The Challenge of Knowing Andres Bonifacio More

By:  Gilbert M. Forbes
DepEd Quezon
CALABARZON

We have known and learned about Andres Bonifacio as the brave poor founder and supremo of the Katipunan, that to support his siblings, he has to sell canes and fans.  He is a reader of Rizal’s writings apart from other classic books written purely in Spanish in his time.

Source:  Philippine Daily Inquirer, Nov. 30, 2012

In this regard, having lived so much in the myth about Abonifacio, we have forgotten to think otherwise that with his traits, Bonifacio must have had a good education.  And to have it otherwise, he must have been not from ordinary poor families but from a middle class one.

In a DZMM  recent interview with De la Salle University History Professor Michael Chua, he explained that he was born of a half Spanish mother and that he lived a life of a middle class until the death of his parents at the age of 14.  He also hold managerial positions in various capacities with an average equivalent income of Php38,000.00 today.  This was the reason why he is able to buy various books which he reads voraciously and learned from (11-30-2015).

Indeed, we know little about Bonifacio and as what Bryan C. Paraiso a senior historic sites development officer at the National Historical Commission of the Philippines said in his article entitled Bonifacio Reveals Fervor in Writings published in the Philippine Daily Inquirer, made him an elusive character in the Philippines’ struggle for independence.

With this, Paraiso, repeated historian Glenn Anthony’s comment that “… Bonifacio has been posthumously re-created. He has been given a new personality and a childhood that may bear little resemblance to his real one … The national hero who has emerged from this process of re-creation—the Bonifacio celebrated in history textbooks and memorialized in statues around the Philippines—is, in reality, something closer to a national myth.”

Bryan Paraiso further explained that much of what Filipino students of history know about Bonifacio has been culled from the writings of historians based on firsthand narratives of witnesses and protagonists in the national uprising.

But those writings are colored by the historians’ subjective interpretation, such as the article of Epifanio de los Santos in Revista Filipina that aims to vindicate the Supremo against the “cold and hostile … to the extent of objecting to his being given due recognition”  and the view that Bonifacio was the progenitor of a “class struggle” that arose from the inadequacies of the Reform Movement and apathy of the educated gentry for the masses.

Since college, I was already thinking why many know little about Andres Bonifacio.  With his writing of “Ang Dapat Mabatid ng mga Tagalog,” “Pag-ibig sa Tinubuang Lupa,” and his translation to the vernacular of Rizal’s “Me Ultimo Adios” already put me to admire him and to put him on equal putting with Rizal on a different roles in the shaping of our nation’s history.

Analyzing these facts, we couldn’t avoid really thinking that he must have not from ordinary poor families in his time because other wise, he could not afford to have an education which matches the skills and prowess he shown.

Paraiso is saying the same.  He explained that snippets of prose and poetry may provide a clear picture of the personality and the rational workings of Bonifacio’s mind. “They reveal a man with an adequate education, adept at writing using an elegant hand and passionate about his idealistic and nationalistic principles,” he said.

Bulatlat.com author of Eight Things You Probably Didn't Know About Bonifacio and Katipunan Mong Palatino said that Bonifacio was an actor. He was a member of the Samahang Dramatista ng Tundó. He helped establish El Teatro Porvenir. As an artist, he knew how to effectively communicate with and use the language of the masses. Not surprisingly, his poems (Pag-ibig sa Tinubuang Lupa, Katapusang Hibik) are rated as among the best in Tagalog literature. Aside from being well-read, Bonifacio had deep knowledge of local narratives like Bernardo Carpio and Florante at Laura.

Mong Palatino furthers that It is not only Rizal who is considered the ‘pride of the Malay race’. Tan Malaka, one of Indonesia’s national heroes and founding leaders, recognized the heroism of both Rizal and Bonifacio. He specifically cited the revolutionary legacy of Bonifacio and his influence in sparking the anti-colonial movements across Southeast Asia. Professor Ramon Guillermo translated this quote from Tan Malaka: “Si Bonifacio ang pinakauna, hindi lamang sa Pilipinas, kundi sa buong Indonesia, oo, sa buong Asia na nanggaling sa, at edukado bilang, proletaryado, na nag-organisa ng mga proletaryo.”

Critiques and historians alike are validating our misconceptions and myth that surrounds the real Bonifacio which was compounded by the very symbol attached to him.

