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Melchora Aquino Facts & Worksheets

Melchora Aquino de Ramos, commonly known as "Tandang Sora" ("Elder Sora") because of her age, played an important role during the Philippine Revolution.

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Melchora Aquino de Ramos, commonly known as “Tandang Sora” (“Elder Sora”) because of her age, played an important role during the Philippine Revolution. She supported the Katipunan and was one of nine historical figures in the Philippines that were recommended to be National Heroes by the Technical Committee of the National Heroes Committee, which was created through Executive Order No. 5 by previous President Fidel Ramos.

See the fact file below for more information on the Melchora Aquino or alternatively, you can download our 20-page Melchora Aquino worksheet pack to utilise within the classroom or home environment.

Key Facts & Information

EARLY LIFE AND MARRIAGE

  • Melchora Aquino was born on January 6, 1812, in Barrio Banlat, Caloocan (now part of Quezon City).
  • Melchora was the only daughter of Juan and Valentina Aquino, a peasant couple living in Caloocan.
  • Despite the fact that she never attended school, Melchora was literate and highly intelligent at an early age.
  • Melchora was also a talented singer who performed at local events and for her church.
  • She was also usually chosen to be the Reyna Elena during “Santacruzan”, a processional pageant commemorating Empress Helen’s finding of the Cross of Christ. This event is celebrated in the Philippines every month of May.
  • When she became an adult, she married Fulgencio Ramos, a village chief, or cabeza de barrio.
  • The couple had six children.
  • When their youngest child was seven years old, her husband died. This untimely death caused Melchora to raise all six children on her own as a single parent.
  • With a large family to support, Melchora worked hard to give her children the proper schooling that she never had.
  • Melchora handled the management of the family farm and other business interests. Working the farm with 15 tenants, she was able to produce sufficient rice and sugarcane to support her children into adulthood.
  • After several years had passed, her children would support her, and some of them would become advocates and members of the Katipunan.

INVOLVEMENT IN THE REVOLUTION

  • In her native village, Tandang Sora opened a store.
  • In 1896, the Philippine Revolution arose up against the Spaniards who invaded the Philippines for almost 300 years and strived to take the country for themselves. At that time Melchora was aged 84.
  • Being a farmer herself, Melchora was sympathetic with many of her fellow Filipinos who were heavily taxed and often made to pay for fiestas in honor of different saints.
  • The difficulties she experienced as a single mother made her decide to support the Katipunan, to which she sacrificed almost everything in her possession, including her house and even her children.
  • Her store became a refuge and a place to provide medical care to the soldiers who were wounded in the war.
  • She provided food and encouragement to the revolutionaries with motherly advice and prayers.
  • Her store was also frequently used for secret meetings of the Katipuneros.
  • Because of her heroic assistance during the revolution, she became known as “Mother of the Philippine Revolution”, “Mother of the Katipunan”, and “Tandang Sora” to many of the Philippine revolutionary soldiers.
  • The term Tandang is derived from the Tagalog word matandâ, meaning “old”.
  • Melchora and her son, Juan Ramon, were witnesses to the tearing up of the cedulas during the Cry of Pugad Lawin.
  • When the Spaniards discovered that Melchora was providing assistance and encouragement to their enemies, they arrested her and interrogated her to find the Katipunan leader, Andres Bonifacio, but she refused to reveal any information.
  • Because of her refusal to tell the Spaniards anything, she was deported to the Mariana Islands in Guam.
  • Melchora was set free in 1898 when the United States defeated the Spanish and took control over the Philippines.
  • Like the other exiles, she returned to the Philippines in 1903.

DEATH AND LEGACY

  • Melchora died at the age of 107, on February 19, 1919, in her daughter’s house in Banlat, Caloocan, Rizal.
  • Her remains were first buried at the Mausoleum of the Veterans of the Revolution at the Manila North Cemetery and were later transferred to the Himlayang Pilipino Memorial Park in Quezon City in 1970. They were then oved to the Tandang Sora National Shrine in 2012.
  • Melchora is best remembered for her contribution throughout the revolution and is still remembered in the Philippines to this day.
  • A district and a city road in Quezon City were named after her.
  • Melchora became the first Filipina to appear on a Philippine peso banknote.

Melchora Aquino Worksheets

This is a fantastic bundle which includes everything you need to know about Melchora Aquino across 20 in-depth pages. These are ready-to-use Melchora Aquino worksheets that are perfect for teaching students about Melchora Aquino de Ramos, commonly known as “Tandang Sora” (“Elder Sora”) because of her age, who played an important role during the Philippine Revolution. She supported the Katipunan and was one of nine historical figures in the Philippines that were recommended to be National Heroes by the Technical Committee of the National Heroes Committee, which was created through Executive Order No. 5 by previous President Fidel Ramos.

Complete List Of Included Worksheets

  • Melchora Aquino Facts
  • Quick Facts
  • Biography of Melchora
  • Interesting Facts
  • Earned Names
  • Significant Dates
  • Heroic Assistance
  • “Tandang Sora”
  • Not Totally Free
  • Tandang Sora Counterpart
  • My Advice!

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Use With Any Curriculum

These worksheets have been specifically designed for use with any international curriculum. You can use these worksheets as-is, or edit them using Google Slides to make them more specific to your own student ability levels and curriculum standards.

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