KARTILYA NG KATIPUNAN

KATIPUNAN
The Katipunan officially known as the Kataastasang, Kagalang-galangang Katipunan ng mga
Anak ng Bayan.  In English, it means Supreme and Venerable Society of the Children of
the Nation. The Katipunan and the Cuerpo de Compromisarios were, in effect, organizations
that followed La Liga Filipina, which was founded by José Rizal (who was himself inspired
by the nationalist Priests' martyrdom: Zamora, Burgos, and Gomez).The Philippines'
Propaganda Movement of the late 19th century included this organization. Deodato
Arrellano, Teodoro Plata, Valentin Diaz, Ladislao Diwa, Andres Bonifacio, and Jose Dizon
were the Katipunan's founders. Bonifacio, Diwa, and Plata, the founders of Katipunan, were
all members of La Liga and were influenced by the Spanish Propaganda Movement's
nationalistic ideals.
Marcelo H. del Pilar, another leader of Spain's Propaganda Movement, influenced the
Katipunan's formation. Because of his role in the Propaganda Movement and his prominent
position in Philippine Masonry, historians believe he had a direct hand in its formation; many
of the Katipunan's founders were freemasons. The Katipunan practiced initiation ceremonies
based on Masonic rites. There was also a rank hierarchy similar to that of freemasonry.
The Katipunan was a secret organization until it was discovered in 1896 by Filipino patriots
Deodato Arellano, Andrés Bonifacio, Valentin Diaz, Ladislao Diwa, José Dizon, and
Teodoro Plata. The Philippine Revolution began as a result of this discovery.
The Katipunan being a secret organization, had its members subjected to the utmost secrecy
and abidance to the rules established by the society. Aspiring applicants were given standard
initiation rites in order to become members of the society. At first, membership in the
Katipunan was only open to male Filipinos; later, women were accepted into the society. The
Katipunan had its own publication, Kalayaan (Freedom) which issued its first and last
printing in March 1896. Revolutionary ideals and works flourished within the society, and
Filipino literature was expanded by some of its prominent members.
Katipunan Four aims:
 To develop a strong alliance with each and every Katipunero
 To unite Filipinos into one solid nation;
 To win Philippine independence by means of an armed conflict (or revolution)
 To establish a republic after independence.

Captured Katipunan (also known as Katipuneros) members who were also La Liga members
revealed to the Spanish colonial authorities that there was disagreement among La Liga
members. The one group upheld La Liga's principle of peaceful reformation, while the other
advocated armed revolution. In the course of planning the revolution, Bonifacio approached
Rizal and asked for his full support for the Katipunan in exchange for a promise to free Rizal
from detention. In May 1896, the Katipunan leadership met with the Captain of a visiting
Japanese warship in an unsuccessful attempt to secure a source of arms for the revolution.
On July 7, 1892, author Jose Rizal was exiled to Dapitan, Mindanao. That night, Bonifacio, a
member of the La Liga Filipina, founded the Katipunan in a house on Azcarraga St. (now
Recto Avenue) near Elcano Street in San Nicolas, Manila, with Plata, Diwa, Diaz, Arellano,
and Dizon. When anti-Spanish Filipinos realized that societies like the La Liga Filipina
would be suppressed by colonial authorities, they founded the Katipunan. They appointed
Rizal as honorary president without his knowledge, despite their reservations regarding his
peaceful reformation. The Katipunan (Supreme and Venerable Society of the Children of the
Nation) was a clandestine brotherhood founded under the name Kataas-taasang, Kagalang-
galangang Katipunan ng' mg'á Anak ng' Bayan.
The Supreme Council ruled over the Katipunan. The Katipunan's first Supreme Council was
formed in August 1892, about a month after the society was founded. The Supreme Council
was led by an elected president (pangulo), secretary/secretaries (kalihim), treasurer
(tagaingat-yaman), and fiscal. The Supreme Council also had councilors, the number of
which varied between presidencies. The Supreme Council's president was referred to as the
Supreme President to distinguish him from presidents of lower sanggunian or councils. In

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1893, the Supreme Council included Ramón Basa as president, Bonifacio as fiscal, José
Turiano Santiago as secretary, Vicente Molina as treasurer, and Restituto Javier, Briccio
Pantas, and Teodoro Gonzales. Gonzales, Plata, and Diwa were councilors. During Basa's
tenure, the society formed a women's auxiliary section. Gregoria de Jess, whom Bonifacio
had recently married, and Marina Dizon, the daughter of José Dizon, were two of its founding
members. It was also in 1893 that Basa and Diwa formed the Cavite Provincial Council,
which would go on to become the society's most successful council.
In 1895, the Supreme Council consisted of Bonifacio as president, Valenzuela as fiscal and
physician, Jacinto as secretary, and Molina as treasurer. Enrico Pacheco, Pantaleon Torres,
Balbino Florentino, Francisco Carreón, and Hermenegildo Reyes were named councilors.
Eight months later, in August 1896, the fifth and final supreme council was elected to rename
offices. Bonifacio was named President, Jacinto as Secretary of State, Plata as Secretary of
War, Bricco Pantas as Secretary of Justice, Aguedo del Rosario as Secretary of the Interior,
and Enrico Pacheco as Secretary of Finance.
Katipunan played a major role in the Philippine’s revolution. And no mention of Katipunan is
complete without Bonifacio’s name attached to it.
Katipunan and Bonifacio became synonymous mainly because of the Supremo’s willingness
to give his life for his country’s freedom.
But along with Bonifacio, let us not forget the other heroes who fought in the Philippine
revolution. All their lives became a sacrifice for their beloved Pearl of the Orient.
And it’s a sacrifice that Filipinos are eternally grateful for.

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