principles and values that should guide

The Kartilya ng every member of the organization.

Katipunan Background of the Kartilya

ng Katipunan
A copy of the Kartilya ng Katipunan. Image
courtesy of malacanang.gov.ph • Bonifacio founded the “Katastaasang
Kagalanggalangang Katipuanan ng
Sometime in 1896, Andres Bonifacio mga Anak ng Bayan” (KKK) on July
(pictured on the right), the father of the 7, 1892 in a house on Azcarraga
Philippine Revolution, and once the Street (now Claro M. Recto), in
President of the Supreme Council of the Tondo Manila.
Katipunan, penned the "Ang Sampung • The Katipunan had colorful
Dekalogo" (Duties of the Sons of the beginnings. As a symbol of the
People), a list of the duties and member’s loyalty, they performed the
responsibilities to be followed strictly by solemn rite of sanduguan (blood
every member of the organization. The compact), wherein each one signed
rules constituted a decalogue and his name with his own blood.
embodied Bonifacio’s passionate • The members agreed to recruit more
beliefs. people using the “triangle system” of
enlistment. Each original member
would recruit two new members who
were not related to each other. Each
new member would do the same
thing, and so on down the line.
Members were also asked to
contribute one real (about 25
centavos) each month in order to
raise funds for the association.
• The Two principal aims of the KKK
as gathered from the writings of
Bonifacio are 1). unity of the Filipino
people, 2). separation from Spain by
On the other means of a bloody revolution.
hand, Emilio Jacinto (pictured in the • To achieve unity of the Filipinos,
bottom) wrote the Kartilya ng propaganda work must be done and
Katipunan which will serve as the Code this was through massive education
of Conduct to be followed by and civic training of the Katipuneros.
all Katipuneros (Katipunan members). To that end, Bonifacio prepared his
In admiration of Emilio Jacinto’s literary now well-known Decalogo, and
style, Bonifacio would later adopt Jacinto's famous “Kartilya ng
Jacinto’s Kartilya as the official Katipunan” (Primer of the Katipunan)
teachings of the Katipunan. Similar to • These are the rules in Kartilya. The
the Decalogue, the Kartilya was written Kartilya can be treated as the
to introduce new recruits to the Katipunan’s Code of conduct which
 contains 14 rules that instruct the 3. Ang tunay na
way a Katipunero should behave.
kabanalan ay
3. It is rational to
ang
The Kartilya ng be charitable
pagkakawang
and love one's
Katipunan gawa, ang
fellow-creature,
pagibig sa
and to adjust
by Emilio Jacinto kapua at ang
one's conduct,
isukat ang
acts and words
bawat kilos,
Mga Aral gawa’t
to what is in
The itself
nang pangungusap sa
reasonable.
Katipuna talagang
Katipuna Katuiran.
n Code of
n ng mga 4. Maitim man at
4. Whether our
Conduct maputi ang
skin be black or
A.N.B. kulay ng balat,
white, we are all
lahat ng tao’y
1. Ang born equal:
1. The life that is magkakapantay;
kabuhayang superiority in
not consecrated mangyayaring
hindi ginugugol knowledge,
to a lofty and ang isa’y higtan
sa isang malaki wealth and
reasonable sa dunong, sa
at banal na beauty are to be
purpose is a tree yaman, sa
kadahilanan ay understood, but
without a shade, ganda…; ngunit
kahoy na not superiority
if not a di mahihigtan sa
walang lilim, by nature.
poisonous pagkatao.
kundi damong
weed. 5. Ang may
makamandag
mataas na
2. Ang gawang kalooban inuuna 5. The
magaling na ang puri sa honorable man
nagbubuhat sa 2. To do good pagpipita sa prefers honor to
pagpipita sa for personal gain sarili; ang may personal gain;
sarili, at hindi sa and not for its hamak na the scoundrel,
talagang nasang own sake is not kalooban inuuna gain to honor.
gumawa ng a virtue. ang pagpipita sa
kagalingan, ay sarili sa puri.
di kabaitan.
6. To the
6. Sa taong may
honorable man,
hiya, salita’y
his word is
panunumpa.
sacred.
7. Huag mong ng iaakay ay
sasayangin ang kasamaan din.
