MANUEL
TINIO
(1877 - 1924)
Manuel Tinio
was born in Aliaga, Nueva Ecija on
In April 1896,
he joined the Katipunan. When General Mariano Llanera ralliedthe people of
Nueva Ecija to revolt, he gathered forces in his hometown and carried on the
fight against the Spaniards in the forests of the province. In an encounter on
On
He won a number
of skirmishes against the Spanish cazadores
in several other towns of Nueva Ecija. He assisted in the taking of an
important Spanish convoy on its way from Kabiaw to
By virtue of
the Truce of Biak-na-Bato, he and other revolutionary leaders went to Hongkong
as exiles.
When he returned to the
On
In the next
three months, he consolidated under his command the territory extending from
the barrio of Rabong at the southern boundary of La Union to
On the same
day, he appointed Francisco Rivero Paz de Leon as temporary president of Ilocos
Sur and the following day, he ordered the reinstallation of destroyed
telegraphic lines. He gave more orders such as the inventory of the property
left by the Spaniards, the establishment of a new government in the districts
of Lepanto andTiagan and the formation of rancherias within Narvacan up to
Tagudin into towns.
As his
battalions were still incomplete by November 1898, he made known his need for
volunteers between the ages17-30 who wanted to serve the revolutionary army
permanantly.
On
When the
Philippine-American War broke out on
Is chance to fight the Americans came in connection with their
treat of General Emilio Aguinaldo and his men to the north.
His soldiers
totaling 285 formed the rearguard of Aguinaldo’s column in the march to
Manaoag, Pangasinan, escorting the president’s mother and son, together wit the
wounded and sick soldiers. In the afternoon of November 14, on the way to
Pozorrubio from Manaoag, he and his men had a surprise encounter with the
enemies coming from Nueva Ecija led by Major Swigert. The Filipinos drove them
towards Binalonan, enabling Aguinaldo to continue the flight northward. He also
intercepted in
When the
Americans disembarked in Pandan, Ilocos Sur, he fortified himself in the
On
With its
capture by the Americans, Tinny changed his military strategy in dealing with
the enemies. He divided and organizedhis brigade into guerilla units and posted
them along the road and strategic locations from the rancheria of Danglas to Ilocos
Norte, with instructions to ambush the passing enemy through tambang. By
Appraising his
mission in the Ilocos region, the young Tagalog general wrote:
I have
endeavored to propagate and implant here the society of the Katipunan, which has produced surprising
results. I have prepared the sprit of then habitants so that aside from
inculcating in them the fucund germ of the high ideals of liberty, they have
come to show implacable hatred towards the invader, passion which some
citizens, armed only with bolos have manifested to the Americans who dared to
travel far from their detachment.
The local
citizenry proved helpful to the troops by supplying them with abundant
ammunitions, and, acting as polistas
they served as vigilants in spying for the approaching enemies. Tinio, a Tagalog
was thus successful in welding together the cooperative spirit of the Ilocanos
for patriotic cause. To achieve this goal, Tinio used persuasion and threat. He
for instance, implored the local president of
By midJune1900,
Tinio exerted to establish arsenals in various points of his jurisdiction. To
do this job in La Union, he assigned Joaquin Alejandrino whom him appointed as chief of the province on
General Tinio, believing that “firmness is one of the conditions
necessary to obtain our coveted independence, carried on the fight. He
would never surrender, As American deserter John Allane attested. He waited for
the action until a new president was elected. When Allane surrender men and
about 40of them had
On
After more than
4 years of fighting, Tinio retired to licab and engaged in farming. He acted as
governor of Nueva Ecija since the election of Isauro Gabaldon to the first
Philippine Assembly in 1907 and was elected to the same position on November 5
of the same year. He resigned from the governorship and on July1, 1909, he was
appointed by Governor General James F. Smith as the first director of the
Bureau of Labor. On October17, 1913, he was appointed Director of Lands, the
first Filipino to occupy the position which he held up to 1914.
As director of
the Bureau of Labor, Tinio showed his ability as administrator and as excellent
conciliator. Governor-General William Cameron Forbs commended his work in the
improvement of the bad situation caused by srikes and “in the enlightenment of
the people in regard to strikes and their effects.”
After leaving the government service, Tinio touredEurope.
Upon his return he entered politics and headed the Nationalista Party in Nueva
Ecija. He died on