Daniel Tirona

Daniel Tirona y Tria (July 22, 1864 — September 2, 1939) was a Filipino politician. He became infamous for causing divisions within the Philippine revolutionary movement and for insulting and maligning Andres Bonifacio during the Tejeros Convention in 1897. Tirona was born in the town of Cavite el Viejo (modern Kawit) in Cavite province. He had an elder brother, Candido Tria Tirona. He was married four times, widowed thrice and had three children. He worked as a schoolteacher. He obtained a Bachelor of Arts degree from the Colegio de San Juan de Letran and studied law in the University of Santo Tomas. He and his elder brother Candido were members of the Katipunan, a secret society founded in 1892 by Andrés Bonifacio and others. The Katipunan sought independence from Spain through armed revolt. The Tironas were leading members of the Magdalo, one of two chapters of the Katipunan in Cavite, the other being the Magdiwang. They were close associates of Emilio Aguinaldo, mayor of Cavite el Viejo and the most prominent Magdalo leader. After the outbreak of the Philippine Revolution in the last days of August 1896, Tirona ceased his law studies. With several provinces in open revolt, the rebels of Cavite enjoyed the most success and they controlled virtually the entire province by September–October 1896. After the Spanish forces retook Imus, Cavite on March 25, Governor-General Camilo de Polavieja offered amnesty to surrendering rebels. Tirona took advantage of the amnesty offer. However, Tirona returned to Aguinaldo sometime later. Aguinaldo had been exiled to Hong Kong in December 1897 in accordance with the Pact of Biak-na-Bato which officially ended the revolution. In May 1898, the Philippines was embroiled in the Spanish–American War. Aguinaldo returned to the Philippines and officially resumed the revolution as an unofficial ally to the United States. Tirona was a witness and signatory of the Philippine Declaration of Independence on June 12. Commissioned as a colonel, Tirona headed a military expedition sent by Aguinaldo to Cagayan in August.