In an article written by Ambeth Ocampo for the Philippine Star entitled was Andres Bonifacio ambidextrous?, he made mention of how the popular mind commonly portrayed Bonifacio in a cameza de chino raising a bolo on one hand.  This portrayal of him was made into a symbol and immortalized by the work  of National Artist Guillermo Tolentino at the Caloocan Monument.

Teodoro Agoncillo said otherwise that Bonifacio never fought with a bolo. “I interviewed his contemporaries, like Pio Valenzuela and Guillermo Masangkay, and they insist that Bonifacio never fought with a bolo. As a matter of fact, Manila’s hero fought only in one battle—the battle of San Juan—and there he lost and nearly died. But he used a gun. That Tolentino monument is misleading. It compounds further an already popular misconception of how Bonifacio actually fought.”

“Bonifacio neither fought with a saber nor a bolo, as confirmed by minutes of the trial when Aguinaldo’s tribunal enumerated the weapons found on his person. The records repetitiously mention guns and revolvers, but never sabers or bolos.”

Bonifacio didn’t wield the iconic bolo, he didn’t wear the white camisa and screaming red pants, he didn’t shout what has come down in history as “El grito de Balintawak” (The Cry of Balintawak), he actually began the revolution in Pugad Lawin, not Balintawak.”

There is a persistent myth that Bonifacio didn’t win a single battle as leader of the Katipunan. But the Nagsabado sa Pasig event (which is still being commemorated up to this day) involving 2,000 Katipuneros who attacked a Spanish cuartel, proves that there were numerous local battles that Bonifacio and Katipunan spearheaded that eventually led to the military defeat of the Spaniards.

With these, we can safely say that indeed, there is much that we need to know about Andres Bonifacio.  Apart from a hero who met a tragic death and martyred not in the hands of the enemy but in the very hands of a fellow Filipino, we need to continuously reflect on the struggle that still exist between the ilustrados and the masses as clearly reflected by the kind of political leadership today.

Without the needed education in his time, Bonifacio could not have been what he is.   It is a stark reality that the poor's education is very important, and the poor educated ones need to continuously learn and think not for himself but for his country as he struggle to become a new ilustrado.  A new ilustrado and ultimately an elite who will work and struggle for change, good governance, end of political patronage and political dynasties to make the political environment inclusive, not exclusive to evil few.

This is the challenge of knowing Andres Bonifacio more, one of our two major heroes, who unlike Rizal need to be studied more so as in knowing we could do more in realizing his dream and desire for our beloved country.

(Mr. Gilbert M. Forbes had his Bachelors Degree and MA in Educational Management (CAR) from the Philippine Normal University.  A campus paper adviser and trainer for 13 years.  Currently, he is a school principal in one of the central schools in the Division of Quezon.) 

References:

Paraiso, Bryan C., Bonifacio Reveals Fervor in Writings, Philippine Daily Inquirer, Nov. 30, 2012

Ocampo, Ambeth R., Was Bonifacio Ambidestrous?, Philippine Daily Inquirer, Nov. 29, 2012

Mong Palatino, Eight Things You Probably Didn't Know About Bonifacio and the Katipunan

Balancing Act: School Leadership’s Theory and Practice

By:  Gilbert M. Forbes
DepEd, Quezon

For sometime now, I have already written quite a number of articles on school leadership on this portal.  There are just thousands of our readers and visitors who have had a glimpse on these articles.  In addition this site also provided syndicated articles on leadership from well known and trusted leadership gurus like Francis J. Kong and John Maxwell and other public servants and educators.

Images courtesy of www.linkedin.com

I have also read books on leadership particularly that of Stephen Covey and a lot more.  This has shaped my thoughts, beliefs and ideas on what leaders should be.  These ideas are carefully seen on my articles.  Not to include the knowledge and skills I acquired from experience and from both my graduate and undergraduate studies.

These knowledge and skills have helped me along the way.  However, I have to rely most of the time on my instinct and personal judgment as I go along the way in my personal desire and preference towards educational reform and quest for quality learning outcomes and excellence.

I have to admit, but leadership theories and principles are easier said or written than done particularly if one works in the government.  Government service is different and far from the standards of the corporate world.  It is of course changing particularly now under the new regime but in comparison with the fast pace of changes in the private sector, government service is simply lagging.

