Foundational documents

“Kasaysayan; Pinag-kasundoan; Manga dakuilang kautusan,” August 1892

Source: Archivo General Militar de Madrid: Caja 5677, leg.1.34.

Written in August 1892, this founding document is based in part on the

version drafted seven months previously, in January. Like the earlier version,
the document is divided into three sections, now headed “Kasaysayan”
(Narrative); “Pinag-kasundoan” (Covenant); and “Manga dakuilang kautusan”
(Principal orders). It is written in a new orthography – notably with “k”
replacing “c” – and in a simple form of code known technically as a
“monoalphabetic substitution cipher”.   The Katipunan’s ringing proclamation
of independence, for example, is encrypted as follows:-

“Ysñllzszyszy vzg bxfzt sz zrzc llz ñtc llz zllg vzllgz Kzpxjczllg ñtc zy
fxvllfllwzjzy sz Qspzllñz zt wzlzllg kñllñkñjzjz zt kñkñjzlljñllg Pzvxvxllc kxllg
dñ ñtcllg Kztzzstzzszllg Kztñpxllzll.”

Deciphered, this becomes:-

“Ysinasaysay mag buhat sa arao na ito na ang manga Kapuloang ito

ay humihiwalay sa Espania at walang kinikilala at kikilanling Pamumuno
kung di itong Kataastaasang Katipunan.” [“Be it declared that from this day
forward this Archipelago is separated from Spain, and that no leadership is
recognized or will be recognized other than this Supreme Katipunan.”]

This proclamation is worded in practically the same terms as in the

January 1892 document, and so too is the affirmation that Katipunan “is
constituted forthwith, and will exercise power throughout the archipelago” – a
reiteration which tends to confirm that the organization, though conceived in
January (or maybe even earlier), had since remained in gestation, or dormant.

Several other paragraphs are likewise retained more or less unchanged

from the January 1892 document, but the bulk of the text is new. The lengthy
statement of grievances against Spain with which the January document
opened (“Casaysayan”) has been discarded in favor of a shorter, less specific
declaration of patriotic outrage and intent. Special mention is made of four
“beloved brothers,” already heroes of the nation about-to-be-born, the priests
Mariano Gomez, José Burgos and Jacinto Zamora, who had been executed in
1872, and José Rizal, recently consigned to exile in Mindanao. The second
section of the document (“Pinag-kasundoan”) has also been abbreviated, but
retains from the earlier version the solemn pledge to the sacred cause of
liberty, and the entreaties for strength and succor to both the Almighty and
true reason. The final and lengthiest section (“Manga dakuilang kautusan”)
details the organization’s structure and the responsibilities of office-holders
and members.

Nomenclature

1
In the January 1892 document the organization had been called the
“cagalang galang na Cataastaasang Catipunan” in one instance, but otherwise
just the “Cataastaasang Catipunan.” This August 1892 document sticks to
“Kataastaasang Katipunan” and does not employ the adjective “kagalang-
galang” at all.

The titles of leadership positions within the organization have also yet
to be finalized, with terms such as “Ulo” (Head) and “Puno” (Chief) being
employed rather than “Pangulo” (President), which later became the norm.
The overall leader, similarly, is called the “Punong Ubod” (Central Chief) or
“Punong dakila” (Paramount Chief), not yet the “Kataastaasang Pangulo”
(Supreme President). Somewhat surprisingly, the document calls the country
“Pilipinas,” a name the January 1892 version had avoided, and indeed had
said would in time be altered to “a proper name.”1 The person of the Central
Chief, the statutes say, is to be treated with great respect, and he will be given
the title “H. N. B. P.” Could this mean “Hari ng Bayang Pilipinas” (“King [or
Ruler] of the Philippine Nation”)? In any event, neither this abbreviation nor
the term “Punong Ubod” figure in any other Katipunan documents yet located.

The constitutional provisions of the founding documents drafted in

January and August 1892, it therefore seems, can barely have been translated
into any kind of reality before they were discarded and superseded. The
documents are fascinating insofar as they reveal the founders’ motivations
and ambitions, but the sections on organization are not necessarily indicative
of the Katipunan’s actual structure in its early days.

The founding of the Katipunan

The Katipunan thus came to life as it was to continue, in a state of

constant flux. Its foundation was not a single event but a sequence of events,
a process that may tentatively be summarized as follows:-

In January 1892 the founding document “Casaysayan;
Pinagcasundoan; Manga daquilang cautosan” was drafted.

Six months later, by most accounts on July 7, 1892 when the
Gaceta de Manila announced that Rizal was to be deported from
Manila to the south, Bonifacio, Plata, Diwa and others decided the time
had come to proceed.

In August the revised founding document transcribed below –
“Kasaysayan; Pinag-kasundoan; Manga dakuilang kautusan” - was
produced, identical to the January 1892 document in some places but
substantially different in others – for example in specifying the triangle
pattern of organization. Veterans later recalled that the recruitment of
members through the formation of triangles began at around this time
– a month or so after the July foundation date.2 The August 1892
document specifies that the Katipunan shall be directed by a “Central
Chief” and six Councilors (Kasanguni) who shall together comprise the

2
“great Council” (dakilang Sangunian). However, the term “Supreme
Council” (Kataastaasang Sangunian) is not used.3

The first Supreme Council (with Deodato Arellano as president),
surviving founders later recalled, was constituted in the latter half of
1892 – one said in August, another in October – so it would seem that
the structure specified in the “Manga dakuilang kautusan” section of
this document was operative, if at all, for only a matter of months at
most.4

Within another few weeks or months – in December 1892,
according to one account - the triangle pattern of organization had been
discarded as unworkable.5

This sequence of events means that in the course of 1892 there must
have been a succession of meetings about forming and building the
Katipunan, meetings held at different locations and attended by an evolving,
shifting set of activists. And this, in turn, may partly explain why the
literature on the organization’s foundation is so beset with discrepancies. It
conceivably might explain, for example, the confusion over exactly where the
Katipunan was founded. Two of the founding members, Ladislao Diwa and
Teodoro Gonzales, recalled the address as being 734 Elcano, an accesoria
known as Dalmacio’s near the corner with Azcarraga.6 This testimony was
accepted by Gregorio Zaide when he wrote the first substantial English-
language study on the Katipunan, but not by Teodoro Agoncillo, who wrote
the second. Agoncillo says “the majority of Katipuneros” believed the historic
location to have been 72 Azcarraga, which in 1892 was reportedly an
accesoria occupied by Deodato Arellano.7 But it is entirely within the bounds
of possibility, of course, that the veterans were recalling different meetings.

