1. Teresa Magbanua y Ferraris, better known as Teresa Magbanua and dubbed as the "Visayan Joan of Arc", was a Filipino schoolteacher and military leader.
28 Facts About Teresa Magbanua
1. 2.
Teresa Magbanua is credited as the only woman to lead troops in the Visayan area during the Revolution.
3.
Teresa Magbanua is one of the few Filipinos to have participated in all three resistance movements against the three major colonizers: Spain, the United States, and Japan.
4.
Teresa Magbanua was born in Pototan, Iloilo, Philippines, to affluent parents.
5.
Teresa Magbanua studied teaching in college, first at the Colegio de San Jose in Jaro, Iloilo, and later in Manila, where she studied at three different girls' schools: Colegio de Santa Rosa, Santa Catalina College, and Colegio de Dona Cecilia.
6.
Teresa Magbanua earned a teaching certificate at Colegio de Dona Cecilia in 1894 and a master's degree soon after from the University of Santo Tomas.
7.
Teresa Magbanua then returned home to Pototan and began teaching, where her students knew her as a disciplinarian.
8.
Balderas was a wealthy landowner, and after she married, Teresa Magbanua quit her teaching job and became a housewife.
9.
War broke out between the Filipinos and Spanish in 1896, and Teresa Magbanua became a member of the Katipunan revolutionaries.
10.
Teresa Magbanua did not listen; however, and went to her uncle, Major General Perfecto Poblador, who commanded the Northern Zone at the time.
11.
Teresa Magbanua asked him to join the Army and who would later take charge of the Administrative Division.
12.
Teresa Magbanua led her troops into this, her first battle, on horseback.
13.
On 3 December 1898, Teresa Magbanua led her troops against Spanish forces at the Battle of Sapong Hills near Sara.
14.
Teresa Magbanua prevailed, despite the odds being heavily in favor of the Spanish.
15.
On 24 December 1898, Teresa Magbanua participated in the liberation of Iloilo City, alongside Generals Martin Delgado, Roque Lopez, Quintin Salas and others.
16.
On 11 February 1899, Teresa Magbanua fought in the Second Battle of Iloilo City.
17.
On 10 March 1899, Teresa Magbanua participated in the Battle of Balantang, Jaro, along with her brother Pascual.
18.
Also in 1899, Teresa Magbanua participated in the defense of the Balantang-Tacas-Jiabo-an line.
19.
The celebrations would not last long, and Teresa Magbanua soon suffered personal tragedy.
20.
General Pascual Teresa Magbanua died in December 1899 at the age of 24, under mysterious circumstances.
21.
Teresa Magbanua began using guerrilla tactics after the Filipino forces' regional headquarters in Santa Barbara fell to the Americans.
22.
Teresa Magbanua surrendered her troops to the American forces in 1900 and returned to farming.
23.
Teresa Magbanua sold her personal belongings to purchase food and supplies, which she would then give to the local guerrillas.
24.
Shortly after the outbreak of the war, her husband Alejandro Balderas died, and Teresa Magbanua sold her property in Iloilo to help finance the guerrillas.
25.
Teresa Magbanua moved to Pagadian, Zamboanga del Sur in Western Mindanao, after the end of World War II and lived there with her sister Maria.
26.
Teresa Magbanua never remarried after Baldaras' death, and their marriage produced no children.
27.
Teresa Magbanua's burial was attended only by her close friends; there were no announcements made of her death at the time.
28.
Several awards are given out in her name, including the Gawad Teresa Magbanua Award given to teachers in Davao, and the Teresa Magbanua award for women's and children's rights given to Ilonggos in Iloilo.