Paco Román
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Francisco Román y Velasquez (October 4, 1869 – June 5, 1899) was a Filipino soldier who became a revolutionary during
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
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 ...
. Roman had the rank of a colonel in the
Philippine Revolutionary Army The Philippine Revolutionary Army ( Spanish: ; ), later renamed Philippine Republican Army, was the army of the First Philippine Republic from its formation in March 1897 to its dissolution in November of 1899 in favor of guerrilla operation ...
, and served as the close aide of General
Antonio Luna Antonio Narciso Luna de San Pedro y Novicio Ancheta (; October 29, 1866 – June 5, 1899) was a Filipinos, Filipino army general and a pharmacist who fought in the Philippine–American War before his assassination on June 5, 1899, at the age ...
. When Luna was assassinated in
Cabanatuan Cabanatuan, officially the City of Cabanatuan (; ; kapampangan language, Kapampangan: ''Lakanbalen/Ciudad ning Cabanatuan''), is a Cities of the Philippines#Legal classification, component city in the province of Nueva Ecija, Philippines. Acco ...
,
Nueva Ecija Nueva Ecija, officially the Province of Nueva Ecija ( ; ; ; ), is a landlocked province in the Philippines located in the Central Luzon region. Its capital is the city of Palayan, while Cabanatuan, its former capital, is the largest Local gove ...
, Román attempted to save him but he was also shot to death by
Emilio Aguinaldo Emilio Aguinaldo y Famy (: March 22, 1869February 6, 1964) was a Filipino revolutionary, statesman, and military leader who became the first List of presidents of the Philippines, president of the Philippines (1899–1901), and the first pre ...
's presidential guards.


Personal life

Francisco Román was born on October 4, 1869, in Alcala, Cagayan to Pelagia Velásquez, a Tagalog, and José Román, a Spanish national. Pelagia was the sister of Hilaria Velasquez, the mother of
José José is a predominantly Spanish and Portuguese form of the given name Joseph. While spelled alike, this name is pronounced very differently in each of the two languages: Spanish ; Portuguese (or ). In French, the name ''José'', pronounced ...
and Rafael Palma. Paco's father, José, was a licensee of the tobacco monopoly system then implemented in the province. The family moved to Manila where the elder Román established a factory. Francisco then studied at Ateneo Municipal de Manila and eventually pursued studies in
Hong Kong Hong Kong)., Legally Hong Kong, China in international treaties and organizations. is a special administrative region of China. With 7.5 million residents in a territory, Hong Kong is the fourth most densely populated region in the wor ...
. Roman married Juliana Piqueras, whom he had two children, Juan and Carmen.


Philippine independence struggle

Francisco Román assumed his father's business after the latter died and secretly donated to the revolutionary cause. Being the son of a Spanish national, he sided with the colonial government and was believed to have volunteered in the Spanish cavalry in order to not be suspected of aiding the revolutionary forces. At the outbreak of 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 ...
, Roman joined General
Antonio Luna Antonio Narciso Luna de San Pedro y Novicio Ancheta (; October 29, 1866 – June 5, 1899) was a Filipinos, Filipino army general and a pharmacist who fought in the Philippine–American War before his assassination on June 5, 1899, at the age ...
's forces and rose to the ranks to become a colonel and Luna's aide-de-camp. Román led what came to be known as the Second Battle of Caloocan where his forces were able to push the invading American forces back to Azcárraga Street in
Manila Manila, officially the City of Manila, is the Capital of the Philippines, capital and second-most populous city of the Philippines after Quezon City, with a population of 1,846,513 people in 2020. Located on the eastern shore of Manila Bay on ...
.


Assassination

While setting up his mountain headquarters in
Bayambang, Pangasinan Bayambang, officially the Municipality of Bayambang (; ; ), is a municipality in the province of Pangasinan, Philippines. According to the 2020 census it has a population of 129,011. It previously included the municipalities of Bautista, A ...
, General Antonio Luna received a telegram on June 4, 1899, from Cabanatuan, Nueva Ecija summoning him to a conference with the
President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Film and television *'' Præsident ...
Emilio Aguinaldo Emilio Aguinaldo y Famy (: March 22, 1869February 6, 1964) was a Filipino revolutionary, statesman, and military leader who became the first List of presidents of the Philippines, president of the Philippines (1899–1901), and the first pre ...
. Román, together with Captain Eduardo Rusca, Majors Manuel Bernal, José Bernal, and Simeon Villa, and 25 cavalrymen, joined Luna to Cabanatuan. The next day, en route to Cabanatuan, a broken bridge posed to delay the entire party. Luna, accompanied by only Román and Rusca, decided to proceed immediately to the parish convent which was used as Aguinaldo's office after moving the
government A government is the system or group of people governing an organized community, generally a State (polity), state. In the case of its broad associative definition, government normally consists of legislature, executive (government), execu ...
's capital from
Malolos Malolos , officially the City of Malolos (), is a component city and capital of the province of Bulacan, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 261,189 people. It is the capital city of the province of Bulacan as the ...
. At around three in the afternoon, Luna, Román, and Rusca arrived at the convent of Cabanatuan, with Luna proceeding to meet Aguinaldo. Upon hearing gunshots Román proceeded to come to Luna's aid, but was assassinated himself by Aguinaldo's personal guards from
Kawit Kawit, officially the Municipality of Kawit (), is an urban municipality of the Philippines, municipality in the Philippine Province, province of Cavite, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 107,535. It is one of ...
,
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 ...
. Román was buried together with Luna at the town cemetery with military honors. However, the whereabouts of his body was lost, as Luna's was later exhumed and transferred. Aguinaldo denied any knowledge in the assassination of Luna and Román, but acknowledged his failure to persecute the people behind their deaths.


In popular culture

* Portrayed by Rogelio Aldo Yadao in the film, '' El Presidente'' (2012). * Portrayed by
Joem Bascon Joseph Emmanuel Bascon (born August 29, 1986), popularly known by the stage name Joem Bascon, is a Filipino actor. Career Bascon's first relevance in the entertainment industry came due to his supposed resemblance to established entertainers ...
in the film, '' Heneral Luna'' (2015).


References


Further reading

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Roman, Paco Filipino people of Spanish descent People of the Philippine Revolution People of the Philippine–American War People from Cagayan 1869 births 1899 deaths Ateneo de Manila University alumni People from the Spanish East Indies