Testimony as to the identity of the founders is also contradictory, and

in some instances there might be a similar explanation. There is an oft-
reproduced diagram, for instance, based on Ladislao Diwa’s recollections, that
depicts the four initial “triangles” of the Katipunan, purportedly as created at
the foundational meeting on July 7, 1892. Bonifacio forms the first triangle
with Ladislao Diwa and Teodoro Plata, and then a second triangle with Ciriaco
Bonifacio and Restituto Javier. Diwa forms the third triangle with Teodoro
Gonzales and Roman Basa, and Plata forms the fourth with Briccio Pantas and
Valentin Diaz.8 This diagram, though, is highly problematic. If we accept the
majority view that the Katipunan was founded in the accesoria of Deodato
Arellano, why does he not figure in any of the triangles? Why, conversely, are
Briccio Pantas and Román Basa included in the initial triangles when they are
not usually included among those present at the foundation meeting? 9 The
explanation might well be that with the passage of decades two events had
become one in Ladislao Diwa’s memory, and the first “triangles,” as indicated
earlier, had not been formed until a month or so after July 7.

Authorship

3
We do not know who wrote the founding documents. Ladislao Diwa
said the structure of interlocking triangles had been his idea, modeled, he
said, on an Italian secret society.10 This snippet aside, such limited testimony
as exists is again contradictory and dubious. Following the discovery of the
Katipunan in 1896, the Spanish authorities claimed the statutes had been sent
from Madrid by the renowned propagandista Marcelo H. del Pilar, who
Governor General Ramón Blanco regarded as the true instigator of the
separatist movement.11 Olegario Diaz, commander of the Guardia Civil
Veterana in Manila, stated in his official report on the insurrection that Del
Pilar had written a sketch of the Katipunan’s by-laws (“un proyecto de
reglamento”) and had prescribed the organization’s structure in minute detail
(“minuciosas instrucciones de organización”).12 The only written evidence to
support these assertions seems to have been a letter Del Pilar sent to the
Modestia masonic lodge in Manila in 1894, in which he made reference to a
“new organization” for which he had prepared a “plan of documentation”. 13
Almost certainly Del Pilar was referring here to a masonic organization rather
than the Katipunan, but many Spaniards neglected to draw such a distinction,
believing the Katipunan to be part of a larger masonic conspiracy.

Spanish interrogators pursued this line when they grilled known and
suspected filibusteros in the weeks following the August 1896 outbreak. When
they interrogated José Dizon, for example, they asked him to describe how the
Katipunan had been founded, and he replied without making any mention of
Del Pilar or instructions from abroad. But the next day, seemingly out of the
blue, he was asked “Who was it who brought instructions from Spain for the
establishment of the Katipunan in Manila?” “Moises Salvador,” replied Dizon:

“he brought them from Madrid, from Marcelo H. del Pilar, and
delivered them to Deodato Arellano [who was Del Pilar’s brother-in-
law] and Andres Bonifacio, but Deodato Arellano also received
instructions from Marcelo H. del Pilar…. Deodato Arellano showed me
some letters he received direct from Del Pilar referring to the
organization of the Katipunan, and in one of them he asked whether
Moises Salvador had done what he was commissioned to do. Salvador
replied that he had. Moreover, Deodato Arellano and Andres Bonifacio
told me of Moises Salvador’s mission.”14

Dizon’s response, of course, may well have been extracted under

torture, and he may well have told his interrogators whatever he felt they
wanted to hear. But some Katipunan veterans told similar stories after the
revolution, when they could speak freely. Aguedo del Rosario, for instance, a
former member of the Supreme Council, wrote in 1908 that the Katipunan
had been founded “at the initiative of the lawyer, Marcelo H. del Pilar,” 15 and
presumably it can only have been the recollections of ex-Katipuneros that led
the historian Epifanio de los Santos to accept it was:

“very correctly stated that Andres Bonifacio ordered Teodoro Plata to

draw up the statutes of the Katipunan, and that he did this with the aid
of Ladislao Diwa and Valentin Diaz. After the statutes had been
discussed, Andres Bonifacio, with the concurrence of Deodato Arellano,

4
submitted them to [Marcelo H.] del Pilar for approval. Upon the
latter’s letter approving the statutes, Andres Bonifacio used the same
for the purpose of gaining adepts. From all this we may deduce that if
Del Pilar was not the initiator of the Katipunan, he was at least its
inspirer.”16

Later historians of the Katipunan such as Zaide and Agoncillo kept

prudently silent about this story, doubtless wary that De los Santos did not
cite his sources. Whether true or false, however, the story was not a figment of
De los Santos’s imagination. Bonifacio, it is clear, revered Del Pilar just as he
revered Rizal; he kept the Katipunan away from the division in Manila’s
masonic and patriotic circles between “Pilaristas” and “Rizalistas.” He
transcribed some of Del Pilar’s letters, as he transcribed some of Rizal’s, into
the Katipunan code, and cherished them, in De los Santos’s words, “like
relics.”17 And when Bonifacio, Pio Valenzuela and Emilio Jacinto put together
the KKK newspaper Kalayaan in early 1896, they decided to pretend that Del
Pilar was its editor and that the lead editorial was his message of greeting and
solidarity to his compatriots, sent from afar.18 The stories that Del Pilar had
written or endorsed the Katipunan’s founding documents in 1892, therefore,
were possibly concocted and circulated with the same motive, to give the
organization Del Pilar’s prestigious imprimatur.

