang sagot nilay napatay
nasa Naik bakin ngayoy kasamasama nila. Ng matapos ang
pag sumaria nila ay sinabi raw ni Capitang Emilio na pag
dating ng 24 oras ay barilin ni ayaw nilang pangatuiranin at
ang hinihiling na Padrino ay ayaw payagang lumabas,
nakaraan yaon pinanangan ng Yndulto, ng may apat o limang
araw nanaog na madedestierro, ng siyay bigyan ng sentensia ay
pinakialaman ko sa ibang pinuno kung totoo ang hatol sumagot
sila na kung maniwala sa salita ng iba at sa katunayan na
paroon pa sa amin ang nag uusig na piskal

16
[p.12]

at sinabing itahimik ang loob at walang anoman kamala mala

ay may dumating

[p.13]
4
nag utos sa Kapitang Kastila ng kinamakalauaha ng alas
socho ang gabi na tutoong malakas ang ulan ay pinapanaog
napilet sa bahay, akoy na manhik sa pinakakomandante nila si
Lasaro Makapagal na siang nag hatid at pumatay sa kania na
baca ika ko mang yayari sa pag tila na o sa kinabukasan ilakad
ang may sakit ay ayaw pumayag sa pagcat utos daw ng puno at
sinabi nila na acoy pumaroon kay Kapitang Emilio at doon ako
na manhik di akoy lumakad, ang kasama ko ay dalawang
babay na halos kami ay gumapang sa dilim at lakas ng ulan ng
pag tawid sa ibayo ng ilog ng kami ay dumating sa lugar ni
Emilio di ako makatuloy agad sa pagca,t, tumutulo ang damit
namin sa katawan, ng kami ay makapanhik ay nagtago sa
kuarto si Emilio at sinabing may sakit daw at tutulog, naririnig
kong gisin at causap ni Jokson ng lumabas si Jokson ay
lumapit sa kay Pedro Lipana na sikretario raw ni Emilio ang
guinawa ay lumapi sa aquing at tinanong kong ano ang gusto
ko si nabi kona na bala [?] nabaka ma a ari ay sa kinabukasan

17
ilacad ang may sa quit ay sumagot ng hindi ma a ari ang
guinawa ko ay kami nag pa alam at kami umuwi na ng kami ay
mananaog na ay piniguil kami at sinabin antayin ko ang sulat
na ibibigay sa bantay ng matapos ang sulat ay iniabot sa
dalawang sundalo nila at ang sabi ay kami samahan yaong
pala ay ipapasa sa tribunal at pagcatapos nag tuloy sa bahay
ng Pang Ulo at acoy ibinilango at ng sinasabi ko ang
katuwiran ay babarilen daw ako

[p.14]

at wala ng makalapit sa akin at sa kinabukasan ng tanghali

nila inalis ang dalawang magkapatid, at ng bandang hapon na
ay nagkaroon ng laban sa labas ng bayan na di malayo sa
aking kinalalagyan ay saka lamang ako pinakawalan ng akoy
makakawala at akoy tumawid ng ibayo at aking hahanapin ay
nasalubong ko ang nangag hatid nadala ang pinag palimusan
kong damit na siya kong ibinibihis pati ng kumot gamot sa
katawan ng aking bayaw ng aking itanong kung saan naroon
ang kanilang dala ang sagot sa akin ay naroon sa Bondok sa
isang bahay ng tininti, itinanong ko kung bakit nila dala ang
damit ang sagot ay ako naraw ang siyang biling magdala. Ay
mga kapd. minulan kuna ang hanap sa pinagturuan sa akin ay
natagpuan ko pag dating doon ay itinuro ako sa kabilang
Bondok na labis ng taas aking inakyat ng kami ay dumating ay
wala lakad na naman kami. Ay mga kapd. may dalawang
Lingo kong hinahanap sa Bondok na walang tigil kami kundi

18
gabi, ng diko makita ay walang makapagsabi kami ay sumunod
sa kanilang tropa at kahit sino ang aking pagtanungan sa
kanila ay kung saan saan ako itinuturo magpahangang ngayon
kaya lamang ako natuluyang ng paglabas ay ng makausap ko
ang aking amain na sinabi sa akin ng tapat at siya pang
nagpakain bago inaalis sa pinagtigilan nila, kaya isipin ninyo
mga kapd. kung katoiran o hindi ang kanilang ginagawa pag
api sa amin ay may iba pang makapag sasabi ng ba-

[p.15]

-gay na pinag buhatan at iniyong makakausap na di malalaon.

