CRY OF SANTA BARBARA AND THE
FEDERAL STATE OF THE VISAYAS
28 March 1898
Ilocos Sur
Across the sea, the Ilonggos were also in the midst of organizing their resistance and liberation movement against the Spanish. On 17 November 1898, thousands of katipuneros gathered in the town of Santa Barbara for an important convention to discuss the future of Panay and the promotion of local hero Martin Delgado to Lieutenant General.
Martin Delgado
The story of General Martin Delgado also began in Santa Barbara, Iloilo. Born to a well-off mestizo family, Delgado obtained an early education and served as a teacher in his hometown. At the young age of 25, he was appointed to serve as Teniente Mayor of Santa Barbara, where he will also serve as the Muncipal Captain in later years.
During the first phase of the Revolution, he was designated as a commander of local Spanish volunteers. But his love of country soon grew to the fore as he became one of the leading figures in the start of the Ilonggo revolt against Spain. On 28 October, he and his men marched into Santa Barbara and wrested control over the casa tribunal. This and other uprisings across Panay surprised the Spanish forces who were soon left only in the towns immediately surrounding Iloilo City.
The Story of the Philippine Flag in Panay
The 17 November Convention voted to establish a provisional government with Roque Lopez as president. To mark the occasion, the Philippine flag was hoisted for the first time over the Visayas. But the flag had a fraught journey before it was raised in Visayan skies. The sympathetic communities of Jaro had produced a replica of the flag flown by Aguinaldo on 12 June. But to get is across Spanish lines, two young Katipuneros risked their lives to deliver the standard.
Patrocino Gamboa, a young lady from Jaro and Honorio Solinap, a Katipunan officer, posed as husband and wife to cross Spanish checkpoints. To keep the flag safe, Gamboa wrapped the flag around her waist and covered it with part of her dress. In order to convince the Spanish guards that they were spouses and to further distract them from their search, Gamboa began to nag and curse at Solinap, hitting and pinching him akin to a fight between a dominant wife and a submissive husband. The amused Spanish guards believed the act so convincingly that they allowed the couple to pass without a thorough check, successfully allowing the delivery of the flag to the waiting revolutionaries.
Liberty to Victory
Following the organization of the provisional government, talks with other Visayan groups were initiated. This resulted in the formation of the Federal State of the Visayas on 2 December 1898 which was composed of the territories administered by the Provisional Government, including Panay and Romblon, and those under the Negros Republic and the Cantonal Governments of Bohol and Cebu. The State recognized the authority of the Malolos Government and President Aguinaldo but espoused their wish for federalism. By Christmas 1898, the Spanish had decided to evacuate the Visayas fully and left Iloilo where the Federal State raised the Philippine Flag in the Plaza Libertad and organized a triumphal parade in the city.