[1] When the 1896 Philippine Revolution against Spain broke out, she became one of only a few women to join the Panay-based Visayan arm of the Katipunan, the initially secret revolutionary society headed by Andrés Bonifacio.

[2] Despite opposition from her husband, Magbanua followed her two younger brothers and took up arms against the Spaniards,[3] leading troops into combat and winning several battles under the command of General Martin Delgado.

Teresa was the Magbanua's second child, joining her sisters María and Paz, and younger brothers Manuel, Pascual and Elias.

[1] Magbanua was recorded to have been a precocious child, remembered by one of her sisters as a "dynamic personality, restless, and unafraid of any man.

[10] She earned a teaching certificate at Colegio de Doña Cecilia in 1894 and a master's degree soon after from the University of Santo Tomás.

After four years of teaching in Pototan, Magbanua moved north to Sara, Iloilo, and became a schoolteacher there, meeting Alejandro Balderas whom she married in 1898.

Magbanua did not listen; however, and went to her uncle, Major General Perfecto Poblador, who commanded the Northern Zone at the time.

On 3 December 1898, her forces fought and defeated Spanish troops at the Battle of Barrio Yating, which took place in Pilar, Capiz.

[14] On 24 December 1898, Magbanua participated in the liberation of Iloilo City, alongside Generals Martin Delgado, Roque Lopez, Quintin Salas and others.

She began using guerrilla tactics after the Filipino forces' regional headquarters in Santa Barbara fell to the Americans.

[1] Shortly after the outbreak of the war, her husband Alejandro Balderas died and Magbanua sold her property in Iloilo to help finance the guerrillas.

[6] Magbanua moved to Pagadian, Zamboanga del Sur in Western Mindanao, after the end of World War II and lived there with her sister Maria.