HOW MANY WOMEN heroes can you name, versus the men? No, this is not a competition between the sexes, but an emphasis on how our education has lagged on teaching about the lives of Philippine heroines.
How many books on the lives of these women had been published? Wanting.
There’s a lot of names that we have not heard of, yet we enjoy the fruit of their labor. Many died for us who they had considered the future generation in their time.
At least, there are those who know Gregoria “Oriang” de Jesus as the wife of Supremo Andres Bonifacio. But she was not merely a better-half of Andres. She is a hero, no less.
Marrying Andres before turning 18, she joined the Katipunan, chose the name Lakambini (Lakan bini), kept and protected the important papers, the seal, and even the weapons of the Kataastaasang Kagalanggalangang Katipunan ng mga Anak ng Bayan or simply KKK.
She learned to ride horses, and fire a gun, which according to her memoir, were put to use many times. She helped sew the first Katipunan flag and along with others, took care of the wounded Katipuneros. She was a writer and a poetess. She was more than a wife and a mother.
On May 10, 1897, that was just a day after Oriang’s birthday, she had no idea that her husband was already killed. She looked for Andres and it took her weeks to learn about the tragedy.
In 1898, she was married again. This time to commander of the Katipunan and composer Julio Nakpil. They lived at Bahay Nakpil-Bautista where a portion of the house serves as a museum showcasing the belongings of Gregoria De Jesus who died in 1943. Her life was never easy. Too many lessons to learn if we allow ourselves to engage in reading about it.
Oriang was the reason for the Lakambini Act of 2025 at the House of Representatives, an act to institutionalize the inclusion of studying the lives and contribution of women heroes to nation building. This was done in congruence with her 150th birth anniversary last year.
This week on May 7th, Senator Risa Hontiveros filed Senate Bill 2120 otherwise referred to as the Lakambini Act of 2026 seeking to institutionalize the study of Filipina heroes and their contributions to Philippine history.
Ironically, the Commission on Higher Education (CHED) has recently made public the proposed abolition of some important subjects in the general education curriculum.
If we look closely at the curricula even from grade school to high school to college, there’s so much to be done if we would consider producing nationalists and patriots among the youth who will soon be the leaders of our country.
The Lakambini Act, should it be enacted into law, would be a very good starting point to inspire students to be better citizens. This is good for the country. Let us not go back to the time when womenfolk were told not to study because they will just become housewives anyway. Instead, let us go farther back to the time when women were babaylans, leaders, healers, spiritual guides.
Back to the time when women (and men, for that matter) were heroes. Shall we?