MANILA – Bayan Muna Rep. Carlos Isagani Zarate on Sunday called on the Duterte administration – especially the Presidential Museum and Library under the Office of the President – to acquire the Bonifacio Presidential Papers which are being put into auction on March 8 by Emmanuel Encarnacion at the Leon Gallery.
“It is imperative that the Philippine government acquire these important papers not only for their historical value but also because they are proof and will set the record correctly that indeed Gat Andres Bonifacio is the first president of the Philippines. It is high time that Supremo Andres Bonifacio should be recognized as such and the proper honors should be accorded to him,” said the progressive solon.
According to historian Prof. Xiao Chua,the papers bear the seal and signature of Bonifacio, where he related his feelings about the Cavite affair.The papers were once owned by the historian Epifanio de los Santos and came to the possession of Emmanuel Encarnacion.
The documents were once doubted by Glenn May, yet is now duly verified as authentic documents in the recent book by Jim Richardson,The Light of Liberty, which focuses on other Bonifacio papers in Spain that bear the same flourished handwriting, signature and seal of the Supremo.
“We are also calling on House leaders to fast- track Bayan Muna’s House Resoluton 285 to finally legislate our recognition of Gat Andres Bonifacio as our country’s first president,” said Zarate. – With Lira Dalangin-Fernandez, InterAksyon
