LADISLAO
DIWA (1863-1930)
LADISLAO
DIWA was the third and last politico-military governor of Cavite during the
Philippine Revolution. A historical document dated October 7, 1898, mentions
Diwa as included in the “list of provincial chiefs of provinces subject to the
revolutionary government.” At that time the Malolos Congress was still in
session. Diwa caused to be politico-military governor of Cavite when the
Philippine- American War broke out on February 4, 1899. He joined General Mariano
Trias, commander-in-chief of all revolutionary forces in Southern Luzon.
Trias
and Diwa surrendered to the American on May 13, 1901, in San Francisco de
Malabon. It is not true, as stated in some historical accounts, that Diwa was
the “first civil governor of Cavite.” Shortly after their surrender, Trias was
appointed civil governor of Cavite, while Diwa was designated clerk of court in
Cavite, a position that he held continuously until his death on March 12, 1930.
It
was Diwa who first conceived the idea of establishing secret society patterned
after the patriotic “Black Capes” of Italy. The society, according to Diwa, was
to apprise the Filipinos of their deplorable conditions, and rally them in
order to obtain reforms. He broached the idea to Andres Bonifacio and Teodoro
Plata, his brother in-law, right after a convocation in the University of Santo
Tomas where Diwa was studying law. Reacting to some insulting remarks made by
Spanish priest against Filipino women, Diwa, Bonifacio, and Plata decided to
set up a secret society, with the three of them forming the first triumvirate.
This was in contrast to the La Liga Filipina formed by Rizal, a reformist but
open society.
But
following the arrest of Rizal by the Spanish authorities, Bonifacio, the more
aggressive of the trio, saw the futility of achieving reforms by peaceful
means. It was he who initiated the organization of the secret revolutionary
society, the Katipunan, on July 7, 1892, the day the Spanish government
announced the plan to deport Rizal to Dapitan. In the election of the Most
Supreme Council of Katipunan, Diwa was elected fiscal, a position next to that
of Bonifacio who was elected interventor or comptroller. Bonifacio became
Katipunan Supremo in 1895, one year before the outbreak of the revolution.
The
third of 10 children of Mariano Diwa and Cecilia Nocom, Ladislao was born on
June 27, 1863 in San Roque, a municipality of Cavite. A Priest, Fr. Perfecto
Mañalac, recommended him for admission in the San Juan de Letran College in
Manila where he obtained a Bachelor of Arts degree. Abandoning the study of
theology, he transferred to the University of Sto. Tomas to take up law. Diwa
came to board in the house of Andres Bonifacio in Tondo. However, he did not
finish the law course because of the outbreak of the revolution. He was working
as clerk of court in Pampanga when arrested by the authorities for engaging in
propaganda work for the Katipunan.
Released
from Fort Santiago in June 1897, Diwa joined the revolutionary forces of
General Trias. He was promoted to the rank of colonel after securing the
surrender of the Spaniards in San Francisco de Malabon in 1898. His military
experience served him in good stead when he was appointed politico-military
governor of Cavite, succeeding General Emiliano Riego de Dios.
(Sources:
(1) Talambuhay ng Magigiting na lalaki ng
Kabite in Major Liberato C. Jimenez Collection; (2) Eminent Filipinos, Manila, NHC, 1965; and (3) L.S. del Rosario,
“Ladislao Diwa: Friend of Bonifacio,”
Philippines Free Press, August 28,1965.)