Bonifacio Day is a national public holiday every 30 November in the
Philippines to celebrates the birthday of one of the country’s greatest
heroes, Andrés Bonifacio.
Born on 30 November 1863, Bonifacio is considered as the Father of the
Philippine Revolution against Spanish colonisation. He, along with some
others, started a movement known as the ‘Katipunan’ in 1892. The
Katipunan was a secret revolutionary society that instigated military
revolts against the Spanish colonisers.
Bonifacio became the Katipunan’s military leader and the president of
the revolutionary government, which (according to some historians) makes
Bonifacio the first president of the Philippine Republic. Bonifacio and
the Katipunan recruited many citizens to their cause, eventually
becoming the most prominent revolutionary force the Spaniards had to
face.
However Bonifacio’s leadership was contested by some others, and in
particular, Emilio Aguinaldo. After a series of leadership challenges
and internal rifts, Aguinaldo violently took over the revolutionary
forces and unjustly ordered Bonifacio to be tried and executed under the
guise of treason.
Bonifacio Day is held every 30 November, or the Monday nearest this day
to create a long weekend. Unlike the main national hero, José Rizal,
Bonifacio Day is celebrated on his day of birth, rather than his day of
death. This is because Bonifacio was killed by his fellow countrymen,
rather than at the hands of foreign colonisers.
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Philippine Holidays
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