2.
1 The KKK and the Kartilya ng Katipunan
This discussion tackles the founding of "KKK" or
"Kataastaasang Kagalanggalang Katipunan ng mga
Anak ng Bayan" and the rules that our Katipuneros
have to include in joining the group. So, stay active to
answer the following questions!
The Founding of KKK
1. Bonifacio founded the “Katastaasang
Kagalanggalangang Katipuanan ng mga Anak ng
Bayan” (KKK) on July 7, 1892 in a house on
Azcarraga street (now Claro M. Recto), in Tondo
Manila.
2. The Katipunan had colorful beginnings. As a
symbol of the member’s loyalty, they performed
the solemn rite of sanduguan (blood compact),
wherein each one signed his name with his
own blood..
3. The members agreed to recruit more people
using the “triangle system” of enlistment. Each
original member would recruit tow new
members who were not related to each other.
Each new member would do the same thing, and
so on down the line. Members were also asked
to contribute one Real (about 25 centavos) each
month in order to raise funds for the association.
4. The two principal aims of the KKK as gathered
from the writings of Bonifacio: 1. Unity of the
filipino people, 2. separation from spain by
means of Revolution
5. Rizal doubtless approved the first aim but
refused to accept the second and this was the
reason that he refused to go along with the
“Katipuneros” (soldiers’ of the Katipunan) and
voluntarily surrendered that leads him to prison
and death. – To achieve unity of the Filipinos,
propaganda work must be done and this was
through massive education and civic trainings of
the Katipuneros. To that end, Bonifacio prepared
his now well-known decalogue, and Jacinto his
famous “Kartilya ng Katipunan” (Primer of the
Katipunan)
6. These are the rules in Kartilya. The Kartilya can
be treated as the Katipunan’s Code of conduct
which contains 14 rules that instruct the way a
Katipunero should behave.
“Kartilya ng Katipunan”
Below is a translated version of the rules:
1. The life that is not consecrated to a lofty and
reasonable purpose is a tree without a shade, if
not a poisonous weed.
2. To do good for personal gain and not for its own
sake is not virtue.
3. 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.
4. 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.
5. The honorable man prefers honor to personal
gain; the scoundrel, gain to honor.
6. To the honorable man, his word is sacred.
7. Do not waste thy time: wealth can be recovered
but not time lost.
8. Defend the oppressed and fight the oppressor
before the law or in the field.
9. The prudent man is sparing in words and faithful
in keeping secrets.
10. On the thorny path of life, man is the guide of
woman and the children, and if the guide leads
to the precipice, those whom he guides will also
go there.
11. 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.
12. 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.
13. 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.
14. 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
. An Excerpt from the Second Paragraph of the
Kartilya which states that “The object pursued by this
association is great and precious: to unite in ideas
and purposes all filipinos by means of a strong oath
and from union derive force with which to tear the
veil that obscures intelligence and thus find the true
path of reason and light” – The strong oath was
documented and signed with the signed with the
blood of the “Katipuneros” (blood (blood compact).
They swore at the Katipunan creed; Katipunan creed;
to defend the oppressed, fight the fight the
oppressor even to the extent of supreme self-
supreme self- sacrifice.
An Excerpt from the Second Paragraph of the
Kartilya which states that – One of the most
important Katipunan documents was the Kartilya ng
Katipunan. – The original title of the document was
“Manga (sic) Aral Nang (sic) Katipunan ng mga A.N.B.”
Or “Lesson of the Organization of the Sons of
Country”.
Therefore,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.
It is your turn to interpret this part of history. You
may view more inputs about the KKK and Kartilya in
the following presentation. Feel free to click the
attached file. Feel free to click the attached file. How
the code of conduct of Katipunan be a reflection of
love for country?
2.2 Reading the Proclamation of the Philippine
Independence
This discussion is about glimpse and pieces of the
historical events happened during Philippine
Declaration of Independence Day. To know about
more, read the information below including the
pinned file below. Stay active!
Below are the glimpse and pieces of the historical
event:
1. On June 12, 1898 , The Philippine Declaration of
independence was proclaimed in Cavite el Viejo
(presentday Kawit, Cavite) by Filipino
revolutionary forces under General Emilio
Aguinaldo proclaimed the sovereignty and
independence of the Philippine Islands from the
colonial rule of Spain.
