Hilario Moncado


Hilario Camino Del Prado was a Filipino mystic and political activist. He was the founder and leader of the Filipino Crusaders World Army, a religious and patriotic group in the Philippines.

Early life

Moncado was born on November 4, 1898, in Pondol, Balamban, Cebu, Philippines. His father was a Spanish friar, Fermin Moncado Del Prado and his mother was Celia Camino.
His father sponsored his schooling and boarding in India for his mystical studies at the age of six.
At the age of nine, he graduated with honor from the College of Mystery and Psychics in Calcutta, India.
At the age of 13 he wrote Watch 1927-1935, Equifrilibricum, Sun, Moon and the Star, Matahari of India, Mikado of Japan, Re-Vizaya of the Philippines and Divinity of Woman.
Moncado spoke 11 languages fluently. He could also speak and understand two Filipino regional languages: Hiligaynon and Tagalog.
He was a pianist and a dancer, and attended and participated in Zarsuela shows conducted by his sister, Macaria Camino DelPrado.
He used his paternal grandmother's surname, Moncado, as a pseudonym. Founded FCWA in Sudlon Cebu.

Political career

Moncado was the owner and editor of Filipino Nation, a semi-monthly Filipino magazine published in English. The magazine was established in Los Angeles, California, on November 1, 1924.
He was commissioned Brigadier General of the National Volunteer, as an Officer of the Commonwealth of the Philippines, in 1934.
He wrote Women's Suffrage in 1934, and was a delegate to the 1935 Philippine Constitutional Convention election, and was a candidate in the 1941 Philippine presidential election.
He founded the Filipino Federation of America on December 27, 1925, and remained its President until his death. The organization was incorporated on April 2, 1927 under the laws of the State of California. He later founded the patriotic religious organizations the Filipino World Federation, and the Filipino Crusaders World Army, for the latter of which he was named its Supreme Commander in Chief.
Moncado claimed to have been a member of the San Francisco Press Club, the Manila Overseas Press Club, the Philippine Bar Association, the California Chamber of Commerce, the New York Chamber of Commerce, the Pan Pacific Union, the American Academy of Political and Social Sciences, the American Military Institute, and the Honolulu Chamber of Commerce.
His other books included World travel memories and America, the Philippines and the Orient, and 360 Degrees Power Swing .