Many unsubstantiated stories have proliferated about the death of the brothers Andres and Procopio Bonifacio. Some accounts say that Andres was killed on April 2, 1897, and not on May 10 of the same year, and the trial allegedly conducted preceding that date was all fabrication. Other accounts say that the brothers were not shot but were killed by hacking with a bolo, and some even went further on to say their bodies were cut to pieces.
These kinds of stories only derail the direction of our history – and that is, to mold the patriotic character of our people. These unattested narratives do not bring any good to the readers except to add fuel to the burning issues revolving around the death of the Bonifacio brothers, staining the memory of those we should memorialize as heroes of the past, especially when the finger is pointed at the man allegedly behind the killing, the hero who brought down the power of Spain in the islands, gave us our national flag and the national anthem, and established the first Philippine Republic, Don Emilio Aguinaldo.
Eyewitness Account of Bonifacio’s Death
The only available source material so far that can provide
the most reliable account of the death of the Bonifacio brothers is a long
letter dated June 27, 1929, by Lazaro Makapagal to Jose P. Santos. Makapagal was formerly an officer in the
Philippine Revolutionary Army with the rank of Major. He and four soldiers were ordered to
implement the decision of the Council of War, which made them the executioners
and the only eyewitnesses. Any account
or story that did not come from these five persons should not be considered.
Santos got into the picture because, at that time, he was writing a book entitled “Si Andres Bonifacio at ang Himagsikan” (Andres Bonifacio and the Revolution). He wanted to include in the book the true story of the shooting of the brothers, and so he asked Makapagal to relate to him what really happened. Makapagal was lackadaisical at first, saying a long time had passed, and almost everyone around Manila and its environs already knew what had happened. But he finally relented, and now history is provided with one single reliable account by an eyewitness on how the Bonifacio brothers were shot in the form of a written document.
Recall that President Aguinaldo commuted the verdict of the death sentence handed down by the Council of War on the Bonifacio brothers to banishment to the interiors of Cavite (Kalaw-Teodoro[Court-Martial], 39). Procopio and the attorney of Andres acknowledged this commutation order by signing it. Andres, however, was unable to sign because of the wound in the arm he suffered during the exchange of fire with the arresting officers. (Taylor[I], 330; Kalaw-Teodoro[Court-Martial], 40-41)
All the while, the two brothers were entertaining the idea that they were not going to be shot but were supposed to be escorted only to the place of their banishment. When the brothers and their escorts were resting from their long walk to the mountains, Andres asked Makapagal to open the sealed envelope containing the order of the Council of War to know where they would be left on their own. Makapagal acceded. He opened the envelope and read the letter aloud. The two brothers were jolted and completely surprised after hearing what Macapagal had just read – that they were going to be shot.
According to the account of Makapagal, they first took care of Procopio. They brought him into the inner section of the forest, where he was shot. Then, they came back for Andres, whom two soldiers were guarding. Andres knelt and pleaded not to be shot, but Macapagal ignored his plea. Andres then bolted and rushed into the interior of the forest. The pursuers caught up with him at the bank of a river, where they shot him. The brothers were buried in a shallow grave because the soldiers only had bayonets with them, and they just covered the grave with branches of trees.
Makapagal said he could not forget the date of May 10, 1897, because that was the day Spanish troops attacked the town of Maragondon. There was heavy fighting at the plaza and the patio of the church, and a stray bullet wounded him.
The Lazaro Makapagal Letter
Here is the translation of the Tagalog text of the letter of Lazaro Macapagal to Jose P. Santos dated June 27, 1929:
“Mr. Jose P. Santos1017 Pennsylvania,
Malate, Manila
“Dear Sir:
“I am writing you about your request to explain my military action on what happened to the brothers Andres and Procopio Bonifacio after 30 years had passed. I could not comply soon enough because the event happened long ago, and those living around Manila already know what happened.
“It seems a long time has elapsed and is no longer needed. In any case, I am acceding to your request, and this is what happened:
“On May 10, 1897, the day the Spanish troops attacked the town of Maragondon, Cavite, before the sound of the reveille, an order was brought to me saying: “Major, General Noriel wants to see you.” I immediately dressed up and reported to the General. After I saluted him and he did the same, he handed me a letter in a sealed envelope and said, ‘Major, this letter is for you, but do not open it. You will proceed to the quarters and tell Colonel Ritual to give you four soldiers, then go to Ermita and take the prisoners Andres and Procopio Bonifacio and bring them to the mountain of Tala. As soon as you reach the place, open the letter, read it aloud in front of the prisoners, and strictly obey the order contained in the letter.’ As I was handed the letter, the General instructed me to make haste because the Spaniards were coming.
