<figure class="image-550">
<img src="https://cdn.kahimyang.com/resources-28/servillano-aquino-aguilar.webp" alt="A sepia-toned historical photograph of Servillano Aquino y Aguilar standing in a striped prison uniform at Bilibid Prison during the American era. He faces the camera with hands on his hips, wearing a short haircut and mustache, against a plain studio-style backdrop." loading="lazy" />
<figcaption>
Servillano Aquino y Aguilar photographed in his Bilibid Prison uniform during the American colonial period, captured while he was detained for his revolutionary activities.
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</figure>

<h2>
Early Life and Education
</h2>
<p>
Servillano Aquino was born to <b>Don Braulio Aquino y Lacsamana</b> and <b>Doña Petrona Aguilar y Henson</b>. While born in Angeles, his family moved while he was still young to Concepcion, Tarlac, where he spent most of his childhood. He first learned to read and write (the cartilla) at home and then under a private tutor in the town of Mexico, Pampanga.
</p>
<p>
Aquino later went to Manila for formal schooling, initially studying under Enrique Mendiola in Santa Cruz before entering the <a href="/kauswagan/articles/2884/the-history-of-colegio-de-san-juan-de-letran" class="news_link">Colegio de San Juan de Letran</a>, where he completed his Bachelor of Arts and also took a course in land surveying. He subsequently enrolled at the <a href="/articles/3223/a-historical-account-of-the-university-of-santo-tomas" class="news_link">University of Santo Tomas</a> to study law, although he did not finish the course.
</p>
<p>
He married <b>Guadalupe Quiambao</b>, a member of a prominent family from Murcia, Tarlac, and they had three sons: Gonzalo (born 1893), <a href="/kauswagan/articles/1502/september-3-1894-benigno-aquino-sr-was-born-in-murcia-tarlac" class="news_link">Benigno "Igno" Aquino Sr.</a> (1894–1947), and Amando (born 1896). After Guadalupe's death, he later married her widowed sister, Petronila Quiambao Estrada, becoming stepfather to her children and further intertwining Aquino and Quiambao family ties in Tarlac society.
</p>

<h2>
Entry Into the Revolution
</h2>
<p>
By the mid‑1890s, Aquino was already a local leader in Tarlac, serving as capitán municipal (mayor) of Murcia. In 1896, he became a mason and joined the Katipunan, the secret revolutionary society that launched the Philippine Revolution against Spain.
</p>
<p>
Under the command of General <a href="/kauswagan/articles/1275/today-in-philippine-history-september-17-1871-francisco-makabulos-was-born-in-la-paz-tarlac" class="news_link">Francisco Makabulos</a>, Aquino was made a major in the revolutionary forces operating in Tarlac. He organized men from Murcia and neighboring towns and led hit‑and‑run raids that harassed Spanish garrisons, eventually forcing Spanish troops in parts of Tarlac to shift positions toward Pangasinan. In the forests at the foot of Mount Arayat, he gathered his followers in Sitio Camansi, where they pledged allegiance to the Katipunan and reportedly signed their names in blood.
</p>
<p>
The National Historical Commission of the Philippines (NHCP) notes that Aquino led Katipuneros in the fight against Spanish forces in the town of Concepcion, Tarlac in 1896 and helped liberate the province of Tarlac together with Makabulos in July 1898. These actions made him one of the leading revolutionary figures of central Luzon.
</p>

The Revolutionary Life of General Servillano Aquino