RPH Debate Script

Moderator: Good Day, Ladies and Gentlemen.
Our debate’s topic will tackle about the place where the
first cry took place. The start of the revolution against Spain has been officially commemorated in recent
years as “The Cry of Pugad Lawin.” However, due to several accounts’ differing dates and places the issue
about the said historical events official place is still not resolved. In today’s topic we will answer if The
first cry should be in Balintawak or in Pugad lawin?
Moderator: Todays proposition, The First Cry is situated in Pugad Lawin, not in Balintawak. Starting off
with the affirmative side, here is Ms. Romelyn Javier
Romelyn: Our side agrees that the Cry happened in Pugad Lawin. But before we get to the details of our
argument, let me define the word the 'Cry'. The discussion has long been constrained by a lack of
agreement about what the "Cry" really means. This term has been applied to three related but distinct
events, the ‘pasya’ which means the decision to revolt, the ‘pagpupunit’ which means the tearing of
cedulas, and the ‘unang labanan’ which means the first encounter with Spanish forces. Now let me
explain the term Pugad Lawin. There is no such thing as Pugad Lawin on the map because Pugad Lawin
was just a term they called for a certain place. We the affirmative team believe that the Cry happened in
Pugad Lawin because of the joint statements of not only one, but three Katipunan veterans named, Pio
Valenzuela, Briccio Pantas and Cipriano Pacheco. On 1928, these three issued in Philippine First Press
that the Cry happened in a place called Pugad Lawin. Pio Valenzuela was a Filipino physician and
revolutionary leader. He was a friend of Andres Bonifacio and Jose Rizal. Briccio Pantas served as the
Secretary of Justice of the Katipunan and Cipriano Pacheco was participant of the Cry. For the next
speakers, Miss Majam will further discuss about the findings of NHI which supports Pio Valenzuela’s
claims and Miss Lomeda will rebut and explain the issue about the place Pugad Lawin. . With all that
being said, we strongly agree that the Cry happened in Pugad Lawin.
Moderator: First negative speaker, Ms. you have 2 minutes to cross examine her
Johanna: Good Day, Miss speaker, are you aware that Cipriano Pacheco first recalled that the meeting
was situated in Apolonio Samson’s House and not in Juan Ramos residence as stated by Valenzuela?
Romelyn: *Answers*
Johanna: The statement of those three are just claims, which are later publicized around 1928 or 1929,
several years after the first cry happened, how can you be so sure of their clarity?
Romelyn: *Answers*
Moderator: Ok, times up guys, Johanna you may now argue your position Why is the First cry situated in
Balintawak
Johanna: Good day to all of you, the “Cry of Pugad Lawin” cannot be considered as historically accurate.
It lacks positive documentation, artifacts, and supporting evidences. Our side, therefore strongly defend
that Balintawak is the most appropriate stage point of “The first cry”. According to the story of Guillermo
Masangkay, an eyewitness of the said historical event, the first cry happened in balintawak on august 26,
1896.
Written in his account, “On August 26th [1896] a big meeting was held in Balintawak, at the house of
Apolonio Samson, then the cabeza of that barrio of Caloocan. Among those who attended, I remember,
were Bonifacio, Emilio Jacinto, Aguedo del Rosario, Tomas Remigio, Briccio Pantas, Teodoro Plata, Pio
Valenzuela, Enrique Pacheco, and Francisco Carreon. They were all leaders of the Katipunan and
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composed the board of directors of the organization. Delegates from Bulacan, Cabanatuan, Cavite and
Morong (now Rizal,) were also present. Emilio Jacinto acting as secretary. The purpose was to discuss
when the uprising was to take place.”
Masangkay refers to the residence of Apolonio Samson in Kangkong. We have identified that Kangkong
and other particular places mentioned in the place that the First Cry happened are all part of the
"Greater Balintawak," which in turn was part of "Greater Caloocan.