›››››››››››››››››››››

Tagalog text (deciphered)

Kasaysayan

May isang bayang pinag haharian nang sama at lupit; ang manga
kautusan ay ualang halaga at nananaig ang balang malakas. Gayon man
ang bayan ito gumugugol ng dugo at buhay sa kapurihan at kailangan ng
sa kaniyay ang hahari, maguing dapat lamang tawaguing kapatid o anak.
Ang kaniang yaman bohay at puai ay ipinaiiyan, upang itangkakal sa may
nasang sukab. Tatlong siglo nang mahiguit na nagtitiis ng hirap at pagod
alipusta ay di ipinagmamasakit bagkus ipinauubaya.

Ang bayang ito, ay, ang atin; ito ang napakabalita sa pagka
duahagui; bayang lubos na mapag tiis, hangang sa maalipin; ¡oh Pilipinas !
¡sa aba mo ! ¡oh bayan naming tinoboan ! tangi kang lubos sa ibang
kapamayanan; kung sa kaniyay natampok ang bayang anak na nagpuri o
maghangad ng bayang ikakagaling o ikaguiguinhawa, sa iyo ay hindi
gayon, inuusig at pinaruausahan ng parusang kalaitlait at lihis sa katuiran;
ang paisaisa mong anak na sumisita sa iyo, ito rin at kinukutia sa sariling
buhay ang ibang hindi makaimik at inilalathala ang puri na kusang
guinagahis.

Dakila at ganap na pori ang nababagay sa tawong may pusong

umiaog at mag masakit sa sariling bayan, sa pagkat linilisan nito ang
magulang, kapatid o kaya asawa, anak at kaibigan: hinahamak ang
sariling layon at kayamanan, inaalintana ang hirap na sasapitin, makapag

5
handog lamang ng isang balak, isang inisip sa ikagagaling ng kaniyang
tinubuang lupa.

Kaya sa manga iniirog kong kapatid na si Gomez, Burgos at

Zamora na nangalait sa pag sintang lubos sa ating bayang Pilipinas at
sa manga ngayoy nawawakawak, nag durusa at nanga matay ang iba sa
deportasion, inihahandog ang aming puso at buhay sa pag damay sa ilalim
nang isang mahigpit at dakilang Katipunang itatatag ngayon sa pag
pipigitang maagao sa kukong masakim nang manga Kastila itong ating
bayan at matimawa sa hirap gaya nang kanilang nais napinag karamayan
nang kanilang sariling bayan.

Huag na tayong maniwala sa tibong tayoy inaakay at tinaturuan;

ang silbing salamin sa atin ang pagkapanganyaya nang ating matapang at
mairuguing kapatid na si Guinoong Rizal na may malaking nasang
guminhawa at matuto ang bayan, ngayon ay itinapon nang manga sukab.

Yamang ang unang mahalaga at pinuputungan nang masaganang

karangalan, at kapurihan sa alin mang maningning na kaharian ay ang
katungkulan na mag tangol sa kaniyang bayan, mag paka hirap sa
ikaguiguinhawa nito, gugulin ang yaman dugo sampong buhay sa
ikararangal ng kaniyang bayan, manga kapatid at anak upang huag,
lupiguin, at apihin nang ibang kaharian.

Yamang hindi ipinag uutos nang Maykapal, na ang isa niyang

linalang ay lumupig at yumurak sa kapoa.

Yamang hindi gawang kalilohan ang mag tangol, at pag ibig sa

kaniyang bayan, lalo na kung iniinis at inaalipin nang namumuno sa
kaniya, gaya ng mga kasulukuyang nangyayare.

Yamang ang isang bayan, kapag pinag pupunuan nang lupit at laban
sa kaniyang manga intereses kailangan, manga tunay at tapat na hangad,
ay mayroong katoirang ihapay ang namumuno o nag hahare na may
ganoong asal, at kung dumating sa ganitong hanga ay hindi pag laban o
kaliluhan kung di pag tatangol sa matapat na katoiran at pag bangon sa
ningas nang hirap na pinag susukbahan sa kaniya.

Yamang hindi natatala sa alin mang Leyes o katoiran ang pag

kamkam sa ano mang pamaan nang hindi niya pag aare, ay kaming may
are na tunay sa lupang ito, may katoirang humingi na isauli sa aming ang
boong kapangyarihan sa manga Kapuloang ito, bukod pa sa kami ay hindi
nag kakailangan na pang-himasukan at pamunuan nang taga ibang lupa
kun ang guinagawa, gaya ngayon, pauang pag inis, pag lait, pag api at pag
patay.

Pinag-kasundoan

6
Alinsunod sa lahat nang manga gauang kapusungan na nanga
sasaysayan sa una, sa pagdaramdam nang matinding sugat na sa puso
namin ay binuksan nang manga gawang yaon nang Kastila at kung
noynoin ang manga katoirang nanga tatala sa itaas. Kaming nag tibay
(firmantes) sa ibaba nitong kasulatan ay nagka isang loob at panukala na
bunutin sa kaalipinan, kadustaan, kaapihan at iba pang maraming
kasukaban na tinitiis nitong sang Kapuloan na kinamkam at linupig nang
walang awa ng manga matakao at dayukdok na kaniya, na ang papangap
Halimao.

Upanding kamtan namin ang mabuting hanga nang panukalang ito

na lubhang mabigat, at malake sa taglay naming lakas, aming isinasakdal
sa mataas na Hukuman nang Dios na Maykapal at kami humihinging
tulungan nang kaniyang dakilang lakas at kapangyarihan, tuloy kami ay
sumusukob at napasasaklolo sa matapat na katoiran.

Sa pag ganap nang aming manga ipinangusap at pinagkasundan ay

nanunumpa kami sa ngalan nang Dios sa harap nitong Kataastaasang
Katipunan at sa aming kamahalan, na ipag tatangol nitong aming bayan,
pag pipilitan ano man ang karatnan na siya ay magsarile at mapahiwalay
sa Espanya.