Salamat nalamang mga kapatid at akoy nabuhay pa sa hirap

na pinag daanan ko na may isang buan akong lumakad na
wala kaming kinakain kundi saging na bubot at kung
makapagpalimos ng kaonting bigas ang aking mga kasamahan
at ilulugaw at siyang ipakakain sa akin at ang damit ko sa
katawan ay dina halos masunog.

Yto nalamang po at wala ng iba at tuloy laganap ang

maraming kumusta sa inyong lahat diyan at wala akong ibang
hiling kung mamarapatin ng inyong loob ay akoy kaawaan o
kondi kaya ay tayoy magkausap at ng inyong mapag
aninawang lahat, tuloy antay ko po ay sagot ng inyong mga
kamahalan isipin ninyong sumandali na ang lahat na
guinagawa ng sira ay siyang unang taksil sa Katipunan at

19
espolsado noong pamang araw na hindi nag kakagulo kaya
gauian ang mga gawa ngayon.

Wakas

Gregoria de Bonifacio

Lakanbini

                               

English translation

[p.1] When we were in Balara, they kept sending people to fetch

him [Bonifacio], and letters persuading him that we should go
there. We went there, and when we arrived we were met in
Bacoor. We went on to Imus, though we did not stop there, and
then on to [San Francisco de] Malabon. They greeted us
warmly and and recognized us throughout the whole territory
of Cavite, acknowledging him as their leader.

But before long, there was suddenly criticism from the

Presidency of Magdalo. When this matter was brought to their
attention, however, the two presidencies [Magdalo and
Magdiwang] quickly dealt with it, and the Magdalo apologized
and put a stop to it.

Not long afterwards they [the Magdalo] wanted to convene an

Assembly, but we would not agree to their proposal unless they
consulted us here first, or sent round a Circular. They did not
want to, saying it would be alright, and that they could send
round a notification afterwards about whatever happened. The
congress was then held, as they wished, and they agreed that
he [Bonifacio] would be the Supreme President as in the past.
The following day, they did not want to agree.

20
They did not change the way they acted. Everything being sent
[to us] through them was being opened. They also stole the
gunpowder, rifles, and cartridges that came from here, and
again they would not stop acting in a dishonest manner.

[p.2] When [Feliciano] Jocson was coming to Magdalo on his

way to Hong Kong, they undertook to provide him with a signed
authorization. Their proposal was agreed, but when he arrived
at Magdalo they substituted the authorization that had been
prepared with another that was in the name of their Presidency
alone. Again they would not change their position, and their
actions caused problems. The weapons arrived, on account of
his friend; payment was demanded straightaway, and the
money was obtained. Not a single word was heard about this in
Magdiwang. Then out of the blue Don Paciano Rizal heard that
the weapons would arrive at Looc, and he went there
immediately. Andres followed not long afterwards, and endured
hardship in the mountains there, night and day, for days or
weeks.

Without prior notice, three women arrived in Imus bringing a

letter from Polavieja asking, it was said, what we Tagalogs
wanted from them, or wanted to discuss with the Chief in
Spain. Without consulting the Magdiwang, they [the Magdalo]
decided to have a secret meeting about the matter. Without
telling the Magdiwang [leadership], they sent a circular about it
to the towns within the territory of the Magdiwang. After their
secret meeting, before talking to the said Magdiwang
[leadership] about the letter, they sent a copy and asked for an
immediate reply. But they [the Magdiwang leadership] told
them [the Magdalo] that the Supremo was not there, and that
they [the Magdiwang leadership] could not make a decision on
the matter, although their inclination was not to send a
response [to the Spaniards]. [p.3 ] But they [the Magdalo] did
not agree, and still wanted to send a reply to the said letter.
They [the Magdiwang] went to fetch [Bonifacio] from Look, and
he came back. When he arrived he was firmly opposed to
negotiating or reaching an agreement with our enemy.

21
After that word came that they [the Magdalo] had agreed the
matter should be discussed further, and two days later they
convened a meeting.

