I.

Andres Bonifacio Andres Bonifacio (1863-1897), a Philippine revolutionary hero, founded the Katipunan, a secret society which spearheaded the uprising against the Spanish and laid the groundwork for the first Philippine Republic. Andres Bonifacio was born in Tondo, Manila, on Nov. 30, 1863. He grew up in the slums and knew from practical experience the actual conditions of the class struggle in his society. Orphaned early, he interrupted his primary schooling in order to earn a living as a craftsman and then as clerk-messenger and agent of foreign commercial firms in Manila. Absorbing the teachings of classic rationalism from the works of Jos Rizal, Victor Hugo's Les Miserables, Eugne Sue's The Wandering Jew, books on the French Revolution, and the lives of the presidents of the United States, Bonifacio acquired an understanding of the dynamics of the socio-historical process. This led him to join the Liga Filipina, which Rizal organized in 1892 for the purpose of uniting and intensifying the nationalist movement for reforms. When the Liga was dissolved upon the arrest and banishment of Rizal, Bonifacio formed the Katipunan in 1892 and thus provided the rallying point for the people's agitation for freedom, independence, and equality. The Katipunan patterned its initiation rites after the Masonry, but its ideological principles derived from the French Revolution and can be judged radical in its materialistic-historical orientation. The Katipunan exalted work as the source of all value. It directed attention to the unjust class structure of the colonial system, the increased exploitation of the indigenous population, and consequently the need to affirm the collective strength of the working masses in order to destroy the iniquitous system. When the society was discovered on Aug. 19, 1896, it had about 10,000 members. On August 23 Bonifacio and his followers assembled at Balintawak and agreed to begin the armed struggle. Two days later the first skirmish took place and a reign of terror by the Spaniards soon followed. Conflict split the rebels into the two groups of Magdiwang and Magdalo in Cavite, on Luzon. Bonifacio was invited to mediate, only to be rebuffed by the clannish middle class of Cavite. Judging Bonifacio's plans as divisive and harmful to unity, Gen. Emilio Aguinaldo, the elected president of the provisional revolutionary government, ordered the arrest, trial, and execution for "treason and sedition" of Bonifacio and his brothers. On May 10, 1897, Bonifacio was executed.

Contrary to the popular view, the cause of Bonifacio's tragic death at the hands of other Filipino rebels cannot be solely attributed to his own personal pride. Rather, the correlation of class forces and the adventurist tendency of Bonifacio's group led to his isolation and subsequently to Aguinaldo's compromises with the American military invaders. Source: http://www.philippinerevolution.net/documents/philippine-society-and-revolution II. Emilio Jacinto Another great Filipino who had very humble beginnings was Emilio Jacinto, the Brains of the Katipunan. He was born in Tondo on December 15, 1875. His parents, Mariano Jacinto and Josefa Dizon, were able to send Emilio to school in the midst of poverty. Emilio finished his college education at the San Juan de Letran College and University of Santo Tomas through diligence, thrift and perseverance. He became the youngest member of the Katipunan when he joined the organization at the age of 18. He became Bonifacios right hand man and adviser. He was called the Brains of Katipunan because he wrote the Kartilla (Primer of the Katipunan) and other articles which guided the actuations of the members of the Katipunan. Aside from the Kartilla, Jacinto wrote Liwanag at Dilim (Light and Darkness), Pahayag (Manifesto), Sa Mga Kababayan Ko (To My Countrymen) and Ang Kasalanan ni Cain (Sin of Cain), under the pen name of Pingkian. Jacinto was assigned to rescue Rizal who was then confined aboard a Spanish warship to Cuba. Jacinto disguised himself as a Chinese coolie and succeeded in boarding On August 30, 1896, the Katipunan launched its first attack on a Spanish garrison at San Juan del Monte. By that time, Rizal had been sentenced to exile in Dapitan and the vessel. Rizal refused to the rescue for reasons that are still the subject of debates. On February 1898, he was wounded in the thigh during a skirmish with the Spanish cazadores (riflemen) in Maimpis, Laguna and was taken to the Catholic Church of Magdalena. He was taken to the Church of Santa Cruz where a Spanish surgeon kindly ministered to his wound. To avoid capture by the Spanish military authorities, Jacinto used a pass that belonged to a Filipino spy named Florentino Reyes who was captured before the battle in Maimpis.

Heeding the urgent appeal of the Katipuneros in Laguna who asked Jacinto to lead them, he established his secret headquarters in the hills of Majayjay where he died on April 16, 1899, at the age of 24. Source: http://ebooks.abc-clio.com/print.aspx?isbn=9781851099757&id=A1730C-4480 III. Deodato Arellano Deodato Arellano, the first Supremo of the Kataastaasan, Kagalanggalangang Katipunan ng mga Anak ng Bayan (KKK), was born on July 26, 1844, to Juan de la Cruz and Mamerta de la Cruz of Bulacan, Bulacan. His parents changed the family surname in compliance with the Claveria Decree of 1849. Don Deodato finished bookkeeping at the Ateneo Municipal. He later worked as an assistant clerk at the arsenal of the artillery corps of the colonial army in Manila. His marriage to Hilaria, sister of Marcelo H. del Pilar, started his close association with Del Pilar and his reformist and, later, revolutionary activities. From July 1882, when Del Pilar founded and published the newspaper Diariong Tagalog until 1896 when Del Pilar died, Don Deodato actively helped his brother-in-law disseminate his writings calling for reforms in the country. When Del Pilar, Mariano Ponce, and others established La Propaganda, Don Deodato immediately joined. When Dr. Jose P. Rizal founded the La Liga Filipina on July 2, 1892, Don Deodato also joined and was elected its secretary. The La Liga was dissolved following Dr. Rizals deportation to Dapitan. Soon after, Don Deodato together with Andres Bonifacio, Ladislao Diwa, Teodoro Plata, and others, founded the Katipunan. He was elected its first Supremo. When the revolution broke out on August 1896, Don Deodato joined General Gregorio H. del Pilars Bulacan Brigade and became its Commissary Officer. He also fought in the frontlines, notably in the battles in Bulacan against the Americans. Hunger, lack of rest, and the many deprivations he bore in fighting for the country led him to contract tuberculosis. He died of this disease on October 7, 1899, in La Trinidad, Benguet. His comrades buried him in the towns cemetery. A true patriot, first Supremo of the KKK, and revolutionary hero, Don Deodato Arellano selflessly served the Motherland. Source: http://www.mb.com.ph/node/85117

