The Magdiwang and Magdalo Factions

In December 1896, Bonicaio was invited by the Katipuneros of Cavite to come to the town of Imus.
Thanks to a string of victories led by Emilio Aguinaldo, the rebels now controlled most of the province.
Bonifacio, as the highest officer, or Supremo, of the Katipunan, was asked to settle a dispute.

There were two rival Katipunan councils in Cavite. One council was the Magdalo, of which
Aguinaldo was a member. The other Gen. Emilio Aguinaldo was the Magdiwang council, headed by
Mariano Alvarez, a relative of Bonifacio’s wife.

Bonifacio’s decision to come to Cavite proved to be the beginning of his downfall.

There was a time when the two men – Aguinaldo and Bonifacao – respected and valued each other.
The Supremo himself had admitted Aguinaldo into the Katipunan in his house in Binondo. Aguinaldo
recalled this historic moment in his biography when he wrote, "That was the beginning of my
acquaintance and friendship with Andres Bonifacio." And when news of Bonifacio’s defeat in the battle
of Pinaglabanan reached the Katipuneros in Cavite, Aguinaldo, worried for the Supremo’s safety, sent
his men to look for Bonifacio in the forests of Kalookan and Malabon.

But the friendship between the two men soured. Bonifacio and his army had suffered a number of
defeats at the hands of the enemy. In contrast, Aguinaldo and his rebels had managed to boot the
Spaniards out of most of Cavite. The feeling of regionalism between the Tondo native and the young
man from Kawit, Cavite was very strong. Also, the two leaders differed in their political ideas.

Aguinaldo and the Magdalo group believed it was time to form a new kind of government.
Aguinaldo had already suggested that the Katipunan government be changed to a revolutionary form of
government modeled after the American system. Although he was only a Magdalo flag lieutenant at the
time, his bold ideas challenged the power of the Supremo.

Bonifacio and the Magdiwang men believed that the Katipunan government was still useful. It could
still answer the Filipino’s need for change. It had its own constitution and bylaws. In other words, at this
point in our history there were two leaders with two different views on how to run the government.

The rivalry between the two groups weakened the rebels’ hold on Cavite. Aguinald’s Magdalo
soldiers did not want to help defend the towns held by Magdiwang soldiers when they were attacked by
the Spaniards. Bonifacio’s Magdiwang soldiers did not help the Magdalo rebels when the enemy
attacked their towns. The result was that almost all the towns once held by the Katipuneros easily fell
one by one to the Spaniards.