Poio was a great warrior from
Cao, Sa’ipan. A brave individual; who
stood up to defend his people from the oppressive Spaniards who meddled at will
and had no respect for the culture of the CHamoru people.
He was steadfast in his
beliefs and fought valiantly to oust the invading foreigners. He was accused of the death of Jesuit Luis de
Medina and his soldiers in 1670.
This was the time when the
Spaniards were moving from village to village, imposing their beliefs and
arrogantly disputing the lifestyle of CHamorus that had been passed down to
them for thousands of years.
Poio was arrested at his home
and forced at gun point to board a boat that took him to the island of Tinian
to be put on trial.
However, shortly after his
interrogation, a Filipino working for the Spaniards entered the stockade where
Poio was held. He was in a possession of
a knife and walked up to Poio.
Poio managed to break free
from his chains (he was noted by the Spaniards to be a strong individual) and
defended himself by choking the Filipino.
At that moment, the guard
Captain, namely, Gregorio Martinez, rushed from behind and stabbed Poio three
times.
Poio died on April 28, 1670.
Tine’ge as: Siñot Ed Benavente
Pinentan as: Siñot Raphael "Raph" Unpingco
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