Teodoro Plata (1866 – February 6, 1897) was a Filipino patriot, and a co-founder of the

Katipunan The Katipunan (), officially known as the (; ) and abbreviated as the KKK, was a revolutionary organization founded in 1892 by a group of Filipino nationalists Deodato Arellano, Andrés Bonifacio, Valentin Diaz, Ladislao Diwa, José Dizon, an ...

, the secret society which sparked the

Philippine Revolution The Philippine Revolution ( or ; or ) was a war of independence waged by the revolutionary organization Katipunan against the Spanish Empire from 1896 to 1898. It was the culmination of the 333-year History of the Philippines (1565–1898), ...

against Spanish rule in 1896. He met

Andrés Bonifacio Andrés Bonifacio y de Castro (, ; November 30, 1863May 10, 1897) was a Filipino people, Filipino revolutionary leader. He is often called "The Father of the Philippines, Philippine Philippine Revolution, Revolution", and considered a nationa ...

at a boarding house in

Manila Manila, officially the City of Manila, is the Capital of the Philippines, capital and second-most populous city of the Philippines after Quezon City, with a population of 1,846,513 people in 2020. Located on the eastern shore of Manila Bay on ...

along with

Ladislao Diwa Ladislao Diwa y Nocon (June 27, 1863 − March 12, 1930) was a Filipino patriot who was among the founders of the Katipunan that initiated the Philippine Revolution against Spain in 1896. Early years He was born in San Roque, Cavite to Mari ...

who was then a law student at the

University of Santo Tomas The University of Santo Tomas (UST; ), officially the Pontifical and Royal University of Santo Tomas, The Catholic University of the Philippines or colloquially as ''Ustê'' (), is a Private university, private Catholic school, Catholic researc ...

. Bonifacio, Diwa and Plata were all

freemasons Freemasonry (sometimes spelled Free-Masonry) consists of fraternal groups that trace their origins to the medieval guilds of stonemasons. Freemasonry is the oldest secular fraternity in the world and among the oldest still-existing organizati ...

who were inspired by the nationalistic objectives of the Propaganda Movement in Europe. Plata was a member of La Liga Filipina, which was founded by

José Rizal José Protasio Rizal Mercado y Alonso Realonda (, ; June 19, 1861 – December 30, 1896) was a Filipino nationalist, writer and polymath active at the end of the Spanish colonial period of the Philippines. He is popularly considered a na ...

to push for reforms in the Spanish colonial administration. But he agreed with Bonifacio and Diwa who believed that the time was ripe for an armed uprising. On July 6, 1892, upon learning of Rizal's exile to Dapitan island in

Mindanao Mindanao ( ) is the List of islands of the Philippines, second-largest island in the Philippines, after Luzon, and List of islands by population, seventh-most populous island in the world. Located in the southern region of the archipelago, the ...

, Plata, Bonifacio and Diwa decided to form a secret society to prepare for a revolution against Spain. The following day, they met with their friends and fellow freemasons

Deodato Arellano Deodato Arellano y de la Cruz (July 26, 1844 – October 7, 1899) was a Filipino propagandist and the first President (corporate title), president of the Katipunan, which was founded at his home in Azcarraga Street (Recto Avenue, Claro M. Recto ...

, Valentin Díaz and José Dizon at a house in Tondo and established the Katipunan. In 1892, he served as the secretary of the secret society with Arellano as president, Bonifacio as comptroller, Diwa as fiscal, and Díaz as treasurer. In 1893, under the presidency of Román Basa, Plata served as councilor and it was at this time that the society organized a women's auxiliary section. One of its first members was Plata's cousin Gregoria de Jesús, who wrote in her autobiography that Plata was Bonifacio's constant companion when he would call at their house in

Caloocan Caloocan, officially the City of Caloocan (; ), is a highly urbanized city in Metro Manila, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 1,661,584 people making it the fourth-most populous city in the Philippines. Caloo ...

to court her. In August 1896, immediately before the discovery of the Katipunan, Plata was elected secretary of war in the last Supreme Council that was constituted by Bonifacio like a government cabinet. When the Spanish started arresting Katipunan members of August 19, 1896, Bonifacio called for a general assembly at Pugadlawin, a place in Balintawak (which was then under the town of

). The meeting on August 23 was attended by about 1,000 Katipuneros and there ensued a debate on whether they should commit themselves to an uprising. Plata opposed the declaration of hostilities because they had few arms and ammunition. But the final vote decided on starting the rebellion and the Katipuneros tore their residence and identity certificates. A few weeks later, however, Plata was arrested and, after a military trial, he was executed by musketry on February 6, 1897, along with Apolonio de la Cruz, Vicente Molina, Hermenegildo de los Reyes, José Trinidad, Pedro Nicodemus, Feliciano del Rosario, Gervasio Samson and Doroteo Domínguez.

In popular culture

* Portrayed by Richard Quan in the 2014 film, '' Bonifacio: Ang Unang Pangulo''.

References

* National Historical Institute, ''Filipinos in History'' 5 vols. (Manila: National Historical Institute, 1995)

External links

* People of the Philippine Revolution 1897 deaths 1866 births People from the Spanish East Indies People executed for treason against Spain People executed by Spain by firing squad {{Philippines-bio-stub