1 Leon Kilat

Cover page
Copyright © 2011 by the author.
All rights reserved. No part of
this work may be reproduced
or transmitted in any form or
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mechanical, including photo-
copying and recording, or by
any information storage or re-
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from the publisher. Requests for
permission should be addressed
in writing to
Mr. Emil B. Justimbaste,
Ormoc City,
Leyte, Philippines.

Published by
DMC Busa Printers,
Sanciangko St., Cebu City
November 2011

ISBN - 10:1453663398
ISBN - 13: 978-1453663394
Perhaps the reason why we have so many missing pages
in our own history is that we really don’t care to tell our
history to our children. I write articles like this in order to
set the record straight, that there were moments in our his-
tory especially during the Spanish time when Filipinos rose
against our colonizers in the fight to be free. This is a story
worth telling. - Valeriano ‘Bobbit’ Avila “SHOOTING
STRAIGHT,” Philippine Star

The legend and memory of Pantaleon Villegas, known as

Leon Kilat, still stands tall, and a monument in his honor
has been erected right in the heart of his hometown in
Bacong, Negros Oriental. If you pass by the serene town
of Bacong, in the middle of the sprawling grounds of the
municipal hall is the statue of a gallant on a horseback. Just
beside it another statue of a Filipino gentleman dressed in
a soldier’s uniform. They are figures representing a brave
man from Bacong. Jay Icamen Dejaresco, “BREATHING
SPACE,” http://www.negroschronicle.com/?p=9329
I wanted to tell my 17-year-old that Leon Kilat St. is named
after the great Bisaya, Pantaleon Villegas. Born in neighbor-
ing Negros, this authentic revolutionary stumbled on his
fealty to Philippine independence by way of Cebu’s lumpen
proletariat….The lumpen: lowest of the low, common and
vulgar. Yet this social substrata produced a Visayan patriot
and legend. In Cebu, Villegas worked in a pharmacy, bakery
and circus before he was recruited into the Kataas-taasan,
Kagalang-galangang Katipunan ng mga Anak ng Bayan
(KKK).- Mayette.Tabada, The Sun.Star, Cebu newspa-
per, January 23, 2011.

Leon Kilat’s life and works inspired many. In Carcar, where

Leon Kilat died, stands his monument. The monument
shows Leon Kilat with a sword in hand, riding his legendary
horse “Puti”….The most notable account on the activities
of Leon Kilat is “The Untold story of Leon Kilat and Cebu’s
Revolution in 1898″ by Emil Justimbaste. http://www.
phil-islands.com/the-legend-of-leon-kilat-and-tres-
de-abril
Leon Kilat
The story of Cebu’s
1898 revolution

By
Emil B. JuStimbaste
 Acknowledgement
The author wishes to acknowledge the
librarians and staff of the Cebuano Studies
Center of the University of San Carlos, Cebu
City, Philippines, who unselfishly allowed
him to make his research in its old newspa-
pers and reference books in June 1998.
The vivid accounts of the different
bloody encounters were written by surviv-
ing veterans of the revolution themselves
in the 1920s when the accounts appeared
in Cebu’s early newspapers. The accounts
were penned in the flowing Cebuano prose
whose translation proved to be a daunting
task.
Kilat’s betrayal and death on the other
hand was sourced from Vicente Alcoseba’s
chilling if poetic firsthand account of the in-
cident, while much of the April 3, 1898 ac-
count was from Enrique Maria de la Calza-
da, another Cebuano poet whose words and
style of writing became an endless source
of anxiety for the author who could only
marvel and gasp at the flowing language of
the writer.
I am also greatly indebted to The Free-
man whose editors urged me to undertake
7 Leon Kilat
the research. This was later serialized in the
same paper for 12 consecutive days, end-
ing on June 12, 1998, the Centennial of the
Philippine Independence.

Emil B. Justimbaste
September 2011
 Table of Contents
Introduction
Cebu in the 1890s...10
Chapter 1
Recruitment …20
Chapter 2
Arrival from Manila…28
Chapter 3
The First Martyrs…34
Chapter 4
Amulets and Anting-anting…41
Chapter 5
April 3, Palm Sunday…46
Chapter 6
Massing of Forces…53
Chapter 7
First Encounter…59
Chapter 8
Cebuanos gain ground…66
Chapter 9
The Retreat Begins…73
Chapter 10
Betrayal and Death…80
Chapter 11
Regrouping…87
Chapter 12
Final victory…95
Epilogue...111
Notes and References...118
10 Leon Kilat
Introduction
Cebu in the 1890s

C
ebu in the 1890s was a thriving
trade center both for unpro-
cessed agricultural commodi-
ties from nearby islands and
provinces and for finished products coming
from developed countries, Manila hemp,
sugar, tobacco , rice, corn and coffee were
shipped from Negros, Leyte, Bohol, Samar
and Mindanao to be traded in Australia,
United States, Great Britain and Spain. In
return, finished goods from these countries
arrived in Cebu’s flourishing ports and
traded to the provinces.
Such an economic development was
partly an offshoot of the improvement in
agriculture introduced a century earlier by
Augustinian missionaries. – the plow and
carabao. Without these, the indio farmer
practically had no surplus food. And so he
had to stay near the farm close to his sourc-
es of food to protect it from thieves and wild
animals. As a result, the town centers were
unpopulated. The churches had been built
and a few huts surrounded them, but the
11 Leon Kilat
rest of the population were in the farms and
villages where food was grown. Until 1825,
there were only l3 towns in the province of
Cebu, but from 1825 till 1898, 44 new towns
were created presumably because the famers
were having enough surplus that enabled
them to reside or stay in the town centers.
There was now sufficient commodities to
trade in the city.
Trading with more developed countries
further increased the demand for agricul-
tural products, placing more wealth in the
hands of families that had helpers in their
farms. Figures during the period 1868 to
1883 would show a doubling of export trade
from P1.18 million to P2.42 million. This
spurred rapid urban growth especially in
the port area and prosperity to individuals
and companies that were engaged in it. So
that by 1900, Cebu City had accordingly a
population of petty Chinese shops, butcher
sheds, hawkers, and retailers of fish, meat,
vegetables, and other food and household
items.
In some sections of the commercial area
were small-scale manufacturing establish-
ments as well as an assortment of profes-
sional and service shops and offices (livery
12 Leon Kilat
stables, funeral parlors. drugstores. pawn-
shops. printshops and others), said Mojares.
This also brought about the emergence
of a new class that could live more com-
fortably, dress better, send their children
to school, speak Spanish, a class that felt
itself superior to the native indio, the class
that produced a Rizal and his friends in the
intelligentsia that studied in the European
capitals. Julio Llorente, Cebu’s first gover-
nor, belonged to this class. They were few in
number but they had wealth, power and in-
fluence with the Spanish authorities. Many
of them had in fact Spanish and Chinese
blood in their veins, which made them feel
even more superior to the class of the indios
who sweated in the sweltering urban shops,
the emerging factories and large estates
planted to sugar cane and other crops for
export.
With the social divide came the geo-
graphical configuration thst sprang from
a Spanish policy of racial segregation. The
Spaniards lived and congregated in the
ciudad, the Chinese mestizos had Parian
while the pure Chinese lived in Lutao. As
for the indios, they were confined to the San
Nicolas district.
13 Leon Kilat
However, despite the racial policy, class
divisions tended to be indistinct, said Mo-
jares. While the wealthy merchant families
gravitated around Parian, the indios’ make-
shift hovels stood at the edges in what may
be termed today as ‘squatter‘ colonies.
Because of the peculiar character of its
economy, Cebu became a city of admin-
istrators, clerks, agents, retail merchants,
grocers, peddlers, domestics, and trans-
port workers, noted Mojares. A 1900 oc-
cupational survey of the city showed 6,014
were in trade and transportation, 5.170 in
domestic and personal services, and 814 in
agriculture. There were no manufacturing
firms that could provide employment or
expansion to the economy, pegged as it was
to trading and services. There were however
small-scale, cottage-type industries: soap
and candle-makers, coconut-oil factories.
corn mills, shoemakers, native distiller-
ies, and foundries. But their numbers were
not sufficient to attract the attention of the
census takers. In our modern-day parlance,
these enterprises were part of Cebu’s under-
ground economy.
In the public sector, Cebu did not just
become an open port but also the seat of an
14 Leon Kilat
extensive political-military government of
the Visayas that had regional branches of
nearly all major administrative departments
of the colonial government over the next
two decades, said Cullinane. This presented
great opportunities for employment for the
urban educated classes since middle level
to the lowest clerical positions were usu-
ally taken by the natives as the top positions
were reserved for the Spanish peninsulares.
The term empleados referred to them and
those employed in the private business
firms. They would form the base of the
revolution, and their offices would serve as
secret meeting places for core groups in the
heart of the city. They saw no future in the
current setup of the Spanish regime, while
the revolution would provide them the
breakthrough in their careers.
As for the provincial elite who were
entrusted with the positions of gobernador-
cillo, juez de paz, de ganados and sementeras,
the revolution offered an opportunity to do
away with structures that were both un-
necessary but oppressive – that of the parish
priest and the guardia civil. Such structures
tended to assert their influence on the local
elites. This section would play significant
15 Leon Kilat
roles in the revolution, as in the case of
Tuburan’s Arcadio Maxilom. Together with
the urban middle class, they provided the
leadership to the revolution.
As for the mass of indios, the growing
numbers of jornales or unskilled workers in
the city and the peasants who became vic-
tims of landgrabbing, these would become
the major force of the revolution in Cebu.
There seems to be no record of issues and
resentments articulated by these classes,
but Cebu’s last Military Governor Adolfo
Gonzales Montero and his guardia civil had
enough record of atrocities that victimized
a number of innocent civilians to incite the
urban masses to take up arms against the
hated regime.

THE revolutionary uprising started in

Cebu at a time when Gen. Emilio Aguinaldo
and 27 revolutionary leaders left for Hong-
kong on a voluntary exile towards the end of
December 1897. While many revolutionary
generals surrendered their arms in accord-
ance with the terms of Aguinaldo’s compro-
mise agreement with Spain, some did not.
One of them, General Francisco Makabulos
of Tarlac Province, established the Central
16 Leon Kilat
Executive Committee, which would exist
until a general government of the republic
would again be established. It was during
this period that the rebellion spread further
to the different provinces of the archipelago.
including Zambales, Pampanga, Laguna,
Pangasinan, Nueva Ecija, Tarlac, La Union,
Ilocos Sur, Cebu, Bulacan, Caloocan, and
Camarines Norte. Far from mere banditry,
as the Spaniards termed these acts of resist-
ance, they were, on the contrary, attempts to
achieve the objectives of the old Katipunan.
Cebu’s initial leadership composition
therefore did not bear the imprint of mid-
dleclass thinking and attitude that charac-
terized Aguinaldo’s cabinet. In the story of
Pantaleon Villega (aka “Leon Kilat”), we see
at once a determination and political will
springing from lower class aspirations and
visions. Their defiance of Spanish authority
and might never showed any hint of vacilla-
tion or compromise that surfaced in several
instances within Aguinaldo’s illustrado cabi-
net. Leon Kilat’s forces fought the troops of
the Spanish General Montero with courage
and abandon that expected no quarters
from their enemies as they sought noth-
ing less than the expulsion of their colonial
17 Leon Kilat
masters from the country.
Like the initiatives in other provinces
that revolted, the uprising in Cebu appeared
to be uncoordinated with any central organ-
ization and would not get any form assis-
tance from their counterparts in Luzon. The
made their own plans of attack and impro-
vised tactics along the way, learning from
their own mistakes in the process as they
had no military theories to start with. They
had to manufacture their own bolos and
later arm themselves with rifles and canons
confiscated from their enemies. In a sense,
it was an indigenous movement that sprang
from centuries of oppression and suffering,
the final goal of which was the expulsion of
their tormentors.
In all likelihood, Leon Kilat and his
leaders knew nothing of the compromises
of Aguinaldo with their erstwhile Span-
ish colonizers or their dealings with their
future American colonial masters. Had they
known of these developments, they could
have advanced the timetable of the expul-
sion of Gen, Montero and his troops. They
could have celebrated in a revolutionary
fashion the declaration of independence on
June 12, 1898 when the Philippine flag was
18 Leon Kilat
raised for the first time in Kawit, Cavite.
Unfortunately, Cebu’s uprising was
operating in isolation from the rest of the
country. Its Spanish troops likewise contin-
ued to hold on despite the formal surrender
of the Spanish governor general in Manila
after the infamous Battle of Manila Bay in
May 1898. Montero’s troops would not leave
until December 24, 1898, but like a proud
conquistador, he would never lay down
his arms in surrender even under siege by
Cebu’s revolutionary forcers.
19 Leon Kilat
20 Leon Kilat
Chapter 1
Recruitment

F
rancisco Llamas. Nicolas Godines.
Eugenio Gines. Luis Flores. Luis
Abellar. Candido Padilla. Jacinto
Pacaña. Andres Abellana. Lucio
Herrera. Mariano Hernandez. Nicome-
des Machacon. Alejo Miñoza. Ambrocio
Peña. Hilario, Felix and Potenciano Aliño.
Estanislao Larrua. Pascasio Dabasol. Wenc-
eslao Capala. Daniel Cañedo. Silvestre and
Simeon Cañedo. Regino, Nicanor and Jaime
Enriquez. Pantaleon Villegas (aka Leon
Kilat). Bonifacio Aranas. Juan Climaco.
Justo Cabajar. Florencio Gonzales. Arcadio
Maxilom.
Sound familiar? They should be. After
all, many Cebuanos today bear the same
family names, being their descendants.
Streets are named after many of their ances-
tors. They - and several hundreds of others
who participated in the Cebuanos’ struggle
against 400 years of Spanish colonial rule -
are Cebu’s local heroes.
A hundred years ago, they put their
lives and limb at stake so that their children
21 Leon Kilat
and great grandchildren could be free from
tyranny. Many of them died to make free-
dom and independence a reality at a time
when only fools dared to dream dreams.

