Babasahin Hinggil sa Kasaysayan ng PIlipinas

Reading Material #3

The KKK and the “Kartilya ng Katipunan”

The Philippine Revolution is one of the most important nodal points in Philippine History. It
signaled the end of the long Spanish era and served as the climax of the occasional revolts that
occurred in the centuries of Spanish colonization The revolution started in August 1896, upon the
discovery of the Katipunan. This erstwhile secret organization led the revolution through Andres
Bonifacio in its early stages. Later, internal conflict in the movement escalated to the tragic
execution of Bonifacio in May 1897 and the leadership takeover by Emilio Aguinaldo.

The Kataastaasan, Kagalang-galang na Katipunan ng mga Anak ng Bayan (KKK), or Katipunan,

is arguably the most crucial organization formed in Philippine history. While anti-colonial
movements, efforts, and organizations have already been formed centuries before the foundation
of the Katipunan, it was only this organization that envisioned a united Filipino nation that would
revolt against the Spaniards for the total independence of the country from Spain. None before the
Katipunan envisioned a unified Filipino nation revolting against the colonizers. On the one hand,
the imagination of the nation was mostly absent in the aspirations of the local revolts before
Katipunan. On the other hand, the propaganda movement led by the ilustrados such as Marcelo H.
del Pilar, Graciano López Jaena, and Jose Rizal did not envision a total separation of the
Philippines from Spain. They only demanded equal rights, representation, and protection from the
abuses of the friars.

In the conduct of their struggle, the Katipunan created a complex structure and a defined value
system that would guide the organization as a collective, which aspired for a single goal. One of
the essential Katipunan documents was the Kartilya ng Katipunan. The original title of the text
was Manga Aral Nang Katipunan ng mga Anak Nang Bayan or "Lessons of the Organization of
the Sons of Country." Emilio Jacinto wrote the document in 1896. Jacinto was only 18 years old
when he joined the movement. He was a law student at the University of Santo Tomas. Despite
his youth, Jacinto exhibited valuable intellect that upon seeing that his Kartilya was much better
than Bonifacio's Decalogue, Bonifacio willingly favored the Kartilya to 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. On April 15, 1897, Bonifacio appointed Jacinto as a

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 Babasahin Hinggil sa Kasaysayan ng PIlipinas
Reading Material #3

commander of the Katipunan in Northern Luzon. Jacinto was 22 years old. He died of Malaria at
a young age of 24 in Magdalena, Laguna.

The Kartilya can be treated as the Katipunan's code of conduct. It contained 14 rules that instruct
the way a Katipunero should behave and the values that he should uphold. Generally, the rules that
are listed in the Kartilya can be classified into two. The first group are rules that will make the
member an upright individual The second includes rules that will guide the way they treat their
fellow. Below is th translated version of the regulations in the Kartilya:

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

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

III. 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.

IV. 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.

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

VI. To the honorable man, his word is sacred.

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

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

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

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X. 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.

XI. 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.

XII. 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.

XIII. 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.

XIV. 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 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.

As the primary governing document, which determines the rules of conduct in the Katipunan, the
Kartilya will, thus, help us in understanding the values, ideals, aspirations, and even the ideology
of the organization.

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