Submitted by d4rk moderator in Filipino (edited )

On the night of July 7, 1892, the day after Rizal's deportation was announced, Bonifacio and others officially "founded" the Katipunan, or in full, Kataastaasang Kagalanggalangang Katipunan ng mga Anak ng Bayan ("Highest and Most Respected Society of the Country's Children"; Bayan can also denote community, people, and nation). The secret society sought independence from Spain through armed revolt. It was influenced by Freemasonry through its rituals and organization, and several members including Bonifacio were also Freemasons. Within the society Bonifacio used the pseudonym May pag-asa ("There is Hope"). Newly found documents though suggest that Katipunan has already been existing as early as January 1892.

For a time, Bonifacio worked with both the Katipunan and La Liga Filipina. La Liga eventually split because some members like Bonifacio lost hope for peaceful reform and stopped their monetary aid. The more conservative members, mostly wealthy members, who still believed in peaceful reforms set up the Cuerpo de Compromisarios, which pledged continued support to the reformists in Spain. The radicals were subsumed into the Katipunan. From Manila, the Katipunan expanded to several provinces, including Batangas, Laguna, Cavite, Bulacan, Pampanga, and Nueva Ecija. Most of its members, called Katipuneros, came from the lower and middle classes, and many of its local leaders were prominent figures in their municipalities. At first exclusively male, membership was later extended to females, with Bonifacio's wife Gregoria de Jesús as a leading member.

From the beginning, Bonifacio was one of the chief Katipunan officers, although he did not become its Supremo (supreme leader) or Presidente Supremo (Supreme President) until 1895. He was the third head of the Katipunan after Deodato Arellano and Román Basa. Prior to this, he served as the society's comptroller and then as its 'fiscal' (advocate/procurator). The society had its own laws, bureaucratic structure and elective leadership. For each province involved, the Katipunan Supreme Council coordinated with provincial councils in charge of public administration and military affairs, and with local councils in charge of affairs on the district or barrio level.

Within the society, Bonifacio developed a strong friendship with Emilio Jacinto, who served as his adviser and confidant, as well as a member of the Supreme Council. Bonifacio adopted Jacinto's Kartilya primer as the official teachings of the society in place of his own Decalogue, which he judged as inferior. Bonifacio, Jacinto and Pío Valenzuela collaborated on the society's organ, Kalayaan (Freedom), which had only one printed issue. Bonifacio wrote several pieces for the paper, including the poem Pag-ibig sa Tinubúang Lupà (approx. "Love for One's Homeland[24]) under the pseudonym Agapito Bagumbayan. The publication of Kalayaan in March 1896 led to a great increase in the society's membership. The Katipunan movement spread throughout Luzon, to Panay in the Visayas and even as far as Mindanao. From less than 300 members in January 1896, it had 30,000 to 40,000 by August 1896.

The rapid increase in Katipunan activity drew the suspicion of the Spanish authorities. By early 1896, Spanish intelligence was aware of the existence of a seditious secret society, and suspects were kept under surveillance and arrests were made. On 3 May, Bonifacio held a general assembly of Katipunan leaders in Pasig, where they debated when to start the revolution. While some officers, especially Bonifacio, believed a revolution was inevitable, some members, especially Santiago Alvarez and Emilio Aguinaldo both of Cavite, expressed reservations and disagreement regarding the planned revolt due to lack of firearms. The consensus was to consult José Rizal in Dapitan before launching armed action, so Bonifacio sent Pío Valenzuela to Rizal. Rizal turned out to be against the revolution, believing it to be premature. He recommended more preparation, but suggested that, in the event the revolution did break out, they should seek the leadership of Antonio Luna, who was widely regarded as a brilliant military leader.

during that same time, As the Philippine Revolution of 1896 began, multiple personalities suspected of being a part of it were arrested by the Spanish government. One of these people was de los Reyes, who at the time, openly advocated reforms, and if necessary, "take up arms against the tyrants". de los Reyes was arrested on February 12, 1897, and taken to Bilibid Prison.

