Cuerpo Vigilancia

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Bonifacio and the Katipunan in the cuerpo de vigilancia

archival collection

Rene R. Escalante

Philippine Studies: Historical and Ethnographic Viewpoints, Volume 65,


Number 4, December 2017, pp. 451-483 (Article)

Published by Ateneo de Manila University


DOI: https://doi.org/10.1353/phs.2017.0032

For additional information about this article


https://muse.jhu.edu/article/679423

Access provided by University of Winnipeg Library (20 Aug 2018 17:33 GMT)
R e n e R . E sca l a n te

Bonifacio and the


Katipunan in the
Cuerpo de Vigilancia
Archival Collection

A little-known source for writing the history of the Philippine revolution


is the voluminous collection of documents and other materials gathered
by the Cuerpo de Vigilancia de Manila, the intelligence service created by
the Spanish colonial state in 1895. This article discusses its acquisition
by the Philippine government in 1997. In utilizing some of the collection’s
contents, this article demonstrates its utility for enriching knowledge
about the Katipunan, such as its founding, its clandestine operations, and
the members’ socioeconomic background. This article also shows how
documents in this collection illumine the social history of ordinary people
during the revolutionary period.

Keywords: intelligence reports • colonial archives • Philippine


revolution • Katipunan • Andrés Bonifacio • anting-anting

Philippine Studies Historical and Ethnographic Viewpoints 65, no. 4 (2017) 451–83
© Ateneo de Manila University
A
ndrés Bonifacio and the Katipunan became a controversial
subject of postwar historical discourse despite the dearth of
primary sources on which historians and researchers could base
their narratives. The topic stole the limelight in the 1960s after
Teodoro Agoncillo (1956/2001) published his award-winning
biography of Bonifacio. Research interest continued in the succeeding
decades, with the Filipino uprising against Spain from 1896 to 1898 figuring
prominently in Agoncillo’s classic textbook on Philippine history. The 1998
centennial of the proclamation of Philippine independence also contributed
to the enrichment of the historical literature dealing with Bonifacio and the
Katipunan, given the numerous conferences and academic discussions held
in the 1990s and the release during that decade of publications dealing with
other aspects of the Philippine revolution.1
Jim Richardson’s (2013) The Light of Liberty is another major contribution
to the historiography of the Katipunan. The documents he found in the
Archivo General Militar de Madrid (General Military Archive of Madrid)
corrected, clarified, expanded, and deepened our knowledge about the
Katipunan. For instance, he presented evidence that as early as January 1892,
six months before the founding of La Liga Filipina (The Philippine League),
the Katipunan had already been conceived (ibid., xv). What Richardson
has accomplished must be sustained in order to clarify and ultimately settle
the contentious issues surrounding Bonifacio, particularly the controversial
documents attributed to him and the secret society that he cofounded.
This article aims to supplement Richardson’s work. However, instead of
mining further the rich materials in the Archivo General Militar, it examines
the intelligence reports of agents (agentes) of the Cuerpo de Vigilancia de
Manila (Surveillance Corps of Manila) and other materials on the Katipunan.
This study shows that the Cuerpo de Vigilancia collection contains many
documents that can fill historical gaps and enhance the accuracy of the
narrative of the Philippine revolution. Moreover, it presents new data that
run counter to common knowledge about the revolution. Because the
collection is voluminous, this article is limited to documents pertaining to
the Katipunan, Bonifacio and his associates, and some reports that enrich the
social history of the revolution. This social history is an important addition to
the existing literature because it sheds light on how the revolution affected
the lives of ordinary people at that time, a subject that previous studies on
the revolutionary period have tended to ignore. This article seeks to augment

452 Pshev  65, no. 4 (2017)


the existing literature on the revolution, which to date have been focused
mostly on the activities of known Katipuneros and local elites who joined the
revolutionary movement.

Origin of the Cuerpo de Vigilancia Collection


The Cuerpo de Vigilancia de Manila was the intelligence service unit that
the Spanish colonial state created in 1895 primarily to gather information
on the activities of certain groups suspected of plotting an uprising against
the colonial establishment. Initially, the Cuerpo de Vigilancia operated
separately and independently from the Guardia Civil Veterana (Veteran
Civil Guard) and the Ejercito de las Islas Filipinas (Army of the Philippine
Islands); however, a year after the outbreak of the revolution it was placed
under the supervision of the chief of the Guardia Civil Veterana. The agents
of the Cuerpo de Vigilancia were Spanish mestizos and native Filipinos
who were under the command of Chief Inspector (Inspector Jefe) Federico
Moreno. Moreno reported directly to Manuel Luengo, the civil governor
of Manila, who in turn relayed security and intelligence information to the
governor-general.
The Cuerpo agents were tasked to monitor the activities of suspected
members of the Katipunan. They reported to their officers some of the
rumors they heard from ordinary people and kept dossiers of opinions of the
press, lists of financiers of the Katipunan, subversive materials, photographs,
and personal letters of Katipunan members. It was also their duty to report
the activities and views of persons, including foreigners, known to be
involved in the political upheaval that was unfolding during the last decade
of the Spanish era. Thus, the reports of the Cuerpo agents covered not
only the activities of the Katipuneros but also the suspicious behavior of
American, Japanese, Chinese, British, and German nationals residing in the
Philippines. Before they disbanded, the Cuerpo agents submitted, mostly to
Chief Inspector Moreno, close to 3,000 documents that could now be used
to enrich the narrative of the Philippine revolution.
The Cuerpo de Vigilancia collection has been known as Documentos,
Copias, Impresos y otros Papeles del Katipunan y de la Insurrección Filipino
(Documents, Printed Materials and other Papers of the Katipunan and of
the Filipino Insurrection). It consists of a wide range of historical materials
on the Philippine revolution from the perspective of Filipinos as well as
Spaniards and foreigners, but it has no general theme.2 It contains various

escalante / Katipunan in the Cuerpo de Vigilancia Collection 453


types of documents, including pictures, diagrams, sketches, and maps along
with printed texts as well as handwritten reports. A good number of them are
eyewitness accounts of actual events from March 1895 until the Spaniards
surrendered to the Americans on 13 August 1898. The conspicuous
documents in the collection include lists of members of Masonic lodges,
propaganda documents like “Dasalan at Tuksohan” (Praying and Teasing),
trial records, documents about amulets (anting-anting), drawings of
Philippine flags, maps of military operations, surveillance reports of Cuerpo
agents, newspaper clippings, and a few excerpts from published works.

Acquisition of the Cuerpo de Vigilancia Collection


For almost a century, the Cuerpo de Vigilancia collection remained
unknown to scholars. Public knowledge about the collection came just a few
years before the 1998 centenary of Philippine independence, when Enrique
Montero, a Spanish historian, collector, and dealer of old books, offered for
sale archival materials that were in his possession, specifically, the files of the
Cuerpo de Vigilancia de Manila. He said that he acquired the collection
from a descendant of a Spanish general who was assigned in the Philippines
during the twilight years of Spanish rule. How that general acquired this
collection in the first place is yet to be established. The available materials
are silent on this matter, and the key individuals who negotiated the sale did
not elaborate on this part of the narrative. In any event, the original selling
price was US$160,000. Initially Octavio Espiritu, an executive of the Far
East Bank and Trust Company,3 showed interest in the collection, but for
unknown reasons the purchase did not proceed.
A few years later, in her capacity as Philippine ambassador to Spain,
Isabel Caro Wilson learned of the collection’s existence and brought it
to the attention of the National Commission for Culture and the Arts
(NCCA). The NCCA Executive Director Carmen Padilla took the offer
seriously and considered the collection a valuable addition to the existing
body of historical materials on the Philippine revolution. Before the
NCCA finalized the sale, Madrid-based Dr. Antonio Molina attested to
the authenticity of the collection and Montero’s legitimate ownership.
On 12 December 1995, the NCCA Board passed Resolution No. 95–285
approving the purchase of the Cuerpo collection. The NCCA negotiated
with Montero to reduce the price and the two parties agreed to close the
deal at US$145,000.

