José Rizal

José Rizal, full name José Protasio Rizal Mercado y Alonso Realonda, was a Filipino
physician, poet and writer who inspired the Philippine nationalist movement. He was
born on June 19, 1861, in Calamba, Philippines, and died on December 30, 1896, in
Manila.

Rizal was born to a wealthy landowner and received his education in Manila and at the
University of Madrid. He was a skilled medical student who dedicated himself to
reforming Spanish authority in the Philippines, though he never called for
independence. Between 1882 and 1892, he lived in Europe and wrote the majority of
his works.

MELCHORA AQUINO

Melchora Aquino, also known as Tandang Sora,was born on January

6, 1812. Her parents, Juan Aquino and Valentina de Aquino were peasants residing
in Pasong Tamo, Kaloocan. When Melchora Aquino became an adult, she married
Fulgencio Ramos. Ramos was a cabeza de barangay, or leader/chief of a barangay.
Together they had six kids: Juan, Simon, Epifania, Saturnina, Romualdo, and Juana.
She was later widowed and left to take care of her six children.
Melchora Aquino was 84 years old when she became involved with the Philippine
revolution. She largely contributed to the Katipunan and was nicknamed the
Mother of the Katipunan. Andres Bonifacio, the leader of the Katipunan, consulted
her several times for his large decision making for the organization. The first open
act of defiance against Spain was at her eldest son’s house during the 1896 Cry of
Caloocan. Approximately 1,000 Katipuneros came together to tear their cedulas, or
community tax certificates, given to them by the Spanish. Tandang Sora used her
home to host several secretive meetings for the Katipuneros. During this time she
would cook for those who attended the meetings. She also used her home to nurse
several Katipuneros who became injured after battle.

On August 24th, 1896, the presidents of the Katipunan had a meeting in Tandang
Sora’s house when Spanish officials arrived. Her and her family fled to a nearby
town to hide but was shortly captured five days later. Her, along with 171 other
Filipinos were exiled to Guam. She later returned to the Philippines on February 26,
1903. Tandang Sora passed away at the age of 107 in her daughter’s home on
March 2, 1919.

Andres Bonifacio(1863-1897)
He, was the creator and head of the nationalist Katipunan organisation, who led the
revolution against the Spanish in August 1896.

Bonifacio had minimal formal education and worked as a messenger and warehouse
keeper before becoming involved in revolutionary activity. Nonetheless, he was a
voracious reader. Unlike José Rizal, who fought for reforming Spanish authority in the
Philippines, Bonifacio advocated for total independence. He formed the Katipunan in
Manila in 1892, based on the Masonic order’s organisation and ceremony.

Bonifacio led the long-planned insurgency in Luzon in August 1896, but his men were
beaten by Spanish troops, forcing him to flee to Montalban in the north, where Emilio
Aguinaldo, one of his lieutenants, continued the fight.

As the Spanish crushed the insurrection, it became evident that Bonifacio was an
incompetent military leader. A conference at Tejeros in March 1897 named Aguinaldo,
not Bonifacio, as the president of a new Philippine republic. Bonifacio attempted to form
his own rebel government after refusing to accept the decision. Andres Bonifacio’s
death came about when he was caught and tried for treason by Aguinaldo in April 1897,
then executed by firing squad.
GABRIELA SILANG

Maria Josefa Gabriela, also known as Gabriela Silang was born on

March 19, 1731 in Caniogan, Santa, Ilocos Sur. She was married to Don Tomas
Millan a wealthy and known businessman in Ilocos. Shortly, after their marriage,
Millan died of old age. Gabriela met Diego Silang, a man of great intelligence,
courage and determination who believed and fought towards the independence of
the Filipino people. The two wed in 1757 and in 1762, she joined the revolt against
the Spaniards alongside Diego. His revolt was successful at first but was derailed by
fellow locals, Pedro Becbec and Miguel Vicos, who sided with the Spaniards. Miguel
Vicos, along with the hated and dreaded Spanish officials, orchestrated Diego’s
assassination on May 28, 1763.
After Diego was assassinated, Gabriela vowed to avenge his death, and to continue
the struggle. She was in great affliction, but had no time to lose. The rebels lost
hope after the death of their leader. None of the men stepped up to be the new
face of the rebellion. So Gabriela did something very heroic, and took her
husband’s place as the leader of the rebellion. She greatly armed herself and
informed the people that the struggle was far from over. She soon gained more
followers. Gabriela began to assist people living in other cities. The people began to
call her “Henerala” which meant woman general and were gratified that Diego’s
fighting spirit was continued with Gabriela.

Emilio Aguinaldo
Emilio Aguinaldo (1869-1964) was a Filipino leader and politician who battled for the
Philippines’ independence, first from Spain and then from the United States.
Aguinaldo’s parents were Chinese and Tagalog. He was the local head of the
Katipunan, a revolutionary movement that battled the Spanish ferociously, and was
mayor of Cavite Viejo (now Kawit) in August 1896.

Manny Pacquiao was born on December 17,1978. He is one of a kind, being a boxer,
musician, actor and a politician at the same time. He was actually able to win the Lineal
Championship in various weight classes and is also the first eight-division world
champion. From this we can see that Manny has accomplished many things as a boxer.
Being one the best boxers in the world, dominating each and every opponent that is
shown against him all under the name of the Philippines. He also is a person who has
pride where he comes from, a man who is proud to be a Filipino, an example to us all.
He also showed that the Philippines is something more than what it seems.

We can consider Manny Pacquiao a Modern Day Hero because he is proud of being a
Filipino, pulling the name Filipino to the top and being as brave as he could in facing the
challenges that were set against him. He helped let the world recognize the Philippines
through what he accomplished in his boxing career, being one of the best in the world to
compete. He also showed that he was very nationalistic in everything he did.
 DIOSDADO BANATAO

Diosdado P. Banatao (born May 23, 1946) is a Filipino entrepreneur and engineer
working in the high-tech industry,credited with having developed the first 10-Mbit
Ethernet CMOS with silicon coupler data-link control and transceiver chip, the first
system logic chip set for IBM’s PC-XT and the PC-AT, and the local bus concept and the
first Windows Graphics accelerator chip for personal computers. A three-time start-up
veteran, he co-founded Mostron, Chips and Technologies, and S3 Graphics.