panahun; ang 11. Ang babai
yamang ay huag mong 11. Thou must
nawala’y 7. Do not waste tignang isang not look upon
magyayaring thy time: wealth bagay na woman as a
magbalik; can be libangan mere plaything,
nguni’t recovered but lamang, kundi but as a faithful
panahong not time lost. isang katuang at companion who
nagdaan na’y di karamay sa mga will share with
na muli pang kahirapan nitong thee the
magdadaan. kabuhayan; penalties of life;
Value of time gamitan mo ng her (physical)
8. Defend the buong weakness will
8. Ipagtanggol oppressed and pagpipitagan increase thy
mo ang inaapi, fight the ang kaniyang interest in her
at kabakahin oppressor kahinaan, at and she will
ang umaapi. before the law or alalahanin ang remind thee of
in the field. inang the mother who
9. Ang taong pinagbuhata’t bore thee and
matalino’y ang nagiwi sa iyong reared thee.
9. The prudent kasangulan.
may pagiingat
man is sparing
sa bawat 12. What thou
in words and
sasabihin, at dost not desire
faithful in 12. Ang di mo
matutong done unto thy
keeping secrets. ibig na gawin sa
ipaglihim ang wife, children,
asawa mo, anak
dapat ipaglihim. brothers and
at kapatid, ay
10. Sa daang 10. On the sisters, that do
huag mong
matinik ng thorny path of not unto the
gagawin sa
kabuhayan, life, man is the wife, children,
asawa, anak, at
lalaki ay siyang guide of woman brothers and
kapatid ng iba.
patnugot ng and the children, sisters of thy
asawa’t mga and if the guide neighbor.
anak; kung ang leads to the 13. Ang 13. Man is not
umaakay ay precipice, those kamahalan ng worth more
tungo sa sama, whom he guides tao’y wala sa because he is a
ang will also go pagkahari, wala king, because
patutunguhan there. sa tangus ng his nose is
ilong at puti ng aquiline, and his
mukha, wala sa color white, not liwanag ang diffuse
pagkaparing because he is a nangagkaisang everlasting joy
kahalili ng Dios *priest, a magkalahi’t among the
wala sa mataas servant of God, magkakapatid confederated
na kalagayan sa nor because of ng ligaya ng brethren of the
balat ng lupa; the high walang same rays, the
wagas at tunay prerogative that katapusan, ang lives of those
na mahal na tao, he enjoys upon mga ginugol na who have gone
kahit laking earth, but he is buhay, pagud, at before, the
gubat at walang worth most who mga tiniis na fatigues and the
nababatid kundi is a man of kahirapa’y labis well-paid
ang sariling proven and real nang sufferings will
wika, yaong may value, who does natumbasan. remain. If he
magandang good, keeps his Kung lahat ng who desires to
asal, may isang words, is worthy ito’y mataruk na enter (the
pangungusap, and honest; he ng nagiibig Katipunan) has
may dangal at who does not pumasuk at informed himself
puri; yaong di oppress nor inaakala niyang of all this and
napaaapi’t di consent to being matutupad ang believes he will
nakikiapi; yaong oppressed, he mga tutungkulin, be able to
marunong who loves and maitatala ang perform what
magdamdam at cherishes his kaniyang will be his
marunong fatherland, ninanasa sa duties, he may
lumingap sa though he be kasunod nito. fill out the
bayang born in the application for
tinubuan. wilderness and admission.
know no tongue
but his own.
14. Paglaganap 14. When these
ng mga aral na rules of conduct
ito at shall be known
maningning na to all, the
sumikat ang longed-for sun
araw ng mahal of Liberty shall
na Kalayaan dito rise brilliant over
sa kaabaabang this most
Sangkalupuan, unhappy portion
at sabugan ng of the globe and
matamis niyang its rays shall
 The Katipunan Objectives
Therefore, the KKK members agreed on
the following objectives:

1. The political goal was to completely

separate the Philippines from Spain
by declaring the country’s
independence.
2. The moral goal was to teach the
Filipinos good manners, cleanliness,
hygiene, fine morals, and how to
guard themselves
against religious fanaticism.
3. The civic goal was to encourage
Filipinos to help themselves and to
defend the poor oppressed.

