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GABRIELA's History

From GABRIELA, [2004]

Filipino women have a long struggle against oppression, foreign control and male domination. They fought for better jobs and the rights to vote and go to school. One of them led a regional revolt against Spanish colonizers. She was Gabriela Silang.

Primed by the anti-dictatorship campaign and the drive for economic and political change in the Marcos years, women's organizations established the national women's coalition, GABRIELA the General Assembly Binding Women for Reforms, Integrity, Equality, Leadership, and Action.

Starting from 42 when we organized in April 1984, we are today a center of over a hundred women organizations, institutes, desks, and programs. Our ranks include women workers, peasants, urban poor, housewives, professionals, religious and students across the country.

We believe that the freedom women seek will be brought about by the resolution of the problems of foreign domination, landlessness and political repression and in the changing of patriarchal value systems and structures in Philippine society.

We focus on issues that affect women: the effects of militarization and women's landlessness; the International Monetary Fund-World Bank and the debt crisis; denial of women's reproductive rights and gross neglect of health care for women; violence on children, wife abuse and family life; development aid; prostitution and trafficking of women.

Filipino women have a long history of struggle against foreign domination and women oppression. They fought for better jobs and the right to vote and go to school. One of them led a regional revolt against the Spanish colonizers. She was Gabriela Silang.

Primed by the anti-dictatorship struggles and the drive for significant economic and political change in the Marcos years, women from all walks of life banded together and established a national women's coalition. We called ourselves GABRIELA in honor of Gabriela Silang. It was the call of the time and Filipino women, like their predecessors in history, valiantly responded to the challenge of struggling for liberation.

From being a coalition of only 42 organizations in 1984, we are, today, a grassroots-based national alliance of 250 organizations, institutions, desks, and programs.

We believe that the freedom women seek will be brought about by the resolution of the problems of foreign domination, landlessness and political repression, and in the changing of patriarchal value systems and structures in Philippine society.

We work against issues that adversely affect women: landlessness, militarization, the foreign debt crisis and the IMF-WB impositions, GATT-WTO, anti-people development projects, the denial of women's health rights, violence against women and children, prostitution, trafficking in women and migration, and many more.

Likewise, we work to promote a positive social attitude toward women through cultural means and consciousness-raising.

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By 1762, the Philippines was already 200 years under Spanish Rule. But something odd happened in September of that year. The British invaded Intramuros, the walled City of Manila and the center of Spanish colonial power. However, the British could not extend their rule over the entire Philippines as they lacked the manpower and ammunition to do so.So the Spanish flag still waved on the entire Philippine Islands, except in Intramuros.

The following year, a young man named Diego Silang led a revolt against the Spaniards in Ilocos province, on the northern part of the archipelago. His wife was a beautiful lady by the name of Maria Josefa Gabriela Silang (march 19,1731-Sept.29,1763), or more popularly known in Philippine history simply as Gabriela Silang. Diego ‘s revolt was successful at first but was thwarted later on by

fellow Ilocanos who sided with the Spaniards named Pedro Becbec and Miguel Vicos, the latter orchestrating his assassination together with the hated and dreaded Spanish priests. Diego eliminated heavy taxes and forced labor which the Spanish authorities enforced . But later these were reinstated when Diego was repulsed at one point. Diego even entertained thoughts of seeking help from the British because they promised him reforms favorable to the Filipino people. But he was assassinated ,thus ending abruptly his 33 years of existence. 

After his death, his courageous wife Gabriela continued the struggle for freedom. She, together with Diego’s uncle, Nicolas Carino amassed a total of 2,000 men, loyal to her husband. She led several attacks on Spanish forces , some won but others lost and with heavy casualties on both sides. After several clashes, it was over.Gabriela’s forces were overwhelmed and she was captured and taken prisoner by Spanish forces led by her husband’s assassin, Miguel Vicos. Some 90 of her lieutenants and men were hanged in Vigan and in other towns where they were caught.The rest were imprisoned or flogged.

The Spanish authorities prepared a special kind of death for Gabriela’s men. Because they were the most defiant among the rebels, one by one, each soldier was hanged,

lined along the coastal towns for everyone to see. Their bodies were left hanging to sway along the breeze from the sea. This was a painful reminder for all those who wish to defy the ruling power!

For Gabriela, the pain was even greater because she was the last one to die. She witnessed how each of her men would go. The Spaniards said she fought like a man and so she deserved a man’s sentence!

