Gregorio del Pilar, a university student in
Manila, joins the
Katipunan secret society which plans an armed revolution against
Spanish colonial rule. He is initiated by his uncle
Deodato Arellano with a
blood compact and he adopts the codename
Aguila (Eagle). When the
Philippine Revolution breaks out in 1896, del Pilar joins the rebellion in his native province of
Bulacan. His first taste of combat is when he and seven friends, which he dubs his
Siete Mosqueteros (Seven Musketeers), waylay a Spanish patrol in the streets for their rifles, armed only with blades. They then join the forces of Maestro Sebio (Eusebio Roque), a
folk-Catholic mystic reputed to be
magically invulnerable to Spanish bullets. In the
Battle of Kakarong de Sili, the rebels are wiped out when their stronghold is overwhelmed, and Maestro Sebio is captured and later executed by firing squad (by Filipinos, after a volley from Spanish soldiers has no effect). Del Pilar is injured in the battle and some of his friends are killed, but he escapes. Del Pilar then joins
Emilio Aguinaldo, the President of the nascent
Philippine Republic, in his hideout in Biak-na-Bato,
San Miguel, Bulacan. He gains Aguinaldo's trust and admiration after he leads a successful attack on
Paombong, Bulacan where his men infiltrate through the town church disguised in women's clothes. Soon, del Pilar is in Aguinaido's inner circle as his favorite officer. The rebels and the Spanish authorities work out a truce with the
Pact of Biak-na-Bato in 1897, and Del Pilar follows Aguinaldo in exile to
Hong Kong. However, Aguinaldo is convinced by
American officials to resume the revolution as an ally of the United States, which has
declared war on Spain. Del Pilar follows Aguinaldo back to the Philippines as the Americans launch their invasion in 1898. By the end of 1898, most of the country has fallen to American and Filipino forces and Aguinaldo has declared Philippine independence in his home province of
Cavite. But this is ignored by both the Spanish and American authorities, and Spain formally surrenders the Philippines to the United States alone through the
Treaty of Paris. Tensions between the Americans and Filipinos erupt with the
Philippine–American War (called the
Philippine Insurrection by the Americans) in early 1899. The outgunned Filipino forces are repeatedly defeated, and Aguinaldo is forced to go on the run to the north. In December 1899, Del Pilar and his men fight the
Battle of Tirad Pass in
Ilocos province to cover Aguinaldo's retreat, aware it is probably a
suicide mission. Their
last stand holds up the pursuing Americans for some time until a
Filipino guide leads the Americans to higher ground, surrounding del Pilar's forces. His men are all wiped out, and he charges the Americans alone on his horse, but a shot in the neck fells him from behind. The Americans strip his corpse for souvenirs and leave it unburied. Aguinaldo later sees Del Pilar's riderless horse and sheds a tear. ==Cast==