Group 2

Alorro, Eunice Marsha M.

Baculo, Vanessa

Cabero, Jillian A.

Delbo, Alex C.

Gayoso, Jean Roaxanne

Lucaban, Venus B.

Morta, Jess Nicole B.

Pagliawan, Antonette Marie L.

The KKK and the Kartilya ng Katipunan

The rise of Filipino nationalism had rooted by the perpetuating poverty and injustice
among the lower classes of society in the Philippines during the Spanish era. Ironically, it was
Spain who contributed much to the development of nationhood and the feeling of nationalism
among the natives. By establishing a centralized government, Spain enabled the native Filipinos
to get used to the idea of having and living under one supreme government established in
Manila whose authority extended through-out the length and breadth of the archipelago. Spain
also contributed to the development of Filipino nationalism by providing the native Filipinos with
a set of grievances- the abuses and injustices committed on the native population by the
abusive friars and Spanish officials in the colony.

On July 7, 1892, a day after Rizal was arrested by the Spanish authorities, Bonifacio and
a handful of trusted friends met in the house of Deodato Arellano on Azcarraga St. (now C.M.
Recto Ave.), in Tondo, Manila. There they decided to form a secret society called Kataastaasan,
Kagalanggalangang Katipunan ng mga Anak ng Bayan. It came to be known by its KKK initials
or by its shortened name Katipunan. Its principal aim was to win Philippine independence from
Spain by means of armed revolution. The Katipunan organization was largely patterned after
that of La Liga Filipina of which Bonifacio had been a leading member. The highest body of the
Katipunan was the Supreme Council (Kataastaasang Sanggunian). Each province was to have
a provincial council (Sangguniang Bayan) whileeach town was to be under a municipal council
or Sangguniang Barangay.

The first set of officers of the Katipunan Supreme Council was composed of Deodato
Arellano, president or supremo; Andres Bonifacio, comptroller; Ladislao Diwa, fiscal; Valentin
Diaz, treasurer; and Teodoro Plata, secretary. The leading personality of the Katipunan was
Andres Bonifacio. History honors him as the “Father of Katipunan,” having been its founder and
leader and because of his humble origins. Poverty prevented him from finishing the equivalent
of today’s high school education, Bonifacio read a lot during his free time in the evening. One of
his favorite books was the History of the French Revolution. He also read the prohibited literary
works, including Rizal’s Noli me Tangere and El Filibusterismo and the propaganda movement
newspaper La Solidaridad. The ideas that he got from his readings inspired him to plan the
overthrow of the Spanish rule by means of an armed revolution.

Another leading light in the Katipunan movement was the young Emilio Jacinto. Known
as the “Brain of the Katipunan.” Jacinto was the right-hand man of Bonifacio. He wrote many of
the Katipunan documents, including the famous Kartilya, a word adopted from the Spanish
cartilla which at that time meant a primer for grade school student. (Former UP President Rafael
Palma, a revolutionary patriot, noted that Apolinario Mabini wrote the original statutes of the
Katipunan’s Kartilya and Emilio Jacinto translated it into Tagalog for the benefit of the
unschooled members of the Katipunan.)

The Kartilya ng Katipunan consisted of thirteen teachings which the members of the
society were expected to observe. The primer constituted the following:

I. Life which is not consecrated to a lofty and sacred cause is like a tree without a shadow,
if not a poisonous weed.
II. A good deed that springs from a desire for personal profit and not from a desire to do
good is not kindness.
III. True greatness consist in being charitable, in loving ones fellowmen and in adjusting
every movement, deed and word to true reason.
IV. All men are equal, be the color of their skin black or white. One maybe superior to
another in knowledge wealth, and beauty, but cannot be superior in being.
V. The who is noble prefers honor to personal gains, he who is mean prefers personal profit
to honor.
VI. To a man with a sense of shame his word is inviolate.
VII. Don’t fritter away time; lost riches maybe recovered but time lost will never come again.
VIII. Defend the oppressed and fight the oppressor.
IX. An intelligent man is he who is cautious in speech and knows how to keep the secrets
that must be guarded.
X. 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.
XI. 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.
XII. What you do not want done in your wife daughter and sister, do not do to the wife
daughter and sister of another.
XIII. Man is not worth more because he is a King, because his nose is aquiline and his color
white, not because he is a priest, a servant of God, nor because of the hing prerogative
that he enjoys upon earth, but he is worth most who is a man of proven and real value,
who does good, keeps his words, is worthy and honest; he who does not oppress nor
consent to being oppressed, he who loves and cherishes his fatherland, though he be
born in the wilderness and know no tongue but his own.

Bonifacio wrote a decaloque or ten or commandments titled Katungkulang Gagawin ng

Being a revolutionary society, the Katipunan tried its best to keep its existence and its
leadership unknown to the Spanish authorities. Bonifacio and the other KKK officials realized
that exposure meant arrest and imprisonment, torture and even death. To minimize the risk of
discovery, a “triangle system” of recruiting new members was originally adopted. A katipunero
would recruit two members to form a triangle each of whom did not know the other. Each one, in
turn, would form a new triangle by recruiting two members. Later on, however, this system was
discarded as being complicated. It was replaced by an initiation rite similar to that used by the
Masons in accepting new members. The purpose of the initiation rites was to test the courage,
patriotism, and loyalty of the prospective member.
 Membership in the Katipunan was divided into three classes. The katipun was a first
degree member whose password was Anak ng Bayan (Son of the People). Second degree
members were called kawal (soldier) and their password was “Gom-Bur-Za.” A third degree
member was called bayani (patriot) whose password was “Rizal.”

