Macario Sakay
Born in 1870 in Tondo In 1894, Macarario Sakay was about 24 years old when he joined the Dapitan (Manila) branch of the Katipunan in 1870. Sakay worked closely with Bonifacio and Jacinto and he was eventually appointed head of the Dapitan branch. His revolutionary activities continued during the American occupation and he was caught forming Katipunan chapters. Sakay was released from jail through. A year after, the Americans declared that they had "pacified" the Philippines. It was not true.
With a group of other Katipuneros,Sakay established the "Republika ng Katagalugan" in the mountains of Southern Luzon, which for Sakay, a continuation of Bonifacio's revolutionary Katipunan. Its Constitution was largely based on the early Katipunan creed of Bonifacio. Sakay was president; Francisco Carreon,vice-president; Julian Montalan, supervisor for military operations; Cornelio Felizardo was given charge of the northern part of Cavite, while Lucio de Vega controlled the rest of the province; Aniceto Oruga operated in the lake towns of Batangas; Leon Villafuerte headed Bulacan; and, Benito Natividad too charge of Tanauan, Batangas.
The Tagalog Republic enjoyed the support of the Filipino masses in the areas of Morong, Laguna, Batangas, and Cavite. Lower class people and those living in barrios contributed food, money, and other supplies to the movement. The people also helped Sakay's men evade military checkpoints; collected information on the whereabouts of the American troops and passed them on. Sevants working for the Americans stole ammunition and guns for the use of Sakay's men.
Alarmed at the growth of the Tagalog Republic, the Philippine Constabulary and the U.S. Army employed "hamletting" in Taal, Tanauan, Santo Tomas, and Nasugbu. The forced concentration of a large number of people in artificial hamlets caused the outbreak of diseases such as cholera and dysentery. Food was scarce in the camps, resulting in numerous deaths. The writ of habeas corpus was suspended in Cavite and Batangas to strengthen counter-insurgency efforts. Eventually, Sakay's republic weakened.
Given the false promise that a Philippine Assembly composed of Filipinos would be established, Sakay and his men surrendered on July 14, 1906. The promise and the assurance that Sakay and his men would not be jailed if they surrendered were contained in the letter allegedly written by Gov. Gen. Henry Ide that was brought to Sakay by a certain Dominador Gomez. During the trial, neither Gomez nor the letter could be found. Sakay was hanged on Sember 13, 1908.