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<img loading="lazy" src="https://cdn.kahimyang.com/resources/Pedro_Alejandro_Paterno.webp" alt="Perdo Alejandro Paterno" border="0" />
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(Pedro Alejandro Paterno)
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Paterno's greatest contribution to the country was his role as a mediator in the Pact of Biak-na-Bato on December 14, 1897 which led to peace agreement between 

the Spaniards and the Filipinos, an account of which he published in 1910.


Although the agreement did not last long, it afforded General Emilio Aguinaldo the opportunity to buy arms and ammunition to plot another uprising. Without the 

Pact which Paterno successfully negotiated, the tide of events would have turned adversely against freedom-loving Filipinos.


Paterno, belonging to a wealthy family, studied at Ateneo de Manila and afterward at the University of Salamanca in Salamanca Spain. He likewise enrolled at the 

Central University of Madrid where he completed his law degree.


Like other Spanish-educated illustrados, he joined the second period of the Revolution and became a prominent figure in the First Philippine Republic.


Owing to his prestige as a lawyer and a statesman, he was chosen as President of the <a href="https://kahimyang.com/kauswagan/MalolosConstitution.xhtml" 

class="news_link" title="Malolos Constitution">Malolos Congress</a>, which met in inaugural session at the Barasoain Church in Malolos, Bulacan on September 15, 

1898.


After his capture by the Americans in Benguet in 1900, he became involved in the pacification campaign. He was among the most prominent Filipinos who joined the 

American side and advocated the incorporation of the Philippines into the United States.


Ardently serving the cause of the propaganda movement by means of his prolific pen, Paterno wrote the first Filipino novel written in Tagalog, "Ninay" which 

depicted the customs and traditions of the people and was published in 1885, two years ahead of Dr. Jose Rizal's novel "Noli Me Tangere."


He wrote the first Filipino collection of poems in Spanish, "Sampaguitas y Poesias Varias" (Jasmines and Poems), published in Madrid in 1880.


Paterno also contributed a lot in Philippine literature. His work "El Cristianismo en la Antigua Civilization Tagalog" achieved so much admiration and 

recognition.


Paterno died of cholera on April 26, 1911 at the age of 53.



Source:

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Philippine News Agency archives
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Photo: Wikipedia Commons
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February 27, 1858: Pedro Paterno was born in Sta. Cruz, Manila