Jose Protacio Rizal (Laong-Laan)

The national hero, was born in Calamba, Laguna on June 19, 1861 to Francisco
Mercado Rizal and Teodora Alonso. Rizal went on to Ateneo Municipal de Manila and
finished Bachelor of Arts with highes honours on March 23, 1876 at the University of
Santo Tomas.
Rizal studied medicine. He then went to Europe and finished medicine and
philosophy at the Central University of Madrid in 1885. He took up graduate studies
in France. Rizal became a linguist and learnt Greek and Latin. During his time in
Europe, He wrote Noli Me Tangere (Touch Me Not) and El Filibusterismo (The Rebel),
which told of the oppression by Spanish colonial rule.
Rizal returned to the Philippines in June 1892. He founded La Liga Filipina, a forum
for Filipinos to express their hopes for feedom from Spanish rule. His writings and La
Liga Filipina were banned. Rizal was arrested as a revolutionary and imprisoned in
Fort Santiago on July 6,1892. On July 14 he was exiled to Dapitan. He stayed there
for four years, treating the sick, opened up a school and tried to make the place
beautiful and safe.In order to escape his exile, Rizal volunteered to serve as a
doctor for the Spanish forces with the breakout of the Cuban revolution for
independence.
Rizal was arrested while in transit to Cuba and sent back to the Philippines. Again,
he was jailed in Fort Santiago and on December 26,1896, the Spanish authorities
tried him and found Rizal guilty of inciting rebellion and sedition. Rizal was executed
by a firing squad on December 30,1896 at Bagumbayan (now Luneta) at the age of
35. On the eve of his execution,Rizal wrote his most famous poem Mi Ultimo Adios
(My Last Farewell).

Andres Bonifacio (Agap-ito Bagumbayan)

was born to Santiago Bonifacio and Catalina de Castro, a Spanish mestiza, in
Tondo, Manila on November 30, 1863. He supplemented his low education through
reading and self-study. Among the books he read were Rizal's novels, the lives of
presidents, Victor Hugo's Le Miserables, the ruins of Palmyra, and the French
Revolution. Those books prodded his spirit of rebellion and gave him impulse to
organize the Katipunan. This organization spread rapidly in 1894 in many parts of
the Philippines. He felt that he was about ready to lead a successful revolt in May
1896. However, before he could act, the Katipunan was discovered by the
authorities. More than 1,000 Katipuneros assembled with him at Pugad Lawin,
Caloocan, on August 23, 1896 and tore their cedulas. More than 1,000 Katipuneros
assembled with him at Pugad Lawin, Caloocan, on August 23, 1896 and tore their
cedulas. Bonifacio with his family and men left Naic for Indang. On his return from
Montalban, Aguinaldo sent men to arrest him, but Bonifacio resisted arrest and was
wounded. He faced a trial for acts inimical to the existence of the new government
and was given the death sentence by a military tribunal. Aguinaldo's men executed
him in the mountains of Maragondon, Cavite on May 10,1987.

Antonio Luna (taga-ilog)

Born in Binondo, Manila on October 29, 1856 to Don Joaquin Luna and Doa
Laureana Novicio, of Badoc, Ilocos Norte. He entered the Ateneo de Manila where he
began to take interest in literature and chemistry. He obtained his Bachelor of Arts
in 1881. At the University of Santo Tomas, he won first prize for his composition
Dos Cuerpos Fundamentales de Quimica, on the occasion of the elevation of Fr.
Ceferino Gonzales to the Cardinalate. At the invitation of his brother, Juan, he left for
Europe. He got a Licentiate in Pharmacy at the University of Barcelona. The Central
University of Madrid conferred him his Doctor of Pharmacy in 1890. In Spain he
wrote El Hematozoario Paludismo, acclaimed by leading bacteriologist in Europe as
thorough and exhaustive scientific work. Using the pen name Taga -Ilog, he
published in the La Solidaridad Impresiones a satirical observation of Spanish
customs and idiosyncracies. he returned to the Philippines where he wrote less but
was more vocal in advocating that the Philippines be made a province of Spain with
the Filipinos enjoying the rights and privileges of Spanish citizens. He was not
sympathetic to the Katipunan but advocated liberalism which caused his
imprisonment in Madrid. After his release, he left for Belgium where he studied the
art of military strategy under General Leman. In 1898, he surveyed the ManilaDagupan terrain for possible defense perimeter against the American troops. In
1899, he was appointed Chief of War Operations with the rank of Brigadier General.
After the fall of La Loma on February 5,1899, he saw the urgency of reorganizing the
army. A military academy was created at Malolos to train officers for field command.
Officers of the 1896 revolution were recruited. A Red Cross chapter was also
organized. After the fall of Marilao, Bulacan on March 29, 1899, he was crushed not
only by the defeat but by the lack of discipline among the Filipino troops. He
tendered his resignation but Aguinaldo did not accept. He continues to fight in the
fields of Pampanga, Tarlac and Pangasinan against the Americans. On June 4, 1899,
he received a telegram from Aguinaldo ordering him to go to Cabanatuan for a
conference. He arrived at the Cabanatuan Catholic Church Convent only to learn
that Aguinaldo had left for Pampanga. Greatly provoked, he uttered insults at the
President and berated the guards who were the same men he disarmed after the
battle of Caloocan. When going down the stairs of the headquarters, the assassins
riddles him with bullets and he was stabbed. After he was buried in the churchyard,
Aguinaldo took command of the troops and relieved Lunas officers and men of their
duties in the field.

