Article: Pio Valenzuela: Rebel, Physician, Politician (1987)

Pio Valenzuela: Rebel, Physician, Politician

By P.A. Zapanta

Published in The Sunday Times Magazine, 31 May 1987

“So the seed grows,” Dr. Jose P. Rizal mused as he contemplated the document that Dr. Pio Valenzuela was showing him—a resolution that was in effect a call to arms against the Spanish government in the country. 

To Rizal the resolution was just, patriotic and above all, timely, “because Spain was now weakened by the revolution in Cuba” 

He told Valenzuela the resolution had his blessings and should be implemented immediately “in order to take advantage of the opportunity.”

The meeting between Rizal and Valenzuela took place on June 21, 1896 in Dapitan, Zamboanga where the national hero had been exiled. Valenzuela was on a mission for Andres Bonifacio, supremo of the clandestine Katipunan which had been organized to overthrow the Spanish government. Valenzuela’s mission: to contact Dr. Rizal, disclose to him the birth of the Katipunan, and persuade him to support its objectives.

Upon his arrival in Manila, Valenzuela promptly reported on his mission to Bonifacio, Emilio Jacinto and Guillermo Masangkay. By this time the members of the Katipunan had reached some 30,000, and most of them were eager to hear about Rizal and thus visited Valenzuela frequently.

On August 19, 1896, the existence of the Katipunan was revealed to an Augustinian priest, Fr. Mariano Gil of Tondo, by Teodoro Patino, a Katipunero. Upon learning of the betrayal, Bonifacio and Jacinto fled to Balintawak, and Valenzuela to a shop at the Escolta. Later, Valenzuela joined Bonifacio and Jacinto at a house in Caloocan. On August 22, they again moved to another house in Pugad Lawin near Caloocan, then hide once more to the house of Melchora Aquino, bettern known as “Tandang Sora,” in Pasong Tamo.

On August 25, Bonifacio quickly organized 10 companies with a hundred men each upon seeing the arrival of the Spanish civil guards who were going to camp in the area. But only Bonifacio and Valenzuela had guns; all the rest were armed with bolos.

Two kilometers from the camp, Bonifacio, Jacinto and Valenzuela took their positions on horses as 10 companies gradually encircled the civil guards who were outnumbered 25 to 1. But as native bolos were no match for rifles, the Katipuneros’ only recourse was to bear upon the ranks of the enemy and tear them apart by sheer weight and force of number. 

Their movement was detected, and the civil guards retreated posthaste. The Katipuneros were hot in pursuit, eager as they were to deliver the coup de grace, but were stopped dead in their tracks as the Spanish cavalry reinforcements hove in sight. The civil guards opened fire as the Katipuneros attacked and engaged them in hand-to-hand fighting, resulting in the death of two Katipuneros and one civil guard.

After the short skirmish, the Katipuneros withdrew to Balara in Marikina.

On the evening of August 29, public repudiation of the Spanish rule was declared in Balintawak in an act known as the “The Cry of Balinatawak”. 

Valenzuela travelled to Biñan Laguna by land to relay the cry of Balintawak. Three days later he returned to Manila by boat near Malacanang Palace and, as he disembarked an informer of the Spanish Civil guards recognized him and trailed him. 

He was arrested and imprisoned at Fort Santiago, with 200 others; among them were Antonio Luna, Luis Villareal and Don Ariston Bautista. 

A month earlier, in July, Rizal was imprisoned at Fort Santiago, and faced a military trial with Valenzuela as one of his co-defendants. In a bid to save Rizal, Valenzuela testified that Rizal had opposed the formation of the Katipunan when informed about it during their meeting in Dapitan. 

But the defendants were not allowed to present their testimonies in person; Valenzuela’s on testimony was not presented in the court. Thus Rizal was convicted by the military court and sentenced to die by musketry on December 30, 1896.

Valenzuela and several others were given separate trials and were sentenced to be exiled. On February 1897, he, Luna, Juan Castaneda and 26 others were transported to Barcelona, Spain, arriving there in April. 

They were made to pay for the rooms they occupied in that city’s prison. Each of them paid for their own personal expenses and daily chores were divided among them. Luna was the cook of the group. Two months later, through the help of friends in Belgium, Luna was released. Valenzuela also facilitated Luna’s release by stating in writing that Luna was not a member of the Katipunan.

Spain was already deep in war with the United States over Cuba; and after Luna’s release, the remaining prisoners were transferred to Madrid, then to Malaga. Finally they were shipped to Melilla, a solitary outpost in Spanish Morocco, North Africa. The Americans and Spaniards had agreed to end their war after the signing the treaty of Paris on December 10, 1898. As part of the agreement, Spain ceded the Philippines to the United States and the prisoners abroad were ordered released on April 1, 1899. About 60 of the Filipino exiles coming from different prison camps returned to the Philippines in May. But their arrival was ill-timed as war between the Americans and the Filipinos had begun. They were arrested by the Americans and jailed once more. 

After four days the prisoners were released, except for Valenzuela and Juan Castaneda, whom Archbishop Bernardino Nozaleda had described to the Americans as “dangerous”. At any rate, Dr. Jose Xeres Burgos, nephew of the martyred Fr. Jose Burgos, and Felipe Calderon worked for their release on condition that they would not join the insurgency against the Americans.

Valenzuela rejected the offer because he had received word from Antonio Luna, now a general in the revolutionary force of Aguinaldo, that he was fighting the Americans and was waiting for him. Castaneda was released on the same condition but later broke his promise and joined the rebels. 

On June 5, 1899 Gen. Luna was assassinated in Cabanatuan, Nueva Ecija, by Aguinaldo’s men, and this disheartened Valenzuela. He changed his mind not to fight the Americans, and was released as a result.

On September 6, 1899 an election was held in Bulacan. Valenzuela ran and was unanimously elected as the first president of the municipality of Polo under American rule. After a year in office he married, at 31, 16-year old Marciana de Castro. 

Cholera broke out in Polo in 1902, and Dr. Valenzuela was tapped to help contain the disease. He assumed the duties of health officer of the municipalities of Polo, Obando, Meycauayan and Marilao. Then he served as district health officer until 1907. 

At the convention of the Democrata Party in Bulacan in 1919, the good doctor was chosen the standard bearer, for the gubernatorial race, which he won.

The efficiency of his administration was recognized by the Governor General Leonard Wood, who recommended him to be Secretary of the Interior, which position, however, Valenzuela politely turned down.

In 1925, Dr. Valenzuela retired from politics and resumed his practice in medicine in Polo and nearby towns, more out of charity than anything else. 

On April 6, 1956, he died at the age of 87. In recognition of his outstanding service in medicine and as public servant, and his key role during the revolution, President Carlos Garcia in 1960 renamed the Polo Elementary School, Pio Valenzuela Elementary School and President Disdado Macapagal in 1963 renamed the municipality of Polo, Valenzuela.