Philippine Heroes

Ninoy Aquino: Worth Dying For (the last interviews)

2008-01-02T19:14:00.001-08:00

CLARO M. RECTO

2008-01-02T19:08:00.000-08:00

In the early 1950s, Nationalism resurfaced. Recto, a senator, fired the first volley in a speech in 1951. He said that the Philippine government had a "mendicant foreign policy," and allowed Americans to continue their dominant pre-war interests in the financial, commercial, and industrial life of the country. His nationalist sentiments derived from his long-time experience as a member of the House of Representatives in the Batangas district. For a short time, he served as an associative justice in the Supreme Court; a position he gave up to go into private law practice. During the Japanese occupation, he was recruited to serve in the Laurel War Cabinet and, after the war, he was accused of collaboration. From his Senate seat, he denounced legislation that allowed the encroachment of American business and political elements into the domestic and foreign affairs of the Philippines. One piece of legislation was the parity rights clause in the Bell Trade Act, which he described as a surrender of the Philippine birthright. In later years, his speeches continued to emphasize themes of political and economic nationalism for which he was branded anti-American. He died of a heart attack in Rome, while on a cultural mission to Europe and Latin America.

BENIGNO S. AQUINO

2008-01-02T18:57:00.000-08:00

Benigno Servillano "Ninoy" A. Aquino, Jr. (November 27, 1932 – August 21, 1983) was a Philippine senator and a leading oppositionist to the autocratic rule of Ferdinand Marcos. He was assassinated at the Manila International Airport (now named the Ninoy Aquino International Airport in his honor) upon returning home from exile in the United States. His death catapulted his widow, Corazon Aquino, to the limelight and the presidency, subsequently replacing the 20-year-old Marcos regime.

Benigno Aquino was born in Concepcion, Tarlac, to a prosperous family of hacienderos (landlords). His grandfather, Servillano Aquino, was a general in the revolutionary army of Emilio Aguinaldo while his father, Benigno Aquino, Sr. (1894-1947) was a prominent official in the World War II Japanese-organized government of Jose P. Laurel. His father died while Benigno Aquino was in his teens amid rumors of collaboration with the Japanese during the occupation. Aquino was educated in private schools--St. Joseph's College and De La Salle College. He finished high school at San Beda College. Aquino took his tertiary education at the Ateneo de Manila with a degree in Liberal Arts but he did not graduate. At age 17, he was the youngest war correspondent to cover the Korean War for the newspaper The Manila Times of Joaquin "Chino" Roces. Because of his journalistic feats, he received a Philippine Legion of Honor award from President Elpidio Quirino at age 18. At 21, he became a close adviser to then defense secretary Ramon Magsaysay. Ninoy took law at the University of the Philippines, where he became a member of the Upsilon Sigma Phi. He interrupted his studies however to pursue a career in journalism. In early 1954, he was appointed by President Ramon Magsaysay to act as personal emissary to Luis Taruc, leader of the Hukbalahap rebel group. After four months of negotiations, he claimed credit for Taruc's unconditional surrender. He became mayor of Concepcion in 1955 at the age of 22. In the same year he married Corazon "Cory" Cojuangco, and they had 5 children; Ma. Elena, Aurora Corazon, Benigno Simeón III, Victoria Elisa, and TV host Kristina Bernadette.

GREGORIO DEL PILAR

2007-12-29T02:36:00.000-08:00

Gregorio del Pilar (November 14, 1875—December 2, 1899) was the youngest and the most picturesque general in the Philippine Revolutionary Forces during the Philippine Revolution and the Philippine-American War. He was called the "boy general" because of his youth.

He was born on November 14, 1875 to Fernando H. del Pilar and Felipa Sempio of Barangay San Jose, Bulacan, Bulacan. He was the nephew of propagandist Marcelo H. del Pilar and Toribio del Pilar, who was exiled to Guam for his involvement in the 1872 Cavite Mutiny.

