By Jose Santino Bunachita
PIO Reporter

CEBU CITY (December 1, 2022) – Love for country is a trait of Andres Bonifacio that people should emulate today.

This kind of patriotism eventually led to the freedom and independence of our country which we continue to enjoy until today.

Dr. Emmanuel Calairo. (Photo grabbed from Rappler)

Dr. Emmanuel Calairo, commissioner of the National Historical Commission of the Philippines (NHCP), had this to say about the life and heroism of Bonifacio, whose 159th birth anniversary was celebrated yesterday.

“Yung mismong paglaban, pagpapakita ng katapangan ni Andres Bonifacio, that should be emulated by our people – na maging palaban tayo sa buhay,” he said.

Calario was the lecturer in a webinar yesterday afternoon hosted by the Cultural and Historical Affairs Commission (CHAC). His lecture was titled “Pagsulyap sa Buhay at Kabayanihan ni Andres Bonifacio.”

Yung mismong paglaban, pagpapakita ng katapangan ni Andres Bonifacio, that should be emulated by our people – na maging palaban tayo sa buhay.

Dr. Emmanuel Calairo, commissioner of the National Historical Commission of the Philippines (NHCP)

He shared how Bonifacio fought so hard to achieve independence for the Philippines. He did so by founding the Katipunan which sought to overturn the Spanish occupation in the 1800s.

In his lecture, Calairo said that while Bonifacio was orphaned at an early age, he was not actually poor. He was able to support his siblings. And while he only finished the equivalent of Grade 4, Bonifacio was literate and abreast by reading many books.

Bonifacio was married to Gregoria De Jesus, who did her part in the revolution by recruiting members, especially women.

Bonifacio is regarded as the father of the Philippine revolution.

This bronze life-sized monument of Andres Bonifacio at Plaza Independencia was sculptured by Juan Sajid Imao in celebration of the 150th Birth Anniversary of Andres Bonifacio and was unveiled in December 2, 2013. (Photo: NHCP)

And although he was arrested and executed in 1897, it cannot be argued that his efforts against the Spanish, through the Katipunan, have made lasting impacts in the revolution, Calairo said.

“Nakamit ba ang Kalayaan? Eventually, nakamit ng mga Pilipino pero ito ay napakatagal na proseso,” he said.

After the Spanish colonization, the Philippines went through the Japanese and American occupations.

Today, Calairo said, the county now enjoys sovereignty from other countries, politically speaking.

And this is because of heroes like Bonifacio who sparked the Philippine revolution, he added. #

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