Was Oryang (Gregoria de Jesus) Raped?

There is no conclusive evidence or account that supports the allegation that Gregoria de Jesus (Oryang), the beautiful wife of Supremo Andres Bonifacio, was raped in 1897 while Emilio Aguinaldo was president of the revolutionary government.  So far as extant accounts go, counting also the autobiography of Gregoria de Jesus, there were attempts to dishonor her but no actual rape was consummated. 

Among those who espoused the rape accusation is historian Ambeth Ocampo who wrote an article in the opinion section of the "Inquirer", the pertinent portion of which is quoted below:

"Then of course, the catalog of rape in the Philippines will not be complete without mention of Gregoria de Jesus, wife of Katipunan Supremo Andres Bonifacio, who was raped by Col. Agapito Bonzon. The colonel was neither investigated nor punished by Emilio Aguinaldo for this crime. The rape of Gregoria de Jesus is one of the heart-rending episodes of the Philippine Revolution and deserves full and separate treatment." (Ocampo [Rape])

There are two key points raised by Mr. Ocampo in this article:

First, Oryang was raped, and,

Second, Colonel Bonzon was neither investigated nor punished by Aguinaldo.

Let us tackle the first point. In the "Inquirer" article, Mr. Ocampo specifically says Oryang was raped. Yet, in his book, "Looking Back", this is what Mr. Ocampo said:

"Was she or wasn't she raped? All calls for investigation of the rape charge was ignored by Aguinaldo. Put all these things together and you will see why historians blame him for the death of Bonifacio. I do." (Ocampo [Looking], 83)

In the above quote, Mr. Ocampo did not say Oryang was raped. Instead, he posed a question, but did not provide the answer, and makes the assertion that historians like him blame Aguinaldo for the death of Bonifacio because "all calls for investigation of the rape charge was ignored...".  

There is obvious omission of facts here. In the report of the Judge Advocate of the Court Martial, General Baldomero Aguinaldo, he recommended to "open an inquiry on the conduct observed by Col. Agapito Bonzon, in connection with the reported maltreatment and assault of Andres Bonifacio's wife." (Taylor, 1:328) However, the exigencies of war prevented the consideration of the recommendation because at that time the revolutionaries were under heavy attack by the Spaniards preceding the fall of Cavite.

Anyway, was there really a rape charge? By and against whom?

Going back to the "Inquirer" article, note that Mr. Ocampo immediately jumped to the conclusion that Oryang was raped.  How did Mr. Ocampo come to that conclusion?  What made him change his position from the "was she or wasn't she raped" in the 1990 book to the "she was raped" in the 2016 "Inquirer" article?  Nothing in the "Inquirer" article explains this change. Mr. Ocampo is an influential historian and thus, carries the important responsibility of being extra-cautious in making unfounded and unexplained conclusions. He should issue a clarification in this regard if he has not done so yet.

In Oryang's autobiography, there is no mention of rape or any attempt to dishonor her. But she said she was tied to a tree and was being forced to reveal where the money and treasure of the Katipunan were hidden. (De Jesus, 18 and 65-68)

But in her testimony during the trial of Andres Bonifacio, Oryang said Col. Intong made two attempts to assault her, viz:

"...When the fight was over ... the soldiers came up to the house and looked for me and when they found me tried to get my money, jewels and other property.  Col. Intong sent for my engagement ring, twelve pesos, and some revolver ammunitions I had under my care, and had me tied to a tree with a rope, after which he intended to abuse me, which was prevented by his own soldiers.  When I was taken to Indang he had me tied to a tree again and endeavored to assault me, which he failed to do on accounts of the strong opposition of the soldiers." (Taylor, 1:323)

And here is what  Andres Bonifacio stated in his testimony during his trial about the intentions of Col Intong on his wife:

"...Had it not been for the timely intervention of several of his subordinate officers, my own wife would have been assaulted by him.  Col. Intong, having failed to carry out his intentions, tried to take my wife as prisoner, which he could not do because of the advice and opposition shown by Tomas Mascardo." (Taylor, 1:321) 

Santiago Alvarez also wrote in his memoirs this:

"Colonel Intong had made a move to take his [the Supremo's] wife to an unoccupied house, but thanks to the intercession of some of his [Colonel Intong's] own head-soldiers, he had been thwarted in his beastly intention." (Alvarez[Recalling], 130)

The narration of Alvarez continues and mentions a second attempt:

"The same Colonel Intong had made a second attempt to abuse his [Bonifacio] wife while they were at Indang. She had been dressing his [the Supremo's] wounds when suddenly there barged in a head soldier who claimed to be a major. This interloper had insisted on taking his [the Supremo's] wife away, but she was luckily spared again by the propitious arrival of General Tomas Mascardo." (Alvarez[Recalling], 130)

To sum it up, there is no mention of rape in all the statements above - by Oryang herself, by Bonifacio, and by Santiago Alvarez. It is very likely, however, that if indeed Oryang was raped the culture of silence on violation of chastity in those days must have prevented her from revealing the full story. But until a credible account surfaces, the conclusion is the alleged rape of Oryang by Colonel Bonzon did not happen, although he made at least two attempts to dishonor her.

