CHAPTER 9 – THE CAMPAIGN FOR REFORMS

THE REFORM MOVEMENT

- Ten peaceful years elapsed after the execution of Gomburza.

- Father Jose A. Burgos, Mariano Gomez, and Jacinto Zamora
Persecute
- To be the object of constant hostility and maltreatment, especially because of religious or
political beliefs.
Reform
- The removal of faults or abuses, especially of moral, political, orr social kind; an improvement
made or suggested.

PROPAGANDA MOVEMENT
Aim of the Propaganda Movement:
1. Equality of Filipinos and the Spaniards before the law
2. Assimilation of the Philippines as a regular province of Spain
3. Restoring of Philippine representation in the Cortes, the law making body of Spain
4. Filipinization of the Parishes
5. Individual liberties for the Filipinos
Propaganda
- Publicity intended to spread ideas or information
- began in 1882
- It lasted up to the early months of 1892 (10 years), when the important Filipino reformist
returned to the Philippines, Like
Aims of the League
1. Union of the Philippine Archipelago into a compact, strong and homogeneous body
2. Mutual protection of the members
3. Defense against all violence and injustice
4. Encouragement of education, agriculture and commerce
5. Study and application of reforms
DR. JOSE RIZAL
- Who founded the La Liga Pilipina
- The reform movement which they started included the idea to assimilate the Philippines as a
province of Spain.
- The Philippines would represented in the Spanish lawmaking body called the Cortes.
- The Filipinos would become Spanish citizens, who would enjoy all the rights and privileges by
all Spanish citizen.
- They will obliged to discharge their duties as Spanish citizens.
- As Spanish citizens, the Filipinos could not be treated cruelly by the friars and the Spanish civil
authorities.
- This move to make the Philippines a province of Spain and granting of Spanish citizenship to
Filipinos called assimilation.
- Assimilation of the Philippines would allow the Indios to be finally called Filipinos.
Assimilation
- A condition of being absorbed or becoming similar or alike with another.

The important Filipino Reformist were:

Graciano Lopez Jeana, Jose Rizal, and Marcelo H. Del Pilar. They were the great triumvirate; Lopez
Jeana – was the great orator
Rizal – was the great thinker and writer
Del Pilar – was the great political analyst and journalist

The other Reformist:

Jose Panganiban
Antonio Luna
Mariano Ponce
Eduardo de Lete
They were all young men who went to Europe to study. In the course of their studies, they involved
themselves in the cause of their country.

Triumvirate
- A group of three individuals sharing authority and power.

GRACIANO LOPEZ JEANA

- Was born in Jaro, now a part of Iloilo City, on December 18, 1856.
- His parent were Placido Lopez and Maria Jacobo Jeana
- He studied at the seminary of Jaro to become a priest, but later on, he changed his mind to
become a physician instead.
- He was observant and saw the injustices, immorality, and greed of the friars and civil officials.
- He wrote a long story about a certain friar he named Fray Botod, who was greedy, immoral,
and cruel.
- The story was circulated in Iloilo and soon, the friars hated him for it.
- He went to Manila to escape persecution and to continue his studies.
- But the Spanish authorities harassed him, which compelled him to secretly sail for Europe in
1880.
- In Spain, he studied medicine but later on gave it up and devoted his time and energy to writing
articles.

La Solidaridad (Solidarity)
- 1889
- He founded the fortnightly newspaper
- First editor
- The aims of the newspaper were the following:
1. to fight reaction
2. to stop all effort to keep the Philippines a backward country
3. to extol liberal ideas
4. to defend progress
- The newspaper became the propaganda arm of the Filipino reformist in Spain.
- Copies were sent secretly to the Philippines and distributed to educated Filipinos.
- Pablo Feced anf Wenceslao E. Retana – Spanish Writers who are anti-Filipino.
- Lopez Jaena praised the Philippines and called the “Pearl of the Orient”
- In one of his speeches, he called the Philippines “a pieces of the palpitating heart of Spain.”
- He expressed the demand of the Filipino Reformist. These demand included the following:
1. Representation in the Spanish cortes;
2. The right to vote
3. Freedom of speech
4. Freedom of commerce
5. The removal of the friars from the Philippines because they were an obstacle to
progress
6. The education of the people
 7. Reforms in the jails of the country; and
8. The abolition of the diezmos prediales or the tithe consisting of one-tenth of the
produce of the land.
- Lopez Jeana suffered from hunger and illness, and on January 20, 1896, he died in Barcelona,
Spain.

