Republic of the Philippines 3 RECE}
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 2 owe “,
Tie:

Quezon City

EIGHTEENTH CONGRESS
First Regular Session

2169
HOUSE BILL No.

Introduced by
BAYAN MUNA Party-List Representatives CARLOS ISAGANI T. ZARATE,
FERDINAND R. GAITE and EUFEMIA C, CULLAMAT

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 theit
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 Eleano 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 bills earnestly sought.

Abpproved,

Rep. eB AGRenre

Bayan Muna Party-list

Rep. INAND R. GAITE Rep. cure C. CULLAMAT

Bayan Muna Party-lst Bayan Mana Party-list


Republic of the Philippines
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
Quezon Ci

EIGHTEENTH CONGRESS
First Regular Session

2169
HOUSE BILL No.

Introduced by
BAYAN MUNA Party-List Representatives CARLOS ISAGANI T. ZARATE,
FERDINAND R. GAITE and EUFEMIA C. CULLAMAT

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. Short Title, -'This act shall be known as the “Katipunan Day Act.”

SECTION 2. 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 (KKK or 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.

SECTION 3. 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 — “Maningal na Dalit ng Katagalugan”, “Alerta Katipunan”, and “Jocelynang
Balingg.”

SECTION 4. 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 “Manamgal na Dalit ng
Katagalygan”, “Alerta Katipunan”, and Jocelynang Bakingg, at least three days before the said holiday.

SECTION 5. This Act shall take effect fifteen (15) days after publication in a national
‘newspaper of general circulation.

Approved,