THE FOUNDING OF THE KATIPUNAN

Origin of July 7,1892 Foundation Day of the 'Katipunan'

History books dealing with the Philippine Revolution as well as textbooks used in the public and private schools put the founding day of the 'Katipunan' as July 7, 1892.They based their date on Prof. Teodoro A. Agoncillo 's 1956 winning 'opus' "The Revolt of the Masses":" A wave of surprise and shock ran through the people as the news of Jose Rizal's possible fate spread. The Governor General Eulogio Despujol, under the date of July 7,1892,had decreed Rizal's deportation 'to one of the islands in the south"... That night of the seventh ,a handful of men met at No.72 Azcarraga Street,then occupied by Deodato Arellano , brother-in-law of Marcelo H. del Pilar.The secret conclave was attended by Andres Bonifacio, Deodato Arellano, Valentin Diaz, Teodoro Plata, Ladislao Diwa , Jose Dizon and a few others... A program was approved...firstly,the establishment of a secret society to be known as 'kataastaasan Kagalang-galang na Katipunan ng mga Anak ng Bayan (Highest and Most Respectable Society of the Sons of the People)... "(Agoncillo 1956 : 45-46 ).From then on July 7 ,1892 was adopted as the official history books.

Enter the gadfly historian Glenn May

In the midst of the celebration of the centennial of the Philippine Revolution, American historian Glenn May published a scathing critique ( May, 1997 ) on Filipino historians ( like Agoncillo ).he claimed that their works were based on possibly dubious ,doctored documents and unreliable personal testimony .

Pre-Agoncillo Historians on the Foundation Day of the Katipunan

Wencelao E.Retana (1907: 253-256) the Spanish biographer of Rizal ,reprinted the Spanish text of Despujol's decree published in the newspaper 'Gaceta de Manila' on July 7,1892 . Agoncillo echoed Retana's opinion: " Las cosas no pondian quedar como Despujol queria.su decreto clamaba al cielo.Con la ida de Rizal, la ' Liga' quedaba virtualmente deshecha; pero en cambio comenzaba a funcionar el Katipunan; el Katipunan, fundado el siete de Julio a mil ocho cientos noventa y dos , a las pochas horas de haber salido a luz en la Gaceta de Manila el decreto ,tristemente famoso ,condenando el proceder de RIZAL y desponiendo su deportacion. Aquella tarde, la del 7 de Julio , en una posesion de la Calle de Ilaya, reunieronse :Andres Bonifacio , Deodato Arellano ,Valentin Diaz ,Teodoro Plata , Ladislao Diua (sic-Diwa) y Jose Dizon , y fundaron en el acto el 'Kataas-taasan Kagalang- galang Katipunan nang mga Anak Bayan... la "Soberenia y Venerable Asociacion de los Hijos del Pueblo",..." (Retana 1907 :266 ).Agoncillo differed with Retana regarding the place of foundation ,he mentained that it was founded in Azcarraga (now C.M.Recto Avenue) not Ilaya Street.

Efifanio de los Santos ( 1917 /1918 )

ALLEGED ANDRES BONIFACIO SPEECH AT THE FOUNDING OF THE KATIPUNAN

Pascual H.Poblete, in his biography of Dr.Jose Rizal, published a speech allegedly delivered by Andres Bonifacio during the founding of the 'Katipunan' on July 7,1892 when the 'Gaceta de Manila ' published Gov.Gen. Eulogio Despujol's decree banishing Rizal to an island in the south of the Philippines.

The TAGALOG TEXT is as follows:

"Mga capatid:

Tayo'y di mga pantas, caya di mariringal na talumpati at di maririkit na sulat ang ating idaraos; sa gawa natin daanin;ang catubusa'y hindi macucuha sa salita , kinacamtan sa pagsasabog ng dugo!

Talastas ninyo ang calupitang guinawa sa ating capatid na si Dr.Rizal, iya'y maliwanag na halimbawang nagpapakita sa ating di tayo macacaligtas sa caalipnan cung di daraanin sa pakikipagbaca.

Sucat na ang pagcacababa! Sucat na ang pangangatuwiran! nangatwiran si Rizal ay hinuli pagcatapos na mapagusig ang mga magulang,capatid,kamaganacan at cacampi!

Sucat na ! Papagsalitain natin naman ang sandata! Natayo'y papagusigin,mabibilango,ipapatapon,papatayin? Hindi dapat nating ipagcalumo ang lahat ng ito, mabuti pa nang tayo'y mamatay caysa manatili sa pagcacabusabos.

