Melchora Aquino "Tandang Sora" on Stamps

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Melchora Aquino is popularly known as Tandang Sora, Mother of the Philippine Revolution. In spite of being a widow with six children, she still provided Andres Bonifacio and the Katipuneros with rice and carabaos. She nursed the sick and the wounded under her own roof.

Melchora Aquino was born on 6 January, 1812. She was a famous Filipino revolutionary. Her popular name was Tandang Sora meaning old. Her parents were poor but hard working people. Melchora Aquino never went to school institution. However, she was apparently literate at her early age.

She got married to Fulgencio Ramos, a village chief and they gave birth to six children. Unfortunately, she was left to take care of the six children as single mother since her husband died at an earlier age of their marriage.

She was a businesswoman during the Philippine revolution. During the Philippine revolutionary, her businesses become a refuge camp for the wounded and sick revolutionaries. She gave motherly love to the revolutionary victims. Treated them, fed them and above all, she encouraged them with motherly love and prayers. In addition, her house harbored secret meetings of the revolutionaries.

After the Spaniards discovered all these secretive activities, she was arrested and deported to the Marina’s Islands and sentenced to be exiled. However, in 1898, when the Americans took possession of the Philippines, she was returned to the Philippines. Before her death, on 2nd of March 1919 she was living with her daughter. She died at the oldest age of 107 years.

In Philippines, roads and cities were named to honor her death. In addition, her profile existed from 1967 to 1992 in the Philippines five-centavo coin. She was the first Philipina to appear on the Philippine peso banknote.

The stamp was issued on November 30, 1969.

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