The November LitWit Challenge: Write a letter to Andres Bonifacio
Ala-ala ng Bayang Filipino sa mga Bayani ng 96, the monument in front of Vinzons Hall at UP Diliman
On 30 November 2013, we mark the 150th birthday of Andres Bonifacio, the Father of the Philippine Revolution.
What became of Bonifacio’s revolution? What is his legacy? Does Andres Bonifacio matter in the 21st century? If he does, why is the manner of his death still a mystery to us? Why don’t we know for certain where he is buried? Why aren’t we sure those are his bones? Why have we not dealt with the fact that he was killed by his own allies? Why has there been no justice for Andres Bonifacio?
For this LitWit Challenge, write a letter to Andres Bonifacio. Choose your topic. The letter can be as long or as short as you wish. Post it in comments by 11:59pm on 1 December 2013. The winner (and the prize) will be announced on 3 December 2013.
This LitWit Challenge is brought to you by National Bookstore.
Answers to questions you might be asking, unless you wandered onto this site purely by accident >>>
November 29th, 2013 at 12:48
Mahal na Supremo:
Bago ako natanggap sa Pamantasan ng Pilipinas, isa akong mag-aaral na may mababaw na kaisipan at pananaw sa kasaysayan ng Pilipinas. Ang nakuha ko lamang sa lektura at mga aklat tungkol sa inyo ay ang pagtatag ng Katipunan, pagpunit ng sedula, ang inyong kahirapan, at pangunguna sa grupong Magdiwang. Di man lamang ako nagtaka kung bakit pagkatapos ng yugtong ito sa kasaysayan ng Pilipinas hindi na kayo nabanggit o di man lamang nabigyan ng salaysay ang inyong biglang paglaho. Isang malaking balintuna na ang aking kaalaman sa inyong buhay at pakikibaka ay napakaunti kumpara sa ating itinuturing na ibang bayani, dahil ang mataas na paaralan na kung saan ako kabilang ay sa inyo nakapangalan.
Sa Pamantasan nakasalamuha ko ang mga guro at kamag-aral na taliwas ang kaalaman at paniniwala sa aking nakasanayan. Nabuksan ang aking isip sa pagtalakay ng kasaysayan sa pananaw ng masa, hindi ng mga elitista na karaniwang sumulat ng ating kasaysayan. Pinukaw ang aking interes nina Renato Constantino, Teodoro Agoncillo, Hernando Abaya at iba pa. Namulat ang aking kaisipan sa mas mahalaga at mas malawak ninyong papel sa kasaysayan ng ating bansa, partikular na sa himagsikan laban sa mga dayuhan. Sumasang-ayon ako na hindi kayo nabigyan ng kaukulang kahalagahan at pagkilala. Bukod sa napakababang klase ng pagkakasulat, ang mga aklat sa kasaysayan na aking kinamulatan bago ako pumasok sa Pamantasan, at siyang ginagamit ng karaniwang paaralan, ay mas binibigyang diin ang daloy ng mga pangyayari at tao hindi ang dahilan at konteksto ng mga pangyayari. Kaya, ang kahalagahan ng inyong papel ay natabunan sa mga kamay ng mga dunung-dunungan na mga manunulat.
Nais kong ipabatid sa inyo na isa ko sa di nakapagbigay ng kaukulang kahalagahan at pagkilala sa inyong kabayanihan sa panahong nasa posisyon ako para gawin ito. Saan pa na ang aming paaralan ay dala-dala ang inyong pangalan, subalit ni minsan wala kaming naging tanging pagdiriwang para sa inyong kagitingan. Ni wala nga kaming estatwa mo sa kampus. Patnugot ako ng aming pahayagan, pero ni minsan wala man lang natatanging lathala na binibigyang dangal ang inyong kabayanihan. Humihingi ako ng tawad dahil produkto lang ako ng maling edukasyon.
Pero, tila di ko matatakasan ang inyong alaala. Ngayon naman ang aking tirahan ay sa kampo militar na malapit sa pangunahing pamilihan na parehong dala ang inyong pangalan. Di ko lamang maunawaan kung bakit ang pangunahing distrito na ito ng mga kalakal ay pinangalanan sa inyo. Dahil ba nagnegosyo din kayo noon ng abaniko o dahil ang rebolusyon sa panahong ito ay pinangungunahan na ng mga mangangalakal? Sana hindi ito isang insulto sa inyong ipinaglaban. May malaking pagdiriwang dito para sa ika-150 anibersaryo ng inyong kapanganakan Kami ng aking kasamahan ay may partisipasyon, at sana sa pamamagitan nito, sa aming maliit na paraan, makapag-alay kami ng pagtama sa maling kinabihasnan ng mga Pilipino sa inyong kabayanihan.
