The Manila Grand Opera House

The site of the Manila Grand Opera House in 1899 on Calle Dulumbayan (later called Calle Salcedo, now Rizal Avenue) was originally a racetrack where bicycles zoomed around in laps to the entertainment of audience watching a European sport in their country and was called the National Cycle Track. It was owned by N.T. Hashim the track which he bought was part of the San Lazaro Estate which Hashim converted the place into a theater. It was known as the Teatro Nacional and also served as the arena of the Russian Circus Troupe that regularly visited Manila. 

In 1905, Governor-General Henry Ide sent Filipino labor leader Dominador Gomez, to speak to the President of Tagalog Republic - General Macario Sakay with an offer of amnesty for him and his men. Part of the offer was the establishment of a Philippine Assembly as a starting point toward eventual Philippine Independence. The offer appealed to General Sakay who dreamed of Philippine independence, freely participating in determining their course as a nation. As a result, General Sakay and his men went out from their Morong Mountain hideout in July of 1906 without realizing it was a trap. He was welcomed in Manila, but while attending a party tendered by the Constabulary chief Col. Henry H. Bandholtz, General Sakay and his chief subordinates were disarmed and arrested. Accused of being a bandit under the Brigandage Act of 1902, he was sentenced to death and hanged on September 13, 1907, accused of the crime against Brigandage Act held that persons refusing to give allegiance to the American government in the Philippines were liable for arrest and execution. 

Just a month after the execution of General Sakay on the grounds of Bilibid Prison, in October 16 a block away the Philippine First Assembly was inaugurated at the Manila Grand Opera House. The event was attended both by US Secretary of War William Howard Taft and the new Governor-General James Francis Smith at 9:00 that morning, the 80 delegates-elect of the first Philippine Assembly entered the Grand Opera House, followed by representatives of the American colonial government, members of the Philippine Commission and other military officers Major-General Leonard Wood of the US Army Philippine Division, Brigadier General Clarence Edwards of the Bureau of Insular Affairs. Members of the religious groups, including Apostolic Delegate Monsignor Ambrosio Agius and Bishop Jorge Barlin, as well as local officials like Domindor Gomez and foreign guests.

- ka tony

US Army and its armed Philippine Constabulary’s Counterinsurgency was an Integrated Military and Civilian Effort Against General Sakay

General Macario Sakay and his men operated in Morong, Laguna, Cavite, and Tayabas, made Mt. Cristobal his headquarters but later moved to the mountains of Morong. His Republika ng Katagalugan was supported by the masses of Morong, Laguna, Batangas, and Cavite. The US armed Philippine Constabulary constantly complained to the municipal authorities for supporting and cooperating with Sakay who taxed hacienderos, merchants, farmers and laborers ten percent of their income only on those who could pay, but to those who refused to do so will to be arrested and forced to hard labor. Spies and informers were liquidated, tortured or had their ears and lips cut off as a warning to others.

In late 1904 General Sakay took military offensive, disguised in Philippine Constabulary uniforms they were successful in capturing a US military garrison in Parañaque, seized large amount of revolvers, carbines and ammunition. General Sakay's men often employed these uniforms to confuse the enemy. The US Army and their armed Philippine Constabulary launched the operation they did in Batangas that forced General Miguel Malvar and his men to surrender: “divide and rule,” “search and destroy,” “poisoned the soil,” “drain the swamp,” “liquidate anything that can be eaten” and “hamlet program” on the areas where General Sakay received strong assistance. These cruel counter-insurgency operations proved disastrous to General Sakay’s men and Filipino masses. The forced movement, relocation of large number people to expose the rebels, shortage of food and water caused the outbreak of diseases like cholera and dysentery. Food was scarce in the area and in camps, resulting in numerous deaths. Dominador Gomez mentioned the bad condition in General Sakay’s camp to the Americans upon his meeting with General Villafuerte, the malnourished general in his uniform tightened by a belt to hold his pants up, tried very hard to stand without the aid of a cane despite his malarial fever.
- ka tony

Gat Macario Sakay a mislabeled hero, his misplaced monument and mistaken historical facts

