EDITORIAL - Bonifacio at 150

Decades before Ninoy Aquino made “The Impossible Dream” a rallying song of Filipinos struggling against Ferdinand Marcos’ dictatorship, Andres Bonifacio was there, pursuing his seemingly impossible dream of independence for his land.

Vastly outgunned and outnumbered by Spanish forces, Bonifacio and his fellow revolutionaries were unfazed, apparently believing that it would be enough to show the colonizers and the world that Filipinos yearned to be free and were ready to run their own country.

National hero Jose Rizal, even behind bars, refused to endorse an armed uprising against Spain. But Rizal’s execution sparked the revolution, which unfortunately suffered from disunity and a power struggle. Bonifacio, leading one faction, is remembered for his guts and idealism if not for brilliant strategy. He might have scored victories in asymmetrical warfare against the colonial forces, but he and his brother were executed on orders of revolutionary President Emilio Aguinaldo in a turf war that was one of the lowest points in the nation’s history.

A shrine that’s difficult to find has been built in Cavite where Bonifacio and his brother Procopio were believed to have been buried following their execution by Aguinaldo’s men. Bonifacio, however, is better remembered not for his death but for the life he led – a life remarkable for the courage to dream of a better nation and struggle to achieve the dream.

Bonifacio is also remembered on his 150th birth anniversary today for his determination to rise above poverty and become a better man. He compensated for his limited formal education by reading and learning about struggles for freedom elsewhere in the world, notably France. Bonifacio did not live to see his beloved land attain independence, but he left an imprint on the nation that deserves celebration today.