Beginnings

The beginnings of the revolutionary

movement in Cebu are still not very clear.
There are reports that Tagalog katipuneros
had a strong influence in shaping the events
leading to the uprising which finally drove
out the Spaniards in December 1898.
Some local historians credit Anasta-
cio Oclarino for the formation of the local
chapter of the Katipunan. He was from
Sta. Cruz, Laguna and worked in the ships
“Mariposa” and “Bohol”. That was where Gil
Domingo and Hermogenes Plata recruited
him into the movement and ordered him to
form a chapter in Cebu in the later part of
1897.
Domingo and Plata were identified
with the faction of the Bonifacio brothers
who opted to continue the revolution after
Aguinaldo’s compromise agreement at Biak-
na-bato.
The order was given despite the truce
22 Leon Kilat
between the Filipino revolutionaries under
Gen. Emilio Aguinaldo and the Spanish
authorities. Those opposed to Aguinaldo’s
compromise disseminated propaganda ma-
terials that urged Filipinos to continue the
fight. Some of these materials were brought
by Oclarino to
Cebu in Jan.
1898. Oclarino
was also helped
by another
Tagalog Gabino
Gabucayan.
In Cebu,
Florencio
Gonzales met
Oclarino who
recruited him
to the KKK.
Gonzales was
interested.
Since he was
going to Ma-
nila to settle a case being a procurador (a
helper of a lawyer), he decided to meet Gil
Domingo and Hermogenes Plata. The two
appointed Gonzales to spearhead the Kati-
punan in Cebu, with Oclarino as courier.
23 Leon Kilat
But in the accounts of Gregorio Abel-
lana, a participant of the revolution, the first
chapter of the Katipunan was formed in
Cebu even before Oclarino came. This was
organized by natives of San Nicolas in June
19, 1897. Their leaders were Gavino Padilla,
Teofisto Cavan and Frisco Abriyo.
The group sent a letter to Gen. Gil Do-
mingo who replied that a man known in the
locality to be an expert in firearms will be
sent to Cebu. In the meantime, they started
recruiting other members to the Katipunan.
Like their counterparts in Luzon, the
local Katipunan chapter used the cell sys-
tem of organization. Each head of the cell
known as “cabecilla” would recruit their
own members who would not know mem-
bers of the other cells. By mid February
1898, the cabecillas recruited were: Mariano
Hernandez, an operator of Smith Bell and
Co., Luis Abellar, Nicomedes Machacon,
Alejo Miñoza and Ambrocio Peña.
Mariano Hernandez was later appointed
colonel by Domingo and Plata upon the
recommendation of Oclarino.
Very soon, the Katipunan was making
inroads to Cebu’s middle class. Francisco
Llamas, Nicolas Godines, Eugenio Gines
24 Leon Kilat
and Luis Flores were some of its early mem-
bers.
Leading members of the San Nicolas
community likewise began to feel the pulse
of the revolution throbbing. Prominent
among the early recruits were Luis Abellar,
a former teniente; Candido Padilla, former
capitan and currently juez de paz; ex-capi-
tan Jacinto Pacaña; ex-capitan Andres Abel-
lana; Lucio Herrera, a wealthy Chinese; and
Spanish mestizo lawyer Isidro Guibelondo
of Mabolo.
But the Cebu chapter seemed to lack a
solid leadership. It had to have an outsider
to provide the organization an adequate
leadership.

Leon Kilat

The man who was expected by the lo-

cals was Pantaleon Villegas or more popu-
larly known as “Leon Kilat.”
Villegas was born on July 27, 1873, in
Bacong, Negros Oriental, to Don Policarpio
Villegas and Doña Ursula Soldi. His grand-
father was Don Pedro Villegas, a native of
Spain, and Dorotea, a daughter of a capitan
of Bacong.
25 Leon Kilat
His trip to Cebu in 1897 was not his
first because he was here two years earlier
working in Botica Antigua . This was lo-
cated in the corner of Calle del Palacio and
Calle Legaspi (Burgos and Legaspi). It was a
well known drug store frequented by many
Cebuanos.
With him were Ciriaco Murillo and
Eulogio Duque who told the writer Ma-
nuel Enriquez de la Calzada that Pantaleon
actually used the name “Eulogio”, instead of
Pantaleon. Because there were two Eulo-
gios working in the drugstore, the German
owner had to call him instead “Leon”. Why
he used the name “Eulogio” was not known.
Villegas did not stay long there. He
transferred to a bakery in Pahina. From
there he moved on to a circus owned by
Tagalogs on their way to Manila. The circus
happened to be owned by a katipunero.
It was there that he was recruited into the
secret council of the KKK which also taught
the occult sciences, magic, and other eso-
teric practices.
It was possible that he was also brought
to Cavite, Malabon, Calamba, Pasig and
Malolos which were centers of the revolu-
tionary movement in Luzon. He was known
26 Leon Kilat
for his bravery and daring, his firm defense
of his comrades and his stand on issues.
He was likewise known to follow orders
and suggestions of superiors in the move-
ment. Comrades in Luzon were always
surprised at his courage to be ahead of the
group whenever there was an encounter. In
San Roque, Cavite. In Binondo. In Malolos.
Very few demonstrated such courage, they
noted.
All these were related by Eulogio
Duque. It was in his house in front of the
Roas in General Serrano street (later called
Martires, now M.J. Cuenco Ave.) where
Villegas lived when he arrived from Manila.
From here he carried his mission in Cebu
for the Katipunan.
The Spanish authorities later visited
Duque in that house to arrest him, suspect-
ing that he was Pantaleon Villegas. But he
told them that his name was Teodorico -
thus, the nickname “Dikoy” - and his family
name was Duque, not Villegas. Fortunately,
the botica owner vouched for him. Thus, he
lived to tell his story.
Although Plata and Domingo had
already an appointment for Gonzales to
lead the revolt in Cebu, that order must
27 Leon Kilat
have been supplanted by a new one. When
Villegas arrived here, he was able to show a
letter from the Katipunan leaders endorsing
his appointment.
Gavino Gabucayan was supposed to
have been sent here, but the Visayans in
Luzon would not permit him to go because
he was also needed there. He was credible
and had leadership capabilities. They were
in a quandary. But after learning that Vil-
legas was from the Visayas, they lost no
time in sending him to Cebu. That had to be
done in utmost secrecy because by now the
Spaniards had become extremely suspicious
of persons coming from Manila.
28 Leon Kilat
Chapter 2
Arrival from Manila

B
efpre Leon Kilat’s arrival in
Cebu, the Cebuanos were
already organized under the
following structure: Candido
Padilla, chief; Teofisto Cavan, secretary;
Alejandro Climaco, treasurer; and Atilano
Lopez, Frisco Abriyo, Luis Flores, Eugenio
Gines, Florencio Gonzales, Lucio Herrera,
Jacinto Pacaña, Francisco Llamas, Arsenio
Cabreros, Justo Cabajar and P. Toribio Pa-
dilla as members.
They would often meet in secret places,
sometimes in the house of Cabeza Llamas
or the Chinese Lucio Herrera. Or at Jacinto
Pacaña’s place or at the house of Capitan
Candido Padilla. Andres Abellana would re-
late that the house of Paulino Solon in Sam-
bag (where the Don Vicente Sotto Memorial
Hospital is now located) was used often
because it was secluded and had plenty of
trees. Solon (also known as Paulino Bungi)
had a huge front yard where a tamarind tree
stood and benches made of wood or split
bamboo.
No exact date is given when Leon Kilat
29 Leon Kilat
arrived for his final mission in Cebu. Some
sources say he arrived in Mid-February or
late March of 1898. But according to Andres
Abellana in 1928, Kilat visited him some-
time in December 1897. Afterwards, he was
introduced to other cabecillas and leaders of
the local chapter.
But before him, Kilat had already met
Mariano Hernandez, one the organizers of
the Katipunan. Kilat had hesitations about
Abellana being a former capitan who might
report him to the authorities. Abellana in
turn had his own apprehensions about Kilat
whom he suspected of being a spy who was
just fishing for information.
Thus, Abellana told him he did not want
the Spanish regime to fall. Still Abellana
would introduce him to other ring leaders
like Candido Padilla and Florencio Gonza-
les who, like Abellana, refused to trust him.
“Nagkinidhatay lang ug mibalidad,”
recalled Abellana.
Finally, they brought him to Mariano
Hernandez who showed them Aguinaldo’s
letter introducing Leon Kilat. The letter
erased all their doubts, and they were happy
that the man they had waited for was here at
last.
30 Leon Kilat
In the meantime, the propaganda ma-
terials prepared and compiled by Domingo
and Plata reached Cebu through Anastacio
Oclarino and Gavino Gabucayan in January
1898. The latter had instructions to organize
the Katipunan in the Visayas and Mind-
anao and prepare the plan of establishing a
dictatorial government. But this would not
materialize due to the arrest and execution
of Cavan and Gonzales.
In the instruction of Plata and Domin-
go, the persons appointed to lead this gov-
ernment were: Florencio Gonzales, as gen-
eral in chief; Luis Flores, general for war
plans; Jacinto Pacaña, supplier of weapons;
Lucio Herrera, treasurer of war; Solomon
Manalili, auditor; Candido Padilla, captain
of the army; Fortunato Gonzales, lt. col.
of the army and Bonifacio Arenas, divi-
sion colonel. Mariano Hernandez was the
supreme military authority who appointed
the members of the macheteros (bolomen)
against the cazadores, the bodyguards of
Gen. Montero.
Aguinaldo’s letter must have superseded
the order of Domingo and Plata because it
was Leon Kilat who had now assumed the
leadership of the Katipunan. He met with
31 Leon Kilat
Luis Flores, Florencio Gonzales, Alejandro
Antequia and Crisologo Franco Bermejo in
whose presence he organized Barangay no.
1 with Flores as chieftain in Sawang, Cebu
City.
In the town of San Nicolas, he made
contact with Teopisto Cavan in his house,
then requested him to fetch Gregorio
Padilla. In a meeting with the latter, Leon
Kilat asked the latter not to divulge the plan
of the revolt if he valued his own life. Then
he organized Barangay no. 2 with Padilla as
chief of San Nicolas.
Leon himself assumed command of
the Katipunan army in the same locality,
ordering every person to produce bladed
weapons following certain measurements
and telling each one to remember him only
as Leon Kilat.
The Katipunan was growing fast. While
Leon Kilat was in Cebu, many young men
were drawn to the organization. In the work-
places where abaca was being processed and
in commercial houses, very few were not
members of the Katipunan. The young men
of San Nicolas and the city Cebu were one in
their aspirations for the motherland. In practi-
cally all places, there were groups headed by
32 Leon Kilat
their own jefes, ready to fight.
Then an important meeting took
place on March 11, 1898 at the sugar cane
field of Jacinto Pacaña where it was de-
cided to start the revolt on April 8 (Good
Friday).The suggestion was brought up
by Catalino Fernandez who argued that
the all the Spaniards would be joining the
procession on Good Friday and their guns
would be facing down and without car-
tridges. They could take all the leaders in
one blow with the least resistance.
Present in that meeting were the leaders
of the Katipunan in Cebu: Leon Kilat, Can-
dido Padilla, Luis Flores, Eugenio Gines,
Florencio Cavan, Jacinto Pacaña, Atilano
Lopez, Francisco Llamas, Alejandro Cli-
maco, Justo Cabajar, Alejo Miñoza, Hipolito
Labra, Placido Datan, Alipio Barrera, Ale-
jandro Villona, Nicanor Avila and others.
They resolved to keep their agreements in
secret that not even their wives, parents or
brothers and sisters would be told about
their fateful decisions that day.
They also conspired with the members of
the voluntarios leales (royal volunteers) that
in case of a shooting match with katipuneros,
they would fire over their heads. Or they
33 Leon Kilat
would aim their guns at the Spaniards should
the latter refuse to surrender. Everybody in the
meeting agreed.
That same March 11 meeting decided
to send three leaders to Manila for mili-
tary training. Francisco Llamas was told
to leave immediately, bringing money and
bladed weapons with him. Nicolas God-
ines and Eugenio Gines would follow later.
This they did to avoid detection by Spanish
authorities who were getting more and more
suspicious of people going on boat trips to
Manila.
But these activities could not go on
without being detected by the Spanish au-
thorities. By the middle of March 1898, they
began to notice certain conditions in the
city and San Nicolas. Rumors floated about
the existence of a secret society. Many of the
katipuneros, especially those who frequent-
ed Manila, were placed under surveillance.
34 Leon Kilat
Chapter 3
The First Martyrs

