Rizal, Bonifacio and noble, valiant Filipino freedom fighters

In response to our request for an appropriate poem to be read before the Filipino community in Tsukuba, Ibaraki, Japan during their commemoration of the June 12 declaration of Philippine Independence, former UP President and now President of Kalayaan College, Dr. Jose V. Abueva, kindly sent a copy of Andres Bonifacio’s “Pagtatanggol ng Kalayaan ng Ating Bayan” dated 1897 which he said he found in his long anthology on The Making of the Filipino Nation and Republic ( 1997) on pages 302-304.

A close examination of Bonifacio’s proclamation to the Katipuneros shows how deeply and passionately he felt about their fight for freedom from the hands of the abusive foreign conquerors. Note, for example, the first portion of his statement which he originally wrote in Tagalog and which was translated into English by the historian Teodoro A. Agoncillo. (Due to limited space, we apologize for presenting the English translation of certain portions of the original).

“The valor that you have manifested in the fight against the Spanish enemy since the commencement of the revolution eminently proves that you are not disheartened by the signs of military preparations and imminent attack by Polavieja’s army which, in so short a time, has already shown sheer cowardice and a slave’s meanness of character in torturing and killing so many Filipino non-combatants. The burning of the children, the rape of the women whose honor and weakness were not even respected, the snuffing out of lives of the aged who could not move and of the sucking infants, acts which never would never have been done by honorable and brave men, call of immediate vengeance and punishment to the fullest extent.

In the fury of your struggle, some of you might die in the midst of a battle, but this is an honor that will be a legacy to our country, to our race and to our progeny.

Your death will infuse life into our country and will serve as a sweet remembrance to your sisters and brothers who will be left behind.

Bear in mind that the cause of our sacrifices is the realization of the dreamed-of-liberty of our native land that will give us freedom and will vindicate the honor that, through slavery, was interred in the grave of incomparable oppression.”

In his next lines, Bonifacio reminded the Filipino freedom fighters to remember Rizal and all others who were murdered and whose lives were snuffed by the Spaniards.

“Will you, perchance, be disheartened and your feeling visited by a sense of regret in dying for this cause? No! No! For there in your memory are painted the thousands upon thousands of lives snuffed out by brutal hands of the Spaniards; the groans, the sighs and the sobs of those orphaned by cruelty; the picture of our brothers who were thrown into the horrible jails and suffering untold miseries; the interminable flow of the tears of those who were snatched from the sides of their children, wives and aged parents by being exiled to far-off places; and the unjust murder of our beloved countryman, Jose Rizal, have opened a wound in our hearts that will never be healed.( in Bonifacio’s own words, “ang katampalasanang pagpatay sa ating pinakaiibig nating kababayan na si M. Jose Rizal, ay nagbukas na sa ating puso ng isang sugat na kailan pa ma’y hindi na mababahaw.”)

 Finally, Bonifacio, inspired by Rizal and his love for the Filipinos and his country urged all to keep the struggle for freedom burning “in order that the sacredness and honor of our country be made complete, in order that the whole world might witness the nobility of our character… not to go to battle merely in the interest of killing, but rather in defense of the liberty of our country, and thus fighting cry out at the top of our voices: Mabuhay! Long Live the Sovereign People of the Philippines!”

May every Filipino remember not only the words but the heroic deeds of Jose Rizal and Bonifacio, as well as other unknown, unnamed but noble and valiant Filipinos who gave up their lives “in defense of the liberty of our country” and our people.

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