Mariano Noriel (c. 1864 - January 27, 1915) was a Filipino general who fought during the Philippine Revolution and 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 ...

. He was member of the War Council that handled the case of Andres Bonifacio in 1897. He led Filipino advance troops before the American army landed in Intramuros in 1898.

Early life and career

A native of Bacoor,

Cavite Cavite, officially the Province of Cavite ( tl, Lalawigan ng Kabite; Chavacano: ''Provincia de Cavite''), is a province in the Philippines located in the Calabarzon region in Luzon. Located on the southern shores of Manila Bay and southw ...

, General Mariano Noriel was born in 1864. There is no available information about the exact date and place of his birth, nor about his parents, education, and other personal data. 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 and organization, that tends toward rebellion against the established order. Sedition often includes subversion of a constitution and incitement of discontent toward, or insurrection against, esta ...

and

treason Treason is the crime of attacking a state authority to which one owes allegiance. This typically includes acts such as participating in a war against one's native country, attempting to overthrow its government, spying on its military, its diplo ...

, Andres and Procopio were sentenced to death but Gen. 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 The commutation, however, was later withdrawn due to strong pressure from senior army officers and prominent citizens, including General Pio del Pilar and Gen. 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 Mount Nagpatong (not Mount Buntis as reported in history books), Maragondon, 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 well-known humanist and compassionate character. However, this continues to be a controversial point in Philippine history.

Life after the Philippine Revolution

History has a way of putting a strange twist to the life story of Noriel. The records show that the doughty Bacoor general, along with the 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 in the 1992 film, ''Bayani''. * Portrayed by

Wendell Ramos Wendell Xavier Ramos (born August 18, 1978) is a Filipino actor and model who is currently under GMA Network after ABS-CBN and TV5. Biography and early career Ramos started his showbiz career in 1995 when he joined the cast of ''Bubble Gan ...

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

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Noriel, Mariano 1864 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