The 2002 Discovery Channel program Unsolved History used to be one of my favorite shows. They use scientific evidence to try and separate fact and fiction from some of history’s greatest questions – from King Tut, to JFK. How I wish there was a program like that in the Philippines that would at least try to tell the story in a smarter way.

Here are some suggestions:

Was Andres Bonifacio a communist?
This would be an intriguing question, perfect for TV. And while I do not think of him as such, I am not certain he pushed for democracy either. Then there’s the fact that he considers Marx and the French Revolution as one of his influences. We all know that the Katipunan was an underground movement. How was funded? Surely there were opportunists in their pool of backers (eg. Pedro Paterno, Pio Valenzuela), or did they just loot from the rich.

Francisco Roxas, for example, wasn’t involved in the Katipunan. He refused to provide financial support and was framed by Andres Bonifacio. Was he the only one among the 13 martyrs who was unjustly executed? Shouldn’t his name be taken off the list to underscore the sacrifice of the real martyrs of Bagumbayan?

Did Emilio Aguinaldo have a soft heart?
Well, I’m only including this because my comments section would’ve been filled with this point had I not mentioned it. As far as I know, Bonifacio was sentenced and he ended up dead. The question was whether Aguinaldo, as he previously said, actually softened his heart to have Bonifacio just exiled.

Aguinaldo claims he superseded this judgment and ordered the Supremo to be exiled and banished to Mt. Nagpatong.