Latent Symbols of Our Republic

Revolutionary postage stamp- Aguinaldo- 1898-1899
The equilateral triangle is associated with freemasonry. The three corners adorned each with a star -- It stands for the trinitarian view of existence, found in some great philosophies and religions of the world. That three stars also define unity of three characters, in one: Luzon, Visayas, Mindanao, comprising the whole Philippines. Or the great tripartite motto of the French Revolution (which Aguinaldo often invoked) - Liberté, égalité, fraternité. The freemasonry's "eye of providence" is replaced with the mythological sun.

All these symbols lead us to one great movement and philosophy that swept Europe in the 18th Century -- the Age of Enlightenment. It is thru this thinking, of reason above belief, logic, and freedom of men above institutions like the church, etc, that revolutions were born. Enlightenment spread throughout Europe. In Spain and in its dominions in the Americas, it was called "Ilustracion". And the term for those enlightened men is "Illustrado". This is where the ideas of Rizal, M.H del Pilar et al comes in.

But the presence of the three-letter "Ka" defines the Tagalog trinitarian character of the revolution. Kataastaasan, Kagalanggalangang, Katipunan. It defines the role of Andres Bonifacio.

"Ka" is an affix, once connected to a noun or a verb it changes the meaning. Becoming deeper, becoming more profound. (Ka + sama, becomes "kasama", or Ka + patid becomes kapatid, etc) . But "ka" can be formulated as confixes with "an", with words as "KAlayaAN, KAtaastaasAN, etc. Explaining this further we find its relationship or equivalence in Malay, with the combination of the prefix "Ke" and the suffix "an". As this Melayu words: KEmerdekaAN (Independence), KEbangsaAN (Nationality).

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