November 30th, 2013 at 14:14
maari ko bang daanin sa tula ang aking liham kay gat andres bonifacio?
ANO’NG NAPALA MO NANG MAGING BAYANI?
Punglong nang-uusig sa hapong katawan.
Libingang hinukay ng sariling kamay.
Asawang niluray ng ibang kandungan.
Mga tulang limot nitong sambayanan.
Monumentong bantad sa dumi ng lungsod.
Dula’t pelikulang hindi ka naarok.
Salaping di sapat sa bayang hikahos.
Taunang piyesta ng layang binansot.
Awiting gasgas na’t sadyang sintunado.
Mga moro-morong hatid ng gobyerno.
Dakilang lunggating kinamkam ng dayo.
Mga kabataang nagpapaka-konyo.
December 1st, 2013 at 03:38
Ginoong Bonifacio,
Ginoogle ko ang “Bonifacio money” at lumabas ang mga larawan ng lumang limang piso kung saan andun ang mukha mo. Sa pangatlong linya nakita ko ang limang piso na naabutan ko: si Aguinaldo na. Bakit ito nangyari? At hindi ba ito isang kabalintunaan? Ano ang opinyon mo dito?
Napansin ko din na noong nasa mababang paaralan pa lang ako, hindi ikaw bida; hindi masyadong pinag-usapan sa silid-aralan kaya hindi kita kilala ng lubos. Pero sino nga ba ang nakakakilala sayo? Ang sikat na linyang: “Punitin natin ang ating mga sedula” ay hindi naipaliwanag ang lalim. Sa aking pagbabasa, ang sedula pala noon ay itinuturing na isang napakahalagang dokumento; isang patunay ng pagkakakilanlan. Ngayon, pag pinunit ko ang sedula ko, wala lang. Baka kailanganin ko bumili uli.
Kung sa panahong ito ka nabuhay, sa tingin ko ay matutuwa ka sa social media; madaling magpalaganap ng impormasyon, hindi tulad noon. Marami na rin ang mga naisulat tungkol sayo. Ang kailangan na lang ay mahikayat ang mga tao na magbasa para mamulat sa kasaysayan.
December 1st, 2013 at 16:33
Dear Captain Andres,
Happy 150th birthday. I thought you’d also be a scorpio but turns out you’re Sagittarius. Can’t have it all I guess.
I’m kidding. Please let me catch you up.
It’s 2013. Filipinos haven’t answered to Spaniards for 115 years. Americans and Japanese moved in for awhile but were driven off. Leaders in those rebellions mentioned you an awful lot.
We hold you dear even today.
Your outcry at Balintawak is frozen in stone along the capital’s highway.
Your role as Katipunan’s leader is cast in unyielding metal, sword arm forever raised in our nation’s heart. Today, I along with 96 million of my countrymen celebrate your birthdate across Asia, Europe and as far as the Americas.
But we sure could use you right now.
Some in government serve to oppress the people. They focus on securing comfortable lives; building huge mansions, owning extravagant kalesas and supporting numerous mistresses at the expense of the people. The public feels the current president has betrayed them, much like first one betrayed you.
Even worse, people forget the freedom you fought for. A good number of Filipinos now spend their lives slaved to jobs they don’t enjoy, buying things they don’t need, to impress people they don’t like.
There exists an opulent part in Manila’s center. It used to be a fortress. Getting there is tedious unless on horseback. Hailed as a beacon of progress, it has buildings as tall as a hundred men and streets that never know the dark of night. Thousands of us live and work there. This place is now sanctuary for companies from Spain, America and Japan. Their temples dominate the landscape. Our countrymen pay to have themselves branded here. They worship everyday.
It bears your name.
Could I ask, what set you off becoming a hero? Was there a final injustice that pushed you down that path? Did you know you were heroic? How do you define heroism?
Nowadays, especially in politics, Filipinos consider a hero someone not doing the wrong thing. I miss hearing stories of people reaching deep within themselves to find something truly worth striving for.
itinakda ng buong galang,
-Reg
PS. There was a recent storm. It ravaged Visayas. A number of us showed the Katipunan spirit. It fosters hope.
PPS. Joey Ayala has an inspiring rendition of our national anthem. I don’t know if you have access to the internet but please give it a listen:
Lupang Hinirang
December 1st, 2013 at 22:19
My Dearest Boni,
You don’t mind if I call you Boni, do you? With all that I’ve read about you – your heroism, your sheer tenacity – I feel that I’ve known you for so long. I am not being forward. If you know me, which if I was alive in your time or you in mine you would, being forward is not me at all. I just feel like we’ve been friends forever so you must allow me to address you as Boni.
