Emilio Jacinto

December 15, 1875 to April 16, 1899

Emilio was born in Trozo, Manila on December 15, 1875. When his father, Mariano Jacinto died, his mother Josefa Dizon, a midwife, had to work harder to support his studies. Later, he was forced to live with his uncle, Don Jose Dizon, who enrolled him at the San Juan de Letran College. Then he transferred to the University of Santo Tomas to take up Law. His studies however, were interrupted when he joined the katipunan at the start of the Philippine Revolution in 1896. His sad experiences with his Spanish classmates, his sensitivity to the flight of his people, and his readings about the Spanish injustices led him to do so against the wishes of his mother and his uncle. He was only 19 years old, but became one of the ablest leaders of the Katipunan. To Bonifacio, he was an adviser, a secretary, and a fiscal. He edited the Ang Kalayaan, the newspaper of the Katipunan which informed the people of the aims and activities of the association. He wrote the Kartilla, the primer of the Katipunan which contained its rules and regulations. He supervised the manufacture of gunpowder. Thus, he was called the “Brain of the Katipunan.”

Jacinto was also a poet. His greatest poem was “A La Patria,” inspired by Rizal’s “Ultimo Adios.” It was signed “Dimas-Ilaw,” Jacinto’s pen name.

In one of the battles in Majayjay, Laguna, Emilio Jacinto was wounded critically; he died on April 16, 1899 at the age of 24.

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Si Emilio Jacinto ay ipinanganak sa Trozo, Tondo, Maynila noong Disyembre 15, 1875 kina Mariano Jacinto at Josefa Dizon isang midwife. Noong namatay ang kanyang ama siya ay napilitang makitira sa kanyang tiyuhin na si Don Jose Dizon. Ipinasok siya sa Collegio de San Juan de Letran, pagkaraa’y lumipat sa Unibersidad ng Santo Tomas para kumuha ng kursong abogasya. Nahinto ang kanyang pag-aaral dahil sa pagputok ng Rebolusyon ng Pilipinas noong 1896. Ang mga nakakalungkot niyang karanasan sa mga kaeskwelang Espanyol, ang malupit at masamang pagtrato ng mga kastila sa mga Pilipino at ang nababasa niyang mga artikulo tungkol sa pagmamalabis ng mga dayuhan ang mga nagtulak sa kanya para sumanib sa Katipunan kahit labag sa kalooban ng kanyang Ina at tiyuhin. Sa kanyang murang edad na 19, siya ay nagging isa sa mga magaling na lider ng Katipunan. Naging tagapayo, sekretaryo at piskal siya ni Andres Bonifacio. Siya ang editor ng Ang Kalayaan, ang dyaryo ng mga Katipunan na nagbibigay impormasyon tungkol sa mga adhikain at aktibidad ng organisasyon. Siya rin ang nagsulat ng Kartilla, kung saan nakasaad ang mga reglamento ng Katipunan kaya siya ay tinawag na “Utak ng Katipunan.”

Si Jacinto ay isa ring makata. Sinulat niya ang tulang ”A La Patria” na may prima na “Dimas-Ilaw”, ang gamit niyang pangalan sa pagsusulat.

Sa isa sa mga laban sa Majayjay, Laguna, si Emilio Jacinto ay lubhang nasugatan at namatay noong Abril 16, 1899 sa edad na 24.