Apolinario Mabini (Dimlas-ilaw)

was born of Tanauan,Batangas on July 23, 1864. The second son of Inocencio Mabini
and Dionisia Maranan. During his third year in high school, Mabini won first prize. a
silver medal and a diploma of honor for the course in Universal History, in a
competition for scholarship conducted by the college of San Juan de Letran in
Manila. He was able to obtain a new teaching position in the school of Sebatian
Virrey. In March 1887, desirous of continuing his studies, Mabini took and passed the
required examination at the University os Santo Tomas,obtaining the degree of
Bachelor Of Arts completed the course in 1894. In the examination for Licentiate in
Jurisprudence om March 2,1894, he obtained the grade of 'excellent '. He became a
copyist in the court of first Instance of Manila. It was in January 1896 that he
contracted a severe fever which resulted in his
permanent paralysis. His
physical condition prevented him fir taking a more active part in revolutionary
movement. Despite of his physical condition , Mabini played a prominent part in the
second period of revolution. He planned the revolutionary government and acted as
the Prime Minister of Pres. Emilio Aguinaldo. He occupied the constitutional de la
Republica Filipina was one of the models of the Malolos constitution. His works
earned revolutionary congress elected him chief justice of the supreme
court. Mabini was captured by the American's in December 1899. He was released
from prison on October 3,1900. He lived in a small nipa house in Manila where he
barely supported himself writing a political articles. (El Simil de Alejandro) prompted
the Americans to exile him to the island of Guam. After August 1901, because of his
refusal to sign the required oath of allegiance to the U.S. after 17 months, he was
convinced of the sincerity of American's good intension's in his country, he agreed
to take the required oath.

Mabini died of cholera in Manila on May 13, 1903 at the age of 39. Aporlinario
Mabini was called the "Sublime Paralytic ," having been paralyzed by a fatal illness
which struck his lower limps in 1894. A lawyer by profession, his earlier political
exposure was through the revived La Liga Filipina, the organization established by
Jose Rizal in 1892. Not withstanding his physical handicap, Pres. Emilio Aguinaldo
recognized his brilliance and named him his chief adviser. His thinking shaped the
constitutional and political basis of the Philippine Republic, thus earning him the title
the "Brains of the Revolution."

Emilio Jacinto (Dimas-Ilaw)

