Among the legal holidays in the Philippines is Bonifacio Day, traditionally celebrated every November 30. This was changed, however, under Republic Act 9492 (an Act rationalizing the celebration of national holidays), which moved the official holiday to the Monday nearest November 30 (which is why December 1, 2008, a Monday, is a holiday).
Andres Bonifacio was born to the couple Santiago Bonifacio and Catalina de Castro on November 30, 1863. Holidays in honor of heroes or very important figures in the Philippines are usually fixed on the date of death. Rizal Day, in honor of the national hero Dr. Jose Rizal, is traditionally celebrated on the day of his execution — December 30. (See the rest of official/declared Philippine holidays for 2008, 2009 and 2010)

Bonifacio is considered as the “Father of the Philippine Revolution”. He is the founder and “Supremo” (leader) of the independence movement against Spain, the Kataastaasan Kagalang-galang na Katipunan nang nga Anak ng Bayan (KKK), or simply known as the Katipunan. He is also a member of La Liga Filipina, just like Jose Rizal. La Liga is a movement to achieve reforms in the Philippines through peaceful means. When these efforts did not bear fruit, Bonifacio subsequently came to believe that independence could be achieved through an armed revolution, thus creating the Katipunan in 1892.
Bonifacio died on May 10, 1897, upon orders of the first President of the Philippine Republic, Gen. Emilio Aguinaldo. Bonifacio then was considered an enemy of the state, charged with treason, although the circumstances surrounding Bonifacio’s death remain unresolved to this day. (Andres Bonifacio photo engraving from Wikimedia)

José Rizal is generally considered the National hero, but Bonifacio has been suggested as a more worthy candidate on the grounds of having started the Philippine Revolution.^[66] Teodoro Agoncillo notes that the Philippine national hero, unlike those of other countries, is not "the leader of its liberation forces".^[87] Renato Constantino writes that Rizal is a "United States-sponsored hero" who was promoted as the greatest Filipino hero during the American colonial period of the Philippines - after Aguinaldo lost the Philippine-American War. The United States promoted Rizal, who was taken to represent peaceful political advocacy, instead of more radical figures whose ideas could inspire resistance against American rule.^[88] Specifically, Rizal was selected over Bonifacio who was viewed as "too radical" and Apolinario Mabini who was "unregenerate."^[89]
Historian Ambeth Ocampo gives the opinion that arguing for Bonifacio as the "better" hero on the grounds that he, not Rizal, began the Philippine Revolution, is moot since Rizal inspired Bonifacio, the Katipunan and the Revolution. Even prior to Rizal's banishment to Dapitan, Rizal was already regarded by the Filipino people as a national hero, having been elected as honorary president by the Katipunan.^[66] Leon Ma. Guerrero notes that while Rizal did not give his blessing to Bonifacio because he believed the time was premature, he did not condemn the aim of independence per se.^[90] Teodoro Agoncillo gives the opinion that Bonifacio should not replace Rizal as national hero, but they should be honored "side by side".^[87]
Despite popular recognition of Rizal as "the Philippine national hero", the title itself has no explicit legal definition in present Philippine law. Rizal and Bonifacio, however, are given the implied recognition of being national heroes because they are commemorated annually nationwide - Rizal Day on December 30 and Bonifacio Day on November 30.^[91] According to the website of the National Center for Culture and the Arts:

Despite the lack of any official declaration explicitly proclaiming them as national heroes, [Rizal and Bonifacio] remain admired and revered for their roles in Philippine history. Heroes, according to historians, should not be legislated. Their appreciation should be better left to academics. Acclamation for heroes, they felt, would be recognition enough

A party of Aguinaldo's men led by Agapito Bonzón and José Ignacio Paua met with Bonifacio at his camp in Indang. Unaware of the order for his arrest, Bonifacio received them cordially. The next day, Bonzón and Paua attacked Bonifacio's camp. Bonifacio did not fight back and ordered his men to hold their fire, though shots were nevertheless exchanged. In the crossfire, Bonifacio was shot in the arm, and Paua stabbed him in the neck and was prevented from striking further by one of Bonifacio's men, who offered to be killed instead. A brother, Ciriaco, was shot dead, while his other brother Procopio was beaten senseless, and his wife Gregoria may have been raped by Bonzón.^[66]
Bonifacio's party was brought to Naik, where he and Procopio stood trial on charges of sedition and treason against Aguinaldo's government and conspiracy to murder Aguinaldo.^[65][67] The jury was composed entirely of Aguinaldo's men and even Bonifacio's defence lawyer himself declared his client's guilt. Bonifacio was barred from confronting the state witness for the charge of conspiracy to murder on the grounds that the latter had been killed in battle, but after the trial the witness was seen alive with the prosecutors.^[68][69]
The Bonifacio brothers were found guilty despite insufficient evidence and recommended to be executed. Aguinaldo commuted the sentence to deportation on 8 May 1897, but Pío del Pilar and Mariano Noriél, both former supporters of Bonifacio, persuaded him to withdraw the order for the sake of preserving unity. In this they were seconded by Mamerto Natividád and other bona fide supporters of Aguinaldo.^[70] The Bonifacio brothers were executed on 10 May 1897 in the mountains of Maragondon.^[70][71] Apolinario Mabini wrote that Bonifacio's death demoralized many rebels from Manila, Laguna and Batangas who had come to help those in Cavite, and caused them to quit.^[39] In other areas, some of Bonifacio's associates like Emilio Jacinto never subjected their military commands to Aguinaldo's authority.^[

Bonifacio Day

Andrés Bonifacio y de Castro (30 November 1863 – 10 May 1897) was a Filipino nationalist and revolutionary. He was a founder and later Supremo ("supreme leader") of the Katipunan movement which sought the independence of the Philippines from Spanish colonial rule and started the Philippine Revolution.^[2][3] He is considered a de facto national hero of the Philippines,^[4] and is also considered by some Filipino historians to be the first President, but he is not officially recognised as such.^[