Rafael Crame y Pérez de Tagle (October 2, 1863 - January 1, 1927) was a Filipino

constabulary Constabulary may have several definitions: *A civil, non-paramilitary (police) force consisting of police officers called constables. This is the usual definition in the United Kingdom, in which all county police forces once bore the title (and s ...

officer who served as Chief of 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 ...

from 1917 until his death in 1927.

Early life and education

Rafael Crame was born in Tambobong, Province of Manila (now

Malabon Malabon, officially the City of Malabon (), is a highly urbanized city in the National Capital Region of the Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 380,522 people. Located just north of the city of Manila, Malabon is ...

Metro Manila Metropolitan Manila ( ), commonly shortened to Metro Manila and formally the National Capital Region (NCR; ), is the capital region and largest List of metropolitan areas in the Philippines, metropolitan area of the Philippines. Located ...

) to Don Rafael María de Crame y González Calderon, an artillery officer in the Spanish Army in the Philippines, while his mother was Maria Perez de Tagle. His grandfather was Joaquín Rafael de Crame (b. 1786) who was the Spanish Governor-General of the Philippines in 1835. Crame studied at the Ateneo Municipal de Manila and then enrolled in the Spanish military academy from 1879 up to 1881.

Career

Upon completion of his cadetship, Crame was employed by the Spanish government in the Negociado de Contribución Territorial. He was a government official in the when 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), ...

broke out in 1896. He served in a battalion of volunteer forces organized by the Spanish armed forces. Crame joined the

in 1902 after being invited by a certain Captain Alkinson. Crame started with the rank of fourth class inspector and gradually rose from the ranks to become a colonel by 1914. In 1907, Captain Rafael Crame presided over the preliminary investigation of Philippine Independence Leader Macario Sakay and his group after they were arrested in a deceitful entrapment orchestrated by the American officials who initially promised general amnesty. The accused were charged under the Brigand Act and Sakay was later convicted and hanged. In December 1917, Crame was named as chief of the Constabulary and attained the rank of brigadier general. The American Medal of Valor was awarded to him for helping quash a mutiny 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 ...

in 1921. He was said to have declined the citation when he said, "I only did my duty".

Recognition

Crame is recognized for being the first Filipino to become chief of the Philippine Constabulary. Crame was buried at his family grave at La Loma Cemetery . On August 7, 2003, 76 years after his death, Crame's remains were exhumed from the La Loma Cemetery in Manila, and he was given a hero's burial at the Libingan ng mga Bayani in

Taguig Taguig (), officially the City of Taguig (), is the List of cities in the Philippines, fifth-most populous city in the Philippines situated on the eastern shores of Metro Manila, the national capital region. It is a center for culture, finance ...

the following day. Camp Crame, the place that houses the

Philippine National Police The Philippine National Police (PNP; ) is the national police force of the Philippines. Its national headquarters is located at Camp Crame in Bagong Lipunan ng Crame, Quezon City. Currently, it has approximately 228,000 personnel to police a pop ...

, was named after him due to his contributions to the Philippine Constabulary and for his being a positive role model to the Philippine para-military police force during his time. File:Rafael_Crame_Crame_family_graves3.jpg, La Loma Cemetery File:Rafael_Crame_Crame_family_graves4.jpg, Crame's original tomb File:Rafael_Crame_Crame_family_graves6.jpg, Family grave File:Rafael_Crame_Crame_family_graves.jpg, Crame's family grave File:03683jfSantolan_Annapolis_MRT_Station_EDSA_Camp_Cramefvf_10.jpg, Camp Crame

References

External links

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PNP History
1863 births 1927 deaths Ateneo de Manila University alumni Filipino people of Spanish descent Filipino police officers People from Malabon Burials at the Libingan ng mga Bayani Philippine Constabulary personnel People of the Philippine Revolution People from the Spanish East Indies {{Philippines-mil-bio-stub