Pedro Paterno was prime minister of first Philippine Republic and a poet and novelist.

PEDRO PATERNO

Paterno's works include the very first Filipino novel written in Tagalog, Ninay (1907), and the first Filipino collection of poems in Spanish, Sampaguitas y poesias (Jasmines and Poems), published in Madrid in 1880 . However, his literary work was not appreciated until several decades after his death.

When is Spain, he mingled with the Filipino propagandists and wrote for La Solidaridad. Paterno returned to the Philippines in 1893, but did not join the revolution in 1896.

In 1897, the Philippine revolutionary forces led by Emilio Aguinaldo had been driven out of Cavite and retreated northwards from town to town until they finally settled in Biak-na-Bato, in Bulacan. Paterno volunteered to the Spanish governor as a mediator. Following three months of talks, Aguinaldo signed the Pact of Biak-na-bato, which led to the end of the revolution and Aguinaldo's exile. During the negotiations, Paterno's wife Luisa died. Paterno later published an account of the talks in 1910.

After Aguinaldo declared independance, Paterno joined the new Filipino govenrment. In September 1898 he was elected president of the Malolos Congress. Between May and November 1899, Paterno became the second prime minister of the first Philippine Republic.

In 1907, after the establishment of the American colonial government, he was elected representative to the Philippine Assembly.

27 February 1858

to 11 March 1911