454 Pshev  65, no. 4 (2017)


The NCCA officials labeled the Cuerpo collection as “Katipunan and
Rizal Documents,” but this label should not create the impression that the
bulk of the collection deals with Bonifacio and Rizal. The documents on
Rizal and the Katipunan form only a small fraction of the collection and
do not exceed 30 percent of its total content. Emilio Aguinaldo is the one
who figures prominently in the collection, a result of the close monitoring
he received from Cuerpo agents. In fact, the number of reports on the Truce
of Biak-na-Bato and the Hong Kong Junta far exceeds that of the number
of documents dealing with Rizal and Bonifacio combined. Aguinaldo’s
prominence is explainable by the fact that Rizal and Bonifacio died four
months and nine months, respectively, after the outbreak of the revolution,
while Aguinaldo remained on the historical scene. Moreover, the Spaniards
considered Aguinaldo the archenemy; having the intelligence community
concentrate its attention and resources on him was no surprise.
By March 1997 the NCCA’s Padilla and historian Ambeth Ocampo had
brought the Cuerpo collection from Spain to the Philippines (Philippine
Daily Inquirer 1997b, 7). Before it was opened to the public, the NCCA
asked its Committee on Historical Research (CHR) to catalog and annotate
the documents. Headed by NCCA-CHR Chair Maria Luisa T. Camagay,
the team that undertook this task was composed of historians and Spanish
translators. Their objective was not to translate the collection to English but
to produce a brief summary of each document that researchers could use as
a guide.
The committee’s work was suspended on 13 September 1997 when the
Presidential Commission Against Graft and Corruption filed a case at the
Office of the Ombudsman against Padilla, which questioned the legality of
the purchase of the collection. One issue raised was whether the NCCA
had the mandate to buy historical documents. The directors of the National
Library and the National Archives claimed that their respective offices were
the ones endowed with this function. Another issue was that the Cuerpo
collection could be classified as state papers, which by law would make them
public documents. Under the Treaty of Paris state papers of the Spanish
colonial government were part of the assets ceded to the US government.
If this were the case, then the NCCA had to negotiate with the Spanish
authorities for the turnover of these documents, not their purchase. The
complainants also asked if Padilla verified whether the seller acquired the
documents using legal means. If not, then Padilla could be charged with

escalante / Katipunan in the Cuerpo de Vigilancia Collection 455


violating the anti-fencing law (Office of the Ombudsman 1998, 2). Nearly
a year after it was filed, on 31 August 1998 Ombudsman Aniano Disierto
dismissed the case against Padilla, ruling that she did not violate the anti-
fencing law because the complainants failed to prove that the documents
were stolen. He also added that the effort of Padilla and Wilson to reduce the
price from US$160,000 to US$145,000 was an indication that they acted in
favor of the government.4
In 2008, upon assuming the chairmanship of the NCCA-CHR, I revived
the project of cataloging and annotating the documents, entrusting this task
to the Philippine National Historical Society. The committee designated
Bernardita Churchill as project director and executive editor. Some former
members of the 1997 group were invited and new members were recruited to
help finish the project. In 2010 it was completed, and a research guide came
off the press the following year (Churchill et al. 2011). Thereafter the NCCA
commissioned the Ateneo de Manila University’s Rizal Library to digitize the
whole Cuerpo collection, after which the original documents were turned
over to the National Archives of the Philippines (NAP) on 27 February 2014.
Copies of the digital version have been entrusted to the NCCA, the NAP,
and the National Historical Commission of the Philippines (NHCP).5

Organization and Cataloging of the Cuerpo Collection


The Cuerpo collection starts with an introduction, which according to
Churchill et al. (2011, 1) was written by Montero, the vendor of the collection.
The introduction provides an overview, an outline, and a discussion of the
types of documents available in the collection. The introduction states that
the “Archivo del Cuerpo de Vigilancia de Manila is composed of some 1,860
documents, approximately 1,565 letters and original manuscripts, 265 pieces
of printed materials, an album of original photographs and two albums of
printed materials” (Archivo del Cuerpo de Vigilancia de Manila que consiste
en unos 1,860 documentos aproximadamente 1,565 cartas y manuscritos
originales y copias, 265 impresos, un albumen de fotografías originales y dos
albumen impresos) (Churchill et al. 2011, 1).
Using the Cuerpo documents as source of historical information can
be daunting. For one, the collection is not organized chronologically and
the classifications of materials according to theme, period, and title are not
consistent. Abiding by the original catalog, the NCCA-CHR catalog divides
the collection into four general categories: (a) the A-files, which consist of

456 Pshev  65, no. 4 (2017)


manuscripts; (b) the B-files, composed of intelligence reports of Cuerpo
operatives; (c) the C-files, a collection of photographs; and (d) the D-files,
which consist of printed materials. However, found among the manuscripts
in the A-files are loose printed materials that should have been placed in
the D-files.
It behooves scholars to use the Cuerpo collection, particularly the
intelligence reports, cautiously and critically, as some accounts are raw
or unverified information. They came from sources who had no personal
knowledge of a supposed event, but rather relied on hearsay and rumors,
which, as in any intelligence work, had value and were reported to
authorities for record purposes and further verification. Hence, not all of
their reports are historically accurate.
For example, on Aguinaldo there are conflicting reports, some of
which state that he was already in Cavite months before his actual arrival
on 19 May 1898, whereas another agent, Heriberto Fernández (1898a),
reported that Aguinaldo had already returned from Hong Kong aboard a
British ship on 29 March 1898. Cuerpo agents also reported the death of
Aguinaldo on two occasions. The first report was dated 18 February 1898,
when he was allegedly murdered by his comrades who were not satisfied
with the way he was running the Hong Kong junta (David 1898). The
second reported his death a few days after returning from Hong Kong,
when Aguinaldo was supposedly assassinated by forces loyal to Mariano
Trias (Fernández 1898b).
These examples of wittingly or unwittingly inaccurate reporting,
although interesting in themselves, should warn researchers to be cautious
and to countercheck information before using the Cuerpo collection as
basis for the factual reconstruction of past events. Critical evaluation and
authentication are needed before these documents are used as evidence in
asserting a historical fact.

The Objective of this Article


This study introduces the Cuerpo de Vigilancia collection to present-day
researchers. It seeks to demonstrate the utility of the Cuerpo collection
as source of historical information by using some materials that enrich
the existing narrative of the Philippine revolution in general and Andrés
Bonifacio and the Katipunan in particular. Many of the documents in the
collection do not offer new information, but they do confirm and add details

escalante / Katipunan in the Cuerpo de Vigilancia Collection 457


not provided in earlier studies, as examples in later sections of this article
demonstrate. This study also seeks to discuss some inconsistent accounts by
supplying evidence based on the Cuerpo collection that favors a particular
claim, as will also be demonstrated later.
It is also the intention of this article to showcase, based on the Cuerpo
collection, the activities, behavior, and beliefs of people who were not
members of the revolutionary movement yet were affected by the upheaval;
their stories deserve inclusion in the narrative of the revolution. Much has
been said about the leaders of the Katipunan, but the time has come to
decenter the focus of historical studies to include the activities of ordinary
Filipinos who were documented by Cuerpo agents. Their narratives help
contemporary historians piece together a bigger and multisided picture of
the Philippine revolution.

Monitoring a Secret Movement


As early as the first quarter of the nineteenth century, Spanish authorities
were already worried about the growing restlessness of the native clergy and
their associates (Schumacher 1981). The threat became more alarming in
the 1880s when young university students started to espouse liberal ideals
and denounce the excesses of the friars. Some civil authorities, thinking that
the unrest was isolated and directed toward the friars only, downplayed the
threat. Gov.-Gen. Carlos Maria de la Torre tried resolving the problem by
taking a conciliatory and liberal attitude toward the enemies of the colonial
government. He granted amnesty to Casimiro Camerino, a famous rebel-
bandit of Cavite, and his associates on 15 August 1869 (Artigas y Cuerva
1996, 62). Things changed dramatically in 1872, when some workers of the
Cavite arsenal, with the support of liberal lawyers, Masons, businessmen,
and journalists, attacked the Spanish officers of the camp (Schumacher
2011, 74–75). The event forced Gov.-Gen. Rafael Izquierdo to adopt harsher
measures against native Filipino agitators and rebels.
By the last quarter of the nineteenth century, the Spanish colonial
government had already felt the heat of anti-Spanish sentiment in the
different sectors of society. Aside from the native Filipino clergy, the other
dissidents were the oppressed tenants and leaseholders (inquilinos) of the
friar haciendas, restless Filipino students in Manila and Europe, some
businessmen, and a number of professionals and employees of foreign
trading companies. Before the creation of the Cuerpo, the governor-general