A
social upheaval, like that
which happened in Cebu in
1898, always has its share of
casualties. As so often in the
past, the first casualties were those who had
minimal involvement in the planning and
execution of the events fast shaping up.
The Spaniards were looking for some-
thing to start with - the names of persons
involved. To verify their suspicions, two
guardia civil fetched teniente Januario Ga-
brillo of Basak, San Nicolas from his house
to find out who went to Opon for the mass at
the church of Virgin sa Regla. It was reported
that the ones involved in the Katipunan
prayed at the church prior to launching their
revolt. The Spaniards felt uneasy about it.
So Gabrillo was brought to the tribunal
of San Nicolas and subjected to interroga-
tion. This tribunal was made of five persons
who looked threatening enough with their
looks, their voices and their eyes. Gervasio
Padilla interceded for his release for not
having done anything wrong, to no avail.
35 Leon Kilat
The arresting officers simply refused, saying
they were under the orders of Captain Re-
villa, chief of the local volunteers of Cebu.
During this time, the members of the
voluntarios locales were: Florentino Rallos,
Francisco del Mar, Francisco Sales, Arsenio
Climaco, Manuel Roa, Jose Ocampo, Juan
Borres, Esteban Manuel, Angel Iriarte, and
very few Cebuanos. It was Remigio Gut-
ierres, registrar of Cebu, who made efforts
to set it up, bringing with him Fidel Moa,
Pedro Royo, a certain Cuito, Eduardo Lopez
and others.
Complete with firearms, each one had
a Remington, were trained and also train-
ing others. They were fulltime in their job,
made to believe that they would be fighting
the North Americans, but they would be
used against their fellowmen instead. Many
of them joined the revolutionaries when the
Spaniards left to fight against the Ameri-
cans.
In behalf of the chief of the guardia civil
district, Gabrillo was brought to Fort San
Pedro where Captain Revilla was waiting.
Again, Gabrillo was interrogated by Revilla
through an interpreter, asked about his
name, age, civil status and profession as well
36 Leon Kilat
as the names of his companions who went
to Opon for the mass at the Virgen sa Regla
church. He was promised freedom if he
revealed their names.
The ruse worked. Gabrillo revealed 15
names. Among the prominent ones men-
tioned were Teopisto Cavan, Presco Abreu
(Frisco Abriyo in some accounts), Floren-
cio Gonzales, Gregorio Abellana, Gavino
Padilla and Andres Abellana.
But instead of being released, he was
tortured some more until he died. He was
buried on the right side of the fort. The in-
cident happened on March 21, 1898, a Palm
Sunday.
37 Leon Kilat
According to local historian Manuel
Enriquez de la Calzada, many bad things
happened on a Palm Sunday in the storied
past of San Nicolas. It was a Palm Sunday
in March 21, 1521 when 800 natives were
baptized in Sugbu (the old name of San
Nicolas).
On April 3, 1898, a Palm Sunday, the
bell in San Nicolas was raised up, the same
day that Sanicolasnons took up arms against
their colonizers. (On another Palm Sunday,
March 26, 1945, American planes bombed
the church and destroyed it. Was Palm Sun-
day a jinx in the history of San Nicolas?)
On the early morning of March 22, the
list was secretly delivered to the Tribunal of
San Nicolas by a certain Sergeant Mastache
and two soldiers. An order was issued to
arrest all suspected members of the Katipu-
nan, prompting all katipuneros to go into
hiding.
But unfortunately, not all were in-
formed. Among those caught unaware was
Pinsoy (Florencio) Gonzales. He was also
tortured and made to reveal the names of
the other katipuneros. However, Gonzales
kept his mouth shut.
His arrest was made possible through
38 Leon Kilat
a woman informer of Labangon who told
authorities about their presence in the area.
Then Candido Padilla, Julio Llorente and the
Regis brothers were also nabbed while asleep.
A few days later, Pisto (Teopisto) Ca-
van followed Gonzales to the fort. Upon his
arrest, he was politely told that they were
investigating something and needed to ask
some questions. His family was even as-
sured that he would return soon. A few days
later, his parents went to the authorities,
only to be told that Pistoy would go home in
due time. But he never did.
Gonzales and Cavan were imprisoned
inside the fort which was hot during day-
time and made to sleep on stone floor which
had the suffocating smell of urine. The food
given was often stale, and they could not
sleep. Interrogation came at the most un-
expected hours. They were often breathless
because of the rapidity with which questions
were asked. They were boxed, kicked and
slapped during these sessions.
When the tribunal was finished with
them, it sent a summary of their “crimes”
to General Montero who never knew what
transpired. As usual, Montero would issue
a sentencia de muerte (death sentence). This
39 Leon Kilat
order could not be revoked, rescinded or
opposed. Montero’s decisions were always
absolute.
So Gonzales and Cavan followed the
fate of Gabrillo, becoming the first martyrs
of the revolution in Cebu.
The wealthy Chinese Lucio Herrera was
also summoned to see General Montero at
his office. He was questioned about his rela-
tionship with Francisco Llamas, his brother-
in-law. The latter replied that he knew noth-
ing about Llamas’ activities. Despite several
slaps and kicks from the governor, the latter
was still allowed to go home because of his
strong connections with his countrymen
and the influential Chinese community.
In the meantime, some leading mem-
bers of the Katipunan managed to escape
the dragnet of the guardia civil. Gregorio
Abellana left his house at Mindanao St.
(now B. Aranas), luckily, just a few minutes
before the arrival of the soldiers.
Then he met Crispin Echevarre, servant
of Gervasio Padilla, who accompanied him
to the latter’s house. Padilla advised Abella-
na to leave immediately for Kabkab (Carcar)
and stay there until April 7 (Holy Thurs-
day), the eve of the revolt. So Abellana, ac-
40 Leon Kilat
companied by Severo “Iray” Padilla, left for
Kabkab on horseback. They stayed with the
Enriquez family of Miguel, Apolinaria and
their sons Regino, Nicanor and Jaime who
all became members of the Katipunan.
Unknown to them, their companions
met on Friday to thresh out their plan
of preparing a revolt against the Spanish
government. They finalized the April 8
revolt, and agreed to place the quarters of
the carbineros, infantry and the guardia civil
under watch with 50 men each. The signal
for their attack would be the sky rocket to
be launched by Jorge Nombrado.
At this time, the schedule for their
uprising was still on Good Friday, April 8,
1898.
41 Leon Kilat
Chapter 4
Amulets, Anting-anting

A
mulets are part of the Filipino’s
arsenal of defenses against
unknown forces in a world
he knows very little about
and which he is afraid of. In the Cebuanos’
struggle against the Spanish tyranny, the
odds were stacked against the local Katipu-
nan forces. They barely had time to organ-
ize themselves before they were discovered
and some top leaders were arrested. They
were ill-equipped
to fight against
better-organized,
better-armed and
better-fed Span-
ish troops.
Rather than
plunge into
suicidal attacks
against their en-
emies, it became
necessary for the Vistidora
local revolutionaries to have a psychologi-
cal prop to strengthen their resolve to fight.
With Leon Kilat who had shown an extraor-
42 Leon Kilat
dinary prowess, their handicap was solved.
Relatives in Bacong, Negros Oriental
would testify that Leon Kilat had the un-
canny ability to appear in places from seem-
ingly out of nowhere and disappear, using
his handkerchief like a magic carpet. Thus
the name “Kilat” (lightning).
“Si Leon Kilat dunay hiyas nga nabantug
ug gikaintapan sa mga kaaway (Leon Kilat
had this quality which was renowned and
feared by his enemies),” recalled Andres
Abellana 30 years after the revolution.
“Ako, nakakita gayud. Moasdang
siya sa mga kaaway bisan naghadyong
ang mga bala. Makuli nga maigo ug kon
maigo man gani, maorag dili siya dutlan
kay mamapha lang ug dili maunsa,” added
Abellana.
(I really saw it myself. He would ad-
vance towards his enemies even with bullets
buzzing around him. It would be difficult to
hit him. Or, even if he is hit, he simply dusts
himself and he is not even hurt.)
But unlike others who are said to pos-
sess amulets, Leon willingly shared his abil-
ity with fellow katipuneros to shield them
in battle. Whether or not these were actu-
ally effective did not seem to matter then.
43 Leon Kilat
The katipuneros apparently believed they
became invulnerable to bullets like their
leader, and that kind of belief was important
if they were to win their battles against the
superior weapons of the Spanish guardia
civil, cazadores and voluntarios locales.
First was the vistidora, a chasuble-like
cloth worn over one’s clothes. Printed on it
were symbolic words and religious pictures
and corrupted Latin and Spanish words and
phrases.
The frontal part had God the Father’s
image at the upper portion, accompanied by
images of the resurrection of Jesus Christ,
heads of the Three Persons, the heads of the
12 Apostles, angels, archangels and sera-
phims carrying swords and chalices.
Corrupted Latin and Spanish words -
like Cruz passion y muerte cruz de Cristo
salva mi tress Ave Maria, Adit Dium Empac-
turom en visto virgo Jesus - completed the
chasuble’s front.
The back part of the clothing also bore
the image of God the Father at the upper-
most portion, with the images of St. James
the Apostle and St. Michael, both riding
horses and carrying swords, occupying the
lower part. While at the center lowermost
44 Leon Kilat
portion was the palm of the right hand
which had the usual Latin and Spanish
inscriptions.
Another amulet was triangle-shaped
clothing inscribed with several words and
numbers and divided into nine smaller
triangles. “Gibison Gaodio magnobaldi
contra bala epica egosom pactom Domi-
nom Diom Pactom Jesom Pleom Tom Je-
sus” were some of the words found in that
piece of clothing. This was wound around
the katipunero’s head to shield him from
head injuries.
A substitute was a small triangular piece
of cloth or paper on which the magical
words have been written. This was attached
to the brim of the hat.
A third clothing, about two finger-
breadths in width, had the image of an angel
carrying a kris, with the following Spanish
words: “Salvate Deus, Los que defienden de
la patria como nuestro defensa en la patria
celestial contra los demonios.”
The local katipuneros were also made
to place inside their mouths a round piece
of paper about the size of one peso, with
the following words inscribed in the center:
Hiesus lamuroc milano. Around the paper
45 Leon Kilat
were written: “Panes teurom nam butrates
luz itirre quetram bobis viva buturiam.” At
the other side of that paper was written the
letters K.K.K. It was called hostia redentora
and believed to be powerful in preventing
feelings of hunger or thirst during a long
fight or long journey.
Entrusted with the task of writing the
magical formulae, after receiving special
instructions from Leon Kilat, was the young
katipunero from San Nicolas, Francisco
Ma. Labrador. To hasten this task, he used a
wooden stamp marker.
Others who helped him with this task
were Elpidio Rama, Anastacio Rama and
Simplicio Alaura. Rama was entrusted by
Kilat with the task of giving out the correct
measure and appearance of the vistidora.
All those who were given these objects
were repeatedly warned not to carry money
or other metal objects, aside from their
weapons, and not to allow themselves to be
touched by women, else the effectivity of the
anting-anting would be jeopardized.
46 Leon Kilat
Chapter 5
April 3, Palm Sunday

T
he untimely arrest and execu-
tion of Gonzales and Cavan
on April 2 changed a lot of
things for the katipuneros of
Cebu. Both were deeply involved in the
revolutionary movement and knew a lot
about its leaders. It was only a matter of
time before all of them would be caught
and executed.
So an important meeting took place to
change the original plan to start the upris-
ing on April 8, Good Friday. Among those
who attended this meeting were Leon Kilat,
Eugenio Gines, Arsenio Cabreros, Mari-
ano Hernandez, Francisco Labrador, Justo
Cabajar, Catalino Fernandez, Rufo Abella,
Francisco Llamas, the Pacaña family, the
Abellanas of Dulho, Atilano Lopez, Benito
Aves and many others. This meeting was
said to have taken place in the house of
Isidro Guibelondo at Carreta (possibly near
the present Roman Catholic cemetery along
Gen. Maxilom Ave.)
In this meeting, one leader forewarned
47 Leon Kilat
about the danger of being arrested because
the list of the revolutionaries was in the
hands of Canvan and Gonzales, and this
might be discovered by the Spaniards. Thus,
it was impossible to wait for Good Friday.

Change of plans

Gregorio Padilla suggested the change

of date to April 3 in order to rescue Gonza-
les and Cavan alive from prison. Fernandez
and others objected for reasons not ex-
plained. But Kilat approved of the proposed
date. Luis Flores, chief of Barangay 1, had
to be informed only because he was not
present.
With the revolt being on the next day,
Leon ordered the making of all the needed
weapons. The man in charge of preparing
the exact measurements of the dagger was
Crispin Echevarre. In charge of printing the
words of the anting-anting with the use of
a wooden marker was Francisco Labrador,
while Anastacio Rama was assigned to take
charge of the measurements and shape of
the chasuble that bore the magical Latin and
Spanish words.
These were supposed to protect them
48 Leon Kilat
against the bullets of the Spanish forces.
Everyone present was told to inform others
about the change of plans.

