Marcelo H. del Pilar

Marcelo H. del Pilar
Marcelo H. del Pilar ca. 1889
Born	Marcelo Hilario y Gatmaytán August 30, 1850 Bulacán, Bulacan, Captaincy General of the Philippines
Died	July 4, 1896(1896-07-04) (aged 45) Barcelona, Spain
Cause of death	Tuberculosis
Resting place	Marcelo H. del Pilar National Shrine, Bulakan, Bulacan, Philippines
Nationality	Filipino
Alma mater	Colegio de San José Universidad de Santo Tomás
Occupation	Writer, lawyer, journalist
Organization	La Solidaridad
Spouse(s)	Marciana H. del Pilar (1878–1896; his death)
Children	Sofía H. del Pilar Anita H. del Pilar de Marasigan
Parent(s)	Julián H. del Pilar (father) Blasa Gatmaitán (mother)

Marcelo Hilario del Pilar y Gatmaitán (born Marcelo Hilario y Gatmaytán; August 30, 1850 – July 4, 1896), better known by his pen name Plaridel, was a Filipino writer, lawyer, journalist, and freemason. Del Pilar, along with José Rizal and Graciano López Jaena, became known as the leaders of the Reform Movement in Spain.

Del Pilar was born and brought up in Bulacán, Bulacan. At an early age, he became a critic of the monastic rule in the country (the Spanish friars). He was suspended at the Universidad de Santo Tomás and jailed in 1869 after he and the parish priest quarrelled over exorbitant baptismal fees. In the 1880s, he expanded his anti-friar movement from Malolos to Manila. He went to Spain in 1888 after an order of banishment was issued against him. Twelve months after his arrival in Barcelona, he succeeded López Jaena as editor of the La Solidaridad (Solidarity). Publication of the newspaper stopped in 1895 due to lack of funds. Losing hope in reforms, he planned to lead a revolution against Spain. He was on his way home in 1896 when he contracted tuberculosis in Barcelona. He later died in a public hospital and was buried in a pauper's grave.

On November 15, 1995, the Technical Committee of the National Heroes Committee, created through Executive Order No. 5 by former President Fidel Ramos, recommended del Pilar along with the eight Filipino historical figures to be National Heroes. The recommendations were submitted to Department of Education Secretary Ricardo T. Gloria on November 22, 1995. No action has been taken for these recommended historical figures. In 2009, this issue was revisited in one of the proceedings of the 14th Congress.