Philippine Revolution
Course of the Revolution

The existence of the Katipunan eventually became known to the colonial authorities through Teodoro Patiño, who revealed it to the Spaniard La Font, general manager of the printing shop Diario de Manila. Patiño was engaged in a bitter dispute over pay with a co-worker, Katipunero member Apolonio de la Cruz, and exposed the Katipunan in revenge. La Font led a Spanish police lieutenant to the shop and to the desk of Apolonio, where they "found Katipunan paraphernalia such as a rubber stamp, a little book, ledgers, membership oaths signed in blood, and a membership roster of the Maghiganti chapter of the Katipunan."

As with the Terror of 1872, colonial authorities made several arrests and used torture to identify other Katipunan members. Despite having no involvement in the secessionist movement, many of them were executed, notably Don Francisco Roxas. Bonifacio had forged their signatures in Katipunan documents, hoping that they would be forced to support the revolution.

On August 24, 1896, Bonifacio called Katipunan members to a mass gathering in Caloocan, where the group decided to start a nationwide armed revolution against Spain. The event included a mass tearing of cedulas (community tax certificates) accompanied by patriotic cries. The exact date and location are disputed, but two possibilities have been officially endorsed by the Philippine government: initially August 26 in Balintawak, and later August 23 in Pugad Lawin. Thus, the event is called the " Cry of Pugad Lawin " or "Cry of Balintawak". However, the issue is further complicated by other possible dates such as August 24 and 25 and other locations such as Kangkong, Bahay Toro and Pasong Tamo. Furthermore, at the time, "Balintawak" referred not only to a specific place, but also a general area that included some of the proposed sites, such as Kangkong.

Upon the discovery of the Katipunan, Bonifacio called all Katipunan councils to a meeting in Balintawak or Kangkong to discuss their situation. According to historian Teodoro Agoncillo, the meeting occurred on August 19; however, revolutionary leader Santiago Álvarez stated that it occurred on August 22.

On August 21, Katipuneros were already congregating in Balintawak in Caloocan. Late in the evening, amidst heavy rain, the rebels moved to Kangkong in Caloocan, and arrived there past midnight. As a precaution, the rebels moved to Bahay Toro or Pugad Lawin on August 23. Agoncillo places the Cry and tearing of certificates at the house of Juan Ramos, which was in Pugad Lawin. Alvarez writes that they met at the house of Melchora Aquino (known as "Tandang Sora", and mother of Juan Ramos) in Bahay Toro on that date. Agoncillo places Aquino's house in Pasong Tamo and the meeting there on August 24. The rebels continued to congregate, and by August 24, there were over a thousand.

On August 24, it was decided to notify the Katipunan councils of the surrounding towns that an attack on the capital Manila was planned for August 29. Bonifacio appointed generals to lead rebel forces in Manila. Before hostilities erupted, Bonifacio also reorganized the Katipunan into an open revolutionary government, with himself as president and the Supreme Council of the Katipunan as his cabinet.

On the morning of August 25, the rebels came under attack by a Spanish civil guard unit, with the rebels having greater numbers but the Spanish being better armed. The forces disengaged after a brief skirmish and some casualties on both sides.

Another skirmish took place on August 26, which sent the rebels retreating toward Balara. At noon, Bonifacio and some of his men briefly rested in Diliman. In the afternoon, civil guards sent to Caloocan to investigate attacks on Chinese merchants— done by bandits who had attached themselves to the rebels—came across a group of Katipuneros and briefly engaged them. The commander of the guards, Lieutenant Ros, reported the encounter to the authorities, and the report drove Governor-General Ramón Blanco to prepare for coming hostilities. General Blanco had about 10,000 Spanish regulars and the gunboats Isla de Cuba and Isla de Luzon by the end of November.

