Chapter 6 Readings in Phil His 1

GE 2 READINGS IN PHILIPPINE HISTORY College of Arts and Sciences
Biography of the prominent Filipino
Chapter 6 Biography of a prominent Filipino

Course Intended Identify and explain the lives of the prominent Filipino’s in the past.
Learning Outcomes
Essential Questions Who are the prominent Filipino’s? What are their significant contribution that makes them
prominent or heroes of the country?
Overview Our generations of Filipinos do not know the Philippines and the Spain during 333 years ago.
The role of the historians in writing biography of the prominent Filipino’s for us to read and to
supply this lack of background is very essential.
Learning Targets At the end of this lesson, students should be able to:
- To establish a connection between prominent Filipinos’ in the past in people’s lives in
the present.
. Expand your
knowledge
A biography, or simply bio, is a detailed description of a person's life. It involves more than just the basic facts like
education, work, relationships, and death; it portrays a person's experience of these life events. Unlike a profile
or curriculum vitae (résumé), a biography presents a subject's life story, highlighting various aspects of their life, including
intimate details of experience, and may include an analysis of the subject's personality
(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Biography).
With a rich historical background, it's no surprise that the Philippines recognizes prominent figures who fought for the
country. From writers to soldiers, numerous people have sacrificed their lives to help the country gain and maintain
independence. Historian Esteban de Ocampo defines a hero as a prominent figure who accomplished an admirable
feat in any significant action or event, and who is honored after death due to his or her service to the nation.
Prominent recognition
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According to the Reference and Research Bureau, Legislative Research Service of the House of Representatives,
there are no proclamations or executive orders that officially proclaim a Filipino historical figure as a national hero. But
there have been laws issued that honor these historical figures to recognize their contributions to the country’s nation
building. Heroes like Jose Rizal and Andres Bonifacio are not explicitly proclaimed national heroes, but Filipinos pay tribute
to them and recognize their heroism, having national holidays as a result (Mallorca, 2019).
President Fidel Ramos on March 28, 1993, created the National Heroes Committee, which was tasked to
recommend Filipino nationals as heroes “in recognition of their sterling character and remarkable achievement for the
country,” according to the National Committee for Culture and the Arts (NCCA). It took a technical committee three
years to short-list nine Filipino “heroes”: (1) Jose Rizal (2) Andres Bonifacio (3) Emilio Aguinaldo (4) Apolinario Mabini (5)
Marcelo H. del Pilar (6) Sultan Dipatuan Kudarat (7) Juan Luna (8) Melchora Aquino and (9) Gabriela Silang (Kapunan,
2019). These the ancestors whom recognized as the national heroes for their role in the Philippine history.
Dr. Jose P. Rizal
José Rizal (June 19, 1861–December 30, 1896) was a man of intellectual power and artistic talent whom Filipinos
honor as their national hero. He excelled at anything that he put his mind to: medicine, poetry, sketching, architecture,
sociology, and more. Despite little evidence, he was martyred by Spanish colonial authorities on charges of conspiracy,
sedition, and rebellion when he was only 35. José Protasio Rizal Mercado y Alonso Realonda was born on June 19, 1861,
at Calamba, Laguna, the seventh child of Francisco Rizal Mercado and Teodora Alonzo y Quintos. The family were
wealthy farmers who rented land from the Dominican religious order. Descendants of a Chinese immigrant named
Domingo Lam-co, they changed their name to Mercado ("market") under the pressure of anti-Chinese feeling among the
Spanish colonizers. From an early age, Rizal showed a precocious intellect. He learned the alphabet from his mother at
the age of 3 and could read and write at age 5.
Rizal attended the Ateneo Municipal de Manila, graduating at age 16 with the highest honors. He took a post-graduate
course there in land surveying. Rizal completed his surveyor's training in 1877 and passed the licensing exam in May 1878,
but he could not receive a license to practice because he was only 17. He was granted a license in 1881 when he
reached the age of majority. In 1878, the young man enrolled in the University of Santo Tomas as a medical student. He
later quit the school, alleging discrimination against Filipino students by the Dominican professors.
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Rizal wrote "Noli Me Tangere" in Spanish; it was published in 1887 in Berlin, Germany. The novel is a scathing
indictment of the Catholic Church and Spanish colonial rule in the Philippines, and its publication cemented Rizal's position
on the Spanish colonial government's list of troublemakers. When Rizal returned home for a visit, he received a summons
from the governor-general and had to defend himself against charges of disseminating subversive ideas. Although the
Spanish governor accepted Rizal's explanations, the Catholic Church was less willing to forgive. In 1891, Rizal published a
sequel, titled "El Filibusterismo." When published in English, it was titled "The Reign of Greed."
