León Kilat, Date of Birth, Place of Birth, Date of Death
TweetLeón Kilat
Filipino revolutionary
Date of Birth: 27-Jul-1873
Place of Birth: Bacong, Philippines
Date of Death: 08-Apr-1898
Profession: circus performer
Nationality: Philippines
Zodiac Sign: Leo 
About León Kilat
- Lieutenant-General Pantaleón Villegas y Soldi (July 27, 1873 – April 8, 1898) better known as León Kilat ("Lightning Lion" in Cebuano), was a revolutionary leader in Cebu during the Philippine Revolution against Spain.
- He was born in Bacong, Negros Oriental, to Don Policarpio Villegas and Doña Úrsula Soldi.
- His grandfather was Don Pedro Villegas, a native of Spain, and Dorotea, a daughter of a capitán of Bacong. In 1895, he worked at Botica Antigua located in the corner of Calle del Palacio and Calle Legazpi (Burgos and Legazpi).
- It was a well-known drugstore frequented by many Cebuanos.
- With him were Ciriaco Murillo and Eulogio Duque who told the writer Manuel Enríquez de la Calzada that Pantaleón actually used the name "Eulogio", instead of Pantaleón.
- Because there were two Eulogios working in the drugstore, the German owner had to call him instead "León".
- Why he used the name "Eulogio" was not known.Villegas did not stay long at Botica Antigua.
- He transferred to a bakery in Pahina (Fagina).
- From there he moved on to a circus owned by Tagalogs on their way to Manila.
- The circus happened to be owned by a katipunero.
- It was there that he was recruited into the secret council of the Katipunan. During the rebellion against Spain, Kilat led the revolutionaries in Cebu.
- Initially intending to begin the rebellion on Easter Sunday, he was forced to change his plans when the Spaniards discovered the planned revolt.
- Kilat and his men began the rebellion in Cebu on Palm Sunday, April 3, 1898.
- He was, however, betrayed and murdered on Good Friday, April 8, 1898, in Carcar, Cebu.
- He was stabbed to death by his own aide-de-camp, Apolinario Alcuitas.The town of Bacong in Negros Oriental has honored Villegas with a statue erected in the town plaza in 1926.
- On July 27, 2008, the 135th anniversary of Villegas' birth, the Philippine National Historical Institute turned over a historical marker in honor of Villegas to local and provincial officials in his hometown.
Read more at Wikipedia