"Goyong", as he was casually known, enrolled at the Ateneo Municipal de Manila where he finished his Bachelor’s degree in 1896, at the age of 20. When the Philippine Revolution against Spanish rule broke out in August under the leadership of Andres Bonifacio, Del Pilar decided to join the movement. He distinguished himself as a field commander while fighting Spanish garrisons in Bulacan.

He then joined General Emilio Aguinaldo, who had gained control of the movement, in Hong Kong after the Truce at Biak-na-Bato. Upon resuming control of the Philippine Revolution, Gen. Aguinaldo appointed Del Pilar to lead the revolutionary forces in Bulacan and Nueva Ecija. On June 1, Del Pilar landed in Bulacan with rifles purchased in Hong Kong, quickly laying siege on the Spanish forces in the province. When the Spaniards surrendered to Del Pilar, he brought his troops to Caloocan and Manila to support the other troops battling the Spaniards there.

When the Philippine-American War broke-out on February 1899, he led his troops to a short victory over Major Franklin Bell in the Battle of Quingua on April 23, 1899, in which his forces repelled a cavalry charge, and killed the highly decorated Colonel John M. Stotsenburg (Clark Air Base was originally named Fort Stotsenburg).

The 24 year-old "boy general" led a 60-man Filipino rearguard in the Battle of Tirad Pass against the "Texas Regiment", the 33rd Infantry Regiment of the United States Volunteers. It was a delaying action to cover Aguinaldo's retreat. The over five-hour standoff resulted in his death by a shot to the neck (at the height or end of the fighting, depending on eyewitness accounts). Del Pilar's body was looted by the victorious Americans.

Del Pilar's body lay exposed for days without a burial. While re-tracking the trail, an American officer, Lt. Dennis P. Quinlan, gave the body a traditional U.S. military burial. Upon his tombstone, Lt. Quinlan inscribed, "an Officer and a Gentleman".

GABRIELA SILANG

2007-12-29T02:33:00.000-08:00

María Josefa Gabriela Cariño Silang (March 19, 1731-September 29, 1763) was the first Filipino woman to lead a revolt during the Spanish colonization of the Philippines. An active member of the insurgent force of Diego Silang, her husband, she led the group for four months after his death before she was captured and executed.

Born in Barangay Caniogan, Santa, Ilocos Sur, Silang was a mestiza, of Spanish and Ilocano descent. She was adopted by a wealthy businessman who later married her at the age of 20, but left after three years. In 1757, she married again, this time to 27-year-old indigenous Ilocano rebel leader, Diego Silang. She became one of his closest advisors, a major figure in her husband's collaboration with the British and the brief expulsion of Spanish officials in Vigan, Ilocos Sur.

On May 28, 1763, her husband was assassinated by order of royal and church authorities in Manila. After her husband's death, she fled on horseback to the mountains of Abra to establish her headquarters, reassemble her troops, and rally the Tingguian community to fight. They descended on Vigan on September 10, 1763. But the Spanish garrison was ready, amassing Spanish, Tagalog, and Kapampangan soldiers and Ilocano collaborators to ambush her and rout her forces. Many were killed. She escaped, alongside her uncle Nicolas and seven other men, but later caught on September 29, 1763. They were summarily hanged in Vigan's plaza, with Gabriela being the last to die.

Her ferocity and death became a symbol for Filipino women, their pre-colonial importance in Filipino society and their struggle for liberation during colonization.

MELCHORA AQUINO DE RAMOS

2007-12-29T02:28:00.000-08:00

Melchora Aquino de Ramos (January 6, 1812 – March 2, 1919) was a Filipino revolutionary who became known as "Tandang Sora" ("Tandang" is derived from the Tagalog word matanda, which means old) in the history of the Philippines because of her age when the Philippine Revolution broke out in 1896 (she was already 84 at the time). She gained the title Grand Woman of the revolution and the Mother of Balintawak for her heroic contributions to Philippine history.

Aquino was born on January 6, 1812 in Caloocan. Aquino, daughter of a peasant couple, Juan and Valentina Aquino, never attended school. However, she was apparently literate at an early age and talented as a singer. She performed at local events as well as at Mass for her Church.

