BRP can mean:

• Bachelor of Resource and Environmental Planning
• Baloch Republican Party, a Baloch nationalist political party in Pakistan
• Basic Role-Playing
• Business Recovery Plan, another name for a disaster recovery plan
• Bilingual Review Press, a publishing house affiliated with Arizona State University
• Bombardier Recreational Products
• Brief reactive psychosis
• British Racing Partnership, a defunct British motor racing team
• Blue Ridge Parkway
• Bathroom Privileges
• Barko ng Republika ng Pilipinas or Bapor ng Republika ng Pilipinas (English: Ship of the Republic of the Philippines), the prefix of Philippine Navy ship names
• Brigada Ramona Parra
• Balance Responsible Party, organisation that plans and achieves an hourly balance between the supply and withdrawal of electricity

This disambiguation page lists articles associated with the same title. If an internal link led you here, you may wish to change the link to point directly to the intended article.

Rajah Humabon statue in Cebu City, May 2011

Rajah Humabon was the Rajah of Cebu at the time of Portuguese explorer, Ferdinand Magellan's arrival in the Philippines in 1521.^[1] There is no official record of his existence before the Spanish arrival, but extensive narration by Italian historian Antonio Pigafetta was made on Humabon and the Philippine indigenous kingdoms, prior to the Spanish colonization.

There is no official record on the origins of Rajah Humabon prior to the arrival of Magellan. According to tradition, one of the native kings was Sri Lumay, a native from Sumatra, who settled in the Visayas, and had several sons. One of his sons was Sri Alho, who ruled a land known as Sialo which included the present-day towns of Carcar and Santander in the southern region of Cebu. Sri Ukob ruled a kingdom known as Nahalin in the north which included the present-day towns of Consolación, Liloan, Compostela, Danao, Carmen and Bantayan. He died in battle, fighting with the tribal group known as magalos from Mindanao.^[2]

The youngest of his sons was Sri Bantug who ruled a kingdom known as Singhapala (a variation of the Sanskrit Singha-Pura meaning City of the Lion, the same root for the name of Singapore), in a region which is now part of Cebu City, who died of disease and was succeeded by his son Sri Hamabar, also known as Rajah Humabon. Sri Bantug had a brother called Sri Parang, the limp, but could not govern his kingdom because of his infirmity. Sri Parang handed his throne to his nephew Humabon as regent and became the Rajah (king) of Cebu.

Sri Parang, the limp, also had a young son, Sri Tupas, also known as Rajah Tupas who succeeded Rajah Humabon as king of Cebu.^[3] The phrase Cata Raya Chita was documented by historian Antonio Pigafetta to be a warning in the Malay language, from a merchant to the Rajah. Following Pigafetta's inscription, the phrase is creole Malay for "Kata-katanya adalah raya cita-cita". (Kata (word), raya (great, main, large), cita-cita (ambitious)"), or "What they say is mainly ambitious".

Another interpretation is that this phrase is that of Kota raya kita, an indigenous Old Malay phrase of merchants under the authority of Rajah Humabon, with a meaning in English of: "We are of the great fortress": Kota (fortress), Raya (Rajah, royal, great), kita (we).

The meeting between Rajah Humabon and Enrique of Malacca, the slave accompanying Magellan's voyage, is the evidence of the existence of the Old Malay being the indigenous language spoken in the Philippines, documented by Antonio Pigafetta and Spanish explorer Miguel López de Legazpi.

According to Spanish and Philippine historical accounts, Rajah Humabon was the first indigenous king of the Philippines who converted to Christianity, after he, his wives and the people of Cebu were baptized by Magellan's priest. Humabon was named Carlos in honour of king Charles I of Spain, while his principal wife Hara Amihan was named Juana, after king Charles' mother, Johanna. He also made a blood compact with Magellan, as a sign of friendship. According to Pigafetta, it was Humabon who had requested Magellan to kill his rival Lapu Lapu, the Datu (chieftain) of nearby Mactan island. Humabon's conversion to Christianity however, had an adverse effect of allowing the Spaniards to control Humabon and his people.

After the death of Magellan at the Battle of Mactan and the consequent failure of the Spanish to defeat Lapu Lapu, Humabon and his warriors plotted to poison the remaining Spanish soldiers in Cebu during a feast. Several were killed.