Sa pag ganap nang ganitong manga banal na hangad ay isinasagot

namin ang aming katawan, buhay at manga kayamanang hinahawakan at
hahawakan pa.

Sumusumpa din naman kami na aming gaganapin at ipagaganap

ang manga kautusang dakila na inilagda at pinagkaisahan namin at nang
iba pang manga Guinoo na nag kakapisan sa Katipunang ito, na aming
iguinagalang at ipinagdidiwang. Ang manga kautusang yaon ay kalakip sa
huli nito.

Tondo ika...................... nang Agosto taong isang libo

walong daan at siyam na puo at dalawa.

Manga dakuilang kautusan

Alinsunod sa nangungunang kasaysayan at pinagkasundoan, ay sa

boong nasasakop at masasakop nitong sang Kapuluang Pilipinas
ipinaguutos namin na ganapin at ipaganap ang manga sumusunod na
kautusan.

1.o
Ysinasaysay mag buhat sa arao na ito na ang manga Kapuloang ito
ay humihiwalay sa Espania at walang kinikilala at kikilanling Pamumuno
kung di itong Kataastaasang Katipunan.

7
2.o
Ang Kataastaasang Katipunan ay natatayo mag buhat ngayon at
siya ang maghahawak at pag bubuhatan nang manga dakilang kautusan at
kapangyarihan dito sa boong Kapuluan.

3.o
Ang Katxxx ay may isang Punong dakila na kikilalanin, igagalang at
susundin ng lahat na maguing kabig at tawong sasanib dito o sa manga
Katipunang itatatag sa iba at ibang bayan at probinsia nitong Sang
Kapuluan.

4.o
Ang Puno ay may dalawang pangatlo sa kaniyang pamamahala, na
tatawaguing Tagasanguni at ang mapagkaisahan nila ay sapilitang
susundin at tutuparin ng walang tutol nang lahat na pinamumunuan.

5.o
Bawa’t isa nitong Tagasanguni ay may tigalawa namang katatlo na
dito bubunot ng isang na Kalihim ang Puno, isang Tagaligpit ng ambag ng
iipunin sa isang Banko, isang Tagatupad ng balak tungkol sa pag gugol
nang puhunan o salaping ng ligpit at Tagausig laban sa balang may sala o
naguing masuwain sa kautusan dito sa Katipunan.

6.o
Ang balang isa naman sa Kalihim at iba pa ay mag kakaroroon ng
kanikanilang sariling katatlo na sapilitang ang paghanap sapagkat dito
tumutungtong ang karangalan nang nakikisanib, sampo ng ilalaki at
ilalaganap nitong Katipunan hangang sa masapit ang manga layong
sinambit na sa itaas.

7.o
Ang lahat ng tawo sa Katipunan ay may katungkulang mahigpit na
umambag nang manalape ang balang Ulo, Tagasanguni at manga
Katulong; tigatlong bahagui ang manga Pinulo; mangahati ang manga
alagad at tig lalabing anim sa kualta ang manga kabig ayon sa tadhana sa
kalakip na tabla sa huli.
8.o
Ang bawat Katipunan nang tatlo ay siyang magsasangunian lamang
ng mga bagay na minamagaling sa ipag titibay ng pagkakaisa o sa pag
tatangol sa sakuna nang kapatid, maguing sa ikagagaling ng pamumuno at
sa isang mabuting aasalin ng lahat gayon din sa pag papasabog ng balita o

8
pag papasapit sa Puno ng ano mang bagay na napapansin nila sa kaaway o
sa pag papasok ng kanikanilang ambagan at pag papatalastas ng
naguiguing kautusang bago.

9o
Baga man sa nabibilin sa ikatlong atas ay makapipili sa ibang
kapanig ng ibig at inaakalang may sapat na kaya sa manga katungkulang
ilinalaan at hindi maguiguing sanhi sa lakad na kalihimang dapat
alinsunurin dito sa Katipunan.

10.o
Ang Katipunan sa bawat bayan at probinsia ay kahuad din nang sa
Maynila at manga bayang karatig datapuat ang kaibhan ay nasasakop ang
sa bayanbayang kalipunan ng Puno ng nasasa kanikanilang probinsia at
ang na sa probinsia ay nasasakop ng ubod sa nasasa Maynila.

11.
Ang papasok dito sa dakilang Katipunan kaylanan, na tawong kilala,
na may tunay na loob at pusong matigas sa pag tatangol ng bayan natin,
ayon sa manga pag subok na gagawin ng sa kaniya’y humihikayat kung
may karapatang tangapin ipag bibigay alam sa Katipunan ng kakatlo nito,
upang magbigay utos ang pinaka Ulo sa binyagan nang bagon pangalan,
at, papanumpain sa harap ng Dios, sa ngalan nitong Pilipinas na idadamay
ang buhay sa pag tatagol ng bayan at mag pirma sa kapangakoang
tinutungkol.

12.
Pag pilitan ng mga kabig na mamanaag sa kanilang kabaitan at
ningning nang asal nang lahat ng namumuno sa kanila, maguing sa
pakikisama, pakikikaibigan, pakikikapatid at pag mamagulang, gayon din
sa pag kakaawang gawa sa kangino man.

13.
Ang manga katungkulan sa Katipunan ay hahalinhan sa bawat
dalawang taon, liban ang pinag uusig. Sa pagkawalay nang alin mang Ulo
o alin man sa manga Katulong ay makatatayo ang alin man sa dalawang
katatlo niya.

14.
Gamitin ang boong panahon sa layon nitong Katipunan; at isang
kalupitang kikilalanin ang pag kabalam nang pagkaligtas nitong Pilipinas
sa pag hahawak ng manga sukab.

Katungkulan ng Ulo

15.
Uriing mabuti ang mga utos at balak sa ikagagaling ng Katipunan at
ikawiwili ng boong nasasakupan ng tapat na pag sunod.

9
16.
Ang mga utos at balak ay walang halaga kun di may pasia ang
dalawang Kasanguni. Pananagutan ng Kalihim kung mangyari ang
gayong pagsasarili.

