Katipunan
The Katipunan, officially known as the Kataastaasan Kagalanggalang Katipunan ng mga Anak ng Bayan and abbreviated as the KKK, was a revolutionary organization founded in 1892 by a group of Filipino nationalists Deodato Arellano, Andrés Bonifacio, Valentin Diaz, Ladislao Diwa, José Dizon, and Teodoro Plata. Its primary objective was achieving independence from the Spanish Empire through an armed revolution. It was formed as a secret society before its eventual discovery by Spanish authorities in August 1896. This discovery led to the start of the Philippine Revolution.
Historians generally place the date of its founding in July 1892 shortly after the arrest and deportation of Filipino author and nationalist José Rizal to Dapitan in Mindanao. Rizal was one of the founders of the nascent La Liga Filipina, which aimed for a Filipino representation to the Spanish Parliament. Many members of the Katipunan, including Bonifacio himself, were members of that organization. However, recent discovery of documents of the organization suggest that the Katipunan may have been around by January 1892 but became active by July.
Being originally formed as a secret society, the Katipunan had its members undergo through initiation rites similar to freemasonry. Membership to the organization was initially open only to men; however, women were eventually accepted. The Katipunan had a short-lived publication, Kalayaan, which only saw printing in March 1896. During its existence, revolutionary ideals and works flourished, and Filipino literature was expanded by some of its prominent members.
Existing documents suggest that the Katipunan had planned for an armed revolution since its founding, and initially sought support from Filipino intellectuals. In one such incident, Bonifacio planned a rescue for the deported José Rizal in Dapitan in exchange for his support to the revolution, to which Rizal refused. An attempt to secure firearms from a visiting Japanese warship in May 1896 failed to gain anything. In August of that year, Spanish authorities in Manila discovered the organization. Days after, the Katipunan, led by Bonifacio, openly declared war to the Spanish government, starting a three-year long revolution, which marked the beginning of the creation of the nation of the Philippines.
Etymology
The name "Katipunan" is a short name for "Kataastaasang, Kagalanggalang na Katipunan ng mga Anak ng Bayan". The Tagalog word "katipunan" comes from the root word "tipon", a Tagalog word meaning "gathering" or "to gather".Formation
The Katipunan was formed in 1892 by Filipino nationalists Deodato Arrellano, Teodoro Plata, Valentin Diaz, Ladislao Diwa, Andres Bonifacio, and Jose Dizon. It was one of the two groups that was formed after the dissolution of the nascent La Liga Filipina, a nationalist organization formed by Filipino writer Jose Rizal and members of the Propaganda Movement in Spain, following Rizal's arrest and deportation to Dapitan in Mindanao. Most of the Katipunan's early members were also members of La Liga. However, while La Liga advocated for a Filipino representation in the Spanish Parliament, Katipunan's goal was for the archipelago to achieve independence through an armed revolution. Its founders saw that any move for Filipino autonomy from within Spain would be suppressed by colonial Spanish authorities. The other group, Cuerpo de Compromisarios, argued for a peaceful reformation instead. While fundamentally different in their views, the Katipunan decided to name Rizal as their honorary president. Rizal's status was so prominent within the organization that "Rizal" was one of the passwords of the group alongside "Gomburza", a trio of Filipino priests executed in Bagumbayan in 1872 the wake of the Cavite mutiny.Modern historical consensus generally places Katipunan's formation on the night of July 7, 1892, following Rizal's arrest. It was formed in secrecy on a house in Azcarraga Street in San Nicolas, Manila. However, it may have been formed on paper as early as January of the same year based on recent documents discovered in the 21st century.
The organization was originally formed as a secret society following freemasonic practices such as its initiation rites and its organizational structure. This may have come from the fact that many of its early members were freemasons themselves. While not directly involved in the organization, prominent Filipino freemason Marcelo H. del Pilar may have influenced the group. Del Pilar is also said to have approved the Katipunan statutes. Filipino historian Epifanio de los Santos, in the 1920s, noted, "It is very correctly stated that Andrés Bonifacio ordered Teodoro Plata to draw up the statutes of the Katipunan, and that he did this with the aid of Ladislao Diwa and Valentín Diaz. After the statutes had been discussed, Bonifacio, with the concurrence of Deodato Arellano, submitted them to Marcelo H. del Pilar for approval. Upon the latter's letter approving the statutes, Bonifacio used the same for the purpose of gaining adepts."
