On May 26, 1859, Felipe Agoncillo was born in Batangas. Regarded as the first Filipino diplomat to officially represent the Philippines in the United States, he finished law at the University of Santo Tomas in 1879. After which, he offered free legal services to the poor, eventually assuming the post of fiscal of Batangas in 1885, and member of the advisory council to the Spanish governor general in 1894.
Warned of being implicated and sent to exile, Agoncillo left the Philippines for Japan before reaching Hong Kong, where he would meet Emilio Aguinaldo and the Filipino leaders who were exiled due to the provisions of the Pact of Biak-na-Bato in 1897. During their time in exile, Agoncillo recommended key figures in the later Aguinaldo government, including fellow Batangueño Apolinario Mabini.
When he was assigned to the United States with Sixto Lopez, he was shut out of the negotiations leading to the Treaty of Paris between the US and Spain, despite having unofficial audience with United States President William McKinley. Enduring media attacks and even an assassination attempt, Agoncillo continued his diplomatic work, to the point of using his own money to finance their activities. He was nonetheless convinced that anything short of Philippine independence would spark a war. To avoid conflict between their nation, Agoncillo believed US recognition of the republic would be the solution, but the US government did not share his views.
Agoncillo was also known to be a proponent of forming a "provisional federal" type of government for the new Filipino republic, as well as the strengthening of local and provincial governments to uphold morality and integrity in public administration.
After the Filipino-American War, he returned to the Philippines and was elected Batangas representative in 1907. He also served as Interior Secretary from 1923 to 1925. Agoncillo also continued offering his legal services to the poor. He died on September 28, 1941 in Manila due to pneumonia.
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Photo: Portrait of Felipe Agoncillo by Felix Resurreccion Hidalgo. Oil on canvas, 1899. National Fine Arts Collection. National Museum of the Philippines. On public display in Gallery 6 of the National Museum of Fine Arts, Manila.
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