The news of Rizal's deportation shocked and surprised the people, for Rizal to them was the symbol of freedom. That night of July 7, 1892, Andres Bonifacio, Valentin Diaz, Teodoro Plata, Ladislao Diwa, Deodato Arellano and a few others, met secretly at a house on Azcarraga (now Claro M. Recto Avenue), near Elcano Street, Tondo, and decided to form a new association called Kataastaasan, Kagalanggalang na Katipunan nang manga Anak ng Bayan or Katipunan for short. The men gathered around a flickering table lamp, performed the ancient blood compact, and signed their membership papers with their own blood. It was agreed to win more members to the society by means of the triangle method in which an original member would take in two new members who did not know each other, but knew only the original member who took them in. Thus, original member A, for instance, would take in new members B and C. Both B and C knew A, but B and C did not know each other. Also agreed upon during the meeting was the payment of an entrance fee of one real fuerte(twenty-five centavos) and a monthly due of a media real (about twelve centavos).
The Katipunan Objectives
Under the leadership of Bonifacio, the Katipunan laid down three fundamental objectives or aims: political, moral and civic. The political objectives consisted in working for the separation of the Philippines from Spain. The moral objective revolved about around the teaching of good manners, hygiene, good morals, and attacking obscurantism, religious fanaticism, and weakness of character. The civic aim revolved around the principle of self-help and the defense of the poor and the oppressed. All members were urged to come to the aid of the sick comrades and their families, and in case of death the society itself was to pay for the funeral expenses. For the purpose of economy however, the society saw to it that the funeral was of the simplest kind, avoiding unnecessary expenses so common under the rule of the friars.
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. On the 21st, Bonifacio changed the Katipunan code because the Spanish authorities had already deciphered it. In the afternoon of the same day, the rebels, numbering about 500, left Balintawak for Kangkong, where Apolonio Samson, a Katipunero, gave them food and shelter. In the afternoon of August 22, they proceeded to Pugadlawin. 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.
The Cry of Balintawak
First Skirmishes
In the midst of this dramatic scene, some Katipuneros who had just arrived from Manila and Kalookan shouted "Dong Andres! The civil guards are almost behind us, and will reconnoiter the mountains." Bonifacio at once ordered his men to get ready for the expected attack of the Spaniards. Since they had inferior arms the rebels decided, instead, to retreat. Under cover of darkness, the rebels marched towards Pasong Tamo, and the next day, August 24, they arrived at the yard of Melchora Aquino, known as Tandang Sora. It was decided that all the rebels in the surrounding towns be notified of the general attack on Manila on the night of August 29, 1896.
At ten in the morning of August 25, some women came rushing in and notified Bonifacio that the civil guards and some infantrymen were coming. Soon after, a burst of fire came from the approaching Spaniards. The rebels deployed and prepared for the enemy. In the skirmish that followed, the rebels lost two men and the enemy one. Because of their inferior weapons, which consisted mostly of bolos and a few guns, the rebels decided to retreat. On the other hand, the Spaniards, finding themselves greatly outnumbered, also decided to retreat. So both camps retreated and thus prevented a bloody encounter. This was the first skirmish fought in the struggle for national emancipation.
On August 26, Spanish reinforcements were dispatched to Pasong Tamo to drive away the rebels. But the latter, who were going to or were already in Balara, could not be found. The Spaniards, frustrated in their attempt to contact the Filipino contingent, shot, instead, two innocent farmers who were leisurely going on their way home. Returning to Manila, the Spanish soldiers boasted that a great fight has taken place at Pasong Tamo, and that they had driven the rebels to the interior. This was the origin of the so-called "Cry of Balintawak", which neither happened on August 26 nor in Balintawak.
Meanwhile, the rebels, skirting the mountain trails day and night, finally arrived in Mariquina. Later in the day, however, they abandoned it and proceeded to Hagdang Bato on August 27. The following day, Bonifacio issued a manifesto inciting the people to take up the Filipino cause and to get set for a concerted attack on the Spaniards on August 29.