Poor Gabriela was brought to the town plaza one morning and hanged before a curious crowd of Spaniards and Filipinos, all cheering for Mother Spain, all in a festive mood, as if a hardened criminal was about to die!But the brave Gabriela, then only 32 years old, went calmly and courageously to her death. She took the 13 steps that led to the scaffold silently without any sign of fear or frustration.Thus , this woman warrior passed away, her final resting place still remaining a mystery to this day.

Looking back at her life, Gabriela was a good wife, religious and caring. She was also very generous. A story told about her was that one night she was going to a sick friend’s house to bring “dinengdeng” a kind of Ilokano dish. Along the way, she met an old woman who was shivering in the cold. She gave not only the dish to this old lady but

also her shawl.Gabriela is referred to as the “Joan of Arc “ of the Philippines. But, sadly she is not that well-known or highly venerated in the Philippines like Rizal or Bonifacio. Except for a group advocating women’s rights bearing her name, Gabriela is known merely as Diego’s wife and a woman general who took over when he died.

She should be an inspiration to all Filipino women. She should be emulated by young girls and her true story of courage told from all over the country. She should be studied in depth in schools and given as much attention as her husband and other male Filipino heroes.

In my hours of darkness she shines like a light of inspiration in my dull and uninspiring life.Gabriela Silang is a rare gem in Philippine history. Gabriela Silang makes me proud that I am a Filipino woman!

(Source: Martinez, Manuel F. Assassinations and Conspiracies (From Rajah Humabon to Imelda Marcos). Pasig City, Philippines: Anvil Publishing Inc. 2002.)

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It is unfortunate that we do not have much knowledge of our national heroes, thanks to our misused/stolen public funds; consequently we Filipinos do not have the time, money and effort to pursue a a deep research or study of our history and thus, of our heroes. 

Heroes are like so-called saints in a way: Heroes are people who deserve to be emulated. In these times, we Filipinos have a dearth of heroes, live ones -not necessarily dead ones, to help lead and struggle with us towards national liberation: economic and political independence from foreign domination and fellow Filipinos who are traitors to our national sovereignty and to the well-being of the impoverished, native majority. 

One of our national heroes is Gabriela Silang. Below is a brief narrative of her life

and her heroic acts. 

- Bert

*****************

GABRIELA SILANG 

Joan of Arc of Ilocandia 

If France had a St. Joan of Arc (1412-

1431), who liberated her country from the

English invaders, and if Vietnam had the

fighting Trang sisters, who save their native

land from the Chinese invaders, the Philippine

had, at least two freedom fighter – Maria Josefa

Gabriela Silang (Mrs. Diego Silang) of

Ilokandia andTeresa Magbanua of Iloilo.

As the wife of the famous Diego Silang,

Ilocandia’s liberator, Maria Josefa Gabriela was

popularly known as Mrs. Diego Silang. By her

own right, she was equally great as her husband.

After her husband’s assassination, she

continued his libertarian movement, fighting

valiantly on the bloody battlefields and died with

heroic courage at the hands of the Spanish

enemy. 

Mrs. Silang was born in the barrio of Canlogan,

Santa, Ilocos Sur, on March 19, 1731. Her

father was an Ilokano peasant from Santa and

her mother, an Itneg household maid from

Pidigan, Abra. She was brought up as a

Christian by her father, for she had been

separated from her pagan mother since birth. 

She grew up to a comely lass, noted for her

pious and charitable character. At the age of

20, she was forced by her father to marry a rich

old man, who died shortly after the wedding,

leaving his wealth to his young widow. Thus, she

became a rich and pretty widow, very much

attractive to all eligible swains. 

Diego Silang who was then a young and dashing

mail-carrier between Vigan and Manila, fell in

love with the beautiful widow. After a few years

of romance, they were married and established

their residence in Vigan. For five years, they

lived happily, although unblessed by children.

Diego Silang continued his regular trips to

Manila, in the course of which he made many

friends not only in the capital city but also in the

towns and provinces where he made brief

stopovers. 

In September, 1762 the raging Seven Years’

War in Europe reached the Philippine shores. A

British expeditionary force, prepared in India by

the English East India Company upon orders of

the British Crown and commanded byGeneral

William Draper and Admiral Samuel

Cornish entered Manila Bay on September 22,

began the siege of Manila on the 24th, and

captured it on October 5. 

