Whatever Happened to Camilo Polavieja?
Camilo Polavieja y del Castillo, Marques de Polavieja (1838–1914) Regarded as a villain in Philippine history for ordering the court-martial and subsequent execution of Jose Rizal, Governor-General Camilo de Polavieja had a brilliant career as a military man. He became Governor-General of the Philippines in a turbulent time, replacing Governor General Ramon Blanco y Arenas . He was known to be favored by the friars. It was said that when Dona Teodora pleaded for Rizal's life, she walked in bend knees in a stair in Malacanang and meeting Polavieja who coldly said to her; He cannot spare the life of this rebel while young Spanish men are dying in battlefields in the hills of Luzon". Another version says that Dona Teodora and a daughter were simply shooed away from the gates of the palace. Polavieja never won the war to pacify the Philippines. In fact, parts of Cavite were still in rebels' hands when he resigned due to bad health (palusot?). He went home to Spain...