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Manuel Pinzon Abella was born in 1828 in Catanauan, Tayabas. He was a wealthy rice and abaca farmer and one of the Fifteen Martyrs of Bicol[1][2] who were executed for cooperating with the Katipunan during the Philippine Revolution against Spain.[3][4] He married Bibiana Isaac[5] and was blessed with ten children, only five surviving childhood: Mariano, Leocadio, Emetrio, Domingo, Concepcion. He also had a child, Ramon Abella, with an unknown woman.[6]
 |
Manuel Pinzon Abella | |
|---|---|
| |
| Born | 1828 |
| Died | January 4, 1897 (aged 68–69) |
Manuel grew up in Catanauan, Tayabas and left with his brother Leocadio for Naga in 1864 to study for the priesthood. He left the seminary in 1875 and was appointed an "escribano" or clerk of court in Naga, a post which he held until his retirement from government service in 1896. At the same time, he began trading and farming rice and abaca.
Manuel and his family were named as plaintiffs in at least two court cases related to the sale of rice lands,[7][8] which eventually were decided by the Philippine Supreme Court in 1915. It was during these years of active commerce that Don Miguel amassed a large fortune. He was equally known for his deep sympathy for the destitute and his genuine philanthropy.
As a result of prescient business deals and a strong relationship with the Spanish civil governor Manuel Uria, he served as one of two key socio-economic poles in Naga at that time. The local elites in Naga gravitated around Manuel Abella, while the peninsulares in Camarines gravitated around Pablo Feced, a prominent writer defending the colonial government and the friars under the pen name Quioquiap. Feced incidentally also owned the biggest distillery and perfumery in Bula, Camarines Sur.[9]
Abella's connection with the governor made him influential to the local elites. In order to wrest away power from the Abellas, Feced accused the 15 Bicol Martyrs of being members of the Katipunan and succeeded in having them arrested and shot in the field of Bagumbayan.
On September 16, 1896, Manuel was taken along with several of his children - his son Ramon, another significant landholder in Bicol, Domingo, a land surveyor and ally of the Katipunan, and Mariano, his eldest son. Together with the other accused, they were shipped to Manila aboard the vessel Isarog. They were then imprisoned and tortured.
On September 20, they were brought to Bilibid, Manila, tried, and found guilty.
Manuel and Domingo Abella were sentenced to death together with the rest of the 15 Bicol Martyrs and shot on January 4, 1897. Ramon was exiled to Fernando Po island in Africa and died of sickness in 1897. Mariano was acquitted and allowed to return to Bicol.
By the time he was executed at the Luneta, Manuel had become a large trader of abaca. He was a partner of the Zobel de Ayalas in the shipping business and owned the largest ranch in the Philippines with 10,000 heads of cattle. He also owned vast tracts of land and numerous houses.
Manuel was survived by his son Mariano Abella, who became a delegate and signatory of the Malolos Congress and governor of Camarines Norte from December 1898 to February 1900. He helped found the Partido Federal and was reelected as governor twice under the American period.
Manuel is remembered through the Plaza Quince Martires in Naga City, Albay, Philippines.
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