The Battle of Pulang Lupa-Marinduque

By Renato Perdon
Courtesy: www.bayanihannews.com.au
Sydney-Australia
August 1, 2015



The dictum that it is the people and not the advanced weaponry that determines the outcome of a war was proven by the Battle of Pulang Lupa in Marinduque, more than a hundred ago.

The encounter took place on the mountainous side of Torrijos, twenty five miles off Sta. Cruz town proper.

It was the first true major battle won by Filipinos, after the infamous Santa Mesa incident on 4 February 1899. America then had just emerged as a world power after defeating Spain in the Battle of Manila Bay in May, the previous year.
In 1900, the Filipino revolutionary forces had been weakened by its series of losses. Luzon was saturated by the Yankee forces, who were closing in on General Emilio Aguinaldo’s retreating force.

Lt. Abad, a thirty year old idealist, led the local revolutionary forces of 100 untrained fighters armed only with bolos, bamboo spears and obsolete rifles confiscated from the Spaniards.

The following day, after losing track of the guerrillas, Captain Shields decided to march toward Sta. Cruz by taking the fateful pass. The Filipino freedom fighters attacked shortly from all points overlooking the pass. The American superior firepower was no match to the Filipinos’ positional and numerical advantage.

Three columns of Filipino revolutionists closed in and after two hours of continuous fighting, the American retreated toward Torrijos. But the guerrillas had already sealed the passage. The fighting ended at about two in the afternoon, when Captain Shields surrendered. At least four of his men died; most were wounded, including Shields himself.