Talisay ambush

Unknown to the Cebuano katipuneros,

the group in Talisay could no longer wait
for the uprising to begin. This was com-
posed of the Aliño brothers (Potenciano,
Florencio, Felix and Januario), Pascasio
Dabasol, Silvestre Cañedo, Simeon Cañedo
and Wenceslao Capala. They were surprised
when someone informed them to get ready.
So they waited at the junction of Tabunok
until 12:00 noon.
In Talisay at that time, six guardia
civil were assigned, headed by a Spaniard
named Sgt. Moscoso, with another Span-
iard Engeniero Baldomero and four other
natives. That evening of April 2, at around
9:00, three of them were patrolling the area
when suddenly they were ambushed by
katipuneros coming from Tabunok in barrio
San Isidro and their arms were confiscated.
These the katipuneros used to kill the two
Spaniards who were resting at their head-
quarters.
49 Leon Kilat
In the meantime, at San Nicolas at
2:00 early morning of April 3, the guardia
civil raided the house of Presco Abreu at El
Pardo St. (now C. Padilla) corner Aragon St.
(now Figueroa). Presco was a neighbor of
Teopisto Cavan. He was taken by the guar-
dia civil hogtied.
When discovered by the katipuneros,
a member immediately went to Candido
Padilla but he was no longer at his house
having gone early to the cockpit. It was
Gregorio Padilla who took the responsibility
of informing his comrades in the Katipunan
about Abreu’s arrest.
That very same day, the town officials
woke up all the men in the locality to let
them attend the first mass and ask their help
in raising up the new church bell in place of
the broken one in the belfry. But the au-
thorities had other reasons. They wanted to
check on all the men in the area.
Earlier, General Montero was informed
by Father Tomas Gimenez about the sur-
prise attack of the katipuneros through a
confession of a certain Potenciana from
Pardo. Thus, he instructed his cazadores,
guardia civil, voluntarios locales and car-
raveneros to watch the men of San Nicolas
50 Leon Kilat
grouping themselves together without
the presence of soldiers and shoot them if
necessary. He had now assumed command
of the Spanish forces, not trusting his men
completely.
At the San Nicolas church that morn-
ing, people came in their Sunday best.
After all, it was palm Sunday. The officials
(capitanes, pesados, tinientes and subal-
ternos) were dressed in black “americana
abierta con chalico y corbata”, “adolfo” hat
and “sapatos con charol”. While others of
lower social classes “igo lang sa sinina nga
dublawo, camisa de chino, karsones nga
puti.”
After the mass, the Sanicolasnons con-
verged around the new church bell which
was to be raised to the belfry that morning.
The palms were blessed, while the band
played “Marcha de Cadiz”. The sponsor of the
bell at that time was Ceferina Llamas, who
was then a young woman. While outwardly,
things seemed normal, those who knew kept
their own thoughts to themselves. The arrest
of Abreu earlier that morning was already
being whispered about.
At 9:00 o’clock that morning, as Luis
Flores, Leon Kilat and Eugenio Gines were
51 Leon Kilat
about to finish their breakfast, they were
startled when Gregorio Padilla on horse-
back suddenly stopping at the doorstep
of the house they slept in at Carreta. The
night before, the three leaders had trans-
ferred there (probably in the house of Isidro
Guibelondo, a Spanish mestizo lawyer who
helped the Katipunan) because the guardia
civil were looking all over Cebu for them.
Now Padilla arrived, breathless. They in-
vited him inside and told him to sit down.
Then Padilla gave his account of Abreu’s
arrest, which saddened the three.
Leon was the first to speak up: “Kon
mao kini, kitang tanan mahanaw. Kinsa pa
ma’y mopatuman sa atong mga plano?” (If
that is the case, all of us will perish. Who is
going to implement our plans?)
Flores took it hard upon himself, while
Gines was speechless. A lot of questions came to
their minds. Who will advance in battle when
nobody knew? Who will come in so short notice
Who is going to follow if the agreed time has not
arrived yet ? Who will fight unprepared ?
Leon who was firm in his resolve said:
“Tana, moalsa kita karong adlawa. Kadtong
saad ayaw na’g hulata, dili ta kini palabyong
adlawa. Kay usa ka gutlo nga paglangan, libo
52 Leon Kilat
ka dupa ang kadaugan sa atbang.” (Come, let
us start the uprising today. Let’s not wait for
the promised help, we will not let this day
pass. A moment wasted means a thousand
steps victory for the enemy.)
He ordered Luis Flores to prepare his
forces in the city. Eugenio Godines was to
go to Tinago, call a meeting and get in-
side the prison to free the prisoners. They
would meet at the intusan (sugar mill) of
Paulino Solon at Sambag in the afternoon
to consolidate their forces. Leon Kilat him-
self would take charge of San Nicolas. The
uprising would begin before 3:00 in the
afternoon
53 Leon Kilat
Chapter 6
Massing of Forces

T
hree o’clock in the afternoon
of April 3, 1898 was an excit-
ing moment in Cebu’s history.
Whatever would be the out-
come of that would decide the fate of Ce-
buanos in the next century.
But there were other events outside
Cebu that were beyond the control of the
protagonists here. Spain had entered into
another war with the United States, and this
was sapping her energies and resources. Un-
known to the katipuneros in Cebu, the ships
of the American Admiral Dewey were now
patrolling Manila bay, threatening Spain’s
once-invincible armada.
Still that did not deter the Spaniards
here from holding on to their colony. This
they did with a fierceness of a cornered dog,
ready to bite back when provoked.
But it was a different story for the civil-
ian Spaniards, the aliens, the pro-Spanish
Cebuanos and the non-aligned ones. They
began to leave their homes, carrying their
belongings with them to Fort San Pedro, the
only place safe enough for them.
54 Leon Kilat
Others went to the government house
near the fort, the bishop’s palace, the Semi-
nario de San Carlos, the Colegio de la Im-
maculada Concepcion (at its old site near
the cathedral) and the offices of foreign
business firms.
At the fort, Gen.Adolfo Montero tried
to calm down the evacuees, telling them
that the insurrectos would soon be crushed
with the might of the Spanish arms. It
would be foolish for the ‘indios’ to fight, he
said confidently.
The turmoil among the Spaniards did
not pass unnoticed. On their part, the kati-
puneros started to mobilize their own forces.
According to one source, after the group
decided on the 3:00 o’clock uprising, Leon
Kilat rode a flecha (a horse-driven cart)
owned by Simplicio “Titoy” Salcedo around
San Nicolas, informing katipuneros of their
final decision.
He rode towards Labangon, shouting
the first names of katipuneros in the street
and announcing that they should proceed to
a place near the San Nicolas cemetery along
Guadalupe river. From Labangon, he pro-
ceeded to Carlock, passing through Paseo
de Labangon (now Tres de Abril) until Tisa,
55 Leon Kilat
turning at Punta Princesa, then to Basak
and back to the house of Paulina Padilla
(Ulinday), sister of Fr. Toribio Padilla, where
he ate his lunch. It was one of the houses
where Leon Kilat lived.
In response, the men who were called
to the uprising immediately put on their
clothes, without telling their wives, families,
parents, not knowing where the movement
was taking them.
At Paulina’s house, Leon Kilat urged
the women gathered to go inside and pray
the rosary, leading the prayer himself. He
finished it until the Litany. After the prayer,
the women could not control themselves
and started to wail (nagdanguynguy), while
one of them fainted. Kilat had to tell them
to shut up, chiding them and saying their
actuations would only cause their defeat.
At that moment, a group of guardia
civil passed by the house. Afraid that the
troops would hear the women crying, he
threatened to lunge at the enemy from the
window if they did not stop wailing. They
stopped when he made motions to open the
windows.
Apparently, the loyalist soldiers were on
their way to Talisay to reinforce the guardia
56 Leon Kilat
civiles who were ambushed the night be-
fore. The other katipuneros with Kilat were
Andres Abellana, Leon Cabase, Floro Eche-
varre and others. The men wanted to attack
the troops but Kilat prevailed upon them
and told them to wait for a more opportune
moment. The two groups, Barangays 1 and
2, still had to meet at the designated place
near the Guadalupe river.
Other katipuneros soon joined Kilat
on the way to their assembly point: the
Padillas (Gavino, Especioso,and Gregorio),
Estanislao Sarion, Doroteo Bacayo, Grego-
rio Abellana, Leon Cabase, Agustin Ylaya,
Pascual Ybuna, the Cabarrubias (Catalino
and Miguel), the Calinawans (Brigido and
Severo), Lucas Abellana, and others.
At the corner of Rosalia (now Carlock)
and Mindanao (now B. Aranas) streets, the
group was joined by Isabelo Zabate, Julian
and Teodoro Villona, Eulogio and Eleuterio
Abellana, Anacleto and Francisco Cavan,
and some others. The group was swelling.
In the meantime, Barangay 1 under Luis
Flores passed by Catalona St. towards Guadalu-
pe road (now V. Rama Ave.) until both Baran-
gays would finally meet under the mango trees
near the San Nicolas cemetery in Calamba.
57 Leon Kilat
At this point, the two group leaders
agreed on their respective plans of action
against the Spaniards. Final instructions
were given. Barangay 1 under Flores was to
assault San Pedro and to free all its pris-
oners, while Barangay 2 would attack the
Spanish troops in the city and San Nicolas.
Eugenio Gines would gather katipuneros
from the northern parts of the city and join
the bigger group.
Another group lead by Machacon was
also gathered at Paulino Solon’s intusan
(sugar mill) in Sambag (near the present
Urgello). They had no guns, but had bolos,
spears and knives. They were in high spirits,
confident that the habak and anting-anting
given by Leon Kilat would protect them
from the Spanish bullets. They crossed
the Guadalupe river and started marching
eastward towards San Nicolas poblacion,
following the present V. Rama Ave. They
would also join the bigger group massed
at the cemetery. Their number had now
swelled to an estimated 2,500.
In the meantime, the parish priest of
San Nicolas, Fray Pedro Medina, informed
Gen. Montero that the residents of San
Nicolas were moving towards Guadalupe.
58 Leon Kilat
Then more detailed reports came from
Santiago Ferraris and Luciano Bacayo, both
from San Nicolas. They confirmed that a big
gathering of San Nicolas residents were in
the cemetery in Calamba. Apparently, the
two were also recruited into the Katipunan
but for reasons of their own betrayed it.
Montero was mad and threatened the two
with death if a revolt erupted in area.
Gen. Montero lost no time and ordered
Capt. Joaquin Monfort and Capt. Ciriaco
Gutierrez to lead a mixed company of
soldiers - guardia civiles, carabineros, cua-
drilleros, violuntarios and vigilantes of the
ayuntamiento. To assist the captain were Sgt.
Cueto, Sgt. Pedro Pedro Royo and Cpl. Fidel
Moas.
Among the Cebuano volunteers were
Jose Atillano, Eduardo Lopez, Manuel Mal-
donado, Arsenio Climaco, Apolinar Kabil-
bil. Godofredo Lago, Simeon Padriga, Pedro
Sanson, Juan Borres, Raymundo Enriquez
(father of Manuel Enriquez de la Calzada).
They were instructed by Montero to proceed
to the area and find out what the people
were gathering for.
59 Leon Kilat
Chapter 7
First Encounter

T
he katipuneros were ready to
fight their battle of a lifetime. It
was as if their anger, repressed
in three centuries of docility
and subservience, was now bursting from its
shell.
Loyalist troops upon orders of Gen.
Montero arrived at bridge of the southern
end of Colon (Puente de la Revoluccion),
then divided itself into two groups. The
first group led by Capt. Monfort and Sgt.
Cueto followed Tres de Abril St. (then called
General Weyler St.), while the second group
under Capt. Gutierrez and Sgt. Pedro Royo
followed El Pardo (now C. Padilla) for a
60 Leon Kilat
short distance, then turned right following
V. Rama Ave., going towards the cemetery
in Calamba.
The two columns of loyalist troops con-
verged at the crossing of Tres de Abril and
V. Rama Ave., then stopped to ascertain the
whereabouts of a crowd reported to have
gathered near the Calamba cemetery.
The guardia civiles assigned for patrol
duty in Basak and Labangon encountered
Gines’ men on the road leading to Mambal-
ing near Candido Rama’s residence. An-
other group bound for Talisay also failed to
reach their destination for the same reason.
Meanwhile, Leon Kilat was informed
that soldiers had arrived near Pahina bridge.
He met Justo Kabajar and his men at the
northwestern end of the JM Basa St. which
intersects V. Rama Ave., hiding behind trees
and other structures. They were preparing
to ambush the approaching loyalist soldiers
marching westwards along Guadalupe road
(now V. Rama Ave.). Kabajar did not know
that another column of soldiers was at that
time also marching along Tres de Abril St.
Kilat ordered Kabajar not to attack
prematurely, and instead wait for other kati-
puneros coming from the cemetery. He also
61 Leon Kilat
instructed the latter to surround the soldiers
when attacking.
Knowing the movement of the enemy,
Leon Kilat went in haste towards the main
body of the katipuneros, avoiding Guada-
lupe road as he moved towards the Calamba
cemetery where the huge group of kati-
puneros was concentrated. He did not have
to walk far when he met them. Immediately,
he assumed command, leading them to the
location of the enemy troops.
At the intersection of V. Rama and
Tres de Abril St. where the enemy troops
had stopped, Kilat deployed his men. The
left wing of katipuneros was placed under
Eugenio Gines and Francisco Llamas, to be
assisted by Arsenio Cabreros, Rufo Abella,
Pio Lopez and Dionisio Abellar. The center
column, commanded by Kilat himself and
assisted by Alejo Miñoza, took position at
the intersection itself.
The majority of the katipuneros were
massed here, using as cover the stone cor-
ner of the house of Nicolas (“Lasay”) and
Antonio Lopez. The distance between the
katipuneros and the loyalist troops were now
only 15 meters.
Loyalist soldiers saw them, noting their
62 Leon Kilat
lack of arms. Sgt. Pedro Royo shouted: “You
stupid people. What do you want? Return to
your homes. Go away before you are hit by
the bullets and killed.”
The katipuneros answered back, taunt-
ing them with their own challenges. Evi-
dently, they were not afraid of the Spaniards’
rifles. So the loyalist troops started firing.
At the same time, Kilat told his men to lie
flat on the ground, knowing that the rifles
of the enemy would be good for only five
shots. After that, they had to load their rifles
again. Those brief seconds would give them
enough time to rise up and swing their
bladed weapons.
After five shots from the Spanish rifles,
Kilat personally led his men to a hand-to-
hand skirmish, resulting in the beheading of
Lt. Cueto by his kris. Another cazador, try-
ing to run away, also met his death after his
shoulder was sliced from his body by Kilat.

