The Zapote River and Bridge remains to be a silent witness to two fierce battles. The first was the battle against Spain on February 17, 1897. One of the unsung heroes who fought fiercely against the Spaniards was Bacoor’s Katipunan leader Gil Ignacio. This first battle also saw the death of more than 450 Filipinos that included the civil engineer turned Lieutenant General Edilberto Evangelista.
Two years later, on 13 June 1899, another battle was fought here by the Filipinos, this time against the Americans. The new colonizers were commanded by Major General Henry W. Lawton. Dubbed as the second largest battle of the Philippine-American War, the Filipino army was led by General Artemio Ricarte, General Guillermo Masangkay, and Bacoor City’s very own, General Mariano Noriel.
Today, the same battlefield is the site of tableaus, historical markers, and the Zapote River Walk and Bike Lane, a linear park that hosts several wall mural panels that tells the enigmatic story of Bacoor and the historical events within its land.
How to get there: https://maps.app.goo.gl/dzQkRT2b6sHf6A696
