Prophetic Bonifacio Letter Written in Own Blood Resurfaces
On November 30, the nation will commemorate the 156th birth anniversary of Andres Bonifacio, Katipunan founder and revolutionary leader. Previously thought as a simple peasant, newer research and more thorough accounting of history tells a very different character of Bonifacio: that he was born to a white-collar family and that he was a self-educated dropout, highly intelligent, very charming, and relatively well-off.
We once again take a rare glimpse into that side of Bonifacio, the intelligent strategist and a full-blooded nationalist with impressive foresight through a document he wrote. Resurfacing for the first time from the collection of historian Epifanio De Los Santos is an exceedingly important prophetic letter signed by Katipunan founder and Supremo Andres Bonifacio in 1892.
This historically rare and revealing document exposes the Katipunan’s desire to expand its reach to Mindanao, dispelling the long-held myth that the KKK is a Tagalog-centric cult.
The letter has the Supremo authorizing a certain Managhas, the code name for Katipunero Restituto Javier, to organize Katipunan’s membership triads in the Philippines' second-biggest island. Bonifacio signed the membership expansion appointment papers with his own blood.
It was supposed that Javier’s excursion into Mindanao had been part of his work as a warehouseman of the cement, brick, and tile maker Fressel & Co, which opened an opportunity for the Katipunan to expand its reach in Southern Philippines.
The document will be shown for the first time to the public to be viewed and regarded in its entirety. This extremely important document is one of the few extant foundational documents in the Philippines in private possession, with the rest kept under lock and key in Madrid’s Military Archives.
Bonifacio’s prophetic letter will go under the gavel at the Kingly Treasures Auction 2019 at Leon Gallery on November 30. The preview runs from November 25 to 29, 2019.
