EDITORIAL - Hero of the masses

The nation marks the 151st birth anniversary today of the hero of the masses, Andres Bonifacio, at the end of a month dedicated to promoting reading. Historians say that the leader of the Philippine revolution, whose limited financial means did not allow him to obtain a college degree, made up for the lack through voracious reading.

Apart from the Holy Bible and Jose Rizal’s novels that inspired the revolution, El Filibusterismo and Noli Me Tangere, Bonifacio read books on law and medicine, the history of the French revolution, Victor Hugo’s Les Miserables, and Lives of the Presidents of the United States.

The ideas fueled Bonifacio’s yearning for independence from colonial rulers. He dared to take up arms – an uprising that unfortunately was marred by a power struggle between the two revolutionary factions, culminating in the execution of Bonifacio and his brother on orders of his rival Emilio Aguinaldo.

In the years before becoming a Katipunero, Bonifacio worked on self-improvement, sustaining himself and his siblings by taking on various types of jobs and selling walking canes and paper fans. Orphaned at an early age, their efforts to survive are not uncommon in these islands. Poverty continues to keep many Filipinos out of school even if basic education is free. In many households, the eldest child drops out of school early to find work and finance the education of siblings, especially the ones who perform best academically.

Even during the Spanish colonial period, quality education was a luxury beyond the reach of millions of Filipinos. They managed to progress beyond functional literacy and obtain higher education or its equivalent in competency mainly on their own efforts, and occasionally through the kindness of moneyed benefactors.

Rizal’s family was wealthy enough to send him abroad for formal schooling. But many more Filipinos were like Bonifacio who lacked the means to obtain a college degree right in their own country. Today there are still a significant number of Filipinos who have not progressed beyond functional literacy. Not all of them have Bonifacio’s passion for reading and self-education.

The limited formal education didn’t stop Bonifacio from writing that there is no greater love than what is given to one’s country – and leading the masses in a revolution. With formal education and more opportunities, Bonifacio could have soared to even greater heights. Millions of Filipinos should not be deprived of those opportunities.