Andres Bonifacio

HEROES

Ama ng Katipunan

A bayani or a hero is someone who fights alongside his or her people for a better future for all. A bayani also inspires others to act despite the dangers and uncertainties along the way. Andres, as “Maypagasa,” truly gave hope as a bayani. He is considered a bayani and a leader who led the fight for Philippine independence from Spain. We also see him as a bayani in the following ways:

1. Andres taught us to value freedom.

For Andres, building a nation was not just the formal establishment of a government but also included upholding the welfare and freedom of its people. Without freedom, everyone suffers under injustice, lies, and fear. Andres and the katipuneros overcame these with courage, hope, and the desire for truth and justice. Like many after them, our heroes fought and died for the freedoms that we enjoy today. Being a bayani means loving one’s country by protecting the freedom and dignity of its people and looking out for one another.

2. Andres taught us that our talents and interests can contribute to society.

We sacrifice the activities that we love, for it seems that they are not worthwhile and immediately rewarding. Andres believed that no act is wasted if it is pursued as a contribution to one’s motherland. Andres found time to pursue his interests in theater, reading books, and writing literature as he pursued the goals of the Katipunan. He showed that art and creativity can help improve society and help in one’s advocacy. Being a bayani means offering one’s talents and skills for the good of others and for the honor of the country.

3. Andres showed that leading people means empowering them.

In leading the Katipunan, he listened to his colleagues, recognized their skills and trusted them to get things done. He recognized the writing skills of Emilio Jacinto and gave way to the publishing of the Kartilya. He recognized the desire of Pio to manage the Kalayaan enabling their organization’s ideals to spread and their number to grow. As an organizer, Andres kept an open and humble mind which attracted like-minded people and leaders that ultimately strengthened their organization.

Being a bayani means being a leader that inspires others to become leaders as well.

4. Andres shared his ideals and inspired many others to act.

Andres wrote that there was no greater and purer form of love other than the love of one’s country. Andres shared this with everyone. In his writings and speeches, he used a language his countrymen could best relate to and understand.
He did not keep his vision of a future of freedom and enlightenment to himself nor to only a few people. In organizing the Katipunan, he invited everyone, whether rich or poor, educated or not, to free the motherland. Andres taught us that being a bayani means to share what we believe in so that we may also inspire others to act.

5. Andres fought fear with hope.

Andres hoped to see his fellowmen free from suffering under centuries of colonial rule. This hope that the Philippines could be a free nation triumphed over the fear that the colonizers used for centuries and enabled him to organize the Katipunan even when it was dangerous to do so.

This hope sustained the revolution that Andres led despite his untimely demise.

Hope was what carried the revolution to victory, and which continues to burn in our quest for a better society. Like Andres, a.k.a. Maypagasa, being a bayani means spreading a message of hope, even in the darkest of times, which can light the way towards a better future.

Let us remember Andres as a bayani. Andres who did not only teach us courage, but who also taught us to love one another. That is how he imagined us building the nation.