JOSE RIZAL
- The most brilliant of the Filipinos during his time.
- Born in Calamba, Laguna on June 19, 1861
- He studied at Ateneo Municipal and later the University of Santo Thomas.
- He went to Europe to continue his Medical Studies
- Paciano older brother of Rizal
- Noli Me Tangere or Touch Me Not - He wrote at the age of 26
- He exposed the defects of the Spanish administration of the Philippines
- The greed and immorality of the friars, and superstitions of the Filipinos
- Next he wrote his second novel El Filibusterismo (The Rebel)
- El Filibusterismo (The Rebel)
- which was the sequel of the first novel.
- Rizal expressed his political ideas and, in story form, predicted the coming of the
Revolution.
- Although very much disappointed in the lack of response by the Spanish government
in Spain to their campaign, he did not the Philippines to have a revolution
- Rizal wrote poems, essays, and many articles all showing his love of country, his patriotism,
his love of parents, his happiness and sorrows.
- La Liga Filipina – a patriotic society which was suspected of uniting and preparing the people
for revolution.
- He was first banished to Dapitan, Zamboanga, and later tried by a military court that
sentenced him to be shot to death.
- He was executed on Bagumbayan Field (now Luneta / Rizal Park)on December 30, 1896

MARCELO H. DEL PILAR

- “The greatest journalist produced by the purely Filipino race”
- Born in the Barrio of Cupang, Bulacan, Bulacan, on Agust 30, 1850
- He studied at the College of San Jose and later at the University of Santo Thomas
- 1880 he finish his law studies
- In the same year, he began his campaign against the abuses of the friars and the Spanish civil
officials.
- 1882, he founded the Tagalog-Spanish newspaper, Diariong Tagalog, which, although short-
lived, published suggestions on how to improve the administration of the country.
- 1888, the Spanish friars of Bulacan persuaded the Spanish officials of the provinces to arrest
Del Pilar; but his admirers warned him about the order for his arrest and secretly left for Spain.
- A year after his arrival in Spain, he became the editor of La Solidaridad.
- He wrote many articles and editorials.
Two Spanish book of Del Pilar:
La Soberania Monacal en Filipinas (Monastic Sovereignty in the Philippines)
La Frailocracia Filipina (Frailocracy in the Philippines
- Del Pilar wrote in the language of the masses:
Caiingat Cayo
Dasalan at Toksohan
Kadakilaan ng Dios
 Sagot ng España sa hibik ng Filipinas, and many others
- Due to his heavy work and lack of proper food, Del Pilar contracted tuberculosis.
- He died on July 4, 1896.

LA LIGA FILIPINA
- July 3, 1892, Rizal and a group of patriotic Filipinos, including Andres Bonifacio, founded the
society, La Liga Filipina.
- The Following officers were elected:
President: Ambrosio Salvador
Fiscal: Agustin de la Rosa
Treasurer: Bonifacio Arevalo
Secretary: Deodato Arellano

- The aims of the Liga according to its constitution were:

(1) To unite the whole archipelago into one strong body;
(2) To give mutual protection of all members in case of necessity;
(3) To encourage agriculture, commerce, and education;
(4) To defeat members against any kind of violence and injustice; and
(5) To study and apply reforms