She was married to Fulgencio Ramos, a cabeza de barangay (village chief), and bore six children. Ramos died when their youngest child was seven and she was left as a single parent of their children.

In her native country, Aquino operated a store, which became a refuge for the sick and wounded revolutionaries. She fed, gave medical attention to and encouraged the revolutionaries with motherly advice and prayers. Secret meetings of the Katipuneros (revolutionaries) were also held at her house. Thus she earned the name, "Mother of the Katipunan" or revolution. When the Spaniards learned about her activities and her knowledge to the whereabouts of the Katipuneros, she was asked where Andres Bonifacio was hiding but refused to conquerors steadily. She was then arrested and deported to the Mariana Islands.

After the United States took control of the Philippines in 1898, Aquino, like other exiles, returned to Philippines until her death on March 2, 1919 at the age of 107. Her remains lie in her own backyard.

JUAN LUNA

2007-12-29T02:25:00.000-08:00

Juan Luna y Novicio (October 23, 1857 – December 7, 1899) was a Filipino painter.

He was born in Badoc, Ilocos Norte, Philippines, the third child of seven children. He is a descendant of the Cala Family of the Philippines. Luna obtained his Bachelor of Arts degree from the Ateneo Municipal de Manila in 1874. He showed artistic promise early on and was encouraged to take up painting and traveled to Rome to study the masters. He settled in Paris and married Maria de la Paz, a prominent Filipina from the Mestizaje family of Pardo de Tavera. In a rage over his suspicion of infidelity on the part of his wife, he mercilessly shot her and her mother to death in September 1892. Tried by a French court and subsequently convicted in 1893, he was sentenced to pay the victims' immediate kin but one franc each for their loss, as the court had deemed the murders a crime of passion. In 1894, Luna returned to the Philippines after an absence of almost 20 years.

His most famous piece, The Spoliarium, for which he won top prize at the 1884 Madrid Exposition, is currently in the National Museum in Manila.

Upon his return to the Philippines, he was arrested two years later under suspicion of sedition. He was later pardoned. His brother, General Antonio Luna, was an active participant in the insurgent Katipunan movement.

In 1898, after the United States defeated Spain in the Spanish-American War, the fledgling Philippine Republic appointed him as a delegate to the Paris convention and to Washington, D.C. to help gain recognition of Philippine sovereignty and independence.

Luna died of heart failure in Hong Kong on December 7, 1899. He was rushing home from Europe after hearing of his brother’s assassination by members of the Katipunan.

MARCELO HILARIO DEL PILAR

2007-12-28T17:43:00.000-08:00

Marcelo Hilario del Pilar y Gatmaitan (August 30, 1850—July 4, 1896) was a celebrated figure in the Philippine Revolution and a leading propagandist for reforms in the Philippines. Popularly known as Plaridel, he was the editor and co-publisher of La Solidaridad. He tried to marshal the nationalist sentiment of the enlightened Filipino ilustrados, or bourgeoisie, against Spanish imperialism.

Marcelo Hilario was born in Cupang (now Barangay San Nicolas, Bulacan, Bulacan, on August 30, 1850, to cultured parents Julián del Pilar and Blasa Gatmaytan. 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 López Jaena as editor of the Filipino reformist periodical La solidaridad in 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'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. "Plaridel’s writings in Tagalog were forceful. Rizal’s writings in Spanish were not understood by most Filipinos."

The unveiling ceremony of the larger-than-life statue will be led by Manila Mayor Lito Atienza and the officers and directors of Samahang Plaridel.

Plaridel was the pen name of Marcelo H. del Pilar, one of the great figures of the Philippine Propaganda Movement, the heroic group whose writings inspired the Philippine Revolution. He wrote "Dasalan at Tuksuhan" and also made a parody of "Our Father", where the "father" was the friar who in a way, abused the Filipinos back then.

