FRANCISCO M. CARREON
(1868- )
Revolutionary Leader
Born on October 5, 1868 in Cotabato,
Mindanao, Francisco M. Carreon was a Katipunero who fought not only in the
revolution against the Spanish and in the Philippine-American War, but also in
the Sakay-led guerilla struggle against the United States colonial regime in
the Philippines during the early 1900’s until 1906. His father, Espiridion
Carreon, was a sanded military
assigned in Zamboanga. His mother was Jacinta Marcos. He acquired his early
education at a local school run by Jesuit priest, but had to continue his
studies in
When he came of age, he
found work as a blacksmith in a shop owned by a certain Marcelo Leaño, earning
earnin one peseta a week. Later, he became a machacante in Ylaya, Tondo, this time earning one peseta a day.
After a time he decided to look for another job, and subsequently accepted
appointment at the Casa Moneda in Intramuros, which was owned by his uncle,
beginning in 1886. Two years later, he enlisted in the Spanish Cuerpo
Carabinero.
It was around this time that he married
his fiancée Bibiana bastida, by whom he had a child who died. In 1892, heeding
the call of the Motherland, he joined the revolutionary organization, the
Katipunan, under the nom de guerre “F.C. Silanganan,” together his brother
Nicomedes, cousin Mariano Carreon, Tomas Remigio, and Enrique and Cipriano
Pacheco. Emilio Hacinto, who became Bonifacio’s right-hand man, was another
cousin of his.
Deeply involved in revolutionary
activities, and often joining the Supremo and the other Katipuneros in the
farmer’s house, Carreon became head of the Katipunan branch called “Silangan,“
whose treasure was his brother Nicomedes and the fiscal was Mariano Carreon. In
time, became a council or sanggunian. In 1896, he headed the popular council in
Trozo called “dapitan,” whose section where Silangan and Alapaap, which were,
in turn, headed by Juan de la Cruz and R. Concha.
In 1896, he left the Cuerpo de
Carabinero to take the place of his brother in the Guardia Civil. That same
year, beginning in January, he served as councilor of the Katipunan Supreme Council,
together with Pataleon Torres, Briccio Pantas, Aguedo del Rosario, Teodoro
Plata, and Vicente Molina.
He and his brother Nicomedes were among
the many rebels who joined Andres Bonifacio in the house Juan Ramos, son of
Tandang Sora (Melchora Aquino), soon after the discovery of the Katipunan by
the Spanish authorities. Like the rest, he tore his cedula upon the instigation
of their leader, in a symbolic act of rebellion against their oppressor. He was
singled out by Bonifacio himself to perform the dangerous task of returning to
A true son of the people, Carreon took
part in the battle of
Later, during the period of the Pact of
Biak-na-Bato,he lost his own brother Nicomedes,who was
then on the verge of surrendering to the Spaniards, at the hands of fellow
revolutionaries who opposed the pact.
When the treaty failed, General
Aguinaldo on all patriots to fight anew for the Motherland.Carreon was among
those who have responded. Eventually, the revolutionists achieved victory and
declared national independence in June 1898, but that victory would be
short-lived. In February 1899,hostilities between the revolutionary forces and
the American military broke out. Carreon continued the struggle even after
Aguinlado’s capture by the Americans in March 1901. He joined the forces of
fellow Katipunan veteran Macario Sakay, with whom he would organize the
Nacionalista Party in the early 1900’s. Its other founding members were Pascual
Poblete, Lope K. Santos, Santiago Alvarez, Andres Villanueva, and Aguedo del Rosario.
When Sakay established the
Although they were portrayed as common bandits
by the American black propaganda, they were loved and supported by the people,
who continued to provide them with food and arms.
For several years, under their
President’s leadership, General Carreon in other harassed the enemy with their
systematic guerilla attacks. They unsettled the so-called “peaceful” colonial
regime, protractedly resisting every entreaty of the authorities to yield
peacefully, until the latter enlisted the help of the renowned labor leader of
the Partido Popular Independista, Dr. Dominador Gomez.
After several meetings with Gomez,
Sakay finally agreed to come down from his mountain redoubt, on the condition
that he and his compatriot were allowed to carry their guns, and more
important, that the Filipinos would be granted permission to for the Philippine
National Assembly. Thus, on
On July 17, Sakay, Carreon, and the
others were invited by an American colonel, Van Shaick who was then the
governor of
Although they were all adjudged guilty by Judge Ignacio Villamor on