His [Bonifacio’s] only intention was that the meeting should

discuss the matter of the overtures of our enemy. When they
[Bonifacio and his associates] arrived at the house or estate of
Tejero it was the formation of a Government [that was the
issue]. He [Bonifacio] assented to this, but before opening the
meeting he made it clear to everybody that there were no
representatives there from his zone, aside from just a few. He
also explained to everybody that whatever the result of the
elections to be held, he would be the first to respect the outcome
if it represented the general will of all, and he would also urge
his followers to respect it.

But what happened was dishonest and invalid. [Bonifacio

said]: “Out of respect for the Nation and the general will, I will
be the first not to recognize these proceedings.”

The procedure for voting was announced and agreed by

everybody at the start of the meeting, but it was not followed in
a clean manner. What happened was that all the people
upstairs at the estate house were allowed to participate, even if
they did not know what was being discussed. And when these
people asked what to write on the papers [p.4 ] they had been
given, they were told to write “Emilio Aguinaldo”. Aside from
this, people who did not know how to write were given papers
that already had writing on them. So it was really evident to
them that what was happening was not proper, and in fact the
writing was all the same. And another thing is that a man or
representative of Maypagasa by the name of Apolonio Samson
happened to overhear them whispering that they were
supposed to write “Emilio Aguinaldo”. Other people can say the
same thing, and in any event that was what really happened.

He [Bonifacio] did not intervene, and he also was cheated.

When he was elected Director of the Interior, the crowd shouted
out “Viva!” two or three times.

22
Their Minister of War [Daniel Tirona] then stood up, and called
on the people to wait first, because a lawyer or someone with
talent was needed to fill that position. The majority of the
leaders were outraged by this, and said the meeting should be
declared null and void. It was truly chaotic, but he [Bonifacio]
did not move from his place. When there was quiet they
[Bonifacio and his associates] left, for they did not want to
continue with the others.

The next day they [the others] decided to have a secret meeting
at the Convent in Tanza, and they gathered in the middle of the
entrance hall. They tried to force Mr. Artemio Ricarte to
become the General in Chief of the archipelago, but he did not
want to agree to their wishes and in fact made a protest which
you can also read.

Then we were really [p.5] intending to go home, but that day

there was disorder in [San Francisco de] Malabon, Naik and
other towns. They were saying that if he [Bonifacio] left, then
they would all go together, and all the other people were
searching and waiting for the leaders. The Magdalo people were
holding a secret meeting.

[Bonifacio] knew how to calm everybody down. Once the

disorder had subsided and it was peaceful again, the said
[Magdalo] leaders approached him [Bonifacio], walking together
with some of the Magdiwang. They asked for forgiveness, and
said that if the anger of the people had been caused by what
happened at the meeting they would tear up the record of the
proceedings. So they [the angry people] were then placated.

From that point they [the Magdalo] wanted to get vengeance on

us.

When [the Spaniards] entered Imus, they [the Magdalo]

proceeded to Tanza, and when [San Francisco de] Malabon fell
they [all the forces] retreated to Naik. It was there that we [the
Magdiwang and the Magdalo] came together.

When all the soldiers and their troops got the news [that we
were there] all the troops and their leaders gathered at the

23
house we had been allocated, saying that they had nothing to
eat, and no clothes because everything had been left at Imus.
They also did not have enough food for their families. Knowing
that he did not have sufficient resources, [Bonifacio] asked the
President of Magdiwang, G. Mariano Alvarez, to distribute
[supplies] immediately, and to include the many widows, who
did not like to ask for alms.

Later, G. Pio del Pilar and other leaders went upstairs and
appealed for the troops to be brought together under single
command, in order to more effective, and in fact everybody
endorsed and signed an agreement to that effect.

After that, the request for help from Indang arrived, but they
did not give any.

In the barracks everybody said [p.6] that our few remaining

rifles had been brought there, and that he [Bonifacio] had
agreed to hand them over to them [the Magdalo]. But they [the
Magdalo] were supposed to replace [those rifles], or even give us
more, and they did not keep their promise, and they took no
notice of us.

