Some writers consider the first military engagement with the enemy as the defining moment of the Cry.

To
commemorate this martial event upon his return from exile in Hong Kong, Emilio Aguinaldo commissioned a “Himno
de Balintawak” to herald renewed fighting after the failed peace of the pact of Biyak na Bato.

 In September 1896, Valenzuela stated before the Olive Court, which was charged with investigating persons
involved in the rebellion, only that Katipunan meetings took place from Sunday to Tuesday or 23 to 25
August at Balintawak.

 In 1911, Valenzuela averred that the Katipunan began meeting on 22 August while the Cry took place on 23
August at Apolonio Samson’s house in Balintawak.

 From 1928 to 1940, Valenzuela maintained that the Cry happened on 24 August at the house of Tandang
Sora (Melchora Aquino) in Pugad Lawin, which he now situated near Pasong Tamo Road. A photograph of
Bonifacio’s widow Gregoria de Jesus and Katipunan members Valenzuela, Briccio Brigido Pantas, Alfonso and
Cipriano Pacheco, published in La Opinion in 1928 and 1930, was captioned both times as having been taken
at the site of the Cry on 24 August 1896 at the house of Tandang Sora at Pasong Tamo Road.

 In 1940, a research team of the Philippines Historical Committee (a forerunner of the National Historical
Institute or NHI), which included Pio Valenzuela, identified the precise spot of Pugad Lawin as part of sitio
Gulod, Banlat, Kalookan City. In 1964, the NHI’s Minutes of the Katipunan referred to the place of the Cry as
Tandang Sora’s and not as Juan Ramos’ house, and the date as 23 August.

 Valenzuela memoirs (1964, 1978) averred that the Cry took place on 23 August at the house of Juan Ramos
at Pugad Lawin. The NHI was obviously influenced by Valenzuela’s memoirs. In 1963, upon the NHI
endorsement, President Diosdado Macapagal ordered that the Cry be celebrated on 23 August and that
Pugad Lawin be recognized as its site.

 It was in Pugad Lawin, where they proceeded upon leaving Samson’s place in the afternoon of the 22nd, that
the more than 1,000 members of the 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 the 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: “Brothers, it was agreed to continue with the plan of
revolt. My brothers, do you swear to repudiate the government that oppresses us?” And the rebels, shouting
as one man replied: “Yes, sir!” “That being the case,” Bonifacio added, “bring out your cedulas and tear them
to pieces to symbolize our determination to take arms!”. Amidst the ceremony, the rebels, tear-stained eyes,
shouted: “Long live the Philippines! Long live the Katipunan! Agoncillo used his considerable influenced and
campaigned for a change in the recognized site to Pugad Lawin and the date 23 August 1896. In 1963, the
National Heroes Commission (a forerunner of the NHI), without formal consultations or recommendations to
President Macapagal.

 Consequently, Macapagal ordered that the Cry of Balintawak be called the “Cry of Pugad Lawin,” and that it
be celebrated on 23 August instead of 26 August. The 1911 monument in Balintawak was later removed to a
highway. Student groups moved to save the discarded monument, and it was installed in front of Vinzons
Hall in the Diliman campus of the University of the Philippines on 29 November 1968.

REFERENCE
http://gwhs-stg02.i.gov.ph/~s2govnccaph/about-culture-and-arts/in-focus/balintawak-the-cry-for-a-
nationwide-revolution/
  Survivors of the Katipunan uprising of 1896, generally agreed that Philippine Revolution started on August
26, 1896 in Balintawak.
 Some doubted and expressed from time to time, as earlier historians and writers came up with the
bewildering array of dates, places, not to mention the differences in the interpretation of the term “Cry”.
The controversy of “Cry of Balintawak” has been lasted for decades.
 Some errors made by the earlier historians on the subjects. The situation lent itself to the manipulation of
historical facts, for appeared to have self-serving purposes.
 The time where Bonifacio Monument has been introduced, three of those who left Balintawak just for he
first encounter took place. They are Pio Valenzuela, Briccio Pantas, and Cipriano Pacheco who have made
public a signed statement that the Unang Sigaw took place on an earlier date, in a different place.
 The switch to “Pugad Lawin” was made by Valenzuela after having attended celebrations of the Cry of
Balintawak in earlier years.
 First, Agoncillo’s use of a deeply flawed methodology that ignored all documentary evidence in favor of one
source that several eminent historians had considered of poor credibility. The so called Pio Valenzuela
memoirs, that actually consists of only seventeen pages.
 Second, there was a unilateral decision of Agoncillo to change the interpretation of “Unang Sigaw” in an
apparent effort to adapt it to the Valenzuela memoirs. In his book, Agoncillo defines that phrase as tearing of
Katipunero’s cedulas, and with one stroke cast aside its traditional interpretation based upon the first
encounter.
 Third, it appears to be unauthorized use and misinterpretation of an interview made by Agoncillo with
Masangkay dated October 11, 1947.
 Fourth, there was a removal of an important historical piece of evidence, when 1911 monument to the “Cry”
was rooted from Balintawak in 1968 and transferred to the University of the Philippines Diliman.
 Finally, in a later statement to Jose P. Santos, Pantas practically nullified his previous claim about a ”Cry of
Pugad Lawin”.

