He fought in the Philippine Revolution against Spain and was exiled to Hong Kong with Aguinaldo and other revolutionaries in accordance with the Treaty of Biak Na Bato.

At the outbreak of the war with the Americans, the then Colonel Benito Natividad served as an aide to Lieutenant General Antonio Luna and distinguished himself for valorous conduct in the Central Luzon campaigns.

[2] When Brigadier General Manuel Tinio was recalled by Aguinaldo and ordered to help him in the reorganization of the forces in Nueva Ecija in June 1899, Benito temporarily took over command of the Ilocos provinces.

He became a cripple due to his wounds, which healed quickly but were never operated on, earning him the moniker El Cojo from Spanish and American prisoners in Vigan.

In September 1899, Tinio and his army of the north were finally called to the frontline to guard the beaches of Pangasinan and La Union but Natividad stayed behind as post commander in Vigan.

He remained together with some officers and 50 riflemen who, together, with the 20 men in Bangued and a few others scattered in neighboring towns – less than a company in all — made up the only armed insurgent force that guarded the whole Ilocos region at that time.

Even if the large number of prisoners could overpower Natividad's men, they did not even think to rise against the general because they were treated very well and deemed El Cojo, a man not to fool with.

[4] Natividad's bravery and persistence were described by fellow guerrilla, Juan Villamor: "This Filipino military chief held tenaciously to the ideal of the Filipino war notwithstanding his helplessness as a result of his wounds, one of which compelled him to drag his right leg, making it very difficult for him to climb the mountains, preferring instead to take his luck with the Brigade in its guerrilla operation, rather than surrender himself to the enemy as others had done.

When offered a proposition for peace by the Americans, Natividad, together with all other guerrilla leaders present, resolved that "the final action of the Tinio Brigade should depend upon the decision of the Honorable President."

The May 8, 1901 issue of the newspaper La Fraternidad reads, "The first day of May is now for two reasons an important date in contemporary Philippine history -- 1898 the destruction of the Spanish squadron in Cavite; 1901, the surrender of Generals Tinio and Natividad and the complete pacification of Northern Luzon."

During his term as governor, he was responsible for the construction of the concrete provincial jail building which survived the destructive blows of World War II.