Forefathers of Clashing Powers, Rigged Alliances and False Nationalism

Andres Bonifacio will always be regarded as the icon of the Cry of Pugadlawin. He will always be the avid follower of Rizal's writing and he will always be the Father of Katipunan. His contribution to the Philippine revolution left a huge mark as it paved the way to attain independence from Spain. He may not be the founding persona of KKK but he was the most iconic and highly regarded Supremo of the organization. As he encountered attacks, dismissal, criticism, disapproval during his time and shortly his death, his credibility was put into test until the end.  

The start of all of these is when Emilio Aguinaldo had taken back most areas in the province of Cavite from the Spaniards, and Bonifacio, in charge of taking over Manila, therefore the contest for the incoming leader was at bay, where both strong contenders are making their own marks in their own fighting grounds. The Tejeros convention was a turning point for the Filipinos as it served as a opening to the Philippine Republic. It was in chaos and lasted for several days (Galeon, 2018). The Magdiwang and Magdalo groups were present and as they elect the officials, Bonifacio was already at disadvantage for these people are from Cavite and he is from Tondo. The votes would be in Aguinaldo's favor, also adding the fact that Aguinaldo relatively had more accounts of winning areas and towns than him. 

The Tejeros convention had two parts and on both instances Aguinaldo emerged as the victor, while Bonifacio was downgraded from being a supremo to a secretary for internal. The members of the convention also questioned his capacity to work in the said position as his educational background was criticized. It was a slap towards Bonifacio so he went back to Manila and established a new convention, Naic Military Agreement which repudiated the results from the Tejeros convention. Bonifacio along with his brothers were charged with treason for this matter. They underwent trial and their defense lawyer declared their guilt than defending them. The Bonifacio brothers were then sentenced to death. They died in Maragondon, Cavite.

Back in the primary and secondary levels, students were ought to believe that the Filipino heroes are mighty, god-like beings, romanticized to leave the young Filipinos with a sense of awestruck and admiration to serve as role models to the many generations of the Filipinos. As critical realist thinkers, it would be reasonable to think that the claim majority adhered to would be false. There is a great probability that ever since their times, our heroes, Bonifacio, Aguinaldo, etc., may have only had selfish reasons over the position, to be in power, to be in control. 

Ultimately, we can compare what happened in the past to our local and national politics. Politicians seize their positions and use it to their advantage. In Calbayog City, Samar, where I permanently reside, there are only two colors to choose from, yellow or red. The Uy family would be in the Dilawan and the Tan in the red, yet one from the Uy clan due to internal conflict separated and changed his color to red, attacking his own bloodline for the money, the status and the power at stake. The head of the Uy family was shot in a meeting de avance and died after, in 2010. The suspect came from the other party yet the case still hasn't moved on nine years after. There will always be a repeat in history, a pattern, a recurring core issue in the Philippine Government. Distrust, prioritizing the color more and resorting to killing the opposite site just to eliminate a strong candidate for office. Killing Bonifacio for being a threat to the position can be compared to this. And he and his brothers' account for treason which led to their deaths shows today's issue of EJK, death without the proper litigation. 

This reflects that the Philippines is still strongly entangled with the system that every group of people is independent, that one group is higher than the other and that no uniting force is able to shatter this force hindering the country to be free from intensely destructive political turmoil. We are who we are, and others will always be others mentality is indeed difficult to forever dismiss yet as we journey to the new Philippines, we might as well reflect and look back to our forefathers, and relate to our current government, that these political bickering, divided decisions and governmental issues, should be looked upon a new light in order to move on from the past and let history be history, only serving as our guide as we try reconcile and diverge from our deep-rooted political backgrounds, to serve a new nation. This is what the Tejeros Convention taught me. 

References:

http://www.philippinestudies.net/files/journals/1/articles/1155/public/1155-1240-1-PB.pdf

https://kahimyang.com/kauswagan/articles/1258/the-tejeros-convention-according-to-general-artemio-ricarteGaleon, 

D. (2018). The Politics of our Forefathers. Manila Bulletin.  https://newsbits.mb.com.ph/2018/06/10/the-politics-of-our-forefathers/