(Seated L to R: Julian Montalan, Francisco Carreon, Macario Sakay and Leon Villafuerte; standing, L to R: Benito Natividad and Lucio de Vega.
Photo taken in 1907.)
Sakay was hanged on Friday the 13th of September 1907 on charges of banditry and armed rebellion, along with Lucio de Vega.
Born on January 3, 1870 in Tondo, Manila, Sakay, a close confidante of Andres Bonifacio, was one of the early members of the Katipunan.
During the Filipino-American War, General Sakay fled to the mountains, organized the revolutionary forces in Bulacan, Pampanga, Morong (now Rizal), Cavite, Laguna, and Batangas, and later on proclaimed what he called the Tagalog Republic.
The Tagalog Republic had its own flag and with Sakay chosen as president, Francisco Carreon as vice president, drew up a Constitution largely based on the Katipunan creed of Bonifacio and warned all Filipinos not to swear allegiance to the United States.
His last words:
Death comes to all of us sooner or later, so that I will face the Lord Almighty calmly. But I want to tell you that we are not bandits and robbers, as the Americans have accused us, but members of the revolutionary forces that defended our mother country, Filipinas! Farewell! Long, live the republic and may our independence be born in the future! Farewell! Long Live Filipinas!
In its second regular session, the Philippine Senate (14th congress) adopted Resolution #623 honoring Macario Sakay and other Filipinos who gave up their lives for our freedom.
This senate resolution called for the creation of a life-size statue of General Sakay by the Manila Historical Heritage Commission in Plaza Morga, Tondo Manila.
According to this Senate resolution, the National Historical Institute and the University of the Philippines have erected a marker at the foot of Mt. Banahaw where Macario Sakay and his troops gathered and performed their function as freedom fighters. PNA/Senate. Also read.
