Román Basa

Román Bása (February 29, 1848 – February 6, 1897) was a Filipino patriot who was the second Supremo or leader of the Katipunan, the secret society which sparked the Philippine Revolution against Spanish rule in 1896.

Personal life, education and career Basa was born to Mariano Basa and Dorotea Esteban in San Roque, Cavite where he also completed his primary schooling.

He was an alumnus of Escuela Nautica de Manila, now known as the Philippine Merchant Marine Academy (PMMA).

He was employed in the Comandancia de Marina in Manila as oficial segundo, which is a senior position for a clerk.

He married Josefa Inocencio, the cousin of Maximo Inocencio (one of the thirteen martyrs of Cavite). They had two children: Cristina Luz and Lucio. After his death, his son Lucio would adopt the surname Torres.

La Liga Filipina Basa was a member of the La Liga Filipina and used the name Baesa Bata.

Basa would support Marcelo H. Del Pilar in secretly propagating the newspaper La Solidaridad. Copies of the newspaper and the novels of Jose Rizal, which were banned by the Spanish colonial government, would be sent from Hong Kong by Jose Ma. Basa, smuggled on ships that made weekly trips, and received in Manila by Roman Basa.

Katipunan Basa and Ladislao Diwa lived in the same boarding house. He introduced some changes in its operations, particularly the formation of a women's auxiliary section. He was in attendance during the "Katipunero" wedding ceremony of Andres Bonifacio and Gregoria de Jesus (this was either in 1892 or 1893, the year differs depending on sources), and on that same evening De Jesus was admitted to the Katipunan. While he was a member of the Supreme council, Basa published the paper/leaflet "Kalayaan" wherein he enumerated the "Rights of Man", the principles that inspired the French Revolution.

Basa refused reelection in 1894 because of the following differences with Katipunan co-founder Andrés Bonifacio: (1) Bonifacio's handling of the Katipunan's funds; (2) Basa wanted to remove the rituals and ceremonies that accompany initiation to the society or elevation in rank; and (3) Basa's refusal to induct his son Lucio into the Katipunan. Lucio was only a nine-year-old boy at the time who sometimes acted as courier to the Katipunan. Bonifacio insisted on making Lucio a member as the Spaniards will not suspect a boy to be a spy. Basa would also refuse to follow Bonifacio's instructions that Katipunan members provide photographs. After being convicted by a Spanish military court, he was executed by musketry on February 6, 1897, along with Apolonio de la Cruz, Teodoro Plata, Vicente Molina, Hermenegildo de los Reyes, José Trinidad, Pedro Nicodemus, Feliciano del Rosario, Gervasio Samson and Doroteo Domínguez.