José Torres Bugallón (1873 – 1899) was a Filipino military officer who fought in the Philippine-American War. He is known in Pangasinan province, his birthpace, as the “Hero of the Battle of La Loma,” during which he was fatally wounded.
At the age of sixteen, Bugallón entered the seminary with the intention of becoming a priest. During his studies, he passed an examination given by the Spanish government, which qualified him to be sent to Spain as a scholar of the colonial government. For three years, Bugallon studied military science and warfare at the Academia Militar in Toledo.
Bugallón graduated from the academy in 1896 and was commissioned into the Spanish Army. He was dispatched to the Philippines and his regiment participated in the battles against the natives fighting for independence.
In 1898, the Treaty of Paris was signed, ending the Spanish-American War. Subsequently though, hostilities started between the Filipinos and the Americans who now owned the islands.
The head of the Philippine army Antonio Luna recruited many officers and soldiers of the former Spanish colonial army. Bugallón became an aide-de-camp to Luna and was tasked with recruiting veterans for the Spanish war.
On February 4, 1899, the Philippine-American War officially began.
The next day, February 5, Bugallon was with Luna at La Loma when they were confronted by American troops under General Arthur MacArthur, Jr. Bugallon was hit in the leg by an enemy bullet. Despite Luna’s efforts to get medical care for his officer, Bugallon died.
Today, the town in Pangsinan in which Bugallon was born is named Bugallon in his honor.
