The Hero Of The Battle Of La Loma

Today in Philippine History (Philatelic Edition):

FEBRUARY 5, 1899

Major Jose Torres Bugallon died in the arms of General Antonio Luna in the Battle of La Loma. 

Jose Torres Bugallon y Gonzales (August 28, 1873 – February 5, 1899), was born in Salasa, Pangasinan. 

He finished his Bachelor of Arts degree in 1889 at the Colegio de San Juan de Letran in Manila. 

Bugallon was sent abroad as a government pensionado to the Academia Militar de Toledo after passing the validation exam in 1892. 

He studied military science and warfare, and was given the rank of second lieutenant in the Spanish Army after graduating in 1896. 

He was sent back to the Philippines to join the 70th Regiment. 

On May 30, 1897, he was awarded the Cross of Maria Cristina and the Cruz Roja del Merito Militar (Red Cross for Military Honor) for his exemplary valor at the Battle of Talisay, Batangas during the Philippine Revolution. 

On January 23, 1899, President Emilio Aguinaldo appointed General Antonio Luna as head of the Philippine Army. 

Luna immediately reorganized the revolutionary forces and recruited the officers and soldiers of the former Spanish colonial army. 

Major Bugallon joined and became General Luna’s aide-de-camp. He recruited Spanish war veterans, helped reorganized the Philippine Army, and became a faculty member at the Academia Militar established by Luna. 

When the Philippine-American War broke out on February 4, 1899, he joined Luna in the field. 

The next day, they were at La Loma hill, now the La Loma Cemetery, commanding the Filipino troops. 

American General Arthur MacArthur, Jr.’s men charged and outflanked their positions. 

Bugallon was shot in the thigh and lost excessive blood. Luna searched for him and found him severely wounded in a ditch along the road. 

For his bravery, Luna immediately promoted Bugallon to lieutenant colonel. Bugallon was taken by train to a medical station in Caloocan but it was too late. 

The “Hero of the Battle of La Loma” died on February 5, 1899.

(Design, concept, stamps and research: Richard Allan Uy) All rights reserved

Photo credit: en.wikipedia.org and pangasinan.gov.ph