Pamantasan Lungsod ng Maynila

College of Humanities, Arts and Social Sciences

“Local History Research”

Women of Revolution :
Agueda Esteban; Biography and Contribution on the Liberation of the
Philippines

Submitted by:
Bornea, Richard Christopher
Yu, Chazel Faye
BSBA-MM 1-4

Submitted to:
Nastasia Besin
 INTRODUCTION

BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY

Republic of the Philippines, a country blessed with abundant natural resources and a rich

cultural heritage. A country shaped b y the hurdles of the past and the challenges of the present,

establish and liberated by the undying love for the country and molded by faith. In over a hundred

years of battle from the enormous colonizers, Filipinos manage to take charge and free the

country and the citizens giving them full pledged independence that were once deprived.

With the aid of the revolutionaries of the different factions along the Country, they have

plotted and weaved the 1896 revolution which turned out to be successful , liberating the

Philippines to the Spanish Colonizers. After that, Americans have come to the Philippines with

their Altruistic Aims as an imperialist republic which imprison again the country , wearing the mask

of an aid offering tutelage. Along these events, patriotism have prevailed among the Filipinos

which led to their full independence . The Contributions of Some Individual in making the dream

of a free country , come true had give them the label as heroes. Heroes that never wear cape but

liberated the nation. Acknowledging these efforts done by all the heroes that have sacrificed from

the liberation of the country, they have been honored and given the highest salutation, preserving

what they have accomplished.

Noticeably , men are the most highlighted heroes of the history, they have been significant

part of the history especially in acquiring the independence in the country. Given that in reaching

that goal, violence and war are necessity that time, giving the work to only men and not women.

Women are most underrated in our history , women, have the least recorded appearances on the

books that were published and being feed to the schools. Given the Social Status of women and

the stereotyping of Gender Roles during that Era are just some of the reasons among the

thousands as of why the contribution of Filipina revolutionaries do have been forgotten.

 This had led to the construction of the paper “ Women of Revolution: Maestrang Bulag”.

Agueda Esteban; Biography and Contribution on the Liberation of the Philippines”. The

researchers wanted to conduct an initial case study to the history and contributions of Filipinas

among the countless revolts and propaganda that happen among the history. To start the study

,the researchers have decided to take Agueda Esteban as the focus of the said study. The

paper would tackle and present the life of an unsung Filipina heroine and her contribution on the

revolution to the different era and colonization in the Philippines.

REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE

During the Pre-Colonial Philippines , both men and women plays an important

role in the society that era, men and women have the same right to take leadership roles

as priestess, healers or warriors and as the ruler by inheriting the social state of their

ancestors. But due to arrival of the Spanish colonizers with their faith included have

reformat the idea of that equality. (Aguja, 2013), Colonialiasm had changed the way

women are perceived in the Philippines, the Social Landscape for the woman in the

country have been disfigured and was bestowed with new meanings that have offered

them with such disadvantage and inequality toward the opposite sex.

Despite the Spanish form of educating designed to domesticate the Filipino

women, there were those who broke the Ceiling and had destroyed the stigma and

exerted their life in their involvement through history. Many of the women of the

Katipunan as well as the women of the near provinces contributed and aided the

revolutions (Santos, 1991).

 The Colonial efforts to subjugate, the Filipina to become a submissive being over

male dominance , Filipino Women proved to be resilient and brave on defending their

stand on that point on holding their values which gain the respect of the crowd.

This gave us the focus of this study, which is a woman of the revolution , Agueda

Esteban. (NHCP Museums,2018) Agueda Esteban was born on February 5, 1868 in

Binondo, Manila. Since her parents were not well-off, a woman who is wealthy took care

of her and sent her to school. Agueda was known to be an intelligent woman, and the

articles that she wrote were published in La Oceania, a Manila Newspaper. Agueda,

joined the revolution with her first husband, Colonel Mariano Barroga, and gathered

ammunition and supplies for the Filipino soldiers, secretly. She also helped General

Artemio Ricarte’s troops by coordinating the movement. When her husband was exiled to

Guam on January 16, 1901, she took care of her family but had to leave her three

children to the Hospicio de San Jose orphanage. Her children’s names are Catalina,

Adriana, Anastacia.