Masangkay’s testimony, was able to clearly narrate the happenings during the first cry as he vividly gave
detailed information starting from the Aguinaldo’s dress up to how the katipuneros are distributed in
strategic positions and were prepared for attack of the civil guards.
Given this information we can therefore infer that it is best to consider that the First cry is situated in
Balintawak.
Moderator: Ms. Javier you have 2 minutes to cross examine her

Romelyn: Good day, Guillermo Masangcay's statements maybe detailed, but is there any other veterans
who supported his claims?
Johanna: Yes, Masangcay’s claims are supported by Julio Nakpil which is the composer of Katipunan. It is
also mentioned in Gregoria De Jesus, Lakambini of Katipunan that the first cry is located at Balintawak.
His statement was also corroborated with supporting documents including records from the Guardia
Civil.
Romelyn: You have said that Masangcay's statements were accurate, but how can you be so sure that it
actually is when in Agoncillo's interview with him in 1947, he said that the date was on august 24 but
you just said that he said it was on august 26. Isn't he inconsistent as well?
Johanna: Miss speaker do you mean August 24 was written in the notes of Agoncillo's interview with
Masangkay? The Interview of Agoncillo were several years after the historical event, and in Masangkay’s
memoirs, he also mentioned that during the 24th of august they began notifying Katipuneros in other
provinces that a big meeting will be held on August 26th. It is highly possible to have confusion in the
two dates. Going back to the staging point of the first cry, I believe that Guillermo Masangkay’s
statements are still credible than Pio Valenzuela, considering his consistency in stating that the First Cry
happened in Balintawak even if several years have passed by.
Moderator: 2nd affirmative Speaker, Ms. Anne Jane Majam, you may now start your argument on
why do you object that the first cry is situated in Balintawak
Anne: The argument that was Balintawak, however, was refuted by Pio Valenzuela, a KKK veteran who
claims that he was present during the first cry in his testimony. The decision to revolt, he recalled on a
trial count on 1917, had been taken at the house on the road known as Daan Malalim, Paong Tamo,
Caloocan. The veteran said the location was “also known as Pacpac-lawin”. Such claims and memoirs by
Valenzuela were the sources primarily used by Teodoro Agoncillo in his book, The Revolt of the Masses.
The prevalent account of the controversy:
It was in Pugad Lawin, where they proceeded upon leaving Sanson’s place in the afternoon of
the 22nd, that the more than 1,000 members of Katipunan met in the yard of Juan A. Ramos, son of
Melchora Aquino, …in the morning of August 23rd. Considerable discussion arose whether the revolt
against Spanish government should be started on the 29th. Only one man protested, but he was
overruled in his stand… Bonifacio then announced the decision and shouted: “Yes, Sir!” “That being the
case,” Bonifacio added, “bring out your cedulas and tear them into pieces to symbolize our
determination to take arms!” .. Admist the ceremony, the rebels, tear-stained eyes, shouted: “Long live
the Philippines! Long live the Katipunan!
Based from the claims formed and supported by corresponding evidences, it has been concluded that
the Cry of Pugad Lawin happened on August 23, 1896 since notion coincides with the indisputable and
historical artifacts presented. The testimony of Pio Valenzuela may have been inconsistent at first but
this was because he was under duress during his trial under the Spanish court. His testimony and
statement along with the other KKK veterans Pantas and Pancheco is enough to authenticate and verify
the mentioned issue in the Philippine history. Even though, Guillermo Masangkay is one of the members
of Katipunan and a friend of Andres Bonifacio, in fact, Teodoro Agoncillo’s account became the basis of
the current stance of the Philippine government.
Moderator: Second negative speaker, Ms. Ellaisa Macatangay you have 2 minutes to cross examine her
Ellaisa: Good day Ms. Majam, you stated that Teodoro Agoncillo’s account became the basis of the
current stance of the Philippine government. Are you considering Agoncillo’s Interpretation as a primary
source?
