10 GREAT

FILIPINO MEN
AND WOMEN
 ONE

José Protasio Rizal Mercado y Realonda

(June 19, 1861 – December 30, 1896)

A Filipino nationalist and polymath during the tail end of the Spanish colonial
period of the Philippines. An ophthalmologist by profession, Rizal became a writer and a
key member of the Filipino Propaganda Movement which advocated political reforms
for the colony under Spain.

He was executed by the Spanish colonial government for the crime of rebellion
after the Philippine Revolution, inspired in part by his writings, broke out. Though he
was not actively involved in its planning or conduct, he ultimately approved of its goals
which eventually led to Philippine independence.

He is widely considered one of the greatest heroes of the Philippines. He was the
author of the novels Noli Me Tángere and El filibusterismo, and a number of poems and
essays.
 TWO

Andrés Bonifacio y de Castro

(November 30, 1863 – May 10, 1897)

A Filipino revolutionary leader and the president of the Tagalog Republic. He is

often called "The Father of the Philippine Revolution". He was one of the founders and
later Supremo (Supreme Leader) of the Kataas-taasan, Kagalanggalangang Katipunan ng
mga Anak ng Bayan or more commonly known as "Katipunan", a movement which
sought the independence of the Philippines from Spanish colonial rule and started the
Philippine Revolution. He is considered a national hero of the Philippines.

In April 1897, Aguinaldo ordered the arrest of Bonifacio after he received a letter
alleging that Bonifacio had burned down a village and ordered the burning of the
church of Indang after townspeople refused to give him provisions. Many of the
principal men of Indang, among them Severino de las Alas, presented Emilio Aguinaldo
with several complaints against Bonifacio that the Supremo’s men stole carabaos
(water buffalo) and other work animals by force and butchered them for food. On April
25, a party of Aguinaldo's men led by Colonel Agapito Bonzón and Major José Ignacio
"Intsik" Paua caught up with Bonifacio at his camp in barrio Limbon, Indang. The
unsuspecting Bonifacio received them cordially. Early the next day, Bonzón and Paua
attacked Bonifacio's camp. Bonifacio was surprised and refused to fight against "fellow
Tagalogs", ordering his men to hold their fire, but shots were nevertheless exchanged.
Bonifacio was shot in the arm by Bonzón, and Paua stabbed him in the neck but was
prevented from striking further by one of Bonifacio's men, who offered to die in
Bonifacio's place. Andrés's brother Ciriaco was shot dead, while his other brother
Procopio was beaten, and his wife Gregoria may have been raped by Bonzón. From
Indang, a half-starved and wounded Bonifacio was carried by hammock to Naic, which
had become President Aguinaldo's headquarters.

Bonifacio's party was brought to Naic, where he and Procopio stood trial on
charges of sedition and treason against Aguinaldo's government and conspiracy to
murder Aguinaldo. The jury was composed entirely of Aguinaldo's men and even
Bonifacio's defence lawyer himself declared his client's guilt. Bonifacio was barred from
confronting the state witness on the charge of conspiracy to murder on the grounds
that the latter had been killed in battle. However, after the trial the witness was seen
alive with the prosecutors.

The Bonifacio brothers were found guilty despite insufficient evidence and
recommended to be executed. The Bonifacio brothers were executed on May 10, 1897
in the mountains of Maragondon. Apolinario Mabini wrote that Bonifacio's death
demoralized many rebels from Manila, Laguna and Batangas who had come to help
those in Cavite, and caused them to quit. In other areas, Bonifacio's close associates like
Emilio Jacinto and Macario Sakay continued the Katipunan and never recognized
Aguinaldo's authority.
 THREE

Apolinario Mabini y Maranan

(July 23, 1864 – May 13, 1903)

A Filipino revolutionary leader, educator, lawyer, and statesman who served first as
a legal and constitutional adviser to the Revolutionary Government, and then as the
first Prime Minister of the Philippines upon the establishment of the First Philippine
Republic. He is regarded as the "utak ng himagsikan" or "brain of the revolution".

Two of his works, El Verdadero Decalogo (The True Decalogue, June 24, 1898), and
Programa Constitucional dela Republica Filipina (The Constitutional Program of the
Philippine Republic, 1898) became instrumental in the drafting of what would
eventually be known as the Malolos Constitution.

Mabini performed all his revolutionary and governmental activities despite having
lost the use of both his legs to polio shortly before the Philippine Revolution of 1896.