Spaniards retreat

In due time, the soldiers realized that

they were no match for the bolos of the kati-
puneros. The retreated towards the Puente
de la Revolucion (Colon bridge) with the
63 Leon Kilat
katipuneros close in pursuit.
The loyalists’ second column shooting
effectively managed to protect the retreat-
ing soldiers. Then both Spanish columns
retreated beyond the bridge, taking up
another position with their rifles.
While this battle was going on, Baran-
gay 1 under Luis Flores heard the gunshots
and this led to join him with Barangay 2,
thus failing to reach his objective which was
the fort. It would have been possible for him
to take the fort easily as it was defended by
very few soldiers.
From the scene of battle, Leon re-
covered one Remington rifle with several
rounds of ammunition; Abellana got one
Mauser; and others firearms of different
calibers from dead Spaniards, or a total of
15 rifles and several hundred rounds of am-
munitions.
Seeing the number of dead companions,
the voluntarios locales at the San Nicolas
Tribunal retreated towards the direction
of Calamba St. leading to Ermita but were
pursued by a group of rebels led by Justo
Cabajar, Miñoza, Gines, Rufo Abella and
others. Near this place, Cabajar shot one of
them with a rifle earlier confiscated, forcing
64 Leon Kilat
others to escape towards the city. Kabajar’s
group brought along five newly captured
rifles.
Afterwards the voluntarios beat a hasty
retreat towards Puente Forbes (at the south-
ern end of Magallanes St.), just within sight
of Recoleto barracks where they could hide
in case the fighting got worse.
Another group of cazadores on their
way to reinforce the guardia civiles in Tal-
isay was surprised by rebels at Dulho. At
Basak the group led by Arsenio Cabreros
chased one group of guardia civil on its way
to Labangon.
At the Puente de la Revolucion (Colon
bridge), the confrontation and exchange of
fire between the two groups continued for
some minutes. But the Spaniards, sensing
that they would be overpowered, withdrew
to Fort San Pedro to make their last stand
against the victorious katipuneros.
They brought their dead and wounded
companions to the infirmary of the Colegio
de San Carlos (now the University of San
Carlos) on Martires St. (now Don Mariano
Jesus Cuenco Ave.) where all the wounded,
numbering about 30, died within a week of
confinement and treatment.
65 Leon Kilat
On the side of the katipuneros, Doyong
Flores, Atilano Lopez, Gregorio Salazar
from Sangi, San Fernando, died on the
spot. Titoy Saceda died later from wounds
suffered in the battle. Eight KKKs were
wounded including Eugenio Gines who was
hit with a bullet from a Mauser, and Martin
Cabreros who was hit by the same caliber
with two bullets near his heart.
66 Leon Kilat
Chapter 8
Gaining Ground

T
he Spaniards were finally on the
run. The troops of Gen. Monte-
ro were fleeing for their lives to
Fort San Pedro before the sharp
bolos of the katipuneros under the leader-
ship of Leon Kilat. With the newly seized
rifles from the fleeing Spaniards, they gained
new weapons and renewed confidence to
win the war.
By 5:00 in the afternoon of April 3, 1898,
Capt. Monfort who held his ground near the
Puente de la Revolucion (Colon bridge) had
no choice but to order his men to the fort.
Just to show that they were not yet beaten,
loyalist soldiers shouted while on their
way:”Viva España!” Not to be outdone, the
katipuneros shouted back:”Viva Katipunan!
Viva Filipinas!”
At the fort, Montero was mad. He or-
dered all government military personnel to
leave their stations outside to come to the
fort. Only those areas which had munitions
and food, like the San Agustin church and
the cathedral, were not deserted totally.
67 Leon Kilat
Many Spaniards who did not heed
Montero’s order were executed by the kati-
puneros. One was a Spaniard Enrique Car-
ratala from Dulho, San Nicolas. A group
caught up with him, then killed him.
Outside the fort, the katipuneros had a
heyday. On the suggestion of Severo Padilla,
telegraph lines were cut. These were the
city’s connection to Balamban, then across
the sea to Escalante in Negros Oriental.
From Escalante, the lines continued to Iloilo
and to Manila. Reinforcements could come
from these two places with the lines open.
Katipuneros led by Llamas, Abellar and
Hernandez freed all prisoners at the carcel
without any objection from the chief war-
den Telesforo Salguero, who was himself a
katipunero. Then they proceeded to Carreta
where the Hospital de Lazarinos was located
and freed the lepers.
In the meantime, Leon Kilat ordered
some of his men led by Elpedio Rama and
Gregorio Padilla to buy medicines for their
wounded from Botica Antigua. The drug-
store owner Andres Krapenbauer allowed
them to enter the premises upon knowing
that their leader, Leon Kilat, once worked for
him. He gave the medicines for free, saying
68 Leon Kilat
it was his contribution to the movement.
The wounded were treated in the residence
of Jacinto Pacaña at Labangon which was
now converted into the general headquar-
ters of the Katipunan and infirmary. Among
the wounded were Gines and Cabreros.
That night, the katipuneros of Talisay,
led by the Aliño brothers, attacked the guar-
dia civil detachment, killing the Spniards,
the administrator, his wife and children. The
parish priest Fr. Valerio Rodrigo (Fr. Pedro
Medina in another account) managed to es-
cape on a banca to Cebu and sought refuge
at the fort.
The rebels also captured the cartilla
teacher, Maestro Hilario Gandiongco. But
69 Leon Kilat
he was subsequently released upon learning
that he was not known to mistreat Filipinos.
In Pardo, the parish priest Fr. Tomas
Jimenes was murdered by the rebels of
Tabunok. The cartilla teacher Maestro Mari-
ano Crisologo was taken prisoner.
At the fort that night, the Spaniards still
felt they could defend it indefinitely. Their
confidence was bolstered with the presence
of two gunboats, Maria Cristina and Para-
gua, which bombarded areas in San Nicolas,
burning some houses there. The latter ar-
rived from Iligan that afternoon.
The Spaniards reasoned that the two
could guard the two sides facing the sea,
leaving only one side to be defended by
those at the fort. However, during a con-
ference with his officers, Montero admit-
ted that a massive attack by the insurrectos
could overwhelm them since they were
vastly outnumbered. They had to ask for
reinforcement.
At around 10:00 pm, Montero sent out
a patrol to verify if the katipuneros were still
in the city. They were met by a group of kati-
puneros at the corner of Escolta and Lutao
St. (now M.C. Briones), who were only
too eager to fight. The soldiers beat a hasty
70 Leon Kilat
retreat to the fort.

The next three days

The next three days, the rebels were in

complete control of the city. The formed a
temporary government under Leon Kilat
because new recruits had to have a sem-
blance of organization. The Katipunan had
spread throughout the province when it
was learned that the Spaniards were on the
retreat and holding out only in the fort.
New recruits had to undergo training in
military tactics and reconnaissance, but they
could not be trained to shoot due to the
shortage of ammunitions. At this time , the
katipuneros had swelled to 2,000 in Cebu
province. They also appointed Fr. Toribio
Padilla as their chaplain even if he was still
under house arrest in the Seminario de San
Carlos.
With more recruits coming in, disci-
pline had declined. Looting was reported
in establishments known to be strongholds
of the Spaniards: at the Recollect convent,
in the houses of Spaniards, Chinese stores
at Lutao and mestizo-Chinese at Parian.
The Recollects reported a loss of P19,000
71 Leon Kilat
in cash, while the Campaña de Tabacos
(Tabacalera) P30,000 and an undetermined
property destroyed.
In the meantime, the victorious kati-
puneros conducted patrols in the city. Groups
were sent to various parts - to Carbon, Tina-
go, Parian, Zapatera and San Roque - keeping
a safe distance from the cannons at the fort
and the riflemen stationed at the church tow-
ers of San Agustin and the cathedral and the
David Sommer building.

Attack on the fort

Katipuneros were uneasy. As long as the

Spaniards were at the fort, they had some-
thing to worry about. They wanted to finish
them off. So on Tuesday, April 5, Leon Kilat
riding a horse led a group and attempted to
stage a breakthrough. But the attack failed
due to the rapid firing of rifles and a volley
of cannon fire. He fell off his horse, stood
up, dusted himself, and continued riding his
horse. The legend of his invulnerability was
bolstered.
The news of that incident not only
proved to other rebels that his “talisman”
was reliable, but it also served as a rallying
72 Leon Kilat
point for them to continue their struggle
against the enemy.
So they did not give up the siege of the
fort. Instead, they tightened their watch
so as to cause the death of Spaniards from
hunger or thirst sooner or later. At this
point, the rebels captured one Cebuano who
stayed inside the fort and revealed to Leon
Kilat its actual situation. The occupants
were suffering from food and water short-
age, he said. So the katipuneros decided to
attack the fort the next day, Wednesday.
73 Leon Kilat
Chapter 9
The Retreat Begins

T
HREE days after katipuneros
drove the Spaniards to Fort
San Pedro, the former still
wanted to storm it. The Span-
ish occupation of a portion of Cebu made
them uneasy. But the problem was how
to get inside. And there was no way to get
there except by scaling the walls, which
meant they had to have ladders.
Moreover, they had to face the bullets of
the fort’s defenders, which did not look too
inviting to the revolutionaries. They knew a
lot of lives would be wasted. No one, except
Leon Kilat, appeared willing to risk his life
this way.
In the meantime, unknown to revo-
lutionaries, the arrival of steamer Venus
brought some good news to the beleaguered
Gen. Montero. The Spaniards in Iloilo had
sent a message to Manila asking for rein-
forcements for Cebu, offering some bright
hope for their salvation.
But by Wednesday, April 6, their sup-
plies inside the fort were dwindling rapidly.
74 Leon Kilat
Montero tried to remedy the situation by
sending some soldiers to Lutao to secure
food. But they were seen by katipuneros who
were only too eager to gun them down. So
they beat a hasty retreat to the fort.
In other places, the success of the revolt
in the city and San Nicolas prodded on
residents in other towns to take up arms
also. In Carcar that Tuesday, April 5, shouts
of “Viva Katipunan!” and “Viva Filipinas!”
were heard in Valladolid.
The Carcar uprising was led by the
Enriquez brothers (Severino, Nicanor and
Jaime) and the Regis brothers (Magno and
Eliseo). One of their trusted man was Apo-
linario Alcuitas who was later to go down
in history as a traitor to the revolutionary
cause.
The Carcar group swelled as it marched
up to the tribunal and the Catholic convent.
There they looked for the priests and were
able to capture three Agustianians, while
two others escaped. A few guardia civil de-
fending the tribunal in were killed and their
rifles seized.
A group subsequently went to Sibonga
where they captured the parish priest Fray
Emiliano Diez who had escaped from Car-
75 Leon Kilat
car. The group was led by Jaime Enriquez
and Antonio Miñoza.
Miñoza went farther to Argao 18
kilometrs away with another group. The
parish priest Fr. Antolin Frias was no-
where to be found. Some of the guardia
civil surrendered, while others joined the
Katipunan.
In Barili, the most important town in
the western coast of Cebu, the pro-Spanish
officials fled to Cebu city by sailboat. One of
the prisoners there, Aguedo Batobalonos,
broke out of his cell and freed other prison-
ers. Then they burned documents of the
court and the treasury. The guardia civil also
surrendered. By Wednesday, Batobalonos
had a few hundred followers. By Thursday,
they were joined by the KKK from Duman-
jug led by Nicolas Godines and Saturnino
Echavez.
In Opon and Cordova, katipuneros led
by Pascual Tuada and Pio Lopez also took
up arms against the Spaniards. The guardia
civiles detailed in Opon could not be found,
while the priest also fled to the fort.
But the priest of Cordoba, Fray Jose
Baztan, could not escape the angry residents
there. Earlier, he had aroused their anger
76 Leon Kilat
by requiring them to carry massive rocks
for building and lashed them if they did not
follow his orders. He was captured by the
revolutionaries and executed at the town
plaza on April 4, 1898.
In Mabolo, Mandaue and Consolacion,
residents also took up arms after the learned
of the successful April 3 uprising. They were
led by Francisco Llamas, Luis Abellar and
Mariano Hernandez. In Mandaue, the guar-
dia civil and priest also fled. The same was
true in Consolacion. The priest Fray Agus-
tin Martel had beaten them to the draw.

The tide turns

By early morning Thursday, April 7,

unknown to katipuneros, the cruiser Don
Juan Austria chartered merchant steamer
Churruca arrived from Manila. Aboard
were loyalist troops commanded by Gen.
Celestino Fernandez Tejeiro. These were
seasoned veterans.
Much as the katipuneros tried to pre-
vent them from landing on the beach at the
northeastern end of M.C. Briones St., they
appeared helpless. Immediately, the mood at
the fort changed. Their morale was boosted.
77 Leon Kilat
There was shouting and rejoicing among the
fort’s occupants.
Then the two generals Montero and
Fernandez sat down to plan a counterat-
tack. All non-combatants (the Spaniards,
mestizos, pro-Spanish Flipinos) were to
stay inside fort. Then three groups would
be deployed by the soldiers. Others were to
remain to guard fort.
The gun boat Paragua and Don Juan
Austria took positions at sea between Kawit
island and barrio Pasil of San Nicolas. To
the shock of San Nicolas parishioners, the
two boats started bombarding huts in San
Nicolas, resulting in the panic of many
residents.
After a few hours, the gunboats changed
targets. They began hitting Lutao, Carbon,
Ermita, areas facing the sea, putting these
places in flames. Katipuneros had in the
meantime retreated. But the boats avoided
hitting the Recoleto barracks, apparently
acting on instructions from Recollect priests
holed in at the fort.
The Parian residences of the Chinese
and a few Spanish mestizos were also
burned down by loyalist soldiers. They were
mad because some of them gave assistance
78 Leon Kilat
to the Katipunan.

