DID YOU KNOW: Today is the 168th birth anniversary of Marcelo H. del Pilar

Today, August 30, is the 168th birth anniversary of journalist, writer and nationalist Marcelo H. del Pilar. Born in 1850, he emerged as a beacon in the Philippine propaganda movement against Spain.

A University of Santo Tomas alumnus who finished law in 1880, Del Pilar used the pen name Plaridel in satirizing corrupt officials and friars. He established the nationalist newspaper “Diariong Tagalog” in 1882 and also edited the “La Solidaridad” from November 1889 until the paper’s closure in November 1895. Del Pilar died of tuberculosis on July 4, 1896. —Marielle Medina