“I proceeded to the Colonel Ritual in the quarters and told
him of the orders of the General, and he forthwith gave me four soldiers. The five of us went to Ermita. When we arrived at the house, I called upon
the two brothers and told them they would be sent to the mountain of Tala, and
they came down bringing their clothes.
We went to Tala. While we were
walking, they asked me if they were going to be shot. I told them my orders were to bring them to
the mountain of Tala, perhaps to secure them away from the fight. They also asked me what I knew about what
would happen to them. I answered that I
am only a Major in the army, far from the top leadership, and always in the quarters,
so I do not get any news except to receive orders and perform work. While we were walking, we talked very
peacefully. We did not know what would
happen, so even the soldiers were unprepared for eventuality. When we reached a place near a small,
circular hill, adjacent to the bamboo groves, on the other side of the stream in
the north, where we can see the town of Maragondon, on the right is the rising
sun, and at our back we can see Mount Buntis, the brothers asked if we can take
a rest because they were already tired.
I agreed. We sat at the foot of
the hill, in front of the stream and the bamboo groves. A little later, Don Andres said: ‘Brother, we are almost near Mount
Tala. Would you be kind enough to open the envelope so we
know where you will leave us and let us go?’ In consideration of his entreaty, I agreed. I thought I was going to entrust them to the
headman of Tala. Following my orders, I read the letter aloud to the
brothers which says more or less the following statement:
“Major Lazaro Makapagal:
“In accordance with the order of the Council of War, which was convened in Maragondon on the 8th of May against the brothers Andres and Procopio Bonifacio, the sentence was death by shooting. On the strength of this verdict, you and your soldiers are ordered to implement the sentence and shoot the two brothers.
“You are being reminded that any dereliction of duty or failure to comply with this order will result in the application of sanction against you under the Spanish Code of Military Procedure (Codigo de Enjuiciemento Militar Espanol)
“May God keep you for a long time.
“Mariano Noriel”
“When the brothers heard the word shoot, I stopped reading because Procopio jumped from his seat and muttered “Oh brother!” On the other hand, Andres knelt down and tried to embrace me while pleading, “Brother, forgive me.” I stepped back and focused on what Procopio would do, for he was stronger than Andres and might do me in. I was afraid that they might fight it out or escape and hide in the forest. Pity on me and fear of my superiors reigned on me. What will happen to me? And so I shouted, ‘Men, get ready! Load your rifles!’ When they heard the sound of the loading of rifles, they held their silence. When the rifles were loaded, I stood before Procopio and said: ‘Face the stream’ and pointed the path towards the forest to him. And inside the forest, we fulfilled the order of the Council of War. Then I went back for Andres, whom two soldiers were guarding. When he saw me, he knelt down and said, ‘Brother, forgive me!’ I was then in danger like him. He was resentful like I was too, but ‘I cannot do anything’ was my answer to him. When he realized his pleading fell on deaf ears he ran towards the forest, so we went after him. We caught up with him at the bank of a river, the innermost corner of a small river. He was on the main river, and the small river was only a meander. That is where we shot him. Then we tried to bury them, as a sign of respect, but we did not have the tools to dig a grave. In any case, we could dig a small one using our bayonets and cover the grave with branches of trees.