2. It was 1896 when the Philippine Revolution
began. Eventually, the Spanish signed an
agreement with the revolutionaries – Emilio
Aguinaldo went into exile in Hongkong. At the
outbreak of the Spanish-American war.
3. Commodore George Dewey sailed from Hong
Kong to Manila Bay leading a squadron of U.S.
Navy ships on May 1, 1898 as the United States
defeated the Spanish in the Battle of Manila Bay
and the U.S. Navy transported Aguinaldo back to
the Philippines.
4. On June 12,1898, Independence was proclaimed
between four and five in the afternoon in Cavite
at the ancestral home of General Emilio
Aguinaldo. The event saw the unfurling of the
 National Flag of the Philippines, made in Hong
Kong by Marcela Agoncillo, Lorenza Agoncillo,
and Delfina Herboza.
5. The performance of the Marcha Filipina
Magdalo, as the national anthem, now known as
Lupang Hinirang, which was composed by Julián
Felipe and played by the San Francisco de
Malabon marching band and the Act of the
Declaration of Independence was prepared,
written, and read by Ambrosio Rianzares
Bautista in Spanish.
6. The Declaration was signed by ninety-eight
people, among them an American army officer
who witnessed the proclamation who attended
the proceedings, Mr. L. M. Johnson, a Coronel of
Artillery. The proclamation of Philippine
independence was, however, promulgated on 1
August, when many towns had already been
organized under the rules laid down by the
Dictatorial Government of General Aguinaldo
7. The declaration was not recognized by the U.S.
nor Spain and Spain later sold the Philippines to
the United States in the 1898 Treaty of Paris
ended the Spanish-American War. Then came
the Philippine-American War as the Philippine
Revolutionary Government did not recognize the
treaty or American sovereignty, and
subsequently fought and lost a conflict with
United States.
8. When Emilio Aguinaldo was captured by U.S.
forces, and issued a statement acknowledging
and accepting the sovereignty of the United
States over the Philippines, following World War
II, the US granted independence to the
Philippines on July 4, 1946 via the Treaty of
Manila known as Treaty of Paris, (1898)
9. In 1964, President Diosdado Macapagal signed
into law Republic Act No. 4166 designating June
12 as the country's Independence Day.
10. President Macapagal explained why such a move
is appropriate in a speech he delivered on June
12, 1962. Since the nation’s right to liberty is not
derived from the grant or recognition of another
but is an attribute it naturally holds, Mr.
Macapagal found it “proper that what we should
celebrate not the day when other nations gave
recognition to our independence, but the day
when we declared our desire to exercise our
inherent and inalienable right to freedom and
independence.”
He further explained that compared to the
independence granted by the Americans in
1946, the declaration of independence in 1898 is
signified by the determination and unity of local
government leaders to revolt.
He credited General Aguinaldo for galvanizing
the entire nation to action, that when he
“formally assumed political command and
declared his country free from [colonizers], a
nation came into being.”
“There had been other Asian revolutions before.
But the revolution which culminated on June 12,
1898 was the first successful national revolution
in Asia since the coming of the West, and the
Republic to which it gave birth was the first
democratic Republic outside of the Western
hemisphere,” he added.
11. President Macapagal’s speech also hinted at
reasons why Philippine independence is worth
celebrating. Independence Day obviously stands
as a reminder of that long-fought battle for
freedom and the people behind it.Many who are
very observant of our history might see the
nuances within the narratives, which are worth
exploring. It still stands true, nonetheless, that
the June 12 declaration was a fruit of a united
resolve.
“I moved the observance of the anniversary of
our independence to this day,” President
Macapagal spoke, “because a nation is born into
freedom on the day when such a people, molded
into a nation by a process of cultural evolution
and a sense of oneness born of common struggle
and suffering, announces to the world that it
asserts its natural right to liberty and is ready to
defend it with blood, life and honor.”
