As the country honors its national heroes this August 31, it’s important to remember those who are unsung and often forgotten. They battled through hardships and held their ground to protect the rights of their communities and the whole country, no matter the cost.
Here are five heroes who fought for the environment, workers’ rights, and the freedom of every Filipino.
Macli-ing Dulag
Dulag was a respected elder of the Butbut tribe in the Cordilleras and one of the earliest advocates for environmental and indigenous rights in the Philippines. When former President Ferdinand Marcos Sr. wanted to build four massive hydroelectric dams along the Chico River in Luzon, Dulag was one of the fierce leaders of the opposition. With the magnitude of the proposed plan, it would have displaced thousands from their home, covered graveyards, as well as the rice terraces. According to the Bantayog ng mga Bayani, the armed forces surrounded Dulag’s home and assassinated him in 1980. His death caused great outrage, which ultimately made the government cancel its plans.
Maria Lorena Barros
Barros is considered one of the icons of modern Philippine feminism. She was drawn to political activism, joining other organizations as a student before she founded and led the all-women MAKIBAKA (Malayang Kilusan ng Bagong Kababaihan) in 1970. She was charged with subversion and later went underground. During a military encounter, she was offered refuge and medical aid should she surrender, but she died fighting for national liberation and women’s rights.
Elsa Balando
Balando was a trade union activist who fought for labor and women’s rights. She became a union organizer who put her life on the line for the workers. During a rally for International Labor Day, she was among the 4,000 people who gathered in front of the Congress building in Manila. She was shot three times in the chest, along with two other people. The tragic event would later be known as the May Day Massacre of 1971.
Teresa Magbanua
Dubbed the “Visayan Joan of Arc,” Magbanua was an educator and revolutionary leader who fought for Philippine independence. Despite her relatives initially opposing her participation in the revolution due to her being a woman, she was one of the few Filipinos to join in all the resistance movements against the three major colonizers: Spain, the United States, and Japan.
Macario Sakay
Sakay was a revolutionary who fought alongside Andres Bonifacio under the Katipunan movement before he established the Tagalog Republic and served as its president. He continued the struggle for the country’s independence against American forces before he was accused of being a bandit, captured, and later hanged inside the Old Bilibid Prison.
frequently asked questions
Macli-ing Dulag, Maria Lorena Barros, Elsa Balando, Teresa Magbanua, and Macario Sakay are overlooked Filipino heroes who resisted colonial rule and dictatorship.
Macli-ing Dulag, a respected Butbut elder, was assassinated in 1980 for opposing Marcos’s Chico River dam project. Public outrage over his death forced the government to cancel it.
MAKIBAKA (Malayang Kilusan ng Bagong Kababaihan) was a militant feminist organization founded in 1970 by student activist Maria Lorena Barros, linking women’s rights to national liberation.
During the 1971 May Day Massacre, thousands of workers rallied outside Congress in Manila. Union organizer Elsa Balando was shot dead along with two other demonstrators.
Teresa Magbanua earned the title for fighting in every major resistance movement against Spain, the US, and Japan, serving as both an educator and revolutionary military leader.
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