An
excerpt from the Kartilya states that
“The object pursued by this association
is great and precious: to unite in ideas
and purposes all Filipinos by means of a
strong oath and from union derive force
with which to tear the veil that obscures
intelligence and thus find the true path of
reason and light” – The strong oath was
documented and signed with the "blood
of the Katipuneros” (blood
compact). Then, they swore at the
Katipunan Creed.

The Katipunan Creed

"To defend the oppressed, fight the
oppressor even to the extent of supreme
self-sacrifice."
 Independence was prepared, written,
The Proclamation of and read by Ambrosio Rianzares
Bautista in Spanish.
the Philippine • The Declaration was signed by ninety-
eight people, among them an American
Independence army officer who witnessed the
proclamation and attended the
Background Information proceedings, Mr. L. M. Johnson, a
Coronel of Artillery. The proclamation of
• On June 12, 1898, the Philippine Philippine independence was, however,
Independence was proclaimed at Cavite promulgated on 1 August, when many
el Viejo (present-day Kawit, Cavite) by towns had already been organized
Filipino revolutionary forces under under the rules laid down by the
General Emilio Aguinaldo. Being the Dictatorial Government of General
elected president of the controversial Emilio Aguinaldo.
Tejeros Convention, he proclaimed the • The declaration was not recognized by
sovereignty and independence of the the U.S. nor Spain and Spain later
Philippine Islands from the colonial rule ceded the Philippines to the United
of Spain. States in the 1898 Treaty of Paris which
• It was 1896 when the Philippine ended the Spanish-American War. Then
Revolution for independence began. At came the Philippine-American War as
the Pact of Biak-na-Bato, the Spanish the Philippine Revolutionary
colonial government signed an Government did not recognize the treaty
agreement with the Filipino nor American sovereignty, and
revolutionaries. As mandated by the subsequently fought and lost the war
treaty, Emilio Aguinaldo went into exile against the United States.
in Hongkong at the outbreak of the • Emilio Aguinaldo was captured by U.S.
Spanish-American War. forces and issued a statement
• Commodore George Dewey sailed from acknowledging and accepting the
Hong Kong to Manila Bay leading a sovereignty of the United States over
squadron of U.S. Navy ships on May 1, the Philippines. The country became a
1898. The United States defeated the colony of the US following World War II.
Spanish in the Battle of Manila Bay and After the war, the US granted
the U.S. Navy transported Aguinaldo independence to the Philippines on July
back to the Philippines. 4, 1946, via the Treaty of Manila. This
• On June 12, 1898, the Philippine date was then celebrated as
Independence was proclaimed between Independence Day in the country until
four and five in the afternoon in Cavite 1963.
at the ancestral home of General Emilio
Aguinaldo. The event saw the unfurling
of the National Flag of the Philippines,
made in Hong Kong by Marcela
Agoncillo, Lorenza Agoncillo, and
The Act of Declaration of
Delfina Herboza. Philippine Independence
• The performance of the Marcha Filipina
Magdalo happened for the first time as The Act of the Declaration of
the national anthem, now known as Independence was prepared by
Lupang Hinirang, which was composed Ambrosio Rianzares Bautista, who also
by Julián Felipe and played by the San read it. A passage in the Declaration
Francisco de Malabon marching band reminds one of another passage in the
and the Act of the Declaration of
American Declaration of Independence. as well. Artist-writer Alfredo Roces, who
The Philippine Declaration was signed designed the book, contributes an essay
by ninety-eight persons, among them an on Philippine graphic satire of the
American army officer who witnessed period.
the proclamation. The proclamation of
Philippine independence was, however,
promulgated on August 1 when many
President Corazon
towns have already been organized Aquino’s Speech
under the rules laid down by the
Dictatorial Government. Before the U.S.
Congress
Selected Philippine The Scenario
Political Caricatures When former President Corazon Aquino
spoke before a joint session of the
during the American United States Congress in September of
1986, her speech was interrupted by
Era eleven applause and ended with a
standing ovation. It was her first visit to
Background Information America since the dictator Ferdinand
Marcos had been deposed in February
Alfred W. McCoy was a professor of of the same year, and the
history at the University of Wisconsin- Philippines was reckoning with
Madison in the United States. He was everything his administration had
born on the 8th of June 1945 and was inflicted. That included $26 billion in total
educated at Columbia University and foreign debt, and a communist
Yale University. He and other historians insurgency that grew, throughout the
took an interest in the study of politics in Marcos era, from 500 armed guerillas to
the Philippines and represented their 16,000.
interpretation of the situation by using
cartoons. So Aquino lodged an appeal for help.
Addressing the House, she delivered a
historic speech that managed to sway in
Philippine political cartoons gained full our favor the vote for an emergency
expression during the American era. $200-million aid appropriation.
Filipino artists recorded national You can view her speech in its entirety
attitudes toward the coming of the by visiting the link: http://rtvm.gov.ph -
Americans as well as the changing President Corazon Aquino before the
mores and times. While the 377 US Congress
cartoons compiled in this book speak for
themselves, historian Alfred McCoy’s
extensive research in the Philippine and
American archives provides a
