Stolen KKK document back at National Library
A stolen Katipunan “passport” dating back to the Philippine Revolution has surfaced and has been confirmed as one of the hundreds of documents stolen from the National Library of the Philippines in the late 1980s.
An anonymous collector, responding to news reports first published in The STAR about Katipunan documents discovered for sale on eBay, reached out to this writer to verify if the valuable certificate was among those pilfered from the government institution years ago.
This rare document is a combination appointment paper and letter of safe passage but is written out on a printed form, pointing to the sophistication of the revolutionaries. The collector has agreed to its immediate return to the National Library.
The US Army captured these important documents, known as the Philippine Insurgent Records, from Aguinaldo’s forces during the Philippine-American War from 1899 to the early 1900s. They were formally handed over to the Philippine government in 1958 after years of intense lobbying, but unscrupulous employees would 30 years later loot thousands of these records, including the Trial of Bonifacio and the June 12 Declaration of Independence. Fortunately, the National Bureau of Investigation managed to recover the most important ones when they surfaced for sale in Mabini antique stores. Many more, however, are still missing; and the culprits remain at large despite criminal cases filed.
Upon further examination, the newly recovered document also revealed the heretofore underestimated Pangasinense role in the Philippine Revolution.
It is proof that the struggle for freedom was fought not just by the men and women of the eight provinces of Luzon, symbolized by the eight rays of the sun on the national flag, but reached across the country to Pangasinan.
This particular document was addressed to the “pangulo” (president) of the hukuman of Manila and certified that a certain Policarpio Buenavides had been appointed as “kapitan volante” (or captain-at-large) of Malasique (or Malasiqui) in Pangasinan on Jan. 10, 1897. Interestingly, the name of the pangulo is “Binencio.” (Could this be a garbled form of “Bonifacio,” who was the Katipunan’s “kataastaasang pangulo” or supreme president?)
The official paper was stamped by the “Sangunian” (governing council) of the town of San Fernando, as shown by the picturesque seal on it. The seal portrays a mythical sun with a face similar to that on the first Philippine flag sewn by Marcela Agoncillo in Hong Kong. It is believed to symbolize the sun of liberty as it shines over the mountains that represent the “bayan” or Filipino nation.
At first glance, the stolen document did not have the distinguishing marks of the US War Department, which may have made it an easy target for document-seeking thieves. It was nevertheless turned over for study by the Katipunan scholar Jim Richardson, who had discovered several stolen documents on eBay late last year.
Dr. Richardson noticed the faintly written numbers “1190-6” at the top right corner of the page. This clue was sent to director Cesar Adriano of the National Library to guide in the spot-checking of Folder No. 1190 on the microfilmed copy of the Insurgent Records. A search verified that while the document was indeed captured on film, the actual original had disappeared. It was a missing, precious piece of a set of papers titled by the American War Department “Manila Jan 1897: Warrant of a member of KKK in Katipunan.” Another document in the same folder, signed by Buenavides, asked permission to join the Philippine Republican Army and was addressed to the Secretary of War, Baldomero Aguinaldo.
Director Cesar Adriano once again called for the return of any documents still in private hands from the Insurgent Records, reiterating a “no-questions asked” policy. Information may be sent to do@nlp.gov.ph.