458 Pshev  65, no. 4 (2017)


and officers of the Ejercito de las Islas Filipinas relied on the reports of
friars and the Guardia Civil if there were unrests in a particular locality; the
government would then order its agents to conduct surveillance operations
on suspected anti-Spanish persons and their supporters. With the Cuerpo’s
formation in 1895, intelligence gathering came under one state entity.
The Cuerpo de Vigilancia was organized in 1895, but its operations
started only in the second quarter of the following year. As indicated in
reports for the month of April 1896, Cuerpo operatives concentrated
their intelligence and surveillance activities on Filipinos who had ties
with Europe-based reformers and those affiliated with Masonry (NAP
1896a). They inspected the luggage of Filipino travelers arriving from
Europe, Hong Kong, and Japan to confiscate subversive materials, such
as publications of the Propagandists and Masonic circulars. Foremost in
their list of suspicious persons were close friends of Rizal like Dr. José
Albert, Salvador del Rosario, an unnamed sister of Fr. José Burgos, Rosario
Villaroel (a known Mason), Pascual Poblete (former editor of El Resumen),
Maximo Viola (financier of the Noli me tángere’s publication), and Pedro
Serrano Laktaw (also a known Mason).
History textbooks mention that the Katipunan used social activities as
fronts every time they had meetings because they did not want the Spaniards
to notice them. Apparently, however, their subversive activities were
monitored by Cuerpo agents, who placed under surveillance some locations
in Manila that were used as meeting places of persons believed to be rebels
and Masons. Reports specifically mentioned the Teatro in Sampaloc, the
Basar El Cisne along Carriedo Street, and the Bazar de Japones in Plaza
Moraga in Binondo (NAP 1896d). Some private residences were also
watched closely because they were frequently visited by characters deemed
suspicious. They singled out the houses of Jacobo Zobel, Felix Roxas,
Doroteo Jose, Domingo Ferraz, Telesforo Chuidian, Mariano Veloso, and
a certain watchmaker known only as Señor Matti. The Cuerpo’s agents did
not spare even the pharmacies, reporting that the drugstores in Quiapo and
Gastambide were favorite rendezvous for Masons (NAP 1896b).
Lastly, the Cuerpo’s operatives also informed the authorities that some
members of the native Filipino clergy were actively involved in the anti-
Spanish movement. These priests were allegedly giving regular monthly
contributions to the propaganda campaign. Two of them were named: Manuel
Modesto Marco, known as Father Narco (a Cuerpo agent misspelled his

escalante / Katipunan in the Cuerpo de Vigilancia Collection 459


name as such), the parish priest of Quiapo, and Fr. José Consunji y Espino, a
priest assigned at the Manila Cathedral (ibid.). These reports clearly support
the claim of John Schumacher (1981, 45) and Teodoro Kalaw (1956, 228)
that during the revolution there were secular priests who were pro-Mason
and anti-Spanish.
Cuerpo operatives also exposed the activities that Filipinos used as
smokescreen when they held meetings. Chief Inspector Moreno (1896)
reported that in Café Alhambra on Calle San Fernando, in Binondo, some
men pretended to be staging tertulias (social gatherings normally held with
some performances), but were actually holding meetings. Agent Agustin
Mustieles (1898) on his part reported that suspected enemies of the colonial
government used the chanting of the Pasyon and Holy Week pilgrimages
as pretexts to deflect the attention of the authorities. He also noted that
rebels made small holes on the walls of the Pandacan church where they
could mount their weapons once hostilities broke out (ibid.). Gregorio F.
Ignacio (1897), another Cuerpo agent, disclosed that in a house located at
23 Calle de Madrid in Binondo members of the Katipunan held regular
late-afternoon to late-evening meetings, dancing, and feasting disguised as
acts of religious worship. These camouflages are known in the literature.
For instance, Corpuz (2006) talks about such strategies, but the Cuerpo
documents provide interesting details like the exact address of the venues of
the secret meetings.
While the Katipuneros used creativity to conceal their subversive
activities and organize and prepare for an armed confrontation with the
colonial government, the Cuerpo operatives managed to penetrate some of
the Katipunan’s strategies of concealment. By the second half of 1896, rumors
concerning the existence of a subversive organization were widespread, and
authorities were gathering concrete and credible pieces of evidence to justify
using military action against them.
Although this historical information is not new, it needs to be mentioned
here because it shows that months before the “discovery” of the Katipunan,
Cuerpo agents already had dossiers on Bonifacio and other Katipuneros. The
name “Andrés Bonifacio” appeared in an anonymous agent’s report of 23
June 1896, two months before the “discovery” of the Katipunan. The report
correctly identified a closely monitored individual named Bonifacio as an
employee of Fressell and Company, who was reputedly a Mason and who
circulated numerous subversive materials in the suburbs of Tondo, Trozo,

460 Pshev  65, no. 4 (2017)


and Sta. Cruz (“conviene también vigilar, a un individuo llamado Andrés
Bonifacio, personero de la casa de los Pres. Fressell y Co. que se sabe por
buen conducto que es masón y que hace gran propaganda filibustera por los
arrabales de Tondo, Trozo y Sta. Cruz) (NAP 1896c).
Aside from the dossiers on Bonifacio, Rizal, Aguinaldo, and other
prominent personalities who participated in the anti-Spanish movement, the
Cuerpo collection also has documents containing extensive lists of names of
and personal facts about ordinary Katipuneros that are unknown in the extant
literature.6 Some documents contain lists of persons jailed for political crimes
(NAP 1897a); prisoners pardoned by the governor-general (NAP 1897b);
suspected Masons and subversives (NAP n.d., “Relación Sospechosas” );
members of La Liga Filipina, the organization founded by Rizal and a few
others on 3 July 1892 (NAP n.d., “Relación Liga”); and members of the
Katipunan in Mandaluyong (NAP n.d., “Relación Mandaloyon”). No such
lists are found in the works of Agoncillo (1956), Onofre Corpuz (1999),
Reynaldo Ileto (1998), Glenn May (1997), and Richardson (2013).
Clearly, the Cuerpo de Vigilancia agents were hardworking operatives,
and as a result they were able to unmask the Katipuneros no matter how hard
the latter tried to conceal their identities and activities. Moreover, as the
Katipunan expanded, especially after March 1896, it held frequent meetings
and initiations at night, sometimes becoming lax with security and making
the organization vulnerable to being found out by the Spanish authorities
(Corpuz 2006, 264–66). The Cuerpo’s surveillance of these activities
produced lists that were quite detailed to the extent that the intelligence
community was able to ascertain the personal circumstances of people being
monitored.
For instance, the Sangguniang Bayang Macabuhay list had eight entries
that indicated the individual member’s real name, age, address, civil status,
occupation, position in office, date of initiation into the Katipunan, and nom
de guerre (NAP n.d., “Relación Mandaloyon”). The roster reveals that the
majority of Katipuneros in Mandaluyong joined the movement at a relatively
young age. Out of the 252 members listed, all males, nine were only 18
years old and close to 90 percent of the total membership belonged to the
age bracket of 20 to 35 years old. The oldest member, Abraham Ignacio,
was 49 years old when he joined the Katipunan in 1896. He is described
as “married, lives in Bacood, works as overseer (encargado), and his alias
(nombre simbólica) is palakol [axe]” (ibid.).

escalante / Katipunan in the Cuerpo de Vigilancia Collection 461


The list likewise indicated that many Katipuneros were engaged in blue-
collar jobs. The Cuerpo agents categorized them in terms of their livelihood
as laundry man (maglalaba), tailor (mananahi), collector (cobrador), supplier
of fodder (zacatero), carriage driver (cochero), milk seller (manggagatas),
administrator (katiwala), plowman (mag-aararo), vendor (magtitinda),
boatman (bankero), barber (manggugupit), fireman (bombero), day laborer
(jornalero), and shoemaker (magsasapato). Two occupations that could be
considered white-collar jobs were writer (manunulat) and teacher (maestro),
but their number totaled only five. These data from the Cuerpo collection
nuance the claim of Renato Constantino (1975, 159–61) that the Filipino
insurgents came from all walks of life and that the 1896 revolution was a
“revolt of the masses.”
There is also a document in the Cuerpo collection that validates the
common belief that members of La Liga Filipina were more affluent than
Katipuneros (NAP n.d., “Relación Liga”; Agoncillo 1990, 146). It specifies
only the person’s name, profession, and address, but is sufficient to prove that
the majority of Liga members belonged to the upper middle class of native
society. The first page of the document has thirty-nine names. On it are found
the names of Apolinario Mabini, Doroteo Cortes, and five other lawyers as
well as two law students (estudiantes de derecho). The names of José Rizal and
four other physicians (medicos) plus one pharmacist (farmacéutico) are also
there. The name of Paciano Mercado (Rizal’s only brother) was also on the
first page and was classified as landowner in Bay, Laguna (hacendero en Bai).
The rest of the list consists of a clerk (escribiente), cigarette maker (tabaquero),
teacher (maestro), sculptor (escultor), and merchant (comerciante), and a few
other professions that are undecipherable. The range of occupations suggests
that Liga members were not all wealthy or equally affluent; still, unlike the
Katipunan list, no one on the Liga list was categorized as worker (labrador)
or day laborer (jornalero).

