Tuesday, October 27, 2009



PEPE OR ANDY?

SLEEPLESS IN MY SHUTTLE. Some of the country's historians are engaged in a debate. It centers over a proposal to name revolutionary leader Andres Bonifacio as the national hero vice Jose Rizal. Many claim Rizal was chosen by the Americans to be our national hero because he was a pacifist and fitted the American campaign to subdue us.

Rizal was known to have been against the revolt mounted by the Katipuneros led by Bonifacio against Spain. Rizal even threatened to go into exile so as not to join the "Kataastaasang Kagalanggalangang Katipuanan ng mga Anak ng Bayan" (KKK).

The pro-Bonifacio drive is expected to revive bitter memories of the revolution, especially circumstances around his death which could smear the reputation of a few well-known families.

It may also rekindle stories about where the money of the revolution went and about how its alleged disappearance led to the rise of a well-known landed aristocracy whose descendants remain popular in politics and business to this day.

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