Retreat

Sensing that they were up against a

better-armed enemy, the katipuneros started
a retreat, with a lot of them finally looking
for refuge in the mountains of Cebu. They
abandoned their positions in the city. Those
from Lutao joined the large group from
Recolletos and took positions beyond the
Forbes bridge. The cruiser would later drive
them off by massive bombardment, leaving
behind a good number of casualties.
Those at Parian and Tinago retreated
towards Puente de la Revolucion at the
southern end of Colon St. Here they tried
to hold their ground. In the early afternoon
of Thursday, the counter-attacking Span-
iards renewed their attacks against the two
groups, inflicting a large number of casual-
ties on the latter. The bolos and massed at-
tacks now proved to be ineffectual. So were
the amulets given by Leon Kilat.
The massive attacks forced the Katipu-
nan forces to disperse outside the city. A
group led by Leon Kilat proceeded to Ka-
bkab (Carcar), thinking that because there
79 Leon Kilat
was a group there, they would not starve.
Kabkab was also far from the sea, thus,
making it difficult for the ships to bombard
them. Little did Kilat suspect that his retreat
would end tragically.
With him in Kabkab were Andres Abel-
lana, Gervacio Padilla, Luciano Bacayo and
Nicanor Enriquez. They were tired and sad
due to the deaths of their relatives. Many of
them were wounded.
The others, like Luis Flores and Candi-
do Padilla, found sanctuary in other towns.
Some went to the mountains of Sudlon,
while others fled as far as Negros and Ca-
motes island, thinking that the hand of the
Spaniards would not reach them any longer.
80 Leon Kilat
Chapter 10
Betrayal and Death

T
he retreat of the katipuneros
from San Nicolas and the city
paved the way for the wide-
spread arrests and executions
of other civilians, whether or not they were
involved in Katipunan.
Among those captured when the
Spaniards retook the city were Alejan-
dro Antioquia, Dr. Eduardo Rodriguez,
Prudencio Camara, Lucio Herrrera,
Placido Datan, Jose Abelgas, Raymundo
Jurado, Agapito Nadela, Andres Abel-
lana who was recaptured after his release
in Carcar, Januario C. Veloso, Carlos
Castañares, Pedro Cui, Pascual Antonio,
Epitacio Agustin, Cristino Lopez and
Isidro Guibelondo (who was arrested in
Talamban).
Also taken was Fr. Toribio Padilla, par-
ish priest of the cathedral. He was placed
under house arrest at the Colegio-Seminario
de San Carlos.
Later, these were released by the Span-
iards. The lesser known civilians were sum-
81 Leon Kilat
marily executed. The cousins Olimpio and
Emilio Regis tried to use the “amnesty pass”
offered by Gen. Montero, convinced that
they would be granted clemency because
they were not involved. Instead, the two
were arrested and executed together with
Candido Padilla.
Padilla, an ex-capitan of San Nicolas,
could not save himself despite the petition of
Fr. Jorge Romanillo, the parish priest of the
town at this time. During the last hours of his
life, he was however given the privilege of hav-
ing his confession heard and allowed to visit
the Santo Niño at the San Agustin church.
Another pro-Spanish Tagalog who served
as a spy, Crispulo Valderrama, was also ar-
rested and shot to death without trial. With
him were Raymundo Jurado and Jose Abelgas
from Carcar. The two were also executed.
So fierce and swift was the juez de
cuchillo of Cebu’s colonial masters that all
adult males met by patrols in the streets
were considered enemies who were to be
shot if they did not know the password.

Betrayal

But of all the katipuneros who met their

82 Leon Kilat
end, it was their leader Leon Kilat who died
most tragically not only for the manner of
his death but for the betrayal by one of his
men in Carcar.
Even before the katipuneros’ arrival in
that southern town, Kabkab (Carcar) residents
already learned of their defeat at the hands of
the Spaniards, following the arrival of rein-
forcements from Manila. They had mixed
feelings about accepting Leon Kilat, afraid of
retaliation from their Spanish masters.
Kabkab leaders, like Kapitan Florencio
Noel (Tan Insyong), Timoteo Barcenilla,
Kapitan Kadyo Jaen, Kapitan Jacinto Velez
and Kapitan Simeon Paras, told Andres
Abellana: “Tell Kilat to finish fighting in
Naga, not in Kabkab.”
To which Abellana retorted: “Sa wa pa
mosibog si Don Leon nganhi, ang mga tawo
gipahibawo una nga anhi padangpon sa
Kabkab kay anhi tapusa ang away. Ug karon
nga anhi na ang mga tawo, malisud na ang
pagsulti kanila sa tagsa-tagsa nga ang away
adto usab tapusa sa laing dapit.”
(Before Leon retreated here, people
were informed that they should proceed
to Carcar because the fight will end here.
Now that people are here, it is difficult to tell
83 Leon Kilat
them that the fight will be somewhere else.)
In the story of Vicente Alcoseba who
was with the group of Kilat at that time, the
plan to kill the latter was actually hatched at
the confessional in the church. The coadju-
tor at the time, a Fr. Francisco Blanco who
was teaching Latin at the Colegio-Seminario
de San Carlos, would not meet Kapitan
Florencio Noel at the convent because it
would be suspicious.
Alcoseba said it was Blanco who sug-
gested to Noel that the only way Kabkab
could avoid the retaliation of the Spaniards
was to kill Kilat.
Little did Kilat suspect what would
befall him that fateful Good Friday in 1898
in Carcar because when he arrived in the
evening of Holy Thursday, he was accorded
a courtesy due a visiting dignitary. First, he
went to the house of Kapitan Paras, then
later transferred to the house of Kapitan
Tiyoy Barcenilla where he and his men were
tendered goat’s meat, chicken and pork. Af-
ter supper, he was offered coffee and ginebra
at the sala.
While his men were telling stories of
the uprising in Cebu, he asked Kapitan Ti-
yoy if he could call a tailor who could make
84 Leon Kilat
a “traje de rayadillo” which had become the
Katipunan’s uniform. He wanted to change
his clothes the next morning after he took
a bath. Minutes later, a tailor named Seg-
undo Alcordo came with his metrosan (a
tailor’s tape measure) to take his measure-
ments.
Meantime, the plotters appeared ill
at ease, said Alcoseba. Tiyoy Barcenilla
could not stay put in his seat. Sometimes,
he would confer with Kapitan Kadyo at the
back of the house and talk in whispers. Min-
utes later, he would shift to Kapitan Gundoy,
as if something else was going on.
Then Apolinario Alcuitas, a recruit of
the Katipunan in Kabkab, shouted for every-
one to hear: “Mga kaigsoonan, ipahibalo ko
kaninyo nga karong gabhiona, may ihawon
akong kabayo.”(Brothers, I would like to an-
nounce that tonight I am going to slaughter
a horse.) At that time, Alcoseba could not
understand the meaning of all these.
Since Leon Kilat was tired, it did not
take long before sleep was in order. The
room assigned to him was the one near the
stairs of the five-bedroom house of Barce-
nilla. A son of the owner, Vicente, curious
about Kilat’s exploits, had a brief talk with
85 Leon Kilat
the latter. He was the last person to talk to
him alive.
For a while, Vicente and his uncle
Mariano Alfafara talked for some minutes
in the corridor outside the room occupied
by Kilat. Very soon, they too, went to sleep
in another room. Mariano was persuaded by
Vicente to stay that night.
Vicente would wake up a few hours
later when he heard loud noises coming
from Kilat’s room. He awakened Mariano
and both went outside at once, only to be
met by Florencio Noel coming up the stairs,
carrying a huge crucifix and asking excited-
ly: “Naunsa na? Naunsa na?” (Has anything
happened yet?)
Then Noel shouted: “Viva España! Viva
España!” Several others outside the house
responded.
Vicente found the maid Kitay and both
went inside Kilat’s room from where loud
noises came. There he saw to his shock the
limp body of Kilat being pinned down by
eight men, with some of them taking turns
at stabbing it. The skull had been earlier
smashed with the butt of Kilat’s own gun.
“Buhi pa ba?” (Is he still alive?) Vicente
heard Vinsyong Cui ask.
86 Leon Kilat
“Patay na intawon,” (He is dead,)an-
swered Kitay. Vicente who was speechless
leaned against the wall, in shock.
Then they took his body down the
stairs till Cui told the other conspirators:
“Ihunong. Ibutang una ninyo. Atong sulayan,
ambi tuod dili ba dutlan.” (Stop. Put it down.
Let’s see if he is invulnerable.)
Each one took turns at stabbing the
dead body and breaking some of his limbs.
Then they carried Leon Kilat’s body to the
center of the town where it was displayed
for all residents to see. It was 5:00 early Fri-
day morning.
87 Leon Kilat
Chapter 11
Regrouping

T
he situation of katipuneros
in other towns were not as
desperate as that of the group
which fled to Carcar that
fateful Holy Thursday, April 7, 1898. Arca-
dio Maxilom and Emilio Verdeflor, earlier
appointed as captain and lieutenant by the
revolutionary government president Luis
Flores, had just arrived Thursday in Tu-
buran.
It was his hometown and his power
base, being a former
capitan of that town.
He did not know
what happened to
the katipuneros that
day. Immediately,
he went to Ernesto
Tabotabo, one of
the wealthiest
residents of Tu-
buran, recruit-
ing him into
the KKK. The Gen. Arcadio Maxilom as depicted
latter accepted by Cebuano artist Manuel Pañares
88 Leon Kilat
without hesitation.
Their first task was to make the guardia
civil at the tribunal surrender. And surren-
der they did without firing a shot, including
their firearms. In preparation for the battles
ahead, Maxilom also urged the local KKK
members to make bladed weapons and
spears from anahaw (a type of palm tree).
That was when he learned of the Katipunan’s
defeat in the city.
Meanwhile, Bonifacio Aranas, one of
the Katipunan’s early members, fled to the
mountains of Cebu together with other
members after San Nicolas and the city
were recaptured by the Spaniards. His areas
of operations were now the mountains of
Toledo and Balamban.
Then on April 11, Aranas and his men
raided some barrios near the poblacion of
Toledo, capturing local prominent men like
Angel Libre, Jose Rodriguez, Francisco Vil-
laester and Juan Climaco. Climaco was an
ex-capitan of Toledo and owned large tracts
of lands in barrio Madugo. His house was
made into the headquarters of the Katipu-
nan in the area.
At that time, a farmer by the name
of Claudio Bacus was also organizing his
89 Leon Kilat
own group in the mountains of Toledo and
Balamban. He soon established links with
Aranas and agreed to cooperate with him in
their operations.
On 12th of April, the guardia civil de-
tachment of Balamban offered to surrender
to Aranas. But the offer looked suspicious.
So Bacus and Aranas approached the tribu-
nal from two different positions, expecting
to be tricked by the enemy.
They were right. Shots rang from the
bell tower and from trenches near the
church. The katipuneros returned fire,
then engaged the enemy in hand-to-hand
skirmish. The latter had to scamper to the
forest. Sgt. Claudio Gomez who led the loy-
alists fell from the bolo of Bacus, while the
priest escaped by boat to Cebu.
After that incident, Aranas left Balam-
ban for Tuburan to coordinate with Arcadio
Maxilom and Tabotabo. Bacus on the other
hand went to Toledo to consolidate his
forces.
Pro-Spanish residents had deserted the
streets when the katipuneros led by Aranas
passed by Asturias. Eugenio Alonso, the
owner of 400-hectare hacienda near the po-
blacion, also fled. Many Asturias residents
90 Leon Kilat
wanted to join KKK.

Battle at Tuburan

In Tuburan, Aranas, Verdeflor, Batoba-

lonos and their men were joyfully received
by residents led by Maxilom and Fausto
Tabotabo. Maxilom had earlier returned
to Tuburan after he heard of Katipunan
reverses in the city. But instead of getting
discouraged, he redoubled efforts to recruit
new members.
For a while, Tuburan was a liberated
town. The shouts of KKK members “Mabuhi
ang Pilipinas!” and “Mabuhi ang Katipu-
nan!” reverberated in the streets. At the
house of Tabotabo, amulets like the ones
introduced by Leon Kilat were being made
according to specifications. Training of
residents to fight against Spanish rifles also
went on.
The Tuburan katipuneros were reinforced
by the presence of Enemecio and Samuel
Maxilom, both brothers of Arcadio, who had
recruited members and assembled in the
mountain of Anijao.
It would not be long before they would
have their first taste of battle. On April 15,
91 Leon Kilat
warning shots told them there were two
boats slowly approaching Tuburan. Hast-
ily, katipuneros assembled at pre-arranged
places under their respective jefes and took
their positions.
At 7:00 am, Spanish soldiers led by
cazadores and Tagalogs of the 73rd regiment
disembarked, marched to the town center
and started firing at suspected hiding places.
Then the katipuneros returned fire and
surrounded the loyalist troops. A shooting
spree erupted, resulting in several casualties
from both sides. The loyalists had to retreat.
An hour later, the loyalists from the other
boat disembarked, but they did not wade
ashore immediately. The second gunboat
trained its guns on poblacion, hitting houses
and trenches which the katipuneros could
do nothing about. The had to retreat to the
mountains. With them were other civilians
who had not evacuated earlier.
So the soldiers went ashore to an empty
town. They started looting valuables and
slaughtering domesticated animals for food.
After raping the town, they carried dead
Spaniards to their boats, but left the dead
bodies of loyalist Filipinos. Then they burned
the houses, sparing the convent, church and
92 Leon Kilat
municipal building.
When the Spaniards left, the residents
went back and treated their wounded com-
rades. It was their worst tragedy. They lost
their properties and buried their dead, friends
and foes alike. In the final count, 80 loyalist
soldiers and three of their officers died.
On the side of the Katipunan, 45 were slain
here. The number included relatives of Maxilom,
seven cousins and his own brother, Cesario.
On April 18, the Spaniards came to stay
longer. Another boat arrived, forcing resi-
dents to flee for their lives to the mountains.
The loyalist soldiers took Tuburan and quar-
tered themselves in the convent and church.

