ALLEGED ANDRES BONIFACIO SPEECH AT THE FOUNDING OF THE KATIPUNAN

Pascual H.Poblete, in his biography of Dr.Jose Rizal, published a speech allegedly delivered by Andres Bonifacio during the founding of the 'Katipunan' on July 7,1892 when the 'Gaceta de Manila ' published Gov.Gen. Eulogio Despujol's decree banishing Rizal to an island in the south of the Philippines.

The TAGALOG TEXT is as follows:

"Mga capatid:

Tayo'y di mga pantas, caya di mariringal na talumpati at di maririkit na sulat ang ating idaraos; sa gawa natin daanin;ang catubusa'y hindi macucuha sa salita , kinacamtan sa pagsasabog ng dugo!

Talastas ninyo ang calupitang guinawa sa ating capatid na si Dr.Rizal, iya'y maliwanag na halimbawang nagpapakita sa ating di tayo macacaligtas sa caalipnan cung di daraanin sa pakikipagbaca.

Sucat na ang pagcacababa! Sucat na ang pangangatuwiran! nangatwiran si Rizal ay hinuli pagcatapos na mapagusig ang mga magulang,capatid,kamaganacan at cacampi!

Sucat na ! Papagsalitain natin naman ang sandata! Natayo'y papagusigin,mabibilango,ipapatapon,papatayin? Hindi dapat nating ipagcalumo ang lahat ng ito, mabuti pa nang tayo'y mamatay caysa manatili sa pagcacabusabos.

At nang maganap natin ang dakilang cadahilanan ng pagpupulong nating ito'y ating itayo ang isang malakas,matibay at makapangyarihang catipunan ng mga anac ng bayan.

Mabuhay ang Filipinas !!!"

ENGLISH TRANSLATION :

" My brothers:

"We are not that highly educated *, therefore we will not deliver flowery speeches and write artistic prose # ; we will accomplish it through action , (national) salvation can not be attain through word or writing ; it can only be achieved through the shedding of blood !

You have known about the cruelty inflicted to our brother Dr.Jose Rizal, it is a clear example that shows that we can not be redeemed from slavery without resorting to (revolutionary) struggle.##

Enough of humility ! Enough of reasoning ! Rizal argued , but was arrested and then his parents, siblings, relatives and sympathizers were persecuted!

Enough ! Let our weapons do the talking ! That (they) will persecute, imprison , exile (and) execute ( us) ? Let not these things weaken our determination , it is better for us to die than remain in slavery !

In order that we will accomplish the great cause of our meeting, we should establish a powerful, strong and powerful association of the sons ** of the people.

Long live the Philippines !!! "

(Notes:

I combined literal rendering and paraphrasing in my translation. I add words in parenthesis ( )

to convey clearer meaning.

* "pantas"- literal meaning "wise" . experts" ". If I will apply literal Tagalog it would be translated as "We are not wise men" .I paraphrased it to "highly educated". Bonifacio made a striking contrast that separates the founders of the "Katipunan "( who are not "pantas" )with the members of the elitist educated class/ ' ilustrados ' . He used the term "pantas " to described the "ilustrados" or the university educated professional Filipinos based in Europe (particularly Spain) and their counterparts in the Philippines who launched a peaceful campaign for the introduction of liberal reforms to the Philippines. They advocated for "assimilation"-not "separation/independence". Their goal is to make the Philippines a province of Spain ; hence extending Spanish citizenship to the inhabitants of the Philippines,thus making them enjoy the same rights and privileges of the Spaniards in the peninsula.( see John N. Schumacher,"The Propaganda Movement : 1880-1895)

# "maririkit na sulat" literal translation "beautiful /nice writing". Bonifacio alluded to the method used by the "ilustrados"in their PEACEFUL campaign for reforms: publishing an official newspaper (La Solidaridad),pamphlets and books exposing the abuses of the Spanish rule in the Philippines in order that the colonial metropolis Madrid may be persuaded to extend its liberal legislations to the Philippines.

"maririkit na sulat" which I translated as "artistic prose " reminds me of Chairman Mao Zedong's 'dictum ' written on 1927 : "A REVOLUTION is not a dinner party, or WRITING AN ESSAY, or painting a picture,or doing embroidery IT CA NOT BE SO REFINED, so leisurely and gentle,so temperate,kind courteous ,restrained and magnanimous. A revolution is an insurrection , an act of violence by which one class overthrows another." ( from " Quotations from Chairman Mao Tse-tung" pp.11-12. Foreign Language Press. Peking.1966, emphasis mine-D )

** "anac ng bayan" , can be translated as 'sons of the people" ,"sons of the country" equivalent to Spanish "hijo de pais".The tagalog term "anac/anak" is neuter in gender,and can be translated as " sons/daughters of the people.

## "pakikibaka"- fight ,struggle. warfare or revolution.In the context of the speech where Bonifacio mention the "pagsabog ng dugo" (literral Tagalog, "bursting to blood" in clear English "shedding of blood/bloodshed")i n the previous paragraph , Bonifacio is contemplating of a VIOLENT REVOLUTION against the oppressive Spanish rule.

RECOMMENDATION:

Poblete did not mention the source of this speech. Further research should be made regarding its authenticity . The author will welcome constructive criticisms /comments to improve this article.

Source:

."Buhay ay Ginawa ni Dr.Jose Rizal " by Pascual Poblete ... in

Jose Rizal.Info/Biography//u_buhay_at ginawa_rizal htm