On April 10, 1866, General Isidoro Torres was born in Bulacan. Having the codename "Matang Lawin", he was among the organizers of the Apoy Council (Sangguniang Lalawigang Balangay Apoy) of the Katipunan in Bulacan. Included in his roster of connections during the initial phase of forming the Katipunan was Deodato Arellano, the society's first president.
He earned his bachelor's degree from the University of Santo Tomas, after which he served as cabeza de barangay. Narrowly escaping arrest at the outbreak of the Philippine Revolution, Torres would soon find himself in Paombong, where he headed the revolutionary forces there. In November 1896, Torres and his troops were victorious at the Battle of Bustos, but his second-in-command, General Anacleto Enriquez, was not as fortunate. He and many of his 800 troops perished in the Battle of San Rafael in the face of a similarly-sized yet better equipped Spanish force. One of Enriquez's proteges and friends, then Lieutenant Gregorio del Pilar, held Torres accountable for the loss, intensifying the enmity between the two Filipino leaders.
Later on, when Torres was already a member of the Malolos Congress, as well as military governor of Bulacan, and del Pilar was promoted to a general rank, there was an instance when the two quarreled over who would lead the inaugural parade for the First Philippine Republic on January 23, 1899. Eventually, Torres headed the 6,000-soldier show of force. President Emilio Aguinaldo likely recognized how Torres was del Pilar's senior not only by age, but also by rank. To recall, Torres has been serving as a general since the first phase of the Revolution.
In the Malolos Congress, historian Teodoro Agoncillo noted that Torres represented Islas Palaos (Palau), but some sources would say that Torres was appointed representative of Balabac (now part of Palawan). When guerrilla warfare was decreed by Aguinaldo by November 1899, Torres would also shift towards unconventional tactics. In August 1900, Aguinaldo would write Torres to pursue those who would collaborate and give up arms.
During the Battle of Marilao River on March 27, 1899, the first instance when Aguinaldo personally led troops against the Americans, Torres's soldiers were among those who fought alongside reinforcements under General Pantaleon Garcia. With around 90 casualties for both Americans and Filipinos, it may arguably be the first time during the war with the United States when American casualties were equal or greater than that of Filipinos. A similar event would take place at the Battle of Makahambus Hill in Cagayan de Oro on June 4, 1900, where 20 American casualties were inflicted at the cost of 4 Filipino casualties.
Torres would keep fighting throughout the Filipino-American War until his surrender on April 24, 1901 at Norzagaray, a month after Aguinaldo's capture in Isabela. Refusing the offer of the Americans to become governor of Bulacan, he went overseas (Singapore, Japan), and would return to the Philippines only by 1903. From 1909 to 1912, he served as juez de paz (justice of the peace) in San Isidro, Nueva Ecija. Torres died on December 5, 1928.
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