Let us move on to the second point. Mr. Ocampo says Colonel Bonzon was not investigated or punished by Aguinaldo. This is not exactly telling the complete story. Acting on the testimonies of Oryang and her husband,  the Judge Advocate General,  Baldomero Aguinaldo, formally recommended on May 7th, 1897 to the Court Martial the investigation of Col Intong, viz:

"Moreover, I recommend the examination of Diego Mojica and Ariston Villanueva in order to investigate the part which they had in the conspiracy, and their complicity in Bonifacio's plans.  I also ask the Court Martial to open an inquiry on the conduct observed by Col Agapito Bonson in connection with the reported maltreatment and assault of Andres Bonifacio's wife."  (Taylor, 1: 328)

Unfortunately, no further action was taken on Baldomero's recommendation because the last major defensive town of Cavite held by the revolutionary government, Maragondon, where the trial of Bonifacio was held, was under heavy attack by the Spaniards and a furious battle raged with significant loss of lives on both sides. Maragondon was completely overrun after a long and hard-fought battle and the rest of the smaller towns – Mendez Nunez, Amadeo, Alfonso, Bailen, and Magallanes were easily captured by the Spaniards. The revolutionary government broke up and dispersed to adjacent areas of Batangas and Aguinaldo, accompanied by many refugees, escaped and proceeded on a long and arduous trek to Biak-na-Bato in Bulacan.

How, under this condition would an attempted rape complaint be given consideration and priority? Those people were not sitting in their offices and taking their morning coffee as some contemporary historians would want us to imagine. Of course, Aguinaldo's priority would be to count the losses, regroup and reorganize. 

Rape is a mortal sin in those days - vengeance for the relatives of the victim and instant death to the perpetrator. As an example, Colonel Ritual (the officer in charge of the quarters where the Bonifacio brothers were incarcerated)  raped the beautiful daughter of his subordinate officer. The father, a certain Lieutenant Antonio, did not show any sign of indignation openly but carefully planned his revenge. He had a sumptuous luncheon consisting of boiled and fried chicken, pesang kanduli and adobong hito, a flask of gin, two bottles of dry red wine, and other appetizers. When the colonel and his assistant started to dine, a heavy blow struck the head of the Colonel who fell dead instantly. His companion attempted to fight back but he was also struck on the head and killed. (Alvarez[Recalling], 237-238) This is how atonement for staining the honor of a woman was usually made by relatives in those days. 

Oryang is the niece of Mariano Alvarez, President of the Katipunan Magdiwang council, and therefore a cousin to General "Apoy", Santiago Alvarez, the Captain-General of the Magdiwang army. The Alvarezes held power in half of Cavite. Does it not challenge the skeptical mind why Mariano Alvarez (and his son Santiago) was silent and did not lift a finger to seek revenge or even demand justice for dishonoring his niece?  The answer is plain and simple: the Alvarezes took it that no rape actually happened and there was no reason for revenge or recompense.

Today's story of this supposed rape of Oryang is time and again being spread out maliciously, putting more fire in the already burning cauldron of historical confusion, leaving behind irreparable damage to the memory of innocent personalities, who are heroes of the past, before any credible evidence are brought to bear. This must stop for the sake of national unity. 

SOURCES: 

1.  De Jesus, Gregoria: "Autobiography of Gregoria de Jesus," Philippine Magazine, Philippine Education Co., translated and annotated by Leandro H. Fernandez, vol. 27, no. 1, June 1930;

2.  Ocampo, Ambeth: "Looking Back," Anvil Publishing, Inc., 1990;

3. Ocampo, Ambeth: "Rape No Laughing Matter Under Any Context," Opinion
Section, Philippines Daily Inquirer, April 20, 2016 issue;

4.  Alvarez, Santiago V.: “Recalling the Revolution, Memoirs of a Filipino General,” translation by Paula Carolina S. Malay and Introduction by Ruby R. Paredes, published in cooperation with Ateneo de Manila University Press, University of Wisconsin Center for Southeast Asian Studies, 1992;

5.  Taylor, John R..M.: "The Philippine Insurrection Against the United States, a compilation of documents with introduction by Renato Constantino," Eugenio Lopez Foundation, 5 Volumes, Pasay City, Philippines, 1971.

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