Jose "Pepe" Maristela Sr (born Jose Concepcion Maristela) retired from the Philippine Military with the rank of General. Pepe Maristela, also referred to and known as Joe Maristela, held the rank of Colonel during active Military Duty. After his service in the

World War A world war is an international War, conflict that involves most or all of the world's major powers. Conventionally, the term is reserved for two major international conflicts that occurred during the first half of the 20th century, World War I ...

, Maristela led the

Philippine Constabulary The Philippine Constabulary (PC; , ''HPP''; ) was a gendarmerie-type military police force of the Philippines from 1901 to 1991, and the predecessor to the Philippine National Police. It was created by the Insular Government, American occupat ...

as its Chief. In

1963 Events January * January 1 – Bogle–Chandler case: Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation scientist Dr. Gilbert Bogle and Mrs. Margaret Chandler are found dead (presumed poisoned), in bushland near the Lane Cove ...

, he ran as the

Liberal Liberal or liberalism may refer to: Politics * Generally, a supporter of the political philosophy liberalism. Liberals may be politically left or right but tend to be centrist. * An adherent of a Liberal Party (See also Liberal parties by country ...

candidate for

mayor In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a Municipal corporation, municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilitie ...

Caloocan Caloocan, officially the City of Caloocan (; ), is a highly urbanized city in Metro Manila, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 1,661,584 people making it the fourth-most populous city in the Philippines. Caloo ...

, but lost to Macario Asistio Sr. of the

Nacionalista Party The Nacionalista Party (Filipino language, Filipino and Spanish language in the Philippines, Spanish: ''Partido Nacionalista''; , NP) is a political party in the Philippines which is the oldest existing party in the country and in Southeast Asi ...

. Maristela is the grandfather of Joe Maristela, an angel investor in healthcare technology in the U.S. According to academic

Mark R. Thompson Mark R. Thompson (born June 8, 1960) is an academic whose comparative politics research focuses on Southeast Asia, with particular interest in the Philippines, Singapore, and Thailand. He is currently studying autocratization and opposition to it, ...

, Maristela is responsible with preventing the assassination of

Ferdinand Marcos Ferdinand Emmanuel Edralin Marcos Sr. (September 11, 1917 – September 28, 1989) was a Filipino lawyer, politician, dictator, and Kleptocracy, kleptocrat who served as the tenth president of the Philippines from 1965 to 1986. He ruled the c ...

in the early 1970s by foreign contract killers hired by the Workshop Group of Senator

Sergio Osmeña Jr. Sergio "Serging" Veloso Osmeña Jr. (December 4, 1916 – March 26, 1984) was a Filipino politician who served as a Senator of the Philippines, and ran against Ferdinand Marcos in the 1969 Philippine Presidential election. He was the son of Se ...

, Marcos' Liberal opponent in the

1969 Philippine presidential election The 1969 Philippine presidential and vice presidential elections were held on November 11, 1969. Incumbent Nacionalista President Ferdinand Marcos was reelected to a second term, defeating Liberal Sergio Osmeña Jr., senator and former Cebu C ...

Early life

Maristela has roots in

Pampanga Pampanga, officially the Province of Pampanga (; ; ), is a province in Central Luzon in the Philippines. Lying on the northern shore of Manila Bay, Pampanga is bordered by Tarlac to the north, Nueva Ecija to the northeast, Bulacan to the east, ...

as well as

Tarlac Tarlac, officially the Province of Tarlac (; ; ; ; ), is a landlocked Provinces of the Philippines, province in the Philippines located in the Central Luzon Regions of the Philippines, region. It had a population of 1,503,456 people according to ...

, both provinces in the Philippines.

Military career

Maristela graduated from the

Philippine Military Academy The Philippine Military Academy ( / ) also referred to by its acronym PMA is the premier military academy for Filipinos aspiring for a commission as a military officer of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP). It was established on Decembe ...

. He was said to have had a "hot temper" and was reprimanded because of this on a number of occasions.

Criminal investigation service and political career

Before entering into the CIS, in 1957, Maristela served as a Provincial Commander and Director of the Rizal Police Provincial Office. During the 1960s, Maristela headed the Criminal Investigation Service (CIS) in the Philippines. Maristela was said to have appointed many "special agents" during his tenure, heading the CIS. In 1963, president

Diosdado Macapagal Diosdado Pangan Macapagal Sr. (; September 28, 1910 – April 21, 1997) was a Filipino lawyer, poet and politician who served as the 9th President of the Philippines, serving from 1961 to 1965, and the 5th Vice President of the Philippines, V ...

formally announced to the country that Maristela would be running as the

Liberal Party The Liberal Party is any of many political parties around the world. The meaning of ''liberal'' varies around the world, ranging from liberal conservatism on the right to social liberalism on the left. For example, while the political systems ...

candidate for mayor in the City of Caloocan. After retiring from the CIS, Maristela engaged in intelligence-gathering for Malacañang (Office of the President). According to historian Joseph Scalice, who cited academic

, Maristela managed to become a mole within the Workshop Group formed by Senator

, defeated

presidential candidate in

1969 1969 ( MCMLXIX) was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar, the 1969th year of the Common Era (CE) and ''Anno Domini'' (AD) designations, the 969th year of the 2nd millennium, the 69th year of the 20th century, and the ...

, and inform president Marcos in the early 1970s of the group's covert plans to assassinate him by hiring foreign

contract killer Contract killing (also known as murder-for-hire) is a form of murder or assassination in which one party hires another party to kill a targeted person or people. It involves an illegal agreement which includes some form of compensation, moneta ...

s. Maristela died in 1979, at his home in Antipolo, Philippines.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Maristela, Jose Philippine Army personnel of World War II Philippine Military Academy alumni American people of Filipino descent People from Pampanga People from Tarlac 1916 births 1979 deaths