The first & only monument of Gat Macario Sakay on Plaza Morga, Tondo, finally unveiled by Manila Mayor Alfredo Lim on September of 2008, finally acknowledge as hero after 101 years when American colonialists and their Filipino sajonistas labeled him as “tulisan” was found guilty, sentenced and hanged under the US colonial court. The mislabeled hero with his misplaced monument also have mistaken historical facts on the plaque prepared by Manila Historical and Heritage Commission. 

a) ...the plaque and many historians assumed Sakay’s birth year was 1870 but his 1907 death certificate recorded he was 29 years old at the time of his execution should have been 37 years old instead. The truth is Sakay was born out of wedlock, date and year of his birth unknown, he never knew, never met his father, even his last name “Sakay” is his mother’s family name. The big question is from whom and where did his middle name “Leon” came from?

b) ...the plaque states that Sakay was born in Calle Tabora, Tondo. The district of Tondo, San Nicolas and Binondo didn’t change much their boundaries even their street names since Spanish colonial time. Calle Tabora was named after Spanish Governor-General Juan Niño de Tabora who brought the image of Nuestra Señor dela Paz y Buen Viaje of Antipolo during the Manila/Acapulco Galleon Trade. Calle Tabora is not in Tondo, but in the district of San Nicolas cuz Calle Azcarraga (now Recto Avenue) where Divisoria (Spanish word meaning “dividing”) is located serves as dividing line or boundary for Manila’s districts of San Nicolas, Binondo, Tondo, Sta. Cruz and Quiapo. 

c) ...the plaque also said that Raja Sulayman like Sakay is from Tondo which is again wrong, Raja Sulayman is from the new Kingdom of May-Nilad where Intramuros now stands which is across the Pasig River from Tondo the Old Kingdom of Lankandula and Magat Salamat. Tondo was a province of Pampanga (from “ka-pampang” meaning of the same riverbank of Pasig River and Pampanga River). 

Gat Macario Sakay is not a “Tondeño” (from Tondo) but from San Nicolas and his only monument at Plaza Morga in Tondo was erected on the wrong district. Though we should be grateful that finally after many years the name “Sakay” will erase the picture that pops into our mind of a “longhaired vicious tulisan” but a patriotic hero who continued the long revolution of masses of Supremo Bonifacio and Gat Emilio Jacinto’s Katipunan.
- ka tony
28 of February, ‘18

Pamahalaan ng Republika ng Katagalugan

...sitting from left to right:
# Lt. Col. Jualian Montalan - Montalan was an ally of Bonifacio from the founding of the Katipunan in 1892 where he rose from the ranks of Magdiwang and head the revolutionary forces in Cavite. He was aggressive and ruthless in meeting out sentences to those who betrayed the Republika ng Katagalugan. He was moved to Iwahig Penal Colony, in Palawan after Bilibid. 

# Lt. Gen. Francisco Carreon y Marcos - joined the Katipunan following the footsteps of his cousin Emilio Jacinto, eventually elected to the Katipunan Supreme Council. Despite serving at the time as a councilor in the Katipunan, he was drafted in the Spanish colonial guardia civil. When Gen. Sakay then took to the hills and established the Republika ng Katagalugan, Carreón served as both Sakay's vice president and executive secretary, he drafted manifestos of the Republika ng Katagalugan. Carreón was imprisoned in the old Bilibid Prison and was later released in 1930 through a pardon.

# Macario Sakay (President of Republika ng Katagalugan and overall commander of the Revolutionary Army. 

# Maj. Gen. Leon Villafuerte - born on April 11, 1887 in Guiquinto, Bulacan, before joining Gen. Sakay, he had a sweetheart named Basilisa Sotto of Del Pan, San Nicolas who latter died and for this reason Villafuerte joined the revolution. He became a general at the age of 24, latter met Maria Martinez, married her.

...Standing left to right:
# Maj. Benito Natividad - (not related to the Natividad of Nueva Ecija) was commanding Tanawan, Batangas. He was sentenced to 30 years but immediately pardoned thereafter. 

# Lt. Col. Lucio de Vega - commanding Cavite. Most ruthless and vicious of Gen. Sakay’s generals as Montalan and the assassinated Cornelio Felizardo. De Vega’s wife was captured by the Philippine Constabulary and who was allegedly made a concubine of a P.C. officer. 

