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Zoilo Pajarillo y Martinez
Zoilo Pajarillo y Martinez (27 June 1880 - 3 July 1972 was a Filipino-Spanish landowner and provincial politician. Zoilo Pajarillo was the Alcalde Municipal (Municipal Mayor) of Pangil, Laguna, Philippines during the Japanese occupation (1941-1945) coinciding with World War II. He was also one of the first members of the Sakdalista, a movement founded by Benigno Ramos, in the Province of Laguna.

Early Life and Education
Zoilo was born on 27 June 1880 in Pangil, Laguna during the Captaincy-General of the Philippines and was the eldest of two boys. His parents were Don Pedro Pajarillo, a Spanish mestizo and illustrado whose roots originated from Bocaue, Bulacan; and Serafina Martinez, daughter of a wealthy landowner from Pangil. Several members of his wife's family served as Capitan Municipal of the town during the Spanish occupation. Zoilo and his younger brother Abraham studied at the local catón (grammar) school in Pangil and at the private academy of the famous Biñan educator Maestro Justiniano Aquino Cruz. Zoilo studied the craft of jewelry making and production which became his lifetime passion while his younger brother pursued seamanship, eventually becoming a steamship captain (capitan de vapor) for commercial inter-island boats and cargo ships operating between the Philippines, China, and Japan.

Marriage, Family & Business
Zoilo married Francisca Calaylay y Diaz,  a local lady from Barrio Balian. Their marriage was celebrated in late 1898 at the parish church of Nuestra Senora de la Natividad. Their union produced ten children (two died in infancy), namely Vicente, Guadalupe, Julian, Agueda, Cesar, and Geronimo. Zoilo and his wife Francisca were engaged in the production and sale of fine jewelry, hog raising, meat sale, and rice farming. His family, at one point, was one of the town’s biggest landowners.

Politics
Zoilo ran for the post of Alcalde Municipal (Municipal Mayor) against Esteban Icarangal during the local elections held in the summer of 1941 and won with an overwhelming majority. When the advancing Japanese troops reached Pangil in early 1942, the Japanese Army arrested Zoilo and other prominent town leaders and imprisoned them for six months at the Japanese barracks prison inside the compound of Laguna High School (now known as Pedro Guevarra Memorial National High School) in Santa Cruz, Laguna. His notable legacy in the town of Pangil is the construction of the irrigation system, building upon the old acequia started by the Spaniards, and the introduction of waterworks using iron pipes.

Later Life
Leaving politics after the end of his term, Zoilo lived the life of a gentleman farmer and businessman. The family’s ancestral residence was located on a seven-hectare land in the town proper across from the town plaza (where the former De La O Bank is located). Their old Spanish house was demolished in the late 1960s to give way to several houses of family members. In 1998, the land was subdivided and passed on to the heirs and other parties. Zoilo passed away on July 3, 1972 at the age of 92 years and is buried at the Pangil Municipal Cemetery.