Remembering the exploits of Leon Kilat
Yesterday was an important date for us in Cebu as it was the 120th anniversary of the famous Tres de Abril uprising led by Pantaleon "Leon Kilat" Villegas of Bacong, Negros Oriental. It was the only time in Philippine history when the Katipuneros were able to capture a major city, in this case Cebu City. It was Holy Week in Cebu 120 years ago when Leon Kilat and his men were able to subdue the Guardia Civil at the corner of what is now V. Rama Avenue. The Spaniards were taken by surprise at the audacity of the Katipuneros and retreated to the safety of Fort San Pedro.
For four solid days, Leon Kilat and his men held Cebu City, but the Cebuano populace did not immediately embrace Leon Kilat for the simple reason that Cebu has been under Spanish rule for hundreds of years. Furthermore, Leon Kilat and his men were in reality a ragtag force whose principal arms they captured from the retreating Spaniards. While guarding Fort San Pedro on horseback, a Spanish sniper tried to shoot Leon Kilat who dropped from his horse unharmed, leading to stories that he really was guarded by an "anting-anting" or amulet.
But on the fourth day, with the Spanish Guardia Civil still holed out inside the fort and expected to give up due to lack of provisions, the Spanish Cruiser Don Juan Austria suddenly arrived in the Port of Cebu with fresh troops and soon, Leon Kilat and his men fled to the countryside. Leon Kilat sought refuge in the town of Carcar, but his own men turned against him. They got him drunk and stabbed him all over his body then offered the remains of Leon Kilat to the Guardia Civil in the hope of getting clemency. But they were all executed by the Juez Cochilio.
If only the Cebuano population helped Leo Kilat and his men, they could have lasted longer and lived to see the Spaniards vanquished by the Asiatic Fleet of Admiral George Dewey in the Battle of Manila Bay on May 1, 1898. It is unfortunate that Leon Kilat did not live to see the new dawn, when the Americans defeated the Spaniards and the Philippines kowtowed to its new master, the United States of America.
On the other hand, 120 years later, even Cebuanos do not really have a huge celebration for the Tres de Abril incident. Even the Castrillo monument in Parian does not depict the exploits of Leon Kilat. Oh well, we Cebuanos are truly an ungrateful people. We do not even have a monument for Col. James Cushing who led Cebu for three years during the Japanese Occupation. At this point, it is hoped that under the presidency of Pres. Rodrigo Duterte, Lapu-Lapu would have the recognition that we've always wanted for him. Let's hope this happens during the anniversary of the Battle of Mactan. But there is nothing stopping the Cebu City Council from recognizing Cushing and his merry band of guerrillas!
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A few days ago a group of some 60 Congressmen urged Pres. Duterte to sit down with the Communist Party of the Philippines and resume the stalled peace talks with the reds. Then a couple of days later at the height of Holy Week, the New People's Army rebels burned heavy equipment in Barangay Callawa in Buhangin, Barangay Fatima in Paquibato, and Barangay Dalagdag in Calinan over the weekend. These are heavy equipment used for infrastructure projects in Davao. They also attacked three different targets that day.
No less than Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process Jesus Dureza called the attacks a setback for the resumption of peace negotiations with Communist rebels. Dureza added: "This unnecessarily squanders whatever gains we have been quietly getting lately in our common efforts with the Communist Party of the Philippines/NPA/National Democratic Front leadership to achieve just peace through the negotiations table."
I just recently wrote an article against the Duterte government resuming talks with the reds for the simple reason that they are really not sincere in really promoting peace in the country. I didn't have to wait for any response from the Communists, except their latest attacks which will certainly not promote peace between the reds and the government.
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