The Philippine Revolution broke out in 1896. Rizal denounced the violence and received permission to travel to
Cuba to tend to victims of yellow fever in exchange for his freedom. Bonifacio and two associates sneaked aboard the
ship to Cuba before it left the Philippines and tried to convince Rizal to escape with them, but Rizal refused. He was
arrested by the Spanish on the way, taken to Barcelona, and then extradited to Manila for trial. Rizal was tried by court-
martial and charged with conspiracy, sedition, and rebellion. Despite a lack of evidence of his complicity in the
Revolution, Rizal was convicted on all counts and given a death sentence. He was allowed to marry Bracken two hours
before his execution by firing squad in Manila on December 30, 1896. Rizal was just 35 years old.
Andres Bonifacio
Andres Bonifacio (1863-1897), a Filipino revolutionary hero, founded the Katipunan, a secret society which
spearheaded the uprising against the Spanish and laid the groundwork for the first Philippine Republic.
Andres Bonifacio was born in Tondo, Manila, on Nov. 30, 1863. He grew up in the slums and knew from practical
experience the actual conditions of the class struggle in his society. Orphaned early, he interrupted his primary schooling
in order to earn a living as a craftsman and then as clerk-messenger and agent of foreign commercial firms in Manila.
Absorbing the teachings of classic rationalism from the works of José Rizal, Victor Hugo's Les Miserables, Eugène Sue's The
Wandering Jew, books on the French Revolution, and the lives of the presidents of the United States, Bonifacio acquired
an understanding of the dynamics of the sociohistorical process. This led him to join the Liga Filipina, which Rizal organized
in 1892 for the purpose of uniting and intensifying the nationalist movement for reforms.
When the Liga was dissolved upon the arrest and banishment of Rizal, Bonifacio formed the Katipunan in 1892 and
thus provided the rallying point for the people's agitation for freedom, independence, and equality. The Katipunan
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patterned its initiation rites after the Masonry, but its ideological principles derived from the French Revolution and can
be judged radical in its materialistic-historical orientation. The Katipunan exalted work as the source of all value. It directed
attention to the unjust class structure of the colonial system, the increased exploitation of the indigenous population, and
consequently the need to affirm the collective strength of the working masses in order to destroy the iniquitous system.
When the society was discovered on Aug. 19, 1896, it had about 10,000 members. On August 23 Bonifacio and his followers
assembled at Balintawak and agreed to begin the armed struggle. Two days later the first skirmish took place and a reign
of terror by the Spaniards soon followed.
Conflict split the rebels into the two groups of Magdiwang and Magdalo in Cavite, on Luzon. Bonifacio was invited to
mediate, only to be rebuffed by the clannish middle class of Cavite. Judging Bonifacio's plans as divisive and harmful to
unity, Gen. Emilio Aguinaldo, the elected president of the provisional revolutionary government, ordered the arrest, trial,
and execution for "treason and sedition" of Bonifacio and his brothers. On May 10, 1897, Bonifacio was executed. Contrary
to the popular view, the cause of Bonifacio's tragic death at the hands of other Filipino rebels cannot be solely attributed
to his own personal pride. Rather, the correlation of class forces and the adventurist tendency of Bonifacio's group led to
his isolation and subsequently to Aguinaldo's compromises with the American military invaders.
Emilio Aguinaldo
The Philippine revolutionary leader Emilio Aguinaldo (1869-1964) fought for independence of the Philippine Islands,
first against Spain and then against the United States. Born on March 23, 1869, Emilio Aguinaldo grew up in Kawit in Cavite
Province and was educated in Manila. Appointed to a municipal position in his home province, he was also the local
leader of a revolutionary society fighting Spanish rule over the Philippines. By an agreement signed with rebel leaders in
January 1898, Spain agreed to institute liberal reforms and to pay a large indemnity; the rebels then went into exile.
When war broke out between Spain and the United States in April 1898, Aguinaldo made arrangements with the
U.S. consuls in Hong Kong and Singapore and with Commodore George Dewey to return from exile to fight against Spain.
On June 12 Aguinaldo proclaimed the independence of the Philippine Islands from Spain, hoisted the national flag,
introduced a national anthem, and ordered a public reading of the declaration of independence.
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When he realized that the United States would not accept immediate and complete independence for the
Philippines, he organized a revolution against American rule that resulted in 3 years of bloody guerrilla warfare. He was
captured on March 23, 1901, by Gen. Frederick Funston. Funston and several other officers, bound hand and foot,
pretended to be prisoners and were taken to Aguinaldo's camp by Filipinos loyal to the United States. Released and given
weapons, they easily captured Aguinaldo, who then took an oath of allegiance to the United States and issued a peace
proclamation on April 19. The bitterness caused by the war was soon transformed into friendship as Americans and Filipinos
joined to work toward Philippine independence. Aguinaldo retired to private life, and his son entered West Point in the
same class as Gen. Funston's son.
