Bonifacio and the Katipunan

1892-1896

The failure of the reform movement led even a reformist like Marcelo H. Del Pilar to think of revolution. “Insurection”, Del Pilar wrote in La Solidaridad, “is the last remedy, especially when the people have acquired the belief that peaceful means to secure the remedies for evils prove futile.

The Founding of the Katipunan• On July 7, 1892, the newspapers published the

news about the arrest of Rizal the previous night and the governor-general’s order to banish him to Dapitan.

• Patriotic Filipinos met at a house on Azcarraga Street, Manila (now Claro M. Recto Ave.) these men were Andres Bonifacio, Teodoro Plata, Valentin Diaz, Ladislao Diwa, Deodato Arellano.

• They organized the secret society called “Kataastaasan Kagalanggalangang na Katipunan ng mga Anak ng Bayan KKK or Katipunan)

The Aims and Structure of the Katipunan

• Andres Bonifacio laid down three primary objectives of the Katipunan: civic, political, and moral.

• Civic – was based on the principle of self-help and the defense of the weak and the poor.

• Political – was the separation of the Philippines from Spain to secure the independence of the colony.

• Moral – focused on the teaching of good manners, hygiene, and good moral character.

The Katipunan Government• The Katipunan had three governing bodies: The

Kataastaasang Sanggunian or Supreme Council, the Sangguniang Bayan or Provincial Council, and Sangguniang Balangay or Popular Council.

• Respectively, they were the equivalent of the central government, the provincial government, and the municipal government.

• Judicial Council – Sangguniang Hukuman• Katipunan Assembily – was composed of the

members of the Supreme Council and the presidents of the Provincial Council.

• Secret Chamber – Composed of Bonifacio, Emilio Jacinto, and Pio Valenzuela.

• The Chamber sentenced members who exposed the secrets of the Katipunan.

The Katipunan Elections• The elected officers of the first Supreme Council

were the following: Deodato Arellano, president or supremo; Andres Bonifacio, comptroller; Ladislao Diwa, fiscal; Teodoro Plata, secretary; and Valentin Diaz, treasurer.

• The officers in the second Supreme Council were as follows: Roman Basa, supremo; Bonifacio, fiscal; Jose Turiano Santiago, secretary; and Vicente Molina, treasurer. The elected councilors were Briccio Brigido Pantas, Restituto Javier, Teodoro Plata, Teodoro Gonzales, and Ladislao Diwa.

MembershipThree kinds: the first grade was called katipon;

the second grade was kawal; and the third grade was bayani.

The password katipon was “Anak ng Bayan” that of the kawal was “Gom-Bur-Za”; and that of bayani was “Rizal”.

The Katipunan CodesSpanish

AlphabetEquivalent in the

KatipunanSpanish

AlphabetEquivalent in the

Katipunan

ABCDEFGHIJKLLL

ZBCDQHGFRLKJN

MNOPQRSTUVWXY

VICPERSTMMWUY

The Katipunan Flags• Aside from the secret codes, Bonifacio also

wanted a flag to be used by the members as a symbol of their unity.

• With the help of his wife Gregoria de Jesus, a flag was made.

The Teachings of the Katipunan• 1. Love God with all your heart.• 2. Bear always in mind that the love of God is

also love of Country, and this, too, is love one’s fellowmen.

• 3. Engrave in your heart that the true measure of honor and happiness is to die for the freedom of your country.

• 4. All your good wishes will be crowned with success if you have serenity, constancy, reason, and faith in your acts and endeavor.

• 5. Guard the mandates and aims of of the KKK as you guard your honor.

• 6. It is the duty of all to defend, at the risk of their own lives and wealth, anyone who runs great risks in the performance of his duty.

• 7. Our responsibility to ourselves and the performance of our duties will be the example set for our fellowmen to follow.

• 8. Insofar as it is within your power, share your means with the poor and the unfortunate.

• 9. Diligence in the work that gives sustenance to you is the true basis of love – love for your own self, for your wife and children, and for your brothers and countrymen.

• 10. Punish any scoundrel and traitor and praise all good work. Believe, likewise, that the aims of the KKK are God-given, for the will of the people is also the will of God

Kartilla• 1. Life which is not consecrated to a lofty and

sacred cause is like tree without a shadow, if not a poisonous weed.

• 2. A good deed that springs from a desire for personal profit and not from desire to do good is not kindness.

• 3. True greatness consists in being charitable, in loving one’s fellowmen and in adjusting every movement, deed and word to true reason.

• 4.All men are equal, be the color of their skin black or white. One may be superior to another in knowledge, wealth, and beauty but cannot be superior in being.