Even though she was widowed the next year, she and Ricarte continued reviving

the Revolution. The American agents was discovered their plan, and she was briefly

imprisoned in the Old Bilibid Prison in 1904. After her release, she continued to visit

Ricarte in prison. Ricarte and Agueda married after the release of Ricarte in Hong Kong,

in 1911.

The couple find their life hard. After living for some years in Hong Kong, they were

forced to move to Shanghai, China. In 1915, they moved to Japan where they had odd

jobs before Ricarte was appointed as a Spanish teacher in a school in Tokyo.

 They moved to Yokohama in April 1923 and survived an earthquake and tsunami

that hit the city in September. After this, they built a cafe 'Karihan Luvimin' which became

a meeting place for Filipinos in Japan. She was able to provide for her family by selling

copies of her husband's book, Hispano-Philippine Revolution, and engaging in real

estate.

In Yokohama, Ricarte’s home became the center of Filipino activity. The Philippine

flag flew solo there, and the family commemorated Rizal Day and Bonifacio Day. In 1935,

Manuel Quezon visited them to invite Ricarte to go home in time for the inauguration of

the Philippine Commonwealth, but he refused to return as long as the country was under

American rule.

In 1943, the family returned to the Philippines upon the invitation of the Japanese

who promised independence earlier than 1946. However, as the Second World War

raged on, she was separated from her husband who left for Baguio in November 1944.

She died in April 1945 while she was on her way to join him in the mountains of Northern

Luzon

STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM

This study wanted to seek the full accounts about the life of one of the heroines of our

independence, Agueda Esteban. Specifically, this paper seeks to fulfill the following goal:

1. Who is Agueda Esteban?

2. What are her contributions in liberating the country among the Spanish and American

Colonization?
3. How did she was recognized for her contributions in the History?
SCOPE AND LIMITATIONS

SCOPE

Since the resources of this study were mostly electronic journals and personal articles that

were made by various authors, countless inconsistencies and discrepancies were faced by the

researchers, they wanted to fill in the gaps and seek the most accurate information that will

support this study. This study aims to give a much deeper information on the focus which is the

life and contributions of Agueda Esteban in the liberation of the Philippines, also this paper stand

to give the acknowledgement to the latter for her efforts as a heroine of our history. Many

information was to be compact in this paper and the main goal is to provide information about the

main topic.

LIMITATIONS

 the historical reference and records that have been used as source of this study represents only

a very small portion of what had happen.

 Since the articles used in this research are mostly journals and personal records the articles

might have subjectivity and bias in the content.

 The time given to accomplish this study were also a factor in the over all quality of the study.
 Since the main focus of the study have the least recorded articles tackling about her , the study

might miss something.

Agueda Esteban (1868-1944)

Born on February 5, 1868 in the busy streets of Binondo Manila. A heroine of the

Philippine Revolution , she was the second child of Ambrosio Esteban , native of Ligao

Camarines Sur, and Francisca de la Cruz from Cainta Rizal. The family was blessed with

several children, but due to poverty, only three of them reach childhood, one of those

three were Agueda Esteban. along with her brother and sister obtain her first schooling

from a matron known to a pseudonym as “maestrang bulag” as she was popularly called ,

who owned a little store of ikmo leaves and tobacco. Due to her family’s poor upbringing,

they can’t afford to give them the education she needed. She was lucky enough to be

sponsored by a wealthy mestiza named Dona Vicenta de Roxas , she was enrolled in an

all-girls schools in Binondo named Arrabals Escuela de Ninas . There, she was an

excellent student and performed her potential by writing for a newspaper that time titled

La Oceania, who hd been featuring Agueda’s article in their pages which earned her the

respect of her teachers, parents and most especially her benefactor Dona Vicenta.

