Edilberto Evangelista was a civil engineer and Lieutenant General during the Philippine Revolution. He died in defending the Zapote Bridge against the Spaniards.

EDILBERTO EVANGELISTA

Evangelista trained as a civil engineer in Belgium. After finishing his study, he returned to Manila in September 1896, arriving a month after the outbreak of the revolution. Evangelista joined the Katipunan was made director-general of the engineering corps. Later he was promoted to Lieutenant General and was assigned to oversee the building of the Filipino defences in anticipation of Spanish counter-attacks.

24 February 1862

to 17 February 1897

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First Battle at Zapote Bridge (1897)

The First Battle at Zapote Bridge, lasted from 16 February 1897 to early March 1897, and was one of the turning points and bloodiest battles of the Philippine Revolution.

General Evangelista's engineering genius helped the Filipino forces to blunt the repeated assaults of the enemy.

Evangelista utilised "Trench Warfare" as a defensive strategy, a method that was widely employed in Europe in World War I, 20 years after this battle.

Zapote River separates what is now the city of Las Pinas in Metro Manila from Bacoor in the province of Cavite. Zapote Bridge in ruins still stands along the General Emilio Aguinaldo Highway near Manila Bay.