Andres Bonifacio

Katungkulang gagawin ng mga ZxxxLlxxxBxxx [the “Decalogue”]

Source: Photograph of original handwritten document in Adrian E. Cristobal, The

Tragedy of the Revolution (Makati City: Studio 5 Publishing Inc., 1997), 40.

Although unpublished during Bonifacio’s lifetime, this Decalogue is

today one of the most famous Katipunan texts, printed in schoolbooks and
inscribed on monuments.1 The format in which Bonifacio sets out the duties
of KKK members obviously derives from the Old Testament, and in content
the injunctions echo the “Programa Masonica” and “Codigo Masonico” of the
Gran Oriente Español. The “Codigo,” for instance, similarly opens with a
direction to exalt the Creator, and similarly extols charity and love for one’s
fellows. It too enjoins lodge members to be calm, to be guided by reason, and
to support one another, “even at the cost of one’s life.” It too says members
who break their obligations will be duly punished.2

The crucial difference between the between the Masonic credo and
Bonifacio’s Decalogue is one of ultimate purpose. The mission of Masonry,
according to the Gran Oriente’s “Programa,” is exclusively humanitarian: it
strives to “foster charity and philanthropy among free men of good standing”
and to establish a “fraternity among mankind.” The mission of the Katipunan,
the Decalogue makes clear, is to liberate the country from enslavement.



Tagalog text
KKK x
x x
x
x x
x
x x

Katungkulang gagawin ng mga

Z Ll B
x
x x
x
x x
x 3
x x

1. Sumampalataya sa MayKapal ng taimtim sa puso.

2. Gunamgunamin sa sarili tuina, na ang matapat na pag sampalataya sa

Kanya ay ang pag ibig sa lupang tinubuan, sa pagkat ito ang tunay na pag ibig sa
kapwa.

3. Ykintal sa puso ang pag asa na malabis na kapurihan at kapalaran na kung

ikamamatay ng tawoy mag bubuhat sa pagliligtas sa kaalipinan ng bayan.

4. Sa kalamigan ng loob, katiagaan, katuiran at pag asa sa ano mang gagawin

nag bubuhat ang ikagaganap ng mabuting ninanais.

1
5. Paingat ingatang gaya ng puri ang mga bilin at balak ng K ... K... K....

6. Sa isang na sa sapanganib sa pag tupat ng kanyang tungkol, idadamay ng

lahat, ang buhay at yaman upang maligtas yaon.

7. Hangarin na ang kalagayan ng isatisa, maging fuaran 4 ng kanyang kapwa

sa mabuting pagpapasunod at pag tupad ng kanyang tungkol.

8. Bahaginan ng makakaya ang alin mang nagdaralita.

9. Ang kasipagan sa pag hahanap-buhay ay siyang tunay na pag ibig at pag

mamahal sa sarili sa asawa, anak at kapatid o kabayan.

10. Lubos na pag sampalataya sa parusang ilinalaang sa balang sowail at

magtaksil, gayon din sa pala na kakamtan ukol sa mabuting gawa.
Sampalatayanan din naman na ang mga layong tinutungo ng K... K... K...
ay kaloob ng Maykapal, sa makatwid ang hangad ng bayan ay hangad din Nya.



English translation5

K K K x
x x
x
x x
x
x x

Duties of the Sons of the People

1. Believe with a fervent heart in the Creator.

2. Reflect always that a sincere faith in Him involves love of one’s

native land, because this shows true love for one’s fellows.

3. Engrave on the heart the conviction that to die for the liberation of
the country from enslavement is the highest honor and fortune.

4. In any endeavor, the realization of good aspirations depends on

calmness, perseverance, reason and hope.

5. Guard the instructions and plans of the K... K... K... as you would
guard your own honor.

2
6. Anyone who falls into danger whilst carrying out their duties
should be supported by all, and rescued even at the cost of life and riches.

7. Let each of us strive in the performance of our duty to set a good

example for others to follow.

8. Share whatever you can with whoever is needy.

9. Diligence in earning a livelihood is a true expression of love and

affection for self, spouse, children and brothers or compatriots.

10. Believe absolutely that scoundrels and traitors will be punished

and good deeds will be rewarded. Believe, likewise, that the aims of the
K... K... K... are blessed by the Creator, for the will of the people is also His
will.

1 The wording, however, is often modified and modernized to varying degrees. The Almighty,
to give just a single example, called “Maykapal” in the original, becomes Hispanicized in some
renditions as “Dios” and anachronized in others as “Diyos.”
2 Reynold S. Fajardo, The Brethren: Masons in the struggle for Philippine independence

(Manila: Enrique L. Locsin and the Grand Lodge of Free and Accepted Masons, 1998), 106;
Teodoro M. Kalaw, La masonería filipina: su origen, desarrollo y vicisitudes hasta la época
presente (Manila: Bureau of Printing, 1920), 115.
3 “Z.Ll.B” was the Katipunan code for “A.N.B.” – “Anak ng Bayan” or “Sons of the People”.
4 Presumably “huaran” - the letter “h” was rendered as “f” in the Katipunan alphabet, and
perhaps Bonifacio inadvertently slipped to code in this instance.
5 This translation is my own, but draws on those in Epifanio de los Santos, "Andres
Bonifacio" [English version], Philippine Review (Revista Filipina), III:1-2 (January-February
1918), 42–5; Manuel L. Quezon, "Andres Bonifacio: the Great Plebeian" [1929], Historical
Bulletin, 7:3 (September 1963), 245–8; and Teodoro A. Agoncillo, The Revolt of the Masses:
The story of Bonifacio and the Katipunan (Quezon City: University of the Philippines Press,
1956), 94. This latter translation may also be found in The Writings and Trial of Andres
Bonifacio, translated by Teodoro A. Agoncillo with the collaboration of S. V. Epistola (Manila:
Antonio J. Villegas; Manila Bonifacio Centennial Commission; University of the Philippines,
1963), 1.