GE- 2 Readings in Philippine History | Module 4 |

Content and Contextual Analysis of the Selected

Primary Sources in Philippine History: KKK and the
Kartilya ng Katipunan | The Proclamation of the
Philippine Independence
Reminder: Please be reminded that the distribution of modules in this
subject is through the CAS office, made to be available for copying only
maybe by a xerographic copier. This shall be for distribution only on the first
(1st) and third (3rd) Wednesday of the month during the entire period of the
semester.
(For BSIS, BLIS, BSHS, and BSTM exclusive use)

I. Objectives:
At the end of the lesson, you should be able to:

1. Discuss and Determine the Content and Contextual Analysis for Selected
Primary Resources:
A. The KKK and the “Kartilya ng Katipunan”
B. “Proclamation of the Philippine Independence”
2. Analyze the Content and Contextual Analysis for Selected Primary
Resources.
A. The KKK and the “Kartilya ng Katipunan”
B. “Proclamation of the Philippine Independence”; and
3. Reflect on the learning experience.

II. Input:
A. “KKK and the Kartilya ng Katipunan”

The KKK and the “Kartilya ng Katipunan” Kataastaasan, Kagalanggalangan

Katipunan ng mga Anak ng Bayan (KKK) or Katipunan is ostensibly the most
imperative association that shaped Philippine history. While hostile to frontier
developments, endeavors, and associations had just been built up hundreds of
years preceding the establishment of the Katipunan, it was just this association
that imagined the accompanying;

1. A united Filipino nation that would revolt against the Spaniards for the total
independence of the country from Spain.
2. Previous armed revolts had already occurred before foundation of the
Katipunan, but none of them envisioned a unified Filipino nation revolting against
colonizers.

Katipunan created a complex structure and a defined value system that

would guide the organization as a collection aspiring for single goal. One of the
most important Katipunan documents was the Kartilya ng Katipunan. The original
title of the document was “Manga Aral Nang Katipunan.” The document was written
by Emilio Jacinto in the 1896. Jacinto was only 18 years old when he joined the
movement. He was a law student at the Universidad de Santo Tomas.

Despite his youth, Bonifacio recognized the value and intellect of Jacinto
that upon seeing that Jacinto’s Kartilya was much better than the Decalogue h e
wrote, he willingly favored that the Kartilya be distributed to their fellow
Katipuneros. Jacinto became the secretary of the organization and took charge of
the short-lived printing press of the Katipunan.

Bonifacio then formed an underground secret society through the use of

secret codes and passwords called the Katipunan in 1892. The Kataas-taasang,
Kagalang-galangang Katipunan ng mga Anak ng Bayan (Supreme and Venerable
Society of the Children of the Nation) provided the rallying point for the people’s
agitation for freedom, independence and equality.

Figure1. Bonifacio Cry of Pugadlawin 1896

The Katipunan patterned its initiation rites after the Freemasonry, which
Bonifacio was a Freemason. The organization had its own structure, law system
and system of government. Symbols, crypto logic languages, clandestine rituals
marked the Katipunan’s operations. From the society’s inception, Bonifacio was
one of the Chief Officers and in 1895, he became the Presidente Supremo.

Figure 2. Katipunan seal with Andres Bonifacio’s

The Katipunan rapidly developed in fame and by 1896 had in excess of

30,000 individuals. It was on this same year that the Spanish provincial experts
found the presence of the mystery society and were thinking about strides to
destroy it. Bonifacio then again together with his different individuals were
arranging how best to rebel against the Spanish.
 On August 23, 1896, Bonifacio and his kindred Katipuneros tore their
cedulas (living arrangement authentication) which was set apart as the noteworthy
"Cry of Balintawak" which really happened in Pugadlawin. Along these lines, it is
additionally called "Sigaw ng Pugadlawin". This denoted the start of the Philippine
unrest. Be that as it may, the Katipuneros endured a noteworthy annihilation when
they met the capability of the Spaniards. They understood they gravely required
weapons and ammo. Clearly the underlying clashes of the Katipunan were
strategic botches.

The Katipunan Organizational Structure

The commanding structure of the Katipunan involved three positions of

enrollment, with new individuals beginning as "katipon," at that point climbing to
"kawal" and in the end to "bayani." Members were to pay an extra charge of one
genuine fuerte, a unit of money equivalent to 1/8 of a silver genuine peso, and
month to month duty and different expenses paid only to the Benefit Fund and
gathered at each session or meeting.
MGA ARAL NG KARTILYA NG KATIPUNAN (The Katipunan Code of Conduct)\

• The life that is not consecrated to a lofty and reasonable purpose is a tree without
a shade, if not a poisonous weed.