At nang maganap natin ang dakilang cadahilanan ng pagpupulong nating ito'y ating itayo ang isang malakas,matibay at makapangyarihang catipunan ng mga anac ng bayan.

Mabuhay ang Filipinas !!!"

ENGLISH TRANSLATION :

" My brothers:

"We are not that highly educated *, therefore we will not deliver flowery speeches and write artistic prose # ; we will accomplish it through action , (national) salvation can not be attain through word or writing ; it can only be achieved through the shedding of blood !

You have known about the cruelty inflicted to our brother Dr.Jose Rizal, it is a clear example that shows that we can not be redeemed from slavery without resorting to (revolutionary) struggle.##

Enough of humility ! Enough of reasoning ! Rizal argued , but was arrested and then his parents, siblings, relatives and sympathizers were persecuted!

Enough ! Let our weapons do the talking ! That (they) will persecute, imprison , exile (and) execute ( us) ? Let not these things weaken our determination , it is better for us to die than remain in slavery !

In order that we will accomplish the great cause of our meeting, we should establish a powerful, strong and powerful association of the sons ** of the people.

Long live the Philippines !!! "

(Notes:

I combined literal rendering and paraphrasing in my translation. I add words in parenthesis ( )

to convey clearer meaning.

* "pantas"- literal meaning "wise" . experts" ". If I will apply literal Tagalog it would be translated as "We are not wise men" .I paraphrased it to "highly educated". Bonifacio made a striking contrast that separates the founders of the "Katipunan "( who are not "pantas" )with the members of the elitist educated class/ ' ilustrados ' . He used the term "pantas " to described the "ilustrados" or the university educated professional Filipinos based in Europe (particularly Spain) and their counterparts in the Philippines who launched a peaceful campaign for the introduction of liberal reforms to the Philippines. They advocated for "assimilation"-not "separation/independence". Their goal is to make the Philippines a province of Spain ; hence extending Spanish citizenship to the inhabitants of the Philippines,thus making them enjoy the same rights and privileges of the Spaniards in the peninsula.( see John N. Schumacher,"The Propaganda Movement : 1880-1895)

# "maririkit na sulat" literal translation "beautiful /nice writing". Bonifacio alluded to the method used by the "ilustrados"in their PEACEFUL campaign for reforms: publishing an official newspaper (La Solidaridad),pamphlets and books exposing the abuses of the Spanish rule in the Philippines in order that the colonial metropolis Madrid may be persuaded to extend its liberal legislations to the Philippines.

"maririkit na sulat" which I translated as "artistic prose " reminds me of Chairman Mao Zedong's 'dictum ' written on 1927 : "A REVOLUTION is not a dinner party, or WRITING AN ESSAY, or painting a picture,or doing embroidery IT CA NOT BE SO REFINED, so leisurely and gentle,so temperate,kind courteous ,restrained and magnanimous. A revolution is an insurrection , an act of violence by which one class overthrows another." ( from " Quotations from Chairman Mao Tse-tung" pp.11-12. Foreign Language Press. Peking.1966, emphasis mine-D )

** "anac ng bayan" , can be translated as 'sons of the people" ,"sons of the country" equivalent to Spanish "hijo de pais".The tagalog term "anac/anak" is neuter in gender,and can be translated as " sons/daughters of the people.

## "pakikibaka"- fight ,struggle. warfare or revolution.In the context of the speech where Bonifacio mention the "pagsabog ng dugo" (literral Tagalog, "bursting to blood" in clear English "shedding of blood/bloodshed")i n the previous paragraph , Bonifacio is contemplating of a VIOLENT REVOLUTION against the oppressive Spanish rule.

RECOMMENDATION:

Poblete did not mention the source of this speech. Further research should be made regarding its authenticity . The author will welcome constructive criticisms /comments to improve this article.

Source:

."Buhay ay Ginawa ni Dr.Jose Rizal " by Pascual Poblete ... in

Jose Rizal.Info/Biography//u_buhay_at ginawa_rizal htm

Bonifacio's Tondo : The Cradle of the Philippine Revolution

TONDO,the birthplace of Bonifacio is located north of the walled city of Manila (Intramuros).A legal document now known as the Laguna Copperplate Inscription (LCI) ca.900 A.D gives its ancient name TUNDUN .Its name originated from the Sanskrit TUNDA meaning"beak,snout,trunck"
(Patanne. citing Zoelmulder. 1996:118).Postma belived that it "described the configuration of the Pasig River's mouth on the north side which is taken over by a jutting position of the sand that stick out of the bay.." ( ibid.)