In 1935 Aguinaldo ran unsuccessfully for president of the Philippine Commonwealth against Manuel Quezon. After
the Japanese invasion of the Philippines in 1941, he cooperated with the new rulers, even making a radio appeal for the
surrender of the American and Filipino forces on Bataan. He was arrested as a collaborationist after the Americans
returned but was later freed in a general amnesty. He explained his action by saying, "I was just remembering the fight I
led. We were outnumbered, too, in constant retreat. I saw my own soldiers die without affecting future events. To me that
seemed to be what was happening on Bataan, and it seemed like a good thing to stop." In 1950 he was named to the
Council of State, an advisory body for the president, and in his later years he was chairman of a board which dispensed
pensions to the remaining veterans of the revolution. He died in Manila on Feb. 6, 1964.
Apolinario Mabini
Apolinario Mabini (1864-1903) was a Filipino political philosopher and architect of the Philippine revolution. He
formulated the principles of a democratic popular government, endowing the historical struggles of the Filipino people
with a coherent ideological orientation.
Apolinario Mabini was born in Talaga, Tanauan, Batangas, on July 22, 1864. His parents belonged to the
impoverished peasantry. He studied at the Colegio de San Juan de Letran in 1881 and at the University of Santo Thomas,
where he received the law degree in 1894. During this time he earned his living by teaching Latin and then serving as
copyist in the Court of First Instance in Manila. In 1896 Mabini contracted an illness, probably infantile paralysis, that
deprived him of the use of his legs. When the Katipunan revolt broke out late that year, the Spanish authorities arrested
him. Unknown to many, Mabini was already a member of José Rizal's reformist association, the Liga Filipina. And though
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as a pacifist reformist, he was at first skeptical of Andres Bonifacio's armed uprising, Mabini later became convinced of
the people's almost fanatical desire for emancipation. Subsequently, he turned out subversive manifestos appealing to
all Filipinos to unite against Spain.
In May 1898 Emilio Aguinaldo summoned Mabini to act as his adviser. Mabini formulated the famous decree of
June 18, which reorganized the local government under Filipino control. His policy throughout the struggle can be
epitomized by a statement in that decree: "The first duty of the government is to interpret the popular will faithfully. "Mabini
was also instrumental in supervising the proper administration of justice, the election of delegates to the revolutionary
congress, and the establishment of the mechanism of the revolutionary government itself. When the revolutionary
congress was convoked in Barasoain, Malolos, Bulacan, on Sept. 15, 1898, Mabini found himself opposed to the plans of
the wealthy bourgeoisie to draft a constitution. He believed that, given the emergency conditions of war, the function of
the congress was simply to advise the president and not to draft a constitution. Defeated by the majority, Mabini then
submitted his own constitutional plan, based on the Statutes of Universal Masonry. It was rejected in favor of a composite
draft submitted by Felipe G. Calderon, which became the basis of the Malolos Constitution of the first Philippine Republic.
Mabini's conflict with the conspiracy of property owners and the landlord class in the congress led to his eclipse in
1899 as Aguinaldo's trusted adviser—the only competent thinker and theoretician in the Aguinaldo Cabinet. Mabini
succeeded in exposing the vicious opportunism of the Paterno-Buencamino clique, who were trying to gain control over,
and to profit from, the financial transactions of the revolutionary government. When the Aguinaldo camp fled from the
advancing American forces, Mabini was captured on Dec. 10, 1899. Still refusing to swear an oath of allegiance to the
U.S. government and continuing to support the insurgents in their ideological struggle, he was deported to Guam in 1901.
He died on May 13, 1903. Mabini's chief work, La Revolution Filipina, a reasoned analysis and cogent argument
concerning the ideological implications of the revolution against Spain and the resistance to the American invaders,
reveals the progressive and democratic impulse behind his thinking. He always tried to mediate between the people's will
and the decisions of their leaders. He was a selfless and dedicated patriot.
Marcelo Hilario Del Pilar
Marcelo H. Del Pilar (1850-1896) was a Philippine revolutionary propagandist and satirist. He tried to marshal the
nationalist sentiment of the enlightened Filipino ilustrados, or bourgeoisie, against Spanish imperialism.
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Marcelo Del Pilar was born in Kupang, Bulacan, on Aug. 30, 1850, to cultured parents. He studied at the Colegio de San
José and later at the University of Santo Tomas, where he finished his law course in 1880. Fired by a sense of justice against
the abuses of the clergy, Del Pilar attacked bigotry and hypocrisy and defended in court the impoverished victims of
racial discrimination. He preached the gospel of work, self-respect, and human dignity. His mastery of Tagalog, his native
language, enabled him to arouse the consciousness of the masses to the need for unity and sustained resistance against
the Spanish tyrants. In 1882 Del Pilar founded the newspaper Diariong Tagalog to propagate democratic liberal ideas
among the farmers and peasants. In 1888 he defended José Rizal's polemical writings by issuing a pamphlet against a
priest's attack, exhibiting his deadly wit and savage ridicule of clerical follies.
