![[L] Pantaleon Villegas; photo from watawat.net and [R] from the monument of Leon Kilat in Carcar, Cebu; photo from suroypilipinas.com](resize_pic.php?file=articlePhotos/people/1340.jpg&w=321&h=208 "[L] Pantaleon Villegas; photo from watawat.net and [R] from the monument of Leon Kilat in Carcar, Cebu; photo from suroypilipinas.com")
Pantaleon Villegas was born in July 27, 1873 in Bacong, Negros Oriental to Don Policarpio Villegas and Doña Ursula Soldi. He's more popularly known as "Leon Kilat" by locals, which means "Leon of the Lightning" in Cebuano.
He worked at Botica Antigua located in corner of Calle de Palacio and Calle Legaspi (Burgos and Legaspi) in 1895. It was a drug store known to many and frequented by Cebuanos. Pantaleon did not stay long at Botica Antigua since he then transferred to a bakery in Pahina. Then, he moved to a circus owned by Tagalogs on their way to Manila which happened to be owned by a katipunero. He was recruited into the secret council of the Katipunan.
He was a member of the Katipunan and led the revolutionary group in Panay and Negros Islands.
He was also a revolutionary leader in Cebu during the Philippine Revolution against Spain. Leon Kilat led the uprising in April 1, 1898 in Cebu. He initially intended to begin the rebellion on Easter Sunday but was forced to change his plans when the planned revolt was discovered by the Spaniards.
He started the revolution in Cebu on Palm Sunday instead, April 3, known as "Tres de Abril Revolt". On April 7, Spanish reinforcements from Iloilo and Manila arrived in Cebu. The rebels fled into the mountains where they waged guerrilla warfare.
He died at aged 24 on Good Friday, April 8, 1898, in Carcar, Cebu. Leon Kilat was betrayed and stabbed to death by his aide-de-camp, Apolinario (in some accounts: Reinaryo or Renario) Alcuitas.
Pantaleon Villegas a.k.a "Leon Kilat" exhibited the values of nationalism, leadership and courage. "Wala nang hihigit pang kadakilaan sa pag-alay ng buhay sa bayan" (Nothing is nobler than offering one's life to the country.)
In 1926, a statue of Pantaleon Villegas or Leon Kilat was erected in the town plaza of Bacong, Negros Oriental in honor of him. On July 27, 2008 during the 135th anniversary of Villegas' birth, the Philippine National Historical Institute has turned over the historical marker in honor of Villegas to local and provincial officials in his hometown.
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photos/source/reference:
en.wikipedia.org | msc.edu.ph | suroypilipinas.com | oocities.org | philippinetravelnotes.blogspot.com