...the source of this picture was among the personal documents of Gen. Sakay’s Republika ng Katagalugan confiscated by the Americans.
(many thanks to I.J.R.A. for the colorization of the original sepia picture)
- ka tony

"Macario Sakay a Mislabeled Hero"

Macario Sakay was born on calle Tabora, San Nicolas, Manila, out of wedlock in 1870, the date and month unknown. He adopted the family name "Sakay" from his mother, his father left when Sakay was still an infant.

Sakay was with Bonifacio and Emilio Jacinto when they fled Caloocan to evade capture, but he was in the victorious battle of Montalban, battle of Nanka River and the retreat to Balara. After the tragic murder of Bonifacio in Cavite, he was with the new Supremo Emilio Jacinto in Laguna to continue the struggle of the Katipunan, they never recognize the ilustrado revolutionary government established by Aquinaldo's elitist coup in the snap election during the Tejeros Convention. After the early death of Gat Emilio Jacinto, it was Macario Sakay who continued the Katipunan revolt of the masses.

After grabbing the victory from the Filipinos against Spain by the Americans at the Mock Battle of Manila, at 11:30 am on Agosto 13, 1898, they continued the illegal possession of the whole archipelago. During the administration of Governor-General Luke E. Wright, he passed a law known as "Ley de Bandolerismo" to force all the rebels and bandits to surrender immediately at their given deadline or be labeled and considered as a bandit. Freedom fighter Sakay was strongly against the American Governor-General's law. Filipino patriots badly equipped guerrillas were constantly on the move and captured by the Gringo army with help of the Philippine Constabulary which comprised of native soldiers under American officers. Disgraceful to reveal, former Filipino revolutionists; Gen. Licerio Geronimo, Gen. Pio del Pilar, Gen. Juan Cailles, Col. Agapito Bonzon, Maj. Lazaro Macapagal aided Americans to hunt their former comrades-in-arms.

Sakay was successful with his guerrilla warfare and established the "Tagalog Republic" basing it from Supremo Bonifacio's "Haring Banyang Katagalugan." Sakay, his officers and men refused to have their hair cut as a symbol of protest and counter-culture, it was also to measure the length of time they stayed in the mountains in their struggle for freedom. Sakay, a big problem to the Americans in establishing their pacification program and their benevolent assimilation campaign in the country, in 1905 Governor-General Henry Clay Ide authorized Dominador Gomez a Filipino labor leader, to negotiate with Sakay. Gomez met with Sakay at his camp and persuade him that the establishment of a national assembly was being held up by Sakay's resistance and that its establishment would be a big step toward Filipino independence. Sakay agreed to end his resistance on conditions that a general amnesty be granted his men, that they be permitted to carry firearms, that he and his officers be permitted to leave the country. Gomez guaranteed Sakay that his conditions the would be acceptable to the Americans and Sakay's emissary, General Leon Villafuerte, obtained agreement to them from the American Governor-General. Sakay and Villafuerte went to Manila where they were welcomed and invited to receptions and banquets. One invitation came from the Constabulary Chief Col. Harry Bandholtz was a colonial trap, Sakay and his officers were disarmed and arrested while the party was in progress Sakay was accused of "Bandolerismo under the Brigandage Act of Nov. 12, 1902, which interpreted all acts of armed resistance to American rule as banditry" and the colonial Supreme Court of the Philippines supported the decision.

At 8:30 in the morning of September 13, 1907, General Macario Sakay and Lucio de Vega were taken out of their "bartolina" and led to the death platform inside the Bilibid Prison compound. At 9:00 am, the decision finding him guilty was read to him, General Sakay shook his head to show his protest. Lucio de Vega and General Sakay took confession against his will before Fr. G. Foradada a Jesuit priest.

General Sakay and de Vega were attended by the following priest; G. Foradada, Macario Hernandez, Marcos Dombrosky, Leoncio del Rosario and a doctor, on the death platform. Reaching the gallows, General Sakay shouted at the top of his voice...

"Death comes to all of us sooner or later, so that I will face the Lord Almighty calmly. But I want to tell you that we are not bandits and robbers, as the Americans have accused us, but members of the revolutionary forces that defended our mother country, Filipinas! Farewell! Long, live the republic and may our independence be born in the future! Farewell! Long Live Filipinas!"

...the American executioner immediately covered General Sakay's face with a black cloth, which the general offered his head to be placed on the rope gallantly.
- ka tony
the 12 of Sept. '08