When we arrived there [Indang] it was dark. The next day he

[Bonifacio] was there at the Tribunal and he said the town
should be fortified because in his judgment it was really
vulnerable. The [municipal] President replied that it was not
necessary to strengthen their town, but just to engage [the
Spaniards] in battle, and they [the Spaniards] would not be
able to enter. The answer to them was that if they did not want
to fortify the town, and if they could be sure that it would be
spared, then perhaps it was not vital to fortify it. But in case
the town could not be saved, the church at least should be
fortified, because it was obvious that was where the enemy
would head, and so [the church] was what they fortified.

In that place [Indang] trouble started because they practically

did not want to feed the soldiers, unless the food was just
unpolished rice.

24
One day our detachment went out reconnoitering, and then got
some iron to use for the press, and tools for making cartridges.
When they came back there was no dinner, and they were told
they would have to starve until the next day. By around eleven
o’clock the following morning the soldiers were already very
hungry. They all came up to the mess and asked if any food had
been cooked. The cook replied that the order from the
President was that if our detachment wanted food they should
[be told to] ask their relations. Because of this issue, the
detachment was stood down, and they decided to go and look for
him [Bonifacio]. When they saw him at the house, the soldiers
made a commotion, and they [Bonifacio and his companions] all
went down from the house and pacified them. Afterwards they
continued to the Tribunal, and the [municipal] President at
once apologized [p.7] for everything that had happened, and it
was settled.

But in their conversations they really still spoke in the same

way. What Capitan Emilio said to me was this: “From the time
you arrived here, they [the Magdiwang] did not agree to behave
as family and kinfolk.” I answered like this “I was not aware
that this Revolution was only about kinfolk. To my knowledge,
it is for the defence of our native land. That is why we are here,
and if that is not the case then we shall leave right away.” And
so that was the reason we decided to come here [to the vicinity
of Manila], and that same night we abruptly left and set off
towards here.

It would not matter if someone unimportant had said it, but it

was the President.

They were always talking amongst themselves, and when we

were already gone, they met in secret again, and they brought
back to life the decisions [taken at Tejeros] which they had
pledged to revoke. The outcome is that he [Aguinaldo] is again
the President and the principal spokesman is the one whose
position is Minister of Grace and Justice.16

After that they had a secret meeting about us, [and they
decided] to force the issue and pick a quarrel with him
[Bonifacio]. The order from all their chiefs was that once he

25
became angry, everyone should be slaughtered, or at least
disarmed, and that he should be tied up, together with his
soldiers.

Before the detachment approached they sent a message to our

house, from afar off, that we should all lay down our arms. We
did not respond.

When they arrived, they surrounded the house, and their

Colonel came upstairs and greeted us in a peaceable manner.
Asked where [p.8] they were going, he replied that they were
making a reconnaissance towards Silang, and had only stopped
because they had not yet had their breakfast. He then asked
about our situation, and said that we must be short of food. We
replied that we were not, and that we were now better off here
than in Indang, because there was somebody here who donated
rice to us that was not unpolished. The Colonel responded that
things were now a little better in the town because some
polished rice had arrived from Naik, and that if we wished we
could live in a house together. In reply, [Bonifacio] said: “Since
the way I was so mistreated in the town of Indang was the
doing of our own brethren, I do not even want to set eyes on
them again.”

Upon these words there was a pause, and they had their
breakfast. After they had eaten, they [the Colonel and his
companions] said farewell, saying that it was time they were on
the move, but promising that they would return with their
soldiers to have lunch with us.

Once outside what they did was this: their soldiers blocked off
the exit from the fortified encampment, and guards were posted
there with orders not to allow any member of the family or
soldier of the Supremo to pass, on pain of death. That was the
order given to the detachment of their soldiers detailed to watch
over the said encampment. Some of our people then wanted to
leave in order to get rations outside the camp, but the sentries
refused to let them pass. The people who had been stopped from
leaving came back to tell us, and it was only then that we
learned what was being done. They [the soldiers] also disarmed
all our comrades outside, and took all the men away.

26
When that happened, [Bonifacio] went after them in order to
ask them why they were acting in this manner, but he was not
able to catch up with them. Since he was unable to reach them,
the pursuer came back and waited for them to return so that he
could [p.9] ask them whether they had been acting under orders
from their officers. While we were waiting, night fell. They took
away all the women and even our utensils, but one of the group
was able to run away. She came back and told our soldiers that
their wives had been taken away. Some wanted to go and find
out what they [the other soldiers] had done, but they were
stopped from leaving the camp, and waited there together with
their comrades.

