Bonifacio Day is a national holiday in the

Philippines The Philippines, officially the Republic of the Philippines, is an Archipelagic state, archipelagic country in Southeast Asia. Located in the western Pacific Ocean, it consists of List of islands of the Philippines, 7,641 islands, with a tot ...

, commemorating

Andrés Bonifacio Andrés Bonifacio y de Castro (, ; November 30, 1863May 10, 1897) was a Filipino people, Filipino revolutionary leader. He is often called "The Father of the Philippines, Philippine Philippine Revolution, Revolution", and considered a nationa ...

, one of the country's national heroes. He was the founder and eventual ''Supremo'' of the

Katipunan The Katipunan (), officially known as the (; ) and abbreviated as the KKK, was a revolutionary organization founded in 1892 by a group of Filipino nationalists Deodato Arellano, Andrés Bonifacio, Valentin Diaz, Ladislao Diwa, José Dizon, an ...

, a secret society that triggered the

Philippine Revolution The Philippine Revolution ( or ; or ) was a war of independence waged by the revolutionary organization Katipunan against the Spanish Empire from 1896 to 1898. It was the culmination of the 333-year History of the Philippines (1565–1898), ...

of 1896 against the

Spanish Empire The Spanish Empire, sometimes referred to as the Hispanic Monarchy (political entity), Hispanic Monarchy or the Catholic Monarchy, was a colonial empire that existed between 1492 and 1976. In conjunction with the Portuguese Empire, it ushered ...

. It is celebrated every November 30, the birth anniversary of Bonifacio. It also coincides with the

feast day The calendar of saints is the traditional Christian method of organizing a liturgical year by associating each day with one or more saints and referring to the day as the feast day or feast of said saint. The word "feast" in this context does n ...

of Saint

Andrew the Apostle Andrew the Apostle ( ; ; ; ) was an apostle of Jesus. According to the New Testament, he was a fisherman and one of the Apostles in the New Testament, Twelve Apostles chosen by Jesus. The title First-Called () used by the Eastern Orthodox Chu ...

, from whom Bonifacio's given name was derived, as he was born on such day.

History

Since 1901, Bonifacio's birthday has been celebrated by civic organizations. By 1920, Senator

Lope K. Santos Lope K. Santos (born Lope Santos y Canseco, September 25, 1879 – May 1, 1963) was a Filipino people, Filipino Tagalog language, Tagalog-language writer and former List of Senators of the Philippines, senator of the Philippines. He is best kn ...

filed a bill to declare November 30 a holiday. In 1921, the governor general approved the bill as Act No. 2946. The law did not name Bonifacio and added November 30 to the list of holidays listed at Act No. 2711. In time, it became a holiday to commemorate all Filipino heroes; this persisted even when a separate National Heroes' Day holiday was declared in 1931. In 1942, November 30 was declared as

National Heroes' Day Heroes' Day or National Heroes' Day may refer to a number of commemorations of national heroes in different countries and territories. It is often held on the birthday of a national hero or heroine, or the anniversary of their great deeds that ...

. In 1952, by that time, the now-independent Philippines, President

Elpidio Quirino Elpidio Rivera Quirino (; November 16, 1890 – February 29, 1956) was a Philippine nationality law, Filipino lawyer and politician who served as the 6th President of the Philippines from 1948 to 1953. A lawyer by profession, Quirino entered p ...

separated National Heroes' Day and Bonifacio Day by an executive order. Quirino explained in a speech at the National Teachers College that the "change has become necessary because of the interest from different sectors of our country to celebrate each hero's anniversary in order to perpetuate his name." Unlike

Rizal Day Rizal Day (, ; ) is a Philippine national holiday commemorating life and works of José Rizal, a national hero of the Philippines. It is celebrated every December 30, the anniversary of Rizal's 1896 execution at Bagumbayan (present-day Rizal ...

which is held on the death anniversary of

José Rizal José Protasio Rizal Mercado y Alonso Realonda (, ; June 19, 1861 – December 30, 1896) was a Filipino nationalist, writer and polymath active at the end of the Spanish colonial period of the Philippines. He is popularly considered a na ...

, Bonifacio Day is celebrated on his birth date. This is because of the controversial events on which Bonifacio was executed by his fellow revolutionaries during the time of the

. In 2023, Bonifacio Day was commemorated on November 27, as part of the " holiday economics" strategy that shifts the observance of the holiday to the nearest Monday for a longer weekend by virtue of Proclamation No. 90 under President

Bongbong Marcos Ferdinand "Bongbong" Romualdez Marcos Jr. (, , ; born September 13, 1957), commonly referred to by the initials BBM or PBBM, is a Filipino politician who has served as the 17th president of the Philippines since 2022. He is the second child ...

Thus, November 30 was designated as a working day, though traditional celebrations persisted on that day.

Ceremonies

Bonifacio Day ceremonies are usually held at the

Bonifacio Monument The Andrés Bonifacio Monument, commonly known simply as Bonifacio Monument or Monumento, is a memorial monument in Caloocan, Philippines, which was designed by National Artist Guillermo Tolentino to commemorate the Philippine revolutionary ...

Caloocan Caloocan, officially the City of Caloocan (; ), is a highly urbanized city in Metro Manila, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 1,661,584 people making it the fourth-most populous city in the Philippines. Caloo ...

, and is usually led by the incumbent president. It is also held at places with significance to Bonifacio, especially other monuments of him.

Protests

Protests calling for government action, often focusing on wage hikes for laborers, are held in the Philippines on Bonifacio Day. Activists believe that "Bonifacio would have supported the right to protest for important causes."

Bonifacio Days in history

On November 30, 1941, days before the Japanese invasion of the Philippines, President

Manuel L. Quezon Manuel Luis Quezon y Molina (, , , ; 19 August 1878 – 1 August 1944), also known by his initials MLQ, was a Filipino people, Filipino lawyer, statesman, soldier, and politician who was president of the Commonwealth of the Philippines from 1 ...

warned of the impending war against the Japanese in a speech at the

University of the Philippines Manila The University of the Philippines Manila (UPM; ) is a Higher education in the Philippines#State universities and colleges, public research university located in Ermita, Manila, Ermita, Manila, Philippines. It is the oldest of eight constituent ...

References

{{Public holidays in the Philippines November Public holidays in the Philippines