The “Discovery” of the Katipunan


Sylvia Mendez Ventura (2001, 64–67) presents three versions of the
“discovery” of the Katipunan. All of them revolve around Teodoro Patiño, Fr.
Mariano Gil, and a few other personalities associated with Bonifacio. The first
version attributes the discovery to the rivalry between Patiño and Apolonio
de la Cruz, both of whom were employees of Diario de Manila. Desirous
of getting a salary increase at the expense of the other, they floated rumors

462 Pshev  65, no. 4 (2017)


that put both of them in a bad light. Upon learning that Patiño got the salary
increase, an envious De la Cruz wrote a derogatory letter to Joaquin Lafon,
the general manager of the printing house, accusing Patiño of stealing some
office supplies. Lafon acted on the accusation by inspecting the lockers of
Patiño and other workers, which led him to discover subversive materials,
weapons, and other paraphernalia in the lockers of the Katipuneros. This
incident impelled the Spanish authorities to conduct more searches that led
to the out-and-out discovery of the Katipunan.
In the second version of the discovery, Ventura (ibid., 65) recounts the
story that Agoncillo (1956/2001, 142–45, 339–43) told in The Revolt of the
Masses: Patiño disclosed the existence of the Katipunan to his sister Honoria,
who in turn reported it to Sor Teresa, the mother portress (madre portera)
of the orphanage where she (Honoria) was staying. The nun relayed the
information to Fr. Mariano Gil, who right away mobilized troops that raided
the printing house of Diario de Manila.
In the third version of Ventura’s (ibid., 67) account, Patiño and Father
Gil were again the main characters, but this time it was Patiño’s wife who
played a pivotal role. Patiño’s wife regarded her husband’s involvement in
the anti-Spanish movement as a mortal sin. Bothered by her conscience,
she confessed what she knew about the Katipunan to Father Gil. The priest
instructed Patiño’s wife to bring her husband to him so he could give her
husband absolution. Patiño went to see Father Gil, and in the course of their
conversation he divulged what he knew about the Katipunan. This disclosure
resulted in the raid of the printing house of Diario de Manila.
A particular document in the Cuerpo collection can help contemporary
students of history decide which narrative is anchored on credible primary
sources. It is entitled “Apuntes sobre la organización y desarrollo de la
insurrección filipina 1896” (Notes on the organization and development
of the Philippine insurrection of 1896), written by Olegario Diaz (1896)
of the Guardia Civil Veterana (fig. 1). A portion of the report provides a
three-page account of the “discovery” (descubrimiento) of the Katipunan. It
belies the first and third versions in Ventura’s account because it does not
mention Apolonio de la Cruz and Patiño’s wife. Father Gil, Teodoro Patiño,
and Honoria are the only prominent personalities who figure in the report
(ibid., 30).7
Diaz (ibid.) wrote that Patiño disclosed to his sister what he knew about
the Katipunan because he was fearful of what might happen to her in case

escalante / Katipunan in the Cuerpo de Vigilancia Collection 463


Fig. 1. Report of the Guardia Civil Veterana on the discovery of the Katipunan
Source: Diaz 1896
Courtesy of the National Archives of the Philippines

464 Pshev  65, no. 4 (2017)


war erupted.8 He hoped that giving her advanced information would enable
her to take the necessary precaution. Honoria relayed the information to
the Mother Superior of the convent, who in turn facilitated the meeting
of Patiño and Father Gil. Diaz (ibid.) also reported the raid of the printing
house and the items the Spaniards discovered in the workers’ lockers. An
important part of the report stated:

Arrepentido y temeroso del incremento que tomaba la asociación y de


los proyectos criminales que perseguía, se decidió a denunciarlos a
su Hermana, educando en el Colegio de Looban que dirigen ilustradas
y virtuosas hermanas de la Caridad está traslado la denuncia a
su Superiora quien llamó a su presencia a Patiño, y cerciorada la
gravedad que remitió al denunciador al Reverendo Fray Mariano Gil,
Cura Párroco del arrabal de Tondo; a este repitió cuanto ya tenía
manifestado, en la parte que él podía conocer come simple iniciado;
afirmo que en la imprenta del “Diario,” se imprimían recibos y que se
[illegible text] cuchillos de manera clandestina para el Katipunan y
por ultimo expuesto enseñar el sitio donde las piedras litográficas
estaban ocultas.

Terrified by the consequences of the criminal objectives of the


Katipunan, he told everything he knew about the organization to
his sister, then a student of Colegio de Looban, a school run by the
Sisters of Charity. Patiño’s sister then told what she had learned from
her brother to the Mother Superior. The Mother Superior then led the
distraught Patiño to Fr. Mariano Gil, the parish priest of Tondo. Patiño
reiterated to the priest everything he knew such as the printing of the
Katipunan materials in the printing press. Later on, Patiño showed
Father Gil where they kept the lithographic materials used in printing
Katipunan materials.

Decades before Gregorio Zaide (1939, 61–102) published his study on


the controversy surrounding the “discovery” of the Katipunan, Wenceslao E.
Retana (1897, 91–98) and Francis St. Clair (1902, 53–55) already articulated
this event in their respective books on the 1896 revolution. As mentioned
earlier, some documents in the Cuerpo collection reinforce and strengthen
existing knowledge about the Katipunan, and the account of Olegario Diaz

escalante / Katipunan in the Cuerpo de Vigilancia Collection 465


is one of them. To a certain extent, Diaz’s account is more valuable than
that of Retana and St. Clair because it comes from the agents of the Guardia
Civil Veterana, the military unit that accompanied Father Gil in raiding
the printing house of Diario de Manila. They had first-hand knowledge
regarding the circumstances surrounding the discovery of the Katipunan and
the items found in the lockers of the workers. Unfortunately, Diaz did not
mention the ultimate motive of Patiño in revealing to his sister the secrets of
the Katipunan. Hence, the imputed motive of revenge against his employer
that Agoncillo (1956/2001, 339–40 n. 19) presented in his book remains
unsettled and is speculative at best.9
Certain documents in the Cuerpo collection offer some hitherto
unpublished facts about Patiño after the discovery of the Katipunan. As an
act of gratitude for disclosing what he knew about the Katipunan and for
professing loyalty to Spain, he was hired as a member of the intelligence
community. But his stint was brief because after serving in the Cuerpo for a
few months, he was judged unfit for the job. Chief Inspector Moreno (1897)
depicted him as a person who lacked intelligence, zeal, and prudence.
Moreno (ibid.) also reported that he was a heavy drinker, incorrigible, and a
bad example to his colleagues. For these reasons, Moreno recommended that
he be fired from the service.10 This new information about Patiño confirms
that he was indeed an unreliable person and could not be trusted to handle
sensitive information.

On the Katipunan’s Acronym


Agoncillo (1956), Zaide (1968), Schumacher (1981), and Ileto (1998) studied
Bonifacio and the Katipunan from different perspectives and used various
primary sources. Each one came up with his own unique narrative, but they
all agreed that the meaning of the acronym KKK ANB is “Kataastaasan,
Kagalanggalang na Katipunan ng mga Anak ng Bayan” (Highest and Most
Honorable Assembly of the Children of the People), although they employed
different English translations of this name.11 This meaning of KKK ANB was
adopted by textbook writers and regarded as a fact of history. Recent studies on
the Katipunan, however, challenged this well-established meaning of KKK.
For instance, Corpuz (1989, 218) asserted that the meaning of the first “K”
is not Kataastaasan (the Highest) but Kamahalmahalan (Most Esteemed).
For his part, Richardson (2013, xxi) wrote, “we cannot be sure that the first
‘K’ always stood for ‘Kataastaasan’ or the second ‘K’ for ‘Kagalanggalang.’”

