CEBU, Philippines - It has been said that one would not be able to fully appreciate Cebu history without knowing Pantaleon Villegas, more popularly known as Leon Kilat - the man who figured prominently in the Tres de Abril uprising.
His tragic but very significant story went a little something like this:
“Before I became a revolutionary in 1896, I - Leon Kilat - was a circus worker, a salamangkero (magician), in Manila.
“My short life (he only lived till 25) revealed a dramatic account of the events that led to the downfall of Spanish control in Cebu. At best, I was a young man wanting and fighting for freedom. But like many, who died not in the hands of the real enemy, my death was authored by political treachery.
“I am a native of Barrio Liptong in Bacong, Oriental Negros. I was born on July 27, 1873, the youngest son of Policarpio Villegas, a peninsular, and Ursula Solde, daughter of a local chief in Bacong. As a custom, I was given the name Pantaleon after St. Pantaleon, the patron saint of doctors whose feast day is celebrated every 27th of July.
“I acquired basic education (reading, writing and religion) from Fray Angel Maestro when his family moved to Tolong (now Sta. Catalina town). I worked as Fray Angel’s errand boy.
“In my youth, I learned from the Spanish fraile the art of self-defense called baston.”
“After a couple of years, my family returned to Bacong and lived mainly on farming. I then decided to try my luck for a better life in Cebu. I crossed Tañon Strait, reached the town of Samboan and headed towards Sugbu where I took various jobs. First, as laborer of an abaca factory, then as messenger of the Singer Company and as lemonade chemist in the famous Botica Antigua.
“I also worked as delivery boy for a bakery at the junction of Calle Infanta and Tabada Street. I was able to go to Manila in 1896 through the help of an English master. I became part of a circus group which specialized in magic tricks and acrobatics.
“It was during my stint in the circus that I stumbled into the Katipunan. Revolutionary fervor was at its peak in Manila in 1896 which culminated with the execution of Dr. Jose Rizal in December.
“My job as a magician afforded me the opportunity to effectively deliver messages using “sign language” for the underground society.
“In 1897, I was captured by the Spaniards for I was identified as part of the forces of Emilio Aguinaldo. But, I escaped from prison unnoticed by the civil guards. Such prompted me to coin a pseudonym: Leon Kilat (Lion Lightning).
“On March 31, 1898, I arrived in Cebu to lead the uprising which the katipuneros scheduled on April 8, 1898 upon the orders of Aguinaldo. Unfortunately, an incident sapped the living daylights off me. The uprising broke unceremoniously earlier - on April 3, 1898 or “Tres de Abril” at the then Valeriano Weyler Street (now part of Labangon) and V. Rama Avenue.
“The days leading to April 8 proved to be tumultuous for the members of the secret society. The execution of Januario Gabrillo, known as the first martyr in the Cebuano revolution, at the Fort San Pedro on March 21, 1898 signaled the manhunt for the other key leaders of the Katipunan.
“When fellow katipunero Frisco Abreu and scores of others were captured and killed, I decided to launch the uprising earlier than scheduled. The manhunt was called after Gabrillo confessed the names of the members of the Katipunan as a result of torture.”
“There was also one beata, a certain Potenciana, who tipped the Spaniards of the planned uprising on Good Friday. Hence, the battle of Tres de Abril broke out on a Palm Sunday.”
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When the katipuneros retreated to Carcar with scores of casualties, it was there that Leon Kilat was murdered on the early hours of April 8, the day when the city-based uprising should have begun. While historical account pointed out that a certain Reynario Alcuitas and Don Florencio Noel were positively identified as the assassins of Leon Kilat, writer Jovito Abellana gave a different account. He said Leon Kilat was killed by one Gregorio Canaya, the same one who buried the fallen revolutionary leader.
Source: Marivir Montebon’s “Retracing our Roots: A Journey into Cebu’s Pre-colonial and Colonial Past”