JACINTO, EMILIO (1875-1899).  Youthful adviser of Andres Bonifacio and popularly known as the “brains of the Katipunan,” Emilio Jacinto was born on December 15, 1875, in Trozo, Manila, to Mariano Jacinto, a bookkeeper, and Josefa Dizon.  As a boy, he learned the Spanish language by rote and also mastered his native tongue, Tagalog.  With his skill in languages, he helped Bonifacio write the primer of the Katipunan, the oath of pledges, and edited the revolutionary newspaper Kalayaan (Liberty).  In addition, he served as Bonifacio’s secretary and fiscal adviser, and later he became a general.  In 1898, while leading his troops against the Spanish in the battle of Maimpis at Magdalena in Laguna province, he was severely wounded and captured.  He was saved by an identity pass which belonged to another man identifying him as a spy of the Spanish.  His wounds were treated, and he was able to escape.  While Jacinto was establishing his headquarters in the hills, he contracted malaria, which caused his death on April 9, 1899, at the age of 23.

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Taken from Artemio R. Guillermo and May Kyi Win.  Historical Dictionary of the Philippines.  Asian / Oceanian Historical Dictionaries, No. 24.  (Lanham, Maryland and London: The Scarecrow Press, Inc.  1997), p. 117.