• To do good for personal gain and not for its own sake is not virtue.

• It is rational to be charitable and love one's fellow creature, and to adjust one's
conduct, acts and words to what is in itself reasonable

• Whether our skin be black or white, we are all born equal: superiority in
knowledge, wealth and beauty are to be understood, but not superiority by nature.

• The honorable man prefers honor to personal gain; the scoundrel, gain to honor.

• To the honorable man, his word is sacred.

• Do not waste thy time: wealth can be recovered but not time lost.

• Defend the oppressed and fight the oppressor before the law or in the field.

• The prudent man is sparing in words and faithful in keeping secrets.

• On the thorny path of life, man is the guide of woman (“parents”) and the children,
and if the guide leads to the precipice, those whom he guides will also go there.
• Thou must not look upon woman as a mere plaything, but as a faithful companion
who will share with thee the penalties of life; her (physical) weakness will increase
thy interest in her and she will remind thee of the mother who bore thee and
reared thee.

• What thou dost not desire done unto thy wife, children, brothers and sisters, that
do not unto the wife, children, brothers and sisters of thy neighbor.

• 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
high 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.

• When these rules of conduct shall be known to all, the longed-for sun of Liberty
shall rise brilliant over this most unhappy portion of the globe and its rays shall
diffuse everlasting joy among the confederated brethren of the same rays, the
lives of those who have gone before, the fatigues and the well-paid sufferings will
remain. If he who desires to enter (the Katipunan) has informed himself of all this
and believes he will be able to perform what will be his duties, he may fill out the
application for admission.

Figure 3. Katipunan Flag

B. “The Proclamation of the Philippine Independence”

The Philippine Declaration of independence was proclaimed on June 12,

1898 in Cavite II el Viejo (present-day Kawit, Cavite), Philippines. With the public
reading of the Act of the Declaration of independence (Spanish: Acta de la
proclamación de independencia del pueblo Filipino), Filipino revolutionary forces
under General Emilio Aguinaldo proclaimed the sovereignty and independence of
the Philippine Islands from the colonial rule of Spain.

The Proclamation on June 12

Independence was declared on June 12, 1898 around four and five in the
evening in Cavite at the ancestral home of General Emilio Aguinaldo somewhere
in the range of 30 kilometers South of Manila. The occasion saw the spreading out
of the National Flag of the Philippines, made in Hong Kong by Marcela Agoncillo,
Lorenza Agoncillo, and Delfina Herboza, and the execution of the Marcha Filipina
Magdalo, as the national song of praise, now known as Lupang Hinirang, which
was formed by Julián Felipe and played by the San Francisco de Malabon
marching band.

The Act of the Declaration of Independence was organized, written, and

read by Ambrosio Rianzares Bautista in Spanish. The Declaration was signed by
ninety-eight people, among them an American army officer who witnessed the
proclamation. The last passage expresses that there was a "stranger" (stranger in
English translation — extrangero in the original Spanish, meaning foreigner) who
joined the proceedings, Mr. L. M. Johnson, described as "a citizen of the U.S.A, a
Coronel of Artillery". The proclamation of Philippine independence was, however,
propagated on 1 August, when many towns had already been organized u nder the
rules laid down by the Dictatorial Government of General Aguinaldo] Later at
Malolos, Bulacan, the Malolos Congress modified the declaration upon the
determination of Apolinario Mabini who objected to that the original proclamation
fundamentally placed the Philippines under the protection of the United States.
 Figure 4. Philippine Flag

The statement introduced with a portrayals of the conditions in the

Philippines amid the Spanish frontier time frame. The report particularly said
misuse and disparities in the province. The affirmation says: “…taking into
consideration, that their inhabitants being already weary of bearing the
ominous yoke of Spanish domination, on account of the arbitrary arrests
and harsh treatment practiced by the Civil Guard to the extent of causing
death with the connivance and even with the express orders of their
commanders, who sometimes went to the extreme of ordering the shooting
of prisoners under the pretext that they were attempting to escape, in
violation of the provisions of the Regulations of their Corps, which abuses
were unpunished and on account of the unjust deportations, especially
those decreed by General Blanco, of eminent personages and of high social
position, at the instigation of the of the Archbishop and friars interested in
keeping them out of the way for their own selfish and avaricious purpose,
deportations which are quickly brought about by a method of procedure
more execrable than that of the Inquisition and which every civilized nation
rejects on account of a decision being rendered without a hearing of the
personal accused .”

The above passage demonstrates the justifications behind the

revolution against Spain.

