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Republic of the Philippines IS
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES oareAPR 19 291
Quezon City TE
SEVENTEENTH CONGRESS
First Regular Session

HOUSE BILL NO. 545 5

Introduced by BAYAN MUNA Representative CARLOS ISAGANI T. ZARATE

AN ACT
DECLARING JULY 7 OF EVERY YEAR A SPECIAL WORKING HOLIDAY
TO COMMEMORATE THE FOUNDING OF THE KATIPUNAN

EXPLANATORY NOTE

Most Filipinos know about the Katipunan and its founder, Andres Bonifacio, and their
respective very important roles in the fight against the brutal Spanish colonial rule and the
emergence and development of the First Philippine Republic.

Yet, very few of us know the actual date when Bonifacio and several other patriotic “indios”
came together to formally organize the Kataastaasang Katipunan ng mga Anak ng Bayan,
and sealed their membership in the secret society by signing the pact with their own blood,
vowing to end the more than three hundred years of Spanish domination over the islands.

Sadly, that historic day, which led to the dawning of the Filipino nation, has long dimmed in
the national consciousness. Thus, there is a need to commemorate the night of July 7, 1892,
when Bonifacio, Valentin Diaz, Deodato Arellano, Teodoro Plata, Ladislao Diwa, and their
other compatriots secretly met in a house along 72 Azcarraga Street (now Claro M. Recto
Street) near Candelaria Street (now Elcano Street) in Tondo, Manila.

Historian Carmen Guerrero Nakpil aptly described that event as “the spark that lit the prairie
fire”; it was then when the grievances of the “sacristans, forced laborers, farmers, intrepid
widows native priests, galleon builders, and port-sergeants” and the aspirations of
“Gomburza, the Propaganda Movement, the secret societies, the poets, artists, lawyers,
polemicists, and the novels of Rizal” were finally crystallized into a revolutionary call for a
free and sovereign Filipino nation. It was the Katipunan that gave the first concrete
embodiment of the Filipino nation.

The ardent patriotism, the selflessness, and the dedicated pursuit of liberty, equality, and
fraternity in a free and democratic society of the founders of the Katipunan must be instilled
in the Filipinos of today.

For these reasons, the expeditious approval of this bill is earnestly sought.


Approved,

\
Rep: TE

Baylin Muyta Party-List


Republic of the Philippines
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
Quezon City

SEVENTEENTH CONGRESS
First Regular Session

HOUSE BILL NO. 5455

Introduced by BAYAN MUNA Representative CARLOS ISAGANI T. ZARATE

AN ACT
DECLARING JULY 7 OF EVERY YEAR A SPECIAL WORKING HOLIDAY
TO COMMEMORATE THE FOUNDING OF THE KATIPUNAN

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the Philippines in Congress
assembled:

SECTION 1. July 7 of every year shall be declared a special working holiday to
commemorate the founding of the Kataastaasang Katipunan ng Mga Anak ng Bayan
(Katipunan) by Filipino patriots led by Andres Bonifacio as a secret society that fought for
the independence of the then emerging Filipino nation from the clutches of Spanish colonial
tule.

SEC. 2. To pay homage and respect to the founders of the Katipunan and to rededicate the
Filipino nation to the ideals of liberty, equality and fraternity, all public and private offices
and facilities are hereby mandated to conduct a flag-raising ceremony where the following
Katipunan tunes shall be played — “Marangal na Dalit ng Katagalugan”, “Alerta
Katipunan”, and “Jocelynang Baliuag.”

SEC. 3. To further ensure the meaningful observance of the holiday, the elementary,
secondary, and tertiary schools shall conduct any prominent activity concerning the
Katipunan, its founders, and its founding ideals, and which shall include the singing of

“Marangal na Dalit ng Katagalugan”, “Alerta Katipunan”, and “Jocelynang Baliuag, at
least three days before the said holiday.

SEC. 4. This Act shall take effect fifteen (15) days after publication in a national newspaper
of general circulation.

Approved,