comprehensive background not only to
the cartoons but to the turbulent period
The Code of The Code of Kalantiaw
Article I
Kalantiaw
You shall not kill, neither shall you steal,
Background Information neither shall you do harm to the aged,
In the famous epic story lest you incur the danger of death. All
of Maragtas, there was this mythical those who infringe this order shall be
legal code called "The Code of condemned to death by being drowned
Kalantiaw". Datu Kalantiaw is in the river, or in boiling water.
considered by the Visayans as the third Article II
head of Panay. The code was named
after Datu Kalantiaw, who allegedly You shall obey. Let all your debts with
wrote it in 1433. It was written about by the headman be met punctually. He who
Jose E. Marco in 1913 in his historical does not obey shall receive for the first
fiction "Las Antiguas Leyendes de la Isla time one hundred lashes. If the debt is
de Negros" (The Ancient Legends of the large, he shall be condemned to thrust
Island of Negros). He ascribed as its his hand in boiling water thrice. For the
source was to a Spanish priest named second time, he shall be beaten to
Jose Maria Pavon. death.
The historian Josue Soncuya wrote Article III
about the Code of Kalantiaw in 1917 in
his book "Historia Prehispana de Obey you: let no one have women that
Filipinas" (Prehispanic History of the are very young nor more than he can
Philippines) where he transferred the support; nor be given to excessive lust.
location of the origin of the Code from He who does not comply with, obey, and
Negros to Panay because he contended observe this order shall be condemned
that said Code may have been related to to swim for three hours for the first time
the Binirayan festival. and for the second time, to be beaten to
death with sharp thorns.
The story on this Code has been
recognized through the ages by known Article IV
authors. In 1968, however, historian
William Henry Scott asserted in his Observe and obey; let no one disturb
dissertation for a doctorate in history. the quiet of the graves. When passing
Critical Study of the Prehispanic Source by the caves and trees where they are,
Materials for the Study of Philippine give respect to them. He who does not
History that there is no evidence that observe this shall be killed by ants, or
any Filipino ruler by the name of beaten to death with thorns.
Kalantiaw ever existed or that the
Kalantiaw penal code is any older than Article V
1914. You shall obey; he who exchanges for
Although the said code ceases to be food, let it be always done in
part of the texts of Philippine history, accordance with his word. He who does
however, many still believe its validity. not comply, shall be beaten for one
hour, he who repeats the offense shall Article XI
be exposed for one day among ants.
These shall be burned: who by their
Article VI strength or cunning have mocked at and
escaped punishment or who have killed
You shall be obliged to revere sights young boys; or try to steal away the
that are held in respect, such as those of women of the elders.
trees of recognized worth and other
sights. He who fails to comply shall pay Article XII
with one month's work in gold or in
honey. These shall be drowned: all who
interfere with their superiors, or their
Article VII owners or masters; all those who abuse
themselves through their lust; those who
These shall be put to death; he who kills destroy their anitos (idols) by breaking
trees of venerable appearance; who them or throwing them down.
shoot arrows at night at old men and
women; he who enters the houses of the Article XIII
headmen without permission; he who
kills a shark or a streaked cayman. All these shall be exposed to ants for
half a day: who kill black cats during a
Article VIII new moon; or steal anything from the
chiefs or agorangs, however small the
Slavery for a doam (a certain period of object may be.
time) shall be suffered by those who
steal away the women of the headmen; Article XIV
by him who keep ill-tempered dogs that
bite the headmen; by him who burns the These shall be made slave for life: who
fields of another. have beautiful daughters and deny them
to the sons of chiefs, and with bad faith
Article IX hide them away.
All these shall be beaten for two days: Article XV
who sing while traveling by night; kill
the Manaul; tear the documents Concerning beliefs and superstitions;
belonging to the headmen; are malicious these shall be beaten: who eat the
liars; or who mock the dead. diseased flesh of beasts which they hold
in respect, or the herb which they
Article X consider good, who wound or kill the
young of the Manaul, or the white
It is decreed an obligation; that every monkey.
mother teach secretly to her daughters
matters pertaining to lust and prepare Article XVI
them for womanhood; let not men be
cruel nor punish their women when they The fingers shall be cut-off: of all those
catch them in the act of adultery. who break idols of wood and clay in
Whoever shall disobey shall be killed by their alangans and temples; of those
being cut to pieces and thrown to the who destroy the daggers of the of
caymans.
the tagalons, or break the drinking jars Bonifacio founded the “Katastaasang
of the latter. Kagalanggalangang Katipuanan ng mga
Anak ng Bayan” (KKK) on July 7, 1892
Article XVII in a house on Azcarraga street (now
Claro M. Recto), in Tondo Manila.
These shall be killed: who profane sites
The sanduguan (blood compact) may be
where idols are kept, and sites where
interpreted as a sign of Katipunan
are buried the sacred things of
member's loyalty. The Kartilya can be
their diwatas and headmen. He who
treated as the Katipunan’s Code of
performs his necessities in those places
conduct which contains 14 rules that
shall be burned.
instructs the way a Katipunero should
Article XVIII behave.