From August 27 to 28, Bonifacio moved from Balara to Mt. Balabak in Hagdang Bato, Mandaluyong. There, he held meetings to finalize plans for the Manila attack the following day. Bonifacio issued the following general proclamation:

This manifesto is for all of you. It is absolutely necessary for us to stop at the earliest possible time the nameless oppositions being perpetrated on the sons of the country who are now suffering the brutal punishment and tortures in jails, and because of this please let all the brethren know that on Saturday, the 29th of the current month, the revolution shall commence according to our agreement. For this purpose, it is necessary for all towns to rise simultaneously and attack Manila at the same time. Anybody who obstructs this sacred ideal of the people will be considered a traitor and an enemy, except if he is ill; or is not physically fit, in which case he shall be tried according to the regulations we have put in force. Mount of Liberty, 28 August 1896 – ANDRÉS BONIFACIO

The conventional view among Filipino historians is that Bonifacio did not carry out the planned Katipunan attack on Manila the following day and instead attacked a powder magazine at San Juan del Monte. However, more recent studies have advanced the view that the planned attack did occur; according to this view, Bonifacio's battle at San Juan del Monte (now called the " Battle of Pinaglabanan ") was only a part of a bigger "battle for Manila" hitherto unrecognized as such.

Hostilities in the area started on the evening of August 29, when hundreds of rebels attacked the Civil Guard garrison in Pasig, just as hundreds of other rebels personally led by Bonifacio were amassing in San Juan del Monte, which they attacked at about 4 a.m. on the 30th. Bonifacio planned to capture the San Juan del Monte powder magazine along with a water station which supplied Manila. The Spaniards, outnumbered, fought a delaying battle until reinforcements arrived. Once reinforced, the Spaniards drove Bonifacio's forces back with heavy casualties. Elsewhere, rebels attacked Mandaluyong, Sampaloc, Sta. Ana, Pandacan, Pateros, Marikina, and Caloocan, as well as Makati and Taguig. Balintawak in Caloocan saw intense fighting. Rebel troops tended to gravitate towards fighting in San Juan del Monte and Sampaloc. South of Manila, a thousand-strong rebel force attacked a small force of civil guards. In Pandacan, Katipuneros attacked the parish church, making the parish priest run for his life.

After their defeat in Battle of San Juan del Monte, Bonifacio's troops regrouped near Marikina, San Mateo and Montalban, where they proceeded to attack these areas. They captured the areas, but were driven back by Spanish counterattacks, and Bonifacio eventually ordered a retreat to Balara. On the way, Bonifacio was nearly killed shielding Emilio Jacinto from a Spanish bullet that grazed his collar. Despite his retreat, Bonifacio was not completely defeated and was still considered to be a threat.

South of Manila, the towns of San Francisco de Malabon, Noveleta and Kawit in Cavite rebelled a few days after. In Nueva Ecija, north of Manila, rebels in San Isidro, led by Mariano Llanera, attacked the Spanish garrison on September 2–4, but they were repulsed.

By August 30, the revolt had spread to eight provinces. On that date, Governor-General Ramón Blanco declared a "state of war" in these provinces and placed them under martial law. These provinces were Manila, Bulacan, Cavite, Pampanga, Tarlac, Laguna, Batangas, and Nueva Ecija. They would later be represented as the eight rays of the sun in the Filipino flag. Additionally, due to the scant military resources Spain had in the Philippines, the governor called for the participation of civilians in the defence of Spanish sovereingty and established the Loyal Volunteers' Battalion in Manila, following the example of similar units created in Cuba and Puerto Rico between the 1850s and the 1860s. More similar units were created in Manila and other areas under Spanish control.

The rebels had few firearms; they were mostly armed with bolo knives and bamboo spears. The lack of guns has been proposed as a possible reason why the Manila attack allegedly never succeeded. Also, the Katipunan leaders from Cavite had earlier expressed reservations about starting an uprising due to their lack of firearms and preparation. As a result, they did not send troops to Manila, but instead attacked garrisons in their own locales. Some historians have argued that the Katipunan defeat in the Manila area was (partly) the fault of the Cavite rebels due to their absence, as their presence would have proved crucial. In their memoirs, Cavite rebel leaders justified their absence in Manila by claiming Bonifacio failed to execute pre-arranged signals to begin the uprising, such as setting balloons loose and extinguishing the lights at the Luneta park. However, these claims have been dismissed as "historical mythology"; as reasoned by historians, if they were really waiting for signals before marching on Manila, they would have arrived "too late for the fray". Bonifacio's command for a simultaneous attack is interpreted as evidence that such signals were never arranged. Other factors for the Katipunan defeat include the capture of Bonifacio's battle plans by Spanish intelligence. The Spanish concentrated their forces in the Manila area while pulling out troops in other provinces (which proved beneficial for rebels in other areas, particularly Cavite). The authorities also transferred a regiment of 500 native troops to Marawi, Mindanao, where the soldiers later rebelled.
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