The money of the society was to be issued for the following purposes:
(1) To support a member or his son without financial means but with enough ability and industry;
(2) To support the poor against the rich and the powerful;
(3) To give financial help to any member who suffered losses;
(4) To open stores and shops which would sell goods to members at low prices; and
(5) To introduce machines in order to promote industries
CHAPTER 10 – BONIFACIO AND THE KATIPUNAN
THE FOUNDING OF KATIPUNAN
- JULY 7, 1892, the arrest and execution of Rizal was spread through newspaper
- Because of what happen, a small group of Patriotic Filipinos met at house on Azcarraga St.
(now Claro M. Recto Avenue)
- Small group of patriotic Filipino
- Andres Bonifacio, Teodoro Plata, Valentin Diaz, Ladislao Diwa, Deodato Arellano
- They decided to create a secret society and called Kataastaasan Kagalanggalang na
Katipunan ng mga Anak ng Bayan (KKK or Katipunan) or Supreme and Venerable Association
of the Sons of the People.
- To show patriotism and love of things being a Filipino, they’ve performed the blood compat.
- The members agreed to recruit Filipino to become members through “Triangle system”. And
later adopt the system similar to Masonry to speed up the recruitment

THE AIMS AND STRUCTURE OF THE KATIPUNAN

- Andres Bonifacio, who conceived the idea of organizing the society.
- Primary Objective of the Katipunan: Civic, Political, Moral
- The Civic Objectives was based on the principle of self-help and the defense of the weak and
poor.
- The Political Objectives was the separation of the Philippines from Spain, that is, to secure the
independence of the colony.
- The Moral Objective focused on the teaching of good manners, hygiene, and good character.
- They were also urged to help sick comrades and their family. In case of death, the Society paid
the funeral expense.
Hygiene – the principle of maintaining health, especially by cleanliness; sanitary science.

KATIPUNAN GOVERNMENT
- Bonifacio borrowed the structure of La Liga Filipina. In result,
- the Katipunan had three governing bodies:
Supreme Council – Kataastaasang Sanggunian
Provincial Council – Sangguniang Bayan
Popular Council – Sangguniang Balangay

Judicial Council – Sangguniang Hukuman – which passed judgment on members who violated the
rules of the society

Katipunan Assembly – was composed of the members of the Supreme Council and the president of
the Provincial and Popular Council.

Secret Chamber, composed of Bonifacio, Emilio Jacinto, and Pio Valenzuela

The Chamber sentenced members who exposed the secrets of the Katipunan.

Chamber a council or other body that meets for legislative or judicial purposes.

KATIPUNAN ELECTIONS
- Because the Triangle Method was slow and ineffective, everyone was permitted to recruit as
many members as they can.
- The society’s member increased in few months; therefore, they conducted an election.
 FIRST SUPREME COUNCIL
Supremo: Deodato Arellano
Comptroller: Andres Bonifacio
Fiscal: Ladislao Diwa
Secretary: Teodoro Plata
Treasurer: Valentin Diaz
- Few month passed, Bonifacio observed that Arellano was not very active and moved to replace
Arellano

SECOND SUPREME COUNCIL

Supremo: Roman Basa
Fiscal: Andres Bonifacio
Secretary: Jose Turiano Santiago
Treasurer: Vicente Molina

Councilors:
Briccio Brigido Pantas
Restituto Javier
Teodoro Plata
Teodoro Gonzales
Ladislao Diwa
- Early in 1895, Bonifacio was not contented with the performance of Basa as Supremo, had
himself elected to replace Basa.
- He remained the Supremo of the Katipunan until the establishment of a revolutionary
government in Tejeros, Cavite.
KATIPUNAN MEMBERSHIP
- Katipunan Members were divided in three grades:
First Grade: Katipon Password: Anak ng Bayan
Second Grade: Kawal Password: Gom-Bur-Za
Third Grade: BayaniPassword: Rizal
- In order to recognize each other in the streets, each one has to place the palm of his right hand
on his breast,
- and as he passed the other member he would close his hand and bring his index finger and his
thumb together.
-
THE KATIPUNAN’S CODES
- To reduce the danger of discovery Bonifacio invented a system of writing for the Katipuneros.
- Three more Katipunan alphabets were devised by Bonifacio.
- Change in the codes of the Katipunan were necessited by the discovery of the previous code
by the Spaniards and the people considered as enemies by the Katipunan.
THE KATIPUNAN FLAG
- With the help of Bonifacio’s wife, Gregoria de Jesus, a flag was made.
- It consisted of a rectangular piece of red cloth with three letter K’s arranged horizontally in the
middle.
- After the revolution on August 1869, it was changed into a red rectangular piece of cloth with a
sun and eight white rays in the middle.
- Bonifacio had his own personal flag.
- It was consisted of white sun with an indefinite number of white rays, and below the sun were
the three K’s arranged horizontally.
THE TEACHING OF THE KATIPUNAN
- To guide the Katipuneros in leading a highly moral life, Bonifacio prepared the Ten
Commandments,
- Katungkulan Gagawin ng mga Anak ng Bayan (Duties of the Sons of the People)
- While Emilio Jacinto Wrote the Kartilla which consisted of thirteen “Teaching.”
THE WOMEN IN THE KATIPUANAN
- Only the wife, sister, daughter of a Katipunero and few selected women could be eligible for
the membership.

