Handout for Readings in Philippine History

I. Title: Chapter II. Lesson 3. Jacinto’s Kartilya and the 1898 Proclamation of the
Philippine Independence
II. Learning Outcomes
At the end of the lesson, the students are expected to;
a. Examine the context and perspective of the Kartilya as a document;
b. Recognize the importance of the Kartilya to the past and today’s society;
and
c. Determine the contribution of the 1898 proclamation of Philippine
independence as a primary source.
III. Introduction
This chapter discusses about the readings of the proclamation of
Philippine independence. Katipunan devised a sophisticated structure and a
well-defined value system to lead the organization as a group working toward
a common objective. The Kartilya ng Katipunan was one of the most
important Katipunan documents. The document's original title was "Manga
Aral Nang Katipunan," and it was penned by Emilio Jacinto in 1896.
The Philippine Declaration of independence was proclaimed on June 12, 1898
in Cavite Il el Viejo (present-day Kawit, Cavite), Philippines. With the public
reading of the Act of the Declaration of independence (Spanish: Acta de la
proclamación de independencia del pueblo Filipino), Filipino revolutionary
forces under General Emilio Aguinaldo proclaimed the sovereignty and
independence of the Philippine Islands from the colonial rule of Spain. The
two documents mentioned above are the two primary sources that will be
contextually analyzed in this lesson.

IV. Content
About the Author of the Kartilya ng Katipunan.
On June 12, 1898, at Cavite Il el Viejo (modern-day Kawit, Cavite), the
Philippines, the Philippine Declaration of independence was signed. Filipino
revolutionary forces led by General Emilio Aguinaldo announced the
Philippines' sovereignty and independence from Spanish colonial authority
with the public reading of the Act of the Declaration of Independence
(Spanish: Acta de la proclamación de independencia del pueblo Filipino).
Emilio was born December 15, 1875 in Trozo, Tondo, Manila, to father
Mariano Jacinto and mother Josefa Dizon. Emilio grew up without his father
since he died when Emilio was just an infant Emilio was raised by his mother
and his uncle Don José Dizon, Emilio's linguistics included Spanish and Tagalog
and though he preferred to speak Spanish he was a prolific writer in Tagalog.
 Emilio attended San Juan de Letran College, and continued his law studies at
the University of Santo Tomas before dropping out at the age of eighteen to
join the Katipunan.
Emilio and his cousin were inducted into the Katipunan in Don
Restituto Javier's house in 1893. Emilio served as the Katipunan's fiscal
adviser and secretary when it was founded and led by Andrés Bonifacio
(Supremo of the Katipunan). He was known as Pingkian in the Katipunan and
was dubbed the "Brains of the Katipunan" because of the numerous
documents he had produced, including the constitution. Emilio produced
poetry, manifestos, laws, and the majority of the newspaper's articles and
editorials under the pen name Dimasilaw for the journal Kalayaan. In 1896, he
published the first version of the Kartilya ng Katipunan, a guidebook to the
Katipunan's laws and ideals. Emilio was also a close friend of Bonifacio's, and
he did everything he could to help him and his Katipunan companions. He
also led a Katipunan mission to a Japanese admiral, where they presented the
Emperor of Japan with a tribute requesting his help in poetic language. He
was the Katipunan Supreme Council's only adviser, subsequently the general
in command of the North's army, and a knowledgeable provider of guns,
ammunition, and even bows and arrows, as well as musical compositions.
Source: (en. wikipedia. org)

Background of the Time

When the Spanish authorities found Katipunan, an anti-colonial
underground society, in August 1896, the Philippine Revolution started. The
Katipunan, headed by Andrés Bonifacio, was a liberationist organization
aiming for armed insurrection to gain independence from Spain, Much of the
Philippines was influenced by the organization. During a mass meeting in
Caloocan, Katipunan leaders formed a revolutionary government, dubbed it
"Haring Bayang Katagalugan," and launched a nationwide armed revolution.
Bonifacio called for an invasion on Manila, the Philippines' capital. Although
the invasion failed, the surrounding regions revolted. Early wins were
achieved by rebels in Cavite commanded by Mariano Alvarez and Emilio
Aguinaldo (from two distinct Katipunan groups). Bonifacio died in 1897 as a
result of a power dispute among the revolutionaries, and authority was
passed to Aguinaldo, who formed his own revolutionary government. That
year, the revolutionaries and the Spanish negotiated the Biak-na-Bato Pact,
which halted hostilities for the time being. Aguinaldo and other Filipino
commanders fled to Hong Kong to live in exile. The fighting, on the other
hand, never entirely stopped.

