Courage and Justice Remembered: MSU-IIT Commemorates Bonifacio Day and 18-Day Campaign to End VAW

With a shared commitment to remembrance and advocacy, MSU-IIT convened students, faculty, and community advocates on Monday, December 1, at the CHS Hall for the joint commemoration of Bonifacio Day and the 18-Day Campaign to End VAW. The event, organized by the Kataas-taasang Sanggunian ng Mag-aaral (KASAMA), brought together the MSU-IIT community to honor Andres Bonifacio’s legacy while strengthening the call to end violence against women and children.


In one of the event’s most compelling moments, Asst. Prof. Artchil C. Daug invited participants to rethink the legacy of Andres Bonifacio—not only as a revolutionary figure, but as a leader shaped and constrained by the imagination of his time. “Bonifacio was the apprentice,” Daug noted, “but even he failed to understand the masses, who could only imagine change through the lens of religion and lived experience.”


He explained that while Bonifacio drew heavily from Enlightenment thought and the French Revolution, these ideas often felt distant to the Filipino masses, whose worldview had been molded by centuries of religious syncretism, colonial rule, and inherited trauma.


Daug’s discussion highlighted the need for advocacy that is culturally grounded and contextually aware—an insight that resonated strongly with the event’s dual purpose of honoring Bonifacio’s legacy and advancing the campaign to end violence against women.


The commemoration also featured Al Azanereeh R. Madale from the LGU-Iligan Gender and Development Office, who underscored the urgent need for collective action against violence directed toward women and children. Madale reminded participants that the courage embodied by Bonifacio should continue to inspire communities to confront structural injustices today.


“Ending violence against women is not just a legal mandate—it is a moral responsibility,” Madale stressed, emphasizing that genuine advocacy must move beyond policies and translate into everyday acts of empathy, vigilance, and solidarity.


By linking Bonifacio’s revolutionary ideals of justice and fraternity to contemporary efforts for gender equity, Madale highlighted that the struggle for freedom persists in the ongoing work to protect and uplift vulnerable sectors.


As the program came to a close, the commemoration reminded the MSU-IIT community that Bonifacio’s courage was not only a rallying cry against colonial rule but also a challenge to confront the injustices that persist today. By connecting his revolutionary ideals of justice and fraternity with the urgent campaign to end violence against women and children, the event affirmed that true freedom is measured not merely by national independence, but by the safety, dignity, and empowerment of the most vulnerable.


In honoring Bonifacio, participants were urged to carry forward his spirit of collective action—transforming remembrance into responsibility and turning history into a catalyst for healing and change.


Written by Bea Faye Eumague
Layout by Princess Loren Gonzaga