In the heart of Lipa, an epic, bloody siege is re-enacted

On all other Sundays, the courtyard in front of Lipa’s venerable cathedral is a festive mix of church goers and vendors. Last Sunday, it was a battlefield.

Well, a mock battlefield, but filled with frantic combatants and grimacing wounded, reenactors all in 19th century military uniforms reenacting a real-life forgotten triumph of Filipino revolutionaries over Spanish forces in the heart of Lipa.

That victory and the surrender of hundreds of Spanish troops ended an epic 11-day siege inside the church and the adjoining convento in June 1898.

The well-attended reenactment, along with the unveiling of a commemorative plaque on a cathedral wall by Lipa Mayor Eric Africa, concluded a years-long struggle by a small band of local history advocates, this writer included, to recognize the importance of the siege. It had not been commemorated in over a hundred years.

“As far as we know, this is the first ever battle reenactment of its kind in the Philippines, in terms of it taking place at the actual battle site,” said Diego Magallona, a military history  researcher and one of the re-enactors. He played Batangueño General Eleuterio Marasigan.

A collaborative project among Lipa’s local government, the Archdiocese of Lipa, the city’s tourism council led by Joel Peña, and an ad hoc group of private citizens, the free event last June 18 coincided with the completed translation of the recently discovered Spanish-language memoirs of a Spanish participant in the 1898 siege, the military doctor Santos Rubiano.

That gave the Republica Filipina Reenactment Group, a volunteer organization of military history buffs and performance artists, a wealth of historical details to dramatize for a large audience of camera-wielding onlookers.

Those details included the arm amputation of the Spanish commander by Dr. Rubiano; the tactics employed by Filipino troops led by Jose Rizal’s older brother, General Paciano Rizal; and the arrival of a cannon that accelerated the surrender of the besieged Spaniards.

“It sinks in and I'm there, I'm not in 2023 anymore; it's 1898 I’m fighting in the Revolution,” said Magallona, a seasoned participant in military reenactments. “That's the kind of experience that reenactment and living history should strive to bring both to reenactors and their audiences – helping us connect to our past by bringing it to life.”

As the day ended, a rare iridescent spherical cloud formation dramatically appeared above the battlefield, eliciting gasps and drawing cameras once more. — LA, GMA Integrated News