José Turiano Santiago (July 13, 1875 – 1942?) was a Filipino patriot who was among the leaders of the Katipunan that sparked the Philippine Revolution against Spain in 1896.

Biography

Santiago graduated from the University of Santo Tomas and was a practicing accountant. Santiago joined the Katipunan in 1893 and was among those tasked to organize popular councils in key areas in Manila and its environs. He was elected secretary of the secret society's second Supreme Council under the presidency of Roman Basa. It was at this time that he met

Marina Dizon Marina Bartolome Dizon-Santiago (July 18, 1875 – October 25, 1950) a native of Tondo, Manila, was a heroine of the Philippine Revolution and one of the first women initiated into the Katipunan. She also kept important documents for the Kati ...

, daughter of Katipunan founder José Dizon and member of the Katipunan's women's auxiliary. In the same year, Santiago and Marina, who was already his fiancee, witnessed the wedding of

Andrés Bonifacio Andrés Bonifacio y de Castro (, ; November 30, 1863May 10, 1897) was a Filipino Freemason and revolutionary leader. He is often called "The Father of the Philippine Revolution", and considered one of the national heroes of the Philippines ...

to Gregoria de Jesús. The wedding sponsors were Santiago's half-brother and fellow Katipunan member Restituto Javier and his wife. Santiago himself married Marina Dizon on September 16, 1894 in the church of Binondo, Manila. They would eventually have eight children. The following year, Santiago was elected secretary of the secret society but he and his half-brother Restituto Javier were accused of betraying the secret society because a priest-professor of the University of Santo Tomas got hold of a coded message of the Katipunan. Since the priest was a friend of Javier's sister, the Katipunan suspected that Santiago and Javier revealed the society's existence and the two were expelled although they were never proven guilty. The Katipunan would not be uncovered until August 1896 and neither Santiago nor Javier had anything to do with it. Santiago and his wife fled their house during that time with Marina burning documents related to the Katipunan. Nonetheless, the half-brothers were among those who were arrested by the Spanish authorities and detained for months. Santiago's father-in-law was also arrested and executed. Javier was later banished to the Canary Islands. Santiago, however, was released on September 11, 1897. But he remained in contact with revolutionary forces and was appointed representative of Nueva Ecija in the Malolos Congress in 1898. When the Americans took Manila, Santiago and his wife tried to live normal lives in Meycauayan, Bulacan but had to flee to Tarlac in the course of the

Philippine–American War The Philippine–American War or Filipino–American War ( es, Guerra filipina-estadounidense, tl, Digmaang Pilipino–Amerikano), previously referred to as the Philippine Insurrection or the Tagalog Insurgency by the United States, was an arm ...

. The couple tried to settle down in Manila anew but Santiago was later exposed as an insurgent and he had to flee to Hong Kong. When peace restored in the Philippines, Santiago returned and lived a normal life as an accountant and auditor for several companies in Manila. He died during the Japanese Occupation.

References

* National Historical Institute, ''Filipinos in History'' 5 vols. (Manila: National Historical Institute, 1995) 1875 births 1940s deaths People of the Philippine Revolution Members of the Malolos Congress University of Santo Tomas alumni Filipino accountants Civilians killed in World War II {{Philippines-bio-stub