Filipino Martyr: HIGINO P. FRANCISCO

 HIGINO P. FRANCISCO

(d. 1921)

Revolutionary Patriot

A man of rare civic virtues, Higino Francisco y Prospero played a crucial role in saving the

life of Felipe Agoncillo, who would later be a very important diplomat in the government-in-exile of

President Aguinaldo, during the tumultuous year in 1896.

Agoncillo was then a wanted man from Taal, Batangas. He had been ordered deported to

Jolo, Sulu by the Spanish colonial government, but had eluded arrest by the Guardia Civil and gone

to Manila.

Hunted by the law, Agoncillo tried to seek refuge in the homes of several of his relatives

and friends in the city, but all of them refused to let him in for fear of being implicated in his crime.

Finally, almost in desperation, he knocked at the door of a house on Magdalena Street in Tondo.

Its occupants were unknown to him. He just took a chance that they would take him in for the

night. Fortunately, luck was on his side that fateful night since the owner of the house, Higino

Francisco, was an assuming patriot. Throwing caution to the wind, Higino not only provided

shelter to Agoncillo, but also helped him secure a passage on board a Japanese vessel, the Heorimi

Maru, bound for Yokohama, Japan.

Agoncillo left on April 28. 1896 and, after a fortnight in Japan, he proceeded to Hong Kong

to join other Filipino expatriates.

Higino Francisco was also responsible for the planned rescue of Dr. Jose Rizal either from

his Spanish jailers at the place of his confinement or from the hands of his custodians at the time of

his scheduled execution in Bagumbayan. He was, however, dissuaded by Rizal’s family from

carrying it out.

Upon learning of his design, the authorities raided his house. Their search yielded a large

number of firearms. On account of this, he was put in jail, tried and sentenced to death. He was

saved from the gallows by the government’s 1897 proclamation of general pardon.

Francisco had aided Dr. Rizal in his patriotic endeavors. As a token of gratitude, Rizal

presented him the original manuscript of his novel Noli Me Tangere. Knowing that it would fetch a

high price later, Francisco, however, returned it to the mother of the hero. Long after the

revolution was over, the government did buy it for P30, 000.

The street in Sulucan Estate in Sampaloc known as Miguelin was later renamed in Higino

Francisco in the patriot’s honor, but due to a contractual provision involving the estate, its name

was changed back to Miguelin.

Francisco died in December 1921.

References:

De Ocampo, Esteban A. and Alfredo B. Saulo. First Filipino Diplomat. Manila: National

Historical Institute, 1977

Historical Bulletin Volume 15, January – December 1971