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 Another
national hero Bulacan province is proud of is Mariano
Ponce. Born in Baliwag, Bulacan in 1863, Mariano's
parents were Mariano Ponce Sr. and Mariana Collantes de
los Santos.
He also finished high school in his hometown. He
continued his studies in Manila at the Colegio de San
Juan de Letran and the University of Santo Tomas where
he studied Medicine.
He proceeded to Europe in Spain to finish his medical
course. There he met the three renowned Filipino
propagandists Dr. Jose Rizal, Graciano Lopez Jaena and
Marcelo H. del Pilar.
While studying in Spain, he learned about the sufferings
of his compatriots at the hands of the abusive Spanish
colonizers. His sense of patriotism and compassion for
his countrymen heightened with what he discovered.
This overwhelming feeling got the better of Mariano that
he decided to quit his studies to join the Filipino
Movement in Spain. The Movement, composed of Filipino
expatriates in Spain was fighting for reforms on the
Spanish governance of the Philippines. |
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Mariano began to write articles revealing the sad state
of Filipinos under Spanish rule. These articles
regularly come out on the newspaper published by
Graciano lopez Jaena and widely circulated in the
Philippines. He left Spain when he , realized that the
Spanish authorities were turning a deaf ear on their
demands.
He stayed in Hong Kong, While in Hong Kong, he continued
to write more exposes against the Spanish colonizers in
the Philippines. He also stayed in Japan. He went back
to the Philippines on the belief that he would be more
effective in fighting for his country's cause.
Mariano even became a member of the Philippine Assembly
in 1909.
Plagued by a severe illness, Mariano died on May
23,1918. |
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