466 Pshev  65, no. 4 (2017)


These developments suggest that there is a need to reexamine and clarify the
meaning of the acronym KKK ANB.
Two documents in the Cuerpo collection show that the acronym KKK
stands for, as only one of many meanings, Kataastaasan Kagalanggalang na
Katipunan ng mga Anak ng Bayan. However, the first of these two documents
states that KKK also stands for “Katipunan, Kataastaasan, Kalayaan ng mga tunay
na anak ng bayan” (Katipunan, Kataastaasan, Kalayaan—A Los Verdaderos
hijos del pueblo) (Assembly, Highest, Freedom—To the true sons of the people)
(NAP 1897c). The original document in Tagalog is a written order (cautusan)
requiring the Katipuneros of Caloocan to get their arms ready and have ample
food in preparation for the forthcoming uprising. The directive is dated 6 August
1896, that is, two weeks before the “discovery” of the Katipunan.
The second document, allegedly coming from Father Gil, gives the
meaning of KKK as “Kataastaasan Katipunan Katagalugan” (Highest
Assembly of the Tagalog) (fig. 2). The Cuerpo collection contains both a
Tagalog as well as a Spanish translation. The document is entitled Ministerio
del Consejo Supremo Popular (Ministry of the Supreme People’s Council)
and bears the seal of the Katipunan (NAP n.d., “Ministerio”). This important
document deserves serious consideration because, if it is among the items
Father Gil and other raiders confiscated from the lockers of the Katipuneros
in the printing house, then the Tagalog version is likely to be an original
Katipunan document.

Bonifacio’s Letter and Photograph


One controversial document found in the Cuerpo collection that has not
been presented in previous studies on Bonifacio and the Katipunan is a
handwritten letter that appears to have been written by Andrés Bonifacio
because it bears his full name and signature (fig. 3). It also mentions his
residential address in Tondo: mi casa hoy—Elcano No. 32 (my house at
present—Elcano No. 32) (NAP n.d., “Bonifacio’s supposed letter”). The text
of the letter reads:

Sr. Luengo, Imbécil Gobernador. Estoi en Manila desda el dia diez


y tus veteranos, ladrones, y los estúpidos policías no dan con me
persona. Ven tu solo a buscar me, también armado y lucheremos;
versa como valgo menos que tu, imbécil. Mi casa hoy – Elcano No. 32.
[Signed] Andrés Bonifacio

escalante / Katipunan in the Cuerpo de Vigilancia Collection 467


Sr. Luengo, Idiotic Governor: I am in Manila since the 10th but your
veterans, thieves, and the stupid police cannot find me. Why don’t you
come, alone, well-armed to get me and we will fight. Then you can
see for yourself who is the better man, idiot! Today I live in 32 Elcano.
[Signed] Andrés Bonifacio

The letter is addressed to Civil Gov. Manuel Luengo who the author
calls imbécil (idiotic). It also labels the Guardia Civil Veterana as stupid
(estúpido) and thieves (ladrones). The undated letter seems to be an original
composition because it is not a transcription by a Cuerpo agent. It is highly
provocative, disrespectful, and aims to undermine the competence of the
military arm of the colonial government at that time.
If this letter is compared with documents allegedly written by Bonifacio
that Jim Richardson found in the Archivo General Militar de Madrid, one
can easily detect that Bonifacio’s handwriting and signature are very different
in the Cuerpo letter and in those other documents.12 Moreover, the letter
in the Cuerpo collection is in Spanish, not Tagalog, the frequently used
language of many Katipuneros at that time. Interestingly, fugitives would
normally conceal their place of residence, but in this letter the alleged
author gives his address to the arresting officers. These observations, however,
should not be used as ground to dismiss the letter as dubious and without
historical value. First, Bonifacio could possibly have altered his penmanship
deliberately to confuse the Spaniards who were looking for him. Second,
he wrote in Spanish because the letter was intended primarily for Luengo
and not the Tagalog-speaking Katipuneros. Third, disclosing one’s address,
if it was genuine, would not have been a big deal for Bonifacio because
he was already peripatetic at that time, as in all probability the letter was
written after the Diario de Manila fiasco. In short, the letter could have been
a propaganda material that Bonifacio and his men used in order to divert
the attention of the colonial army to focus their attention on Tondo so that
the Katipuneros could freely maneuver in the present-day Quezon City area
where Bonifacio and his men had camped out. Finally, the letter showed
that the author was no coward and ready to personally confront his armed
enemies, a kind of personality reflective of Bonifacio, who was known to be
confrontational.
Interestingly, the Cuerpo collection includes a, by now, widely publicized
portrait of the supremo (fig. 4). This photograph includes a label beneath the

468 Pshev  65, no. 4 (2017)


Fig. 2. Copy of a document that shows the meaning of KKK as Kataastaasan Katipunan Katagalugan
Source: NAP n.d., “Ministerio”
Courtesy of the National Archives of the Philippines

escalante / Katipunan in the Cuerpo de Vigilancia Collection 469


Fig. 3. Copy of Bonifacio’s supposed letter to Manuel Luengo
Source: NAP n.d., “Bonifacio’s supposed letter”
Courtesy of the National Archives of the Philippines

470 Pshev  65, no. 4 (2017)


Fig. 4. Enlarged photograph of Andrés Bonifacio
Source: NAP n.d., “Magnifico Retrato”
Courtesy of the National Archives of the Philippines

escalante / Katipunan in the Cuerpo de Vigilancia Collection 471


name “Andrés Bonifacio” that categorically declares “Executed in Cavite by
Emilio Aguinaldo” (Fusilado en Cavite por Emilio Aguinaldo). Nowhere in
the photograph is there mention of its date, source, and origin. Moreover, it
is silent as regard the author of the caption. Hence, it is hard to establish the
context, perspective, and motives of the one who wrote it. In any case, the
document is important because it is another contemporaneous account that
singles out Aguinaldo as the person behind the execution of Bonifacio.13

Anting-Anting and the Revolution


The Cuerpo agents did not limit their intelligence work to the activities
of well-known Katipuneros. It was also part of their job to take note of the
cultural and religious practices of ordinary Filipinos. Moreover, they observed
and recorded supernatural beliefs, specifically, the efficacy of anting-anting,
amulets (agimat), prayers (oraciones), and other spiritual artifacts that gave
the believer magical powers.14 Although a few scholars consider these folk
beliefs nuisance topics in the grand narrative of Philippine history because of
their obscurantist and unscientific elements, others have taken folk practices
seriously and incorporated them in reconstructing the social history of the
revolution. 15
The Cuerpo collection has at least eleven exclusive reports on anting-
anting and a few other documents that allude to it. The reports confirm
that some Katipuneros were using anting-anting at that time. Moreover, the
Cuerpo collection provides samples of these potent objects.
One document contains pictures of medals with images of the cross
on it as well as prayers in adulterated Latin and Spanish (NAP n.d., “Varios
Anting-Anting”). Colonial officials had reasons to take the anting-anting
seriously because they saw images of it embedded on the documents
they had seized from the Katipuneros. For instance, in the croquis of the
Supreme Council and Popular Councils of the Katipunan, the supremo was
symbolized by a star with a triangle and an eye inside the all-seeing eye (fig.
5). The latter is a familiar representation of Dios Padre (God the Father) and
a common amulet sold in the vicinity of Quiapo Church up to now. The
said document supposedly came from Fr. Mariano Gil and again possibly
one of the documents confiscated from the printing house of Diario de
Manila (NAP n.d., “Definicion”). This image is also found in Ileto’s (1979,
74) Pasyon and Revolution, and he got it from Jose del Castillo’s (1897, 108)
El Katipunan. However, the images found in Ileto’s book and the Cuerpo

