Background
He grew up and received his early education in the local school. Among the descendants of Tagle"s siblings are Manila archbishop Cardinal Luis Antonio Tagle (great-grandson of his brother Macario) and Purita Tagle Abad-Lopa (granddaughter of his brother Guillermo), who was the wife of the late tycoon and industrialist Manuel Lopa Senior
Career
But, little is known of the man since people who knew him said he was self-effacing, loved privacy and shunned public attention. Prior to the, the Tagles were part of the Principalía, the country"s lowland, Hispanic colonized aristocracy. José Tagle was one of the seven children of Benito Tagle and Simona Santarin, both of Imus.
Mistress
Lopa"s children married into the Aranetas, Cojuangcos, Montinolas and other families. Number retelling of the Battle of Imus will be complete without mentioning the name of José Tagle and the role he played in the opening battle of the in Cavite. According to General Emilio Aguinaldo’s own account of the battle, José Tagle, then head of Barangay Pilar of Imus, first came to his headquarters at Cavite El Viejo on September 1, 1896 to ask for his aid in raiding Imus.
Together, they proceeded to the town accompanied with a brass band but the friars headed by French
Eduarte and the Gurdia Civil saw them approaching and fled towards the Imus Hacienda where they bottled up and were subsequently subdued. The second time Aguinaldo met Tagle was on September 3, 1896 when the latter went to his headquarters again to ask for reinforcements in view of the impending attack by strong Spanish forces from Manila then massing off Bacoor.
The battle that followed resulted in the defeat of the Spaniards led by no less than by the famous Spanish General Ernesto de Aguirre, and the capture of his equally famous sword or sable del mando crafted in Toledo, Spain. Aguinaldo used said sword as his command throughout the Revolution.
Despite his death, he departed quietly as he lived, leaving behind no pictures, letters or war mementoes—nothing except his legend.
Portrayed by Gary Estrada in the 2012 film, El Presidente.