Emilio Jacinto

Emilio Jacinto

Emilio Jacinto ( December 15, 1875 , † April 16, 1899 ) was a Filipino revolutionary and known as the Brain of the Katipunan , a secret organization that campaigned for the independence of the Philippines from the Spanish colonial power. He was one of the most important personalities in Filipino history.

Early stage of life

Emilio Jacinto was born in Trozo , a suburb of Manila . He was the son of Mariano Jacinto and Josefa Dizon. His father, an accountant, died shortly after Emilio was born.

Due to the resulting poverty of the family, the young Emilio only wore worn clothes, which earned him the ridicule of the other children. His mother had to work hard as a midwife to finance his studies. However, when their efforts were no longer sufficient, Emilio moved to his uncle Don Jose Dizon, who was able to give him the financial support to enroll in the Colegio de San Juan de Letran . Here he made his Bachelor of Arts (art diploma). Jacinto was fluent in both Spanish and Tagalog . He later moved to the University of Santo Tomas to study law there.

In 1894, however, Emilio gave up his studies and, at the age of 19, joined the Katipunan , a secret organization that wanted a revolution against the Spanish colonial power. His decision, which he made against the will of his mother and uncle, was significantly influenced by some bad experiences with Spanish fellow students, by studying various readings about the injustices under Spanish colonial rule, as well as the suffering of the Filipino people under the Spanish protectorate .

Katipunan

After joining the organization, Andrés Bonifacio , the leader of the Katipunan, quickly noticed Jacinto's talents; his intelligence, which was to be of great use to the community, and he was impressed by the patriotism he exuded. For this reason he entrusted him with various tasks as a consultant, secretary and author of important documents. For Bonifacio and the Katipuneros, Jacinto was the "soul of the community". He provided the Katipunan with guidelines, ideas and inspiration, while Bonifacio brought up the patriotism and courage to engage in armed conflict and fight for freedom. An inscription by Jacinto from this period has been preserved in the Pamitinan Cave .

In the internal elections of the Katipunan on December 31, 1895, Jacinto was on the one hand given financial responsibility, on the other hand, although only a former law student, he was elected the second man in the supreme jurisdiction of the organization. His enthusiasm, his ideals and his energy guided the course of the revolutionary collective. He wrote the Kartilya ng Katipunan (Doctrine or Principles of Katipunan) and he took the oath that was sworn by the members and which set out the basic principles of the Katipuneros. These actions earned him the title of Katipunan's Brain .

Jacinto also wrote the organization's newspaper, called Kalayaan , which translates as "freedom" . This newspaper, which informed the common people about the goals and activities of the organization and appeared for the first time in January 1896, he brought out under the pseudonym Dimas-Ilaw , also using his code name Pingkian , which he owned within the Katipunan. Copies of the Kalayaan reached the provinces and spread the patriotic fire to the masses, whereupon thousands of different areas joined the Katipunan. Jacinto and Bonifacio now had to develop procedures in order to carry out the numerous rituals of accession unnoticed by the Spanish authorities. For this reason, these ceremonies were increasingly carried out at fiestas and birthday parties.

Filipino Revolution

Bonifacio loved Jacinto as much as his brother, and when fighting first broke out in August 1886, he was very concerned for Jacinto's safety. At the beginning of the revolution he was supposed to oversee the manufacture of gunpowder. But then he fought actively against the Spaniards under Bonifacio's leadership. Later the two separated and Jacinto moved with his units to Laguna to bring the revolution to this province, while Bonifacio remained on the outskirts of Manila.

In February 1897 Jacinto fought against Spanish cazadores (rifle units) in Magdalena , Laguna . During these skirmishes, he was wounded in the thigh, arrested and taken as a prisoner to the Church of Santa Cruz, where a Spanish surgeon tended his wound.

When checked by the Spanish authority, he pulled a passport out of his pocket that identified him as a man named Florentino Reyes. This passport belonged to a spy whom Jacinto's men had caught a few weeks earlier. The Spaniards believed Jacinto was a spy in their service and let him go, whereupon he immediately went to Manila and went into hiding.

After Bonifacio's death, Jacinto continued the struggle against the Spanish colonial power, but did not join the forces of General Emilio Aguinaldo . After a while he went back to Laguna because the fighters in that province needed his leadership. He set up his secret headquarters in the hills of Majayjay . Here he became infected with malaria and died of this disease on April 16, 1899 at the age of 24. His remains were later transferred to Manila North Cemetery.

Works

In addition to his work in the service of the Katipunan, Jacinto was also a poet. His greatest work, A La Patria (For the Fatherland), which he wrote in Santa Cruz in Laguna under his pseudonym Dimas-Ilaw , was inspired by Rizal's farewell work Mi Ultimo Adios (My last farewell ).

Jacinto also wrote a collection of political and social essays under the title Liwanag at Dilim (Light and Darkness). These essays included the following works:

• Ang Ningning at Liwanag (sparkle and light),
• Ang Kalayaan (freedom),
• Ang tawo'y magkakapantay (All people are equal),
• Ang Pag-ibig (love),
• Ang Bayan at ang mga Gobiernong Pinuno (The People and the Governments),
• Ang Maling Pagsasampalataya (The False Belief) and
• Ang Gumawa (work).

credentials

• National Heroes: Emilio Jacinto . Issued September 1, 2006.
• Biography in .filipinoheritage

Web links

• MSC's tribute to Jacinto
• Government website on Emilio Jacinto
• Works by Jacinto in English ( Memento of March 28, 2007 in the Internet Archive )

Other sources

• Zaide, Gregorio F .: Philippine History and Government . National Bookstore Printing Press, 1984.