WOMEN SUPREME COUNCIL

President: Josefa Rizal
Vice President: Gregoria de Jesus
Secretary: Marina Dizon
Fiscal: Angelica Lopez Rizal
Katipunera have their duties like
- Helping male members in their work of propagating the ideas and ideals of the Society
- Make the police authorities believe that no Katipunan meeting was being held in a house.
- While Gregoria de Jesus frequently risked her life by keeping Katipunan documents in her
THE KALAYAAN
- Two Visayan patriots, Candido Iban and Francisco del Castillo gave the Katipunan money to
purchase a printing press.
- The templates to be used in printing Katipunan newspaper was purchased by Jacinto.
- Other templates were stolen from a Spanish printing press.
- Ulpiano Fernandez and Faustino Duque, both Katipuneros, managed the press.
- Dr. Pio Valenzuela suggested the name of the newspaper, Kalayaan.
- The Kalayaan contained the articles written by Bonifacio, Jacinto, and Valenzuela.
- To mislead the Spanish authorities, they put Yokohama as the place of publication and
Marcelo H. Del Pilar as the editor.
- Jacinto had wrote “ Manifesto” and Bonifacio composed a poem “Pag-ibig sa Tinubuang Lupa”
(Love of Country)
- Instead Jacinto used Pingkian and Dimas-Ilaw, Bonifacio used Agapito Bagumbayan, and
Valenzuela used Madlang-Away as their pen names.
- After the distributions of the Kalayaan in the different provinces and influenced many Filipinos,
Fernandez and Duque destroyed the Kalayaan to prevent the Spanish authorities from
confiscating it.
TWIN SOULS OF THE KATIPUNAN
- Andres Bonifacio and Emilio Jacinto

ANDRES BONIFACIO
- Born on November 30, 1863
- In a small nipa house in Azcarraga Street
- Father Santiago Bonifacio, Tailor, Boatman, former municipal official
- Mother Catalina de Castro, Spanish-Chinese Filipino worked at Cigarette Factory
- His parent died while he was in his teens. Because of that, he had to support his siblings
- He sold canes, and paper fans
- He worked as a messenger of J.M Fleming and Co.
- An agent of the German trading firm, Fressel and Co.
- He wasn’t able to finish the equivalent grade four of today
- He read newspaper and books written in Spanish at night
 - He read the Spanish version of Rizal’s Noli Me Tangere and El Filibusterismo
- He also read books on the French Revolution of 1789.
- Because of the execution of Rizal, he felt sad and angry causing to fight for justice and liberty
- He called the Spaniards “white cattle”
- Poems, Tapunan ng Lingap and Ang Mga Cazadores, attacked the Spaniards furiously
- Huling Hikbik ng Pilipino, openly called for independence from colonial rule

EMILIO JACINTO
- Born in Tondo, Manila, December 15, 1875
- His father died early which compelled his mother to send him to his uncle’s house for support
- He studied at San Juan de Letran
- He studied law at University of Santo Thomas
- At age of 18 he left his studies and join the Katipunan
- He wrote a Spanish poem, A Mi Patria (To my Country)
- He also wrote Kartilla, Liwanag at Dilim, Pahayag sa Mga Kababayan, and others
- He lead the rebels in Laguna
He died in Mahayhay, Laguna on April 6, 1899