Republic of the Philippines
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
Quezon City

FIFTEENTH CONGRESS
First Regular Session

HOUSE BILLNo._i631

Introduced by Reps. TEODORO A. CASINO and NERI JAVIER COLMENARES

EXPLANATORY NOTE

All adult Filipinos presumably know about the Katipunan and Andres Bonifacio, and their very
important roles in enduring the brutal Spanish colonial rule over what was then known as “Las Islas
Filipinas’, 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, and vowed to end the
more than three hundred years of Spanish domination over the islands.

Sadly that historic day 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 others secretly met in a house along 72 Azcarraga Street (now Claro M.
Recto Street) near Candelaria Street (now Elcano Street) in Tondo, Manila because that fateful night
led to the dawning of the Filipino nation.

Historian Carmen Guerrero Nakpil aptly. described that event as “the spark that lit the praitie 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 erabodiment of the Filipino nation.

‘The ardent patriotism, the selflessness, and the dedicated purusit 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 eamestly urged.

Approved,

ACes :
THODORO A. CASINO RI JAVIER\COLMEN:

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Republic of the Philippines
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
Quezon City

FIFTEENTH CONGRESS
First Regular Session

HOUSE BILLNo.__ i631

Introduced by Reps. TEODORO A. CASINO and NERI JAVIER COLMENARES

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 rule.

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 Katfpuman tunes shall be
played ~ “Marangal na Dalit ng Katagalugan”, “Alerta Katipunan”, and “Jocelynang Balinag,””

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 Katagalygan”, “Alerta
Katipunan” and ‘Jocelynang Baliugg, at least three days before the said holiday.

SEC. 8. This Act shall take effect fifteen (15) days after publication in a national newspaper of general
circulation.

Approved,