When the Spanish conquistadores Martin de Goiti(1570) and Miguel Lopez de Legazpi(1571) reached Manila,they heard about Tondo then ruled by Lakan Dula.The rulers of Manilaand Tondo were Muslims and were related with the Sultan of Borneo(Majul 2009:79) and descendants of the rulers of the Madjapajit Empire.( Alip 1972:72 ; see genealogy in Henson 1965: 204-206)

The extent of Lakandula's Kindom of TUNDOK "included not only the present districts of Tondo,San Nicolas and Binondo ,but also regions to the north probably as far as Pampanga".
( Alip 1972:12 ).In Henson's research (1965: 4th Rev.Ed.:7-10), the original Pampanga comprised Pampanga,Bataan,Nueva Ecija,Tarlac,portions of Bulacan,Pangasinan and Zambales.

Filipinos proved to be not passive subjects of Spain.Sporiadic revolts erupted in various parts of the archipelago from 1571 and culminating in the Bonifacio's Revolution of 1896. While Lakandula
of Tondo stayed neutral and appeared to be friendly with the Spanish rulers, his relatives joined the Macabebes/Pampangan who fought the Spaniards in the battle of Bangkusay on June 3,1571( San Agustin 1698/1998 ' 553-557 ; Joaquin 1990:13-20)

In 1574,Lakandula of Tondo and Rajah Soliman of Manila revolted .It broked out simultaneous with the Chinese pirate Lim-Ah-Hong's attack of Luzon. Spanish writer Grijalva (1624) attributed its cause due to"colonial government's disregard of the rights enjoyed by Rajah Lakandola and Rajah Soliman over their patrimonies".( Zafra 1967:72). This uprising involved natives of Manila,Tondo and Mindoro.( for full account of the revolt see San Agustin 1698 /1998 : 671-677)

In 1587-1588, the so called Tondo Conspiracy,headed by Agustin de Legazpi of Tondo assisted by Martin Panga,chief of Tondo; Jeronimo Basi also of Tondo,Brother of Agustin Legazpi;Magat Salamat,another chief of Tondo,son of the late Rajah Matanda (of Manila--D) :Esteban Tasi ,chief of Bulacan;Felipe Salalila,chief of Maysilo ;Maghicon, chief of Navotas sought "to regain the freedom and lordship which their fathers had enjoyed before them".This plot was denounced to the authorities and the leaders were either executed or exiled in Nueva Espana / Mexico. Wenceslao Retana considered this conspiracy to be an early version of the Katipunan. (Zafra 1967:72)

Andres Bonifacio's Baptisimal Certificate ( 1863)

The baptisimal certificate of Andres Bonifacio was kept in the Tondo Church and can be found in its"libro 20 de bautismos ...folio 69". It was transcribed by historian Manuel Artigas y Cuerva and printed in his book "Galeria de Filipinos Ilustres",page 364:

"En 2 de Deciembre de 1863 anos con mi licencia como Cura Parroco,el P.D Saturnino Buntan clerigo presbitero,bautizo y puso los Santos Oleos,segun rito de de N.M.I a Andres Bonifacio,indio de tres dias de nacido,hijo legitimo de Santiago Bonifacio y de Catalina de Castro,del by.(balangay) de D. Patricio Infante;sacole de pila Vicente Molina, a quien adverti el parentezco espiritual y demas obligaciones, y por verdad lo firmo fecha ut supra-"-FR.GREGORIO PRIETO

In this document,it was stated that Andres Bonifacio , legitimate son of Santiago Bonifacio and Catalina de Castro ,was baptized according to the rite of the Holy Mother Church by Fr.Saturnino Buntan (judging by his name he was a native clergy) on December 2,1863,three days after his ( Andres') birth (November 30,1863).His parents lived in the balangay ( barrio/village) under Don Patricio Infante,the cabeza de barangay (village head).



Vicente Molina stood as his baptisimal sponsor. Molina played an important role in the history of the Katipunan revolutionary secret society founded in July 1892.He occupied a key position in its Supreme Council: Treasurer ,Second Suptreme Council ,1893; Third Supreme Council,1894-1895;Fourth Supreme Council Jan.1896) .see Buehler 1998;194-197. He was arrested and incarcerated because he was denounced by Dr.Pio Valenzuela to the Spanish military court.( Statement of Pio Valenzuela.Oct.21,1896 in 'Minutes of the Katipunan ' pp.168-171)