Supremo’s kin renew call for state funeral

Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana leads the ceremony commemorating the 154th birth anniversary of Gat Andres Bonifacio on Thursday, November 30, 2017, at the monument erected in his honor in Caloocan City. With them are Local government leaders and representatives from the National Historical Commission. INQUIRER PHOTO / NINO JESUS ORBETA

Descendants of Andres Bonifacio urged the Duterte administration to give the Katipunan Supremo a state funeral 120 years after his death.

“[Bonifacio] deserves to be remembered for his contributions to the country,” Joji Camacho, a third-generation cousin of Bonifacio, told the Inquirer. “A state funeral would put an honorable (conclusion) to what he had started.”

Bonifacio’s relatives were among those in attendance as the government commemorated his 154th birth anniversary at his iconic shrine in Monumento, Caloocan City. Also at the rites were Vice President Leni Robredo and Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana, among other officials.

Hailed as the father of the Philippine Revolution, Bonifacio led the armed uprising for independence from Spanish colonial rule.

Since 1995, his descendants and other advocates of his legacy have been lobbying for the government to accord him a state funeral, Camacho said.

Though Bonifacio’s remains have yet to be found since his execution by soldiers under Gen. Emilio Aguinaldo in May 1897, Camacho said it was still possible to give him a symbolic burial.

“What’s more important is that we honor his legacy,” she said.

National Historical Commission of the Philippines chair Rene Escalante said the NHCP was in support of giving the hero a state funeral, but said the final decision is still with Malacañang.