Andrés Bonifacio y de Castro (Tagalog: [anˈdɾes (anˈdɾez-) bonɪˈfaʃo], Spanish: [anˈdɾes βoniˈfaθjo]; November 30, 1863 – May 10, 1897) was a Filipino revolutionary leader. He is often called "The Father of the Philippine Revolution", and considered a national hero of the Philippines.

He was a co-founder and later Kataastaasang Pangulo (Spanish: Presidente Supremo, “Supreme President”, often shortened by contemporaries and historians to Supremo) of the Kataastaasan, Kagalanggalang na Katipunan ng mga Anak ng Bayan more commonly known as the "Katipunan", a movement that sought the independence of the Philippines from Spanish colonial rule and started the Revolution.

Bonifacio reorganized the Katipunan into a revolutionary government, with himself as Pangulo (President) of a nation-state called Haring Bayang Katagalugan (“Sovereign Nation of the Tagalog People” or “Sovereign Tagalog Nation”), also Republika ng Katagaluguan (Spanish: República Tagala, “Tagalog Republic”), wherein "Tagalog" referred to all those born in the Philippine Islands and not merely in Tagalog-speaking regions. Hence, some historians have argued that he should be considered the First President of the Tagalogs instead of the Philippines; that is why he is not included in the official list of Presidents.

Bonifacio was executed in 1897 by Major Lázaro Macapagal under orders of the Consejo de la Guerra (Council of War) led by General Mariano Noriel, on the basis of committing sedition and treason against the government.

Bonifacio in Cavite

In late 1896, Bonifacio, as the recognized overall leader of the revolution, was invited to Cavite province by rebel leaders to mediate between them and unify their efforts. There were two Katipunan provincial chapters in Cavite that became rival factions: the Magdalo, headed by Emilio Aguinaldo's cousin Baldomero Aguinaldo, and the Magdiwang, headed by Mariano Álvarez, uncle of Bonifacio's wife. Leaders of both factions came from the upper class, in contrast to Bonifacio, who came from the lower middle class. After initial successes, Emilio Aguinaldo issued a manifesto in the name of the Magdalo ruling council which proclaimed a provisional and revolutionary government – despite the existence of the Katipunan government. Emilio Aguinaldo in particular had won fame for victories in the province. The Magdalo and Magdiwang clashed over authority and jurisdiction and did not help each other in battle. After multiple letters were sent to Bonifacio urging him to come, in December 1896 he traveled to Cavite accompanied by his wife, his brothers Procopio and Ciriaco, and some troops, including Emilio Jacinto, Bonifacio's secretary and right-hand man. Jacinto was said to be against Bonifacio's expedition to Cavite. The Bonifacio brothers stayed in San Francisco de Malabon (present-day General Trias) during this time.

Upon his arrival at Cavite, friction grew between Bonifacio and the Magdalo leaders. Apolinario Mabini, who later served as Emilio Aguinaldo's adviser, writes that at this point the Magdalo leaders "already paid little heed to his authority and orders." Bonifacio was partial to the Magdiwang, perhaps due to his kinship ties with Mariano Álvarez, or more importantly, due to their stronger recognition of his authority. When Aguinaldo and Edilberto Evangelista went to receive Bonifacio at Zapote, they were irritated with what they regarded as his attitude of superiority. In his memoirs, Aguinaldo wrote that Bonifacio acted "as if he were a king". Another time, Bonifacio ordered the arrest of one Katipunan general from Laguna named Vicente Fernandez, who was accompanying the Magdalo leaders in paying their respects to Bonifacio, for failing to support his attack in Manila, but the other Magdalo leaders refused to surrender him. Townspeople in Noveleta (a Magdiwang town) acclaimed Bonifacio as the ruler of the Philippines, to the chagrin of the Magdalo leaders, (Bonifacio replied: "Long live Philippine liberty!"). Aguinaldo disputed with Bonifacio over strategic troop placements and blamed him for the capture of the town of Silang. The Spanish, through Jesuit Superior Pio Pi, wrote to Aguinaldo about the possibility of peace negotiations. When Bonifacio found out, he and the Magdiwang council rejected the proposed peace talks. Bonifacio was also angered that the Spanish considered Aguinaldo the "chief of the rebellion" instead of him. However, Aguinaldo continued to arrange negotiations which never took place. Bonifacio believed Aguinaldo was willing to surrender the revolution.

Bonifacio was also subject to rumors that he had stolen Katipunan funds, his sister was the mistress of a priest, and he was an agent provocateur paid by friars to foment unrest. Also circulated were anonymous letters which told the people of Cavite not to idolize Bonifacio because he was a Mason, a mere Manila employee, allegedly an atheist, and uneducated. According to these letters, Bonifacio did not deserve the title of Supremo since only God was supreme. This last allegation was made despite the fact that Supremo was meant to be used in conjunction with Presidente, i.e. Presidente Supremo (Supreme President, Kataas-taasang Pangulo) to distinguish the president of the Katipunan Supreme Council from council presidents of subordinate Katipunan chapters like the Magdalo and Magdiwang; in other words, while Mariano Álvarez was the Magdiwang president, and Baldomero Aguinaldo was the Magdalo president, Bonifacio was the Supreme President. Bonifacio suspected the rumor-mongering to be the work of the Magdalo leader Daniel Tirona. He confronted Tirona, whose airy reply provoked Bonifacio to such anger that he drew a gun and would have shot Tirona if others had not intervened.

On December 31, Bonifacio and the Magdalo and Magdiwang leaders held a meeting in Imus, ostensibly to determine the leadership of Cavite in order to end the rivalry between the two factions. The issue of whether the Katipunan should be replaced by a revolutionary government was brought up by the Magdalo, and this eclipsed the rivalry issue. The Magdalo argued that the Katipunan, as a secret society, should have ceased to exist once the Revolution was underway. They also held that Cavite should not be divided. Bonifacio and the Magdiwang contended that the Katipunan served as their revolutionary government since it had its own constitution, laws, and provincial and municipal governments. Edilberto Evangelista presented a draft constitution for the proposed government to Bonifacio but he rejected it as it was too similar to the Spanish Maura Law. Upon the event of restructuring, Bonifacio was given carte blanche to appoint a committee tasked with setting up a new government; he would also be in charge of this committee. He tasked Emilio Aguinaldo to record the minutes of the meeting and requested for it to establish this authority, but these were never done and never provided.