The lack of historical material on the Katipunan government with only a few surviving documents was suddenly augmented by the recent access that we have to about 150 Katipunan documents that the guardia civil veterana confiscated during the Philippine Revolution that are now stored at the Archivo General Militar de Madrid (AGMM). Historian and Katipunan expert Jim Richardson compiled some of them with notes in his book The Light of Liberty: Documents and Studies on the Katipunan, 1892-1897. Although Richardson himself admits that, “the documents do not spring any huge surprises,” and that the geographic area of the source of the documents only came from the area of Southern Tagalog specifically the provinces of Manila and Cavite, the documents were important because they showed that Katipunan actually had a centralized working government. The different letters, decrees and minutes from different chapters of the Katipunan and from Bonifacio himself proves that fact that the Katipunan as an organization by 1896 was in itself working like a government, a system which was already in place when the Kataastaasang Kapisanan decided to start the revolution and formalize the government. Historian Lito Nunag, by reading the documents, was able to assemble the organizational structure of the Katipunan which was already in place when they decided to form the Revolutionary Government. In the Katipunan documents, the highest decision making body, higher even than the Kataastaasang Sanggunian (Supreme Council—composed by President Bonifacio and his council) was the Kataastaasang Kapisanan (Supreme Assembly), which was composed of the Supreme Council along with the presidents of the many hukuman or chapters (the Sangguniang Bayan and the Sangguniang Balangay which were not under any Sangguniang Bayan). But Richardson pointed to the fact that in the 1897 documents, in the seals of the Haring Bayang Katagalugan, the term Kataastaasang Kapisanan is replaced by Kataastaasang Kapulungan, which also meant Supreme Assembly, but in a more stately fashion. In my opinion, this is a way for Bonifacio and his people to distinguish the revolutionary government from the government of the Katipunan as an organization, but retaining many of the same structures. A line from the film El Presidente was delivered by the Bonifacio actor to the Aguinaldo actor, “Wala na ang Katipunan sa Maynila… Pero dito buhay pa ang himagsikan sa Cavite.” This is a historical blunder. Nothing could be further from the truth as retrieved AGMM documents show. One example of Bonifacio’s government functioning in the Province of Manila would be the Northern District with Isidoro Francisco as Mataas na Pangulo. Based in Pantayanin, Pasig, this Mataas na Sanggunian had jurisdiction over Katipunan group in the provinces of Manila, Morong, Bulacan and Nueva Ecija. Richardson in his book lists some of the AGMM documents that show a functioning government: 1. A letter dated 3 December 1896 from the High Executive (Mataas na Pamunuan) informing chapters to assemble at Pantayanin for a planned attack on Pasig on 11 or 12 December. 2. A letter dated 8 December 1896 from Emilio Jacinto to Isidoro Francisco instructing him about taking care of gunpowder and giving guns only to people loyal to the cause and other preparations for the attack on Pasig. 3. A letter dated 12 December 1896 from Andres Bonifacio, who was already in Cavite, to the High Military Council in the Northern District about lost guns and prosecuting those who took them, congratulating them in helping in the Katipunan victory in Antipolo, ratifying election of military officers and other concerns. 4. A letter dated 15 December 1896 from the High Council informing chapters to attend a meeting to elect six council members with attached results of the 17 December election. 5. A record of meeting by the High Council dated 18 December 1896 presided by the Kataastaasang Pinunong Hukbo Emilio Jacinto on preparations for the planned attack on Pasig. 6. A letter dated 23 December 1896 from Emilio Jacinto to the High Council of the Northern District asking a release of a Katipunan offender and inquiring about electric batteries and his plans to test them with dynamites. 7. A demand for donations written about December 1896 from the High Council, identifying themselves with the Haring Bayang Katagalugan. 8. A certificate of christening of a certain Patrisia, 23 February 1897 presided by Julio Nakpil and attended by Jacinto, et.al. 9. A certificate of marriage of Geronimo Ignacio to Julia Saguisag, February 1897 presided by Julio Nakpil and attended by Jacinto, et.al. 10. Draft appointment from the high council dated February 1897 of Felicisimo Frineza as fiscal of Binangonan, Morong, in accordance with the authority vested by the “Kataastaasang Pang Ulo ng Haring Bayang Katagalugan.” 11. A letter dated 11 April 1897 from Emilio Jacinto to Julio Nakpil asking for news about weapons from Japan or Hongkong. 12. A letter dated 18 September 1897 from the High Council soliciting donations, signed by Julio Nakpil from Sta. Ana, closer to Intramuros, four months after Bonifacio’s death. Despite the lack of existing documents, whatever was left in the AGMM papers and the Bonifacio-Jacinto letters at the Emmanuel Encarnacion collection is enough to clearly prove a working government, with jurisdiction over Katipunan areas, was still in touch with the Kataas-taasang Pangulo, Andres Bonifacio, even a few days before his arrest in Cavite, and continued on after his death independent of Aguinaldo’s government. Jim Richardson clearly sums up the obvious: “…in late 1896 and early 1897 the High Council did function as a form of local government in some areas, particularly to the East of Manila and in the Sierra Madre foothills. Its leaders both civil and military, organized elections, made appointments, planned and fought battles with the Spanish enemy, solicited funds for the revolutionary cause, and tried to deal with the consequences of the fighting on the civilian population.” Moreso, the Katipunan government also had a diplomatic component. A commission based abroad tried to negotiate for Japanese political, military, and financial aid and they also contacted US and French consulates in Hong Kong. Also, the book Katipunan: Isang Pambansang Kilusan, edited by historian Ferdinand Llanes, collected papers from different experts on the participation of many provinces in the country from Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao in the Katipunan, making it, yes, a “national” endeavor. Finally, historians Milagros Guerrero and Zeus Salazar in different publications affirmed Bonifacio’s over-all command of the Katipunan army and that he was the one strategizing for the Katipunan in the national perspective, in contrast to Aguinaldo’s Cavite tactical operations in the onset of the revolution. On his hat was a metal plate inscribed with the words “General No. Uno: A. Bonifacio” Guerrero, Encarnacion and Villegas summed up Bonifacio’s role as military leader as such, “As commander-in-chief, Bonifacio supervised the planning of military strategies and the preparation of orders, manifests and decrees, adjudicated offenses against the nation, as well as mediated in political disputes. He directed generals and positioned troops in the fronts. On the basis of command responsibility, all victories and defeats all over the archipelago during his term of office should be attributed to Bonifacio. The claim by some historians that ‘Bonifacio lost all his battles’ is RIDICULOUS.”