In 1888, fleeing from clerical persecution, Del Pilar went to Spain, leaving his family behind. In December 1889 he
succeeded Graciano Lopez Jaena as editor of the Filipino reformist periodical La solidaridadin Madrid. He promoted the
objectives of the paper by contacting liberal Spaniards who would side with the Filipino cause. Under Del Pilar, the aims
of the newspaper were expanded to include removal of the friars and the secularization of the parishes; active Filipino
participation in the affairs of the government; freedom of speech, of the press, and of assembly; wider social and political
freedoms; equality before the law; assimilation; and representation in the Spanish Cortes, or Parliament.
Del Pilar's difficulties increased when the money to support the paper was exhausted and there still appeared no sign of
any immediate response from the Spanish ruling class. Before he died of tuberculosis caused by hunger and enormous
privation, Del Pilar rejected the assimilationist stand and began planning an armed revolt. He vigorously affirmed this
conviction: "Insurrection is the last remedy, especially when the people have acquired the belief that peaceful means to
secure the remedies for evils prove futile." This idea inspired Andres Bonifacio's Katipunan, a secret revolutionary
organization. Del Pilar died in Barcelona on July 4, 1896. Del Pilar's militant and progressive outlook derived from the classic
Enlightenment tradition of the French philosophes and the scientific empiricism of the European bourgeoisie. Part of this
outlook was transmitted by Freemasonry, to which Del Pilar subscribed.
Sultan Dipatuan Kudarat
Nine years after the coming of the Spanish colonizer and Captain General Miguel Lopez de Legazpi to the
Philippines, precisely, in the year 1580, Sultan Mohammad Dipatuan Kudarat was born. This great Muslim leader ruled
over his Sultanate of Maguindanao (now Mindanao) in a span of 52 years (1619-1671). His career as a ruler was
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considered one of the most colorful in Philippine history. He was married to one of the daughters of Sultan Mawallil
Wasit of the Sulu Archipelago, who ruled over his sultanate during the early part of the 17th century. Sultan Kudarat was
the contemporary of both Raha Bongsu and the latter's son Sultan Salah Ud-Din Bakhtiar. Sultan Kudarat died at the
ripe age of 91 years.
Sultan Kudarat's domain was situated in the mainland of Mindanao covering what are now known as the three
Cotabato provinces, the provinces of Bukidnon and the two Lanaos. Sultan Kudarat had also some ties with the Sulu
Sultanate, he being the son-in-law of Sultan Mawallil Wasit. His prestige and influence was not only confined within his
own domain. He was also widely known and respected in the ancient Sulu Sultanate as far as Sabah. He was mainly
influential in creating a pervading consciousness of the Islam religion among the Muslim inhabitants of the different
sultanates reaching as far as the Moluccas. Sultan Kudarat was also titled Nasir Uddin and in the 1650's he was
recognized as the most powerful Muslim ruler in the Philippines. When Sultan Kudarat's father, Sultan Buisan, died in 1602,
he ascended to the power as Ruler of the Maguindanao Sultanate. During the reign of his father, Mindanao
experienced the first attack of the Spaniards. Sultan Kudarat himself had armed encounters with the Spanish
conquistadors who wanted to wrest from him the possession of his sultanate. He successfully repulsed them.
In the early part of the year 1637, Hurtado de Corcuera, Captain and Governor General of the Philippines, led
personally the combined Spanish Indio forces and attacked the Muslim citadel at Lamitan near Lake Lanao. Sultan
Kudarat with 2,000 native warriors met the enemy in what was considered as the bloodiest and one of the biggest
battles of his career. The Muslim leader and his warriors including women and children, fought great vigor and bravery,
many of them heroically dying in the struggle. Kudarat sustained a bullet wound in one arm, fought his way through the
Spanish lines and escaped. His wife, clasping her baby at her breast, also ran through the Spanish lines, jumped over a
cliff and eluded capture. Sultan Kudarat rallied the other Muslim leaders to maintain their hold on the Islam Faith and
to defend their respective enclaves from foreign incursions. When some of the Maranao chieftains collaborated with
the Spaniards in the construction of a walled fort in the midst of the Muslim settlements, he convened them at a place
and lectured to them emphasizing that they should realize the serious consequences of their collaboration with the
Spaniards.
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Juan Luna
Juan Luna is without doubt the most famous and celebrated Filipino artist in the history of Philippines. With iconic
and remarkable masterpieces such as ‘Spolarium’, ‘Blood Compact’ and ‘The Death of Cleopatra’, Luna is known for his
dynamic and unique style, along with his dramatic and captivating canvases. His work is remembered as one of the
principal examples of Romanticism and Realism schools of art. Juan was not just an artist, he was a revolutionary and
influential political activist who was an active participant in the Philippine Revolution that took place in the late
19th century.
