On August 22, 1972, a monument built in honor of Pio del Pilar, a Filipino revolutionary leader, was unveiled near the intersection of Paseo de Roxas and Ayala Avenue in Makati City.
Pio del Pilar was born as Pio Isidro y Castañeda in 1865, in Culi-Culi, Makati (now divided into barangays Pio del Pilar and Bangkal). His father, Isaac Isidro, adopted the surname del Pilar to protect the family from Spanish persecution.
Pio del Pilar founded the Magtagumpay chapter of the Katipunan, and was one of its leaders. He fought many battles against Spanish and American colonizers and refused to pledge allegiance to any foreign power. He was also one of the leaders in the Battle of Binakayan in Cavite in 1896. He died in 1931.
In 1972, Ayala Corporation commissioned the artist Jose Mendoza to create three statues, which would occupy the three corners of the Ayala Triangle. Aside from Pio del Pilar, the two other heroes honored by Ayala with bigger-than-life-sized monuments were Gabriela Silang and Sultan Kudarat.
The Pio del Pilar monument now stands near the intersection of Paseo de Roxas and Makati Avenue.
Source: Kuwentong Ayala, vol. 5, no. 4, July–August 1972, p. 15
Ochosa, Orlino A. Pio del Pilar & Other Heroes [Quezon City: New Day
Publishers, 1997], pp. 25–28.
