Lieutenant-General Pantaleón Villegas y Soldi (July 27, 1873 – April 8, 1898), better known by his '' nom-de-guerre'' León Kilat (literally "Lightning Leo" in Cebuano), was a

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revolutionary leader in

Cebu Cebu (; ceb, Sugbo), officially the Province of Cebu ( ceb, Lalawigan sa Sugbo; tl, Lalawigan ng Cebu; hil, Kapuroan sang Sugbo), is a province of the Philippines located in the Central Visayas region, and consists of a main island and 167 ...

during the Philippine Revolution against the

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. He was born in

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, Negros Oriental, to Policarpio Villegas and Doña Úrsula Soldi. His grandparents were Pedro Villegas, a

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, and Dorotea Vergara, the daughter of a

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''capitán''.

Biography

Occupation

In 1895, Villegas worked at the Botica Antigua located in the corner of Calle del Palacio (today Burgos St.) and Calle Legazpi. It was a well-known drugstore frequented by many townsfolk. With him were Ciriaco Murillo and Eulogio Duque who told the writer Manuel Enríquez de la Calzada that Villegas actually used the name "Eulogio", instead of Pantaleón. Because there were two Eulogios working in the drugstore, the owner decided to call him "León" instead. The reason for him using the name "Eulogio" is not known. Villegas did not stay long at Botica Antigua. He transferred to a bakery on Calle Página (today Pahina St.). From there he moved on to a circus on its way to

Manila Manila ( , ; fil, Maynila, ), officially the City of Manila ( fil, Lungsod ng Maynila, ), is the capital of the Philippines, and its second-most populous city. It is highly urbanized and, as of 2019, was the world's most densely populate ...

. The circus happened to be owned by a ''

katipunero The Katipunan, officially known as the Kataastaasan, Kagalanggalangang Katipunan ng mga Anak ng Bayan or Kataastaasan Kagalang-galang na Katipunan ng mga Anak ng Bayan (KKK; en, Supreme and Honorable Association of the Children of the Nation ...

''. It was there that he was recruited into the secret society of the Katipunan.

Revolutionary Leadership in Cebu

During the rebellion against Spain, Villegas led the revolutionaries in

. Initially intending to begin the rebellion on Easter Sunday, he was forced to change his plans when the Spaniards discovered the planned revolt.

Battle of Tres de Abril

= 3 April 1898, Palm Sunday

= : Villegas and his men began the rebellion in Cebu.

= 4 April

= : 05:00 : The rebels drove the Spanish forces into Fort San Pedro and took control of Cebu City. When the Spanish gunboat ''María Cristina'' opened fire, the rebels retreated to the Chinese quarter of Lutao.

= 7 April

= : 500 men of the 73rd Native Regiment and Spanish ''cazadores'' with the cruiser ''Don Juan de Austria'' arrived under the command of General Tejeiro. This forced the rebels to retreat to San Nicolas. : The Spanish continued pursuing the rebels into the mountain region until 8 April.

Death

On 8 April 1898,

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, in Carcar, Cebu, Villegas was betrayed and stabbed to death by Captain Florencio Noel, Apolinario Alcuitas his '' aide-de-camp'' and other men due to endangering the town of Carcar.

In popular culture

* Portrayed by Ace Espinosa in 1997 episode of

ABS-CBN ABS-CBN (an initialism of its two predecessors' names, Alto Broadcasting System and Chronicle Broadcasting Network) is a Television in the Philippines, Philippine Commercial broadcasting, commercial broadcast broadcast network, network tha ...

's '' Bayani'' in Episodes "Leon Kilat 1898"

References

3. Pantaleon Villegas https://negrosnowdaily.com/leon-kilat-life-and-heroism/PennT.Larena Retrieved 2022-06-02

External links

* 1873 births 1898 deaths 19th-century circus performers Visayan people Filipino people of Spanish descent Filipino revolutionaries Paramilitary Filipinos People of the Philippine Revolution People from Negros Oriental Deaths by stabbing in the Philippines {{Philippines-bio-stub