Battle of Tres de Abril
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The Battle of Tres de Abril occurred in April 3, 1898, during the Philippine Revolution. It was fought in the city of Cebu, a month after the Revolt of Cebu began.
Background
Leon Kilat (real name Pantaleon Villegas), a native of Bacong, Negros Oriental, came from Luzon in a circus run by Katipuneros, and enlisted himself to the Katipunan revolutionary movement. He arrived in Cebu City in early 1898, carrying a letter from Katipuneros in Luzon who designated him as leader of the Katipunan revolutionary movement in Cebu. He enlisted a considerable number of Cebuanos willing to drive out the Spanish government in their province, once and for all.
On March 11, 1898, in Pacaña’s sugarcane field in Barangay Labangon, Leon Kilat and the Cebuano Katipuneros agreed to take up arms against the Spaniards, beginning the revolt in Cebu.
Battle
April 1, 1898, after the Spaniards discovered Kilat's intent in attacking on Good Friday, the Katipuneros, numbering 5,000 and armed with bolos and a few guns, fought them instead on Palm Sunday, April 3, 1898, in what is now known as the Battle of Tres de Abril.[1]:402
At 5 AM on 4 April, the rebels drove the Governor, General Montero, and his Spanish volunteers into Fort San Pedro and took control of Cebu City.[1]:402 When the gunboat Maria Cristina opened fire, the rebels retreated to the Chinese quarter of Lutao.[1]:402 On 7 April, 500 men of the 73rd Native Regiment and Spanish cazadores arrived under the command of General Tejeiro, and with the cruiser Don Juan de Austria, forcing the rebels to retreat to San Nicolas.[1]:403 The Spanish continued their pursuit of the rebels on 8 April into the mountain region.[1]:404
Aftermath
Five days after the Battle of Tres de Abril, on April 8, 1898, Good Friday, Leon Kilat was stabbed to death by his aide-de-camp, Apolinario Alcuitas, in Carcar, Cebu. The rebels then withdrew out of the city few weeks after he died. However, some of his generals, like General Maxilom, managed to capture some towns in the province such as Toledo and Balamban.
Today, Cebu City’s Leon Kilat Street is the site of the University of San Jose-Recoletos, Our Lady of Mount Carmel Parish, two malls and the building of the Government Service Insurance System office. There is a commemorative monument built for Leon Kilat for the 3-day capture of Cebu City.
