José Protasio Rizal Mercado y Alonso Realonda was born on June 19, 1861, in Calamba, Laguna, the seventh child of Francisco Rizal Mercado and Teodora Alonzo y Quintos. The family were wealthy farmers who rented land from the Dominican religious order. Descendants of a Chinese immigrant named Domingo Lam-co, they changed their name to Mercado ("market") under the pressure of anti-Chinese feelings among the Spanish colonizers.

From an early age, Rizal showed a precocious intellect. He learned the alphabet from his mother at 3 and could read and write at 5.

The Philippine Revolution broke out in 1896. Rizal denounced the violence and received permission to travel to Cuba to tend to victims of yellow fever in exchange for his freedom. Bonifacio and two associates sneaked aboard the ship to Cuba before it left the Philippines and tried to convince Rizal to escape with them, but Rizal refused.

He was arrested by the Spanish on the way, taken to Barcelona, and then extradited to Manila for trial. Rizal was tried by court-martial and charged with conspiracy, sedition, and rebellion. Despite a lack of evidence of his complicity in the Revolution, Rizal was convicted on all counts and given a death sentence.

He was allowed to marry Bracken two hours before his execution by firing squad in Manila on December 30, 1896. Rizal was just 35 years old.

Source: https://www.thoughtco.com/jose-rizal-hero-of-the-philippines-195677

At the age of 19, Bonifacio was forced to give up plans for higher education and begin working full-time to support his orphaned younger siblings. He worked for the British trading company J.M. Fleming & Co. as a broker, or corredor, for local raw materials such as tar and rattan. He later moved to the German firm Fressell & Co., where he worked as a bodeguero, or grocer.

In 1892, Bonifacio joined Jose Rizal's La Liga Filipina, a group advocating for Philippine colonial reform. After Rizal's arrest and deportation, Bonifacio revived La Liga and founded Katipunan, a group dedicated to armed resistance against the colonial government. In 1895, Bonifacio became the top leader of Katipunan, publishing a newspaper called "Freedom." Under his leadership, Katipunan grew from 300 to over 30,000, ready to fight for freedom from Spain.

Emilio Aguinaldo won a rigged election in Tejeros, leading to Bonifacio refusing to recognize the rebel government. Aguinaldo arrested Bonifacio and his brother Procopio, who were convicted of treason and sedition. They were sentenced to death, but Aguinaldo commuted the sentence and reinstated it. Both were likely shot dead on Nagpatong Mountain, possibly due to untreated battle wounds.

Source: https://www.thoughtco.com/andres-bonifacio-of-the-philippines-195651

She was joined by Diego’s uncle, Nicolas Cariño who temporarily took command of the rebel forces gathering 2,000 men loyal to her husband. Gabriela and her troops descended on Vigan on September 10, 1763, then took the lead on several attacks against Spanish forces; some won but others lost with many casualties on both sides. When the attacks were over, Gabriela’s forces were overwhelmed and as a result, she was captured later in the mountains of Abra and taken prisoner by Spanish forces led by her husband’s assassin, Miguel Vicos. Some ninety of her lieutenants were caught. One by one, each lieutenant was lined along the coastal towns and paraded in front of the townspeople to gawk. As a result, they were hanged publicly.

Source: https://www.bayaniart.com/articles/gabriela-silang-biography/

Melchora Aquino de Ramos was born on January 6th, 1812 in Balingasa, a village located in Quezon City, Philippines. Aquino was born an only child to Juan and Valentina Aquino, two peasants who reportedly lived in Pasong Tamo, Kaloocan (currently Quezon City).

By the time the Philippine revolution rolled around in the late 19th century, Melchora Aquino was a successful businesswoman with a large farm and nice store. While she wasn’t considered “rich,” she wasn’t poor either, which made her a perfect candidate to help fund the Filipino side of the revolution against the Spaniards. Aquino became involved with a secret revolutionary society known as the Katipunan, which is the shortened version of their entire name: Kataastaasan Kagalanggalangang Katipunan Ng Mga Anak Ng Bayan (Highest and Most Respected Association of the Sons of the Country). Founded by Andres Bonifacio, the goal of the Katipunan was to unify the Philippines under one nation and liberate it from years of Spanish colonization. Aquino heavily supported the revolution, and by the time she became involved at age 84, the secret association was 100,000 people strong.

Unfortunately, in August of 1896, Sora’s home was invaded during an important meeting with the Katipunan due to a spy in the Filipino ranks. Sora and her family managed to escape to a nearby town, but it wasn’t long before the Spanish police caught her. Though Sora was technically not a member of the association, she often attended their meetings since they were housed on her property, meaning she was privy to all the sensitive information and secrets that the Katipunan held: their members, meeting areas, future plans, and how it operated. She was sent to prison, where she was fiercely interrogated. Sora said nothing. As punishment, the Spaniards sent Sora to Guam.

Source: https://ifeminist.org/aquino.html