Interesting Facts About Emilio Jacinto, The Brains of The Katipunan

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1.) Emilio Jacinto was born on December 15, 1875. He was a Filipino revolutionary who fought for freedom.

2.) He is regarded as the “Brains of the Katipunan” because he prepared and wrote many Katipunan documents including the constitution and Kartilya ng Katipunan.

3.) Like Andres Bonifacio, Joseph Estrada, Manuel Villar and many other popular personalities, Jacinto was born in Trozo in Tondo, Manila.

4.) His parents were Mariano Jacinto and Josefa Dizon. His father died shortly after he was born and his mother decided to send Jacinto to his uncle, Don José Dizon.

5.) Jacinto, a bright student and attended San Juan De Letran College, was fluent in both Tagalog and Spain.

6.) He also studied in the University of Santo Tomas to take up law but he was not able to finish college.

7.) At the very young age of 20, he joined the secret society established by Andres Bonifacio called KKK or Katipunan.

8.) Because of his brilliance and wit, he became the secretary and adviser of Bonifacio on fiscal matters.

9.) If Bonifacio was known in the Katipunan as “May Pag-asa”, Jacinto was known as “Pingkian”.

10.) With Bonifacio and Pio Valenzuela, he also wrote for the organ of the Katipunan- the “Kalayaan” and used the pen name “Dimas Ilaw”.

11.) Jacinto realized the significance of a primer to indoctrinate the members of the society in its ideals so he prepared the Kartilla which consisted of thirteen "teachings" which the members of the society were expected to follow.

12.) Emilio Jacinto was the author of “Kartilya ng Katipunan” which composed of the secret society’s commandments.

13.) Jacinto is one of the closest friend s of the Supremo- Bonifacio although he is 12 years younger than Bonifacio.

14.) At the outbreak of the 1896 Revolution, the Council was reorganized into a 'cabinet' which the Katipunan regarded as a genuine revolutionary government, de facto and de-jure with Andres Bonifaccio as the president and Emilio Jacinto as the Secretary of State.

15.) After Bonifacio was executed by Emilio Aguinaldo’s men, Jacinto pressed on the Katipunan’s struggle.

16.) Like General Mariano Alvarez and other KKK leaders, Jacinto refused to join the forces of Aguinaldo, Magdalo faction leader of the Katipunan.

17.) When Aguinaldo signed the “Pact of Biak-na-Bato” (a treaty that compromised the revolution), he (Aguinaldo) and his men went into exile to Hong Kong after receiving P800, 000.00, Jacinto and his followers went into hidings in the mountains.

18.) In 1898, following Aguinaldo’s return from exile, Apolinario Mabini, Aguinaldo’s adviser by that time, wrote to Jacinto asking him to come down from the mountains.

19. Jacinto never came down from the mountains because he was cautious and fearful that his close association to Bonifacio might be counted against him.

20.)  Because of his refusal and fear to go down from the mountains, he contracted malaria and died in Majayjay, Laguna.

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21.)  He died on April 16, 1899 at the age of 23. His remains were later transferred to the North Cemetery in Manila.

22) Here’s a famous quotation from this great Filipino- Emilio Jacinto “The Filipino people have always proved themselves bigger than their leaders... Filipino leaders may come and Filipino leaders may go, but not the Filipino people who will continue treading on towards the one destiny the God of Nation has designated for them”.

23.) Jacinto’s poetical masterpiece, written in Laguna on October 8, 1897, was A la Patría (To My Fatherland), with an inspiring melody paralleled from Rizal's Mi Ultimo Adios.

24.) He also wrote “A mi Madre” (To My Mother), a touching ode and Liwanag at Dilim (Light and Darkness), a prose.

25.) Jacinto also wrote several articles on human rights, equality, liberty, government, labor and love of country.

The Kartilya or TEACHINGS OF THE KATIPUNAN

• A life that is not dedicated to a noble cause is like a tree without a shade or a poisonous weed.
• A deed lacks nobility if it is motivated by self-interest and not by a sincere desire to help.
• True piety consists of being charitable, loving one’s fellow men, and being judicious in behavior, speech and deed.
• All persons are equal, regardless of the color of their skin. While one could have more schooling, wealth, or beauty than another, all that does not make one more human than anybody else.
• A person with a noble character values honor above self-interest, while a person with a base character values self-interest above honor.
• To a person of honor, his/her word is a pledge.
• Don’t waste time; lost wealth can be retrieved, but time lost is lost forever.
• Defend the oppressed and fight the oppressor.
• The wise person is careful in all he/she has to say and is discreet about things that need to be kept secret./ An intelligent man is he who is cautious in speech and knows how to keep the secrets that must be guarded.
• In the thorny path of life, the man leads the way and his wife and children follow. If the leader goes the way to perdition, so do the followers. (Note: This begins with an observation of the vertical relationship of husband and wife during the time of the Katipunan; now, we can say that the parents lead the way and the children follow.)
• Never regard a woman as an object for you to trifle with; rather you should consider her as a partner and helpmate. Give proper consideration to a woman’s frailty and never forget that your own mother, who brought you forth and nurtured you from infancy, is herself such a person.
• Don’t do to the wife, children, brothers, and sisters of others what you do not want done to your wife, children, brothers, and sisters.
• A man’s worth is not measured by his station in life, neither by the height of his nose nor the fairness of skin, and certainly not by whether he is a priest claiming to be God’s deputy. Even if he a tribesman from the hills and speaks only his tongue, a man has fine perceptions and is loyal to his native land.
• When these teachings shall have been propagated and the glorious sun of freedom begins to shine on these poor Islands to enlighten a united race and people, then all the lives lost, all the struggle and the sacrifices will not have been in vain.

See also

50 Interesting Facts About Andres Bonifacio, the Philippine National Hero – the Hero of the Masses

Jose Rizal: The Last Renaissance Man

Amazing Facts About Jose Rizal: The Philippine National Hero

Philippine Events with Great Impact and Importance in World History