IMUS, Cavite-Former senator Richard Gordon has renewed his call for the Battle of Imus to be recognized as the First Victory of the Philippine Revolution, saying Filipinos should not be hesitant to acknowledge one of the earliest major triumphs of the revolutionary movement.
‘Why are we so doubtful about naming the first victory of the Revolution?’ Gordon said during the 130th anniversary commemoration of the Battle of Imus.
The battle took place from August 31 to September 3, 1896, during the early stages of the Revolution, when Filipino forces were poorly armed and struggling against better-equipped Spanish troops.
After an initial attack on the Imus hacienda failed, Col. José Tagle initiated another attack. Revolutionary forces eventually captured the hacienda, including modern firearms, a mounted cannon and ammunition.
The captured cannon was then used against the Spanish force of Gen. Ernesto de Aguirre, which advanced toward Imus on Sept. 3. Filipino forces drove the Spanish troops back toward Bacoor.
Gordon said the victory had consequences beyond the battlefield. The success strengthened the revolutionary movement in Cavite, where the uprising subsequently spread to other towns. Imus eventually became a revolutionary center, while historian Onofre Corpuz described Cavite as the Revolution’s ‘most successful front.’
For Gordon, the battle deserves greater recognition because it demonstrated that Filipino revolutionaries could defeat a superior colonial force despite limited resources.
‘Dapat malaman ng kabataan na may mga Pilipinong nanalo kahit wala silang sapat na armas at wala silang makapangyarihang kakampi,’ he said.
He added the anniversary should encourage Filipinos to revisit the victories of the Revolution and the people who made them possible.