Mariano Yulo

Mariano Yulo was born on September 3, 1873, in Hinigaran, Negros Occidental to Teodoro Yulo and Gregoria Regalado.^[1] Yulo completed an education at the Colegio de San Juan de Letran. He then followed medical training at the San Juan de Dios Hospital and graduated in 1898 with his Doctor of Medicine from the University of Santo Tomas. During the Philippine Revolution, he worked as a doctor in the military hospital in Manila. During Philippine-American War, he was active as a doctor in Binalbagan. He was also one of the members of the Malolos Congress.

After the American victory, Yulo was a member of the provincial board of Negros Occidental and president of the provincial health board from 1902. In 1908 he was elected governor of Negros Occidental and served until 1912. In 1925, Yulo was elected to the Senate of the Philippines on behalf of the 8th District after a special election to succeed Espiridion Guanco, who died in office.^[3] He was re-elected in 1928.

On July 8, 1929, Yulo was injured in a serious car accident in Hinigaran and died on July 11 in his hometown at the age of 55.^[1][4] On July 16, Senator Hermenegildo Villanueva appointed a committee to represent the Senate in Yulo's funeral. The senate session was also adjourned that same day declaring it as a day of mourning for the late senator.^[5] In a special election for his seat, Francisco Zulueta was elected, with no opponent, to complete the remainder of his term.^[6][3]

His son, Alfredo Yulo, served as mayor of Bacolod from 1940 to 1942.^[7]

Yulo was one of the sugar millers who held positions in the US colonial government. However due to an economic crisis in 1919 and rising costs, the Yulo family gave up management of the sugar central they founded in Binalbagan to an American, Philip Whitiker. Whitiker acquired a major interest with credit from the Philippine National Bank (PNB) and gave its president Venancio Concepcion over 600,000 Php in stock. Senator Espiridion Guanco was vice-president when Binalbagan estate owed 12,000,000 Php. The credit pyramid collapsed, and the PNB took over ownership of the plant under a new president due to problematic management.^[8]

Yulo's two-story house and garden built in 1919, also known as Yulo's Park, has been declared as an "important cultural heritage" by the National Museum of the Philippines and installed a national historical marker there in 2024.^[9][7]