Juan Manuel de la Peña Bonifaz (c. 1625 - December 1673) was a

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many countries in the Americas **Spanish cuisine **Spanish history **Spanish culture ...

politician who served as the ad interim 26th governor and captain-general of the

Philippines The Philippines, officially the Republic of the Philippines, is an Archipelagic state, archipelagic country in Southeast Asia. Located in the western Pacific Ocean, it consists of List of islands of the Philippines, 7,641 islands, with a tot ...

from September 28, 1668 to September 24, 1669. Prior to his term being the governor-general, he served as the junior auditor of the

Real Audiencia of Manila The Real Audiencia of Manila () was the Real Audiencia of the Spanish East Indies, which included modern-day Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands, Palau, Micronesia and the Philippines. Similar to Real Audiencias throughout the Spanish Empire, it was ...

before he held the highest position by trickery. He succeeded

Diego de Salcedo Diego de Salcedo, a Spanish army officer during the Eighty Years' War, was the Governor-General of the Philippines from 1663 to 1668. He reinforced the army of the archipelago and promoted trade with America. In his participation during the Eighty ...

as the governor. __TOC__

Governorship

Before the start of Juan Manuel de la Peña Bonifaz's term, he was a junior auditor of the

. Before the end of his term, governor-general

had bitter quarrels with the Inquisition commissioner José de Paternina Samaniego which escalated into a

coup d'état A coup d'état (; ; ), or simply a coup , is typically an illegal and overt attempt by a military organization or other government elites to unseat an incumbent leadership. A self-coup is said to take place when a leader, having come to powe ...

overthrowing his government on October 10, 1668. Paternina installed Peña Bonifaz as the new governor through trickery with the help of two other members of the Audiencia. In return, he swore allegiance to Paternina, increased salary pay of the revolting Spanish soldiers and granted high position to those who helped him gain office. He used all Salcedo's treasury as well as the royal treasury in Manila to reward those who are in favor with him. He didn't know that a new governor, Manuel de León, has already been appointed by Charles II to replace Salcedo even before the latter was arrested during the coup. On December 25, 1668, Peña Bonifaz ordered the weakening Salcedo to be deported back to

Mexico Mexico, officially the United Mexican States, is a country in North America. It is the northernmost country in Latin America, and borders the United States to the north, and Guatemala and Belize to the southeast; while having maritime boundar ...

. Salcedo, however, died in the

Pacific Ocean The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five Borders of the oceans, oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean, or, depending on the definition, to Antarctica in the south, and is ...

. De León reached

Leyte Leyte ( ) is an island in the Visayas group of islands in the Philippines. It is eighth-largest and sixth-most populous island in the Philippines, with a total population of 2,626,970 as of 2020 census. Since the accessibility of land has been ...

in July 1669. When he entered Manila on September 14, he ordered all people involved in the imprisonment of Salcedo to undergo court trials and punishment. Paternina, being the commissioner of the Inquisition, was immune to criminal charges. Peña Bonifaz sought refuge in an Augustinian convent in Manila when he heard the news. When he was about to be arrested, friars denied the order because of the principle that whoever sought refuge in the Church is already under divine protection.

Death

Few months after the

Council of the Indies A council is a group of people who come together to consult, deliberate, or make decisions. A council may function as a legislature, especially at a town, city or county/shire level, but most legislative bodies at the state/provincial or nati ...

lift all charges against Salcedo and issued a proclamation nullifying all orders and decrees executed by Peña Bonifaz. The Council cited his disqualification as a person who knew nothing to political policies and administration of the colonies which led to the gross spending of public treasury. Because of this, the Council sentenced Peña Bonifaz to be executed, but, before even hearing the sentence, he died of sickness at the convent in December 1673.

References

World Statesmen
* *

* Lea, Henry Charles
The Inquisition in the Spanish Dependencies. Sicily - Naples - Sardinia - Milan - The Canaries - Mexico - Peru - New Granada
, {{DEFAULTSORT:Pena-Bonfiaz, Juan Manuel 1620s births 1673 deaths Spanish politicians Year of birth unknown