Mabini's role in Philippine history saw him confronting first Spanish colonial rule in
the opening days of the Philippine Revolution, and then American colonial rule in the
days of the Philippine–American War. The latter saw Mabini captured and exiled to
Guam by American colonial authorities, allowed to return only two months before his
eventual death in May, 1903.
 FOUR

Marcelo Hilario del Pilar y Gatmaitán

(August 30, 1850 – July 4, 1896)

Better known by his pen name Plaridel, was a Filipino writer, lawyer, journalist,
and freemason. Del Pilar, along with José Rizal and Graciano López Jaena, became
known as the leaders of the Reform Movement in Spain.

Del Pilar was born and brought up in Bulakan, Bulacan. At an early age, he became
a critic of the monastic rule in the country (the Spanish friars). He was suspended at the
University of Santo Tomas and jailed in 1869 after he and the parish priest quarrelled
over exorbitant baptismal fees. In the 1880s, he expanded his anti-friar movement from
Malolos to Manila. He went to Spain in 1888 after an order of banishment was issued
against him. Twelve months after his arrival in Barcelona, he succeeded López Jaena as
editor of the La Solidaridad (Solidarity). Publication of the newspaper stopped in 1895
due to lack of funds. Losing hope in reforms, he planned to lead a revolution against
Spain. He was on his way home in 1896 when he contracted tuberculosis in Barcelona.
He later died in a public hospital and was buried in a pauper's grave.
 FIVE

Muhammad Dipatuan Kudarat

(1581–1671)

Was the 7th Sultan of Maguindanao from 1619 to 1671. The word Dipatuan is
Malay in origin and means "master" or "sir." The word Qudarat is Arabic and means
"Power." The letters d and q and r and / are interchangeable in Moro, and the word
Qudarat is commonly pronounced qudlat or kurlat; hence the corrupted form
"Corralat." Sultan Kudarat overshadowed his father, Buisan, and ruled with a strong
hand. He was probably the strongest and greatest Mindanao sultan that ever lived.
During his reign, he successfully fought off Spanish invasions and hindered the spread
of Roman Catholicism in the island of Mindanao much like the other Muslim rulers of
the southern Philippine archipelago. He was a direct descendant of Shariff
Kabungsuwan, a Malay-Arab Johor noble who brought Islam to Mindanao between the
13th and 14th century. The Soccsksargen province of Sultan Kudarat is named after him,
together with the Municipality of Sultan Kudarat, Maguindanao, where his descendants
of Datus and rulers are still the current political leaders.

Under the presidency of Ferdinand Marcos, Sultan Kudarat became a Philippine

national hero.
 SIX

Juan Luna y Novicio

(October 24, 1857 – December 7, 1899)

Better known as Juan Luna was a Filipino painter, sculptor and a political activist of
the Philippine Revolution during the late 19th century. He became one of the first
recognized Philippine artists.

Regarded for work done in the manner of the Spanish, Italian and French
academies of his time, Luna painted literary and historical scenes, some with an
underscore of political commentary. His allegorical works were inspired with classical
balance, and often showed figures in theatrical poses.

In 1894 Luna moved back to the Philippines and traveled to Japan in 1896,
returning during the Philippine Revolution of the Cry of Balintawak. On September 16,
1896, he and his brother Antonio Luna were arrested by Spanish authorities for being
involved with the Katipunan rebel army. Despite his imprisonment, Luna was still able
to produce a work of art which he gave to a visiting priest. He was pardoned by the
Spanish courts on May 27, 1897 and was released from prison and he traveled back to
Spain in July. He returned to Manila in November 1898. In 1898, he was appointed by
the executive board of the Philippine revolutionary government as a member of the
Paris delegation which was working for the diplomatic recognition of the República
Filipina (Philippine Republic). In 1899, upon the signing of the Treaty of Paris (1898),
Luna was named a member of the delegation to Washington, D.C. to press for the
recognition of the Philippine government.

He traveled back to the Philippines in December 1899 upon hearing of the murder
of his brother Antonio by the Kawit Battalion in Cabanatuan. He traveled to Hong Kong
and died there on December 7, 1899 from a heart attack.
 SEVEN

Melchora Aquino de Ramos

(6 January 1812 – 2 March 1919)

A Filipina revolutionary who became known as "Tandang Sora" ("Elder Sora")

because of her age during the Philippine Revolution.

She was known as the "Grand Woman of the Revolution" and the "Mother of
Balintawak" for her contributions.

In her native town, Tandang Sora 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 names "Woman of Revolution", "Mother of Balintawak", "Mother
of the Philippine Revolution", and Tandang Sora (Tandang is derived from the Tagalog
word matandâ, which means old). She and her son, Juan Ramon, were present in the
Cry of Balintawak and were witnesses to the tearing up of the cedulas.