Plaridel is the chosen "patron saint" of today’s journalists, as his life and works prized freedom of thought and opinion most highly, loving independence above any material gain. He died of tuberculosis in abject poverty in Barcelona, Spain, 1896.

Organized in his memory, Samahang Plaridel is a fellowship of journalists and other communicators that aims to propagate Marcelo H. del Pilar’s ideals. This fellowship fosters within its capacity, mutual help, cooperation, and assistance among its members; dedicated to the journalistic standards of accuracy and truth, and in promoting these standards in the practice of journalism.

Plaridel’s ideology of truth, fairness and impartiality is anchored on democratic principles, as these are the bastions of a society acceptable to all Filipinos.

APOLINARIO MABINI

2007-12-28T17:39:00.000-08:00

Apolinario Mabini y Maranan (July 23, 1864—May 13, 1903), also known as the "Sublime Paralytic", was a Filipino theoretician who wrote the constitution for the first Philippine republic of 1899-1901, and served as its first prime minister in 1899. He was born in Talaga, Tanauan City, Batangas of poor parents, Inocencio Mabini and Dionisia Maranan.

Emilio Aguinaldo in the Filipino-American War

2007-12-28T17:36:00.000-08:00

EMILIO AGUINALDO

2007-12-28T17:29:00.000-08:00

Emilio Aguinaldo y Famy (March 22, 1869 – February 6, 1964) was a Filipino general, politician, and independence leader. He played an instrumental role in Philippine independence during the Philippine Revolution against Spain and the Philippine-American War that resisted American occupation. He eventually pledged his allegiance to the US government.

In the Philippines, Aguinaldo is considered to be the country's first and the youngest Philippine President, though his government failed to obtain any foreign recognition.

ANDRES BONIFACIO

2007-12-28T17:24:00.000-08:00

Andrés Bonifacio y de Castro (November 30, 1863 – May 10, 1897), son of Santiago Bonifacio and Catalina de Castro, was a Filipino revolutionary leader and one of the main rebel leaders of the Philippine Revolution against Spanish colonial rule in the late 19th century. He is regarded as the "Father of the Philippine Revolution" and one of the most influential national heroes of his country. A freemason, Bonifacio was the founder of the Katipunan organization which aimed to start an independence movement against Spain.

mi ultimo adios

2007-12-28T06:53:00.000-08:00

José Rizal

2007-12-28T06:42:00.000-08:00

Jose Rizal (full name: José Protacio Mercado Rizal Alonso y Realonda) (June 19, 1861 – December 30, 1896) was a Filipino polymath, nationalist and the most prominent advocate for reforms in the Philippines during the Spanish colonial era. He is considered a national hero and the anniversary of Rizal's death is commemorated as a Philippine holiday called Rizal Day. Rizal's 1896 military trial and execution made him a martyr of the Philippine Revolution.

The seventh of eleven children born to a middle class family in the town of Calamba, Laguna, Rizal attended the Ateneo Municipal de Manila, earning a Bachelor of Arts degree sobresaliente. He enrolled in the University of Santo Tomas Faculty of Medicine and Surgery and the University of Santo Tomas Faculty of Philosophy and Letters and then traveled alone to Madrid, Spain, where he studied medicine at the Universidad Central de Madrid, earning the degree of Licentiate in Medicine. He attended the University of Paris and earned a second doctorate at the University of Heidelberg. Rizal was a polyglot conversant in at least ten languages. He was a prolific poet, essayist, diarist, correspondent, and novelist whose most famous works were his two novels, Noli me Tangere and El Filibusterismo. These are social commentaries on the Philippines that formed the nucleus of literature that inspired dissent among peaceful reformists and spurred the militancy of armed revolutionaries against 333 years of Spanish rule.

As a political figure, Rizal was the founder of La Liga Filipina, a civic organization that subsequently gave birth to the Katipunan led by Andres Bonifacio and Emilio Aguinaldo. He was a proponent of institutional reforms by peaceful means rather than by violent revolution. The general consensus among Rizal scholars, however, attributed his martyred death as the catalyst that precipitated the Philippine Revolution.