Juana be like them: 3 Filipina heroines you should know

When we talk about our heroes, we mostly hear about the men of the Philippine revolution. Jose Rizal, Andres Bonifacio, Apolinario Mabini — these are the names that often come up instantaneously.

It’s not so often we hear conversations about Filipino heroism start with a mention of the women who took part in the revolution, or played significant roles. In history books, the stories of these heroines are usually crammed into one short section, or placed on footnotes. They definitely deserve more than that; they should be recognized further by the present and future generations.

These women are just three of our most treasured heroines from the past. Remember their names and honor them with every opportunity that you have.

Nieves Fernandez

Fernandez was one of the several female guerilla leaders during World War II. Originally a schoolteacher from Tacloban, Leyte, she commanded a group of Filipino guerillas against the Japanese forces occupying the country.

Together with her group, Fernandez put up a fight with the Japanese, killing around 200 of them during the resistance. She eventually became a huge threat, pushing the invaders to put a 10,000-peso bounty on her head.

Nevertheless, Fernandez survived the war with nothing worse than a scar from a bullet wound in her right forearm.

Maria Rosa Luna Henson

During World War II, the Japanese forced a lot of women in the countries they occupied to serve as “comfort women” in military brothels. Since the Japanese took over the Philippines, many of the country’s women went through this horrible atrocity.

Most of the victims kept mum about their bitter experiences for fear of shame and embarrassment — but not Henson.

A native of Pasay, Henson provided a voice for all the victims when she spoke about her experience in 1992. She also wrote her autobiography “Comfort Woman: Slave of Destiny.”

In her book, she related how at 16 years old she had to endure nine months of being raped repeatedly every day. She was detained in a hospital in Angeles during that time.

Henson was the first comfort woman to come out in the open. Her courage inspired other victims to speak up as well and demand official recognition and compensation from the Japanese government.

Josefina “Joey” Guerrero

Guerrero proved to be an invaluable spy for Allied forces in the Philippines during World War II because of her disease, leprosy.

She used her condition to her advantage, enabling her to gather intelligence and perform surveillance on the Japanese forces that took up base in Leyte and Manila. She also acted as courier for the soldiers by delivering supplies. Typically, she operated by strapping the contraband to her body since the Japanese feared her condition and left her alone.

Her work saved hundreds of soldiers. The US military expressed their gratitude for her effort and after the war flew her to the States, where she received medals and awards.