11 FEBRUARY

1860 - Vicente R. Lukban, future Filipino revolutionary leader and patriot, is born in Labo, Camarines Norte during the Spanish colonial period; Lukban will join the underground society aiming to topple Spanish rule, Kagalanggalangang Katipunan nang  manga Anak nang  Bayan (KKK) , and will be arrested and tortured by the Spaniards, in the process squealing his other associates, a number of whom will be executed as part  of the so-called "Bicol Martyrs"; he will become the military governor of Samar during the Revolution against Spain and the Philippine-American War (1899-1914), and be responsible for organizing the natives and effectively using guerilla warfare, turning Samar into "one of the few centers of the Republic's success" against the invading imperialist American forces; he will report about an important Fil-Am War occurrence under his Samar-Leyte jurisdiction, the Balangiga Incident wherein the townspeople of Balanginga, Samar will kill many of the enemy imperialist American soldiers headquartered inside a church; for a time, he will continue to fight the imperialist invaders even after President Emilio Aguinaldo swears loyalty to the United States flag, with Lukban even issuing a proclamation exhorting Filipinos to continue fighting because "we are worthy of independence and of universal respect, because we know our rights and how to die in their defense."

1899 - The seaport and city of Iloilo are captured by the imperialist United States forces one week into the bloody and protracted Philippine-American War (1899-1914); enemy American Gen. Marcus Miller, with reinforcements from the warships of the squadron of Admiral George Dewey, has led the attack on Iloilo, with Gen. Aniano Diokno and "Henerala" Teresa Magbanua leading the battle against the enemy forces; earlier on December 25, 1898, three days after the Filipinos drove out the Spanish colonial forces in the province, the Bald Eagle forces occupied the nearby Panay island even before the Fil-Am War formally began.


Photo credit: http://www.lukban.org/vicente-lukban.php