Teresa’s her name

Most Filipinos would know Melchora Aquino, aka Tandang Sora, and Gabriela Silang as homegrown heroes of the fairer sex. But Teresa Magbanua? Who is she?

The Philippine Coast Guard’s 97-meter, multi-role response vessel, one of its most modern and largest, was ordered from Japan in 2020 and commissioned in May 2022 as the BRP Teresa Magbanua in honor of the acclaimed “Joan of Arc of the Visayas.”

On Sunday, PCG commandant Admiral Ronnie Gil Gavan revealed that the BRP Teresa Magbanua had just returned from a perilous nine-day mission providing aid and protection to Filipino fishermen.

With reports that the fishermen were being harassed by Chinese coast guard and militia vessels at the Bajo de Masinloc, also known as Panatag or Scarborough Shoal, the PCG dispatched its crown jewel of a ship.

And, boy, did the officers and crew of the BRP Magbanua do the country proud when they stood their ground against a swarm of eight China Coast Guard and militia vessels that challenged its presence in the shoal that is being claimed by Beijing as part of its territory.

As a 2016 arbitral ruling confirmed, the shoal and most other parts of the West Philippine Sea are within the 200-nautical mile exclusive economic zone of the Philippines. The ruling found baseless China’s claim to nearly the entire South China Sea, which overlaps the WPS.

Gavan said the BRP Teresa Magbanua was the target of at least four “dangerous and blocking maneuvers” by the Chinese, including an instance when a Chinese ship crossed its bow. While firmly asserting that it was the Chinese ships that were trespassing into Philippine territory, the officers of the PCG vessel kept their poise and professionalism.

An educator before joining the Philippine Revolution against Spain in 1898, alongside her two ill-fated brothers, Teresa Magbanua must be beaming from beyond at those officers and crew at the helm of a ship that carries her name.

Magbanua, the horseback-riding, pistol-wielding Ilongga, was just one of a few Filipinas who would see battlefield action against the Spaniards (victories in three she participated in, including the liberation of Iloilo).

Against the Americans, Magbanua would also take up arms, suffering defeat in the Second Battle of Iloilo against the forces of US Brig. Gen. Marcus Miller, and fighting alongside her brother Pascual in the retaking of Balantang, Jaro in March 1899.

Magbanua surrendered her forces in 1900 and, according to accounts, returned to farming after her brothers Pascual and Elias passed away under mysterious circumstances at ages 24 and 19, respectively, with the ranks of general and major in the revolutionary movement.

When World War 2 broke out and the Japanese invaded the Philippines, Magbanua would again risk her life at a rather advanced age by helping the resistance movement obtain war provisions, selling whatever she could, including her Iloilo property, to fund the guerrillas.

For her battlefield exploits and heroism, Magbanua was bestowed the honorific “general,” although her being a commissioned officer of the revolutionary forces remained the subject of much debate.

The PCG ship that carries Magbanua’s name was built by Mitsubishi Shipbuilding Co. Ltd. in Shimonoseki, Japan and was patterned after the Kunigami-class patrol vessels of the Japanese Defense Force. It has a top speed of about 24 knots and has a helipad.

As a PCG vessel, the BRP Teresa Magbanua cannot be classified as a war vessel, and the sparse weaponry it carries would attest to its coastal patrol duties, including search and rescue. Nonetheless, it carries the name of one of the fiercest Filipinas to ever live, and with it, the duty of its crew to live up to her gallantry.

The practice of naming naval vessels after heroes like Teresa Magbanua goes back centuries and involves diverse cultures.

The Greeks and Egyptians named their ships after deities and mythological figures to seek protection at sea, ditto with the Europeans during the Middle Ages who named theirs after kings and saints.

With the rise of national identities in the 16th and 17th centuries, naming ships after historical figures and national heroes took center stage with the goal being to inspire patriotism and celebrate past victories (e.g., the HMS Victory commemorating Admiral Nelson’s triumph).

The PCG has done well with the BRP Teresa Magbanua and a grateful nation thanks its officers and crew for their service to flag and country.

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Magbanua, the horsebackriding, pistolwielding Ilongga, was just one of a few Filipinas who would see battlefield action against the Spaniards.

“The PCG has done well with the BRP Teresa Magbanua and a grateful nation thanks its officers and crew for their service to flag and country.