The nation’s rough yet triumphant journey to
freedom is one of those things Filipinos should
never forget. This commemoration is an
admonition for Filipinos to cultivate a thirst for
knowing the rich history of the country, including
its struggle for independence.
Mr. Macapagal, in fact, recognized in his speech
the heroes whose “acts of patriotism and
nationalism” contributed towards gaining the
independence that the nation now enjoys.
 He cited heroes such as Lapu-Lapu; Rajah
Soliman; Rajah Lakandula; Francisco Dagohoy;
Diego and Gabriela Silang; Apolonario de la Cruz;
Fathers Gomez, Burgos, and Zamora (more
known as GomBurZa); and Dr. Jose Rizal, among
others.
Independence Day also serves as an apt moment
for Filipinos to reflect on who they are in light of
all these, and of what they could give in return as
benefactors of this emancipation which took
pains to be attained.
“[I]t is fitting that as we commemorate the
anniversary of the declaration of our
independence and as we recall the glorious
events surrounding it,” the late statesman said,
“we should examine ourselves and ask if we
have been worthy of the heritage of freedom
which our heroes bequeathed to us and for
which thousands of our patriots so willingly shed
their blood. Let independence day therefore be
an occasion not only for commemoration, but
for spiritual self-examination.”
For President Macapagal, the heroes have a right
to ask of Filipinos how strong their Republic is
today. This evokes a sense of responsibility left
for us to be productive and truthful citizens.
These heroes, he added, might well ask the
businessman if he did his best to improve his
methods of production and to increase his
marketing efficiency. They also might well ask
students if they have been diligently studying
“not only for high marks, but for the sake of
learning,” in order to fully contribute to the
nation’s overall progress. They might well ask
politicians if they are placing the Nation’s greater
good above their “narrow self-interest”.
“Our heroes might well ask us all: What have you
done for your country
2.3 A Glance of Selected Philippine Political Caricature
in Alfred McCoy’s Philippine Cartoons: Political
Caricature of the American Era (1900-1941)
Hello students! This lesson is about Alfred McCoy and
the Philippine Political Cartoons in the American Era.
So stay focused!
Background Information
Alfred W. McCoy was a professor of history at the
University of Wisconsin-Madison. He was born on the
8th of June 1945 and was educated at Columbia
University, Yale University. He and other historian
took interest in the study of poiltics in the Philippines
and represented their interpretation of the situation
by using cartoons.
Philippine political cartoons gained full expression
during the American era. Filipino artists recorded
national attitudes toward the coming of the
Americans as well as the changing mores and times.
While the 377 cartoons compiled in this book speak
for themselves, historian Alfred McCoy’s extensive
research in Philippine and American archives provides
a comprehensive background not only to the
cartoons but to the turbulent period as well. Artist-
writer Alfredo Roces, who designed the book,
contributes an essay on Philippine graphic satire of
the period.
Some of the notable caricature were:
• Vince Sotto, the publisher of the INDEPENDENT,
a never missed a chance to attack the catholic
church
• In 1906, the Philippine Supreme Court had ruled
that the Roman Catholic Church was the legal
owner of all disputed properties, thus stripping
the nationalistic Aglipayan Church of the Parish
Churches it had occupied right after the
revolution.
• During the mid 19th century from Alejandro
Roces, whose descendants became publishes of
the Manila Times. While Santa Cruz Church still
stands, the controversial parish house became a
branch of Phil. Trust, a church owned bank.
• Fernando Amorsolo , gives the illustration his
usual racist edge. While the corrupt Filipino
police man is shown with normal features, the
chinese are caricatured as emaciated, leering
creatures more rodent than human.
• In 1917 a mysterious informant named Pedro
Chua wrote the Philippines free press alleging
that senior police where accepting bribes from
chinese gambling houses in Binondo and Quiapo
district."
• Vicente Sotto's independent insisted , in this
editorial cartoon, that Chua's charges were
accurate.
• Although the Independent's cartoon depicts
Harrison as a hero, his suggested reform was
hardly heroic. Despite the stern rhetoric, which
obviously appealed to the paper's penchant for
hyperbole. Harrison's suggested reform was little
more than a temporary palliative.