[Bonifacio] gave orders for a message to be sent to their chiefs

requesting a conference, because, he said, it was not proper that
there should be any quarrel between us. They [their chiefs] told
the messenger that they refused to parley and that the matter
would have to be settled by bullets. The messenger then
returned, and is living here now.

At dawn they started shooting, and there was more gunfire

away on the other side. I woke him up, and when he went down
he met a soldier who told him that the commotion had been
caused by advancing troops, who he said were already near.
When he [Bonifacio] appeared most of them were already firing,
and they had surrounded us.

He [Bonifacio] ordered our soldiers not to return their fire, and

all our people shouted out: “Brothers, don’t shoot; let us talk in
peace about what you want.”

They paid no attention to the shouts, and when they were close
they fired a volley at [Bonifacio]. When he fell, they stabbed
him with a dagger and struck him with the butts of their guns.
My brother-in-law Ciriaco was seized by two men and shot to
death, and they tied up Procopio and beat him [p.10] with a
revolver.

They then placed the wounded in hammocks, and also those

they had bound, and took them to the town.

27
When they saw me emerge from the place where I had been
hiding, the officers of the detachment came up to me and tried
to force me to make a confession about the money of Cavite or
the treasury. They forcibly took away my revolver, and even the
little money we had. They then roughly tied me to the trunk of
a tree, and yelled at me about the money they said I had carried
away. The brethren can testify that it is other people from here
[the north ?] who were bringing us food every month.

When I could not be cowed, I was taken to the Tribunal at

Indang, and there I found the wounded man [Bonifacio], whom
they had stripped. They had taken the clothes from his body
and covered him in just a light blanket. I went to him, but was
hardly able to finish attending to him. They wanted to bind me
and take me to Naik, but upon the entreaties of others they left
me alone.

The next day the soldiers took us away, and we were taken
from Indang to Maragondon and then to Naik.

Ay, my brothers!

When we arrived at that town, we went to the barracks of our

adversaries.
When we got there they left us at the door for two hours before
we were taken in, and for another hour at the foot of the stairs.
Then we went up and through the kitchen to the priest’s
bathroom, where he [Bonifacio] was confined as if he was in a
dungeon. They did not want me to go near him, and when I
struggled to get closer I was imprisoned in another room and
held incommunicado.

[p.11] They said they were going to take statements from us, so
I asked two of their generals to treat us with justice. Before
they took statements from us, I said, they should call the other
chiefs and question him [Bonifacio] in front of everybody. They
agreed to my request, saying it was just. But it was not done,
and after more than a week had elapsed, we were moved to
Maragondon, and it was not until the third day that our
testimony was heard.

28
They bribed Pedro Giron and coached him well in what they
wanted him to testify: that he [Bonifacio] had ordered them all
killed. [Giron] agreed, because they promised they would spare
his life, and in fact they let him leave immediately after he had
testified. When [Bonifacio] asked to confront the man face-to-
face, their reply was that Giron had been killed at Naik. Why
is he with them now?

When the summary trial was over, it was said, Capitan Emilio
ordered [them] to be shot within twenty-four hours. They did
not even allow [Bonifacio] to present his case, or consent to his
request for a defense counsel. Subsequently a pardon was
decreed, and four or five days later a banishment order was
handed down. When he [Bonifacio] was given the sentence, I
asked various chiefs whether that decision was true.

They replied that it was, if what other people were saying was
to be believed, and to prove this, the fiscal who had prosecuted
the case came and [p.12] told us not to worry, because nothing
had happened. [p.13]

Then on the second day, at eight o’clock at night, when there

was torrential rain, somebody arrived with an order to Capitan
Kastila that they should be forcibly taken away from the house.

I beseeched their commandant, Lazaro Macapagal, who was the

one who took him [Bonifacio] away and killed him, not to take
the sick man outside until after the rain had stopped, or until
the next morning. He [Macapagal] would not agree because, he
said, it was by order of the chief, but they said I could go to
Capitan Emilio’s house to plead with him.

I could not walk. My two women companions and I practically

had to crawl on all-fours through the darkness and the heavy
rain in order to get to the other side of the river.