Sad to say and admit but it seems to be the realities in the government service.  The Department of Education is not exempt from these realities. For sometime, even the current education secretary, Bro. Armin Luistro who himself came from the private sector felt dismayed over the slow pace of how things are getting done, and the reforms that have to get its way.

I feel the same thing as the DepEd Secretary.  One time out of sadness and may be of dismay, I kiddingly said a couple of times in some tit-for-a-tat with fellow school leaders and trusted teaching colleagues that there should be a way of firing erring and incompetent personnel in the department of education like in the private schools and companies and so in the rest of the government agencies.

I also exclaimed the same in one of the exchanges of ideas in one of our post graduate classes at the Philippine Normal University having touched some important issues in education.  Our professor who happens to be a fellow family at DepEd just smiled at me.  The challenge actually is how we could address not only the productivity of our personnel particularly both the teaching and non-teaching which is aptly describe in the so called ‘law of diminishing return.’  If this applies in the private sector, it is aptly more serious in the government.

Once a teacher or an employee got his permanent appointment, instead of an increased and improve quality of service, it diminishes over time.  It is a fact that nobody could deny.  At least with the implementation of the Competency-Based Assessment for Teachers (CB-PAST) it could be checked.  However, the lapses being made in its use, will not solve the problem, not unless corrected, it is there to continue.  (See Teachers and School Heads Tendency in Accomplishing the CB-PAST)  I am afraid that it could even worsen due to the type of young and new teachers who are entering the service which on the most part could be influenced negatively if they are not grounded on the significance of their profession and mission.

CB-PAST provides for the termination of the so called liabilities if used well.  The draw back however, is that it could serve as flat-form for abuses by corrupt leaders or the least, none at all.

On both sides, the Department does possess both corrupt and honest leaders.  It is just puzzling that the corrupt ones passes unnoticed by their respective stakeholders or may be because, they happen to be lucky to be assigned in places with highly apathetic stakeholders or they are too smart that they can control them in their favor.  The worst thing is that some or many of them are relatives of influential people in their respective localities or they themselves are influential or powerful enough to keep opposition at bay.

This blog alone has received a dozen of reports of corrupted MOOE’s by scrupulous school heads.  According to sources, they are able to liquidate these cash advances though nothing has been delivered to their schools.  In most cases, their teachers don’t know that their school heads are receiving cash advances for their schools.  The said thing about these reports is that, all are anonymous and so it could be regarded as a mere intrigue though on one way or another it could be regarded as indeed a fact in the field.

On the opposite spectrum, the straight forward ones however have to comfort themselves, with the slow pace of changes.  Many have to deal first with the institutional cultures and values that exist in their respective domains which vary from one place to another.  Call it the result of diversity which is both a boon and a bane.

This for the most part is bringing performing school leaders to the test.  Many have to choose between becoming populists so as not downplay many of their priority programs and create friction which could upset them emotionally.  We may call it win-win solution.  Others on the other hand have all the strength to choose the opposite of being stern and strict even when it would mean rejection or friction in the work place. 

In this environment, their colleagues have no choice but to follow the wish of their leaders and so all the things he wants for the institution.  I find these leaders admirable for changes could be abruptly achieved and programs implemented at all cost in this type of environment.  Whoever will succeed him or her will no longer have a hard time paving the way for the way has already been laden.  However, it could still be considered a great gamble if continuity of good programs is to be considered once he is replaced or transferred to another station.

On the other hand, populists have to settle with the slow pace of accomplishing things.  Experts say that in this case, honey moon period usually lasts for two years. Meaning, it needs two long years for a reformist leader to fully establish and position himself to his advantage.  This is the sad reason why change is quiet slow particularly in the field of education.  Even if the output is a sure success, in a rat race globalized society, we’ll simply not survive the competition and the demands that a corporate environment requires.   Like the private sector, it should and is expected to be the way of the government service, doesn’t it?

Certainly, school leaders and quality education and reform advocates should work hard to establish what they think is the ideal in their respective places.  Concerned citizens and stakeholders must lend their helping hands to support their leaders if they desire quality education for their children.  They must and should be wise enough to identify the gems in a heap of sand or straw.

After all, as an African proverb says, “It takes a village to educate a child.”  Problems and evil exists just because not a few dare to act.

(The author himself is a practitioner in the field of school management for almost a decade now.  He holds both the Bachelors degree and MA (CARMA) from the Philippine Normal University, Quezon and Manila Campuses.  This represents the views of the author and not of DepEd Quezon.)