The Content of the Document

According to Jim Richardson, who studied Katipunan history and

documents, the Kartilya is the best known of all Katipunan texts" and "the
only document of any length set in print by the Katipunan prior to August
1896 that is known to be still extant." The Kartilya was printed as a small
pamphlet and distributed to Katipunan members. Its name comes from the
Spanish cartilla, which was a grade school primer during the Spanish period.
And, like the cartillas, this text functioned as the Katipunan's major source of
instruction. The Kartilya contains not just instructions for the novice
Katipunero, but also the society's governing ideals. Even after the colonists
have been liberated, the members are required to follow these beliefs. The
Kartilya concludes with a member's endorsement of the society's teachings.
The Kartilya was more than simply a Katipunan document. Its current
significance stems from the teachings that represented the moral and
nationalistic values of a country that aspired to freedom. These ideas are still
important today, since every Filipino's cultural and historical values are
challenged by the flood of foreign influences brought on by today's
globalization (http://katipunanil.weebly.com/history-of-katipunan.html).

The Kartilya of the Katipunan

1. A life that is not dedicated to a great and holy grandeur is a shady tree, if
not a deadly plant.
2. Kindness does not exist when good effort is motivated by selfish interests
rather than a genuine desire for greatness.
3. Genuine piety is hard effort and love for one's fellowman, with each deed,
labor, and word being judged by true Reason.
4. All individuals are equal, regardless of skin color; each may be greater in
education, riches, and beauty, but there is no superiority in human dignity.
5. A person with a high inner spirit prioritizes honor, goodness, and virtue
over self-interest; a person with a poor inner spirit prioritizes self-
6. The individual who suffers from shame regards his or her words as
sacrosanct.
7. Do not squander time: money may be lost and regained, but time that has
already passed cannot be retrieved.
8. Fight the oppressor while defending the downtrodden.
9. A wise person is one who is cautious in whatever he or she says and learns
to keep private what should be kept private.
10. Man is the guide of women and children on the rocky path of life; if the
guide leads to evil, the fate of those being led is equally wicked. You must not
see woman as a simple toy, but as a partner and empathetic companion in
life's trials; in your strength, consider her frailty, and recall the mother who
gave birth to and raised thee.
11. Do not do to others' wives, children, or siblings what you would not do to
your own wife, children, or siblings.
12. Value of a person is not in being sovereign, not in an aquiline nose or in a
white face, it is not in the priestly SUBSTITUTE FOR GOD, nor is it in the high
station one has in life. Pure and truly highly esteemed, beloved and noble is
the person even if he or she was raised in the forest and speaks nothing but
his or her own language; who has beautiful behavior, and only one sentence
(which is) honor and virtue; who does not oppress others or allow one's self
to be oppressed; who knows how to be sensitive and knows how to cherish
the land of his birth.

Relevance
Katipuneros' acts were guided by the Kartilya, a moral and intellectual
underpinning. Members of the Katipunan were obliged to study the Kartilya
and follow its code of conduct upon joining. The early Katipuneros
understood that changing people's minds and behaviors was the only way to
genuinely transform the Philippines for the better. Playing as the Katipunan
and indirectly referencing them without properly comprehending their
political and moral background and aims effectively diminishes the scope of
what they were attempting to achieve. Katipuneros' acts were guided by the
Kartilva. A moral and intellectual underpinning members of the Katipunan
were obliged to study the Kartilya and follow its code of conduct upon joining.
The early Katipuneros understood that changing people's minds and
behaviors was the only way to genuinely transform the Philippines for the
better. Playing as the Katipunan and indirectly referencing them without
properly comprehending their political and moral background and aims
effectively diminishes the scope of what they were attempting to achieve.
Comprehending the Kartilya, as the fundamental governing text that
establisnes the Katipunan's standards of behavior, would aid in understa
nding the organization's values, ambitions, aspirations, and even ideology.

Analysis of the "Kartilya ng Katipunan"

Similar to what we have done to the accounts of Pigafetta, this
primary also needs to be analyzed in terms of content and context. As a
document written for a fraternity whose main purpose is to overthrow a
colonial regime, we can explain the content and provisions of the Kartilya as a
reaction and response to certain value systems that they found despicable in
the present state of things that they struggled against with. For example, the
fourth and the thirteenth rules in the Kartilya are an invocation of the
inherent equality between and among men regardless of race, or status. In
the framework of the Spanish colonial past, when the indios were considered
as second-class citizens to white Europeans, the Katipunan saw to it that the
alternative order they sought to establish via their revolution had to remove
this unjust hierarchy. In the framework of the Spanish colonial past, when the
indios were considered as second-class citizens to white Europeans, the
Katipunan saw to it that the alternative order they sought to establish via
their revolution had to remove this unjust hierarchy. Furthermore, the
document's ideas might be compared to the rising rational and liberal ideals
of the seventeenth and nineteenth centuries. Equality, tolerance, freedom,
 and liberty were principles that arose during the eighteenth-century French
Revolution and extended throughout Europe, eventually reaching the
educated classes of the colonies. These principles were clearly understood by
Jacinto, who was an ilustrado himself. Because of these provisions, the
Katipunan might be condemned in today's perspective. However, it is
Important to remember the environment in which the organization was
founded. At the time, neither Europe or the rest of the Western world
acknowledged the problem of gender disparity. The Kartilya was educational
not just in terms of the Katipunan's behavior toward others, but also in terms
of the participants' personal growth. In general, the Kartilya's norms are
divided into two categories: how one should respect one's neighbor and how
one should develop and behave oneself. Both are necessary for the
Katipunan's aims to be realized.