Soon after, Agueda fell in love and married Mariano Barroga a descent of Ilocos Norte.

Mariano is a man of idealism and later to be hailed as “ Lieutenant Colonel of the

Revolutionary Army” and known for his pseudonym “tungkod” (cane or post) . They had

been blessed with three daughters named Adriana, Catalina, and Anastacia. After the

death of her husband during the his exile in Guam, Agueda mourned and decided to

temporarily leave her children on the Hospicio de San Jose Orphanage. It was the

hardest decision she had made as a mother. After several years she did marry Artemio

Ricarte a revolutionarist during the Spanish and post American regime.

Esteban’s Contribution and Sacrifices on the Philippine Revolution

As Esteban married Mariano, aside from the commitment of a wife she had also

committed herself to the nationalistic beliefs of her husband. Together with his husband

they had joined the insurrectos in San Juan del Monte , Montalban and Marikina. When

his husband transferred to his station on Tangos, Cavite, together with her wife migrated

from Manila. Agueda joined the revolution in the strugglr to liberate the country fro thr

colonial rule of Spain. She joined Barroga to Manila to buy saltpeter, copper and other

materials needed by the revolutionary army to make ammunitions , they had managed to

cross municipalities without being tracked by the Spanish forces. Despite the hardships of

going up and down the mountains of Haligue Mapagtis, Pangwagui, Magtagumpay,

Mainam, Naghapay , Mendez Nunez, Magwagui, Amadeo, Talisay, Tagaytay range,

Sugay, and Kabangan she had endured it because it was the only route they could take

without the interference of the colonizers. She and her Family quietly lived in Cavite

(Tangos), until the truce in the Biak-na-Bato ended the first phase of the revolution.

When the Republic was established in Tejeros (now General Trias), under the council of

Magdalo, Agueda made a living by selling meat at the plaza of Naik, then the capital of
the rebel movement. One day, while she was selling, she saw a hammock being carried
past her stall and wanting to know who was inside, she ran towards it and lifted the linen
that covered the man being conveyed to the tribunal. She saw the “Supremo” curled up
and covered with blood. Desirous of knowing what happened to Bonifacio, she
approached a soldier whom she knew and softly asked
him about the incident. The soldier was surprised and apparently frightened, ran away. A
few minutes later he returned and told her secretly that anyone mentioning the name of
the “Supremo” would be meted the pena de la muerte (death penalty).

When the Spaniards took the town of Maragondon, Tungkod and his family were among
the many that left Maragondon for Talisay, Batangas where Agueda’s youngest daughter
(Anastacia) died and was buried in the fields. The rebels had hardly reached Talisay
when the Spanish soldiers met them. They climbed the mountains of Tagaytay once
again and there learned that Aguinaldo was letting them take advantage of an amnesty
granted by the Spanish government. Major Tungkod refused amnesty and instead
continued propagating the doctrines of the Katipunan. In Cainta. Again, Agueda’s help
was solicited in the buying of materials for making gunpowder and bullets.When the
second phase of the Revolution started, Major Tungkod was assigned to the command of
Coloned Antonio Montenegro of Zone 3, comprising Manila and suburbs. Major Tungkod
was promoted to lieutenant colonel and was ordered by General Artemio Ricarte to recruit
volunteers in Manila. It was at this time that Agueda gave birth to Salud.

At the height of the Filipino-American War, Agueda served as courier between her
husband in Manila and General Ricarte in San Francisco de Malabon, Cavite. All the
secret papers on war strategies were entrusted to her, especially those concerning
planned attacks against enemy strongholds. Her secret activities were never discovered.
Being a woman, she was never looked upon with suspicion by the authorities.