IV. Roman Basa Don Roman Basa was born in San Roque, Cavite, on February 28, 1848. Don Roman overcame his poverty and finished his studies under Fr. Pedro Manalak, chaplain of the Spanish garrison in Cavite. He became an employee at the headquarters of the colonial navy in Cavite. Then, on November 9, 1892, he joined the Katipunan and took the name "Liwanag" (Light). On February, 1893, the Katipunan Supreme Council was reorganized and Don Roman Basa was elected Supremo of the Katipunan. It was during his term as Supremo that the Katipunan underwent radical changes. He initiated the establishment of a womens section of the Katipunan. Gregorio de Jesus, Marina Dizon, Josefa Rizal, and Angelica Lopez were the first members. The womens section performed many valuable roles. They camouflaged Katipunan meetings by pretending to hold a social gathering. They served as couriers of sensitive Katipunan documents. It was also during Don Roman Basas term that the Katipunan newspaper, Kalayaa n, was established. Under the directorship of Emilio Jacinto, the Kalayaan spread the ideals of the Katipunan. On the eve of the revolution, the Katipunan had grown to some 30,000 members. The colonial authorities learned of the existence of the Katipunan on August 19, 1896, when Teodoro Patino revealed it to Fr. Mariano Gil, curate of Tondo. The discovery led to mass arrests, deportations and the execution of many Filipinos. Don Roman Basa was incarcerated and tortured at Fort Santiago. Summary trials were held by the colonial authorities. Don Roman Basa was shot at Bagumbayan (now Rizal Park) in September, 1896. Don Roman Basa made the ultimate sacrifice for the country. He is one of the unsung heroes of the 1896 Philippine Revolution. Source: http://www.mb.com.ph/node/9002 V. Ladislao Diwa Ladislao Diwa was the third and last politico-military government of Cavite during the Philippine Revolution. A historical document dated October 7, 1898, mentions Diwa as Included in the list of provincial chiefs of provinces subject to the revolutionary government. At that time the Malolos Congree was still in session. Diwa ceased to be politico-military governor of Cavite when the Philippine-American War broke out on

February 4, 1899. He joined General Mariano Trias, commander-in-chief of all revolutionary forces in Southern Luzon. Trias and Diwa surrendered to the Americans on May 13, 1901, in San Francisco de Malabon. It is not true, as stated in some historical accounts, that Diwa was the first civil governor of Cavite. Shortly after, their surrender, Trias wa s appointed civil governor of Cavite, while Diwa was designated clerk of court in Cavite, a position which he held continuously until his death on March 12, 1930. It was Diwa who first conceived the idea of establishing a secret society patterned after the patriotic Black Capes of Italy. The society, according to Diwa, was to apprise the Filipinos of their deplorable conditions, and rally them in order to obtain reforms. He broached the idea to Andres Bonifacio and Teodoro Plata, his brother-inlaw. Reacting to some insulting remarks made by Spanish priest against Filipino women, Diwa, Bonifacio, and Plata decided to set up a secret society, with the three of them forming the first triumvirate. This was in contrast to the Liga Filipina formed by Rizal, a reformist but open society. But following the arrest of Rizal by the Spanish authorities, Bonifacio, the most aggressive of the trio, saw the futility of achieving reforms by peaceful means. It was he who initiated the organization of the secret revolutionary society, the Katipunan, on July 17, 1892, the day the Spanish government announced the plan to deport Rizal to Dapitan. In the election of the Most Supreme Council of the Katipunan, Diwa was elected fiscal, a position next to that of Bonifacio who was elected interventor or comptroller. Bonifacio became Katipunan Supremo in 1895, one year before the outbreak of the Revolution. The third of 10 children of Mariano Diwa and Cecilia Nocom, Ladislao was born on June 27, 1863 in San Roque, a municipality of Cavite. A priest, Fr. Perfecto Maalac, recommended him for admission in the San Juan de Letran College in Manila where he obtained a Bachelor of Arts degree. Abandoning the study of theology, he transferred to the University of Sto. Tomas to take up law. Diwa came to board in the house of Andres Bonifacio in Tondo. However, he did not finish the law course because of the outbreak of the Revolution. He was working as clerk of court in Pampanga when arrested by the authorities for engaging in propaganda work for the Katipunan. Released from Fort Santiago in June 1897, Diwa joined the revolutionary forces of General Trias. He was promoted to the rank of colonel after securing the surrender of the Spaniards in San Francisco de Malabon in 1898. His military experience served him

in good stead when he was appointed politico-military governor of Cavite, succeeding General Emiliano Riego de Dios. Source: http://www.cavite.gov.ph/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=123&Itemid= 99