• 1908 the nationalist weekly "El Penacimiento"
published an editorial filled Aves de Rapina (birds
of prey) which attacked the Philippine
commission's secretary of the interior, Dean C.
Norcester for abusing his office to the exploit the
country.
• Eventually the protest reached Malacanang
Palace and Governor Francis B. Harrison made a
tentative move towards reform. In a letter to the
Director General of the civil service, the
governor denounced the rapacious demans of
the landlords. He suggested passage of a bill
which sets rents at 12% of assessed value of the
property.
2.5 The Code of Kalantiaw
Hello students! In this lesson you will learn about the
information of Code of Kalantiaw and try interpreting
the story if it is a hoax like other historians have in
mind or not. So, stay awake and focus!
Background Information
In the famous epic story of Maragtas, there was was
this mythical legal code called "The Code of
Kalantiaw". Datu Kalantiaw is considered by the
Visayans as the third head of Panay. It was
named after Datu Kalantiaw, who allegedly wrote it
in 1433. It was written about by Jose E. Marco in
1913 in his historical fiction "Las Antiguas Leyendes
de la Isla de Negros" (The Ancient Legends of the
Island of Negros). He ascribed its source to a priest
named Jose Maria Pavon.

2.4 Revisiting Corazon Aquino’s Speech Before the

U.S. Congress

In this discussion, you will learn about a historic

speech that managed to sway in our favor the vote
for an emergency $200-million aid appropriation of
former President Cory Aquino. So stay active!

The Scenario

When former President Corazon Aquino spoke before

a joint session of the United States Congress in
September of 1986, her speech was interrupted by
eleven applause and ended with a standing
ovation. It was her first visit to America since the
dictator Ferdinand Marcos had been deposed in
February of the same year, and the Philippines was
Source of Image:
reckoning with everything his administration had
inflicted. That included $26 billion in total foreign /prabook.com/web/datu.kalantiaw/2532925
debt, and a communist insurgency that grew,
The historian Josue Soncuya wrote about the Code of
throughout the Marcos era, from 500 armed guerillas
Kalantiaw in 1917 in his book "Historia Prehispana de
to 16,000.
Filipinas" (Prehispanic History of the Philippines)
So Aquino lodged an appeal for help. Addressing the where he transferred the location of the origin of the
House, she delivered. Code from Negros to Panay because he contended
that said Code may have been related to the
Binirayan festival.
The story on this Code has been recognized through
the ages by known authors. In 1968, however,
historian William Henry Scott asserted in his Doctor
of Philosophy thesis, Critical Study of the Prehispanic
Source Materials for the Study of Philippine History
that there is no evidence that any Filipino ruler by the
name of Kalantiaw ever existed or that the Kalantiaw
penal code is any older than 1914.
Although the said Code ceases to be part of the texts
of Philippine history, however, many still believe its
validity.
ARTICLE I
You shall not kill, neither shall you steal, neither shall
you do harm to the aged, lest you incur the danger of
death. All those who infringe this order shall be
condemned to death by being drowned in the river,
or in boiling water.
ARTICLE II
You shall obey. Let all your debts with the headman
be met punctually. He who does not obey shall
receive for the first time one hundred lashes. If the
debt is large, he shall be condemned to thrust his
hand in boiling water thrice. For the second time, he
shall be beaten to death.
ARTICLE III
Obey you: let no one have women that are very
young nor more than he can support; nor be given to
excessive lust. He who does not comply with, obey,
and observe this order shall be condemned to swim
for three hours for the first time and for the second
time, to be beaten to death with sharp thorns.
ARTICLE IV
Observe and obey; let no one disturb the quiet of the
graves. When passing by the caves and trees where
they are, give respect to them. He who does not
observe this shall be killed by ants, or beaten to
death with thorns.
ARTICLE V
You shall obey; he who exchanges for food, let it be
always done in accordance with his word. He who
does not comply, shall be beaten for one hour, he
who repeats the offense shall be exposed for one day
among ants.
ARTICLE VI
You shall be obliged to revere sights that are held in
respect, such as those of trees of recognized worth
and other sights. He who fails to comply shall pay
with one month's work in gold or in honey.
