In the previous entry, some male members of the KKK (Kataas-taasan, Kagalanggalangang Katipunan ng mga Anak ng Bayan) or Katipunan were featured. Now, it is the turn of women members of Katipunan, some of whom were wives and/or relatives of the Katipuneros. They were more than wallflowers in the revolutionary movement because they actively fought, took care of the sick and the wounded, and kept safe some of the most important documents of the organization.

The women of Katipunan

The images and descriptions of the Katipuneros are from the exhibit in Museo ng Katipunan in San Juan City, Metro Manila.

For related entries, please read Dekalogo ng Katipunan, Museo ng Katipunan, Anting-anting (Philippine Amulet) Collection of Museo ng Katipunan, Pinaglabanan Shrine (San Juan City), Ang Tondo ni Bonifacio (Bonifacio’s Tondo), Pagdakila kay Andres Bonifacio, and The Katipuneros, Part I.

Here are some of the members of the KKK or Katipuneros (in alphabetical order):

Melchora Aquino (1812 – 1919)

Melchora Aquino is known by Filipinos as Tandang Sora. She was from an affluent family in Balintawak, Caloocan. She supported the revolution by welcoming the Katipuneros to her home. Because of her revolutionary sympathies, she was arrested, tried, and exiled to Guam, Marianas for sedition and rebellion.

Melchora Aquino

Marina Dizon (1875 – 1950)

Marina Dizon was one of the daughters of Jose Dizon, one of the founders of Katipunan. She was a cousin of Emilio Jacinto and the second wife of Jose Turiano Santiago, both were Katipuneros. She was a member of Semilla and known by her Masonic name Hamog. She was the Secretary of the women’s branch of the Katipunan.

Marina Dizon

Gregoria de Jesus (1875 – 1943)

Gregoria de Jesus was the wife of Andres Bonifacio and a cousin of Teodoro Plata. She was the Vice-President of the women’s branch of the Katipunan and known by her alias Lakambini. She was one of the caretakers of important Katipunan documents. Years after Bonifacio died, she married Julio Nakpil, a Katipunero and a close friend of Bonifacio.

Gregoria de Jesus

Angelica Lopez (1877 – 1940)

Angelica Lopez was a member of Semilla. She a niece of Jose Rizal to his elder sister, Narcisa, and was one of Rizal’s relatives who traveled with Pio Valenzuela to Dapitan. She joined the Katipunan, with her aunts Josefa and Trinidad, and became fiscal of the women’s branch.

Angelica Lopez

Teresa Magbanua (1868 – 1947)

Teresa Magbanua came from a well-off family in Pototan, Iloilo and was the sister of two Panay revolutionary leaders, Pascual and Elias Magbanua. She joined Gen. Martin Delgado’s forces in Jaro, Iloilo and fought against the Spaniards and the Americans. During the Japanese occupation, she aided the guerilla movement in Panay by her properties.

Teresa Magbanua

Josefa Rizal (1865 – 1946)

Josefa Rizal was one of the sisters of Jose Rizal. She was a member of the women’s branch of the Masonic lodge Walana, the Semilla, and known by her Masonic name Sumikat. She was the President of the women’s branch of the Katipunan.

Josefa Rizal

Trinidad Tecson (1848 – 1928)

Trinidad Tecson was a member of Semilla, and later of the Katipunan. She helped in the collection of arms in Nueva Ecija and Manila before the outbreak of the revolution. She fought during the revolution in and outside Bulacan.

Trinidad Tecson