“We went back after accomplishing our task. In my own feelings, I detested what I did, but when I reminisced on it, I could not do anything against those who gave me orders that I could not disobey. I again read the letter from beginning to end. We went back to Maragondon dejected of what happened. If I only knew beforehand, I would have refused the assignment because I do not like that kind of service. I would rather face dangers in a battle than perform the kind of assignment to someone who was not my enemy and had no ill feelings towards me. When we were near the town of Maragondon we were met by the wife of Andres, Ms. Gregoria de Jesus, asking where we brought the two (Andres and Procopio) who I had taken from her. Held by my pity on her, I could not say anything because of the great sorrow it would bring to her. I could only tell her: ‘Proceed on your way and inquire from the headman of Tala.’ That was a lie, but what would I say in my pity for her? And we continue walking. When we arrived, the center of the town was already full of Spaniards, everyone was in the thick of the fight. There was fighting in the patio, in front of the church, in the convent and cannon fire was directed at the bell tower. Fragments of stone flew as the bell tower was hit, and I lost my headgear, which I was unable to recover due to heavy fighting. It did not take long when a Mauser bullet hit me in the chest, but I did not suffer much because the bullet ricocheted from the steel clock in the patio before it hit me. When the Spaniards attacked with fixed bayonets, we could not endure anymore. The dead and wounded lay strewn on the patio. I don’t know what happened. I was hit in my right leg; I could not stand up or crawl. A soldier pulled me. I was dragged like a branch of a tree across the river. When we were on the other side, another soldier helped me. We were able to get away from the rain of bullets, and the soldiers left me under a big tree. The fight started in the morning, and the town was overrun at three in the afternoon. Sounds of gunfire could still be heard up to six o’clock in the evening. I stayed under the tree overnight alone. I ate nothing even though I was hungry all day and night. The following morning, I was brought to safety. They tended my wounds and brought me to a place near Mount Buntis. I did not see General Noriel, who gave me the orders, because of the dispersal of the troops on account of the heavy fighting. Because of this incident and the three wounds I suffered, I will never forget that day when the Spaniards attacked the town of Maragondon, which was the same day the Bonifacio brothers were executed.”
“Manila, June 27, 1929
“Lazaro Makapagal”
(Author’s translation from Tagalog text found in Santos[Himagsikan], 30-34)
The Mystery in the Death of the Bonifacio Brothers
The death of Andres and Procopio Bonifacio had been a controversial subjectfor a long time because of the mystery that surrounded it. The question asked was:
“If they were to be killed, why was there a need to commute their sentence, and if their sentence was commuted, why were they shot?” (Author’s translation of Tagalog text in Santos[Katipunan], Repaged 195)
According to Santos, General Pio Del Pilar offered to solve the mystery in a statement he issued in 1929 saying that President Aguinaldo granted the brothers Bonifacio clemency, but when General Noriel received it, the Bonfacio brothers were already dead. (Santos[Himagsikan], 34)
During the celebration of his 79th birthday, which coincided with the 50th anniversary of the Tejeros election, Aguinaldo was asked by his guests, who included historians and advisers, to explain the circumstances of the mysterious death of Andres and Procopio Bonifacio. They asked him if it was true that the Bonifacio brothers were already dead when General Noriel received the commutation order. Aguinaldo replied that this was a lie and took a draft of a statement from his private room, which he said essentially contained a similar statement that he was asked to sign, but he refused.
Aguinaldo explained to his guests that after he issued the commutation order, he was immediately approached by Generals Pio del Pilar and Mariano Noriel and several leading officials of the revolutionary government, pleading with him to recall the order for the sake of the continuity and stability of the revolution and the personal safety of the leadership. He said that because of their entreaties, he was convinced to cancel the commutation and instructed General Noriel to implement the decision of the Council of War. With this revelation, the guests requested Aguinaldo to formalize his statement, and he wrote in his own handwriting the following: '
“After the passage of a long time, all the debate on the death of the father of the Katipunan, the hero Andres Bonifacio, did not give value or benefit, and because things have changed and we have again gained our freedom and our lost Philippine Republic, I will remind everyone, while it may already be known to the public, that there is no mystery behind the death of the hero Andres Bonifacio. It will indeed be a mystery if that is what is written or pictured by subjective historians.
“The documents published and kept by Mr. Jose P. Santos will give credence and legitimacy to the judgment of the Council of War that tried and handed the sentence to the Bonifacio brothers to die by the shooting.
“The leadership of the proceedings resolutely confirmed the judgment and were unanimous as to the righteousness of the judgment. But when the papers were handed over to me, and because I did not want to sully the unity of our people for the revolution, because I was powerful then, I decided to amend the verdict on Andres and Procopio Bonifacio and commuted it to exile to a far-flung place.
“Now, when it became known I was approached by two members of the Council of War, General Mariano Noriel, and General Pio del Pilar, and my attention was called to the effect that ‘If you want the stability of our Revolutionary government to continue and if you want us to stay alive recall the commutation order given to the brothers.’ And so I recalled the order and instructed General Noriel to implement the verdict of the Council of War on the brothers.
“(Signed) Emilio Aguinaldo
Kawit, Kabite March 22, 1948”
(Author’s translation of Tagalog text found in Santos[Katipunan], Repaged 201)
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