As Symbolism of Freedom
Damiana Eugenio was able to find and document a 1940 compilation of tales detailing the legend of Bernardo Carpio. It specifically says that:
"Bernardo Carpio is considered the savior of the Filipinos against national oppression and enslavement".
According to that particular telling of the tale, when the last link on the chains binding Carpio is broken, "the enslavement and oppression of the Filipino race will be replaced with freedom and happiness." While this belief apparently referred to the Spanish Occupation of the Philippines and the later occupation by the Philippines by the U.S. and by Japan in WWII, the legend has continued to be told this way, an apparent reference to freedom from poverty rather than foreign domination.
Filipino revolutionary heroes Jose Rizal and Andres Bonifacio are said to have paid homage to the Bernardo Carpio legend - the former by making a pilgrimage to Montalban, and the latter making the caves of Montalban the secret meeting place for the Katipunan movement.
Read more about this topic: Bernardo Carpio
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