Sa kasaysayan, si Emilio Aguinaldo ang kinikilalang unang pangulo ng bansa. Pero may mga naniniwala na ang Supremo ng Katipunan na si Andres Bonifacio ang dapat na kilalanin na unang presidente ng Pilipinas.
Sa "The Howie Severino Podcast," ipinaliwanag ng historian na si Xiao Chua, na may mga nangangatuwiran na hindi maaaring kilalaning pangulo ng bansa si Bonifacio dahil ang Katipunan ay isang "secret society."
Ngunit base umano sa mga ebidensiya mula sa Archivo Heneral Militar de Madrid, o mga dokumento ng Katipunan na nakumpiska ng Spanish guardia civilles, na mayroon nang Haring Bayang Katagalugan na tinatawag nilang gobyerno.
Ang punong himpilan nito ay nasa Pantayanin na nasa hangganan ng Pasig at Antipolo.
"It actually ran as a government. Not just cabinet, they were appointing fiscals. May jurisdiction, may birth certificate na niri-release, marriage certificate, the Saligang Batas we haven't found it, but they probably had it. But the mere fact that there was a functioning government and a hierarchy, says the Katipunan transformed into a government when the Revolution started," ayon kay Chua.
"Bonifacio started appointing generals on August 24 of 1896. So that means from August 24, 1896, as leader of Katipunan, they disbanded the old society and transformed it into a government, a revolutionary national government. A revolutionary government but the perspective of it was national," dagdag pa niya.
"Now, 'yun 'yung basis ko by saying that Bonifacio is the first president of the Philippines. That is the basis, and I still believe it," sabi ni Chua.
Taong 1899 nang iproklama si Aguinaldo bilang unang pangalo ng Republika ng Pilipinas.
Gayunman, ayon kay Chua, hindi isang republika ang itinatag na gobyerno ni Bonifacio kundi isang "indigenous" na gobyerno na iba sa makakanlurang konsepto ng isang republika.
"Now, that said, kaya parang sinasabi ko I will stop fighting also for state recognition of Bonifacio's presidency. What does that mean? I have the evidence, we have the evidence that Bonifacio was president of a national revolutionary government," saad niya.
"If you do not want to accept it, that will not change anything. He still was president, pangulo pa rin siya. So bahala na kayo sa buhay niyo kung ayaw ng Malacañang na maglagay ng portrait, 'di huwag kayong maglagay ng portrait," ayon pa kay Chua.-- FRJ, GMA Integrated News