Organization
Administration
The Katipunan was governed by the Supreme Council. The first Supreme Council of the Katipunan was formed around August 1892, a month after the founding of the society. The Supreme Council was headed by an elected president, followed by the secretary/secretaries, the treasurer and the fiscal. The Supreme Council also had its councilors ; the number varied through presidencies. To distinguish from presidents of lower sanggunian or councils, the president of the Supreme Council was called the Supreme President.| Office | Name | Term |
| Supreme President | Deodato Arellano | 1892 – February 1893 |
| Supreme President | Roman Basa | February 1893 – January 1895 |
| Supreme President | Andrés Bonifacio | January 1895 – 1896 |
| Comptroller/Intervenor | Andrés Bonifacio | 1892 – August 1893 |
| Fiscal | Ladislao Diwa | 1892 – February 1893 |
| Fiscal | Andrés Bonifacio | February 1893 – 1895 |
| Fiscal | Emilio Jacinto | 1895 |
| Fiscal | Pio Valenzuela | December 1895 |
| Secretary | Teodoro Plata | 1892 – February 1893 |
| Secretary | Jose Turiano Santiago | February 1893 – December 1895 |
| Secretary | Emilio Jacinto | December 1895 – 1896 |
| Secretary of War | Teodoro Plata | 1896 |
| Secretary of Justice | Briccio Pantas | 1896 |
| Secretary of Interior | Aguedo del Rosario | 1896 |
| Secretary of Finance | Enrique Pacheco | 1896 |
| Treasurer | Valentin Diaz | 1892 – February 1893 |
| Treasurer | Vicente Molina | February 1893 – December 1895 |
| Financier | Darilyo Valino | 1892 |
At the outbreak of the 1896 Revolution, the council was further reorganized into a 'cabinet' which the Katipunan regarded as a genuine revolutionary government, de facto and de jure.
In each province where there were Katipunan members, a provincial council called Sangguniang Bayan was established and in each town was an organized popular council called Sangguniang Balangay. Each bayan and balangay had its own set of elected officials: pangulo ; kalihim ; tagausig ; tagaingat-yaman ; pangalawang pangulo ; pangalawang kalihim ; mga kasangguni ; mabalasig ; taliba ; maniningil ; tagapamahala ng basahan ng bayan ; tagapangasiwa ; manunulat ; tagatulong sa pagsulat ; tagalaan and tagalibot. Each balangay was given a chance to expand their own spheres of influence through the [|triangle system] in order to elevate their status to Sangguniang Bayan. Every balangay that did not gain Sangguniang Bayan status was dissolved and annexed by greater provincial or popular councils.
The towns/cities which supported the Katipunan cause were given symbolic names, such as Magdiwang for Noveleta; Magdalo for Kawit; Magwagi for Naic; Magtagumpay for Maragondon; Walangtinag for Indang and Haligue for Imus–all are in the province of Cavite.
Within the society functioned a secret chamber, called Camara Reina, which was presided over by Bonifacio, Jacinto and Pío Valenzuela. This mysterious chamber passed judgment upon those who had betrayed their oath and those accused of certain offenses penalized by Katipunan laws. Every katipunero stood in fearful awe of this chamber. According to José P. Santos, throughout the existence of the secret chamber, about five katipuneros were convicted and sentenced to die by it. The death sentence was handed down in the figure of a cup with a serpent coiled around it.
History of administration
In 1892, after the Katipunan was founded, the members of the Supreme Council consisted of Arellano as president, Bonifacio as comptroller, Diwa as fiscal, Plata as secretary and Díaz as treasurer.In 1893, the Supreme Council comprised Ramón Basa as president, Bonifacio as fiscal, José Turiano Santiago as secretary, Vicente Molina as treasurer and Restituto Javier, Briccio Pantas, Teodoro Gonzales. Gonzales, Plata and Diwa were councilors. It was during Basa's term that the society organized a women's auxiliary section. Two of its initial members were Gregoria de Jesús, whom Bonifacio had just married, and Marina Dizon, daughter of José Dizon. It was also in 1893 when Basa and Diwa organized the provincial council of Cavite, which would later be the most successful council of the society.
The Filipino scholar Maximo Kalaw reports that Basa yielded the presidency to Bonifacio in 1894 because of a dispute over the usefulness of the initiation rites and Bonifacio's handling of the society's funds. Basa contested Bonifacio's practice of lending their funds to needy members, complete with promissory notes. Moreover, Basa refused to induct his son into the organization.
It was also in 1894 when Emilio Jacinto, a nephew of Dizon who was studying law at the University of Santo Tomas, joined the Katipunan. He intellectualized the society's aims and formulated the principles of the society as embodied in its primer, called Kartilla. It was written in Tagalog and all recruits were required to commit it to heart before they were initiated. Jacinto would later be called the Brains of the Katipunan.
At the same time, Jacinto also edited Kalayaan, the society's official organ, but only one edition of the paper was issued; a second was prepared but never printed due to the discovery of the society. Kalayaan was published through the printing press of the Spanish newspaper Diario de Manila. This printing press and its workers would later play an important role in the outbreak of the revolution.
In 1895, José Turiano Santiago, a close personal friend of Bonifacio, was expelled because a coded message from the Katipunan fell into the hands of a Spanish priest teaching at the University of Santo Tomas. Since the priest was a friend of Santiago's sister, he and his half-brother Restituto Javier were suspected of betrayal, but the two would remain loyal to the Katipunan and Santiago would even join the Philippine revolutionary forces in the Philippine–American War. Jacinto replaced Santiago as secretary.
In early 1895, Bonifacio called for a meeting of the society and deposed Basa in an election that installed Bonifacio as president, Jacinto as fiscal, Santiago as secretary, Molina as secretary, Pío Valenzuela and Pantaleon Torres as physicians and Aguedo del Rosario and Doreteo Trinidad as councilors.
On December 31, 1895, another election named Bonifacio as president, Jacinto as fiscal, Santiago as secretary, Molina as secretary, Pío Valenzuela and Pantaleon Torres as physicians and Aguedo del Rosario and Doreteo Trinidad as councilors.
The members of the Supreme Council in 1895 were 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 last 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.