Leon Kilat honored in his hometown

DUMAGUETE CITY , Philippines   — It does not matter whose hero Leon Kilat is, because Bacong town in Negros Oriental has honored him to be its local hero and, for many in the pro-vince, the revolutionary leader against the Spaniard coloni-zers is also their champion.

Town officials, residents and the church paid homage to Leon Kilat via a week-long celebration staged in Bacong, a town next to the capital city of Dumaguete, on his birthday on July 27.

Father Julius Heruela, parish priest of Bacong, said the activities were participated in by local officials, led by Mayor Lenin Alviola, students, residents and relatives of Leon Kilat.

On the culmination of the activities honoring Leon Kilat on July 27, a program was done at his monument at the town plaza, with various groups laying wreaths at its foot. The monument of the Katipunero from Bacong was a bronze sculpture of him riding on a horse.

A Mass was also held in his honor as well as prayers offered for him at the area where his bones are buried and a re-enactment of the Katipunero’s life story.

Heruela said Leon Kilat brings honor and pride to Bacong and to Negros Oriental for having fought a rebellion against Spain.

Leon Kilat was born Pantaleon Villegas on July 27, 1873, to parents Don Policarpio Villegas and Doña Ursula Soldi, with his grandfather, Don Pedro Villegas, a native of Spain.

Pantaleon Villegas moved to Cebu in 1895 where he worked at a drugstore, the Botica Antigua, and shortly afterwards transferred to a bakery prior to joining a circus owned by a katipunero that brought him to Manila.

Further accounts tell of Leon Kilat leading the rebellion against Spain in Cebu on an appointment issued him by General Emilio Aguinaldo.

Leon Kilat was known for leading a successful battle against Spanish forces in Cebu on April 3, 1898 that was later known as the Tres de Abril. Stories had it that Leon Kilat, who was reported to have an amulet that protected him from being killed, was eventually slain by his own aide-de-camp, Apolinario Alcuitas.

Heruela said he hoped that more Oriental Negrenses would recognize Leon Kilat as their local hero and attend the yearly tribute in his honor at his home town in Bacong. Not too many people are aware of Leon Kilat as a native of Negros Oriental, he added.  (FREEMAN)