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BY RHICK LARS VLADIMER ALBAY
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Sinong Supremo?
I JOINED the Boy Scouts when I was in grade school at Leganes Elementary School. One year, we were tasked to raise the flag at the commemoration of Andres Bonifacio’s birthday, Nov. 30th, at the national hero’s monument in our town plaza.
The statue resembled any other dedicated to the Supremo — standing broad-shouldered and fierce, raising a bolo to the air. However, it was noticed just before the short program that Bonifacio was lifting up to the sky, an empty fist — the blade of his weapon notably absent. The adults speculated that it was stolen and sold as scrap metal.
Nevertheless, the memorial continued without much fanfare. A few weeks ago, I noticed that same monument from the bus window — Boni remained stalwart and commanding as always, standing in one corner of Leganes’ pavilion plaza. However, after all these years, the statue was surprisingly still unarmed, raising a bolo-less fist into the air.
On Wednesday, the 153rd birthday of celebrated Gat Andres Bonifacio was celebrated by nationwide protests condemning the late dictator Ferdinand Marcos and the tyrant’s burial at the Libingan ng mga Bayani.
The #MarcosNOTaHero protests were a fitting tribute to the father of the revolution, as we pay our respects to the true heroes of our country, while denouncing a plunderer who killed numerous martyrs and freedom fighters under his bloody 21-year regime.
DID YOU KNOW?
* There exists only one known photograph of Bonifacio. For someone of immense importance in Philippine history, there exists only one photo of the national hero.
* Boni was an actor. As a member of the Samahang Dramatista ng Tundo, the Supremo got to play roles in Filipino classics Bernardo Carpio and Florante at Laura.
* During Bonifacio’s time, an international newspaper published a photo of him with the caption “Titulado Presidente de la Republica Tagala,” or “Recognized President of the Tagalog Republic,” leading some to wonder if Boni could be the real first president of the Philippines.
* His penname was “Agapito Bagumbayan,” while his inspiring nom de guerre in the Katipunan was “Maypagasa.”
FORWARD IS OUR BATTLE CRY!
Two years ago, we at the Central Echo, the official student publication of Central Philippine University, paid tribute to the Supremo and the enduring Bonifacio monument by national artist Guillermo Tolentino, depicting millennials as modern-day Katipuneros in our magazine’s cover, with today’s mediums for freedom as their weapons.
Our “About the Cover” read: MARCH TRIUMPHANT. Lady Victory leads on the dynamic youth, armed not by bolos and rifles but with today’s arsenal for free expression — the pen, the camera, the canvas. At a new horizon, with only the sky as their limit, the youth charge on, embodying the ideals of Bonifacio and the Katipuneros.
With the growing number of youth embracing activism in the face of adversity, the image and Bonifacio’s enduring heroism couldn’t be more relevant and forceful. That publication of ours would later on be awarded the 2015 Best Student Magazine in the region by the Philippine Information Agency Region 6.
Coincidentally, the cover story of that issue titled “If we lit up the youth” would eventually be republished by Panay News as my first opinion piece under this column.
Maligayang kaarawan, Boni! Tuloy pa rin ang laban! #TayoSiBonifacio/PN
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