Dingle, Iloilo is hometown of generals

“On the battlefield, the military pledges to leave no soldier behind. As a nation, let it be our pledge that when they return home, we leave no veteran behind.” Dan Lipinski

By Alex P. Vidal

The Revolution of 1896 against Spain involved the illustrious Ilonggos.

Dingle town contributed three sons—Gen. Adriano Dayot Hernandez and his brother, Revolutionary Government Secretary of Interior Julio Hernandez, and Major Nicolas Roces.

According to lawyer and philosopher Ernesto Justiniani Dayot, grandson of Gen. Hernandez, Dingle has several active generals and retired full colonels deserving a star as one higher promotion.

He recalled that in the 1896 Revolution, the highest rank of Gen. Hernandez was chief of staff of the Ejercito Liberator.

In politics, Gen. Hernandez was elected the first assemblyman of the fourth district of Iloilo and later governor of Iloilo.

Because of his strong interest in agriculture, he was appointed assistant director and promoted as the first Filipino director of the defunct Bureau of Agriculture.

In music, he played several instruments and was a composer whose composition, “La Marcha del Conant”, won first prize at the St. Louis Exposition in the United States in 1904.

Born on September 8, 1870 in Dingle, Iloilo, Gen. Hernandez’s parents were Don Fernando Hernandez of Villadolid, Spain and Lucia Dayot, member of a prominent family in Dingle.

He was married to Carmen Gavira. They had six children: Jose, a national poet and writer in Spanish; Fernando, who became a presiding judge of the Court of Appeals in Manila; Lucia (Mrs. Angel Manzano); Alfonso, who was with the Bureau of Plant Industry; Ramona (Mrs. Ramona Legarda); and Guillermo, a Spanish, English and Filipino sportscaster reputed to be the best in Asia during his time. He was also a sports editor.

ACHIEVERS

Among Gen. Hernandez’s branch were the following achievers: Gov. Margarita “Tingting” Cojuangco of Tarlac; Atty. Eduardo Hernandez of Dingle and Manila; and cinema idol Eduardo Manzano.

Julio Hernandez was appointed the first chief of the Register of Deeds of Iloilo. He was also an inventor, a prolific writer and editor of Spanish newspapers.

Gen. Hernandez’s granddaughter, Alana, was one-time a cover girl of a prestigious U.S. magazine and his grandson, Hollywood movie producer Dean Devlin, produced the “Patriot” and “Godzilla”, among other award-winning films.

Gen. Vivencio Dayot was fresh graduate of electrical engineering in the University of the Philippines (UP) when recruited by Gen. Douglas McArthur to be one of the professors at the founding of the Philippines Military Academy (PMA).

According to the Examiner in its October 5, 1962 issue, Gen. Dayot was the first Filipino radar expert. He was a wartime instructor in electronics, with U.S. generals and colonels as his students. His rank in the Philippine Army was only a captain.        

Even if he was not a holder of a doctorate degree, he was appointed as a member of a graduate faculty of engineering of Washington State University in the United States.

He made a vital contribution to the development of U.S. radar and was cited by the U.S. government.

HONOR

Brig. Gen. Alfredo Dayot, younger brother of Vivencio Dayot, was an honor graduate of the PMA. He survived Bataan and continued his military career after World War II. Finally he was designated III PC zone commander during the term Marcos administration.

Brig. Gen. Noe Dayot was a UP-ROTC graduate and artillery expert in the Philippine Army.

Other holders of military ranks are: Tingting Cojuangco, granddaughter of Gen. Hernandez, is a full colonel in the reserve force; retired Col. Lorenzo Taasan, alumnus of the PMA; retired Col. Alejandro Dayot of Mina, Iloilo; Col. Dagum of the Philippine Air Force, a native of Dingle; and Col. Luis Pascual Dayot Bedia, still in the service.