In Toledo

Claudio Bacus was less lucky. In the

town of Toledo, he heard of pro-Spanish
agitators led by capitan municipal Fran-
cisco Rodriguez, the former cuadrillo chief
in force. In the ensuing confrontation, he
killed Rodriguez and his men.
Bacus then roamed the countryside,
recruiting new members into the movement.
One British couple, a certain Mr. and Mrs.
Wilson, gave support to his group and allowed
93 Leon Kilat
them to recruit among his farm laborers.
But an encounter with loyalist troops
there left Bacus routed. He and 40 of his
men were surrounded and massacred.

In Sudlon mountains

It was in Sudlon mountains west of the

city that the katipuneros were finally able to
regroup and consolidate their forces against
the Spaniards.
That dawn of Good Friday in April 1898,
Jacinto Pacaña, the wife of Candido Padilla
and Eugenio Gines escaped from Labangon.
The group went directly to Jacinto’s farm in
Barrio Bukawe, then transferred to another
corn barn in Biasong where Pedro Abarca
joined them. Gen. Montero had a P500 re-
ward on the heads of each of the three.
Soon, they transferred to a cave but that
too was discovered. They left for the wooded
areas in Sudlon where they built trenches.
When the Tabal brothers (Rafael, Na-
talio, Quintin and Serafin) of Sudlon heard
about them, they were invited to their place
and offered a refuge. Jacinto was happy to
accept Tabal’s offer. He then persuaded his
wife and children to leave for the foothills
94 Leon Kilat
of Labangon and live there. The Spaniards
were not noted for harming women and
children.
The male members of group - Jacinto,
his two sons Felipe and Dalmacio, a son-
in-law, Eugenio Gines and Pedro Abarca -
accompanied Tabal to mountains of Sudlon.
From there, Jacinto got in touch with other
revolutionaries, using trusted couriers.
Luis Flores was found in Arsobing
mountains near Barrio Paril, while the Al-
iño brothers were at Bucatol, Talisay. Padilla
remained at Buhisan hills six kilometers
from the city proper. Addiction to opium
prevented him from going up with the
group. He was later captured and executed.
Flores arrived on the second week of May,
followed by other leaders, among them Arcadio
Maxilom. The latter had been hiding in the moun-
tains of Anijao after the battle of Tuburan. On May
20, he left Anijao with his men and 12-year old son
Emiliano and went to Sudlon to help reorgan-
ize the KKK. It was here that they plotted the
second phase of the revolt.
95 Leon Kilat
Chapter 12
Final Victory

T
o survive at Sudlon mountains,
the revolutionaries now led by
Luis Flores and Arcadio Maxi-
lom had to have food. At first,
the produce of the Tabal brothers, Jacinto
Pacaña and Ciriaco Genia from their farms
were sufficient. But that would last only for
two months. There had to be other sources.
One source was the cedula. An imita-
tion of the Spanish system, the Katipunan
cedula charged lesser. Possessing it meant
that one was either a member or a sympa-
thizer. The task of collecting fees for the
cedula was given to Anastacio Rama, having
previously served as an employee of the
public treasury.
Besides the cedula, sympathizers con-
tributed cash, food, clothing and medicines.
As the movement gained ground and turned
against the Spaniards, the middle classes
from the city also started contributing to the
coffers of the Katipunan. Philippine flag.
Another element katipuneros felt they
needed was the Philippine flag, the sym-
bol of their nationhood. According to one
 96 Leon Kilat

Flag makers who provided the first Filipino flag to

the revolutionaries in Sudlon, Mauricia Gahuman,
Buena Ricardo and Justina Peña, as depicted by
Cebuano artist Manuel Pañares
97 Leon Kilat
source, Manila’s KKK had spelled out the
exact measurements and design of the flag
in their regular letters to Cebu katipuneros.
Ambrocio Peña, known by the leaders
as a secret follower of the movement, was
then ordered to produce it. He in turn con-
tacted three women - Mauricia Gahuman,
Buena Ricardo and Justina Peña - to make
the flag. Weeks later, a courier from Punta
Princesa delivered it to Sudlon where it was
raised near their headquarters.
Immediately after its arrival, some 300
katipuneros took their oath in front of it. All
those who came to Sudlon would also take
their oaths administered by Flores and other
top officers. Those who could not come
to Sudlon took the same oath before their
officers, swearing their commitment to the
struggle for independence.

Sudlon battles

One reason why the Spaniards could

not penetrate Sudlon was its strategic loca-
tion. Although no higher than 1,000 meters
above sea level, it is located deep in the
interior of the island, was forested and sur-
rounded by steep gorges. Later attempts by
98 Leon Kilat
the enemy troops to attack it failed because
Katipunan guerillas used the terrain to their
advantage.
As soon as they arrived in the area,
Flores immediately ordered work on its de-
fense. Trenches were dug at strategic points,
and piles of stones prepared to be rolled
down in case of enemy attack. This was go-
ing to be tested soon.
On May 28, loyalist troops tried to
climb the narrow passages guarded by the
katipuneros led by Rafael Tabal at Bitlang
hill. But the attackers could not reach the
top of the before they were repulsed. Their
guns were not of much use. Twelve loyalist
soldiers were slain, while the katipuneros
had nine casualties.
A few days later, the loyalists again
planned to pass through another route at
Ginkiutan hill. This time, the katipuneros
were led by the Tuburan veteran Arcadio
Maxilom. As in the first attack, the enemy
troops were only frustrated. After this, Max-
ilom was promoted from captain to major.
In Talamban, Lorenzo Eje and Alejo
Miñoza trapped the Spaniards in the for-
ested areas, surrounded them and engaged
them in a bloody hand-to-hand fighting
99 Leon Kilat
with macheteros, outnumbering attackers.
The Spanish cavalry retreated in disarray.
One historian said about 70 loyalists lost
their lives, while katipuneros had 10 wound-
ed and six dead.
But in Liloan with the katipuneros under
the command of Enrique Lorega, they were
not as successful. They used the same tactics
as in Talamban, using machetes and utilizing
trees for hiding themselves. However, Span-
iards learned their lesson. As a result, casual-
ties were almost even on both sides. But the
chief of the voluntarios of Liloan was slain,
while one of their officers was captured.

Reversals

It was not all victory for the reinvigor-

ated katipuneros. In Minglanilla on Septem-
ber 28, 1898, the katipuneros encountered a
large band of cazadores led by Ramon Vil-
lordon. Although they fought bravely, each
side had a dozen casualties and scores were
wounded.
In El Pardo (presently Pardo), the
katipuneros had long wanted to attack the
cazadores stationed in the parish. One Sun-
day in September 1898, Rafael Tabal led a
100 Leon Kilat
few katipuneros against the group, expecting
them to be unprepared. A bloody encounter
followed.
But Tabal was not aware of a another
group of cazadores coming from Mingla-
nilla who had heard of the shooting. With
the latter coming in, the battle turned
against Tabal and the katipuneros, result-
ing in several dead and wounded. Tabal
himself was killed. In Bogo and San Fer-
nando, the KKK also lost their battles in
November 1898.
But the katipunero general who had a
big impact on the tide of events was Arca-
dio Maxilom. Given a contingent of some
300 soldiers and having Brig. Gen. Hilario
Aliño, Col. Fermin Aliño and Col. Emilio
Verdeflor as his adjutants, he scoured the
mountains of Cebu from August 28 to
September 4, establishing bases and offering
protection against lawless elements, promis-
ing swift justice in case they served as spies
for the government. Residents who at-
tempted to take advantage of the abnormal
situation were warned.
With a solid guerilla front up in the
hills, Maxilom was ready to take on the
towns and the city of Cebu.
101 Leon Kilat
The tide turns

The Spaniards at this late in the year

were now under pressure from several quar-
ters. The entry of the United States at the
height of the revolution in May 1898, cou-
pled with Aguinaldo’s return from Hong-
kong to resume the struggle, only made
matters desperate for the Spaniards.
By August 13, 1898, the Spaniards
surrendered Manila to the Americans
even if its forces in the provinces outside
the capital fell to the revolutionary forces
one after another. Tayabas, the last one to
surrender, fell to Miguel Malvar’s troops
on August 17.
Here in Cebu, preparations were under
way for the eventual evacuation of the Span-
iards. They had lost their will to fight, letting
the voluntarios locales and cazadores do the
fighting for them in the towns surrounding
Cebu.
In Mandaue they tried to hold their
ground, but the forces under Lorenzo Eje
and Anastacio Engayo, who had established
their base in Tigib, a mountainous area, was
threatening to overwhelm them and, subse-
quently, the city.
102 Leon Kilat
By December 8, the two leaders decided
to attack the poblacion. They were met by
local volunteers led by Cesario Mendoza,
the capitan municipal of Mandaue. The
fight did not last long. The voluntarios were
routed by the katipuneros. Seven of them
were captured, brought to Sudlon and tried
for treason under the military tribunal
headed by Maxilom.
Earlier, in Talisay on the 10th of No-
vember, the katipuneros had occupied the
town without firing a shot. The Spaniards
and their Muslim volunteers occupying the
town decided not to fight against the over-
whelming number of katipuneros under
Maxilom.
Instead of meeting rifles pointed at
them, the katipuneros were welcomed by a
joyous population. It was only seven months
earlier that a small band of katipuneros
under the Aliño brothers had overwhelmed
the guardia civil detachment in barrio San
Isidro.

Preparing to leave

As early as October, the Spaniards in

the city had “seen the writing on the wall.”
103 Leon Kilat
One of the first to leave were the Spanish
priests under the Augustinian and Recollect
orders. They left in October and November
of that year.
Still not all the priests fled. Among
those left behind was Bishop Martin Al-
cocer who tried to brook the relationship
between the revolutionary forces and the
Spanish troops. When Maxilom started to
occupy El Pardo, some residents who had
heard all sorts of stories about the kati-
puneros pleaded with Alcocer to intercede
with the revolutionaries. They knew the
presidente of the provisional revolutionary
government Luis Flores was once a protégé
of Alcocer.
Here Alcocer tapped the services of
Manuel Velez, a scion of the respected
Velez family of Cebu. His arrival in Sud-
lon was eyed with suspicion. So they had
him hostage in Sudlon while Maxilom and
Flores sent a delegation to Cebu to confirm
the situation. They released Velez when
they learned the truth about the situation in
Cebu.
In the meantime, the Spaniards had
began their strategic retreat from the towns.
Detachments in the towns of Barili and
104 Leon Kilat
Carcar were disbanded and recalled. Volun-
tarios from San Nicolas were withdrawn to
the Recoleto barracks.
Then sometime in December, the guar-
dia civil and local volunteers were disarmed,
leaving only the Muslims and the soldiers of
the 73rd regiment with arms.

Katipunan occupation of Cebu

Also that December, Flores called for a

conference in Sudlon regarding the plans to
establish revolutionary governments in the
different towns, following directives from
Aguinaldo. The report was received with
enthusiasm. They would begin at once.
As for the Spaniards at the fort, some
katipuneros wanted to besiege them if
not for cooler heads who prevailed. More
blood-letting was not necessary, they were
told.
First to be organized was the Mabolo-
Talamban government in Mabolo. Stories
earlier circulated by the loyalists had cre-
ated an atmosphere of fear among residents,
because when the katipuneros arrived, the
town of Mabolo was empty. They discovered
that the residents had gone out to sea in
105 Leon Kilat
their bancas, including capitan municipal
Ceferino Borces. They were persuaded to
come to shore only after their leaders were
convinced of the sincerity of the kati-
puneros.
That very day, an election of officers
were held after they were told of the direc-
tive of Aguinaldo. Elected presidente mu-
nicipal (town mayor) was Celedonio Mina,
an ex-capitan. Short acceptance speeches
followed, then the residents were instructed
how to defend themselves in case of an
attack by the Spaniards. A platoon of kati-
puneros was left to defend Mabolo.
On December 16, about 50 soldiers
under Col. Ravago threatened to attack
Mabolo. Eje and Engayo took up positions
at the bridge, ready to fight. But the loyalist
officers instead came across the bridge and
talked peace with Eje and Engayo. Both told
the Spaniards that the katipuneros will fight
back if attacked and that they had enough
men and firepower to defend themselves.
After the organization of Mabolo gov-
ernment came Mandaue. Election was also
held there. Practically the same persons who
held the former town council under the
Spanish regime were elected, except that the
106 Leon Kilat
names of their positions had changed.
The next followed Consolacion, Liloan
and Opon. Cordoba likewise organized its
own junta popular. From December 18 to
23, Emilio Verdeflor starting organizing the
town juntas of Toledo, Balamban, Asturias
and Tuburan. All these took place while the
Spaniards were still holed up in the city.
While Eje and Engayo were organizing
municipal juntas in the north of the city,
Maxilom and his army of revolutionaries
from Sudlon were preparing to occupy El
Pardo in the south. It was a large force with
the contingents under Eugenio Gines, Alejo
Miñoza and Nicolas Godines under the
overall leadership of Maxilom. Their mis-
sion: to force the Spaniards to surrender El
Pardo. If they refused, they would take the
town by force.
Fortunately, the Spaniards saw no
reason to defend El Pardo. The negotiations
to end the Philippine-American war had
started, and the Treaty of Paris annexing the
Philippines to the US had been signed in
Dec 10, 1898, although no formal order was
received yet. So Montero ordered a retreat
to the Recoleto barracks in the city. As in
Talisay earlier, the katipuneros entered El
107 Leon Kilat
Pardo without firing a shot.
The revolutionaries then occupied the
church and convent, raising the Philippine
flag there in simple but memorable rites.
After that, Flores appointed Maxilom
as gobernador interno of Cebu province for
as long as the Spanish government was still
in the city. Two days later, KKK military
officers and the junta popular confirmed
Maxilom’s appointment and also named
him as general-in-chief of the city. El Pardo
was designated the temporary capital of the
province.
That very day, Maxilom sent a formal
communication to the Spanish government
and other foreign consuls that a revolution-
ary government was installed in Cebu with
its center in Pardo. Maxilom also demanded
that the Spaniards surrender.
The Spaniards hastily answered Maxi-
lom’s letter, asking that they be given two to
three days because they would be leaving
the province soon.

