MANILA, Philippines—Militant labor groups marked the 146th birth anniversary Monday of revolutionary hero Andres Bonifacio with a rally in Manila calling on political candidates to emulate the hero’s struggle for social change.

Members of Partido ng Manggagawa and Bukluran ng Manggagawang Pilipino, numbering about 500, held a noontime demonstration at Liwasang Bonifacio peppered with speeches and cultural presentations extolling Bonifacio, the Tondo-born founder of the Katipunan, the movement that triggered the Philippine revolution against Spanish colonial rule in 1896.

Another labor group, Kilusang Mayo Uno (KMU), held a wreath-laying program at Bonifacio’s shrine in Tutuban, Tondo, Manila, around 10:30 a.m. The group also hosted a cultural tribute to workers in the afternoon at the University of the Philippines in Quezon City.

“Bonifacio is a working-class hero who stood for radical social change, not just superficial changes like those being offered by politicians running in the 2010 elections,” KMU executive vice president Lito Ustarez said.

The labor leader said the ideals that Bonifacio fought and died for remained unfulfilled, and that present-day Filipinos should continue fighting for independence from United States influence and other “isms,” such as imperialism, feudalism, fascism and capitalism.

This year’s Bonifacio Day came a day before the deadline for the filing of certificates of candidacy for the May 10, 2010, elections, which date is the hero’s death anniversary.

“Bonifacio wanted no less than complete freedom for the Philippines and equality among our people. He wanted to banish the country’s colonizer and distribute large landholdings to farmers … He fought for a change that was concrete yet thoroughgoing,” said Ustarez.

Debates, not ads

For his part, PM chair Renato Magtubo said candidates should hold more debates on policy rather than run expensive ads.

With more debates, “candidates from opposing camps may win or lose, but the voters win by gaining a higher political consciousness,” he said.

Ustarez and Magtubo said that instead of resorting to cheating and other dirty tricks, candidates should present clear positions and be sincere in their promises.

The KMU leaders recalled that Bonifacio’s tragic fall began with an election controversy.

“Nationalist historians tell us that Bonifacio was killed because he protested the results of an illegitimate election that was orchestrated by the landed elite. Next year, the anniversary of his death falls on the same day that an elite-dominated election will take place in the country. He won’t like it that way,” said Ustarez.

Bonifacio presided over the Tejeros Convention of March 1897 in Cavite that sought to reconcile the Magdiwang and Magdalo factions of the Katipunan by holding an election for a new revolutionary government.

Bonifacio, the Supremo of the Katipunan and leader of the Magdiwang faction, agreed to the election reluctantly, noting that not all provinces were represented in the convention.

The election was dominated by Magdalo members whose leader, Emilio Aguinaldo, was elected president in absentia. Bonifacio was voted director of the interior but one delegate, Daniel Tirona, protested and questioned Bonifacio’s qualifications.

Angered by the insult, Bonifacio annulled the elections and dissolved the assembly. He tried to set up a rival government but was arrested for sedition. He was executed after an unfair trial, labor leaders said.