The statement of the autonomy likewise summons that the built up

republic would be driven under the oppression of Emilio Aguinaldo. The
primary specify was at the absolute starting point of the statement. It stated:
“In the town of Cavite Viejo, in this province of Cav ite, on the twelfth day of
June eighteen hundred and ninety-eight, before me, Don Ambrosio
Rainzares Bautista, Auditor of war and Special Commissioner appointed to
proclaim and solemnize this act by the Dictatorial Government of these
Philippine Islands, for the purpose and by virtue of the circular addressed
by the Eminent Dictator of the same Don Emilio Aguinaldo y Famy.”

The same was reused toward the last piece of the declaration. It
stated: “We acknowledge, approve and confirm together with the orders that
have been issued therefrom, the Dictatorship established by Don Emilio
Aguinaldo, whom we honor as the Supreme Chief of this Nation, which this
day commences to have a life of its own, in the belief that he is the
instrument selected by God, in spite of his humble origin, to effect the
redemption of this unfortunate people, as foretold by Doctor Jose Rizal in
the magnificent verses which he composed when he was preparing to be
shot, liberating them from the yoke of Spanish domination in punishment of
the impunity with which their Government allowed the commission of
abuses by its subordinates.”

There are some other details in the proclamation that is worth looking
at its explanation on the Philippine flag that was first waved on the same
day. The document explained: “And finally, it was unanimously resolved that
this Nation, independent from this day, must use the flag used herefore,
whose design and colors and described in the accompanying drawing, with
design representing in natural colors the three arms referred to. The white
triangle represents the distinctive emblem of the famous Katipunan Society,
which by means of its compact of blood urged on the masses of the people
to insurrection; the three stars represent the three principal Islands of this
Archipelago, Luzon, Visayas, Mindanaoand Panay, in which this is
insurrectionary movement broke out; the sun represents gigantic strides
that have been made by the sons of this land on the road of progress and
civilization, its eight rays symbolizing the eight provinces of Manila, Cavite,
Bulacan, Pampanga, Nueva Ecija, Bataan, Lagunaand Batanga, which
were declared in a state of war almost as soon as the first insurrectionary
movement was initiated; and the colors blue, red and white, commemorate
those of the flag of the United States of North America, in manifestation of
our profound gratitude towards that great nation for the disinterested
protection she is extending to us and will continue to extend to us.”

This regularly neglected detail uncovers much about the recorded

exact importance behind the most broadly known national image in the
Philippines.

Figure 5. Embroidery of the Philippine Flag Figure 6. The Proclamation of

the Philippine
III. Readings:
Ando, M. (2017, January 31). Historical Sources - Overview. Retrieved August
20, 2020, from Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-C129XLpTbo
Antonio, Eleonor D., Dallo, Evangeline M. at et al... ; 2010; Kayamanan
(kasaysayan ng Pilipinas); Sampaloc, Manila; Rex Book Store, Inc.
Agoncillo, Teodoro. (2012). History of the Filipino People 8th edition. Quezon
City. C&E Publishing. Inc
Candelaria, John Lee P., Alporha, Veronica C.: Reading in Philippine History;
Sampaloc, Manila : REX Book Store, Inc.
de la Costa, H. (1992). Readings in Philippine History. Makati City:
J.G.V.Offset Press.
Lyons, K. (2020, May 7). Distinguish Between Primary and Secondary
Sources. Retrieved August 20, 2020, from UC Sta Cruz:
https://guides.library.ucsc.edu/primarysecondary
myboyfriend10. (2015, February 27). External and internal criticisms.
Retrieved August 20, 2020, from Slideshare:
https://www.slideshare.net/myboyfriend10/external-and-internal-criticisms
Oxillo, M. (2018, October 11). Readings in Philippine History - Introduction to
Philippine History. Retrieved August 20, 2020, from Slideshare:
https://www.slideshare.net/markjhonoxillo/introduction-to-philippine-
history119056759
Rappler. (2018, June 7). Basagan ng Trip with Leloy Claudio: 5
misconceptions about Philippine history. Retrieved August 20, 2020, from
Youtube:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4SSRXcP5fSw
Pigafetta, Antonio. The First Voyage Around the World, 1519-1522: An
Account of Magellan’s Expedition. Ed. Theodore J. Cachey, Jr. Toronto:
University of Toronto Press
History of Micronesia: A Collection of Source Documents. Ed. Rodrigue
Levesque. vol. 1: European Discovery, 1521-1560. Honolulu: University of
Hawai'i Press, 1994.

____FREDDIE R. COLLADA____
Instructor 1