Mariano Noriel (March 16, 1864 - January 27, 1915) was a Filipino general who fought during the

Philippine Revolution The Philippine Revolution ( or ; or ) was a war of independence waged by the revolutionary organization Katipunan against the Spanish Empire from 1896 to 1898. It was the culmination of the 333-year History of the Philippines (1565–1898), ...

and the

Philippine–American War The Philippine–American War, known alternatively as the Philippine Insurrection, Filipino–American War, or Tagalog Insurgency, emerged following the conclusion of the Spanish–American War in December 1898 when the United States annexed th ...

. He was member of the War Council that handled the case of

Andres Bonifacio Andres or Andrés may refer to: * Andres, Illinois, an unincorporated community in Will County, Illinois, US * Andres, Pas-de-Calais, a commune in Pas-de-Calais, France *Andres (name) Andres or Andrés is a male given name. It can also be a ...

in 1897. He led Filipino advance troops before the American army landed in Intramuros in 1898.

Early life and career

A native of

Bacoor Bacoor (), officially the City of Bacoor (), is a Cities of the Philippines#Legal classification, component city in the Provinces of the Philippines, province of Cavite, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 664,625 ...

Cavite Cavite, officially the Province of Cavite (; Chavacano: ''Provincia de Cavite''), is a Provinces of the Philippines, province of the Philippines located in the Calabarzon region. On the southern shores of Manila Bay and southwest of Manila, i ...

, Mariano Noriel was born in 1864. Noriel was the president of the Council of War that tried the Bonifacio brothers ( Andres and Procopio) in Naik and later in Maragondon in May 1897. Convicted of

sedition Sedition is overt conduct, such as speech or organization, that tends toward rebellion against the established order. Sedition often includes subversion of a constitution and incitement of discontent toward, or insurrection against, establ ...

and

treason Treason is the crime of attacking a state (polity), state authority to which one owes allegiance. This typically includes acts such as participating in a war against one's native country, attempting to Coup d'état, overthrow its government, spy ...

, Andres and Procopio were sentenced to death but General Emilio Aguinaldo, president of the newly established Revolutionary Government, commuted the death verdict to banishment to the Pico de Loro Mountain in Maragondon. The commutation, however, was later withdrawn due to strong pressure from senior army officers and prominent citizens, including General Pio del Pilar and Noriel himself who believed that the two brothers, if allowed to live, would endanger the revolution. The withdrawal of the commutation order was construed by Noriel, who was also in charge of the prisoners, as a go signal for the execution of the sentence, and so he had the two brothers shot to death a squad of soldiers under Major Lazaro Macapagal on May 10, 1897. Aguinaldo, in the book ''A Second Look at America'', which he co-authored with Vicente Albano Pacis, claims that his withdrawal of the commutation order did not mean immediate implementation of the death verdict, that Noriel had misconstrued this and acted hastily. He says he wanted a little more time for a cooling-off period so that eventually the Bonifacio brothers would be forgiven and pardoned. This is in accord with Aguinaldo’s claimed humanist and compassionate character.

Life after the Philippine Revolution

The records show that Noriel, along with two others, was sentenced to death for the murder of a man in the Bacoor cockpit in May 1909. The Court of First Instance decision on the case was later confirmed by the Philippine Supreme Court, so it was appealed by an Irish-American lawyer named Amzi B. Kelly, to the Supreme Court of the United States which subsequently reversed the decision. But before the final verdict was received from Washington, Noriel and his co-accused had already been executed by hanging in Manila on January 27, 1915.Esteban A. de Ocampo and A. B. Saulo, First Filipino Diplomat; Felipe Agoncillo, Manila, 1977.

In popular culture

* Portrayed by

John Arcilla Romeo John Gonzales Arcilla (born June 24, 1966) is a Filipino actor. He became the first Filipino and the first Southeast Asian actor to receive the Volpi Cup for Best Actor at the Venice International Film Festival (2021) for his perform ...

in the 1992 film, ''Bayani''. * Portrayed by

Wendell Ramos Carlino Xavier Reyes Ramos (; born August 18, 1978) is a Filipino actor. He is best known as one of the original cast members of the GMA Network comedy show ''Bubble Gang''. Career Ramos started his showbiz career in 1995 when he joined the ca ...

in the 2012 film, '' El Presidente''.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Noriel, Mariano 1860s births 1915 deaths People from Bacoor Filipino generals Executed Filipino people People of the Philippine–American War People of the Philippine Revolution Members of the Philippine Independent Church Burials at the Manila North Cemetery People from the Spanish East Indies