Adriatico, Francin Kyla Z. G.

Narciso Cabanilla

BAPE 2-2 Lesson 2

UNIT 2

1. Develop your own list of historical figures that you consider to be national heroes. Justify your
chosen list and recommend which historical figures may or may not fall within the criteria set by the
National Heroes Commission.

While there are no laws that officially proclaim a Filipino a national hero, there are criteria
that determine how a historical figure qualifies as a national hero. 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.

Here are some historical figures that we must or we can consider a national hero as they fit the
criteria given by the National Heroes Commission.

 Teresa Magbanua
Teresa Magbanua y Ferraris (October 13, 1868 – August 1947), better known as Teresa
Magbanua and dubbed as the "Visayan Joan of Arc", was a Filipino schoolteacher and military
leader. Born in Pototan, Iloilo, Philippines, she retired from education and became a housewife
shortly after her marriage to Alejandro Balderas, a wealthy landowner from Sara, Iloilo.
Despite opposition from her husband, Magbanua followed her two younger brothers and took
up arms against the Spaniards, leading troops into combat and winning several battles under
the command of General Martin Delgado. Magbanua is credited as the only woman to lead
troops in the Visayan area during the Revolution.
 Trinidad Tecson
Trinidad Perez Tecson, known as the "Mother of Biak-na-Bato" and "Mother of Mercy",
fought to gain Philippines independence. She was given the title "Mother of Biak-na-Bato" by
Gen. Emilio Aguinaldo. She was also cited as the "Mother of the Philippine National Red Cross"
for her service to her fellow Katipuneros. During the Philippine-American war, she joined the
revolutionary forces led by Gen. Gregorio del Pilar. She also served in the Malolos Republic and
was designated as the Commissary of War. She fought in 12 bloody battles in Bulacan,
including the famous Battle-of-Biak-na Bato, and would often get wounded but she would
always return to the field after she recovered. She did the “manly” thing in signing her name
with her own blood (something women rarely did). On the battlefield she wore the Katipunero
outfit and fought side by side with the men, enduring their hardships.
Among her valiant acts was the capture of firearms from a jail in San Isidro. During one of
these exploits, Tecson once pretended to be dead in order to evade capture. At one time,
when the Katipuneros lacked firearms, she went with three companions to the courthouse in
Caloocan and succeeded in defeating the civil guards and seizing their guns.
 Kumander Liwayway
Remedios Gomez-Paraiso, aka Kumander Liwayway, aka “The Joan of Arc of the
Philippines,” was a beauty queen. At least, until she became a military commander. Alongside
her repeated beauty queen accolades, Gomez-Paraiso could have easily been voted “least
likely to start murdering foreign invaders.” She was your average high school student: the
daughter of a provincial mayor, a hard-working teenager who made dresses and liked
perfume. However, when the Japanese invaded, her life story changed from John Hughes
movie to Tarantino flick. Her father tried organizing a resistance, and so they tortured and
executed him, publicly displaying his corpse in the town square. She swore revenge. The
family left Pampanga and moved to Tarlac. By that time, the resistance movement called
Hukbo ng Bayan Laban sa Hapon or Hukbalahap had been formed. Filled with an intense desire
to avenge her father’s death, Remedios was an easy recruit. Besides, there were reports that
the Japanese were abducting and raping women. Strong-willed, Remedios could not be
dissuaded from joining the resistance.
 Josefa Llanes-Escoda
Josefa Llanes Escoda was the founder of the Girl Scouts of the Philippines. A teacher,
social worker, and activist, she was also a staunch advocate of women's suffrage, fighting for
Filipino women's rights to vote. She was trained in social welfare at the New York School of
Social Work and earned a master's degree in Sociology from Columbia University. During
World War II, she and her husband spent their time in aid of prisoners, including the afflicted
soldiers of the Bataan Death March. It has been said that the couple had also set up a coffee
shop, with the primary intent to gather information from the Japanese soldiers, and relay
these to local troops. However, they were soon found out and Escoda was captured and
executed. Today, Escoda is commemorated on the one thousand peso bill and has a
monument in Ilocos Norte. A Google doodle was also created on her behalf, in celebration of
her hundred and 20th birth anniversary.
 Nieves Fernandez
Nieves Fernandez was a schoolteacher in Tacloban, Leyte before the war broke out. When
the Japanese occupied the Philippines, her life turned upside down. They took away all the
possessions of Filipinos. From being a schoolteacher, Nieves turned into one of the leaders of
guerrilla resistance to the Japanese during the World War II that led a group of 110 native men
from South of Tacloban. With just three rifles, Nieves taught her troops to improvise grenades
and guns made from gas pipes, or stole Japanese weapons. The only female guerilla
commander in the Philippines was dressed in all-black attire and committed silent killings
armed with only makeshift shotgun, which she made out of gas pipe, and her bolo knife. With
that, Nieves became know as the “Silent Killer”.
 Magdalena Leones
Magdalena Leones was a Filipino spy during World War II. She was studying to become a
nun and her family worked closely with American missionaries before the war. After the fall of
Corregidor, she and fellow missionaries were imprisoned, where she learned to speak the
Japanese language, Nihongo. After her release, she witnessed the execution of her fellowmen
in the hands of the Japanese. Seeing this tragedy led her to join guerrilla forces and save her
people. Leones’ knowledge of Nihongo allowed her to play key roles during the war, even
going as far as convincing Japanese soldiers to spare the lives of Filipinos evacuees, saying that
 they just came from a wedding. She became an intelligence officer for the United States Army
Forces in the Philippines-Northern Luzon (USAFIP-NIL). Her former church connections enabled
her to work efficiently as a spy, collect information, and deliver medical supplies, among
others. At the times she was caught, Leones was able to sweet talk or bribe the Japanese
guards and escape. It is said that her calm demeanor, quick wits, and faith were what saved
her. Called the “Lioness of Filipino Guerilla Agents,” Leones became the only Asian to be
awarded the United States’s third-highest military decoration, the Silver Star Medal. However,
her request to be granted the Philippine equivalent, the Gold Cross, was declined. After the
war, she lived quietly in the United States, keeping her war experiences a secret even from her
own children.
 Josefina Guerrero
Josefina Guerrero is known as the leper spy during the Second World War. She
contracted leprosy at a time when people used to think it was contagious. This caused her
husband to flee, taking with him their daughter. Devastated, Guerrero thought to spend her
remaining years helping her fellowmen and volunteered to become a spy for the Allied Forces
in the Philippines during the war. Because the Japanese feared her disease, Guerrero was able
to dodge thorough inspections. Her disease worked to her advantage, as she was able to easily
obtain information, deliver supply to soldiers, and infiltrate Japanese base camps. After the
war, she was awarded a Medal of Freedom by the U.S. government for saving the lives of
many American soldiers.