was born on December 15,1875 in Trozo, Manila.His parents were Mariano

Jacinto and Josefa Dizon. Because of hard life he was forced to live with her uncle,
Don Jose Dizon. He was enrolled at the San Juan de Letran College; then he
transferred to the University of Santo Tomas where he took up law.At the start of the
Phillippine Revolution in the year 1896, Emilio gave up his studies and joined the
Katipunan. The bad experiences he had with his Spanish classmates, his readings
about the Spanish injustices, and the sufferings of the Filipino people made a mark
in his heart, leading him to go against the will of his loved ones and become a
katipunero. At the age of 19, he became one of the ablest leaders of Katipunan. He
served as an adviser, secretary, and fiscal to Bonifacio. He also supervised the
manufacture of gunpowder.His intelligence was of great use to the Katipunan. He
was reffered to as the "Brain of the Katipunan". He wrote the "Kartilla" the primer of
the Katipunan where rules and regulations are contained. He edited the Katipunan's
newspaper "Ang Kalayaan". A poet, Emilio's greatest poem was A La Patria, inspired
by Rizals' My Ultimo Adios.It was signed "Dimas-Ilaw"his pen name. He was known
in the Katipunan as Pingkian.
In February 1898, he fought the Spanish cazadores (riflemen) in
Maimpis, Magdalena, Laguna. During this combat, he was wounded in the thigh and
was taken to the Catholic church of Magdalena, where he was mercilessly dumped
on the brickpaved platform of the stairway with his bleeding wound unattended. He
was taken to the church of Santa Cruz where a Spanish surgeon kindly ministered to
his wound, produced a pass from his pocket which identified him as Florentine
Reyes. This saved his life. The truth was that the pass really belonged to a Filipino
spy named Florentine Reyes whom Jacinto captured in Pasig some weeks before the
battle in Maimpis. He took the pass and kept it in his pocket so that in case he
should fall to the hands of the enemy, he could identify himself as a spy in the
service of Spain.
From his hideout, he wrote Apolinario Mabini in Malolos to express his plan
to continue his law studies in the newly established Literary University of the
Philippines. Mabini was happy to receive his letter and speedily consulted Aguinaldo
about this plan. Aguinaldo welcomed Jacinto's coming to Malolos because of his
remarkable intelligence. Mabini wrote him, saying that Aguinaldo approved of his
request and that the last day of enrolment in the University was December 1,
1898.Unfortunately, Jacinto was unable to proceed to Malolos, for he returned to
Laguna upon the urgent appeal of the fighting patriots of the province who wanted
him as their leader. Jacinto established his secret headquarters in the hills of
Majayjay. There he contacted the malignant malaria which caused his death on April
6, 1899. He was only 24 years old.

Marcelo H. del Pilar (Plaridel)

started school in the College of Mr. Jose Flores. He transferred to the College of
San Jose in Manila. He finished law in 1880. Marcelo H. del Pilar was more popularly
known as Plaridel.
He later married his cousin Marciana del Pilar in 1878. They had seven
children.Plaridel established the Diariong Tagalogin 1882 to publish observations
and criticisms on how the Spanish government in the Philippines was run.Pedro
Serrano Laktaw helped him in publishing "Dasalan at Tuksuhan" and the "Pasyong
Dapat Ipa-alab ng Puso ng Taong Bayan".In Spain, he and Graciano Lopez-Jaena
published
the
"La Solidaridad" which was the organ which contained their desires in improving the
Philippine Government. He succeeded Lopez-Jaena as editor of the La
Solidaridad.He died a poor man on July 4, 1896 in Barcelona, Spain.
Marcelo H. del Pilar's reputation as a propagandist was already established before
an order for his arrest forced him to flee the country in 1880. Gifted with the
common touch, he found ready audiences in the cockpits, the plazas, and the
corner tiendas of his native Bulacan. Unlike Rizal who wrote his novels in Spanish, a
fact which cut him off from most Filipinos who did not know the language, del Pilar
wrote his propaganda pamphlets in simple Tagalog -- lucid, direct and forceful.


Graciano Lopez Jaena (Diego Laura)
is a Philippine writer more known for his literary Fray Butod .'Butod' the
word Hiligaynon for "bat" and it also slang equivalent to "tabatsoy". Graciano Lopez
Jaena was born in Jaro,Iloilo, on December 18,1856 Founder and first editor of the
newspaper La Solidaridad, which became the vehicle of expression for Filipino
propaganda in Spain. Together wtih Jose Rizal and Marcelo H. Del Pilar, he undertook
propaganda campaigns in Spain.

Jose Ma. Panganiban (Jomapa)

Avenger of Filipino honor. Born in Mambulao, Camarines Norte, on February 1,

1863. A good friend and co-worker of Rizal. He was Bicolandia's greatest
contribution to the historic campaign for reforms, more popularly called the
Propaganda Movement. He wrote articles for La Solidaridad, under the pen names
Jomapa and J.M.P. Died in Barcelona, Spain, on August 19, 1890.

Pedro Paterno (Justo Desiderio Magalang)

Statesman, poet, writer, and peacemaker. Born in Manila on February 27,
1858. He was the negotiator/mediator of the Pact of Biak-na-Bato. He helped
prepare the Malolos constitution. Died on April 26, 1911. He used " Justo Desiderio
Magalang" as his pen name when he wrote Ninay the very first filipino novel written
in tagalong.