Potenciano Aliño


Potenciano Aliño was a Cebuano Visayan writer. He is credited for having first translated Jose Rizal's Mi Ultimo Adios.
He is a member of the Great Aliño clan of Cebu City. He is a descendant of the First King of Cebu province – Sri Lo Mai, whose descendant is Raja Humabon. Potenciano's ancestor is Raja Humabon's cousin, Tupas, who was considered as the last king of Cebu, consequently, the Spaniards came and took over leadership of the whole archipelago. Tupas was the first to bear the name Aliño.
Potenciano is one of the noted Tres Aliños of Talisay, Cebu, which gave them honor by naming a street in Talisay after them. They are the leader of the revolution against the Spaniards during their last remaining years in the Philippines. They also fought against the Americans. The other guerrillas collaborated with the Americans and were honored and given rewards by their enemies. His brothers, Felix and Hilario, fought alongside with him in their cause. Other brothers were Gervacio and Valentin. the first encounter against the Americans happened in Badian town in southwestern Cebu. A brother was captured by Muslim pirates and was brought to Jolo, Sulo and married an Imam's daughter. other descendants went to Mindanao and established their own families. Potenciano was known to be a good sailor, he was a skipper of a ship which traveled up north. He spent some time in Nueva Ecija and the Ilocos regions and sired a number of children.
The Tres Aliños were said to possess magical powers and were strong physically, they bent prison bars during their imprisonment and got away. They were in hiding most of the time during the wars. When his wife died, he wore a woman's dress and went to the wake as a woman. Nobody noticed him during that visit.
Some well known descendants of the Aliño clan are the former AFP Chief of Staff, General Lisandro Abadia, General Loven Abadia, former Police Director General Santiago Aliño, General George Aliño.