ARTICLE VII
These shall be put to death; he who kills trees of
venerable appearance; who shoot arrows at night at
old men and women; he who enters the houses of
the headmen without permission; he who kills a
shark or a streaked cayman.
ARTICLE VIII
Slavery for a doam (a certain period of time) shall be
suffered by those who steal away the women of the
headmen; by him who keep ill-tempered dogs that
bite the headmen; by him who burns the fields of
another.
ARTICLE IX
All these shall be beaten for two days: who sing while
traveling by night; kill the Manaul; tear the
documents belonging to the headmen; are malicious
liars; or who mock the dead.
ARTICLE X
It is decreed an obligation; that every mother teach
secretly to her daughters matters pertaining to lust
and prepare them for womanhood; let not men be
cruel nor punish their women when they catch them
in the act of adultery. Whoever shall disobey shall be
killed by being cut to pieces and thrown to the
caymans.
ARTICLE XI
These shall be burned: who by their strength or
cunning have mocked at and escaped punishment or
who have killed young boys; or try to steal away the
women of the elders.
ARTICLE XII
These shall be drowned: all who interfere with their
superiors, or their owners or masters; all those who
abuse themselves through their lust; those who
destroy their anitos (idols) by breaking them or
throwing them down.
ARTICLE XIII
All these shall be exposed to ants for half a day: who
kill black cats during a new moon; or steal anything
from the chiefs or agorangs, however small the
object may be.
ARTICLE XIV
These shall be made slave for life: who have beautiful
daughters and deny them to the sons of chiefs, and
with bad faith hide them away.
ARTICLE XV
Concerning beliefs and superstitions; these shall be
beaten: who eat the diseased flesh of beasts which
they hold in respect, or the herb which they consider
good, who wound or kill the young of the Manaul, or
the white monkey.
ARTICLE XVI
The fingers shall be cut-off: of all those who break
idols of wood and clay in their alangans and temples;
of those who destroy the daggers of the of the
tagalons, or break the drinking jars of the latter.
ARTICLE XVII
These shall be killed: who profane sites where idols
are kept, and sites where are buried the sacred things
of their diwatas and headmen. He who performs his
necessities in those places shall be burned.
ARTICLE XVIII
Those who do not cause these rules to be obeyed: if
they are headmen, they shall be put to death by
being stoned and crushed; and if they are agorangs
they shall be placed in rivers to be eaten by sharks
and caymans.
Module 2 Summary
Bonifacio founded the “Katastaasang
Kagalanggalangang Katipuanan ng mga Anak ng
Bayan” (KKK) on July 7, 1892 in a house on Azcarraga
street (now Claro M. Recto), in Tondo
Manila. sanduguan (blood compact) was a sign of
Katipunan member's loyalty. The Kartilya can be
treated as the Katipunan’s Code of conduct which
contains 14 rules that instruct the way a Katipunero
should behave.
Some of the rules of Kartilya:
Rule 1: The life that is not consecrated to a lofty and
reasonable purpose is a tree without a shade, if not a
poisonous weed.
Rule 7: Do not waste thy time: wealth can be
recovered but not time lost.
Rule 14: 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.
On June 12, 1898 , The Philippine Declaration of
independence was proclaimed in Cavite el Viejo
(presentday Kawit, Cavite) by Filipino revolutionary
forces under General Emilio Aguinaldo proclaimed
the sovereignty and independence of the Philippine
Islands from the colonial rule of Spain.
On June 12,1898, Independence was proclaimed
between four and five in the afternoon in Cavite at
the ancestral home of General Emilio Aguinaldo. The
event saw the unfurling of the National Flag of the
Philippines, made in Hong Kong by Marcela Agoncillo,
Lorenza Agoncillo, and Delfina Herboza.
When Emilio Aguinaldo was captured by U.S. forces,
and issued a statement acknowledging and accepting
the sovereignty of the United States over the
Philippines, following World War II, the US granted
independence to the Philippines on July 4, 1946 via
the Treaty of Manila known as Treaty of Paris, (1898)
In 1964, President Diosdado Macapagal signed into
law Republic Act No. 4166 designating June 12 as the
country's Independence Day.