Juan Novicio Luna was born on October 23, 1857, in the town of Badoc, Ilocos, Philippines, to parents of Don
Joaquin Luna de San Pedro y Posadas and Doña Laureana Novicio y Ancheta. Juan came from a large family, and he
was the third of seven children. Juan’s interest and passion for art was instigated and fuelled by his brother, Manuel Luna,
who himself was a very talented and skilled painter. Juan began attending the Ateneo de Manila, where he received his
Bachelor of Arts degree, and later, he went on to enroll himself at the Escuela Nautica de Manila, and became a sailor.
However, becoming a sailor by profession did not dissuade Juan from giving free reign to his artistic passions and pursuits
to perfect his skill and talent, and thus, he began taking lessons from the notable and influential painting instructor, Lorenzo
Guerrero. Later, he enrolled himself at the Academia de Dibujo y Pintura, where he benefited from the tutelage of
renowned Spanish artist, Agustin Saez. In 1877, Juan decided to travel to Europe where he would complete his training
and education in the art capitals of Europe. He enrolled himself at the Escuela de Bellas Artes de San Fernando.
Juan first major artistic achievement came in 1881, when his iconic and remarkable work, ‘The Death of Cleopatra’,
was awarded a silver medal at the Exposicion Nacional de Bellas Artes. Following this, his work began to garner immense
fame, public applause and critical acclaim, and he was firmly established as a commercially successful and prolific artist.
His talent and unique skill won him much favor with the King of Spain, who was an influential patron and art enthusiast.
Juan became a regular contributor to the Exposición Nacional de Bellas Artes, where he won the gold medal in 1884, for
his huge and captivating ‘Spolarium’, and in 1887, he contributed his ‘Battle at Lepanto’. Juan Luna is widely considered
as the finest and most influential painter of Philippines, who works are showcased in some of the most prestigious museums
of his native country, including the National Museum and the Lopez Museum. Some of his most iconic and famous works
include, ‘Mestiza Lady at her Dresser’, ‘Tampuhan’, ‘Roman Ladies’, and ‘The Happy Beauty and the Blind Slave’ among
many others.
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Despite his commercial success and great talent, Juan’s life is overshadowed by the dark controversies he became
involved in because of his jealous disposition and accusations at the loyalty of his wife, whom he accused of having an
affair with Monsieur Dussaq, a surgeon. On September 23, 1892, in a blinding rage of jealousy, Juan murdered his wife, his
mother-in-law, along with causing serious injuries to his brother-in-law. Juan met his own death in 1899, at the age of 42.
Melchora Aquino
Philippine heroine considered "Mother of the Philippine Revolution." Name variations: known as Matandang Sora or
Tandang Sora. Pronunciation: Ah-KEEN-o. Born in barrio Banlat, Caloocan, Rizal (now part of Quezon City), on January 6,
1812; died in Pasong Tamo, in February or March 1919; daughter of Juan Aquino (a farmer) and Valentina de Aquino;
married Fulgencio Ramos; children: Juan, Simon, Epifania (also seen as Estefania), Saturnina, Romualdo, and Juana.
Melchora Aquino led a normal life until she was well into her 80s, when she became a political revolutionary. In her
early years, she was known in her village as a medicine woman who helped her neighbors with minor illnesses and injuries.
Her marriage to Fulgencio Ramos (who would become a barrio captain) produced six children before Fulgencio's
untimely death left her a widow. With a large family to support, she took over the management of the family farm and
other business interests entrusted to her. Working the farm with 15 tenants, she produced enough rice and sugarcane to
sustain her children to adulthood. In the late 19th century, a movement for independence from Spain was growing in the
Philippines after centuries of corrupt and indifferent Spanish colonial rule. Aquino became involved with a secret
revolutionary society known as Katipunan (derived from K.K.K., Kataastaasan Kagalanggalangang Katipunan Ng Mga
Anak Ng Bayan, or Highest and Most Respected Association of the Sons of the Country). Founded in July 1892 by Andres
Bonifacio (1863–1897), a writer who had risen from extreme poverty, its goal was the unification of Filipinos into one nation,
liberated from Spanish domination. Bonifacio's Katipunan advocated revolution, a concept that Aquino, now an old
woman, also endorsed. When she became involved with the group, it had grown to almost 100,000 members.