https://searchworks.stanford.edu/view/12715438

https://books.google.com.ph/books?id=RJnMSmXLvr4C&printsec=frontcover#v=onepage&q&f=false
 RAMOS said there is now a dilemma on when the Philippines should celebrate Independence Day.
 However, Ramos pointed out he didn’t like “what-if historical scenarios,” which he explained was called
historical counterfactuals.
 He, nonetheless, said it could be argued that if Bonifacio, instead of Aguinaldo, had survived
the aftermath of the Tejeros Convention, “our Independence Day could have been celebrated on the day
when the Cry of Pugad Lawin occurred.”
 This was the moment in August 1896 when the members of the Katipunan openly defied Spanish colonial
authority.
 AS proof of their determination to break away from Spain, they tore up their cedulas. The cedula, or
residence certificate, was a piece of paper signifying that the bearer was under the authority of the Spanish
crown.
 According to the Official Gazette, Spanish Gov. Gen. Primo de Rivera had issued a decree requiring Filipinos
to report to Spanish authorities on or before July 10, 1896.
  The decree also forbade the people from leaving their towns or villages without first securing passes or
establishing their identity by means of a cedula.
 When the Katipuneros tore up their cedulas, they were symbolically breaking their ties to the Spanish
monarchy.

https://businessmirror.com.ph/2016/06/14/the-katagalugan-republic-and-the-cry-of-pugad-lawin/
  The news of the discovery of the Katipunan spread throughout Manila and the suburbs.
Bonifacio, informed of the discovery, secretly instructed his runners to summon all the leaders of
the society to a general assembly to be held on August 24. They were to meet at Balintawak to
discuss the steps to be taken to meet the crisis.
 That same night of August 19, Bonifacio, accompanied by his brother Procopio, Emilio Jacinto,
Teodoro Plata, and Aguedo del Rosario, slipped through the cordon of Spanish sentries and
reached Balintawak before midnight. Pio Valenzuela followed them the next day.
 The following day, in the yard of Juan A. Ramos, the son of Melchora Aquino who was later
called the "Mother of the Katipunan", Bonifacio asked his men whether they were prepared to
fight to the bitter end.
 Despite the objection of his brother-in-law, Teodoro Plata, all assembled agreed to fight to the
last. "That being the case, "
 Bonifacio said, "bring out your cedulas and tear them to pieces to symbolize our determination
to take up arms!" The men obediently tore up their cedulas, shouting "Long live the Philippines!"
 This event marked the so-called "Cry of Balintawak," which actually happened in Pugadlawin.

Bonifacio's Manifesto of August 28

This manifesto is for all of you. It is absolutely necessary for us to stop at the earliest possible
time the nameless oppressions being perpetrated on the sons of the people who are now
suffering the brutal punishment and tortures in jails, and because of this please let all the
brethren know that on Saturday, the revolution shall commence according to our agreement.
 For this purpose, it is necessary for all town to rise simultaneously and attack Manila at the same
time. Anybody who obstructs this sacred ideal of the people will be considered a traitor and an
enemy, except if he is ill or is not physically fit, in which case he shall be tried according to the
regulation we have put in force.

