Independence Day 2025: Remembering Leon Kilat
The Battle of Tres de Abril monument. | The Battle of Tres de Abril monument. | Screenshot from video by Suzaine Gallardo, CNU Intern
CEBU CITY, Philippines — Every Independence Day, most people recall the national heroes who have laid down the path towards our country’s independence.
Most people will recall Dr. Jose Rizal, world-famous for his polymath intellect and for inspiring our fellow countrymen with his novels Noli Me Tángere and El filibusterismo. His death, many say, was the spark that ignited our revolution for independence.
Others would remember Andres Bonifacio, known as “The Father of the Philippine Revolution.” Some scholars would even argue that he should be considered the rightful first president of the country, but that is another topic for another day.
Many others might also come into one’s mind: Heneral Luna and Goyo, thanks to their popular movies; Apolinario Mabini and Emilio Aguinaldo, perhaps because they’re among the names and faces featured in our country’s coinage; and many others.
READ: Tres de Abril battle in Cebu City: A symbol of courage and resilience
However, not many might have recalled Leon Kilat.
To others, he’s just one of the many names Cebu has used to name one of its streets.
The Leon Kilat Street spans from a prominent university and ends in a mall that most Cebuanos have gone to. The street is also known for tartanilla rides, a horse-drawn two-wheeled carriage.
Or maybe, if you’ve been in Barangay Labangon in Cebu City, you might have seen that statue along Tres de Abril Street, named after a battle that is closely tied to Leon Kilat — the Battle of Tres de Abril.
Who is Leon Kilat?
Leon Kilat: Cebu’s Adopted Hero
Born on July 27, 1873, Leon Kilat began life as Pantaleon Villegas — a name that would, in time, become legendary with his heroics during the revolution against the Spaniards in Cebu.
However, despite being a revolutionary against the Spanish rule in Cebu, it is a bit ironic that Leon Kilat himself had Spanish blood running in his veins. His grandfather, Don Pedro Villegas, was a Spanish native after all.
Leon Kilat, though, is not a Cebuano.
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In fact, he was born in Bacong, Negros Oriental to Don Policarpio Villegas amd Doña Ursula Soldi. His remains can also be found in his hometown after it was exhumed and then transferred from Carcar in 1926.As to how Pantaleon Villegas got his legendary nickname, he got the ‘Leon’ after the German owner of Botica Antigua — a place where he used to work — called him as such, as he was using the name “Eulogio” at the time and the pharmacy had two workers bearing that same name.
Meanwhile, the ‘Kilat’ of Leon Kilat was born from his legendary and swift exploits during battles, a moniker given to him as he was apparently as fast as lightning on the battlefield.
Pantaleon becomes revolutionary leader Leon Kilat
Before his feats as a revolutionary leader in Cebu, he was what you’d call an ‘empleado’.
In Bisaya, ‘emplayado’ translates to an employee, which Leon Kilat was. He worked in a pharmacy, then a bakery, and even in a circus.
During Leon Kilat’s time, ‘empleado’ referred to employed individuals in private business firms in the lowest to mid-level positions — positions usually taken by the natives, as the Spanish peninsulares (Spaniards born in Spain) occupied the top brass.
Empleados like Leon Kilat were the base of the revolution, as their offices would often serve as secret meeting spots.
As for when Leon Kilat became a revolutionary, it was during his time in the circus when he was recruited to become a Katipunero.
Eventually, he returned to Cebu.
The author of Leon Kilat: The story of Cebu’s 1898 revolution, Emil B. Justimbaste, said it was also possible for Leon Kilat to have also visited revolution hotspots in Luzon, such as Cavite, Malabon, Calamba, Pasig, and Malolos.
Leon Kilat led the Cebuano faction of the Katipunan towards the famed battle against the Spaniards in Cebu on April 3, 1898, aptly named the Tres de Abril battle.
Although considered a failure by some, Leon Kilat managed to force the Spaniards to Fort San Pedro. Their plan to starve the Spaniards inside the fort came to a halt when Spanish reinforcements in Manila arrived.
With the possibility of losing a battle of attrition against the rejuvenated Spanish forces, Leon Kilat and his men retreated to Carcar (then named Kabkab).
How Leon Kilat died
In Carcar, Leon Kilat met his untimely death at the hands of fellow Filipinos — a rather gruesome, recurring pattern with some Filipino revolutionary heroes, just like what befell Andres Bonifacio and Heneral Antonio Luna.
On the night of April 8, 1898, just a few days after their short-lived victory against the Spaniards in the Tres de Abril battle in Fort San Pedro, Leon Kilat was murdered.
According to Jobers Bersales in his three-part series titled “Exhuming Leon Kilat”, Capitan Municipal Florencio “Inciong” Noel insisted that Leon Kilat die before the sun rose on Good Friday in 1898.
This was despite some hesitance from other people from Carcar, including Capitan Isyong Barcenilla, whose house Leon Kilat spent the night at, which also became the eventual scene of the crime.
Furthermore, a certain Nario Alcuitas was the “chief or head of the murderers” of the legendary Leon Kilat.
Today, a monument in Carcar stands where Leon Kilat’s butchered body was displayed publicly.
Leon Kilat is just one of many
Leon Kilat is just one of the many names Cebuanos should remember every Independence Day.
One can argue that local heroes like Leon Kilat aren’t really forgotten as their names have become street names most of us pass through. But they’re more than just street names, as literal blood have been spilled in the name of our country’s independence.
Remembering Leon Kilat is more than just knowing where the streets named after him lead or taking a quick glance at a statue on the way to somewhere else.
Leon Kilat’s story is a reminder that the fight for freedom did not only happen in the halls of Manila or in the pages of textbooks that focus on the capital.
This Independence Day, as we honor the heroes of our history, let us also not forget Leon Kilat — or men and women like him whose blood was spilled for our freedom, whose names may be lesser known but no less important.
SOURCES:
Bersales, J. (2012, June 21). Exhuming Leon Kilat (Part 1).
Bersales, J. (2012, June 28). Exhuming Leon Kilat (Part 2).
https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/219677/exhuming-leon-kilat-2
Bersales, J. (2012, July 5). Exhuming Leon Kilat (Part 3).
https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/223859/exhuming-leon-kilat-3
Cullinane, M. (2003). Ilustrado’ politics: The response of the Filipino educated elite to American colonial rule, 1898-1907. Quezon City: Ateneo de Manila University Press.
Justimbaste, E. B. (2011). Leon Kilat: The story of Cebu’s 1898 revolution.
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