Lesson 5: THE KARTILYA OF KATIPUNAN
American War.
July 07, 1892 — KKK (Kataastaasang
Kagalang-galangan Katipunan ng mga
Anak ng Bayan) was established by Andres
Bonifacio in a house on Azcarraga street
(now Claro M. Recto), in Tondo Manila.
The Katipunan had colorful beginnings. As a
symbol of the member’s loyalty, they
performed the solemn rite of sanduguan,
wherein each one signed his name
with his own blood.
The KKK members agreed on the
following objectives:
▪ The political goal was to completely
separate the Philippines from Spain after
declaring the country’s independence.
▪ The moral goal was to teach the Filipinos
good manners, cleanliness, hygiene, fine
morals, and how to guard themselves
against religious fanaticism.
▪ The civic goal was to encourage Filipinos
to help themselves and to defend the poor
oppressed.
Jose Rizal never became involved in the
organization and activities but the
Katipuneros still looked up to him as leader.
August 23, 1896 – After the discovery of the
Katipunan, Spanish authorities made
several arrests to identify their members.
Bonifacio and his fellows were planning a
nationwide revolt. This led to an event
called the ‘Cry of Pugad Lawin’, where
revolutionaries took part in a mass tearing
of cedulas, symbolizing their fight against
Spain.
April 1898 marked the second phase of the
Philippine Revolution. After a US Navy
warship exploded and sunk in Havana
harbor, the Americans declared a war
against Spain known as the Spanish-
June 12, 1898 — Aguinaldo declared the
country’s independence and the birth of the
Philippine Republic.
Emilio Jacinto y Dizon
 "utak ng katipunan"
 Emilio Jacinto was born on December
15, 1875 in Trozo, Tondo Manila.
 He was the only son of Mariano Jacinto
and Josefa Dizon.
 He graduated elementary on a private
school, Colegio de San Juan de Letran in
Highschool and eventually, he studied
law at UST. He was fluent in both
Spanish and Tagalog.
 Unfortunately, when Philippine
Revolution began he needs to stop and
joined the Katipunan in 1894 at the age
of 18.
 He is one of those Filipino who fought
for our freedom
 When he entered Katipunan, he uses
"Pingkian" as his symbolic name.
 Because of his brilliance and wit, he
served the Katipunan as secretary,
fiscal, editor, adviser of Bonifacio and in
1897 he was appointed as General by
Bonifacio.
 With Bonifacio and Pio Valenzuela, he
also wrote for the organ of the
Katipunan- the “Kalayaan” and used the
pen name “Dimas Ilaw”
 He was the author of “Kartilya ng
Katipunan” which composed of the
secret society’s commandments.
 Jacinto continued to fight against the
Spaniards even after Bonifacio died in
1897 and the truce in Biak-na-Bato.
 In July 1897, Aguinaldo established the
Biak-na-Bato Republic and issued a
proclamation stating the following
demands:
1. Expulsion of the friars and the return
of the friar lands to the Filipinos
2. Representation in the Spanish Cortes
3. Freedom of the press and of religion
4. Abolition of the government’s power
to banish Filipinos
5. Equality for all before the law.
 Jacinto was captured in Laguna, upon
investigation, he was released as he
convince Spanish Soldiers that he was a
spy.
 In 1898, following Aguinaldo’s return
from exile, Apolinario Mabini,
Aguinaldo’s adviser by that time, wrote
to Jacinto asking him to come down
from the mountains. But, Jacinto never
came down from the mountains.
Because of his refusal and fear to go
down from the mountains, he
contracted malaria and died in
Majayjay, Laguna on April 6, 1899
Kartilya ng Katipunan
 The Kartilya was printed as a small
pamphlet that was distributed to the
members of Katipunan.
 Its term was derived from Spanish
“cartilla” which was the primer used for
grade schools during the Spanish period.
And like the cartillas, this document
served as the primary lessons for the
members of Katipunan.
 It was the popular writing of Emilio
Jacinto that consist of order and
principle of the Katipunan which also
served as guide for its members.
 “Mga Aral ng Katipunan ng mga Anak
ng Bayan” – original name of Kartilya ng
Katipunan
 The Kartilya presents not only the
teachings for the neophyte Katipunero
but also the guiding principles of the
society. Those teachings are expected
from the members even after the
attainment of freedom from the
colonizers. The Kartilya ends with a
document of affirmation by the
members to the society's teachings.
 The Kartilya was not just a document for
the Katipunan. Its importance today is
predicated on the teachings that
embodied the moral and nationalistic
principles of a nation that fought for
independence.
Teachings of the Katipunan of the Sons of
the People
1. A life that is not dedicated to a great and
sacred cause is like a tree without a shade,
or a poisonous weed.
2. A good deed lacks virtue if it springs from
a desire for personal profit and not from a
sincere desire to do good.
3. True charity resides in acts of
compassion, in love for one’s fellow men,
and in making true Reason the measure of
every move, deed and word.
4. Be their skin dark or pale, all men are
equal. One can be superior to another in
knowledge, wealth and beauty... But not in how to cherish and look after the land of his
being. birth.
5. A person with a noble character values 14. When these doctrines have spread and
honor above self-interest,while a person the brilliant sun of beloved liberty shines on
with an ignoble character values self- these poor Islands, and sheds its sweet light
interest above honor. upon a united race, a people in everlasting
happiness, then the lives lost, the struggle
6. An honorable man’s word is his bond.
and the suffering will have been more than
7. Don’t waste time; lost wealth may be recompensed.
recovered, but time lost is lost forever.
8. Defend the oppressed and fight the
oppressor.
9. An intelligent man is he who takes care in
everything he says and jeeps quiet about
what must be kept secret.
10. Along the theory path of life, the man
leads the way and his wife and children
follow. If the leader goes the way of
perdition, then so do those who are led.
11. Do not regard a woman as a mere
plaything, but as a helpmate and partner in
the hardships of this existence. Have due
regard to her weakness, and remember the
mother who brought you into this world
and nurtured you in your infancy.
12. What you would not want done to your
wife, daughter and sister do not do to the
wife, daughter and sister of another.
13. A man’s worth does not come from
being a king, or in the height of his nose and
the whiteness of his face, or in him being a
priest, a representative of God, or in his
exalted position on the face of this earth.
Pure and truly noble is he who, though born
in the forest and able to speak only the
dignity and honor, who is not an oppressor
and does not abet oppressors, who knows