Anne: *ANSWER*
How did Teodoro Agoncillo analyze the accounts given by alleged eye witnesses at the time?
Anne: *ANSWER*
How can you assure the public that the interpretation of Teodoro Agoncillo to Pio Valenzuela accounts
are credible, despite the inconsistency of his statements?
Anne: *ANSWER*
Moderator: Ms. Ellaisa Macatangay, you can now begin you’re argument on why are you against on the
proposition
Ellaisa: Influenced by the accounts of Dr. Pio Valenzuela and interpretations of Teodoro Agoncillo, the
National History Institute endorsed that the Cry be celebrated on 23 August and that Pugad Lawin be
recognized as its site to President Diosdado Macapagal. Consequently, Macapagal ordered that the first
Cry must be celebrated according to the recognition of NHI.
In the first statement of Valenzuela, he said that the prime staging point of the Cry was in Balintawak on
Wednesday of August 26, 1896. However, later in his life he wrote his Memoirs of the Revolution
without consulting the written documents of the Philippine revolution and claimed that the “Cry” took
place at Pugad Lawin on August 23, 1896. Valenzuela’s first account must be considered more effective,
given that he held it when the happenings of the important historical event are still vivid in his memory.
On the other hand, his recent statements seem to be unreliable as they were held with the factor of
fading memory due to his age. He was known to not have an impeccable memory and his statements
were of different versions contradicting each other up until the time that he was interviewed again as an
old man by Teodoro Agoncillo.
Due to Valenzuela’s inconsistency for his stories, his accounts must be given less credence. The
testimony from Dr. Pio Valenzuela is not enough to authenticate and verify a controversial issue in
history.
His accounts lack support and corroboration from other eyewitnesses and sources. Unlike Guillermo
Masangkay’s statements which are corroborated by Julio Nakpil’s and Oligarion Diaz’s statements. In
Julio Nakpil’s hand written memoirs deposited in the National Library, he wrote “swearing before God,
and before history that everything in these notes is the truth” : “The Revolution started in Balintawak in
the Last days of August 1896”. In addition, Oligarion Diaz, a Guardia Civil officer, reports, he has seen that
on the 23rd, Bonifacio moved to the barrio of Balintawak followed by 200 men from Caloocan, on the
24th the Guardia Civil attacked them in the outskirts of the said town…”. Hence, considering these
supporting statements, it is more appropriate to conclude that the First cry took place in Balintawak and
not in Pugad Lawin.
Moderator: Ms. Anne you have 2 minutes to cross examine her
Anne: At first, Pio Valenzuela's testimony may be inconsistent because he was under duress during his
trial in Spanish court, but Pancheco and Pantas, a KKK veteran prove that Valenzuela's claim is enough to
very that first cry happened in pugad lawin. How are you sure that Juan Nakpil's and Diaz's statement are
true, even though Diaz is just a guardia civil, Compared to those Pancheco and Pantas which is a KKK
Veteran?
Ellaisa: *answers*
Moderator: 3rd affirmative speaker, Ms. Aezel Lomeda you are now allowed to rebut the negative’s
argument
Aezel: According to Masangkay, an eyewitness of historic event, the Katipunan held a meeting that
occurred in Balintawak in the house of Apolonio Samson, the captain of revolution on August 26, 1896.
Many of the sources on the “Cry” are consequently vague and inconsistent in how they identify and
locate the settlements, roads and other features of the area.
On the other hand, Cry of Pugad Lawin sources determined the exact place at which the decision to
revolt was taken, therefore, remains difficult and convoluted. In August 1983, Pugad Lawin in barangay
Bahay Toro was inhabited by squatter colonies. The NHI believed that it was correct in looking for the
house of Juan Ramos and not of Tandang Sora. However, the former residence of Juan Ramos was clearly
defined. There was an old dap-dap tree at the site when the NHI conducted its survey I 1983. Teodoro
Agoncillo, Gregorio Zaide and Pio Valenzuela do not mention a dap-dap tree in their books.