Melchora Aquino, also known as Tandang Sora, sympathized with the rebels and let them use her store to hold
meetings and to stock supplies and weapons. At first, her collaboration was not suspected because she was an old
woman and considered harmless. But on an August evening in 1896, Bonifacio's rebel soldiers used her house for a
rendezvous to plan the Philippine Revolution, which would free the country from Spanish rule in 1898. While Aquino was
feeding the soldiers an evening meal, the guardias civil, led by a Filipino spy, invaded the meeting. Aquino and her family
managed to escape to nearby Novaliches before the house was torched by the Spanish police, but on August 29 she
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was captured and jailed at the Old Bilibid Prison in Manila. On September 2, 1896, she and 171 other Filipinos (including
one other woman, Segunda Puentes Santiago) , were charged with sedition and rebellion. Deported to Guam, she and
Santiago were placed in the custody of a wealthy Filipino who had settled on the island some years earlier. In accounts
of Aquino's imprisonment and subsequent deportation, she is cited for her bravery under what must have been difficult
conditions for a woman of her advanced age. There are reports of grueling prison interrogations by the Spanish inquisitor,
during which Aquino held fast and refused to divulge information about Bonifacio and his men.
Aquino was set free in 1898 when the United States defeated the Spanish and established an American colonial
regime over the Philippines. Melchora Aquino was 86 years old when the war ended, but she had many years ahead of
her. She spent them caring for her surviving children. Declining monetary rewards for her patriotism and sacrifice, she lived
in poverty, content with the knowledge that she had contributed to her country's freedom. She died in the home of her
daughter Saturnina, in 1919, at the age of 107, and was interred at the Mausoleum of the Veterans of the Philippine
Revolution at the La Loma North Cemetery. Later her remains were transferred to Himlayang Pilipino in Quezon City,
overlooking her ancestral home. Greatly revered for her courageous participation in the liberation of her country,
Melchora Aquino became known as the "Mother of the Philippine Revolution." The 50th anniversary of her death in
November 1969 was commemorated by a series of three postage stamps in her honor.
Gabriela Silang
Leader of a revolt in the Ilocos region of the Philippines in 1763 aimed at establishing a government to replace the
Spanish colonial government. Name variations: Josefa Gabriela Silang. Born Maria Josefa Gabriela Silang on March 19,
1731, in the village of Caniogan, town of Santa, Ilocos Sur, in the Spanish-colonized Philippines; executed by hanging on
September 20, 1763, in the town of Vigan, Ilocos Sur; parents unknown except that her father was an Ilocano peasant
and her mother was an Itneg, two ethno-linguistic groups in the Ilocos region of the northern Philippines; obtained the
equivalent of elementary schooling in the convent school of her town; married a rich widower around 1751 (died); married
Diego Silang (leader of the Ilocano or Ilokano revolution), around 1757 (assassinated May 28, 1763); no children.
Separated from her pagan mother in early childhood, and reared as a Christian by the town's parish priest; first marriage
arranged by her father (c. 1751); after she was widowed, married Diego Silang (c. 1757); British seized Philippines from the
Spanish (1762); after Diego's assassination, assumed leadership of the rebellion against Spanish colonial rule until her
defeat (1763).
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In a public square in Makati, metropolitan Manila, stands a monument of Gabriela Silang on horseback. Her story,
celebrated in poetry and song, has inspired other women of the Philippines to leadership in revolutionary movements,
including "Santa" in the province of Leyte in 1862, and the image of a widow as leader found its modern counterpart in
the career of Corazon Aquino , elected the country's first woman president in 1986. In the modern Philippines, there is also
an umbrella organization, involved in women's rights and other political causes ranging from the ouster of foreign military
bases to opposition to nuclear power plants, named in honor of the 18th-century Gabriela. Despite all this, in a society
influenced by Christian values resulting from more than 300 years of Spanish colonial rule, women in Philippine society
have long been considered secondary to men. Even Gabriela, living at a time when society constricted her development
into a fully rounded person, was overshadowed by her husband. Her achievement in becoming a revolutionary leader is
therefore all the more worthy of the praise she has been accorded.
At the time of Gabriela Silang's birth in the town of Santa in the Ilocos region, the Philippines had been under Spanish
colonial rule for almost 200 years. Santa was a suburb of Vigan, the principal maritime town of northern Philippines, and
both were strategic colonial outposts at the mouth of the Abra River. In turn, the river was the gateway to the Cordilleras,
the mountain ranges inhabited by the Itnegs (also called Tinguians) and other pagan tribes of northern Philippines.
Between the upland agricultural communities and the lowland towns and cities there was considerable exchange of
goods, and the coastal maritime towns in particular were the hubs of commerce with the outside world, where Chinese
merchants brought in porcelain, silk and other luxuries to exchange for products brought by the Spanish from Mexico and
Spain. Even before the arrival of the Spanish conquistadors, Vigan had been visited by Chinese, Indian and Arab traders.
Gold dust, hand-woven cotton cloth, beeswax, resin, rice wine, and rice cakes were among the goods shipped from
there to Manila, the major Spanish metropolis and capital in the Philippines. When natural disasters such as flooding and
typhoons prevented commerce with the capital, Vigan was at times the rival of Manila, its prosperity visible in the
concentration of big old stone houses with tiled roofs owned by settlers of foreign extraction.
