Historian finds Philippine ancient civilization in the sky

Balatik: Etnoastronomiya

Kalangitan sa Kabihasnang Pilipino

Book by Dante L. Ambrosio, 2010

The University of the Philippines Press

279 pages

What has yet to be written on the pages of Philippine history can now be found in Dante Ambrosio’s book Balatik, his doctoral dissertation about ethnoastronomy, fluently written in Tagalog and dedicated to unraveling and retracing back the stars’ and constellations’ pre-colonial names. As he pursued the search, he discovered that the Philipines’ ancient civilization can be read in the sky.

Kinuha ni Ambrosio ang pamagat ng kanyang aklat mula sa sa salitang balatik, patibong na panghuli sa mga baboy-damo, na siyang itinawag din ng mga sinaunang Pilipino sa mga grupo ng bituing may hugis balatik sa langit.  Salitang ipinakilala ng may akda ng aklat ang ethnoastronomiya, “pag-aaral ng pananaw, paniniwala, kaalaman at gawi ng iba’t ibang pangkat ng mga tao ukol sa astronomiyang nakapaloob sa kanilang kabihasnan.”

Tuon ng aklat ang ugnayan ng likas na kapaligiran ng tao at ng kanyang kabihasnan. Natuklasan ni Ambrosio na may sarili palang katawagan ang mga sinaunang Pilipino sa mga bituin labas sa nakamulatang Kristiyanong katawagan tulad ng Tatlong Maria, Supot ni Hudas o Krus na Bituin. Tinatawag nila ang mga konstelasyon o talampad batay sa mga kagamitan ng mga sinaunang tao sa pagkakaingin, pangangaso, pandaragat at pangingisda. Ipinapaliwanag niya sa aklat kung paanong naging saligan ng kamalayan ng mga Pilipino ang kalangitan sa pang-araw-araw na buhay.

Naninindigan ang may akdang nanatiling buhay ang kamalayang Pilipino, katutubong pananaw at paniniwala hinggil sa kalangitan kahit na pumasok ang mga impluwensya ng Kristiyanismo-Espanyol at Islam-Arabo sa bansa. Sinaliksik ni Ambrosio ang wikang Austronesyano at nakita niya ang pagkakahawig ng mga tawag ng mga katutubong Pilipino sa buwan, araw, mga bituin at iba pang nakikita sa kalangitan at nararamdaman sa kapaligiran katulad ng hangin.

Malawak niyang tinalakay sa kanyang aklat ang mga mito, epiko, at kuwentong-bayan patungkol sa sandaigdigan mula Luzon, Bisayas hanggang Mindanaw. Ayon sa kanya, tahanan ang daigdig ng mga sinauna at kasalukuyang Pilipino, kasama ang mga diwata, anito at ispiritu. May kanya-kanyang lugar ang mga ito at iginagalang ng mga tao ang iba pang buhay na nananahan sa daigdig, kasama ang mga bagay na may kaugnayan sa mga di nakikitang nilalang sa daigdig.

Sanggunian ng mga sinaunang Pilipino ang kalangitan – pangunahin ang buwan at mga bituin – sa pagtatakda ng pagtatanim, pangingisda, pagkakaingin at mga ritwal ng kasal o pagtatayo ng bahay. Pagpasok ng Kristiyanismo, ipinasok ng mga Espanyol na sanggunian ang kalendaryong Gregorian, ayon pa sa kanya. Mas sumikat ang araw at kalaunan, naging simbolo itong naipinta sa mga bandila ng Katipunan, mga rebolusyonaryo at milyenaryang kilusan.  Gayunpaman, nanatili ang imahe ng mga bituin sa bandilang Pilipino.

Sa paglulunsad ng Rebolusyong Pilipino, ipinasok ni Artemio Ricarte ang “Pilipinisasyon ng langit” kung saan pinangalanan niyang muli ang mga bituin sa pangalan ng mga bayani katulad ng Gat Tamblot (Cassiopeia), Utak Hasiato (Palaris), Gat Maypag-asa (Big Dipper), Pingkian (Small Dipper), Gat Rizal (Vega) at maraming iba pa. Tinawag niya ring “bitumpok” (bituin at tumpok)  ang konstelasyon, “puyanggulo” ang zenith at “guhitdagat” ang horizon.

Inaasahan ng awtor na simula ng pag-uugnay ng pangkalahatang kaalaman at kaalamang bayan hinggil sa kalangitan ang kanyang isinagawang pananaliksik at pag-aaral.  Nagtagumpay si Ambrosio: nagawa niyang maipakita ang lawak at lalim ng kaalamang astronomiko ng mga grupong etniko sa Pilipinas. Nagawa niya ring maugat ang mga kaalamang bayang ito mula sa kabihasnang pre-Hispaniko at maiugnay sa mga pagbabagong nagaganap sa kasaysayan.

Quezon City Unveils Tandang Sora Marker

By Gloria Esguerra Melencio

(Women in the male-centered Philippine history books have been absent for a long time. Thanks to the “herstorians” (her story writers) who penned  the Women In the Philippine Revolution , a book where one can find the life of Melchora Aquino whose 200th birth commemoration falls on 6 January 2012.)

