User:Ellie winzs/sandbox

Captain Nieves Fernandez

Captain Nieves Fernandez was the only known Filipino female guerrilla leader. Working with guerrillas south of Tacloban, Miss Fernandez rounded up native men to resist the Japanese. She commanded 110 natives who killed more than 200 Japanese with knifes and shotguns made from sections of gas pipe. The Japanese offered 10,000 pesos for her head. She was wounded once. The bullet scar can be seen on her right forearm.

Filipinos call that weapon a bolo, basically a long knife. The primary use for the bolo is clearing vegetation, whether for agriculture or during trailblazing. Because of its availability, the bolo became a common choice of improvised weaponry to the everyday peasant, especially during the Japanese occupation.