17.
Sa biglang kailangan, may kapangyarihan ang Ulong mag utos ng
minamarapat kahit walang Kasanguni o Kalihim, datapua’t pananagutan
ang lahat ng guinawa at nangyari.

18.
Sa panahon ng digma ang Ubod ay lalo sa lahat at siya ang
maguutos at susundin ng lahat ng Ulo sa boong probinsia at bayan bayan.

19.
Ang pasiya sa pag paparusa o pagganti sa magandang gawa ay
hindi ma babali.

20.
Ang Ubod o Puno nang Katipunan ay di makapag papayo sa pinag
uusapan. Ang maguing yari sa usap ay susundin.

21.
Yamang ang tunay na layon nitong Katipunan ay ang kagalingan ng
bayang Pilipinas ay pag pipilitan ang makapag lagda nang magandang
kautusan sa tulong ng kaniyang mga Kasanguni.

22.
Sa balang may sala ay ipag uutos ang pag tatatag ng isang
Hukuman at madaling lulutasin ang hatol.

23.
Sa naguiguing dapat sa ganti, alangalang sa isang magandang gawa
ay ayong ding agad alamin at kilalananin ang dapat ipakamit ng pala.

24.
Ang katawan ng Punong Ubod ay kagalang-galang at hindi sukat
palibhasan ni lapastangin ng sino man at tatawaguing H. N. B. P....

25.
Piliting maganap sa boong nasasakupan ang pamumunong tapat at
ang ikaguiguinhawa ng buhay ng nangamamayan at ito kailan man ang
layon ng alin mang bago at bagong kautosan.

Sa Kasanguni
26.
Pagingatan na ang Ulo o Puno ay makapa-manihalang maayos.

27.

10
Huag payagang manghina ang bisa ng manga kautosan o ng manga
ipag uutos ayon sa takbo ng bagay.

28.
Ang isa sa dalawang Kasanguni ay tutulong sa loob sa pamamahala
at ang isa ay sa lahat upang na sasayod na lahat ang mga nangyayari sa
lakad ng Katipunan.

29.
Walang aalintanahing bagay kahit ang kaliitliitan.

30.
Pag iingatan ang lihim nang Puno.

Sa manga Katulong
Kalihim
31.
Paka ingatan ang manga balak ng lihim ng Puno na isinasanguni sa
kaniya, gayon din ang manga nayayaring usap sa loob ng Sangunian.

32.
Ang mga kautusan ay huag ipaubayang mabalam.

33.
Ang kautusan o mga utos ay kung na sa papel kailangang pag tibain
ng Kalihim at ang wala sa papel ay uuliting maka itlo ng Puno sa dalawang
Kasanguni, gayon din ang gagawin nila sa pag papahayag sa kanikanilang
katatlo hangang umabot sa lahat ng kabig.

34.
Ang mga bagay na kailangang matalastas ng boong Katipunan
hangang sa iba at ibang probinsia at manga bayang sakop ang utos o balita
ay isusulat nang letra sa bagong alpabeto, na pararaanin sa Korreo sa
kaugaliang Kastila at may katunayan ng Kalihim.

Tagausig
35.
Sa ano mang bagay, sa Katipunan ay siyang mag pupumilit humingi
ng pala o parusa sa harap ng dakilang Sangunian.

36.
Mahihingi kailan man at kailangan ang kasulatang talaan ng
pumapasok at lumalabas na salapi ng Katipunan.

37.
Mauusig niya buhat sa puno hangang dulo ng boong Katipunan
kaniyang kinalalaguian kailan man at ang kukulang sa pag tupad ng
katungkulan ng isa at isa.

38.

11
Dapat kilalaning lahat ang pangalang tunay gayon din ang bansag
ng isa at isa.

Katulong
39.
Silay makikipag alam sa Kalihim ng Puno at tatangap ng balang
utos.

Kung kailanang mag lakbay bayan ang gagagastahan ay mang

gagalin sa kaban ng Katipunang kinalalagyan ng punong nag uutos gayon
din naman sa pag papagawa ng ano mang bagay ng kailangan at mag
bibigay ng malinis at tapat na kasulatan ng guinawang gasta o gugol.

Puno sa Hukbo
40.
Pag-ka tangap ng utos ng punong makapangyarihan sa Katipunan
ay tutupding agad na walang liwag.

Buan buan ay mag papasok sa kaban ng Katipunan ng ambag na

katungkulang ibigay ng lahat gayon ang sa kanikanilang kabig.

Huag kalilingatan na ang kanikaniyang kabig ay hindi nag sasanay

sa manga habilin ng kautusang ng aatas.

Atas sa lahat
Ang balang dalawa kabit sa tatlo buhat sa dulo kikilala sa nakakabit
sa gawing itaas na siyang pinakaulo at ito’y pahagdan-hagdan hangang
sumapit sa katapusan sa itaas. Ito rin naman ang paraang gagawin, upang
makasapit sa ulo ang kanilang ambagan. Ganito rin ang lakad kung may
utos na atas sa lahat, pahagdanhagdan namang mananaog hangang dulo
buhat sa Kalihim.

Isang lubos na kailangan ang paglilihim sa mga di dapat makaalam

ng mga balak, gawa at utos ng mga puno sa Katipunan maguing sa
magulang, kapatid, anak, asawa at ibang minamahal nila kahit pag
karamayan ng buhay ay huag mabibighaning sabihin sa pagkat ang
kabagsikan ng Katipunan ay mararanasan din ng balang mag kulang sa
atas na ito.

Ano mang bagay na kagalitan, usap tungkol sa ari o kayamanan ay

bawo [?] na ipag sakdal sa ibang hukuman labas sa Katipunan. Ang lahat
ay hahatulan at huhusain ng kanilang Kxxx.

›››››››››››››››››››››

English translation
          
  Narrative

12
There is a country that is ruled by wickedness and cruelty; the laws are
worthless and what prevails is the rule of the mighty. And yet this country is
sacrificing its blood and life for the honor and glory of its rulers, just to be
called brother or child. Its wealth, life and honor are at the disposal of people
with evil desires. For more than three centuries it has suffered hardship and
wearisome deceit: a record not of tolerant benevolence, but of callous neglect.

