September 13, 1907, Macario Sakay was Hanged
Macario Sacay y de Leon was a Filipino General in the Philippine American War who continued to battle against the United States following the official declaration of the end of the Philippine-American War in 1902. Born in Tondo, Manila on March 1, 1870, Macario Sakay worked as a calesa manufacturing shop apprentice, became a tailor, and engaged in acting. He was among the last of the Filipino resistance fighters to surrender to the Americans. On September 13, 1907, he was hanged for banditry inside the Old Bilibid Prison in Manila, together with Col. Lucio de Vega.
On November 12, 1902, the Philippine Commission passed the Bandolerism Act which proclaimed all captured resistance insurgents to be tried in court as bandits, ladrones and robbers. In April 1904, Macario Sakay issued a manifesto declaring Filipino right to self-determination at a time when calling for “independence”, espousing and advocating the same was considered a crime by the American occupation forces in the Philippines. He attempted to form his own Republic otherwise known as “Republika ng Katagalugan”. He was the President of the Republika and Francisco Carreon as the vice president.
The United States Government did not recognize Macario Sakay’s government and thus, he was declared an outlaw under the Bandolerism Act. But this did not stop Sakay and his companions from expansively fight in the Southern Luzon area. The American governor-general promised amnesty for Macario Sakay and his men in exchange for surrender. Eventually, Macario Sakay was one of the last remaining Filipino generals to surrender on July 14, 1906. Consquently, the “Republika ng Katagalugan” ended in 1907 and in spite of the amnesty, Macario Sakay and his followers were arrested and executed by the American authorities.
Born in Tondo, Manila on March 1, 1870, Macario Sakay worked as a calesa manufacturing shop apprentice, became a tailor, and engaged in acting. He was one of a handful original members of the Katipunan who joined the organization even before even before the revolution began. He fought alongside Bonifacio, and continued the struggle toward the Philippine-American War. He was accused and found guilty of sedition, but was released after the war; he then founded the Nacionalista Party. On April 1904, he proclaimed himself President of his self-established government, the Republika ng Katagalugan.
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