Overall, a careful reading of the Kartilya would provide a more comprehensive

knowledge of the Katipunan and the pivotal role it played in the revolution
and the development of Philippine history as we know it.

The "Proclamation of the 1898 Philippine Independence”

Every year, the country marks the 12th anniversary of Philippine

independence, which was declared in the province of Cavite on June 12, 1898.
Indeed, this event marked a watershed moment in the country's history, since it
heralded the end of 333 years of Spanish colonization. Numerous studies have
been conducted on the events leading up to the country's independence, but
only a few students have had the opportunity to read the proclamation itself.
Despite the document's historical significance and the information, it exposes
about the reasons and circumstances of that momentous day in Cavite, this is the
case. Reading the details of the text in retrospect reveals the type of government
that was established under Aguinaldo, as well as the hand that the United States
of
America would take over the newly formed republic in the future years. The
statement was a brief 2,000-word text that outlined the reasons for the
revolution against Spain, the independence struggle, and the new republic's
destiny under Emilio Aguinaldo.
The declaration began with a description of the Philippines' situation during
the Spanish colonial period. Abuses and inequities in t the colony were
particularly highlighted in the paper. The proclamation then went on to give a
brief history of the Spanish occupation in Visayas from Magellan's arrival until the
Philippine Revolution, with specific details about the latter, especially after the
Biak-na-Bato Pact had collapsed. Rizal's execution is also mentioned in the
document, which is described as unjust.
The proclamation of independence also states that the newly formed country
would be headed by Emilio Aguinaldo's dictatorship. "Before me, Don Ambrosio
 Rianzares Bautista, Auditor of War and Special Commissioner appointed to
proclaim and solemnize this act by the Dictatorial Government of these Philippine
Islands, for the purposes and by virtue of the circular addressed by the Eminent
Dictator of the same on the twelfth day of June eighteen hundred and eighty-
eight, in the town of Cavite Viejo, in this province of Cavite.
Ambrosio Rianzares Bautista planned, wrote, and recited the Spanish version
of the Declaration of Independence. The Declaration of Independence was signed
by 98 individuals, including a United States Army commander who observed the
signing. Ambrosio Rianzares Bautista, also known as Don Bosyong, was a lawyer
and the author of the Philippine Independence Declaration (December 7, 1830 -
December 4, 1903). Durins his school days in Manila, E Bautista, a distant relative
of the Rizal family, frequently offered advice to Philippine national hero José
Rizal.

Relevance of the Documents

As previously said, a re-examination of the declaration of independence text
might reveal certain frequently missed historical realities concerning this pivotal
moment in Philippine history. Apart from that, the text represents the period's
overall revolutionary mood. For example. The injustices expressly addressed in
the declaration, such as friar abuse, racial discrimination. And equality before the
law, reflect the revolutionary leadership's most compelling views. However, no
mention was made of a more significant problem that had a greater impact on
the general public. (i.e..the land and agrarian crisis felt by the numerous Filipino
peasants in the nineteenth century). This is especially paradoxical given that
Teodoro Agoncillo, a prominent Philippine Movement historian, has said that the
Philippine Revolution was an agrarian revolution. The ordinary revolutionary
troops fought in the revolution in the hopes of gaining ownership of the lands
they were tilling after the friar estates in provinces such as Batangas and Laguna
disbanded, if and when the revolution was successful. Such dimensions and
realities of the revolutionary fight were either foreign to middle-class
revolutionary leaders like Emilio Aguinaldo, Ambrosio Rianzares-Bautista, and
Felipe Buencamino, or were purposefully kept since they were landowners.

V. Assessment
2.3.1 Direction: Choose the letter of the correct answer.
1. When was the Philippine Declaration of Independence signed?
a. June 12, 1898 b. June 10, 1989
c. June 2, 1898 d. June 31, 1992
2. He was known as Pingkian in the Katipunan and was dubbed “The Brains of
the Katipunan”.
a. Mariano Alvarez b. Ambrosio Rianzares
 c. Emilio Aguinaldo d. Andres Bonifacio

3. The “Proclamation of the Philippine Independence.

a. 1998 b. 1898
c. 1778 d. 1888
4. According to the Kartilya is “the best known of all Katipuna
texts” and “the only document of any length set in print by the Katipunan prior to August
1896 that is known to be still extant”.
a. Ambrosio Riansarez b. Jose Rizal
c. Emilio Aguinaldo d. Jim Richardson
5. Where was the Philippine Declaration of Independence was signed?
a. Cavite b. Batangas
b. Pampanga d. La Union
2.3.2 Essay type
•What do you think are the important things that to document helped in
understanding about the History of the Philippines?

Criteria:
Content 2
Grammar 2
Neatness 1
Total of 5 points

Prepared By: Submitted To:

Ecaldre, Vanessa G. BSED- ENGLISH II Rosalinda A. Servano
Gagatiga, Charisa Joy Nicole P. BSED-ENGLISH II Subject Teacher
Number of Assigned Report: #3