This country is ours; this chronicle of oppression is ours. A country full

of suffering, to the extent of slavery. Oh Philippines! How wretched you are!
Oh country of our birth! Had she wanted you to progress, she would have
given you advantages over other peoples; had she desired your welfare, she
would have treated you like a favored child. But you have not been treated
like this. You have been persecuted; you have suffered despicable
punishments and grave injustices. [To Spain:] One by one your children are
accusing you; here too you despise the very being of those who cannot answer
back or protest that honor is being stained.

Great and certain is the honor to be accorded to those who devote their
hearts and souls to their country, because they are prepared to leave their
parents, brothers and sisters, spouses, children and friends, to forsake their
own interests and wealth, and to disregard the hardship ahead. Their single
goal, their single thought, is the betterment of the land of their birth.

And therefore to my beloved brothers Gomez, Burgos and Zamora, who

were reviled for their absolute devotion to the Philippines, our country, and to
those who are now being sent to isolated places, punished, and dying in exile,
we dedicate our hearts and lives in solidarity under a great and resolute
Katipunan, which is now constituted to wrench this our country from the
rapacious claws of the Spaniards and from the enslavement and hardship they
inflict upon us in pursuit of their desire to succor and benefit themselves.

We should not believe the honeyed words about being guided and
tutored; we have been invited to observe the reality by our brave and beloved
brother Mr. Rizal, who desires the welfare and education of the country most
earnestly, but who has now been exiled by the malefactors.

Whereas the most important, most abundantly honorable and sublime

duties of any enlightened power are to defend her country, to safeguard its
welfare, to expend riches, blood and even life for her country, brothers and
children in order that they are not oppressed and enslaved by another ruler.

Whereas the Creator does not mandate any one of His creations to
oppress and trample on another.

Whereas to defend and love one’s country is not a crime, especially if

she is suffocated and enslaved by her rulers, as is happening now.

Whereas a people whose interests, needs and true and genuine desires
are under relentless attack has just cause to bring down the leaders or rulers

13
who behave in such a way, and that if this eventuality arrives it is not lawless
or traitorous, but the defense of true reason, and a revolt against the flame of
hardship.

Whereas no Laws have been passed or justification given for the

confiscation of anything that is not hers, and that we are the true owners of
this land, it is just for us to demand the return of what has been borrowed, for
us to govern these Islands. We do not need the intervention or direction of
people from other lands, because if that happens, like now, the result is
frustration, humiliation, enslavement, and slaughter.

Covenant

Having regard to all the abuses just narrated, the acts perpetrated by
the Spaniards that open deep wounds in our heart, and for the reasons that
are enumerated above, we affirm below this document that we are of one
accord and conviction to extirpate the oppression, maltreatment, enslavement
and many other excesses that this subjugated and oppressed Archipelago
suffers at the hands of its pitiless, ravenous and bestial oppressors.

In order to ensure the success of this momentous and arduous

undertaking, and to fortify our strength, we place ourselves before the High
Tribunal of God the Creator and we request the help of his great strength and
power in order that we may be sheltered and succored by true reason.

For the fulfilment of what we have discussed and covenanted, we swear

in the name of God before this Supreme Katipunan and our loved ones to
defend this our country and to strive, come what may, for her independence
and separation from Spain.

For the fulfilment of this sacred cause, we shall respond with our
bodies, lives and wealth, now and in the future.

We swear also that we shall adopt and shall put into effect the principal orders
that have been signed and agreed by ourselves and by other Gentlemen who
belong to this Katipunan, whom we respect and salute. These orders are
attached at the end.19

Tondo, the _______of August in the year one thousand, eight

hundred and ninety-two.

Principal orders

In conformity with the foregoing narrative and covenant, we direct the

whole subject and subjugated population of this Philippine Archipelago, now
and in the future, to observe and implement the following orders:-

1.

14
Be it declared that from this day forward this Archipelago is separated
from Spain, and that no leadership is recognized or will be recognized other
than this Supreme Katipunan.

2.

The Supreme Katipunan is hereby established, and henceforth it will be

the paramount authority throughout the entire Archipelago and will issue the
principal orders.

3.
The Katipunan has a paramount Chief who is to be recognised,
respected and obeyed by all who support and join the Association here or the
Katipunans established in other towns and provinces of this Archipelago.

4.
The Chief has two groups of three in his administration, who will be
called Councilors. Their decisions must be followed and implemented without
protest by all subordinates.

5.
From amongst the Councilors in these two groups of three will be
drawn a Secretary, a Keeper of the funds to be deposited in a Bank, an
Executor of plans regarding the expenditure of the capital or cash reserves,
and a Prosecutor who will take action against anyone who commits offences or
disobeys orders here in the Katipunan.

6.

Each of the Secretaries and others must recruit their own groups of
three, because in this manner the membership will attain a respectable size,
and thus the Katipunan will grow and spread until the objectives set out above
are attained.

7.

Everyone in the Katipunan has a strict duty to pay their contributions:

80 kualta from every Head, Councilor and Assistant: 60 kualta from each of
the Lieges, 40 kualta from each partisan and 16 from each follower, in
accordance with the schedule in the table attached at the end.20

8.

Each Katipunan of three should deliberate on steps that will be effective

in strengthening unity, defending brothers who are suffering misfortune,
developing skills of leadership and encouraging good conduct amongst all
members, and likewise in spreading news, notifying members of new
instructions, and in bringing to the attention of the chief anything they notice
about the enemy, and information about the deposits in their reserves.

15
9.

Although the group of three may wish to recruit another member whom
they believe to be competent enough and ready to be assigned duties, this
should not be a reason for disregarding the secret procedures that must be
followed here in the Katipunan.

10.

The Katipunan in each town and province is modelled on that in Manila

and the surrounding towns, but the difference is that those in the towns are
subordinate to the confederation of Chiefs in their respective provinces, and
those in the provinces are subordinate to the center in Manila.

