Philippine History -- The Katipunan: The Supreme Councils

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The Katipunan
The Supreme Councils

In 1892, Bonifacio convened the original members and decided to change the method of recruiting members. It was agreed that any member of the society could take in as many new members as he could get. Under this new method, the membership of the society reached more than 100. Thereupon, an election was held, with the following as officers of the first Supreme Council:

Deosdato Arellano	President or Supremo
Andres Bonifacio	Intervenor or Comptroller
Ladislao Diwa	Fiscal
Teodoro Plata	Secretary
Valentin Diaz	Treasurer

In a meeting in February 1893, Bonifacio, disgusted over Arellano's inaction, deposed him and put Roman Basa in his place as Supremo. The officers of this second Supreme Council were:

Roman Basa	President or Supremo
Andres Bonifacio	Fiscal
Jose Turiano Santiago	Secretary
Vicente Molina	Treasurer
Briccio Pantas	Councilor
Restituto Javier	Councilor
Teodoro Plata	Councilor
Teodoro Gonzales	Councilor
Ladislao Diwa	Councilor

When early in 1895, Bonifacio realized that Roman Basa was as ineffectual as Deodato Arellano, he called a meeting of the society and promptly deposed Basa. The election resulted in the elevation of the following to the different offices:

Andres Bonifacio	Supremo
Emilio Jacinto	Fiscal
Jose Turiano Santiago	Secretary
Vicente Molina	Treasurer
Pio Valenzuela	Physician
Pantaleon Torres	Councilor
Aguedo del Rosario	Councilor
Doroteo Trinidad	Councilor

On December 31, 1895, another election to the Supreme Council was held, with the following officers:

Andres Bonifacio	Supremo
Pio Valenzuela	Fiscal and Physician
Emilio Jacinto	Secretary
Vicente Molina	Treasurer
Enrique Pacheco	Councilor
Pantaleon Torres	Councilor
Balbino Florentino	Councilor
Francisco Carreon	Councilor
Hermenigildo Reyes	Councilor

Eight months later, in August 1896, immediately before the discovery of the Katipunan, the fifth and last Supreme Council took its oath of office. Elected were:

Andres Bonifacio	Supremo
Emilio Jacinto	Secretary of State
Teodoro Plata	Secretary of War
Briccio Pantas	Secretary of Justice
Aguedo del Rosario	Secretary of Interior
Enrique Pacheco	Secretary of Finance

Immediately before the outbreak of the revolution, therefore, Bonifacio organized the Katipunan into a government revolving around a "cabinet" composed of men of his confidence.

History of the Filipino People. Teodoro A. Agoncillo