Deryl Sazon BSED-ENG 1-A

1. What was the socio-political context when the Kartilya was written? How crucial
was this document in 19th century Philippines?

The Philippines was enslaved by the Spaniard when the KKK was founded as a
social organization, and Kartilya was written as its code of conduct. Philippines was
administered by the Spaniards that time who mishandled their control and treat Filipinos
in a pitiless way with a shed of blood. During those days, Filipinos were tortured and their
rights to choose on their own were denied. They were submissive to the Spanish
Government and was afraid to voice out. Moreover, Spanish corruption and graft also
emerged in the Philippines during their reign and racial discrimination between Spanish
and Filipinos was common. There was no freedom and Filipinos were extremely
oppressed.

2. How would you describe the Kartilya in terms of its form/writing style and
content? What are its main teaching and how it was presented?

The Kartilya is a set of agreed rules for the KKK. It includes standards and lessons
of the KKK. The type of writing style and substance was four times longer than the
Decalogue of Andres Bonfacio, which provides twelve guiding principles and fourteen
ethical values that the individuals who seek to join Katipunan and as of now a Katipunero
must follow. The Kartilya's main teaching is to demonstrate true love of the native land
and sincere compassion for others, for fair and true brethren shall be regarded by all.

3. Research on why Andres Bonifacio, who was then the Supremo or Supreme
Leader of the Katipunan, opted to adopt Emilio Jacinto’s Teaching of the Katipunan
instead of his own draft of the Dekalogo ng Katipuanan (Katipunan Code of
Conduct). Do you find this decision sound? How are their perspective different and
alike?

Initially, Andres Bonifacio expected his Decalogue to be printed and given to new
recruits, but he read Jacinto's Kartilya and concluded that it was also prevalent in his
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appreciation of the scholarly style of Jacinto. However, the two writings are not commonly
comparable on the ground that Bonifacio merely defined the Katipunan's obligations
containing only ten obligations, while Emilio Jacinto's were several times longer, more as
an assertion of longing and moral qualities containing twelve core values and fourteen
lessons.

4. Why can the Kartilya be considered timeless and relevant to the industrializing
and globalizing present?

Kartilya as the guide of a revolutionary organization -to have an orderly community

and to achieve their goal of freeing the country from Spaniards. The Kartilya these days,
is a symbol of the inherent power of the nation and the solidarity. Kartilya bind the Filipinos
by extending their patriotism and is there to remind and instruct us how industrializing and
globalizing should be. In industrializing the nation and in the process of uncontrollable
globalization, people's rights, such as having equality and exercising the best way to treat
others in any case, should still be considered while not declining the culture and traditions
of the country to display sincere respect for it -the Kartilya includes lessons like this.

5. As a student, how will you embody the main teachings and guiding principles of
the Kartilya? Concretize your answer and cite specific lines from the document.

“All men are equal, be the color of their skin black or white. One may be superior to
another in knowledge, wealth, and beauty, but cannot be superior in being.”

Nowadays, equality is still an issue. We are all born the same way: as humans,
and therefore deserve the same rights and acceptance as long as we all follow the laws
and comply with the norms set to protect all individuals. One easy way to embody this
teaching as a student is to practice respect at all times despite a person`s race, gender,
and status. I will perceive real beauty that it is not to be conformed to conventional beauty
standards, but it’s to one’s inner self - Your inner self is the person you are inside. Real
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beauty is on the inside which is more important than one’s outward appearance and no
one should precede and out-rank another about that.

“Defend the oppressed and fight the oppressor”

As a student who currently pursuing my studies and more knowledgeable and

aware of the social issues that have been arousing in my community, I can use my voice
to speak up for those who were unheard, oppressed and afraid to vent out their thoughts.
Since we are living in a democratic country, we should practice our rights to freedom of
expression who can articulate our opinions without fear of retaliation. With this, as the
ones who are capable of speaking our thoughts about the government and its
shortcomings, we must use our voice to amplify the oppressed so that, those who are
sitting in the position can hear our calls to improved themselves not just for them, but for
the whole nation.

Activity

Rewrite a portion or a condesned version of the Kartilya ng Katipunan in way that

it can encourage millenials like you to read and practice its teachings.

“Dito’y gawa ang hinahanap at gawa ang tinitingnan; kaya’t hindi dapat pumasok ang Di
makagagawa, kahit magaling magsalita. Ipinauunawa din na ang mga katungkulang
ginaganap ng lahat ng napaaanak sa katipunang ito ay lubhang mabibigat, lalong lalo na
kung gugunitain na di mangyayaring maiiwasan at walang kusang pagkukulang na di
aabutin ng kakila-kilabot na kaparusahan.”

To those who fight for the rights of the oppressed must not only be good with words
but they should walk the talk. No matter how fluent you are in words, or on how you would
say your thoughts through speaking it does not matter as long as you are determined to
do them. Fighting for the rights of other people is really heavy and it will not be avoided
but even though, there might be instances that you failed to do so you will not end up
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being punished, it is never too late to start again. In today’s modern ways everything is
done easily through technology by this, we can really amplify our voices and fight our
rights. In social media we can voice out our thoughts through different mediums like art
or literature even though this task might not be physically heavy but the responsibility is.
We are defending rights that are much more valuable than any other material thing and
we must do everything to fight the oppressor to seek justice for the rights that were
stepped on and denied from us.