11.

Those who will be admitted into this great Katipunan must be people
known to be of good character, to have their hearts set on the defense of our
country, and to be prepared to face the trials they will be set. Before the
supreme Head authorizes a person’s admission, a group of three must be
persuaded that he is worthy of being received into the Katipunan. He will
then take a new name, swear before God in the name of this Philippines to
pledge his life in defence of the country and sign a pledge to that effect.

12.

Leaders must demonstrate to their followers meritorious and

commendable qualities such as fellowship, friendship, brotherhood, and good
parenting, and likewise show compassion toward whoever is in need.

13.

Offices in the Katipunan will be held for a term of two years, with the
exception of the position of fiscal. In the event that any Head or any of the
Assistants vacates their position, their place will be taken by either of the two
others in their triangle.

14.

Bears in mind constantly the aims of this Katipunan, and is acutely

aware of how long overdue is the rescue of the Philippines from the clutch of
the malefactors.

Duties of the Head

15.

Gives orders and devises plans to make the Katipunan effective, and
ensures that all followers comply with them loyally.

16.

16
Orders and plans will have no effect unless they have the agreement of
the two Councilors. The Secretary will be answerable if they are independent.

17.

Should it be necessary, the Head has authority to give orders even in

the absence of any Councilor or Secretary, but he will be answerable for
everything done and its consequences.

18.

In time of war the Center is in control of everything and will give the
orders to be followed by all the Heads in the provinces and towns.

19.

Decisions regarding punishments or rewards for achievement will be

final.

20.

The Center or the Chief of the Katipunan will be impartial when there is
a discussion. Whatever is decided on the matter will be followed.

21.

Whereas the fundamental aim of this Katipunan is the betterment of

the Philippine people, he will strive to sign beneficial laws with the help of his
Councilors.

22.

Whenever there is wrongdoing, he will order the establishment of a

Court to make a judgment expeditiously.

23.

When a reward is to be given in recognition of a meritorious deed, he

will announce it immediately and make known the favor to be granted.

24.

The person of the Central Chief is to be treated with great respect.

Nobody will treat him with disrespect or irreverence, and he will be called the
H. N. B. P....

25.

Will strive to give sound leadership to all subjects and to improve the
livelihood of the people, which will invariably be the purpose of all initiatives
and new orders.

17
For Councilors
26.

Ensures that the Head or Chief has his affairs in good order.

27.

Does not allow the effectiveness of the orders and instructions about
operational matters to be undermined in any way.

28.

One of the two Councilors will help inside the administration and the
other will ensure that everything possible is being done to advance the
Katipunan.
29.

Ensures nothing is neglected, not even small matters.

30.

Safeguards the secrets of the Chief.

For Assistants
Secretary
31.

Safeguards the secret plans of the Chief on which he is consulted, and

likewise the confidentiality of whatever is discussed inside the Council.

32.

Must comply with the orders without negligent delay.

33.

Orders or instructions on paper need to be endorsed by the Secretary

and those not on paper shall be repeated three times by the Head to the two
councilors, and in the same way they will pass the orders down to their
groups of three until they have reached all members.

34.

Orders and information that must be communicated to the whole

Katipunan down to the different affiliated provinces and towns will be written
in the script of a new alphabet, and will be despatched by post in the Spanish
manner and be endorsed by the Secretary.

Prosecutor
35.

18
Should a favor or punishment be sought in relation to any matter
within the Katipunan, it is he who will be required to request it before the
great Council.

36.

Will request , whenever it is needed, the written schedule of the income

and outgoings of the money of the Katipunan.

37.

Will check constantly that nobody in the Katipunan, from the top to the
bottom, is falling short in the accomplishment of their respective duties.

38.

Must know the true names, and also the aliases, of each and every one.

Assistant
39.

Will report to the Secretary of the Chief and will accept his every order.

If expenses for travel need to be withdrawn from the coffers of the

Katipunan, will hand over the required amount to the chief as ordered, and
will also provide any other necessities and give a true and honest reckoning of
the expenditure or expenses incurred.

Head of the Army

40.

Receives orders from the chief in charge of the Katipunan and puts
them into effect immediately without delay.

Will get funds from the coffers of the Katipunan every month and be
responsible for distributing the full amount to their men.

Must not neglect to ensure that their men are trained to obey orders
from above.

Rules for all

The two members at the base of each triangle will report on their
activities to the third member, who in turn will pass information on to his
leader, and so on until it reaches the top. This will also be the procedure to be
followed for sending contributions to the head. It will likewise be the way to
proceed when orders need to be passed down from above, or communications
from the Secretary need to be filtered down to the base.

19
Absolute secrecy must be maintained in relation to the plans, deeds and
commands of the chiefs of the Katipunan.  These must not be disclosed even
to parents, brothers and sisters, children, spouses and other loved ones and
partners in life, no matter what the temptation, because the Katipunan will
deal harshly with every violation of this order.

Anything that is the subject of discord, any case concerning property or

wealth, must not be brought before any court outside the Katipunan.
Everything will be judged and resolved by their Katipunan.

