Martin Teofilo Delgado

General Martin Teofilo Delgado ca1901

Martin Teofilo Delgado (1858 - 1918), was a Visayan military leader during the Philippine Revolution and the Philippine-American War.

Early life & education

Martin Delgado born 11 November 1858 to Don Jacinto Delgado and Gabriella Bermejo in Santa Barbara, Iloilo. He completed his schooling at the Santa Barbara Parochial School and later at the Seminario de San Vicente Ferrer in Jaro and Ateneo Municipal in Manila.

Military and political career

At 25, he was appointed teniente mayor of his hometown and capitan municipal, positions under the Spanish Government in the Philippines. During this period he was conferring in secret with other Visayan revolutionaries, in preparation for the liberation of the Philippines from Spanish rule.

On October 28, 1898 Tan Martin (Martin Teofilo Delgado) marched into Santa Barbara and took over the municipal building. On the same day, uprisings were held simultaneously in towns across Iloilo. On November 17, 1898 Martin Delgado was promoted to lieutenant general. On December 24, 1898 the Spanish forces under the command of General Diego de los Rios evacuated Iloilo and the Filipino flag was raised on Christmas Day. On December 28, 1898 General Marcus P. Miller leading the American force arrived to conquer Panay. Assisted by warships from Admiral George Dewey, they lowered the Filipino flag and hoisted the American one, signifying American control.^[1]

General Delgado encouraged rebel troops to revive their nationalist cause. As the military governor of the province and General-in-Chief of the army, he challenged the American forces led by General Hughes using guerrilla tactics. Eventually, leading citizens of Iloilo wrote a circular urging General Delgado to surrender for the benefit of "the victims of useless resistance."^[1]

On February 2, 1901 General Delgado formally surrendered in Jaro to the American military governor, Edmund Rice. Up to the time of his surrender, Delgado was heralded as the chief insurgent leader on the island of Panay. He was recognized by the Americans as "the ablest leader" on the island and honored him with the appointment of the First Governor of Iloilo province upon the establishment of the Civil Government on 11 April 1901.^[2] On March 3, 1902, the first local election was held. He was elected governor of Panay and served until 1904. After his term, he returned to his hometown of Santa Barbara and served for eight years as superintendent of a leprosy sanitarium. He spent his last years as superintendent of the leper colony on the island of Culion where he died on November 12, 1918 at the age of 60. A statue was erected in his honor in the town square of Santa Barbara, Iloilo in 1998 during the occasion of the Philippine Centenary celebrations.

References

• Quirino, Carlos. Who's who in Philippine History. Maynila: Tahanan Books, 1995.
• "National Historical Institute. Historical Markers: Regions V-XII. Maynila: National Historical Institute, 1993.

Notes

1. ^ ^{a b} "Gen. Martin Delgado: Proud Ilonggo nationalist leader". The News Today, Iloilo, Philippines. http://www.thenewstoday.info/2008/02/29/gen.martin.delgado.proud.ilonggo.nationalist.leader.html. Retrieved 11 June 2011. 
2. ^ Annual Reports of the War Department for the Fiscal Year Ended June 30, 1901, Public Laws and Resolutions Passed by the Philippine Commission, U.S. Government Printing Office, Washington, 1901. 815pp.

Persondata
Name	Delgado, Martin Teofilo
Alternative names
Short description
Date of birth	November 11, 1858
Place of birth	Santa Barbara, Iloilo
Date of death	November 12, 1918
Place of death	Culion