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(Miguel Lino de Ezpeleta)
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Miguel Lino de Ezpeleta was born in Manila in October 2, 1701. Though he was born to Spanish parents, he was often considered a Filipino rather than a criollo. During Spanish colonial days, a criollo was a Spaniard born in the colonies.
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On July 18, 1757, he was appointed as the bishop of the Diocese of Cebu and about a year later, he was ordained by the Archbishop of Nueva Caceres (present day part of Naga) Manuel de Matos to the bishopric.
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Upon the death of Governor-General Pedro Manuel de Arandia Santisteban, the See of Manila and the See of Nueva Segovia (part of the present day Ilocus Sur) were vacant, and de Ezpeleta as the Bishop of Cebu was the senior prelate of the islands. He assumed the post of governor against the will of the Real Audiencia of Manila.
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On July 22, 1759, the new Archbishop of Manila <a href="https://kahimyang.com/articles/2997/governor-general-manuel-rojo-del-r-o-was-born-on-september-24-1708-in-tula-mexico" class="news_link">Manuel Rojo del Rio y Vieyra</a> arrived in the country which made the occupation of de Ezpeleta to the gubernatorial seat void. De Ezpeleta refused to step down as governor after Rojo's orders. De Ezpeleta sought the support from the oidores of the Audiencia: two of the four oidores went to the side of de Ezpeleta while the other to Rojo. De Ezpeleta also raised the precedent of Juan Arrechedera, who previously had the same instance as him. They brought the question to the Council of the Indies through its prosecutor Francisco Léandro de Viana.
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One of his initial actions against the previous administration of Arandía and the Real Audiencia was to revoke the reforms and decrees written by the ex-governor.
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Later in 1759, he suppressed the armada of Fr. Jose Ducos, which was commissioned by Arandia to protect the Jesuit missionaries converting Muslims in Iligan Bay. One of the reasons of this suppression is that the Augustinian missionaries in Caraga and Butuan filed a complaint to de Ezpeleta that they are not well protected. Spanish historian and biographer Jose Montero y Vidal pointed out that this suppression greatly accelerated the depredations caused by Muslim pirates in Luzon and Visayas.
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June 1, 1759: Miguel Lino de Ezpeleta became the 45th Spanish governor-general of the Philippines