The capture of Manila by the British invaders

shattered Spain’s military prestige and inspired

the oppressed Filipinos in certain regions to rise

in arms against Spanish rule. In Ilocandia, Diego

Silang, with the help of his brave wife, emerged

a liberator. On December 14, 1762, Silang

proclaimed the independence of his people and

made Vigan the capital of Free Ilocos. 

He proved to be an able general, for he routed

the Spanish forces in Cabugao. Failing to crush

his independent government by force arms, the

Spanish authorities resorted to a sinister

strategy-assassination. The hired

assassin,Miguel Vicos, a perfidious mestizo

friend of Silang, succeeded in killing him on May

28, 1763. 

Mrs. Silang widowed for a second time, assumed

the leadership of the libertarian cause and

carried on the war against Spain. She was

assisted by Nicolas Cariño, Diego Silang’s

uncle, and by other faithful lieutenants of her late

husband. 

Driven out of Vigan by the superior forces of

Spain, she retreated, with the remnants of her

lamented husband army, to Pidigan, the

hometown of her Itneg mother. This town

became the capital of the free Ilocos

government-in-exile. She recruited more

freedom fighters, including Itneg archers, and

prepared for recapture of Vigan. 

Meanwhile, she launched guerrilla attacks on the

Spanish garrisons on the coastal towns. Her

unique policy of harassment was so successful

that the namegenerala, which was given to her

by the masses, struck, terror to the Spanish

troops and to Ilocanos who collaborated with

Spain. 

About the last week of August, 1763, Mrs. Silang

was able to muster a fighting force of 2,000 men

armed with assorted weapons – Spanish

muskets captured from the enemy bamboo

spears hardened in the fire (bikal) bows and

arrows (pana), blowguns (sumpit), bleded

weapons (bolos, daggers, and swords), and

head axes (wasay). 

While she was preparing the offensive for the

recapture of Vigan, the Spanish authorities were

massing a huge army of 6,000 strong for the

defense of the city. By the first week of

September, Mrs. Silang astride a prancing horse

led the march towards Vigan. Upon her

command, her bolo brigade, supported by Itneg

archers, assaulted the city defenders, offered by

trained Spanish officers, and supported by

artillery, rolled back the attack, inflicting heavy

losses on the generala’s army. 

Mrs. Silang, undaunted by the first repulse,

launched a second attack. She personally led

this assault to encourage her warriors to fight

fiercely. But, outnumbered and outarmed, her

men could not crack the enemy line.

Demoralized by the futility of crushing the

enemy, they panicked and fled the battlefield.

The valiant Cariño, bravest captain of the

generala, perished in action. 

The fearless generala and some brave survivors

retreated again to the wilds of Abra. A picked

brigade of Spanish troopers and loyal Cagayan

warriors under Don Manuel de Arza pursued

the fleeting patriots, capturing them later in the

hinterlands. 

Terrible Spanish justice was meted out to Mrs.

Silang and 80 of her surviving men. Her brave

men were hung one by one along the coastal

towns as a stern warning to the Ilocano’s that

any resistance to Spain would mean death on

the gallows. 

Mrs. Silang, the leader and last survivor of the

lost rebellion, was brought to Vigan, where she

was publicly hanged on September 20, 1763.

She died with calmed courage, as befitted a true

heroine. Thus ended the heroic life of the fighting

widow, the “Joan of Arc of Ilocandia,” and the

short-lived independence of the Ilocano people.

She deserves the garland of greatness, for she

fought and died for her people’s freedom. She

was truly the “first woman general” and the “first

female martyr” in the Philippine history.

Maria Josefa Gabriela Silang

Gabrela Silang or Maria Josefa Gabriela Cariño Silang in real life was the woman who bravely fought alongside other Filipinos in the Spanish revolution. Born on March 19, 1731 in Caniogan, Ilocos Sur young Gabriela was adopted by Don Tomas Millan, a very wealthy and known businessman. He became her legal guardian and later her husband. In their 3

years of marriage, Gabriela failed to have a child with him and after sometime her husband died.

In the year 1757, Gabriela re-married again to his co-rebel Diego Silang who was also the groups’ leader. The groups’ goal was to free Ilocos from the cruel Spaniards. Whenever the troops battle, Gabriela always went with them to give support and help with the battle. Unfortunately, one of her husband’s close friends betrayed them, which resulted to Diego’s death and downfall.

After her husband injustice death, Gabriela took over what her husband left. She led the Filipino rebels in their fight for justice and freedom. In September 10, 1763, Gabriela’s troops attacked the Spanish in Vigan but the Spaniards were ready for them. Gabriela alongside her uncle and 7 other members escape the attack and fled. A few days later, they were caught and was hanged in Vigan.

