A government generally refers to the organizational structure that sets a policy, has objectives, and runs

affairs of an association. It is a system which composes group of people governing an organization and
the citizens under it. It can also be described as the leadership in one society.

With this definition of the term government above, I can say that Katipunan was the first government. It
started after the arrest and execution of Jose Rizal and because of that, a small group of patriotic
Filipinos decided to create a secret society and called it Kataastaasan Kagalanggalangang Katipunan ng
mga Anak ng Bayan, also known as Katipunan. The members agreed to recruit other Filipinos to become
members. Just like a government, Katipunan has goals or primary objectives and these are: to defend
those who are weak and poor, to gain independence through the separation of Philippines from Spain
and to teach good manner, hygiene, and moral character. In terms of the structure of Katipunan,
Bonifacio had borrowed the structure of La Liga Filipina. Another thing that makes a government is that
it has conducted an election when the numbers of members increased. In result, it had three governing
bodies: Kataastaasang Sanggunian (Supreme Council), Sangguniang Bayan (Provincial Council),
Sangguniang Balangay (Popular Council), and there was also the Sangguniang Hukuman (Judicial
Council). Katipunan is regarded as a genuine revolutionary government. The Katipunan government
may not have all the aspect to be a complete and strong government but still had already essential
elements such as laws (Kartilla of Katipunan), officers, armed forces (Katipuneros), territories

Given the points above, Katipunan is considered as a government. Now as we all know a government
must have a leader or someone who is going to govern the organization. The question is if Katipunan is
the first government, is Bonifacio the first president? I would say that he is not the exact or the first
person to be appointed as President in Katipunan or what they have called “Supremo” The first assigned
person to be Supremo was Deodato Arellano but because he was inactive, he was replaced by Roman
Basa, but he has also been replaced for the same reason. It was during this time that Andres Bonifacio
has led and did a lot of works for the Katipunan. The reason why I am stating that he was the first
President simply because he was the first to act as a supreme commander of the Katipunan and actively
acted and did the proper job of a Supremo. Bonifacio had led Katipuneros to tear their cedulas as a sign
of independence from Spaniards which was the aim of the Katipunan government. He headed the KKK
revolution and it succeeded.

For the others, it may look like Emilio Aguinaldo was the first President because it was during his time of
leadership the government of Biak-na-Bato and its officers was official. But as for me, yes, there was no
formal and fully established government during the time when the Katipunan was formed because
during this time forming a group against Spaniards was prohibited but considering the fact that they
made a secret government and made every Filipinos united to claim back our territory, our nation, and
more importantly our independence, that speaks so much and is definitely a great point. I can safely say
that Katipunan was the first government and Andres Bonifacio was the first President, yet it was only
unofficial and was not formally established due to the circumstances that happened before.
Pen is mightier than the sword. Needless to see this is a famous phrase. Pen is usually linked with
writing because it helps the writer to record his thoughts on paper. On the other hand, if we study our
history, we all know that sword play an important role during wars. We all know that sword is a
powerful weapon and can give any power to the person holding it to the point that it can make people
bow down to you and dominate people. Through the use of sword, you can slave people against their
will. Holding a sword in hand creates adrenaline rush in the body that is associated with great success.
With all these given points about the sword, still, the saying says otherwise. How is pen mightier than
the sword? Or does it really hold power?

Pen even small in size is known to be more powerful than the sword because words written by a pen can
influence, inspire and encourage millions of people but at the same time it can ruin other people. One of
the best examples that proves that pen have got the power is through our national hero, Dr. Jose Rizal.
Most of the world heroes was known because of their war experiences but Rizal never did it. He was
known for his bravery, but he never fought in an actual war. The way he fought for our country does not
involve any shed of blood but still it created chaos towards the enemy. He used his intelligence in a
more peaceful way rather than the combative way, silent yet powerful and that is through his penꟷ
back then they call it pluma. He was using his pen for criticism in managing the colonizers. He used his
writings to fight for reforms and open the eyes of the Filipinos. Through his writings, he influenced a lot
of Filipinos to unite as one and fight for their rights. He had empowered them during the Spanish
colonization. He triggered the bravery out of everyone to attain the independence they had been
longing that time. Today, we are living in peace and freedom because of that one simple action using
pen yet so remarkable that it moved mountains that pressed weight on the shoulders of the Filipinos
that had suffered in the hands of the Spaniards.

With the words I have written above, it only emphasized the power of words over violence. That the
power of writing is much greater than the power of war and hatred. Thoughts and words influence
people and thus writers can bring about a revolution. All I can say is that the sword might be powerful
and mighty, but it cannot inspire millions the way a pen does.