JACINTO, Emilio

Emilio Jacinto 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 plight of his people, and his readings about Spanish injustices led him to do so against the wishes of his mother and his uncle. He was only 19 years old, but he 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 "Brains 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.