In spite of the above findings and in the absence of any clear evidence, the NHI disregarded its own 1964
report that the Philippine Historical Committee had determined in 1940 that the Pugad Lawin residence
was Tandang Sora’s and not Juan Ramos’s and that the specific site of Pugad Lawin was Gulod in Banlat.
Melchora Aquino de Ramos was a Filipina revolutionary who became known as "Tandang Sora" because
of her age during the Philippine Revolution. She was known as the "Grand Woman of the Revolution"
The name “Pugad Lawin” came to be used in the twentieth century to refer not just to one of the
contending “Cry” sites, but to two. Today, the Pugad Lawin marker is in Bahay Toro, where Juan Ramos
had supposedly lived. But in previous decades, Pugad Lawin was said to have been three kilometers or so
to the northeast, where Ramos’s mother Melchora Aquino had lived near Pasong Tamo in barrio Banlat.
Moderator: Third negative speaker, Ms. Mary Ann Madrid you have 2 minutes to cross examine her
Mary: Ms. Speaker you are stating that you are confident with the location of pugad lawin despite the
absence of dap-dap tree in the accounts you have gathered? Are you aware that the NHI’s findings
where negated by a great granddaughter of Tandang Sora who protested the use of toponym “Pugad
Lawin” which, she said, referred to a hawks nest on top of a tall sampaloc tree at Gulod, the highest
elevated area near Balintawak?
Moderator: Ms. Mary Ann, you may now rebutt on the affirmative’s argument
Mary: Eye witnesses such as Guillermo Masangkay, Oligarion Diaz, and Julio Nakpil’s written document
stands as a concrete proof that the event of The First Cry really happened in Balintawak and not in Pugad
Lawin. The date and site presented by Masangkay were accepted by the preliminary years of American
government. To further support this stand, Emilio Aguinaldo’s memoirs, Mga Gunita ng Himagsikan
(1964), refer to two letters from Andres Bonifacio pinpoint the date and place of the crucial Cry meeting
when the decision to attack Manila was made. According to Aguinaldo, “On 22 August 1896, the
Magdalo Council received a secret letter from Supremo Andres Bonifacio, in Balintawak, which stated
that the Katipunan will hold an important meeting on the 24th of the said month, and that it was
extremely necessary to send two representatives or delegates in the name of the said Council.” This
record, was written only one and a half years after the event. Moreover, Pugad Lawin was just later on
recognized on the Philippine map 32 years after the event. Writer and linguist Sofronio Calderon,
conducting research in the late 1920s on the toponym “Pugad Lawin,” went through the municipal
records and the Census of 1903 and 1918, could not find the name, and concluded that It would be a
mistake to say that there is such as Pugad Lawin in Kalookan. A rough sketch or croquis de las
operaciones practicadas in El Español showed the movements of Lt. Ros against the Katipunan on 25, 26,
and 27 August 1896. The map defined each place name as sitio “Baclac” (sic: Banlat). In 1897, the
Spanish historian Sastron mentioned Kalookan, Balintawak, Banlat and Pasong Tamo. The names
mentioned in some revolutionary sources and interpretations- Daang Malalim, Kangkong and Pugad
Lawin- were not identified as barrios. Even detailed Spanish and American maps mark only Kalookan and
Balintawak.
Hence, considering these sources the revolution was always traditionally held to have occurred
in the area of Balintawak, it is more accurate to stick to the original “Cry of Balintawak.”
Moderator: Ms. Aezel you have 2 minutes to cross examine her
Aezel: How did Guillermo Masangkay proved that the Cry of Revolution happened in Balintawak where
in fact the said event has different places and dates narrated by eyewitnesses with such credibility not
just by Masangkay himself but also Pio Valenzuela in the side of pugad Lawin?
Mary: *Answers*
Aezel: Guillermo Masangkay point of view is not written by himself. It was authorized by Soledad
Borromeo-Buehler, so how can we prove that the Cry of Revolution happened in Balintawak while the
so-called eyewitness is not the one who narrate a written document that serve as an evidence?