Spaniards leave

By the morning of December 24, most

of the Spaniards were ready to leave. A
108 Leon Kilat
company of government soldiers stationed
themselves at the plaza as some pro-Spanish
Cebuanos also stood nearby. At the sound
of trumpets, the Spanish flag was lowered.
Spanish officers nearby tore the flag into
pieces in their anger and frustration. Some
Spanish and Cebuano women cried because
it was their last moment in Cebu.
By mid-morning, Spanish soldiers and
civilians and Filipino loyalist soldiers started
boarding the boats with their belongings.
With them were the Muslim volunteers.
By noon, Montero also boarded boat and
the ships were soon on their way to Zam-
boanga.
Only three Spaniards were left in Cebu:
Bishop Martin Alcocer, Fray Lorenzo Perez
of the San Carlos Seminary and Fr. Pedro
Julia. The convoy of ships was still between
Ermita and Kawit island when the Filipino
flag was raised in Fort San Pedro.

Christmas in 1898

In their entire lives, the Christmas of

1898 was decidedly the most memorable
day for Cebuanos. The revolutionaries
roamed around its streets unperturbed, free
109 Leon Kilat
at last to visit friends and relatives. The fort
became an instant tourist attraction.
The day before, the last batch of prison-
ers were released, including Pedro Cui, Julio
Llorente, Pascual Antonio, Alejandro Valle,
Florencio Camara and Isidro Guibelondo.
Cebuanos flocked to fort and for the first
time in their lives examined the dreaded
prison cells.
By December 29, a thanksgiving mass
was held at the Cebu cathedral officiated
by Bishop Martin Alcocer, with the martial
band of San Nicolas of which Justo Cabajar
was a member. The cathedral overflowed
with people. Joyous shouts of “Mabuhi ang
Katipunan!” and “Mabuhi ang Pilipinas!”
broke intermittently with harmless shots
from their rifles. At the end of the mass, the
Te Deum was intoned in thanksgiving.
Priests, former government officials and
employees, members of the Cebu’s elite and
heads of foreign business houses all came
to greet Maxilom and Flores and the other
leaders. They were now recognized as the
new leaders.
Little did the lower-class katipuneros
suspect that political power, which had
eluded them for hundreds of years, would
110 Leon Kilat
soon be seized from them by the local elite
in legal maneuvers. All they wanted at that
moment in their lives was to cherish the
new-found freedom and independence
from Spanish colonial yoke.
In a letter addressed to the new revolu-
tionary government, Apolinario Mabini en-
joined them to “prevent and repel all foreign
invasion at whatever sacrifices.” It was a por-
tent of things to come. Cebu would enjoy at
most two months of self-government before
some of its leaders surrendered their sover-
eignty to the Americans in February 1899
111 Leon Kilat
Epilogue
The fate of the leaders
of the revolution

T
here seems to be a strange pat-
tern in historical events. The
leaders in wars and social con-
flicts rarely become the leaders
in peace. This seems to be true in the case of
Cebu because Arcadio Maxilom, who was
known to have been the staunchest leader
of the revolution after Leon Kilat’s mur-
der, did not figure prominently in Cebu’s
elite-controlled politics. Instead, those who
had minimal roles were given the mantle of
leadership.
After the Spaniards left Cebu, an
election was held .on December 30, 1898
following Aguinaldo’s decree that ordered
the reorganization of the province. Luis
Flores was made president of the Provin-
cial Council, while Julio Llorente became
vice-president. Maxilom was assigned as
councilor for police matters, Pablo Mejia
councilor for fiscal matters, Miguel Logarta
Councilor on Justice and Leoncio Alburo
council secretary.
112 Leon Kilat
Then on January 10, 1899, Florentino
Rallos was elected president of the city and
Aljandro Valle as vice-president. Of the
eight, only Maxilom and Flores were ac-
tively involved in the revolution. The rest
were on the fringes. Meeting the Americans
who arrived on February 21, 1899 were
Julio Llorente, Pablo Mejia, Juan Climaco,
Segundo Singson, Fr. Pablo Singson and
Fr. Juan Gorordo. They were to surrender
Cebu within 14 hours or else Cebu would be
bombarded.by the American gunships.
To surrender would mean to recog-
nize American sovereignty and prevent a
destructive bombardment on Cebu. This
would not only save the city, more impor-
tantly, it would save lives. But to the revolu-
tionaries who had fought in the preceding
war against the Spaniards, pledging loyalty
to another foreigner was unthinkable. It
was at this juncture that the newly elected
elite leadership took different paths, with
one section surrendering their new-found
freedom and another section going back to
the hills to continue the resolution.
In a meetings convened by Flores on the
issue of legitimacy in government on the
day after the surrender, the body arrived at
113 Leon Kilat
a split decision. Flores and those on his side
contended that they still had authority as
a civil government; but Maxilom, Climaco
and a few others argued that the legitimacy
was passed on to the military government
since Flores had surrendered to the Ameri-
cans. What resulted was the creation of two
governments: the civil government headed
by Flores and Llorente and the military gov-
ernment headed by Climaco and Maxilom.
About three months later, on April
16, 1899, a popular junta was convened to
elect a new set of provincial officials. At
this point, Flores resigned from his posi-
tion as provincial president for unexplained
reasons, although one could surmise that he
felt out of place in a body of wealthy mer-
chants and landed aristocracy. After all, he
was just an unknown steward of Bishop Al-
cocer who had accompanied the latter from
Samar. He served in the Spanish local ser-
vice through various positions he acquired
with the patronage of Bishop Alcocer. He
became a procurador of the Cebu Audiencia
and regidor of the Cebu ayuntamiento in
the 1890s. Strictly speaking, he was a mere
empleado of the government, When the
revolution started in 1898, he was one of the
114 Leon Kilat
first to join Leon Kilat and headed a group
of Katipuneros in the initial skirmish at Tres
de Abril.
It is also said that the Americans pres-
sured Flores into retirement presumably
because of his revolutionary past. Flores re-
tired to his house on Basco de Garay (pres-
ently Juan Luna Street) where he suffered a
long illness. Apparently he wanted to rejoin
his comrades Climaco and Maxilom against
the Americans but his failing health pre-
vented him. It is to his credit that he did not
accept any wages from the Americans and
kept quiet about his comrades’ activities. He
died on May 17, 1899, from a sickness that
he contracted while fighting in the hills.
After Flores’ resignation, Julio Llorente
took over as president, Segundo Singson as
vice president, Florencio Noel as councilor
of police matters, Miguel Logarta as coun-
cilor of justice, Mariano Veloso as coun-
cilor of finance, and Gabino Sepulveda and
Juan Climaco as Cebuano representative
to Manila. The group belonged to Cebu’s
urban elite. For instance, Llorente was born
to one of the wealthiest families in Cebu
during the nineteenth century. His father,
Don Ceferino Llorente, a Spaniard, owned
115 Leon Kilat
several inter-island vessels and a sugar estate
in Medellin.
Llorente now had to fight for the legiti-
macy of his own government, and he tried
to do this by undermining the government
established by Maxilom and Climaco. One
of the things he did was to cut off their
salaries from public funds. Finally, on May
15, 1899, Llorente decreed the abolition of
Maxilom’s government and authority over
Cebu towns, in effect, declaring them as
outlaws.
Llorente’s term as provincial president,
however, was only short-lived because upon
the outbreak of hostilities between the
Americans and the resistance movement
on August of 1899, Lt. Col. Thomas Hamer
took over as military governor. But Llorente
would be back as governor on the decision
of the Taft Commission. With Llorente was
Leoncio Alburo as secretary, Lt. Fred S.
Young as treasurer, Maj. James E. Case as
supervisor, and Miguel Logarta as fiscal.
By then, Llorente was used by the
Americans to cause the surrender of the
insurgents led by Maxilom and Climaco.
Townspeople were also urged not to show
support to the guerillas. Then, with the
116 Leon Kilat
Americans, Llorente put up a peace com-
mission that would aid in talks with the
guerilla leaders. By December 1901, insur-
gent leaders had already surrendered.
Juan Climaco did not retire to his
hometown of Toledo. Instead, he became
active in politics and ran for governor in
the next elections which pitted him against
Llorente. Thanks to the efforts of the young
Sergio Osmeña, he won handily against the
latter and for two terms, he was governor of
the province. Ironically, it his propagandist
and protégé Osmeña who would take over
after his retirement from politics. A year
after his retirement, Climaco died of an ill-
ness.
His predecessor Julio Llorente on the
other hand, was appointed as governor of
Samar in 1902, then a judge of the First
Instance the 12th district which included
Leyte and Samar in 1903. Within a few
months, he was transferred to the 4th dis-
trict which included Pampanga, Tarlac and
Nueva Ecija, holding this position for the
next 10 years. Feeling rejected by Cebuanos,
he sold all his properties in Cebu and trans-
ferred to Manila where he died ‘a poor and
largely forgotten man’ in the 1950s.
117 Leon Kilat
Of the four post-revolution leaders, it
was Arcadio Maxilom who fared badly in
politics. Five months after his surrender,
Maxilom was arrested in Tuburan by Lt.
McCarthy on charges of hiding a cache of
unsurrendered arms in the nearby hills. His
brother Enemecio was likewise arrested.
While on a steamship bound for Cebu,
Enemecio reportedly grabbed a bayonet and
attacked his guard. He was shot to death.
Another brother, Samuel, was also ar-
rested in March, 1902. While a prisoner,
Samuel was reportedly shot to death for
having overstepped a demarcation line
traced on the floor of his prison.
After serving his sentence, Maxilom
returned to Tuburan where he got involved
in local politics but was never successful.
On August 10, 1924, after a long bout with
paralysis, Maxilom passed away. His funeral
on Setpember 12, 1924 was attended by
prominent personalities such as President
Emilio Aguinaldo, Mayor Jose Herrero and
Venecio de Jesus.
118 Leon Kilat
References

Felix Sales as found in Fe Susan Go, “Ang

Sugbu sa Karaang Panahon: An Anno-
tated Translation of the 1935 History
of Cebu, “ a master’s thesis submitted
to the University of San Carlos Gradu-
ate School (Cebu City, 1976)

Francisco Ma. Labrador. “Ang 3 sa Abril sa

1898; Iyang mga Gagmay-Dagkung
Butang,” sa Bag-ong Kusog, XII, 6
April, 1928

Florentino D. Tecson , “Ang Kangilgig sa

Kagubut sa Sugbu,” Bag-ong Kusog,
XII, 6 April 1928

Jagobiaw, “Mangilngig nga Kaagi sa Taga

Consolacion,” Ang Freeman, 14 Janu-
ary 1922

Salin sa Kagubot, “Handumanan,” Bag-

ong Kusog, 1 April 1932

Narciso Canton, “Pakigsuti sa usa ka Ban-

tugang Bayani sa Kagubut sa Sugbu,”
Bag-ong Kusog, XII, 13 January 1928

Narciso Canton, “Maahinuklugong Kaagi

sa Kinabuhi ni Aliño,” Bag-ong Kusog,
10 August 1934
119 Leon Kilat

Vicente Alcoseba, “ Ang Kamatayon ni

Leon Kilat,” typescript (Cebuano Stud-
ies Center, Cebu City, 1973)

Enriquez de la Calzada, Manuel, Ang

Kagubot sa Sugbo 1898. (Sugbo: Ro-
tary Press, 1951).

Datu Dakila, “Ang Kagubut…,” Bag-ong

Kusog , 24 October 1930

Anon, “Ang Banay Pacaña sa Labangon sa

Pnahon sa Kagubut sa Sugbu,” Bag-
ong Kusog, 3 May 1929

Usa ka Manggugubut, “Mga Kinalimtang

Maggugubut: Jacinto Pacañ,” Ang
Suga, 14 December 1910

Felipe Pacaña, “Kinsay Matuod nga Man-

ggugubut,” Bag-ong Kusog, 7 Novem-
ber 1930

Ildefonso Miñoza, “Mga Kaagi sa Kinabuhi

ni Alejo Miñoza,” typescript (Cebu City,
ca 1926)

Salin sa Kagubut, “Handumanan,” Bag-

ong Kusog, 8 April 1932

Emeterio Maxilom, “Ang Kagubut sa

Lungsud sa Tuburan sa Tuig 1898,”
Ang Freeman, 21 January 1922
120 Leon Kilat

Mojares, Resil B., “The Formation of a

City Trade and Politics in Nineteenth-
Century Cebu,” Philippine Quarterly of
Culture and Society, Vol. 19, No. 4,
December 1991

Cullinane, Michael , Ilustrado Politics:

Filipino Elite Responses to American
Rule, 1898-1908 (Quezon City: Ate-
neo de Manila University Press, 2003)

 About the
author

Emil Justimbaste
wrote this piece
while still an As-
sistant News Editor
and columnist of
The Freeman, the
oldest daily in Cebu City, Philippines.
Its publication coincided with the cen-
tennial celebration of the Philippine In-
dependence in 1998. It was serialized
in the paper for 12 consecutive days,
culminating on June 12, that year.
A few photos here are abundantly
found in several public sites in the
internet. As for the paintings of Leon
Kilat, Arcadio Maxilom, the women flag
makers and the Tres de Abril assault,
these were taken from an art exhibit
of Manuel Pañares at the SM in 1998.
For this piece, The Freeman among
all the community newspapers in the
country was awarded the “Best in
Historical and Cultural Reporting” by
the Philippine Press Institute and the
Konrad Adenauer Stiftung in 1999.