María Josefa Gabriela Cariño Silang (March 19, 1731-September 29, 1763) was the first Filipino woman to lead a revolt during the Spanish colonization of the Philippines. An active member of the insurgent force of Diego Silang, her husband, she led the group for four months after his death before she was captured and executed.

Born in Barangay Caniogan, Santa, Ilocos Sur, Silang was a mestiza, of Spanish and Ilocano descent. She was adopted by a wealthy businessman who later married her at the age of 20, but left after three years. In 1757, she married again, this time to 27-year-old indigenous Ilocano rebel leader, Diego Silang. She became one of his closest advisors, a major figure in her husband's collaboration with the British and the brief expulsion of Spanish officials from Vigan, Ilocos Sur during the British occupation of the Philippines.

On May 28, 1763, her husband was assassinated by order of royal and church authorities in Manila. After her husband's death, she fled on horseback to the mountains of Abra to establish her headquarters, reassemble her troops, and rally the Tingguian community to fight. They descended on Vigan on September 10, 1763. But the Spanish garrison was ready, amassing Spanish, Tagalog, and Kapampangan soldiers and Ilocano collaborators to ambush her and rout her forces. Many were killed. She escaped, alongside her uncle Nicolas and seven other men, but later caught on September 29, 1763. They were summarily hanged in Vigan's plaza, with Gabriela being the last to die.

Her ferocity and death became a symbol for Filipino women, their pre-colonial importance in Filipino society and their struggle for liberation during colonization.

Diego Silang and Maria Josefa Gabriela Silang The first major revolution waged against the Spaniards was waged by the Silangs during the time of the British forces’ military incursion in the Philippines which began in September 1762. 

It was the period of the Seven Year’s War between the British and the French, who were aided by Spain. In October 1762, the

British expeditionary forces from India occupied Manila in retaliation to Spain’s alliance with France, and sought to take control of the other provinces of the Philippines. 

Diego Silang saw this as the opportune time to lead an Ilocano revolt against the weakened Spanish forces. Ilocanos have suffered long the unreasonable taxes, free labor for the construction of religious and administrative structures and the suppressive monopolies that the Spaniards imposed upon the populace. That is why they were quick to respond to the call for revolution. 

Diego Silang’s aim was the creation of an Ilocano nation. This vision began when he personally witnessed the many abuses of the Spanish government and the Roman Catholic Church not only in Ilocos but wherever he traveled as courier for Vigan’s parish priest, delivering letters and documents to Manila and back. 

Having failed in negotiations with the Spanish authorities to establish a government in Ilocos withIlocano functionaries, Diego Silang worked with the British forces to defeat the Spanish in the North.He already had control of Vigan in December of 1762. He was promised military assistance by the British to strengthen his hold and complete his plan, which unfortunately never came. 

Diego Silang was later killed by Miguel Vicos, a friend who was a mestizo (mix blood of Spanish and Ilocano). Vicos carried out his assassination of Diego during his visit to the latter’s house, accompanied by another of Diego’s friend Pedro Becbec. The traitorous act was of course instigated by the Spanish church and government authorities. 

Diego’s cause did not die with him, however. His wife, Maria Josefa Gabriela Silang, continued his

leadership. Her valiant efforts were overpowered by massive forces set upon her, forcing her retreat to Abra. She tried to lead her army back to Vigan but was again repelled. She was captured and put to death publicly by hanging in September 1763. Almost a hundred of her followers were also publicly hanged to serve as a warning to the Ilocanos. 

She is now remembered in Philippine history as the country’s Joan of Arc and first female leader for Filipino liberation. Her furious ride towards Vigan is immortalized in many statues all over the country erected in memory of her courage and sacrifice. She rejoined her husband only four months after his death. 

  

Joan of Arc and Gabriela Silang, women freedom fighters

Dateline : April 18,1909  – Joan of Arc was beatified in Rome. . The 19-year-old Joan of Arc was burned at the stake   in Rouen, France on May 30, 1431  by an English-dominated tribunal. She was canonized in  1920. May 30   is her feast day.

