Bonifacio: Ang Unang Pangulo

I.
On July 3, 1892, Dr. Jose Rizal (Jericho Rosales) brings together La Liga Filipina, a peaceful reform
movement that aims to unite all Filipinos and give them one voice. One of its members is Andres Bonifacio
(Robin Padilla), who is currently supporting his siblings, as both their parents died due to illness. Rizal is
later arrested after the Spanish authorities uncover the organization. Bonifacio then decides to form
the Katipunan to lead a revolution against the Spanish colonizers.With the help of his friend Teodoro Plata,
he meets Gregoria de Jesús (Vina Morales), who is also known as Bantug. Bonifacio visits the church,
meeting Bantug again. She knows that he joined a group of Masons and is not religious. Bonifacio denies
the accusations, saying that those are just inventions of the friars. Later that day, while walking on the
street, they encounter a friend of Oriang (Pepe Herrera), begging a friar to give his salary in the polo.
However, the friar refuses and instead makes derogatory remarks towards the man. Then he is shot by one
of the Spanish soldiers.Bonifacio and Oriang's relationship develops and they finally marry after bantug's
parents gave their approval. Then while recruiting additional katipuneros, Bonifacio finds out that Teodoro
and Nonay Bonifacio are lovers. On the following day, a mayor named Emilio Aguinaldo becomes one of
the new recruits of the Katipunan. In the present, the museum curator decides to guide the students towards
the truth about Bonifacio to enlighten them amidst the wrong historical information in their textbooks. Back
in the past, the Katipunan starts publishing the newspaper “Ang Kalayaan” through the printing press of
Diario de Manila. They distribute the papers to their fellow countrymen to further expand the organization.
A man named Teodoro Patino goes out of the printing press and tells his wife, a nun, about the revolution.
Eventually he tells the gobernadorcillo on what he has discovered. After hearing this, the Spanish
authorities raids the press wherein the gobernadorcillo discovers "Ang Kalayaan". Because of this
discovery, they begin to grow wary of anti-government activities.
Afterwards, a man who is one of the people that published the paper is tortured. Upon seeing the man's
dead body, Bonifacio calls all the Katipuneros to gather in Tandang Sora's home. Tandang Sora gives a
sword to Bonifacio for him to use during their fights against the Spaniards. Later on, Bonifacio declares the
start of the revolution on April 29, 1897. All men tear their Cedulas and they scream, "Mabuhay ang
Katipunan! Mabuhay ang rebolusyon! Mabuhay ang Supremo!" On the day of the revolution, they cross a
river and secretly pull a foot of one of the Spanish soldiers while the other one is shot by Bonifacio. In the
entrance of one of the Officials' houses, Bonifacio throws a torch that is lit up in the trolley loaded with
canisters and shoots it, letting them get inside the gate. A fight ensues. Eventually, Bonifacio is able to kill
the Gobernador Heneral by stabbing. After the battle, the Katipuneros replace the flag of Spain with the
KKK flag. Aguinaldo's comrades are concerned that the revolution might die under Bonifacio's leadership.
They advise Aguinaldo to urge Bonifacio to come to Cavite to reunify the factions of
the Magdiwang and Magdalo and hold an election for it. Aguinaldo is elected as the president, while
Bonifacio is only elected as the interior minister. A Magdalo member named (Daniel Tirona) objects to his
election and insults him, angering Bonifacio who then challenges Tirona to a duel. Feeling discriminated,
Bonifacio, as Supremo of the Katipunan, voids the election results. The newly formed, Aguinaldo-led
revolutionary group is concerned about the unity of Katipunan after failing to persuade Bonifacio to join
them. Aguinaldo then orders the capture of Bonifacio, during which Bonifacio is stabbed at the neck and
suffers a gun shot at his arm. His brother Ciriaco is shot dead, while his other brother Procopio is beaten,
and his wife Oriang possibly raped by Col. Agapito Bonzón. Suffering from his untreated wounds, Bonifacio
tells his wife Oriang of his dream of finally achieving his wish of the country's independence against Spain.
Later on, Andres Bonifacio and Procopio Bonifacio are sentenced to death. Back to the present, the
students finally learn the truth about Bonifacio. Joaquin decides to share what he has learned with his
classmates: the “true” story of Bonifacio, the First President of the Philippines. At the end of the film,
Bonifacio is shown holding his personal flag aloft while leading his troops in a charge against Spanish
forces. His personal flag slowly turns into the present Philippine Flag. In the post-credits scene, Antonio
Luna does a cameo appearance (This is an actual part as a preparation for the film entitled Heneral Luna).
II. History is a tricky path to tread on for filmmakers. Either they bombard the viewers with historical
facts or choose a point of view that is neither appealing nor sensible to history buffs and plain
moviegoers.