Those who do not cause these rules to Some of the rules of Kartilya include:
be obeyed: if they are headmen, they #1. The life that is not consecrated to a
shall be put to death by being stoned lofty and reasonable purpose is a tree
and crushed; and if they without a shade, if not a poisonous
are agorangs they shall be placed in weed.
rivers to be eaten by sharks and
caymans. #7. Do not waste thy time: wealth can be
recovered but not time lost.
#14. 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 (the Katipunan) has informed
himself of all this and believes he will be
able to perform what will be his duties,
he may fill out.
On June 12, 1898, The Philippine
Declaration of Independence was
proclaimed in Cavite el Viejo (present-
day Kawit, Cavite) by Filipino
revolutionary forces under General
Emilio Aguinaldo proclaimed the
sovereignty and independence of the
Philippine Islands from the colonial rule
of Spain.
On June 12, 1898, Independence was
proclaimed between four and five in the
afternoon in Cavite at the ancestral
home of General Emilio Aguinaldo. The
event saw the unfurling of the National
Flag of the Philippines, made in Hong
Kong by Marcela Agoncillo, Lorenza
Agoncillo, and Delfina Herboza.
When Emilio Aguinaldo was captured by
U.S. forces and issued a statement
acknowledging and accepting the
sovereignty of the United States over
the Philippines, following World War II,
the US granted independence to the
Philippines on July 4, 1946, via the
Treaty of Manila known as Treaty of
Paris, (1898)
In 1964, President Diosdado Macapagal
signed into law Republic Act No. 4166
designating June 12 as the country's
Independence Day.