In honor of National Heroes’ Day, let’s shed light on the 8 unsung Filipino heroes who you probably haven’t heard of:

1. Maria Orosa

Maria Ylagan Orosa is a chemist and food scientist, credited for her innovative food inventions that nourished the nation and the ongoing resistance movements of the time. Her name is usually associated with banana ketchup (which she invented). But the rest of her significant contributions during and after World War II remain largely unheard of.

With over 700 recipes and a variety of food preservation procedures under her belt, she dedicated her life to addressing malnutrition and food shortage. She was also a fearless guerilla warrior who aided the resistance against Japanese occupation.

2. Babaylan Tamblot

Tamblot is a Babaylan from the 1600s who led the rebellion against the Spanish forces in Bohol. She roused 2000 Boholanos to resistance by telling them that the ancient spirits and the goddess would guide them to victory. Her followers stormed and burned churches, captured Spanish missionaries, and eventually executed them.

In retaliation, Mayor Don Juan Alcarezon ordered soldiers to ambush Tamblot’s camp in the mountain, leading to her death. The Tamblot uprising is now immortalized in Bohol’s provincial flag represented by one of the two Barongs (swords) — the other represents the Dagohoy revolution.

3. Agueda Kahabagan

Historically dubbed as the “Tagalog Joan of Arc” and the “the woman who fears nothing”, Agueda Kahabagan y Iniquinto was the first and only recorded female army general during the Philippine Revolution. Although scarce documentation left much of her life in obscurity, she was remembered by her fellowmen for braving the battlefield in her white dress, wielding a bolo knife, and carrying a rifle.

4. Edgar Jopson

Edgar “Edjop” Jopson was one of the most outspoken leaders during Martial Law. During his undergraduate years, he served as president of the Ateneo Student Council and later the National Union of Students of the Philippines. He valiantly stood up against the grave abuses of the Marcos’ dictatorship, and eventually joined the Communist Party of the Philippines to continue his cause through underground resistance.

Despite imprisonment, torture, and a bounty on his head, he remained committed to his ideals until he was killed during a military raid in Davao City on September 20, 1982. Though vilified by the regime as a rebel leader, many remember him as a selfless youth activist who chose sacrifice over comfort, and whose vision for a freer Philippines lives on in the legacy of his struggle.

5. Macario Sakay

Macario Sakay y de León was a fearless general during the Philippine Revolution, whose fight continued after the Spanish colonization and extended into the American occupation. He was known for establishing a Tagalog republic where he, as President, remained vocal about Filipinos’ self-determination, going against the American colonial government’s mandate.

For that, the Americans organized a scheme to lure him by promising him a national assembly that would resolve issues with his party, and essentially framed it as the key to Philippine independence. Instead, he and his party were arrested, convicted as bandits, and executed.

6. Manuel Tinio

Gregorio Del Pilar may be the most remembered young general among the masses, thanks to his biopic Goyo, but it was Manuel Tinio who was, in fact, the youngest recorded general of the Philippine Revolution.

Manuel Tinio Y Bundoc was only 20 years old when he was appointed general of the Philippine Revolutionary Army in 1897. Soon after, he organized and led the “Tinio Brigade”, a military unit that successfully drove the Spanish forces away from Ilocos in 1898.

7. Remedios Guisinto Gomez-Paraiso (Kumander Liwayway)

Remedios Guisinto Gomez-Paraiso, better known under her moniker “Kumander Liwayway” is the epitome of both beauty and bravery. Before joining the guerrilla movement during World War II, she was a former beauty pageant contestant with a love for fashion.

Her father’s death was the turning point that radicalized her into joining the Hukbalahap (Hukbong Bayan Laban sa Hapon) rebellion. Remedios never abandoned her passion for beauty and fashion; it was said that even in battle, she wore pretty dresses, with a full face of make- up, embellished by a fiery red lip.

8. Felipa Culala

Felipa Culala, also known as “Dayang-dayang”, is credited for leading one of the first successful attacks against the Japanese forces during World War II. With fewer than 40 men under her command and armed only with weapons looted from feudal landlords, they still managed to execute 40 of the enemy soldiers. In history, she’s the lone woman who held a high-ranking position in the people’s army Hukbalahap.

Which other unsung Filipino heroes do you think deserve more recognition, and why? Tell us what you think in the comments!