• 5. He who is noble prefers honor to personal gains; he who is mean prefers personal profit to honor.

• 6. To a man with a sense of shame, his word is inviolate.

• 7. Don’t fritter away time; lost riches may be recovered, but time lost will never come again.

• 8. Defend the oppressed and fight the oppressor.• 9. An intelligent man is he who is cautious in

speech and knows how to keep the secrets that must be guarded.

• 10. In the thorny path of life, man is the guide of his wife and children; if he who guides moves toward evil, they who are guided likewise move toward evil.

• 11. Think not of woman as a thing merely to while away time with, but as a helper and partner in the hardships of life. Respect her in her weakness, and remember the mother who brought you into this world and who cared for you in your childhood.

• 12. What you do not want done to your wife, daughter, and sister, do not do to the wife, daughter and sister of another.

• 13. The nobility of a man does not consist in being a king, nor in the highness of the nose and in the whiteness of the skin, nor in being a priest representing God, nor in the exalted position on this earth, but pure and truly noble is he who, though born in the woods is possessed of an upright character; who is true to his words; who has dignity and honor; who does not oppress and does not help those who oppress; who knows how to look after and loves the land of his birth.

The Women of the Katipunan• Women Katipunan members were: Josefa

Rizal, president; Gregoria de Jesus, vice president; Marina Dizon, secretary; and Angelica Lopez Rizal, Rizal’s niece as fiscal.

The Kalayaan• Jacinto purchased some templates to be used

in printing the Katipunan newspaper. Other templates were stolen from Spanish printing press.

• Ulpiano Fernandez and Faustino Duque both Katipuneros managed the press. Dr. Pio Valenzuela suggested the name of the newspaper, Kalayaan.

• To mislead the Spanish authorities, they put Yokohama as the place of publication and Marcelo H. Del Pilar as the editor.

• Jacinto’s Pahayag (Manifesto) and Bonifacio’s poem, Pag-Ibig sa Tinubuang Lupa (Love of Country) were published in the issue of the Kalayaan.

• Jacinto used the pen names Pingkian and Dimas-Ilaw; Bonifacio used Agapito Bagumbayan; and Valenzuela used Madlang-Away.

Twin souls of the Katipunan• Andres Bonifacio and Emilio Jacinto• Its founder Andres Bonifacio was born on November

30, 1863 in Azcarraga St. near Manila Railroad Station.

• His parents Santiago Bonifacio and Catalina de Castro, belonged to the lower middle class.

• Has 3 brothers: Ciriaco, Procopio, and Troadio• Has 2 sisters: Espiridiona and Maxima• He sold canes and paper fans in his early years.• He worked as a messenger of J.M. Fleming and Co.,

an English trading firm; and later, as an agent of the German.

• At night, he read newspapers and books , which were all written in Spanish. He taught himself to read and write in this language and in time he became literate in Spanish.

• He felt sad and angry when Rizal executed on December 30, 1896 because great Filipino was executed.

• Bonifacio was anti-friar and anti-Spanish. To him, they were all the same: greedy, immoral, cruel, and lazy.

• His poems in Tagalog, “Tapunan ng Lingap and Ang Mga Cazadrones attacked the Spaniards furiously.

• He called the Spaniards “White Cattle”.• His poem “Huling Hikbi ng Pilipinas” openly called

for independence from colonial rule

Bonifacio found a twin soul in the Katipunan – the younger and intelligent Emilio Jacinto.

Born in Tondo, Manila on December 15, 1875.

Jacinto lived a hard life when he was young like Bonifacio. His father died early which compelled his mother to send him to his uncle’s house for support.

He first studied at San Juan de Letran and later transferred to the University of Santo Tomas where he studied Law.

At 18, Jacinto joined at the Katipunan leaving his studies.

• Bonifacio warmed up to him and a deep friendship developed between the two, then greatly influenced the Katipunan.

• He wrote in Tagalog, the language of the masses, except one poem in Spanish, A Mi Patria (Country)

• Jacinto believed that the people, the masses, could be reached only through their own language, so they both wrote in Tagalog.

• It is for this reason that Bonifacio and Jacinto succeeded in uniting the people behind them.

• He also wrote Kartilla, Liwanag at Dilim, Pahayag, Sa Mga Kababayan and others.

• Bonifacio assigned him to lead the rebels in Laguna.

• He died in Mahayhay, Laguna on April 6, 1899 at the young age of twenty-four.

Pictures

Andres Bonifacio

Katipunan Flags

Gregoria de Jesus

Katipunan Teachings