Macario Sakay is a carriage factory worker and stage actor from
Tondo, Manila who joins
Andres Bonifacio's revolutionary secret society, the
Katipunan. He fights during the
Philippine Revolution against
Spain and later in the
Philippine–American War. Sakay remains in the field even after the capture of
President Emilio Aguinaldo and the fall of the
First Philippine Republic. He was captured, but is released during an amnesty. Sakay then takes to the mountains to revive the
Katipunan, together with
Francisco Carreon, Julian Montalan, Cornelio Felizardo and other rebel leaders. He proclaims himself General and President of the "
Tagalog Republic" (
Republika ng Katagalugan), and engaged the
United States Army and the
Philippine Constabulary in guerrilla warfare. On occasion, he is aided by
talisman-wearing cultist warriors. After years of fighting, Sakay is convinced to surrender by Filipino labor leader Dr. Dominador Gomez, who argued that the establishment of a
Philippine National Assembly, instead of armed resistance, presented the soundest option towards attaining Filipino independence. On the understanding that the American government offered amnesty, Sakay and his officers come down from the mountains. However, as a ruse, they were invited to a reception in Cavite and arrested by the Americans. Tried and convicted for
brigandage, Sakay and Colonel Lucio de Vega are hanged while Montalan and others received life imprisonment. ==Cast==