When the Spaniards learned about her activities and her knowledge to the
whereabouts of the Katipuneros, she was interrogated but she refused to divulge any
information. She was then arrested by the guardia civil and was deported to Guam,
Marianas Islands, where she and a woman named Segunda Puentes were placed under
house arrest in the residence of a Don Justo Dungca.

After the United States took control of the Philippines in 1898, Tandang Sora, like
other exiles, returned to Philippines until her death on 2 March 1919, aged 107. Her
remains were then transferred to her own backyard (now known as Himlayang Pilipino
Memorial Park, Quezon City).
 EIGHT

María Josefa Gabriela Cariño de Silang

(19 March 1731 – 20 September 1763)

A Filipina revolutionary leader best known as the first female leader of a Filipino
movement for independence from Spain.

After being widowed by her first husband, Gabriela met insurgent leader Diego
Silang and married him in 1757. In 1762, as part of what would later be known as the
Seven Years' War, Britain declared war on Spain, which caused the British occupation of
the Philippines. After British naval forces captured Manila in October 1762, an
emboldened Diego sought to initiate an armed struggle to overthrow the Spanish
functionaries in Ilocos and replace them with native-born officials. He collaborated with
the British occupiers, who appointed him governor of the Ilocos region on their behalf
and promised military reinforcement to help in the fight against the Spanish. This
reinforcement was, however, never delivered. During this revolt, Gabriela became one
of Diego's closest advisors and his unofficial aide-de-camp during skirmishes with
Spanish troops. She was also a major figure in her husband's collaboration with the
British occupiers. Spanish authorities retaliated by offering a reward for Diego’s
assassination. Consequently, his two former allies Miguel Vicos and Pedro Becbec killed
him in Vigan on May 28, 1763.

After Diego’s assassination, Gabriela fled to Tayum, Abra to seek refuge in the
house of her paternal uncle, Nicolas Cariño. There, she appointed her first two generals,
Miguel Flores and Tagabuen Infiel. She later assumed her husband's role as commander
of the rebel troops and achieved a "priestess" status amongst her community and
followers. Her popular image as the bolo-wielding la Generala on horseback stems from
this period.

On September 10, 1763, Silang tried to besiege Vigan but the Spanish retaliated,
forcing her into hiding. She retreated once more to Abra, where the Spanish later
captured her. On September 20, 1763, Silang and her troops were executed by hanging
in Vigan's central plaza.

NINE

Teresa Magbanua
(1868-1947)

Known as the Visayan Joan of Arc, Teresa Magbanua was originally a teacher who
received a degree in education from a school in Manila. She married a wealthy
businessman who owned large plots of land, which she helped cultivate. During this
time, she developed her skills in horseback riding and marksmanship.

Upon learning that her brothers joined the uprising against the Spaniards, she
persuaded her uncle, General Perfecto Poblador, to let her join the Katipunan’s
women’s chapter in Panay as an experienced horse rider and marksman. The General
agreed, making Magbanua the first and only woman to lead troops in the Visayas during
the revolution. Her patriotic spirit helped her successfully lead a group of bolo troops
during the Battle of Barrio Yoting and the Battle of Sapong Hills, which were
instrumental to the liberation of IloIlo City. Later on, she joined the guerrilla forces in
fighting against the Americans in Jaro, IloIlo. She continued to fight for the country’s
independence until the Japanese occupation, when she sold all her belongings to help
fund the guerilla movement.

Magbanua is one of the few who fought for the Philippines against all of the
country’s main aggressors: Spain, the United States, and Japan.
 TEN

Josefa Llanes Escoda

(1898-1945)

Pictured as a smiling face clad in a Filipiniana outfit, Escoda is one of the two
women to appear on the current series of Philippine peso notes. This honor does not go
without merit, as she was a certified social worker, suffragette, civic leader, and war
heroine. As the eldest of seven children, she had to help her mother take care of her
siblings after the death of her father in 1918, all while studying to obtain a high school
teacher’s certificate from the University of the Philippines.

Escoda went to the United States several times to further help with her social work.
After graduating, she trained in social welfare at the New York School of Social Work.
During that stay, she also represented the Philippines in speaking engagements in the
International House and the Women’s International League for Peace. Her second visit
to the U.S., which was meant for Boy Scout training, she used to train young women
teachers from the public and private sector to become Girl Scout leaders.

When World War II broke out, Escoda’s involvement in aiding prisoners of war and
stranded women and children led to her arrest, torture, and eventual execution at the
hands of the Japanese.