Have you heard of a Filipina teacher who teaches in the day and becomes an assassin at night? You may think it sounds like stories you can only see in movies. But what if I tell you that the story I'm about to share with you is a true event that has been recorded in history.
Way back in 1941, a school teacher named Nieves Fernadez was teaching in a public school in Tacloban, Leyte. Her students used to call her "Ms. Fernandez". She was a dedicated and nurturing teacher to her students, she's more like a mother to them. But her life changed when the Japanese invaders set foot in the Philippines.
From being a dedicated and nurturing teacher, she suddenly became an assassin. Ms. Fernandez was 38 years old when she solely killed approximately 200 Japanese soldiers. When the Japanese invaded the country, they restricted all Filipinos to acquire or own any sort of business except those that are permitted by the Japanese empire. Ms. Fernandez's wholesale business was no exception. They took her sole business from her and also started to threaten her students. Hence, her anger made her decide to fight against the Japanese. Ms. Fernandez had set up traps in the forest. She had a shotgun, a jungle bolo, and an improvised gun. Whenever the night comes, the loving teacher Ms. Fernandez becomes a fearsome silent killer. Every night, she wears an all-black outfit and a black mask, but she doesn't wear footwear as it could create noise. The Japanese camp was built in the middle of the mountain forest, but Ms. Fernandez had already familiarized the place as she had roamed the area ever since childhood. She knew that a Japanese soldier solely circumambulates the area at night. Though the moon was her only light source, she always managed to crawl her way towards the soldier, and using her jungle bolo, she'd ferociously slash their neck. She did such a thing every night for almost two months. The Japanese then became anxious fearing the unknown killer. Because of Ms. Fernandez's act of bravery, she inspired other Filipino men to fight against the Japanese colonizers. Ms. Fernandez then shifted her career from a humble teacher to a fearless guerilla commander. She taught the Filipino men how to silently kill their opponent.
From being Ms. Fernandez, she then became known as Captain Fernandez. She had led 110 guerilla members under her command. Her guerilla became a famous effective and deadly group. The American soldiers were amazed by Ms. Fernandez's boldness and determination. Captain Fernandez became the only female commander in the country back in World War II.
Not long after, the information about Ms. Fernandez reached the Japanese Imperial Army. Thus they announced to give a 10,000 peso reward to whoever could catch or kill Captain Fernandez. However, no Filipino has ever dared to betray her. Hence the Japanese failed to catch Ms. Fernandez. Their guerilla continued to carry out missions, with strategies planned out in their camp inside the cave. Captain Fernandez's group has freed so many Filipino prisoners during World War II. Even General Douglas McArthur recognized Captain Fernandez's heroin and had sent supplies and weapons to support her guerilla.
Ms. Fernandez indeed made a great contribution to Philippine history. It's just sad that not many Filipinos recognize her these days. Ms. Fernandez is a true hero in the country, and to me, she's an inspiration to do great things, even if it means doing it alone.
Have a pleasant night folks!
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