472 Pshev  65, no. 4 (2017)


Fig. 5. Croquis of the Supreme Council and Popular Councils of the Katipunan that contains the
symbol of Dios Padre (God the Father)
Source: NAP n.d., “Definición”
Courtesy of the National Archives of the Philippines

document are not exactly the same because in Del Castillo’s drawing the
“definición” text is in the upper right-hand corner while in that of the
Cuerpo it is located in the lower right-hand corner. Moreover, the same
image has been presented for different purposes. Ileto used it as evidence for
the triangular organization of the Katipunan, whereas in this article it is part
of the discussion of anting-anting. Ileto’s focus is on the triangle, while my
focus is on the all-seeing eye.
Cuerpo agents reported that in the provinces of Laguna and Tayabas
(present-day Quezon) one could find many anting-anting devotees. One
report narrated that on Mount Makiling there appeared a “holy man” who
was warmly received by the local folks (Moreno 1898a). He lived in a cave
with three gates that people considered sacred. Near the cave was a big
tree the branches of which were made into anting-anting. Cuerpo agents
monitored his activities because he predicted that in the coming Holy Week
the insurgents would attack Manila and the capital would be razed to the

escalante / Katipunan in the Cuerpo de Vigilancia Collection 473


Fig. 6. Copy of anting-anting prayer
Source: NAP n.d., “Amuleto”
Courtesy of the National Archives of the Philippines

ground (ibid.). Another document written by an agent based on Mount San


Cristobal, Quezon, reported that a “mystic” called Dios Padre was agitating
the people to join his cause. He preached and offered prayers, masses, and
sacraments to local residents who belonged to the sect called “Banal na
Katipunan” (Moreno 1898b).
Also in the Cuerpo files is a document entitled “Amuleto
Contraproducente” that contains several oraciones (NAP n.d., “Amuleto”;
cf. fig. 6). The prayers come from a printed anting-anting booklet found in
the possession of Cabecilla Abad of Laguna. Unfortunately, the report of the
Cuerpo agent who obtained the material does not provide information on
Abad’s sources for these prayers. The oraciones are in Latin, Spanish, and
archaic Tagalog. Under scrutiny, the Latin and Spanish texts are accurate as
far as the etymology of the words are concerned, but they do not follow the
standard grammar and conjugation rules of both languages. The linguistic
formulations are similar to Chabacano or the Spanish creole language spoken
in Cavite and Zamboanga. Thus, one can theorize in some measure that the
anting-anting represents the Filipino way of appropriating or indigenizing
some of the Christian teachings the Spaniards introduced. Although this

474 Pshev  65, no. 4 (2017)


observation is already known in the literature, the actual document, “Amuleto
Contraproducente,” has not been used or cited in any published work.16
Another interesting element of the oraciones is the presence of some
words allegedly uttered by Jesus and other Biblical characters, but are not
found in the gospels. One oracion claims to be the prayer that Jesus recited
when he was arrested in the Garden of Gethsemane. The introductory part
of the prayer in Tagalog states: “Prayer that Jesus uttered when He was
arrested in the garden [of Gethsemane] wherein the soldiers fell” (Oracion
nang ating panginoong Jesucristo na canian uinica ng sia ay dacpin sa
halamang [sic] nang matimbuan ang mga soldados). The oracion goes:
“JESUS pecatum pecabit en Jerusalem acendat—dibulis—quia misiratum
anima mea sum santon alcem la muerto eurpam tuan.” Another prayer avers
to be the “Prayer of Mary Magdalene to Jesus when she asked for forgiveness
of her sins. This is to pacify persons who are angry” (Oracion ni Sta. Maria
Magdalena cay Jesucristo nang canian hingin ang capatauaran nang canian
manga casalanan. Yto pang lumay sa sino mang nagagalit). The oracion goes
as follows: “Sangere eccecriste tuis fillos dey vive et encilla. Maria Magdalena
pecatorumpecabit ea Jerusalem.”
The discussion of the amulets in the Cuerpo collection enriches the
historiography of the revolution because it shows that the Katipuneros used
them as part of their weaponry in fighting the Spaniards. Hopefully, other
scholars will pursue this topic and identify other spiritual weapons the
Katipuneros used in addition to those discussed here.

Everyday Life in 1898


Aside from anting-anting, the Cuerpo agents also reported the behavior of
ordinary Filipinos and made keen observations, which historians could use
to have a glimpse of the problems and challenges encountered by Manila
residents during the revolutionary period. The information the agents
reported might not have had direct military relevance, but they must have
deemed it important for the Spanish authorities to know so they could
respond to the situation on the ground. For us today these documents, which
clearly show the revolution affecting not only Spaniards and revolutionaries
but ordinary people as well, enrich the narrative of the revolution.
One aspect of everyday life the agents monitored was the volatility of
the price and supply of basic commodities during the upheaval. One month
before the Battle of Manila Bay, Antonio Cabangis (1898) reported that the
rumor of the arrival of thirteen American warships caused panic buying in

escalante / Katipunan in the Cuerpo de Vigilancia Collection 475


Manila. Wealthy residents of the city increased their inventory of foodstuff,
resulting in the unprecedented increase in the price of rice. Cabangis
(ibid.) accused Chinese traders of hoarding stocks of rice and other basic
commodities, further increasing the price. This problem continued and even
worsened after George Dewey crushed the Spanish Armada in the Battle of
Manila Bay. Agent Juan Mendida (1898a; cf. Mendida 1898b) affirmed that
by July 1898 the supply of meat was already dwindling. Beef was scarce, and
butchers were selling carabao, horse, and goat meat as alternatives. People
were complaining because meat vendors were selling them at the same
price as cow’s meat. A week before the Americans attacked Intramuros, an
acute meat shortage compelled the Guardia Civil Veterana to search the
house of vendors suspected of hoarding meat products (Mendida 1898c).
Pedro Robledo, a resident of Binondo, was found keeping one carabao at his
residence, which he did not give up because it was, he said, the source of
milk for his family (Mendida 1898d).
Spanish authorities also monitored the activities of some merchants who
were taking advantage of the situation. Agents reported that Chinese traders
were selling their goods to the Americans, who paid higher prices than local
customers. Osorio, a Chinese trader, was arrested when one of his cascos
(small vessel) was caught bringing supplies to the Americans. He allegedly
sold sixty heads of cattle and two cascos of vegetables to the Americans
(Muniain 1898b). Cuerpo agents reported that, aside from foodstuff,
vehicles for rent were hard to come by during this period. Consequently,
authorities allowed privately owned vehicles to operate as public transport
service (Muniain 1898a).
Lastly, rumors of an impending war also affected Spanish households.
Intelligence reports mentioned that servants, cooks, and coachmen
abandoned their employers for safety and security reasons. As a result, the
masters ended up doing domestic chores and driving their own carriages
(Muniain 1898c).

Conclusion
Using documents from the archival collection of the Cuerpo de Vigilancia,
this article has shown that the story of Bonifacio and the Katipunan are still
works in progress and many details need to be incorporated into the narrative.
Previous studies mentioned that Katipuneros met secretly in public places
and used all forms of fronts to deflect the attention of the Spanish authorities.
Using the Cuerpo reports, this article has been able to identify some of the

476 Pshev  65, no. 4 (2017)


names of the establishments used by the Katipunan, their addresses, and the
activities they used to camouflage their meetings.
Numerous Cuerpo documents discussed in this article confirm the
claims of previous studies, corroborating, for example, the assertion that
members of La Liga Filipina were more economically well-off compared
with members of the Katipunan. Based on the Cuerpo collection, this study
also favors Agoncillo’s (1956/2001) version over other accounts, such as
those found in Ventura (2001), as regard the circumstances surrounding the
discovery of the Katipunan in the Diario de Manila episode. However, on
the meaning of the acronym KKK ANB, the Cuerpo documents indicate
multiple meanings of “KKK,” and the issue remains unsettled.
Use of the Cuerpo collection has also broadened the story of the
revolution as it provides snippets about the everyday life of ordinary Filipinos
during that time. Credit should be given to the Cuerpo agents for including
in their report the behavior, disposition, and reactions of the residents of
Manila and nearby provinces after the revolution broke out. Reports of
Cuerpo agents also enlighten the use of anting-anting that Katipuneros used,
which in the literature has been ascribed primarily to overtly millenarian
movements.
The Cuerpo collection therefore is a most valuable compendium of
historical materials, many of which have not been utilized by historians.
With the collection now open to the public, historians can utilize it to further
enrich the historiography of the revolution and even correct misconceptions
perpetuated by previous studies. It will be a great service to the cause of history
if scholars will pick out other topics in the Cuerpo collection not tackled in
this article. The task of digging deeper and looking for new materials that
will further enrich the history of the Philippine revolution continues.

List of Abbreviations
CdV collection Cuerpo de Vigilancia documentos, copias, impresos, y otros
papeles del Katipunan y de la Insurrección Filipina
Doc. Documento
Ms. Manuscrito
NAP National Archives of the Philippines, Manila
NCCA National Commission for Culture and the Arts, Manila
NCCA-CHR National Commission for Culture of the Arts Committee on
Historical Research
NHCP National Historical Commission of the Philippines, Manila

escalante / Katipunan in the Cuerpo de Vigilancia Collection 477


Notes
1 The significant publications during this decade include Alvarez 1992; Ricarte 1992; Valenzuela
1992; Aguinaldo 1998; Ronquillo 1996; Schumacher 1981; Ileto 1998; Medina 1994; Corpuz
1999; Villaroel 1999; Borromeo-Buehler 1998.

