Mariano Ponce | |
|---|---|
 Ponce as member of the Philippine Assembly,c. 1912 | |
| Member of thePhilippine Assembly fromBulacan's2nd district | |
| In office 1909–1912 | |
| Preceded by | León María Guerrero |
| Succeeded by | Ceferino de León |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Mariano Ponce y Collantes (1863-03-22)March 22, 1863 |
| Died | May 23, 1918(1918-05-23) (aged 55) |
| Resting place | Baliuag Catholic Cemetery |
| Political party | Nacionalista |
| Spouse | Okiyo Udanwara |
| Children | 4 |
| Parents |
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| Education | Colegio de San Juan de Letran University of Santo Tomas Universidad Central de Madrid |
| Occupation | Physician, writer, politician |
| Known for | Philippine Revolution,La Solidaridad,Propaganda Movement |
| Nickname(s) | Naning, Kalipulako, Tikbalang |
Mariano Ponce y Collantes (Spanish:[maɾjˈanopˈonθe]; March 22, 1863 – May 23, 1918) commonly known as justMariano Ponce was a Filipino physician, writer, statesman, and active member of thePropaganda Movement. In Spain, he was among the founders ofLa Solidaridad andAsociación Hispano-Filipino. Among his significant works wasEfemerides Filipinas, a column on historical events in thePhilippines which appeared inLa Oceania Española (1892–1893) andEl Ideal (1911–1912). He wroteAng Wika at Lahi (1917), a discussion on the importance of a national language. He also served asBulacan's representative to thePhilippine Assembly from 1909 to 1912.
Ponce was born inBaliuag,Bulacan to Mariano Ponce and Maria Collantes. He had six siblings: Vicente, Fransisco, Jacinto, Carmen, Pedro, and Consolacion Ponce. He also completed his primary education in Baliuag. He completed his secondary education at the private school of Juan Evangelista, Hugo Ilagan, and Escolastico Salandanan inManila. He later enrolled at theColegio de San Juan de Letran and took up medicine at theUniversity of Santo Tomas. In 1881, he traveled toSpain to continue his medical studies at theUniversidad Central de Madrid.
There he joinedMarcelo H. del Pilar,Graciano López Jaena,José Rizal and others in thePropaganda Movement. This espoused Filipino representation in the SpanishCortes and reforms in the Spanish colonial administration of the Philippines. Ponce was the co-founder ofLa Solidaridad with fellow co-founderGraciano López Jaena. He was also the head of the Literary Section of the Asociacion Hispano-Filipina, created to aid the Propaganda Movement where he served as secretary.[2]
In La Solidaridad, his works included daily editorials on history, politics, sociology and travel. Ponce used several pen names, including "Naning", his nickname; "Kalipulako", named afterLapu-Lapu; and "Tigbalang", asupernatural being in Filipino folklore.[3]
Ponce was imprisoned when the revolution broke out in August 1896 and was imprisoned for forty eight hours before being released. Fearing another arrest, he fled to France and later went to Hong Kong where he joined a group ofFilipinos andChinese Filipinos, who served as the international front of the Philippine revolution.
In 1898,Emilio Aguinaldo chose him to represent theFirst Philippine Republic. Ponce was tasked to draft a framework of therevolutionary government. In 1898, Emilio Aguinaldo selected him as a diplomatic representative of the First Republic to Japan. He traveled to Japan to seek aid and purchase weapons. During his stay he met with the founder and First President of the Chinese Republic;Sun Yat-Sen.[4] Through discussions and negotiations, Dr. Sun and Ponce became close friends. Dr. Sun introduced Ponce to aJapanese Filipino man named José Ramos Ishikawa, who assisted Ponce in purchasing weapons and munitions for the revolution.The shipment, unfortunately failed to reach the Philippines due to atyphoon off the coast of Formosa.[3]
Mariano returned to Manila with his wife, a Japanese girl named Okiyo Udanwara (or Udagawa).[5] In 1909, he was made director of "El Renacimiento" (The Renaissance). He joined thePartido Nacionalista (Nationalist Party) and established "El Ideal" (The Perfect), the party's official organization. Ponce later ran for a seat in thePhilippine Assembly and waselected assemblyman for thesecond district ofBulacan in 1909. He served for one term until 1912.
Ponce wrote his memoirs, "Cartas Sobre La Revolución" (Letters on the Revolution). He died in theGovernment Civil Hospital in Hong Kong, on May 23, 1918. His remains were originally interred in theCementerio del Norte, Manila.[1] According to local historian Rolando Villacorte, his remains were transferred to theArt Deco Ponce family mausoleum in Baliuag Catholic Cemetery. There, he is interred alongside his wife, brother Jacinto, daughter Maria, and grandson Marianito Ponce Gonzales.
On May 23, 2019, theNational Historical Commission of the Philippines opened the Museo ni Mariano Ponce at the Ponce property in Baliuag, Bulacan.[6]
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