He was born in 13th of November, 1862 in Tuburan, Cebu to Roberto Maxílom, the town gobernadorcillo, and Gregoria Molero. His family were members of the local gentry, or principalía. His first exposure to education was through the cartilla (a Spanish syllabic book for learning the Spanish language). Later on, his education was further broadened by a parish priest in the town who tutored him.
At some point in adulthood, he married Ciriaca Novicio, daughter of Don Lope Novicio, one of the principalía in town. He had one son with her.
Joining the Katipunan
He worked as a teacher in the local school before joining the Katipunan, whose activities in Cebu were led by a young Negrense, León Kilat. In the midst of being a Katipunero, by 1882, he became the secretary of the Court of Peace in Tuburan, a position he held until 1888. After this, he was voted to become the 2nd teniente by the principalía of the town. By 1892, he was elected as gobernadorcillo until 1894, then he became the municipal captain until 1896.
Knowing he had to leave town at some points, he entrusted his hacienda to his wife, Doña Ciriaca and to her father, Don Lope. On April 2, 1898, KKK President of the Cebu charter Luis Flores appointed the general as Captain of the Army and took charge of the western coast of the island. By April 7, Maxílom returned to Tuburan to help defend the town against the Spaniards and loyalist Filipinos and guide the people there to battle with the help of Don Fausto Tabotabo, the town gobernadorcillo at that time. The Battle of Tuburan happened on April 15, with 45 brave Cebuanos killed on that day, among them were relatives of the general. Before the enemies left, they burned the town to the ground, sparing only the church, the convent, and the municipal building. The general then fled to the mountains of Anijao, Tuburan after the battle and held camp there before leaving for Sudlon on May 20. He left his brother Enemecio in charge of the Tuburan KKK charter. Sudlon became the stronghold of the Katipunan in Cebu, it was also where Flores commanded what was left of its army. Maxílom was eventually appointed as the Supreme General of the remaining Katipunan forces. After learning about Kilat's betrayal by Carcar authorities and his brutal assassination, Maxílom and Flores continued the revolution in Cebu City. Under his command, the Katipunan was able to regroup in the central highlands, which Spanish forces found impenetrable.
Becoming a powerful political figure
On December 16, 1898, Maxílom wrote a letter to the Spanish authorities in Cebu, demanding that the latter surrender. Weary after incessant fighting, the Spaniards quickly responded, asking Maxílom for two to three days to leave the province. The general took hold of "El Pardo", once the seat of the government of Cebu. It was then on December 20 that Flores appointed Maxílom as the Governor of Cebu, even if the position was already occupied by Julio A. Llorente. Historians are still debating whether who truly was the first governor of Cebu, Llorente appointed by the townspeople or Maxílom appointed through revolution. Many factions during this time were also appointing their own leaders to the highest position and most of their terms were spent establishing their legitimacy. By Christmas Eve, the Spaniards had left, leaving behind only three Catholic clerics, making Cebu truly independent from the grasp of Spain.[1] However, in the Treaty of Paris which the Philippine government does not recognise and which added terms to the end of the Spanish–American War, signed that month, December 1898, Spain ceased its sovereignty over the Philippine Islands to the United States for twenty million dollars, although American acceptance of this treaty would still be subject to the decision of the US Congress.
Surrender
Maxílom is best remembered for stubbornly refusing to surrender to the American forces even as his fellow revolutionaries in Manila and Cebu were starting to capitulate or collaborate with the new invaders and was the last Cebuano general to accept defeat.[2] He surrendered on October 27, 1901 to Lt. John L. Bond and his infantry in Tuburan. With him are 78 of his men who turned over a total of 29 rifles, 4 cannons, 1 pistol, and about 40 bolo knives. The surrender of Maxílom marked the end of Cebuano resistance to American forces. On March 18, 1902, five months after his surrender, General Maxílom was arrested by an American constabulary officer named Lt. McCarthy in his own hometown. He was accused of hiding found guerilla equipment in the nearby mountains by the Americans. Also arrested in alleged conspiracy are his brothers Enemecio and Samuel, whom both were reportedly shot to death while in prison.[3]
Later years
The general was released some time in 1902 and spent his remaining days on his hometown, retiring from public life. While his fellow contemporaries would find some semblance of political leverage during the early American occupation, Maxílom gradually faded away into the background.
The curious "carabao lawsuits"
When Maxílom was campaigning in Cebu City, the American-installed municipal president of Tuburan, Bonifacio Alburo, conspiring with Felix Estrella and several others with the help of Lt. McCarthy and American constables by means of force and intimidation, took the carabaos from the hacienda of the general, while both his wife and the latter's father were defenseless against the perpetrators.
Upon returning home after imprisonment in 1902, he filed lawsuits against the ones responsible for taking his carabaos.
Death
General Maxílom died in his hometown of Tuburan, after a long bout with paralysis,[4][5] on August 10, 1924. His funeral cortège, joined in by leading revolutionary figures including Emilio Aguinaldo, stretched some four kilometers, in what remains to this day the longest in Cebu's history.[4]
Legacy
Mango Avenue, one of the main thoroughfares in Cebu City, was renamed General Maxílom Avenue in honor of the general.
