22 MARCH

1897 - The fraudulent and controversial Tejeros Convention elects the new officers of the Philippine revolutionary body, with Andres Bonifacio y de Castro, head of the Kataastaasang Kagalanggalangang Katipunan nang manga Anak nang Bayan (KKK) , the original secret-society-turned-revolutionary-government fighting the colonial Spaniards, being elected Interior Director and Emilio F. Aguinaldo, the President; the convention could possibly have ended peacefully had Daniel Tirona, months earlier accused by the Supremo of disseminating propagating poison letters against him, not objected to Bonifacio's election, supposedly on grounds of lack of qualification when he scandalously disrespected the results and insulting the Supremo by loudly shouting "Let us elect Mr. Jose del Rosario, the lawyer!"; prior to the election, Bonifacio had been warned by a Magdiwang officer, Diego Mojica, about Tirona's distribution of pre-filled ballots with Magdalo names in them; Bonifacio, who has been lured into Cavite so he can supposedly unite the Magdalo and Magdiwang KKK factions of the province, with the Magdiwang said to be accusing the former of wanting "to rule all and the entire Philippines"; Bonifacio, who also earlier learned of "the underhand work of some of the Imus crowd who had quietly spread the statement that it was not advisable that they be governed by men" from outside pueblos, will soon issue Acta de Tejeros declaring the corrupt elections invalid, but unfortunately, be caught by Aguinaldo's forces before reaching what has been speculated to be either Manila or Batangas that, according to the Supremo, "has organized a provincial government " placed under his orders; Aguinaldo's forces would charge the Supremo and his brothers with "sedition" and be found 'guilty' by a kangaroo court martial wherein the assigned defense lawyer himself condemned Bonifacio; the Tejeros Convention would be later be condemned as a coup and counterrevolution by more progressive historians.


Raw photo credit:

Wikipedia