Don Pedro Canciller Evangelista

Don Pedro Canciller Evangelista: Haciendero, Katipunero, Politician

Don Pedro Canciller Evangelista was a member of the Evangelista Clan, a Principalia Family and one of the largest landowners in Pampanga during the Spanish Colonial Rule. He was born on January 16, 1870, in Candaba, Pampanga, to haciendero Don Santiago Canciller Evangelista and Doña Antonia Alonzo. He was 11 years old when his father was elected Gobernadorcillo of Candaba, which left a deep impression on him, and which led him down the political path. When he reached adulthood, Don Pedro’s presence loomed large over Candaba, just as his father Capitan Tiago did during his lifetime.

A staunch Nationalist, Don Pedro was in initiated into the Katipunero by Dr. Pio Valenzuela in 1895, when he was 25 years old. Dr. Pio Valenzuela was the brother-in-law of Don Pedro’s wife Doña Mercedes Castro. Doña Mercedes and Marciano Castro (Dr Pio Valenzuela’s wife) were sisters from Polo, Bulacan. Don Pedro and Doña Mercedes had four children: Luz Sofronia, Aurora, Beatriz, and Jose Castro Evangelista. Later, Don Pedro had four children with Teofista Pamintuan: Estrelita, Estrella, Felicia, and Francisco.

In 1898, Don Pedro was the Delegado de Justicia of Candaba.

Don Pedro was elected Municipal Presidente in 1908, when he ran under the Nacionalista Party, taking over the political mantle from his father. This was a position his father Don Santiago held from 1881 to 1883. Don Pedro distinguished himself as the great modernizer of Candaba. Municipal water supply was organized for the health and well-being of the residents of Candaba. Don Pedro also established the municipal cemetery. For the youth, more barrio schools were built in the districts of Bahay Pare, Lanang, Mandasig, and Salapungan.

Don Pedro was also Candaba’s first Notary Public, an important position during the American Colonial Rule in the Philippines. It was a position appointed by the judges of the Court of First Instance in Pampanga.

At the end of his life, Don Pedro left Candaba a cleaner, safer place. He helped bring the town into the 20th century.

In 2023, Don Pedro Canciller Evangelista’s life was immortalized in the Evangelista Clan book, “Recuerdos de Candaba: Casa de Evangelista, Familia Principalia.”