INTRODUCTION
We gather here today to mark the centennial of the “Battle of Pinaglabanan” — the first of the many battles of our Revolution of 1896.

We stand where our revolutionary forebears once stood, as they exchanged fire with fire against the might of Spanish arms, for possession of these strategic grounds.

This year we commemorate so many centennials because as the National Centennial Commission (NCC) has put it, we need to retrace the trail of freedom that led to the birth of our nation. Each part of the trail signifies an important stage in our journey to national independence. And when we take them together, they form a chain of sacrifice and heroism that we — the Filipinos of today — should never forget.

Thus, on July 2, 1992, we marked the centennial of the founding of the Katipunan, which planted the seeds of liberation in our land.

Thus, just last august 23, we marked the centennial of the “cry of Pugad Lawin”, when the revered Andres Bonifacio and his fellow Katipuneros tore their cedulas or tax certificates during a meeting at the house of Juan Ramos Aquino, son of Tandang Sora, to formally renounce their allegiance to Spanish authority and call for a revolution of independence. The Katipuneros under Bonifacio repeated the cry of defiance in the course of the next five days in five other places, including Balintawak.

And thus, we are here today to commemorate the first of many battles that threw the Philippine Islands into armed revolution and war.

The passage of time has turned these hallowed grounds into a peaceful and modern center in the town of San Juan.

Here our revolutionary forebears faced their first baptism of fire and first test of national resolve. And they did not flinch before the challenge.
PIECING TOGETHER THE STORY
Through the painstaking work of our historians, we have today a fair picture of what happened here a century ago and why.

It begins, sad to say, with an act of betrayal by a member of the Katipunan who revealed the plans for revolution. That act triggered a full-scale effort by the Spanish authorities to nip the revolution in the bud — leading to the arrest and execution of many revolutionaries. The betrayal jump-started the revolution. Andres Bonifacio and others decided to start the uprising, even though their plans, particularly for the acquisition of arms, were just under way.

On August 23, 1896, as I have already mentioned, they gathered at Pugad Lawin to call for the start of the Revolution.

On the evening of August 25, they assembled in Balintawak where Bonifacio’s call for a revolution was approved by an overwhelming majority.

On August 28, the group went to Hagdang Bato, in what is now known as Mandaluyong city, to establish their headquarters. Orders prepared by Emilio Jacinto and Sinfroso San Pedro were delivered by courier to manila, Cavite, Nueva Ecija, and other places for a simultaneous assault on colonial places. And plans were laid for an attack on Manila.

The siege of Manila called for a three-pronged attack. One group was to be led by Bonifacio and Jacinto from San Juan. A second group led by General Guillermo Masangkay would storm manila from Marikina, Guadalupe and Pateros. And a third group led by Captain Sancho Valenzuela would move from their base in Bacood, Sta. Mesa.

But as a first step, partly to secure more arms, the revolutionaries decided that they must capture the almacen de polvora, a Spanish arsenal located at N. Domingo St.

This initial attack on the almacen de polvora — and the struggle that followed — is what we now call the Battle of Pinaglabanan.

The battle started at four in the afternoon of Sunday, August 30, when the Katipuneros laid siege on the Spanish arsenal. In terms of men, the 800 revolutionaries outnumbered the Spanish defenders, who were entrenched behind thick walls. But in terms of arms and artillery, they had little — only about 10 obsolete Remington rifles, Captain Valenzuela’s pistol, homemade paltiks, bamboo spears, bolos and stones.

At first, the revolutionaries seemed to get the better of the exchange. But then the arsenal’s call for reinforcement was swiftly answered by a contingent of cavalry and artillery units of the Spanish forces. Within hours, the Katipuneros were beaten back. When the dust settled, 153 Katipuneros lay dead on the site of what is now the San Juan Elementary School. The waters of San Juan River turned red with the blood of revolutionaries retreating in bancas. Captain Valenzuela and three others were captured — and would later be executed. Nine others who were seriously injured would die during the retreat — and would be buried in an unmarked grave in Sta. Mesa.
THE MEANING OF THE STRUGGLE
That the Battle of Pinaglabanan did not produce a victory for our revolutionary forces — but in fact resulted in a setback — has sometimes caused some of us to belittle the memory. But this is to miss the meaning and the glory of Pinaglabanan.

As in any struggle, one may fall at the beginning of the charge or one may not immediately attain the coveted goal. What matters, however, is that the campaign is pressed on, until at last its goals are achieved.

So, when we the living come here today, it is to mark a historic moment in our nation’s history and to pay due homage to those who fought and fell here.

If they could hear us, the Katipuneros who fought here would probably say that they need no special honors from us, for they already have won the honor of fighting for people and country. But we the living need to remember.

For it is by remembering that we renew the spirit that made us free. By recalling this page in our history, we gain fresh strength for the battles that we ourselves must fight in our own time.

The presence here today of Ms. Maria Valenzuela Crisostomo, the only surviving grand-daughter of Captain Sancho Valenzuela, provides us a living link to the battle of Pinaglabanan. And it is truly a privilege that we can extend her government support and assistance during this twilight of her years.

To provide medical assistance and hospitalization to Ms. Crisostomo who is sickly and lives alone, I direct Doctor Giovanni Ong, director of the Veterans Memorial Medical Center (VMMC), to be assisted by Secretary Lina Laigo of the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) to immediately examine the health condition of the old lady. I also authorize the release of one hundred thousand pesos (p100,000) from the President’s Social Fund (PSF) for financial and other needs of Ms. Crisostomo.

By the Presidential Citations just now awarded, we pay tribute also to the gallantry of the following KKK revolutionaries led by Captain Sancho Valenzuela: Zacarias Lazaro, Balbino de Guzman, Ambrosio Juan and Carlos Alfonso. By these citations we mark the higher significance of the battle of Pinaglabanan 100 years ago.

Similarly, I direct Chairman Salvador Laurel of the National Centennial Commission (NCC) to locate the common grave of those unknown Katipuneros who were buried in Bacood, Sta. Mesa, so that our people and our country can provide them a proper burial site and honor their gallant exploits 100 years ago.
ENRICHING OUR INHERITANCE
When we gather in this way to honor the memory of our heroes here in Pinaglabanan, we signify our gratitude for the priceless gift of freedom that they have given us.

We speak of that gift as one of freedom — because in the end that is what the revolution finally attained.

But we must speak just as much of the gift of their example, which have a deathless meaning to our people. In their youth, their lives were touched by a cause greater than themselves. We learn from them that for people and country, Filipinos would hazard all, including life itself. And in this knowledge, we the living are invigorated and can be inspired to action.

It is in this sense that a nation’s heroes never really die. They live on in us. They urge us to enrich our great inheritance. In a word, they make believe that we too can strive to be heroes ourselves.

And it is through this joining of the living with the dead and those yet to be born that our country will ever continue to march forward and attain greater heights.

In the serenity then of these bloodied grounds — where many Filipinos rose to the full measure of their manhood and gave their all — it is only fitting that we the living should renew the resolves and loyalties that made our nation.

Let us say to those who fell that they did not die in vain. Let us pledge to be ever worthy of their priceless legacy. And let us strive to fill the tasks of peace, progress and development that have fallen to our own generation — who can achieve so more because we stand on the shoulders of heroes!

Mabuhay ang diwa ng Pinaglabanan!

Mabuhay ang Pilipino!

Mabuhay ang Pilipinas!