When we arrived at Emilio’s place, I was not able to proceed

straightaway because our clothes were soaking wet. When we
went upstairs, Emilio hid in his room and we were told that he
was ill and sleeping, but I could hear that he was awake and

29
talking to [Gregorio] Jocson. When Jocson came out he went up
to Pedro Lipana, who was said to be Emilio’s secretary. [They]
then approached me, and asked what I wanted. I asked
whether it would be possible for the sick man not to be taken
away until the next day. The answer was that it was not
possible.

We took our leave and started to go, but as we were going

downstairs we were stopped, and I was told to wait for a letter
to give to the guard. Once the letter had been written, it was
handed to two of their soldiers, who were told to accompany us.
We were taken to the Tribunal and then on to the house of the
[municipal] president, where I was imprisoned. I was told it
would be justice if were to be shot, [p.14] and thereafter nobody
was allowed to come near me.

In the late morning of the following day they took the two
brothers out.
Towards the afternoon there was fighting outside the town, not
far from the place where I was, and then they just let me go.

Upon being released, I crossed over to the other side to search

[for the two brothers], and I met those who had taken them
away. They were carrying the clothes I had obtained for
[Bonifacio] through an act of charity, and also the medicine, and
the blanket which my brother-in-law had been wearing round
his body. When I asked them where they had taken them, they
answered me that they had left them over there in the
mountains, in the house of a teniente. I asked them why they
were carrying the clothes, and they replied that he [Bonifacio]
had told them that I should bring them to him.

Ay, brothers!

I then set off to look for them in the area they had indicated,
but when I arrived there I was told they were on a mountain on
the other side, which was extremely high. We climbed up, but
when we arrived we found nothing, and so we trekked still
further.

Ay, my brothers!

30
For two weeks I searched in the mountains, and we rested only
at night. As I did not see him and there was nobody who could
tell us anything, we went after their detachment, and I asked
them where to look, but even then I was told nothing. I only
decided to leave when my uncle told me the truth. He had
given them food before they left the place where they had
stopped.

So just think, brothers, whether or not there was any justice in

the cruelty they committed against us.

Someone else may be able to say [p.15] ... from that source, and
you will be able to talk before too long.

I am just thankful, my brothers, to still be alive after all I have

gone through.

For a whole month I was roaming about, and we had nothing to

eat but unripe bananas. When my companions obtained a little
rice through an act of charity, they made gruel for me to eat.
The clothes I wore [were in such a state that they] would hardly
burn.

This is all for now, and nothing remains but to wish you all well
there.

I ask for nothing else than your heartfelt compassion for my

pitiful situation.

Perhaps we will be able to speak, and you will be able to

understand everything.

I will wait, sirs, for your answer and your valued thoughts at
this moment when so much damage is being done.

He [Aguinaldo] is the foremost traitor to the Katipunan, and he

should have been expelled a long time ago so that the disorder
now being perpetrated would not have happened.

31
End

Gregoria de Bonifacio
Lakanbini

1 I am grateful to León Gallery for the photographs, and to Ambeth

Ocampo for granting me permission to reproduce his transcription.
2 Gregoria de Jesus, “Mga tala ng aking buhay,” in Julio Nakpil and the

Philippine Revolution, with the Autobiography of Gregoria de Jesus

(Manila: Heirs of Julio Nakpil, 1964), 161. Dated “Kalookan, Rizal, 5 ng
Nobyiembre, 1928,” the memoir appeared in Spanish and English
translations before it was published in the original Tagalog. A Spanish
translation appeared in two instalments under the title ““La princesa del
Katipunan” in the Philippines Free Press, November 24, 1928 and
December 1, 1928; and an English translation appeared under the title
“Autobiography of Gregoria de Jesus,” translated and annotated by
Leandro H. Fernandez, in Philippine Magazine, XXVII:1 (June 1930), 16-
8; 65-8. This is available online at
http://quod.lib.umich.edu/p/philamer/acd5869.0027.001/24?q1=gregoria+de
+jesus&view=image&size=100.
3 Gregoria later fell in love with Nakpil and married him in December