https://filipino.biz.ph/history/pugadlawin.html

 Teodoro A. Agoncillo equates the “Cry” with the tearing of the cedulas, which he says happened immediately
after the decision. Isagani R. Medina also takes the “Cry” same as Agoncillo, but says it happened before the
decision to revolt had been taken. However, Soledad Borromeo-Buehler takes the traditional view that KKK
veterans took, she says – the “Cry” should mean the first exchange with the Spaniard.
 The first fight against the Spaniard happened in Balintawak on August 26, 1896. Both Borromeo-Buehler and
Encarnacion gives the most solid sources about the date it happened since other witnesses said it happened
on August 25.
 On September 1911, the statue was erected in Balintawak, the public acknowledge the event as “Cry of
Balintawak” since that’s where the fight happened and they celebrate it yearly on August 26. It supports
Borromeo-Buehler since she says that the “Cry” means the first fight.
 In 1960’s, the “Cry” was officially defined as “that part of the Revolution when the Katipunan decided to
launch a revolution against Spain” which means the day when and where the KKK veterans tore their
cedulas. It’s similar to Teodoro A. Agoncillo definition of “Cry”.
 The Biak-na-Bato constitution (November, 1897), Carlos Ronquillo (1898), Liga Filipina memorial by patriotic
society included several KKK veterans (1903), and Santiago Alvarez (1927) mentioned the meeting happened
in August 24, 1896, it was when the official separation to Spanish government was taken. It started on
Sunday, August 23 and after a series of meeting, it ended on early hours of Monday, August 24, 1896.
 In 1927 a Katipunan veterans’ association, the Labi ng Katipunan, created a memorial on the side where they
remembered the decision to revolt had been taken, at Apolonio Samson's house in barrio Kangkong. The
veterans wrote the date as August 23,1896.
 However, in 1927 the Labi ng Katipunan, created a memorial on the side where they remembered the
decision to revolt had been taken, at Apolonio Samson's house in barrio Kangkong. The KKK veterans wrote
the date as August 23,1896 and marked the site.
  Pio Valenzuela (in 1911) recalled that the decision had been taken in Kangkong. However, he has other
declaration which contradict this statement.
 Cipriano Pacheco recalled that as soon as the Assembly (happened in Samson's house in barrio Kangkong)
voted to launch the revolution, Bonifacio led the 2,000 crowd to a place nearby where the shout was heard
and the cedulas teared apart.

http://www.kasaysayan-kkk.info/studies/notes-on-the-cry-of-august-1896

https://ncca.gov.ph/about-culture-and-arts/in-focus/balintawak-the-cry-for-a-nationwide-revolution/

This statue represents the first fight of the KKK with the Spaniards that happened on August 26, 1896 in Balintawak. (Unveiled on
September 1911)

This statement from Briccio Pantas, C.

 The historian Teodoro Agoncillo chose to emphasize Bonifacio’s tearing of the cedula (tax receipt) before a
crowd of Katipuneros who then broke out in cheers. However, Guardia Civil Manuel Sityar never mentioned
in his memoirs (1896-1898) the tearing or inspection of the cedula, but did note the pacto de sangre (blood
pact) mark on every single Filipino he met in August 1896 on his reconnaissance missions around Balintawak.
 Neither could the 1911 monument have been erected to mark the site of the first armed encounter which,
incidentally, the Katipuneros fought and won. A contemporary map of 1896 shows that the August battle
between the Katipunan rebels and the Spanish forces led by Lt. Ros of the Civil Guards took place at sitio
Banlat, North of Pasong Tamo Road far from Balintawak. The site has its own marker.
 Without concrete proof, the Governor merely saw their suggestions as accusations and could do nothing
about it. The parish priest of Tondo reported his findings to the owner of the Diary de Manila, the printing
press where the two Katipuneros worked, and on searching the place they found the paraphernalia used in
printing Katipunan documents and other items proving the existence of the Katipunan, it was August 19,
1896.
 General Aguinaldo’s numerous victories in the battlefield made him the acknowledged revolutionary leader
in Cavite. He issued a proclamation on October 31, 1896 enjoining the people to take courage and continue
fighting for Philippine independence.

REFERENCES

http://gwhs-stg02.i.gov.ph/~s2govnccaph/about-culture-and-arts/in-focus/balintawak-the-cry-for-a-nationwide-
revolution/

https://www.warhistoryonline.com/history/pugad-lawin-birth-revolution.html

https://www.philippine-history.org/cry-of-pugadlawin.htm