Miguel Malvar had actually begun his career as a revolutionary under the command of Emilio Aguinaldo. He first joined the fighting at Talisay, the town in the northern Batangas that had been briefly liberated by Aguinaldo's men in October 1896, and he had served under Aguinaldo again during the battle for Zapote Bridge in February 1897. After the last battle, he and his men had withdrawn to Indang, in the southern part of Cavite, and he was still encamped there at the time of the Tejeros meeting.

In the weeks following the Tejeros assembly, Malvar tried to remain on good terms with both Bonifacio and Aguinaldo. While we cannot be certain about why he adopted that course, the sources provide a few suggestive clues. On March 24, 1897, only two days after Aguinaldo had been chosen as president of the revolutionary government, a correspondent identified only as Pepe reported to Aguinaldo that Bonifacio had arrived at Limbon, a barrio of Indang. Pepe did not know why the former supremo had come to Indang or how long he planned to remain, but it seems likely that his major reason for being there was to win the adherence of Miguel Malvar, who had not yet committed himself to honoring the results of the Tejeros meeting. Having been rejected and deposed at Tejeros, Bonifacio was searching desperately for support.

But what did Malvar have to gain by supporting Bonifacio? A possible answer may be found in one of Bonifacio's letters. On April 16, Bonifacio informed Emilio Jacinto that Batangas had recently established a provincial government which recognized his authority, and that the Batangueños, under their military leader Miguel Malvar, were planning a simultaneous attack on eight towns. The supremo also reported that, in order to assist the Batangueños in their undertaking, he had given them twenty riflemen and twenty bolomen under the command of Artemio Ricarte. Apparently, Bonifacio and Malvar had worked out an arrangement: Malvar had consented to acknowledge Bonifacio's authority, and, in exchange, Bonifacio had agreed to provide military assistance to Malvar, who was short of weapons and ammunition.

At the same time, though, Malvar wanted to avoid alienating Aguinaldo. If Bonifacio could provide him with weapons, Aguinaldo had access to something just as valuable--rice, which was badly needed to feed the troops in the projected operations in Batangas. Thus, while he pledged his loyalty to Bonifacio, Malvar continued to report and direct requests to Aguinaldo. On April 13, he appealed to Aguinaldo and other leaders in Cavite for rice; four days later, he informed Aguinaldo of his plan to lead two thousand men in operations in western Batangas; and, three days after that, he renewed his appeals to Aguinaldo for rice. Intent on fighting the Spaniards, Malvar was forging alliances with anyone who was in a position to provide him with the supplies and equipment he required.

As it turned out, Malvar's flirtation with Bonifacio did not last long. The reinforcements that Bonifacio had pledged never materialized. Ricarte and his troops left Bonifacio's headquarters on April 19 or thereabouts, ostensibly to link up with Malvar's forces, but, inexplicably, Ricarte went into hiding in southern Cavite. Deprived of the promised help, Malvar launched his offensive anyway, but now he found himself fully dependent on Aguinaldo for assistance. Throughout late April and early May 1897, as he fought a series of battles against the Spaniards in Batangas, he and his subordinates communicated with growing frequency with Aguinaldo, requesting rice and other supplies and receiving much of what they asked for. Such assistance notwithstanding, the campaign ended badly, with Malvar being thrashed by Jaramillo at Talisay at the end of May 1897.

The failure of Bonifacio's troops to aid Malvar was not the only reason for the end of the Malvar-Bonifacio liaison. Aguinaldo also contributed to that result. Determined to retain control over the revolutionary government, Aguinaldo decided to isolate his rival. On April 24, he warned the regional government of Batangas that the results of the Tejeros meeting were to be respected:

Once more, I wish to impress upon your minds, the fact that the Government in its efforts to carry out its purposes must be supported by everyone, and that if you give it your assistance you will deserve not only the thanks of the whole country but mine as well; but, on the other hand, if you should fail to give me the assistance which I request of you my regret will be great, for I shall consider your indifference to matters affecting our country as a sign of a lack of patriotism which the Nation should punish with utmost severity and without delay.

Two days later, he ordered Bonifacio's arrest and set in motion the legal proceedings that led to the supremo's execution. Now aware of Aguinaldo's determination to prevail, Malvar made no effort to intervene on Bonifacio's behalf.

Carlos Ronquillo, the revolutionary chronicler, narrates the events in Filipino in Ilang talata tungkol sa paghihimagsik (revolucion) nang 1896-97