The marriage of Gabriela's parents also suggests that there was more to the interaction between upland and
lowland communities than the exchange of goods. Little is actually known about Gabriela's early life, except that her
father was Christian and her mother remained pagan, and that Gabriela stayed in her mother's village at some time in
her youth, when she developed a liking for the tribespeople. The cross-cultural marriage of her parents could also suggest
that the Christianized citizens of Philippine towns in the 18th century did not emulate the Spanish pretensions of racial
superiority towards other pagan ethnic groups, but we might also surmise that cultural differences played a part in the
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parents' separation. Gabriela lived in two worlds, staying in her mother's village and later staying with her father, who had
ambitions for his daughter: she would marry a rich man.
She acquired the equivalent of an elementary school education in the church convent, where Father Tomas Millan,
the town's parish priest, considered her an adopted daughter. Legend has it that when she once saw a poor woman in
the churchyard, she handed over a priceless pendant as an act of charity, indicating the values of charity and
philanthropy developed under the church's influence. At age 20, Gabriela was betrothed by her father to a rich widower.
He died shortly after their marriage, and Gabriela became a wealthy young widow, attracting many suitors, including
Diego Silang, an educated man of means in Vigan who became her second husband. The coupled remained childless,
but lived happily for five years. In this period, Diego became the trusted messenger of Father Millan, Gabriela's foster
father, delivering confidential reports and bringing back letters from Manila. He made contacts and friendships, and had
many conversations with a Spanish lawyer, Santiago Orendain. Their friendship would later become crucial in Diego's
negotiations with the British, when events beyond the Philippines began to affect their lives.
During the Seven Years' War then being waged in Europe, colonies of the various European powers were drawn at
times into the fray. Spain, because it was allied with France, was subject to attack by the British, and in 1762 British warships
sailed from their ports in India to oust the Spaniards from their colonial outpost at Manila. The government in Manila,
caught by surprise, immediately handed over the city to the invaders, and the archbishop of Manila was made governor-
general. Elsewhere in the Philippine archipelago, however, the Spaniards continued to resist, and further pacification
proved less easy. To soften Spanish resistance, the British began to promise reforms to the colonized natives, sowing seeds
of revolt throughout the Philippine territory. After the conquest of Manila, the Silangs were among those who viewed the
arrival of the British as an opportunity to gain independence for their people. As Diego was drawn into inciting rebellion,
the spirit of charity and philanthropy sown in Gabriela's childhood found fruition in her close collaboration with her
husband in the cause against oppression. In their country, the principales were the class of prosperous native elites who
worked for the Spaniards as administrators and tax collectors, wielding tremendous political and economic power, able
to exploit the people by collecting taxes over and above those decreed by the Spaniards. When the Silangs raised the
slogan "wrest power from the principales and restore it to the people," they were setting out to overturn the social pyramid
by attacking the class to which they themselves belonged. At first it was only the people of the towns who rallied behind
the banner of the revolt, but the Silangs also hoped to broaden their power base by attracting a combined force of the
inland Tinguian warriors and Ilocanos. Meanwhile, the Silangs had organized a force, armed with all sorts of weapons, that
102
joined in a march and defeated the Spanish in a decisive battle at the town of Cabugao; soon afterward, the Spanish
were ousted from Vigan. Under British protection, Diego Silang assumed the position of captain-general and local
governor in Vigan. On December 14, 1762, he proclaimed the independence of the Ilocos region and established a
government of the people.
Both the ousted Spanish functionaries and members of the elite were naturally aghast at the changes Diego had
instituted, overturning practices that had allowed them to enrich themselves at the expense of the poor by practicing
exactions and illegal usury. His actions also freed common men from the hated feudal practices of corvée, or unpaid
labor, and the paying of tribute, requiring instead that the principales pay for the maintenance and upkeep of the
government. In return, he promised to allow the elite to live normal lives provided that they did not openly defy the
government, although the priests of some towns were put under house arrest at the convent in Bantay town. The offended
church functionaries and elites were soon allied in planning the Silangs' assassination. Two friends of Diego, Miguel Vicos
and Pedro Becbec, were hired to carry out the plot. On May 28, 1763, on the pretext of showing a summary of the tax
collection, they gained entry into the Silang house, past unsuspecting guards. According to the account of an Augustinian
priest, Fray Vivar, Diego had just come out of a room when Vicos "took out his trabuco [blunderbuss], discharged all its
contents, and Silang fell dead." The fallen body was stabbed several times before the assassins made their escape, while
a group of the elites distracted the Silang forces by creating confusion in the town.