2 Citations of all materials from this collection provide the author, if available, and year of the
document. If the document is undated, its citation includes a short title. Where no author’s name
is given, the citation of the document simply includes the name of the archive where it is currently
housed, i.e., the NAP. Full bibliographic details including the manuscript code, manuscript title if
available, as well as document number are given in the list of references.

3 Far East Bank and Trust Company no longer exists today after it was bought by the Bank of the
Philippine Islands in 1999.

4 For more details about this controversy, see Isyu: Manila Daily News Magazine 1997a, 1997b,
1997c, 1997d; Philippine Daily Inquirer 1997a, 1997b, 1997c, 1998.

5 Given the prolonged closure of the NAP’s Spanish section, researchers have the option of
accessing the digital copy of the Cuerpo de Vigilancia collection by visiting the resource center
of the NHCP in Manila.

6 People wanting to verify if their long-departed relatives participated in the revolution may pore
over the Cuerpo reports to find the answer. I am not suggesting that the Cuerpo has a complete
list of those who took part in the revolution, but the Cuerpo list is the longest that I have seen so
far.

7 Diaz (1896) did not mention Honoria by name, but alluded to her when he wrote “su hermana,”
referring to Patiño’s sister.

8 The document provides no specific date, but this event must have happened before 16 August
1896, the date when Patiño met Fr. Mariano Gil (Zaide 1931, 42).

9 Agoncillo (1956/2001, 339–40 n. 19) did not accept the claim of Gregorio F. Zaide (1968, 106–8)
that Patiño revealed the secrets of the Katipunan to his sister because he wanted her to leave
the orphanage and go back to their hometown in the Visayas. His motive was to spare his sister
from the possible danger that might happen in case war broke out. Agoncillo, for his part,
asserted that vengeance for not getting what he wanted from his employer was Patiño’s motive
in revealing the secrets of the Katipunan.

10 Another relevant document is Patiño 1897.

11 Agoncillo’s (1956/2001, 44) translation is “Highest and Most Respectable Association of the
Sons of the People”; Zaide’s (1968) is “Highest and Respectable Association of the Sons of
the People”; Ileto’s (1979, 93) is “The Highest and Most Honorable Society of the Sons of the
Country,” while Schumacher’s (1981, 48) is “Highest and Most Respectable Society of the Sons
of the People.”

12 See sample Katipunan documents in Richardson 2013, 257–59.

13 Among contemporaries, Artemio Ricarte (1992, 52) suspected that Aguinaldo had a hand in the
death of Bonifacio. Cf. Cristobal 1997, 156, 158–59.

14 Anting-anting appeared in various forms and served different purposes. Some offered protection
from physical harm while others could make a person invisible. There were also those that

478 Pshev  65, no. 4 (2017)


enabled the bearer to manipulate and control the behavior of other people. Other powers
attributed to anting-anting were the ability to heal illnesses and foretell future events. Belief in
anting-anting still persists today because amazing stories and credible testimonies confirm their
efficacy.

15 Academics who have tackled anting-anting as a thematic element in their studies include: Ileto
1998; Covar 1998; Medina 1994; Salazar 1995; Abrera 1992.

16 Personally, I had never known of the oraciones given in the document before I came across it in
the Cuerpo collection.

References
Abrera, Ma. Bernadette. 1992. Ang numismatika ng anting-anting: Panimulang paghawan ng isang
landas tungo sa pag-unawa ng kasaysayan ng kalinangang Pilipino. MA thesis, University of the
Philippines.

Agoncillo, Teodoro. 1956/2001. The revolt of the masses: The story of Bonifacio and the Katipunan.
Reprint, Quezon City: University of the Philippines Press.

———. 1990. History of the Filipino people. 8th ed. Quezon City: R. P. Garcia and Garotech
Publishing.

———. 2012. History of the Filipino people. 8th ed. Quezon City: C and E Publishing.

Aguinaldo, Emilio. 1998. Mga gunita ng himagsikan. Manila: National Centennial Commission.

Alvarez, Santiago. 1992. The Katipunan and the revolution: Memoirs of a general. Quezon City: Ateneo
de Manila University Press.

Artigas y Cuerva, Manuel. 1996. The events of 1872: A historico-bio-bibliographical account, trans.
Onofre D. Corpuz. Quezon City: University of the Philippines Press.

Borromeo-Buehler, Soledad. 1998. The cry of Balintawak: A contrived controversy. Quezon City:
Ateneo de Manila University Press.

Cabangis, Antonio. 1898. Intelligence report, 30 Mar. Informe 61, Ms. B–26: Agente Don Antonio
Cabangis. CdV collection. NAP.

Churchill, Bernardita, Eden Manalo Gripaldo, and Digna Balangue Apilado, eds. 2011. The movement
for independence in the Philippines (1896–1898): Calendar of documents in the Archives of the
Cuerpo de Vigilancia de Manila. Manila: NCCA.

Constantino, Renato. 1975. The Philippines: A past revisited. Quezon City: R. Constantino.

Corpuz, Onofre D. 1989. The roots of the Filipino nation, vol. 2. Quezon City: Aklahi Foundation, Inc.

———. 1999. Saga and triumph: The Filipino revolution against Spain. Manila: Philippine Centennial
Commission.

———. 2006. The roots of the Filipino nation, vol. 2. Quezon City: University of the Philippines Press.

Covar, Prospero. 1998. Larangan: Seminal essays on Philippine culture. Manila: NCCA.

Cristobal, Adrian. 1997. The tragedy of the revolution. Makati City: Studio 5 Publishing.

David, Tito. 1898. Intelligence report, 18 Feb. Doc. 37, Ms. B–20: Agente Don Tito David. CdV
collection. NAP.

escalante / Katipunan in the Cuerpo de Vigilancia Collection 479


Del Castillo, Jose. 1897. El Katipunan. Madrid: Imprenta del Asilo de Huerfanos.

Diaz, Olegario. 1896. Sección de Guardia Civil Veterana: Apuntes sobre la organización y desarrollo
de la insurrección Filipina, 28 Oct. Doc. 362, Ms. A–2. CdV collection. NAP.

Fernández, Heriberto. 1898a. Intelligence report, 29 Mar. Informe 12, Ms. B–17: Inspector Don
Heriberto Fernández. CdV collection. NAP.

———. 1898b. Intelligence report, 29 May. Informe 13, Ms. B–17: Inspector Don Heriberto
Fernández. CdV collection. NAP.

Ignacio, Gregorio Francisco. 1897. Intelligence report, 13 June. Doc. 11, Ms. B–26: Agente Don
Gregorio Francisco Ignacio. CdV collection. NAP.

Ileto, Reynaldo. 1979. Pasyon and revolution: Popular movements in the Philippines, 1840–1910. 8th
print. Quezon City: Ateneo de Manila University Press.

———. 1998. Filipinos and their revolution: Events, discourses, and historiography. Quezon City:
Ateneo de Manila University Press.

Isyu: Manila Daily News Magazine. 1997a. P4 million for Spanish intelligence on revolution, 9 Mar.:
11.

———. 1997b. COA reports on NCCA confirms anomaly in buy, 10 Dec.: 10.

———. 1997c. NCCA’s misguided enthusiasm, 15 Dec.: 5.

———. 1997d. NCCA’s Padilla lashes Laya, 23 Dec.: 7.

Kalaw, Teodoro. 1956. Philippine Masonry: Its origin, development and vicissitudes up to the present
time (1920). Manila: McCullough Printing.

Medina, Isagani. 1994. Cavite before the revolution, 1571–1896. Quezon City: College of Social
Sciences and Philosophy, University of the Philippines.

Mendida, Juan. 1898a. Intelligence report, 28 July. Informe 34, Ms. B–28: Agente Don Juan Mendida.
CdV collection. NAP.

———. 1898b. Intelligence report, 4 Aug. Informe 36, Ms. B–28: Agente Don Juan Mendida. CdV
collection. NAP.

———. 1898c. Intelligence report, 6 Aug. Informe 37, Ms. B–28: Agente Don Juan Mendida. CdV
collection. NAP.

———. 1898d. Intelligence report, 7 Aug. Informe 41, Ms. B–28: Agente Don Juan Mendida. CdV
collection. NAP.

Moreno, Federico. 1896. Intelligence report, 11? Apr. Doc. 41, Ms. A–8: Carpeta no. 3: Copias
oficiales para el Archivo del Cuerpo de Vigilancia de Manila, y procedentes de dicho Archivo de la
correspondencia reservada del Inspector Jefe del referido Cuerpo al Señor Gobernador Civil de
Manila, relativa al insurrección de las islas. CdV collection. NAP.