You don’t mind me writing to you in English, a foreign language, do you? I may speak English with a hodge-podge of accents, but I am a Filipino in mind and heart, where it matters. This, my telling you that I am a true Filipino, reminds me that if I have an 1893 Spanish Mauser rifle or a Remington Rolling Block Spanish rifle every time I am asked, “Are you Singaporean? Korean? Thai? Taiwanese? Japanese? Malaysian? Indonesian?” I would have been able to arm the large contingent of Katipuneros. If you did so much with your iconic bolo in working towards Philippine independence, imagine what you could have done with all those rifles I could have supplied. Boni, maybe even the world!
I digress. I know you won’t begrudge me of using a foreign language. You didn’t mind Jose Rizal. Nah! I am not saying I am like him in this age. My writing is good, that’s said with a lot of self-conceit, but not Noli Me Tangere or El Filibusterismo good.
Speaking of Rizal, I also want my writings to inspire people to not only question what is going on, but to actually do something to change it. See what I mean by us being friends? I just need to find the You and the Mabini of this time and the triumvirate is complete which, just like in your time, will greatly increase the chance of us winning our time’s revolution.
This revolution is the hardest yet we’ve fought and maybe we ever will.
Boni, I ask you, how can you fight your own self? Paano lalabanan kung mga kapwa Filipino din ang mismong manlulupig at mang-aapi? How can any battle waged against your fellow countrymen be won?
It grieves me to tell you that after the independence we’ve earned because of the lives you and others – Rizal, Jacinto, and Mabini to list a few – willingly gave, we’ve become our worst enemy.
Yes, so many things had changed, but yet nothing really did. The people plundering the “Bayang nagkupkop” are no longer foreign. They are as Filipino as you and me.
Sometimes I wonder who is the better evil – a gaggle of foreigners raping this proud, proud land or a handful of Filipinos plundering everything they can get their pudgy kayumanggi hands on? I ask you, Boni. What is worse?
Tell me Boni when you were forming the Katipunan did you ever envision a freed Philippines where its leaders are as good as or even better than the invaders you fought with and lost your life to in sucking the blood out from the Filipino’s every orifice? Did you ever imagine that these leaders through their hired goons turn their weapons against the very people they have sworn to protect? And for what? For every slight, imagined or real, to their dishorable name? TELL ME BONI!
I beg your pardon for losing my cool there. In this age, a letter in all capital is akin to shouting. When you write back in all capital letters, I will understand why you find the need to shout. With what I’ve told you so far, yet there is more, who couldn’t help but shout in rage and bloody murder? For the person who wrote, “Aling pag-ibig pa ang hihigit kaya sa pagkadalisay at magkadakila,” shouting entirely acceptable when he’ll learn that pagkadalisay and magkadakila are values too many of our leaders haven’t even heard of.
This month of your birth the Philippines especially Leyte and Samar suffered terrible and horrifying disaster, the magnitude of which I’ve never seen yet in my lifetime. Thousands died, millions were displaced and affected.
I don’t exactly know how you dealt with failures further down the chain of command in your days, but I am betting here that you didn’t shout it to the whole world that so and so f*cked up. Yet this is what the person we are saddled with as supremo did. Imagine waking up in the middle of a wasteland, your entire family lost and every night you sleep beside your dead child because there is nowhere else to go, then you see the very person who should have been able to help blame you and tell you that if you’d prepared it wouldn’t have been like that. You hear this person spewing hurtful words when a hug could have helped you grieve.
Sadly, he and the rest have 2 years and 7 months left. I pray to God that within this time there will be no more disaster that will bring further devastation to this precious, precious country. When the highest leader of the land knows nothing better than to point fingers, you know for sure that something is very, very f*cked up.
Then we have these people in Congress and the Senate who you’d think enriching themselves with the people’s money is the main reason why they bothered to stand up and fashioned themselves politicians. You want to be a millionaire many times over? Run for Congress or better yet the Senate. People kill for this opportunity.
Let me tell you about this one person who has been a politician longer than I am alive. He’s still at it and worse his entire clan is now part of the business of transferring the people’s money to their family’s coffers.
How about this one, long retired, who is rumored to have more families than the number of tentacles of an octopus. Unfortunately, one of these tentacles replaced him. You really can’t believe the gall of these people. They grow like a hydra – you cut a head with a bolo and viola! Two head grow out of it.
This is depressing me. Boni, I wish you can reach out beyond the grave with your bolo and terrifying this political grotesquerie.
So Boni what do we do when our leaders fail us? Do you take up arms like you did against the Spaniards? In our time, does true freedom mean Filipinos killing one another?
Sincerely,
Isang Kawal