De los Reyes was charged with membership in La Liga Filipina, the political organization organized by Rizal, as well as being knowledgeable of the Katipunan, however, he denied all of this. de los Reyes, however, sold types to Emilio Jacinto for the Katipunan's printing press, and he later claimed that he made a financial contribution to the Liga. de los Reyes also claimed that while he declined when Julio Nakpil asked him to join the Liga, he offered to give Nakpil a thousand pesos to purchase revolvers from someone on board the steamer Salvadora, and that he offered his services as a soldier.

In Bilibid, de los Reyes wrote his Memorial sobre la revolution, which initially was the Memoria de agravios de los Filipinos. The document was addressed to the Governor-General, Fernando Primo de Rivera and was meant to gain sympathy for the rebels. His Memoria pointed out that the friars sowed the seeds of colonial revolt in the Philippines. de los Reyes' wife, Josefa, died while he was in prison.

de los Reyes was pardoned on May 17, the King's birthday, but was arrested again shortly after complaining about the injustice of his arrest and reminding the governor-general of the Memoria that he sent. de los Reyes was deported aboard the SS Alicante in June 1897, and was interred at the Montjuïc Castle in Barcelona for six months, before being released as part of the terms of the Pact of Biak-na-Bato

During Don Belo's time in Montjuïc, He was acquainted with anarchists, syndicalists, and other extremists, who shaped him. A sympathetic guard supplied him with anarchist books and newspapers. de los Reyes also met Ramon Sempau, a Spanish poet-journalist who left an impression in de los Reyes.

After his release in 1898, de los Reyes was barred from leaving Spain and became a drifter in Barcelona. It was during this time that he came to know radicals such as Francisco Ferrer, Alejandro Lerroux, and others.He began reading the works of Pierre-Joseph Proudhon, Mikhail Bakunin, and other socialist thinkers. He also joined protest actions and was imprisoned for a short time by police authorities. He was released and was forced to relocate from Barcelona to Madrid.

During his time in Madrid, he was taken in by Doña Justa Jugo Vidal and met with other Filipinos to discuss the Philippine situation. He also met Señorita Maria Angeles Lopez Montero and married her on Christmas Eve in 1898. He was also commissioned to translate the Bible to Iloko. de los Reyes later said that this work was "one way by which [he] could contribute to the liberalization of dogmatic religion."

At the onset of the Spanish–American War, de los Reyes was employed as Counselor of the Ministry of the Colonies (Consejero del Ministerio de Ultramar), which he held until 1901. In this capacity, de los Reyes helped rally Filipino support against the Americans, thinking that this would create conditions favorable to the Philippines. He believed that once the Americans were repelled, they would be granted autonomy, and should Spain renege, then the already armed Filipinos could take matters to their own hands. He had received assurances from the governor-general Basilio Augustin regarding autonomy, and together with other Filipinos in Spain, offered to return to the Philippines to organize militias to fight the Americans.

De los Reyes wrote anti-American articles for La Correspondencia de Epaña and other papers. On November 10, 1898, as Spain's loss of the Philippines became imminent, he and Dominador Gomez published Filipinas ante Europa , which had the editorial logo: Contra Norte-America, no; contra el imperialismo, sí, hasta la muerte! (Against the Americans, no; against Imperialism, yes, till death!) It ran for 86 issues between October 25, 1899 and June 10, 1901. After closing, it briefly reappeared as El Defensor de Filipinas, which ran monthly from July 1 to October 1, 1901.

After Aguinaldo's surrender, de los Reyes was repatriated to Manila on July 1, 1901. Given guarantees by the American consul in Barcelona that he will in no way molested upon his arrival in the Philippines, he left Spain on September 14 aboard the steamer Montevideo. De los Reyes arrived in Manila on October 15, 1901

So with all of this, we know that Don Belo & Bonifacio has crossed paths many times before. But after all this, do I really think there was no hidden connection? I don't think so.. I will report more on this

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