See also[link]

• History of the Philippines

References[link]

External links[link]

• RAJAH HUMABON (Ca. 1521) King of Cebu
• Cebu eskrima
• The official website of Boholchronicle

Gregorio del Pilar
Nickname	"Goyong" "Boy General"
Born	(1875-11-14)November 14, 1875 Bulacan, Bulacan, Philippines
Died	December 2, 1899(1899-12-02) (aged 24) Tirad Pass, Ilocos Sur, Philippines
Allegiance	First Philippine Republic
Service/branch	Philippine Revolutionary Army
Battles/wars	Philippine Revolution Philippine-American War *Battle of Quingua *Battle of Tirad Pass
Relations	Marcelo H. del Pilar, uncle

Gregorio del Pilar y Sempio (November 14, 1875—December 2, 1899) was one of the youngest generals in the Philippine Revolutionary Forces during the Philippine Revolution and the Philippine-American War. He is most known for his role and death at the Battle of Tirad Pass. Because of his youth, he was called the "Boy General."

Early life and education[link]

Born on November 14, 1875 to Fernando H. del Pilar and Felipa Sempio of Bulacan, Bulacan, del Pilar was the nephew of propagandist Marcelo H. del Pilar and Toribio H. del Pilar, who was exiled to Guam for his involvement in the 1872 Cavite Mutiny.

"Goryo", as he was casually known, studied at the Ateneo Municipal de Manila, where he received his Bachelor’s degree in 1896, at the age of 20. When the Philippine Revolution against Spanish rule broke out in August under the leadership of Andres Bonifacio, del Pilar joined the insurgency. He distinguished himself as a field commander while fighting Spanish garrisons in Bulacan.

Military career[link]

He later joined General Emilio Aguinaldo, who had gained control of the movement, in Hong Kong after the truce at Biak-na-Bato. During the Spanish American War, Aguinaldo returned to the Philippines and established the government of the First Philippine Republic. He appointed del Pilar section leader of the revolutionary forces in Bulacan and Nueva Ecija. On June 1, del Pilar landed in Bulacan with rifles purchased in Hong Kong, quickly laying siege on the Spanish forces in the province. When the Spaniards surrendered to del Pilar, he brought his men to Caloocan, Manila to support the other troops battling the Spaniards there.

When the Philippine-American War broke-out on February 1899, del Pilar led his troops to a short victory over Major Franklin Bell in the first phase of the Battle of Quingua on April 23, 1899, in which his forces repelled a cavalry charge and killed the highly respected Colonel John M. Stotsenburg,^[1] after whom Clark Air Base was originally named (Fort Stotsenburg).^[2]

Death[link]

Gregorio del Pilar's tomb (Bulacan Provincial Capitol plaza and his equestrian statue).

Gregorio del Pilar circa 1899

On December 2, 1899, del Pilar led 60 Filipino soldiers of Aguinaldo's rear guard in the Battle of Tirad Pass against the "Texas Regiment", the 33rd Infantry Regiment of the United States led by Peyton C. March. A delaying action to cover Aguinaldo's retreat, the five-hour standoff resulted in Del Pilar's death due to a shot to the neck (at the height or end of the fighting, depending on eyewitness accounts). Del Pilar's body was later despoiled and robbed by the victorious American soldiers.^[3]

Del Pilar's body lay unburied for days, exposed to the elements. While retracing the trail, an American officer, Lt. Dennis P. Quinlan, gave the body a traditional U.S. military burial. Upon del Pilar's tombstone, Quinlan inscribed, "An Officer and a Gentleman".^{[citation needed]}

In 1930, del Pilar's body was exhumed and was identified by the gold tooth and braces he had installed while in exile in Hong Kong.

Documentary[link]

His life was shown in the Philippine TV news show Case Unclosed as its 13th episode.

Movie Adaptation[link]

Tirad Pass: The Story of Gen. Gregorio del Pilar (1997) Starring Romnick Sarmenta as Gen. Gregorio del Pilar

Memorials[link]

Gregorio del Pilar's monument (Bulacan's provincial heroes' park, Bulacan State University).

• Fort Del Pilar, home of the Philippine Military Academy in Baguio, is named after him.
• In 1944, the Japanese-sponsored Philippine republic of President Jose P. Laurel issued the Tirad Pass Medal commemorating the battle and del Pilar's sacrifice. A bust of General del Pilar occupies the center of the obverse (front) side of the medal. The Tirad Pass Medal was the only award issued to recognize service to the Laurel government during the Japanese occupation.
• In 1955, the municipality of Concepcion in Ilocos Sur was renamed in his honor.
• In 1995, his life was featured in the movie "Tirad Pass: The Last Stand of General Gregorio del Pilar" starring Romnick Sarmienta.
• In 2011, the newest member of the Philippine Navy, BRP Gregorio del Pilar, was named after him. The ship was a patrol frigate.

Further reading[link]

• Zaide, Gregorio F. (1984). Philippine History and Government. National Bookstore Printing Press. 

Notes[link]

External links[link]

• IMDb - Tirad Pass: The Story of Gen. Gregorio del Pilar (1997)