On July 1, 1900, together with General Ricarte, Lt. Col. Tungkod and Agueda were
caught and imprisoned at Calle Anda. The grenades she used to carry, which were as big
as the native oranges of Tanauan, Batangas, were confiscated when a house-to house
search was made

On February 16, 1901, Lt. Col. Tungkod, together with Artemio Ricarte and Apolinario
Mabini and other leaders of the Revolution, was deported to Guam. His wife Agueda was
left behind with their four children, Catalina, Adriana, Miguel and Salud. Though used to
hardship, she could not take care of all of them and so had to leave her three elder
children at the Hospicio de San Jose, taking only Salud to stay with her. On a goodwill
basis, she ventured into selling jewelry to help her family until Lt. Col. Tungkod returned
from exile. When he died in November 1902, she

was left again heavy with child. When she gave birth, she named him “Artemio” in honor
of

Artemio Ricarte. Agueda constantly communicated with Ricarte who was then exiled in
Hong Kong. From her he learned that the followers of Lt. Col. Tungkod still desired to
resume war against the United States and so he came home secretly and stayed in
Agueda’s house for a while. When news of his revolutionary activities reached the
Americans, they captured Agueda on the pretext of her being an encubridore de rebelion
(concealer of the rebellion) together with her son Artemio, but she was later freed on the
bail and forbidden to go out of Manila. When she went to Antipolo to look for means of
livelihood, she was captured by a saddled constable and imprisoned, but not for long
because Attorney Kincaid defended her. Shortly after, her son Artemio died. In 1910, she
visited Ricarte after he was exiled for the second time to Hongkong after serving six years
imprisonment in Manila. He had been exiled because of his refusal to sign on oath of
allegiance to the United States. She became the wife of General Ricarte in May 1911 and
from 1910-1951 lived there with her daughter, Salud, first, on the little island of Lemah at
the mouth of the harbor and later in Kowloon. When the British government removed all
political exiles from Hongkong after the outbreak of World War I, the Ricartes had to be
shipped to Shanghai and from that Chinese city, to Japan. They reached Moji and from
there they proceeded to Kobe, Nagoya , Setocho and Aichikin.

In 1921, they moved to Tokyo, where the Ricarte earned a living teaching Spanish at the
Kaigai Shokumin Gakko (Overseas Craftsmen Schook) In April 1923, they transferred to
Yokohoma where they established their permanent residence. They lived comfortably at
their home at 149 Yamashita-cho, Yokohama-where they also established a profitable
karihan (restaurant). They lived there for eighteen years, together with their children and
grandchildren. They returned to the Philippines and stayed in Manila during the Japanese
occupation. In 1944, ill health claimed the life of our heroine.
Recognition to the heroin of two periods of Philippine Revolution.

Agueda’s story of her hardships and sacrifices for the betterment and liberation of the
republic were never taught in most of educational institutions , nor her life story be made
film. Some many labeled her story to have inadequate interesting feature. She did not die
as a martyr , hers, like other people in our History ,depending on the social status or
prominence in our collection of heroes may have been destined to remained unsung and
kept in the shabby archives. This is the sad fate of those people sacrificed their lives for
the freedom of a country who doesn’t even recognized their names. Up to this date,
although preserved in the museums and national repositories around the country, still the
recognition, not only by Agueda, but also all the unsung heroes and especially heroines
of the Philippine history deserve much better recognition. Their Sacrifices bear countless
benefit for the several generations , and a simple information dissemination about their
contributions would make a great difference.
Definition of Terms

Altruistic Aims – mentality of being the savior of someone

Domesticate – trained to live according to the ideas and perception of someone or the society

Social Landscape- general situation wherein something is taking place.

Stereotyping – over-generalizing belief or perception about something or someone. Generalizing

notion that have been perceived over time.

Submissive – inferiority among other or opposite gender.

Tutelage – under protection of something or someone.

Underrated – underestimated, disregarded, neglect

Resilient – character of having the capacity to adapt with ease and withstand any obstacle.

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