20
1
The first appearance of the name “Katagalugan” so far located is in a document dating from 1894.
2
Comité de Antiguos Miembros del K.K.K.Ll.V.Z.Ll.B., Statement dated July 27, 1930, in Soledad Borromeo-
Buehler, The Cry of Balintawak: A contrived controversy (Quezon City: Ateneo de Manila University Press,
1998), 24–5.
3
The formation of some form of council prior to the Supreme Council is corroborated by the testimony given by
Pio Valenzuela under Spanish interrogation in 1896. The September 1892 appointment letter transcribed on this
website refers to the directorate the “Ubod” (Center) in line with this founding document. Pio Valenzuela y
Alejandrino, Declaration dated October 21, 1896 in Wenceslao E. Retana (comp.), Archivo del bibliófilo filipino,
vol.III (Madrid: Imprenta de la Viuda de M. Minuesa de los Rios, 1897), 297.
4
Teodoro Gonzales recollected that the first Supreme Council was constituted in August 1892, whilst Ladislao
Diwa recalled it as being October. José P. Santos, “Mga ulat ukol sa pagkakatatag ng Katipunan” (typescript,
n.d., Guillermo Masangkay papers), cited in Borromeo-Buehler, The Cry of Balintawak, 195.
5
Gregorio F. Zaide, The History of the Katipunan (Manila: Loyal Press, 1939), 3–4. Zaide says he was given a
copy of a Katipunan constitution dating from 1892 by José P. Santos, but unfortunately he gives no details as to
its precise date or its provisions. The constitution – and another that Zaide says he was given, dating from 1894
– cannot be located in his collection, which is now housed in the Ortigas Library. Email from Celia C. Cruz,
Librarian, to the author dated November 21, 2007.
6
Fernando Hernandez, “El ultimo superviviente del primer Katipunan,” Philippines Free Press, September 7,
1929, 62–3 (quoting a piece written by Ladislao Diwa in 1928); Zaide, The History of the Katipunan, 2. The
article in the Philippines Free Press includes a photograph of the Elcano accesoria.
7
Teodoro A. Agoncillo, The Revolt of the Masses: The story of Bonifacio and the Katipunan (Quezon City:
University of the Philippines Press, 1956), p.43. Agoncillo does not say who he means by “the majority of
Katipuneros,” or why he favors their testimony over that of Diwa and Gonzales. Most other scholars also favor
Azcarraga over Elcano, but differ as to the exact street number. Manuel Artigas y Cuerva includes a photograph
of the building, and identifies it as No.64 Azcarraga. Teodoro M. Kalaw includes a later photograph of the same
building, with a historical marker now affixed to its wall. Kalaw is said by Manuel to have believed the address to
be 314 Azcarraga. Isagani Medina, in his annotated edition of Ronquillo’s memoir, includes the same
photograph as Artigas y Cuerva, but follows Agoncillo in giving the address as 72 Azcarraga. Zaide also seems to
have eventually accepted this majority verdict. By the 1990s the building, whatever its street number, had been
demolished, but a marker set in a concrete plinth had been erected on the site, and more recently that has been
replaced by a large sculpted tableau. Manuel Artigas y Cuerva, Glorias nacionales: Andres Bonifacio y el
‘Katipunan’ (Manila: Libreria ‘Manila Filatelica’, 1911), 23; Teodoro M. Kalaw, The Philippine Revolution [1925]
(Mandaluyong: Jorge B. Vargas Filipiniana Foundation, 1969), 24; E. Arsenio Manuel, Dictionary of Philippine
Biography, vol.I (Quezon City: Filipiniana Publications, 1955), 60; Carlos Ronquillo, Ilang talata tungkol sa
paghihimagsik nang 1896-1897, [1898] edited by Isagani R. Medina, (Quezon City: University of the Philippines
Press, 1996), 230; Gregorio F. Zaide, The Philippine Revolution (Manila: Modern Book Co., 1968), 79; Ambeth
Ocampo, “The Founding of the Katipunan,” Philippine Daily Inquirer, July 8, 2010.
8
Hernandez, “El ultimo superviviente,” as cited.
9
In the case of Román Basa there is another question. According to many sources he replaced Deodato Arellano
as president of the Supreme Council in February 1893, and yet one (relatively solid-looking) piece of evidence
indicates that he did not join the association until November 1893. Artigas y Cuerva, Glorias nacionales, pp.24–
7. Artigas y Cuerva reproduces here a list of KKK members who joined the association between September 1892
and April 1895, tabulated chronologically by precise date. Since the Spanish secret police knew nothing of the
Katipunan until 1896, this information must presumably have come from an internal KKK document.
10
A. B. German, “Ladislao Diwa: the ‘unknown’ angle in the KKK triangle,” Sunday Times Magazine, June 27,
1965; Emmanuel Franco Calairo, Ladislao Diwa at ang Katipunan (Cavite Historical Society, 1996), 12–3.
11
Ramón Blanco, Memoria que al Senado dirige el general Blanco: acerca de los últimos sucesos ocurridos en
la Isla de Luzón (Madrid: Establecimiento Tipográfico de "El Liberal", 1897), 75.
12
Olegario Diaz, Commander of the Manila detachment of the Guardia Civil Veterana, Report on the
Insurrection Against Spain, dated October 28, 1896 in Wenceslao E. Retana (ed.), Archivo del bibliófilo filipino,
vol. III (Madrid: Imprenta de la viuda de M. Minuesa de los Rios) 1897, 343.
13
Epifanio de los Santos, “Marcelo H. del Pilar,” Philippine Review, V: 4–5 (April–May 1920), 309.
14
José Dizon y Matanza, Declaration dated September 23, 1896, in Retana, Archivo del bibliófilo filipino, vol.
III, 204. Deodato Arellano was married to Marcelo H. del Pilar’s sister, Hilaria.
15
Aguedo del Rosario, “The Katipunan of 1896” [1908], Appendix C to The Minutes of the Katipunan (Manila:
National Historical Institute, 1978), 113.
16
Epifanio de los Santos, “Marcelo H. del Pilar,” Philippine Review, V:8 (August 1920), 528.
17
Ibid., 516. In 1896 the Spaniards discovered some of these letters at Bonifacio’s workplace in Binondo, and
later submitted them as evidence at Rizal’s trial. For this purpose the letters were retranslated into Spanish, but
in one odd instance Del Pilar’s forename Marcelo was left in the KKK code – VZRKGJC. The Trial of Rizal,
edited and translated with notes by Horacio de la Costa (Quezon City: Ateneo de Manila University Press, 1961),
108.
18
Pio Valenzuela, “Memoirs” (translated by Luis Serrano from an unpublished manuscript in Tagalog [c.1914],
reproduced as Appendix A in Minutes of the Katipunan (Manila: National Heroes Commission, 1964), 105–6.
19
The copy of this document that survives in the Archivo General Militar does not bear any signatures.
20
This schedule is not attached to the copy preserved in the Archivo General Militar.