———. 1897. Intelligence report, 4 Apr. Doc. 35, Ms. A–7: Carpeta no. 2: Copias oficiales para el
Archivo del Cuerpo de Vigilancia de Manila, y procedentes de dicho Archivo de la correspondencia
reservada del Inspector Jefe del referido Cuerpo al Señor Gobernador Civil de Manila, relativa al
insurrección de las islas. CdV collection. NAP.

———. 1898a. Intelligence report, 28 Mar. Doc. 29, Ms. A–8: Carpeta no. 3: Copias oficiales para el
Archivo del Cuerpo de Vigilancia de Manila, y procedentes de dicho Archivo de la correspondencia

480 Pshev  65, no. 4 (2017)


reservada del Inspector Jefe del referido Cuerpo al Señor Gobernador Civil de Manila, relativa al
insurrección de las islas. CdV collection. NAP.

———. 1898b. Intelligence report, 14 Apr. Doc. 47, Ms. A–8: Carpeta no. 3: Copias oficiales para el
Archivo del Cuerpo de Vigilancia de Manila, y procedentes de dicho Archivo de la correspondencia
reservada del Inspector Jefe del referido Cuerpo al Señor Gobernador Civil de Manila, relativa al
insurrección de las islas. CdV collection. NAP.

Muniain, Antonio de. 1898a. Intelligence report, 6 May. Informe 19, Ms. B–21: Agente Don Antonio
de Muniain (Servicio de mercado y muelles). CdV collection. NAP.

———. 1898b. Intelligence report, 28 May. Informe 32, Ms. B–21: Agente Don Antonio de Muniain
(Servicio de mercado y muelles). CdV collection. NAP.

———. 1898c. Intelligence report, 27 June. Informe 48, Ms. B–21: Agente Don Antonio de Muniain
(Servicio de mercado y muelles). CdV collection. NAP.

Mustieles, Agustin. 1898. Intelligence report, 21 Mar. Doc. 25, Ms. B–27: Agente Don Agustin
Mustieles. CdV collection. NAP.

National Archives of the Philippines (NAP). 1896a. Información Secreta 1, 17 Apr. Ms. A–4: Copias
de las informaciones secretas de Abril a Agosto de 1896, CdV collection.

———. 1896b. Información Secreta 3, 21 Apr. Ms. A–4: Copias de las informaciones secretas de
Abril a Agosto de 1896. CdV collection.

———. 1896c. Información secreta 14, 23 June. Ms. A–4: Copias de las informaciones secretas de
Abril a Agosto de 1896. CdV collection.

———. 1896d. Información secreta 16, 2 July. Ms. A–4, CdV collection.

———. 1897a. Relación nominal de los individuos que se hallaban presos en la carcel público de
Manila por delitos políticos y que han sido presentes en al dia de hoy por haber sido indultados por
el Excmo. Señor Capitán General de estas Islas, 17 May. Doc. 156, Ms. A–1–(4). CdV collection.

———. 1897b. Relacion de los individuos indultados por el Exmo. Señor Gobernador General es estas
Islas presos en Manila, 17 May. Doc. 157. Ms. A–1–(4). CdV collection.

———. 1897c. A los verdaderos hijos del pueblo, 6 Aug. Doc. 162. Ms. A–1–(4). CdV collection.

———. [n.d.] Amuleto contraproducente. Doc. 52, Ms. A–1–(1). CdV collection.

———. [n.d.] Bonifacio’s supposed letter to Manuel Luengo. Doc. 26, Ms. A–12: Curiosa rara colección
de anónimos originales dirigidos al Gobernador General de Filipinas y Gobernador Civil de Manila
y cartas interceptados por la policía a importantes personas complicados en la insurrección de
Filipino. CdV collection.

———. [n.d.] Definición–Consejo del Katipunan, Consejo Populares. Doc. 13, Ms. A–1–(1). CdV
collection.

———. [n.d.] Magnifico retrato de Andrés Bonifacio. Doc. 149, Ms. A–1–(4). CdV collection.

———. [n.d.] Ministerio del Consejo Supremo Popular. Doc. 14, Ms. A–1–(1). CdV collection.

———. [n.d.] Relación de afiliados a La Liga Filipina. Doc. 243. Ms. A–1–(7). CdV collection.

———. [n.d.] Relación de los afiliados a la Katipunan en el pueblo de Mandaloyon según los papeles
encontrados a Andrés Bonifacio. Doc. 235, Ms. A–1–(7). CdV collection.

escalante / Katipunan in the Cuerpo de Vigilancia Collection 481


———. [n.d.] Relación de las personas sospechosas de Masonería e filibusterismo que tenían
expediente abierto en la Comandancia de la Guardia Civil Veterana antes de estallas la
insurrección. Doc. 188, Ms. A–1–(6). CdV collection.

———. [n.d.] Varios anting-anting encontrado al individuo. Doc. 51, Ms. A–12: Curiosa rara colección
de anónimos originales dirigidos al Gobernador General de Filipinas y Gobernador Civil de Manila
y cartas interceptados por la policía a importantes personas complicados en la insurrección de
Filipino. CdV collection.

Office of the Ombudsman, Republic of the Philippines. 1998. Ricardo Manapat v. Carmen Padilla,
Isabel Wilson and Lamberto Ocampo. Ombudsman Resolution OMB–0–98–0711, 31 Aug.

Patiño, Teodoro. 1897. Viva España! Documento de adhesión de Teodoro Patiño–original al Gobernador
Civil de la Provincia de Manila, 19 Oct. Doc. 123, Ms. A–1–(3). CdV collection. NAP.

Philippine Daily Inquirer. 1997a. A new collection comes to light, 28 Feb.: 7.

———. 1997b. Spiriting archive material out of Spain, 5 Mar.: 7.

———. 1997c. The NCCA’s Katipunan papers, 11 Nov.: 9

———. 1998. Update on the NCCA’s Katipunan papers, 6 Jan.: 7.

Retana, Wenceslao. 1897. Archivo del bibliófilo filipino: Recopilación de documentos históricos,
científicos, literarios y políticos y estudios bibliográficos, vol. 3. Madrid: n.p.

Ricarte, Artemio. 1992. Memoirs of General Artemio Ricarte. Manila: National Historical
Commission.

Richardson, Jim. 2013. The light of liberty: Documents and studies on the Katipunan, 1892–1897.
Quezon City: Ateneo de Manila University Press.

Ronquillo, Carlos. 1996. Ilang talata tungkol sa paghihimagsik nang 1896–97, ed. Isagani R. Medina.
Quezon City: University of the Philippines Press.

Salazar, Zeus. 1995. The ethnic dimension: Papers on Philippine culture, history and psychology.
Cologne: Counselling Center for Filipinos.

Schumacher, John N. 1981. Revolutionary clergy: The Filipino clergy and the nationalist movement,
1850–1903. Quezon City: Ateneo de Manila University Press.

———. 2011. The Cavite Mutiny: Toward a definitive history. Philippine Studies 59(1): 55–81.

St. Clair, Francis. 1902. The Katipunan: The rise and fall of the Filipino commune. Manila: Amigos del
Pais.

Valenzuela, Arturo. 1992. Dr. Pio Valenzuela and the Katipunan. Manila: National Historical
Institute.

Ventura, Sylvia Mendez. 2001. Supremo: The story of Andres Bonifacio. Manila: Tahanan Books for
Young Readers.

Villaroel, Fidel. 1999. The Dominicans and the Philippine revolution, 1896–1903. Manila: UST
Publishing House.

Zaide, Gregorio F. 1931. Documentary history of the Katipunan discovery: A critico-historical study of
the betrayal of the K.K.K., new revelations. Manila: The author.

———. 1939. History of the Katipunan. Manila: Gregorio F. Zaide.

———. 1968. The Philippine Revolution. Manila: Modern Book.

482 Pshev  65, no. 4 (2017)


Rene R. Escalante is professor, Department of History, De La Salle University (DLSU),
1501 Taft Avenue, Manila 1004. He served as chair of the DLSU’s History Department from 2006 to
2017. He earned his MA degree from the Ateneo de Manila University and PhD from the University
of the Philippines. In 2010 he was appointed commissioner of the NHCP and subsequently elected
chairman in 2017. He is author of The American Friar Lands Policy (2002), The Bearer of Pax
Americana (2007), and History of Hacienda de Imus (2013). <[email protected]>

escalante / Katipunan in the Cuerpo de Vigilancia Collection 483

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