Today is the 122nd anniversary of the Battle of Tres de Abril. For those not familiar with our own local history, April 3, 1898 is when Cebuano patriots under Pantaleon Villegas, more well-known as Leon Kilat, engaged and defeated Guardia Civil forces.
Armed mostly with bolos, spears, and very few handguns, the patriots overwhelmed the Guardia Civil, causing them to fall back and hole up in Fort San Pedro.
The victory was short-lived as the patriots would only be control of what is now Cebu City for just four days. On April 7, 1898, a well-armed force arrived from Manila to take back the settlement and the patriots retreated and regrouped in various places.
What happened in those four days? According to historians the patriots tried to muster the residents and locals to their side. However, many of the locals were not familiar with the Katipunan, much less with Villegas, who was actually from Negros, and so they did not get much help.
Ultimately, it was because the patriots did not get the support of the people that this particular revolt failed.
One cannot help but draw parallels to what is happening then and now. We can liken the oppressive Spanish regime to the COVID-19 virus; it is something bad for us. It is something that we have to fight and get rid of. Then we have our modern-day Katipuneros, the frontliners.
Just like the Katipuneros, our frontliners are few and not so well-equipped. Nevertheless, they are waging a war against an enemy with superior forces anyway to save the country.
But now, unlike before, we Cebuanos have the chance to get behind these modern-day heroes of ours.
How do we support them? By making sure they can get to work, by not refusing them the basic services they need, by not making them feel discriminated, by not making the situation more alarming by spreading fake news reports.
Most of all, we can help them by staying home and reducing the chances of getting and transmitting the virus. Doing so will end the chain of infection. The sooner we can end this crisis the sooner things can get back to normal, for us and those in the front line.
We may not be able to rewrite history, but in this crisis today we can actually do our part to save the nation.