[DIGITAL SKETCH] PIO VALENZUELA

Pio Valenzuela was born in Polo, Bulacan (now the City of Valenzuela) to Francisco Valenzuela and Lorenza Alejandrino, who both came from wealthy families. In January 1895, he was elected as the Katipunan's physician, and in December, he became the fiscal general. He joined the Katipunan society at the age of 23, an organization that sought the Philippines' independence from Spanish colonial authority and sparked the Philippine Revolution. They created the Camara Reina secret chamber of the society with Andrés Bonifacio and Emilio Jacinto. He was in charge of the first and only official publication of Katipunan, "Ang Kalayan." He was the one who sought to persuade José Rizal, who had been exiled, to join the revolutionary cause.    -Carl Joseph C. Morelos