Membership in the Katipunan was opened to the women. But to minimize the risk of
discovery, only the close relatives – wives, sisters, and daughters of katipuneros were admitted
to the secret society. The women performed invauable services to the Katipunan. They served
as fronts to deceive the Spanish authorities. They would hold a party in a house and make
merry by singing and dancing while their menfolk held a secret meetings in one of the rooms.
The women also carried the secret documents of the Katipunan, since they were less likely to
be suspected by the authorities than the men. Among the prominent women katipuneras were
Bonifacio’s wife, Gregoria de Jesus; the Rizal sisters (Josefa and Trinidad) and Marina Dizon.

Jose Rizal and the Katipunan

Jose Rizal never became involved in the organization and activities of the Katipunan; but
the katipuneros still looked up to him as a leader. As mentioned above, Rizal’s name was used
as a password among the society’s highest-ranking members, who were called bayani. Andres
Bonifacio had already known Rizal during his La Liga Filipinan days, although Rizal did not
know Bonifacio personally nevertheless, Bonifacio so respected Rizal’s intelligence and talent
that in June 1896, he sent Dr. Pio Valenzuela to Dapitan to seek Rizal’s advice on the planned
revolution. Rizal told Valenzuela that the timing was not right for a revolution. The people were
not yet ready and they did not have enough weapons. He suggested that hte katipunan
obtained the support of wealthy and influential Filipinos first. In order to gain financial
assistance. He also recommended Antonio Luna as a commander of its armed forces, since
Luna had much knowledge and expertise in military tactics.

Valenzuela returnd to Manila on June 26 and relayed Rizal’s advice to Bonifacio, who admitted
that it would indeed to be fatal for the Filipino’s to fight without enough weapons. However, there
was no stopping the revolution. Bonifacio ordered his men to prepare for battle. He directed
them to store enough food and other supplies. Battle plans were made with the help of Emilio
Jacinto. It was suggested that the revolutionary headquarters to be located near the seas or
mountains to provide for an easy retreat, if necessary.

The Katipunan is Discovered

Rumors about a secret revolutionary society had long been in circulation, although no
solid evidence could be found to support he. The big break as far as the spanish authorities was
concerned, camed on August 19, 1896 when a KKK member, Teodoro Patiño told his siter
Honoria about the existence of Katipunan. Patiño was a worker in the printing press of Diario de
Manila. Honoria was then living with nuns in the Mandaluyong orphanage.

The information upset Homoria so much that she told the orphanage’s mother Superior,
Sor Teresa de Jesus, what her bother had revealed. Sor Teresa suggested they seek the
advice of Father Mariano Gil, ye PaRISH Priest of Tondo.

After hearing Patiños revalations, Father Mriano Gil accompanied by several Guardias
Civiles immmidiately searched the premises of Diario de Manila and found evidence of the
Katipunan’s existence. The governor general was quickly informed. The printing press was
padlocked and hundreds of suspected KKK member were arrested.
Cry of Pugadlawin

News about the discovery of the Katipunan spread to Manila and nearby
suburbs, and Andres Bonifacio immediately called for a generall meeting.Various wings of the
Ktipunan gathered at the house of Juan Ramos in Pugadlawin on August 23, 1896. Ramos was
the son of Melchora Aquino, also known as “Tandang Sora” and was later acknowledged as the
“Mother of Katipunan”.

Bonifacio asked his men whether they were willing to fight to the bitter end.
Everyoone shouted their approval, except for Teodoro Plata, who thought that it was too soon
for a revolution. Heartened by his memn’s response, Bonifacio then asked them to tear their
Cedulas(residence certificates) to pieces, as a sign of defiance and determmnation to rise
against Spaniards. The men immediatelyl tore up their Cedulas, shouting, Mabuhay ang
Pilipinas (long live the Philippines) or the Cry of Pugadlawin.

Revolution Continues

Bonifacio’s death did not deter the Filipinos from fighting for their freedom. The Spanish
goverment, for its part, doubled its efforts in trying to control Cavite, which was considered the
seat of the Revolution. When Governor General Primo de Rivera replaced Camilo Polavieja on
April 27, 1897, he immadiately marched to Niac, Cavite to persuade the Filipino’s to surrender.
The rebels, however, stood the ground.

Aguinaldo realized that Cavite was no longer safe for his men. They moved to Batangas,
where they temporarily set up camp in the town of Talisay. However, spanish soldiers were able
to pursue them there. Thus they retreated to Morong on June 10, 1897 qnd proceeded to Biak-
na-Bato in Bulacan.
 References

Maria Christine N. Halil (Philippine History)

Alberto S. Abeleda Jr. (The Nation, Philippine History and Government in Focus)