The late filmmaker Marilou Diaz-Abaya did a film on Jose Rizal in the late ’90s and it became a
runaway winner in the awards night. To top it all, it became a blockbuster, which is a virtual miracle
for films dealing with history.

The result is not about a national hero but about a simple human being trying to do his best for his
country.

You see that he is a good brother to his sister whose welfare he is concerned and in some scenes,
you see how guilt-ridden he is as he grapples with the death of his only son.

Williams knows only too well that one of the ways to examine history is by going to a museum and
finding out as much as he can about his subject.

Thus, the film begins with a group of students led by Joaquin (Daniel Padilla) and Andrea (Jasmine
Curtis-Smith) visiting the Katipunan Museum in San Juan and ended up learning a lot from the
inputs of the museum curator played by Eddie Garcia.

The story goes back and forth from the museum to those tragic dates in history.

For once, the film gives the young people a chance to know a great man from the pages of history.
It is a device that works as it links the present generation to that crucial decade in Philippine history.

Hence, for more than an hour and a half, you get to reflect on the life of Bonifacio and the other
equally heroic figures in Philippine history such as Melchora Aquino, Jose Rizal (played by Jericho
Rosales) and Gregoria de Jesus (Vina Morales) and Ladislaw Diwa (Ping Medina), among others.

On the whole, the script written by Williams, Carlo Obispo and Keiko Aquino is a cohesive lot and
leaves out tedious moments that often plague films dealing with history.

The production design of Roy Lachica hews closely to the generation of the subject and film scorer
Von de Guzman gives the film an aural feel that connects two generations of Filipinos.

This is one’s first sampling of an Enzo Williams film and one must say that the director has
surpassed one’s expectations.

For one, he is a good storyteller and he is in command of other cinematic devices that make his
output rewarding for both the cast and audiences.

Morales as Gregoria de Jesus etches a fairly well-defined portrait of Bonifacio’s wife and to one’s
relief, there is more semblance of natural acting in Padilla’s portrayal of Bonifacio. That perennial
scowl serves his character and the way he interacts with the other heroes of the Katipunan gives
his viewers his ability to blend with his excellent supporting cast consisting of Joem Bascon, Junjun
Quintana, Cholo Barretto, Isabel Oli, RJ Padilla, Richard Quan, Isko Moreno (as Padre Jose
Burgos), Rommel Padilla and Dennis Marasigan, Rosales (as Jose Rizal) and Miguel Faustmann
and Kuya Manzano (as the friars).
 On the whole, there’s great pleasure watching a humanized version of Bonifacio and what he did
for the Filipinos.

III. Remember always that a sincere faith in Him involves love of your native land, because this
shows true love for your fellow man.Carve into your heart the conviction that to die for the
liberation of the country is the highest honor and fortune.
Calmness, perseverance, reason, and hope will guarantee that you will achieve your good
intentions. Guard the instructions and plans of the Katipunan as you would guard your own
honor. Anyone who is in danger while carrying out their duties will be protected by all, and
rescued even at the cost of life and riches. Let each of us strive to set a good example for others
to follow as we perform our duties.Share whatever you can with those who are in need.
Diligence at work is how one loves and values oneself, his spouse, children and brothers and
compatriots. And Dr. Jose Rizal said that “Kung sino ang hindi marunong lumingon sa sariling
pinanggalingan, ay mahigit pa sa mabaho’t malangsang isda”. Love our country.