AGUEDA ESTEBAN
(1868 - 1944)
Agueda Esteban, a heroine of the Philippine Revolution, was born
on February 9, 1868 In Binondo, Manila. She was the second child of Ambrosio
Esteban of Ligaw, Camarines Sur and Francisca de la Cruz of Cainta, Rizal who,
after their marriage, established their residence in Binondo. Her Parents were
Blessed with several children, but only three reached adulthood.
Young
Agueda ibtained her warly schooling from a matron, Maestrang Bulag as shewas
popularly called, who owned a little store selling ikmo leaves and hitcho
(tobacco). It was in this place Agueda, her brother and sister were taught.
Their family, a poor one, could not
afford to defray educational expenses and so she was placed under the patronage
Doņa Vicenta de Roxas who enrolled her in a girls's school in Binondo. She excelled in many subjects and
earned the admiration of her teachers, parents and Doņa Vicenta. Her school
activities were published the newspaper, La Oceania.
When young Agueda reached womanhood, she
was courted Mariano Barroga of Batac, Ilocos Norte, who was working as mayordomo
in the household of Don Francisco Roxas, (son of Doņa Vicente Roxas). They got
married and by the time the Revolution broke in 1896 they had three children,
namely Catalina, Adriana, and Anastacia.
Her husband was a member of the Katipunan
and was given
symbolic name "Tungkod" (cane or
post). He joined the insurrection in San Juan del Monte, Montalban, and
Marikina. When he transferred his station to Tangos, Cavite, he brought along
his family from Manila.
Agueda joined her husband in the struggle
to free the country from colonial rule and, inspired by his patriotic spirit
she would jounery to Manila to buy salpeter, copper, lead and other materials
needed by the revolutionary army in making bullets and ammunitions. She did not
mind the hardships of going up and down the mountains of Mapagtiis, Pangwagui,
Magtagumpay, Mainam, Naghapay, Mendez Nunez, Magwagui, Amadeo, Talisay,
Tagaytay range, Sugay and Kabangaan. She and her family lived quietly in Cavite
(Tangos), until the first phase of the revolution was ended by the Truce of
Biak-na-Bato.
When the Republic was established in
Tejeros (now General Trias under the council of Magdalo, Agueda made a living
by selling meat at the plaza of Naik, then the capital of the rebel movement.
One day while she was selling, she saw a hammock being carried past her stall
and wanting to know who was inside she ran towards and lifted the linen that
covered the man being conveyed to the tribunal. She saw the "Supremo"
curled up and covered with blood. Desirous of knowing what had happened; to
Bonifacio, she approached a soldier whom she knew and softly asked him about
the incident. The soldier was surprised and apparently ran away. A few minutes
later he retuned and told her secretly that any mentioning the name of the "Supremo"
would be meted the pena de la muerte (death penalty).
When the Spaniards took the town of
Maragondon, Tungkod
and his family were among the many that
left Maragondon for Talisay, Batangas where Agueda's youngest daughter
(Anastacia) died and was buried in the fields. The rebels had hardly reached
Talisay when Spanish soldiers met them. They climbed the mountains of Tagaytay
once again and there learned that Aguinaldo was letting them take advantage of
an amnesty granted by the Spanish government. Major Tungkod refused amnesty and
instead continued propagating the doctrines of the Katipunan in Cainta.
Again,Agueda's help was solicited in the buying of materials needed for making
gun powder and bullets.
When the second phase of the Revolution
started, Major Tungkod was assigned to the command of Colonel Antonio
Montenegro of Zone 3, comprising Manila and suburbs. Major Tungkod was promoted
to lieutenant colonel and was ordered by General Artemio Ricarte to recruit
volunteers in Manila. it was at this time that Agueda gave birth to Salud.
At the height of the Filipino-American
War, Agueda served as courier between her husband in Manila and General Ricarte
in San Francisco de Malabon, Cavite. All the secret papers on war strategies
were entrusted to her, especially those concerning planned attacks against
enemy strongholds. Her secret activities were never discovered. Being a woman,
she was never looked upon with suspicion by the authorities.
On July 1, 1900, together with General
Ricarte, Lt. Col. Tungkod and Agueda were caught and imprisoned at Calle Anda.
The grenades she used to carry, which were as big as the native oranges of
Tanauan, Batangas, were confiscated when a house-to-house search was made.
On February 16, 1901, Lt. Col. Tungkod,
together with other leaders of the Revolution. was deported to Guam. His wife
Agueda was left behind with their four children, Catalina, Adriana, Miguel and
Salud. Though used to hardship, she could not take care of all of them and so
had to leave her three elder children at
de Hospicio de San Jose, taking only Saiud to stay with her. On a
goodwill basis, she ventured into selling jewelry to help her family until Lt.
Col. Tungkod returned from exil. When he died in November 1902, she was left
again heavy with child. When she gave birth, she named him "Artemio"
in honor Artemio Ricarte.
Agueda constantly communicated with Ricarte
who was exiled in Hongkong. From her he learned that the followers of Lt.
Tungkod still desired to resume war against the United States and so came home
secretly and stayed in Agueda's house for a while, news of his revolutionary
activities reached the Americans, they arrested Agueda on the pretext of her
being an encubridora de rebelion (concealer of the rebellion) together
with her son Artemio,but she later freed on bail and forbidden to go out of
Manila. When she is free she went to Antipolo to look for means of livelihood,
she was captured by saddled constable and imprisoned, but not for long because
Attorney Kincaid defended her. Shortly after, her son Artemio died.
In 1910, she visited Ricarte after he was
exiled for the second time to Hongkong after serving six years imprisonment in
Manila. He been exiled because of his refusal to sign an oath of allegiance to
the United States. She became the wife of General Ricarte in May 1911 and from
1910-1951 lived there with her daughter, Salud, first, on the little island of
Lemah at the mouth of the harbor and later in Kowloon.
When the British government removed all
political exiles from Hongkong after the outbreak of World War I, the Ricartes
had be shipped to Shanghai and from that Chinese city,to Japan. Then reached
Moji, and from there they proceeded to Kobe, Nagoya, and Aichikin.
In 1921, they moved to Tokyo, where
Ricarte earned a teaching Spanish at the Kaigai Shokumin Gakko (Overseas
School). In April, 1923, they
transferred to Yokohama where they
established their permanent residence.
They lived comfortably at their home at 149 Yamashita-cho, Yokohama - where
they also established: profitable Karihan (restaurant). They lived there for
eighteen years together with their children and grandchildren.
During the Japanese occupation of the
Philipines, they returned. In 1944, Ill health claimed the life of our heroine.