JOS ALEJANDRINO

(1870-1951)
General, Philippine Army

Jose Alejandrino proved his love of country and great heroism as an engineer and general in the
revolutionary army of Gen. Emilio Aguinaldo. Considered an early Filipino chemical engineer, he was
born to a wealthy couple from Arayat, Pampanga on December 1, 1870 in Binondo, Manila. His brother,
Col. Joaquin Alejandrino, also rendered military service during the Philippine Revolution, assisting Gen.
Manuel Tinio.
General Alejandrino obtained his education both here and abroad, initially at the Ateneo Municipal and,
thereafter, at the University of Santo Tomas, where he acquired a Bachelor of Arts degree. He pursued
his studies in Spain and at the University of Ghent in Belgium, where he distinguished himself and
brought honor to his country through his superior academic performance. Edilberto Evangelista,
another Filipino engineer who served in the revolutionary army, was his schoolmate in Ghent. In July
1895, he graduated with a degree in chemical engineering.
While in Spain, Alejandrino became an active member of the Propaganda Movement, which strove to
secure political reforms in the Philippines from the Spanish government. Together with Eduardo Lete
and Dominador Gomez, he joined the editorial staff of La Solidaridad, the mouthpiece of the
Propagandists. When the Propagandists decided to hold an election for the leadership of the Filipino
community in Spain, two partisan groups emerged. One, in support of Marcelo H. del Pilar, was led by
Antonio Luna and included Dominador Gomez, Salvador V. del Rosario and Mariano Ponce. The other
group, composed of M. Salvador, Galicano Apacible, B. Roxas and Alejandrino himself, supported Rizal,
who eventually won the presidency but gave it up in favor of Del Pilar. Alejandrino and Rizal, who were
close friends, were together when the latter had El Filibusterismo, his great sequel to Noli Me Tangere,
published. It was Alejandrino bought the manuscript to the printing press.
On November 21,1896, several months after the Philippine Revolution broke out, Alejandrino
accompanied by Feliciano Jocson, journeyed to Kawit , Cavite to seek a meeting with General Aguinaldo.
Evangelista his old schoolmate at the University of Ghent, had proposed that he acquired the muchneeded arms for the revolutionaries from either China or Japan. Alejandrino offered to undertake the
dangerous mission. When Aguinaldo accepted his offer, he proceeded to Hong Kong, where he help
organized the Revolutionary Council along with Felipe Agoncillo, Jose Basa, and Mariano Ponce. Much
later he became part of the group in Hong Kong Committee, which included Agoncillo and Galicano
Apacible who staunchly advocated independence, as opposed to the circle led by Jose Basa and
Doroteo Cortes, who were for annexing the country to the United States.
From Hong Kong, however, was able to dispatch to the revolutionaries in the Philippines only dynamites
and rifle pistons. Thus, in February 1897, he left Hong Kong for Japan, to try to aquifer more weapons
and supplies.
In 1898, he served in the Malolos Congress that was first convoked on September 15 by the
revolutionary government. He became a member of two crucial committees - the committee on budget,
and the committee to draft the Constitution. On September 26, he was given the position of director of

agriculture and industry of the revolutionary administration. Later, he was designated chief of the
engineers of the army by President Aguinaldo.
When the Philippine-American War erupted, he affiliated with Gen. Antonio Luna and his troops.
Subsequently, as chief engineer, he directed the building of trenches in several areas, including
Bulacan and Caloocan.
He rose to the position of brigadier-general, and served as acting Secretary of War. He was also
appointed commanding general of the military operations in Central Luzon (in place of Gen. Pantaleon
Garcia), and military governor of Pampanga, replacing Gen. Maximino Hizon, who had earlier been
caught by the enemy. By then the beleaguered government of Aguinaldo had been continuously
hounded by the pursuing American forces and pushed backed to Tarlac.
In September 1899, he headed the three- man commission charged with releasing 13 American
prisoners and holding talks with General Otis, the commanding general of the American army in the
Philippines, on the suspension of hostilities. Lt. Col. Ramon Soriano and Maj. Evaristo Ortiz assisted
General Alejandrino. Later he also conferred with Gen. Arthur McArthur, who had replaced Otis as chief
of the American forces. The two talked on the brutal, dehumanizing abuse of Filipino civilians by
American soldiers. Meanwhile, the revolutionaries' struggle was being debilitated by cowardly Filipinos
whom Alejandrino excoriated for treacherously collaborating with the Americans.
In May 1901, after much suffering and the tragic loss of countless comrades in the field, General
Alejandrino surrendered, in Arayat, to General Funston. The latter initially refused his offer to surrender
and, instead, had him placed under arrest, demanding that he present a certain American Negro,
named Fagan, who was wanted for desertion. Although he resisted Funston's demand, Alejandrino was
released the next day.
In August of the same year, Alejandrino accepted from Gov. William H. Taft the position of second city
engineer of Manila, but discharged his duties for not more than a year. He retired to lead a farmer's life
until 1923, when he was designated senator for Sulu and Mindanao by Gov. Gen, Leonard Wood. In
1934, he was elected representative of Pampanga's second district to the Constitutional Convention. He
was a member of the Partido Democrata Nacional, which counted among its members Claro M. Recto
and Juan Sumulong. He was also one of the founders of the Pan-Orientalist Society.
La Senda del Sacrificio, General Alejandrino's account of the Philippine Revolution against Spain and the
Philippine-American War, tells of the noble revolutionaries and the lonely wars, both great and small,
that they fought in order to attain the ever-elusive but exalted goal of national freedom. General
Alejandrino was among those noble revolutionaries. He died on June 1, 1951.

References:
Larkin, John A. The Pampangans, Colonial Society in a Philippine Province, University of California Press,
1972.

Gwekoh, Sol. Hall of Fame, Manila Times, 1965-1966.

Cornejo, M.R. Commonwealth Directory of the Philippines, 1939.