Mary: *Answers*
Moderator: Ms. Romelyn Javier you may now have the time to conclude the affirmative side’s argument
Romelyn: To summarize, I will be elaborating all the points discussed by our side. First, three veterans
who were actually on the event said that it happened in Pugad Lawin. These veterans are Valenzuela,
Pacheco and Pantas. Second, Pio's statements may be inconsistent at first but it is because he was under
duress during his trial under the Spanish court. Despite of his inconsistent statement at first, his
statement that it was actually on Pugad Lawin was supported by his co-veterans. In relation to this,
Teodoro Agoncillo who was a historian, included Valenzuela's memoirs on his book. And last, the place
Pugad Lawin truly exists because if it were just a mere made up place by Pio, the other two veterans
wouldn't have agreed. The point that there were three veterans who said that the 'Cry' happened in
Pugad Lawin is already a strong evidence that it is true. Also, the Philippine Government used Agoncillo's
account which supported Pio's memoirs. The fact that the government considered it and the NHCP or
National Historical Commission of the Philippines approved it, proves it its true. In conclusion, we strong
believe that the ‘Cry’ happened in Pugad Lawin.
Moderator: Johanna you may now have the time to give the final argument of the negative side’
Johanna: To briefly sum up the important points of the whole debate, according to the affirmative side,
albeit the “Cry of Pugad Luwain” is deemed as historically inaccurate, several accounts and testimonies
from Guillermo Masangkay, an eye witness, firmly attested that the first cry indeed took place in
Balintawak on the 26th of August, 1896. Masangkay had mentioned numerous esteemed personalities
like Andres Bonifacio and Emilio Jacinto. As stated by Masangkay, the people he named were present in a
meeting with the agenda of the first cry. It was held on Apolonio Samson’s house, which was in
Balintawak. The residence was certainly in Kangkong which is part of "Greater Balintawak," thus also part
of the “Greater Caloocan”. Guillermo Masangkay’s verbal testimony was acknowledge as he narrated the
happenings in a lucid manner where he provided detailed information starting from Aguinaldo’s outfit up
to how the present Katipuneros were distributed in strategic position which were for the purpose of
possible incursion from the civil guards. Negating this information from the opposition, Through the
accounts of Dr. Pio Valenzuela and Teodoro Agoncillo’s interpretation, National History endorsed that the
cry be celebrated on the 23rd of August and that Pugan Lawin be recognize as the site of the first cry to
former president Diosdado Macapagal. Valenzuela’s first statement include that that prime staging of the
first cry was in Balintawak on the 26th of August, 1986, however this suddenly changed when in his
memoirs, he then affirmed that the cry happened in Pugad Lawin on the 23rd of August, 1896. The
former statement is said to be more accurate as it was written around the time of the said event and the
latter may be unreliable as his memories of the past may have been altered mainly because the event
happened a couple of years ago. On the other hand, In Julio Nakpil’s hand written memoirs deposited in
the National Library, he wrote “swearing before God, and before history that everything in these notes is
the truth” : “The Revolution started in Balintawak in the Last days of August 1896”. In addition, Oligarion
Diaz, a Guardia Civil officer, reports, he has seen that on the 23rd, Bonifacio moved to the barrio of
Balintawak followed by 200 men from Caloocan, on the 24th the Guardia Civil attacked them in the
outskirts of the said town…”. Hence, considering these supporting statements, it is more appropriate to
conclude that the First cry took place in Balintawak and not in Pugad Lawin.
Moderator: Ladies and gentlemen, thank you for lending us your time as we tackle this age-old issue.
Both sides have presented reliable sources. We hope that you have learned more about the history in
today’s topic.
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Moderator: Good Day, Ladies and Gentlemen.

Moderator: Ms. Javier you have 2 minutes to cross examine her

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