Why Andres Bonifacio deserves a place at Libingan ng mga Bayani?

1896 to try to settle a raging dispute between two revolutionary factions in that province -- those of the Magdalo and the Magdiwang groups.

As the Filipino people prepare for the celebration of their 125th Independence Day on June 12, I have in mind what I think is a very relevant question: Why we are not giving one of our foremost heroes a rightful place at the Libingan ng mga Bayani (LNMB)?

Of course, I am referring to Gat Andres Bonifacio, considered as the founder of the Kataas-taasan, Kagalang-galangang Katipunan ng mga Anak ng

Bayan (KKK) and Father of the 1896 Revolution against more than 300 years of Spanish rule in the Philippines (1521-1898).

Most adult Filipinos today know that Bonifacio was executed by his fellow revolutionaries in Maragondon, Cavite on May 10, 1897 for alleged guilt of treason and sedition. He has not yet been given a proper burial until now as his remains continue to be missing.

The Katipunan Supremo went to Cavite in December

It was his second and last visit to Cavite until his tragic death at age 33. His first visit to that province was in April 1896 to organize a provincial council of the Katipunan in Noveleta, according to the book “The Katipunan and the Revolution: Memoirs of a General” written by revolutionary Gen. Santiago V. Alvarez.

Various historical accounts said Bonifacio’s bones got lost or destroyed while deposited at the old National Library and Museum during the last war. There were also doubts about the authentication of such remains.

Bonifacio’s death came just four months after the execution on Dec. 30, 1896 of Dr. Jose P. Rizal by Spanish authorities at Bagumbayan or Luneta, now the Rizal Park in Manila.

During the centennial of Bonifacio’s death on May 10, 1997, a group of Bonifacio admirers, spearheaded by the civic organization “Kampanya para sa Kamalayan sa Kasaysayan” (KAMALAYSAYAN), then headed by journalist Ed Aurelio C. Reyes (RIP), held a “symbolic funeral ceremony for him” inside the Pamitinan Cave in Montalban, now Rodriguez town in Rizal.

A Facebook friend of this writer, Rosabella Fernandez of Quezon City, was among those who attended the ceremony. She noted with sadness that many of today’s young Filipinos, including students, appear to be unaware of Bonifacio’s important role in Philippine history.

It was said that Pamitinan Cave was where Bonifacio and other KKK leaders first declared Philippine Independence from Spain on April 12, 1895. On June 21, 1996, Pamitinan Cave was declared a historic site by the Philippine Histori-