Joan of Arc, nicknamed "The Maid of Orléans" (French: Jeanne d'Arc)  is a national heroine of France and a Roman Catholic saint. A peasant girl born in what is now eastern France, who claimed divine guidance, she led the French army to several important victories during the Hundred Years' War, which paved the way for the coronation of Charles VII. She was captured by the Burgundians, transferred to the English in exchange for money, put on trial by the pro-English Bishop of Beauvais Pierre Cauchon for charges of "insubordination and heterodoxy,"and burned at the stake as a heretic when she was only 19 years old. Twenty-five years after the execution, an Inquisitorial court authorized by Pope Callixtus III examined the trial, pronounced her innocent and declared her a martyr. Joan of Arc was beatified in 1909 and canonized in 1920.

In the Philippines, more than being the wife of revolutionary Diego Silang, Gabriela Silang is regarded as the country’s “Joan of Arc” and the first Filipina general who fought Spanish invaders in the 18th century. As the wife of the famous Diego Silang, Ilocandia’s liberator, Maria Josefa Gabriela was popularly known as Mrs. Diego Silang. By her own right, she was equally great as her husband. After her husband’s assassination, she continued his libertarian movement, fighting valiantly on the bloody battlefields and died with heroic courage at the hands of the Spanish enemy. 

On September 10, 1873, the fierce battle between Gabriela's troops and the Spanish occured in Vigan. They faced a larger army of the enemy with the help of Tagalogs, Kapampangans and some Ilocano conspirators. Many was killed on her side. She escaped along with her Uncle Nicolas and seven remaining members. They were later caught in Santa on September 29, 1763. They were summarily hanged in the plaza of Vigan with Gabriela being the last to die.

While most would consider Diego and Gabriela Silang’s effort as a

futile attempt to rid of Spanish rule, it should be noted that they already imagined freeing the Philippines from colonial rule some 130 years before the Gomburza, Jose Rizal or Andres Bonifacio. This is the reason that the husband and wife were sometimes referred to as the precursors of Filipino nationalism as they fought for the same ideals penned by Rizal and which Bonifacio took into armed revolution,

More than anything else, Gabriela and Joan's contribution to history shows “that women are indispensable partners of in the great task of nation building,”

Kusang-loob na sumapi si Gabriela sa kilusan ng kanyang asawa. Masidhing layunin nila ang palayain ang buong bayan ng Ilokos mula sa kamay ng mga mapagsamantalang Kastila. Madalas na kasama si Gabriela sa mga labanan upang sumuporta at ipaglaban ang sariling bayan.

Sa kasamaang palad, ang kaibigan na tinuring ni Diego na isang mestizo na Kastila na nagngangalang Miguel Vicos ang siya ring nagtraydor at pumatay sa kanya. Labis na dinamdam ni Gabriela ang masalimuot na pagkamatay ng kanyang kabiyak. Dahil dito, lalo niyang pinag-alab ang pakikipaglaban sa mga kastila. Pinangunahan niya ang grupong iniwan ng kanyang asawa. Ang pagmamahal sa tinubuan at hapdi ng karanasan ang nagbunsod sa kanya upang lupigin ang lahat ng mga Kastilang nais sumakop sa Ilocos.

Siya ang kauna-unahang babaing namuno ng rebolusyon sa Pilipinas. Kasama ng mga tauhan ng kanyang asawa, hinikayat nila ang ibang mga gerilya upang magkaisa at palawigin pa ang pakikipaglaban. Sa pangunguna niya'y buong tapang nilang sinalakay ang mga mapagsamantalang mga

dayuhan sa Ilocos. At dahil dito'y lalong tumindi ang pagnanais ng mga Kastila na patayin na siya. Nabalitaan naman ito kaagad ni Gabriela kaya't pansamantala siyang nagtungo sampu ng kanyang mga tauhan sa Piddig, Abra, kung saan nagtago at nagtayo sila ng mga "headquarter."

Ika-10 ng Setyembre 1763, muli silang nagbalik sa Vigan upang muling makipaglaban, ngunit sa pagkakataong ito'y, naging handa, mas lakas at higit na marami ang mga sundalong Kastila na sinalakay nila. Nalupig ang marami niyang kasamahan. Ang balong si Gabriela'y naiwanan lamang ng walong tauhan.

Ilang araw matapos ang engkuwentro, noong ika-29 ng Setyembre 1763 isang karimarimarim na pangyayari ang naganap. Nadakip ang ating bayani kasama ng walong tapat niyang tauhan na agad din namang pinugutan sa mismong Plaza ng Vigan, Ilokos Sur.

Namatay si Gabriela Silang, subalit naipaglaban niya hanggang sa huli ang ninanasang kalayaan sa kamay ng mga mananakop.