Gabriela, having escaped assassination, swore to avenge the death of her husband. Rallying troops under the
leadership of Nicolas Cariño and other trusted aides of Diego, she withdrew to Pidigan, Abra, her mother's town, in search
of support from Tinguian mountain warriors. Eventually, she was able to organize a force that made a dramatic surprise
attack against Becbec and his followers in the town of Santa, putting her enemies to flight. Then she joined with Cariño's
forces in the town of Cabugao, where a fortress for the revolutionary army was established. The Spaniards soon had a
force of 6,000 organized for a counterattack. In a battle employing firearms and bows and arrows, both sides fought with
daring, but the Tinguian mountain warriors, unaccustomed to fighting in the plains, were scattered by the firefight, Cariño
was hit by musketfire, and the revolutionary army had to retreat to the hills of Abra. On July 11, 1763, the Spaniards
marched in victory back into Vigan.
Gabriela reorganized a Tinguian force of 2,000 men, combined with the remnants of Cariño's defeated force, and
headed toward Vigan, but the military advance did not remain secret for long. Her former foster parent, Father Millan,
now governor of Vigan, commanded 300 archers to attack the flanks of Gabriela's troops while his main force waited in
103
the town square. In the suburb of Bantay, Gabriela's army set fire to the houses of the town's elites and principales before
advancing on the walled town. Although the image of Gabriela entering Vigan on horseback at the head of her army is
a romantically vivid and lasting image, the attack was in fact the perfect setup for an ambush. While enemy archers
rained arrows on her army's flanks, her forces were hit from the front by cannon balls and musket fire, and the terrified
Tinguian warriors retreated in panic. Scattered and demoralized, the survivors fled back to their camp in Abra. Gabriela
had no time to regroup her troops. On September 20, 1763, a Spanish force, led by Manuel Arza y Urrutia, pushed into the
Abra hinterlands in search of her camp, offering rewards to other warrior tribes in the Cordilleras. After a prolonged pursuit
through the mountains, Gabriela and 90 of her followers were captured. She was returned to Vigan, where she suffered
humiliation and psychological torture, forced to witness the flogging of hundreds of her suspected followers and the
hanging of 90 more, before she herself climbed the scaffold to her execution. Her period of leadership had been brief,
but her martyrdom and courage made her a lasting example to women of the Philippines.
Modern- day Filipino heroes
The Philippines is a nation of heroes, from patriots who fought for the country’s independence to those regular
individuals on the street helping better the lives of other people and the society. They are the silent and the humble who
finish their jobs without much exaltation; they are all in our midst.
The local street sweepers who keep the streets clean of trash. The soldiers who, with or without you knowing, are
always on the watch for security threats and keep them at bay. The doctors, who, even with lack of sleep, tirelessly save
lives. The teachers, who offer their time unconditionally to nurture their students. The firefighters who, without hesitation,
will rescue anyone trapped inside a burning building. Or those overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) who are always regarded
as the country's "modern-day heroes" for the sacrifice they give to provide for their families and also keep the economy
afloat. Whether one helps directly or indirectly, or save a thousand or a single person, anyone who helps promote the
welfare of another is a hero -- someone deserving of respect and gratitude. They are everywhere but you may not just
recognize or acknowledge them (Rocamora, 2018).
104
Resources
Access the following curated contents to be able to actively participate in our synchronous and
asynchronous discussions.
1. https://businessmirror.com.ph/2019/09/02/no-official-national-heroes/
2. https://www.rappler.com/newsbreak/iq/fast-facts-filipino-national-hero-criteria-heroes-day-philippines
3. https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1046084
4. https://biography.yourdictionary.com/andres-bonifacio
5. https://www.thoughtco.com/jose-rizal-hero-of-the-philippines-195677
6. https://biography.yourdictionary.com/emilio-aguinaldo
7. https://biography.yourdictionary.com/apolinario-mabini
8. https://biography.yourdictionary.com/marcelo-hilario-del-pilar
9. https://kahimyang.com/kauswagan/articles/759/sultan-kudarat-a-mindanao-hero-mindanaos-most-powerful-
ruler
10. https://www.encyclopedia.com/women/encyclopedias-almanacs-transcripts-and-maps/aquino-melchora-1812-
1919
11. https://www.famouspainters.net/juan-luna/
12. https://www.encyclopedia.com/women/encyclopedias-almanacs-transcripts-and-maps/silang-gabriela-1731-
1763
Assessment
Learning Task: Please access this link for the 15 items quiz……
https://forms.gle/y27wfoiZagxzhwTR7
105

Chapter 6 Readings in Phil His 1

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GE 2 READINGS IN PHILIPPINE HISTORY College of Arts and Sciences

Biography of the prominent Filipino

Chapter 6 Biography of a prominent Filipino

Dr. Jose P. Rizal

Marcelo Hilario Del Pilar

Sultan Dipatuan Kudarat

Modern- day Filipino heroes

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