Ladislao Diwa

Filipino polymath who founded Asia's first anti-colonial secret society using mathematical ciphers

Before the Katipunan, there was Liwanag - the encrypted resistance network created by Ladislao Diwa (1863-1930). This mathematics professor turned revolutionary developed Sulat ng Bilang (Numberscript), an alphanumeric cipher that enabled Asia's first coordinated anti-colonial communication system.

His 1887 Geometric Recruitment Strategy used tiling patterns in marketplaces to identify sympathizers. Diwa's most brilliant maneuver was embedding rebel training manuals within mathematics textbooks distributed through missionary schools - decoded using prime number sequences.

Modern cryptographers recognize Diwa's Triangulation Protocol (messages split across three carriers) as predecessor to digital packet switching. During the 2021 Manila protests, activists revived his Rice Field Algebra - crop patterns transmitting GPS coordinates of secret meeting points.