1898 (her recollection) or December 1901 (his recollection). De Jesus,

“Mga tala ng aking buhay,” 161; Typescript copy of Leandro H.
Fernandez’s English translation of “Mga tala ng aking buhay,” marked
“Some Errors Corrected by Julio Nakpil, October 27, 1950” [Private
collection].
4 No evidence has yet been found that any rifles actually did arrive from

abroad in 1897.
5 The food crisis in Naik and other Cavite towns at this time is described

in Glenn Anthony May, “Civilian Flight during the Philippine Revolution

of 1896,” in Florentino Rodao and Felice Noelle Rodriguez, eds, The
Philippine Revolution of 1896: Ordinary Lives in Extraordinary Times
(Quezon City: Ateneo de Manila University Press, 2001), 125-42.
6 For detail on De los Santos’s acquisition of Andres Bonifacio’s letters to

Emilio Jacinto, see Glenn Anthony May, Inventing a Hero: The

Posthumous Re-creation of Andres Bonifacio. (Madison: Center for
Southeast Asian Studies, University of Wisconsin-Madison, 1996), 62.
7 Epifanio de los Santos, “Andres Bonifacio” [Spanish version], Philippine

Review (Revista Filipina), II:11 (November 1917), 72-3; and idem, “Andres
Bonifacio” [English version], Philippine Review (Revista Filipina), III: 1-2
(January-February 1918), 47-9.

32
8 The Tagalog text was first published as a 21-page booklet in 1932:
Gregoria de Jesus, Mga tala ng aking buhay at mga ulat ng Katipunan.
May paunang salita ni José P. Santos. (Maynila, Limbagang Fajardo,
1932).
9 See the posting on this website “Bonifacio’s letters to Emilio Jacinto” at

https://sites.google.com/site/katipunandocumentsandstudies/studies/bonifa
cio-s-letters-to-emilio-jacinto
10 “Autobiography of Gregoria de Jesus” in Philippine Magazine (1930), as

cited, 65-8.
11 Teodoro A. Agoncillo, The Revolt of the Masses: The Story of Bonifacio

and the Katipunan (Quezon City: University of the Philippines, 1956),

403-7. Agoncillo does not cite the source of the text, but according to
Isagani R. Medina he took it in its entirety (“walang labis, walang
kulang”) from an unpublished manuscript written by José P. Santos and
this daughters Teresita Santos and Nena Santos under the nom-de-plume
Tenepe, “Si Andres Bonifacio at ang Katipunan” (n.pub, 1948), 138-41.
Carlos Ronquillo, Ilang talata tungkol sa paghihimagsik nang 1896–1897
[1898], edited by Isagani R. Medina (Quezon City: University of the
Philippines Press, 1996), 48.
12 In order to make the Tagalog more accessible to contemporary readers,

Medina modernized the orthography (“Binago ko ang pagbabaybay”).

Ronquillo, Ilang talata, 49-50.
13 Gregoria de Jesus finished her schooling after the first grades, she

writes in her memoir, in order that her two brothers could continue their
studies. Commenting on one of her poems, Teodoro Agoncillo remarks
with characteristic bluntness that “Aling Oriang does not know the rules
of Tagalog prosody. Aside from violating the syllable number in every
line, she violates the rule of rhyme.” Teodoro A. Agoncillo, footnote in
Julio Nakpil and the Philippine Revolution, 174.
14 An English translation of most of the latter half of the document, as

mentioned, was published in Philippine Review in 1918 (see note 7 above).

The translation posted here draws heavily in places on that translation,
but the culpability for any errors is mine.
15 Only four of the pages are numbered, and in the ordering presented

here the numbers appear at regular 4-page intervals, - i.e. p.1 is headed
with the number “1”; p.5 is headed “2”; p.9 is headed “3”; and p.13 is
numbered “4”.
16 The reference here to the Minister of Grace and Justice is almost

certainly to Mariano Trias, who had held that position in the Magdiwang
council, but whose position in Aguinaldo’s new government was Vice-
President.

                         

33
The fourth page of the document.
[Source: Carlos Ronquillo, Ilang talata tungkol sa paghihimagsik nang
1896–1897 [1898], edited by Isagani R. Medina (Quezon City: University of
the Philippines Press, 1996), 49.]

34
Part of the final page of the document (p.15)
[Source: Adrian E. Cristobal, The Tragedy of the Revolution, (Makati City:
Studio 5 Publishing Inc., 1997)]

35