From Gabriela Silang to Liliosa Hilao: 9 women who shaped Philippine history

The wife of resistance leader Andres Bonifacio was not only his biggest supporter; she was integral to the fight for Philippine independence and was referred to as “Lakambini” even after the revolution. Upon the creation of the Katipunan, she was appointed as vice-president and custodian of the society’s documents, which she safeguarded during the Guardia Civil’s raids. Even after the dissolution of the Katipunan, she called for Philippine independence from the Spaniards.

During the fight for Philippine independence, Aquino (also known as Tandang Sora) ran a store that became a sanctuary for sick and wounded revolutionaries. She also hosted secret meetings for the Katipunero revolutionaries at her home. She received full state honours for her efforts to push the revolution forward, and now lies at the Tandang Sora National Shrine. She was also the first Filipina to be shown on a Philippine banknote, the 100-peso bill used from 1951 to 1966. 

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This Filipino schoolteacher from Leyte quickly pivoted to a guerrilla warfare leader once the Japanese invaded the Philippines. She started training her neighbours and students to fight, equipping them with knives, rifles and homemade explosives. She became an expert in designing jungle traps and ambushing soldiers. 

When Josefina Guerrero was diagnosed with leprosy, she became a social outcast, avoided even by the Japanese soldiers. Instead of resigning herself to a life on the fringes, she became essential to the war effort. She would slip past enemy lines, smuggling intelligence plans, enemy locations and other information through military checkpoints. One of her most dangerous missions was transporting maps to locate Japanese fortifications in Manila to the American military. This shaped the Allied forces’ approach to bombing campaigns and earned her the Medal of Freedom with a Silver Palm for her efforts.

While other men and women were on the battlefield, Maria Orosa y Ilagan took a more unconventional approach. With her background as a scientist specialising in food technology, she tested different approaches to keeping Filipino families alive. Although she was best known for creating banana ketchup, other notable creations include soyalac and darak. She smuggled these nutritious food items into Japanese war camps, ensuring the survival of Filipino and American soldiers.

A guerrilla warfare leader during the Second World War, “Kumander Liwayway” often boosted her soldiers’ morale by wearing lipstick before going into battle against the Japanese soldiers. Far from another occupied territory, her hometown of Pampanga was a key location for Japanese supply routes. After her father’s execution, Paraiso joined the Hukbong Bayan Laban sa Hapon or Hukbalahap, which translates to “The People’s Army Against the Japanese,” and eventually took charge of over one hundred soldiers. 

A brilliant student activist and poet, Barros founded the Malayang Kilusan ng Bagong Kababaihan (MAKIBAKA), a militant women’s organisation that challenged both the Marcos regime and traditional patriarchal norms. She believed that “the Filipino woman’s place is in the struggle.” When Martial Law was declared, she went underground, continuing her activism as a guerrilla fighter until she was tragically killed in a military ambush at a young age.

Liliosa Hilao was a student activist and writer under martial law. Despite her physical ailments, she wrote critical essays for the student newspaper, Hasik, of the Pamantasan ng Lungsod ng Maynila. Some of her most notable works include “The Vietnamization of the Philippines” and “Democracy is Dead in the Philippines under Martial Law”. Her brutal death in military custody, marked by signs of torture, became a symbol of the regime’s brutality and spurred further resistance.

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