Mabibigyang buhay ang nakasulat sa dyip na Tsora, pinaigsing katawagan sa Tandang Sora, isang lugar sa Quezon City na ipinangalan kay Melchora Aquino.  O ang mga paaralan o bulwagang ipingalan sa kanya. Lalo na ngayong ililipat ng pamahalaang Quezon City ang kanyang mga labing nakalibing sa Himlayang Pilipino tungo sa Banlat, Tandang Sora sa Quezon City, lugar kung saan siya ipinanganak at nabuhay nang matagal.

Isasakay sa karwahe ang kanyang mga labi. Imamartsa ito mula Himlayan tungong Banlat habang nakabalot ng bandila ng Pilipinas ang kanyang kabaong. Magsisilbi itong marker sa bantayog na paglalagakan sa kanya – isang anyo ng pagdakila sa matandang babaeng ipinatapon sa Guam kasama ang iba pang kasapi ng Katipunan noong 2 Setyembre 1896.

Si Tandang Sora ang pinakamatandang kasapi ng Katipunan sa edad na 84.  Marunong siyang manggamot ng sugat ng kanyang mahihirap na kapitbahay; pati na ng panlalabo ng mga paningin at pag-alis ng puwing.

Magsasaka ang mga magulang ni Tandang Sora na sina Juan Aquino at Valentina de Aquino ng Gulod sa Banilat (Banlat), Caloocan (bahagi na ng Quezon City sa kasalukuyan). Matapos ang pagiging Reyna sa Santacruzan at pagiging mang-aawit sa mga piging, napangasawa niya si Fulgencio Ramos, cabeza de barangay at tinatawag na “Pantalakong” o “Ingkong.” Tinatawag naman si Tandang Sorang “Nanang” ng kanyang mga apo at “Kabesang Sora” ng kanilang mga kapitbahay.

Mayroon silang anim na anak, tatlong lalaki at tatlong babae. Nang mabiyuda siya, sinuportahan niya ang kanilang anim na anak sa pamamagitan ng pagsasaka sa 25-ektaryang lupaing naiwan ng kanyang asawa. May 15 katao siyang katuwang sa pag-aasukarera, pag-aalaga ng mga punongkahoy at mga kalabaw.

Sa harap ng tahanan ng kanyang panganay na anak na si Juan Ramos sa Pugad-Lawin, Bahay-Toro (sakop noon ng Kalookan) naganap ang pagpunit ng sedula ng 1,000 kataong tumututol sa pananakop ng mga Espanyol. Naganap ito noong madaling araw ng 23 Agosto 1896 na hindi umuulan at kabilugan ng buwan.

Kinabukasan,  24 Agosto 1896, ginanap ang pulong ng mga pangulo ng Katipunan sa bahay ni Tandang Sora sa Banlat. Dati nang isinasagawa rito ang mga lihim na pulong ng Katipunan. Naganap ang pulong mula ikasiyam ng gabi hanggang madaling araw. Nang biglang dumating ang mga guardia civil dahil itinuro ang bahay ni Tandang Sora ng isang espiya, nagpulasan ang mga Katipunero sa iba’t ibang direksyon.

Sa payo ni Andres Bonifacio, tumakas rin si Tandang Sora kasama ang kanyang pamilya patungo sa Novaliches. Sinunog ng mga Espanyol ang kanyang bahay matapos matagpuang walang tao ito.

Nahuli ng mga guardia civil si Tandang Sora sa Pasong Putik sa Novaliches noong 29 Agosto 1896. Ikinulong siya sa Old Bilibid Prison sa Manila matapos ito.

Ipinatapon sa Guam si Tandang Sora kasama ang 171 Pilipinong deportado. Kasama si Segunda Puentes Santiago ng Sta. Mesa na nahuli sa labanan sa Pinaglabanan sa San Juan del Monte noong 30 Agosto 1896, inakusahan si Tandang Sora ng sedisyon at rebelyon.

Sakay ang barkong Espanyol na Churruca, 57 bilanggong Pilipino ang dinala sa Yap Island; 57 sa Ponape; at 57 rin sa Guam. Ibinilanggo ang mga lalaking detenido sa Marianas Islands samantalang inilagak naman sina Tandang Sora at Segunda sa bahay ni Don Justo Dungca sa Agana. Isang mayamang Pilipinong taga-Pampanga si Dungca na matagal nang naninirahan sa Guam.

Matapos ang pitong taong pagkakabilanggo, ibinalik sa Pilipinas si Tandang Sora sakay ng US Uranus sa edad na 91.  Walang nakakaalam ng kanyang pag-uwi mula Guam kaya mag-isa siyang bumalik sa kanilang tahanan sa Banlat, ayon sa kanyang mga apo.

Tahimik na pumanaw si Tandang Sora sa tahanan ng kanyang anak na si Saturnina sa edad na 107. Inilibing siya sa Musoleo ng mga Beterano ng Rebolusyong Pilipino sa La Loma, North Cemetery bago inilipat sa Himlayang Pilipino sa Quezon City, isang pook na abot-tanaw mula sa kanyang sinilangang tahanan sa Gulod sa Banlat.

Source: Rafaelita Hilario Soriano (Editor), Isagani R. Medina, Melchora Aquino in Women in the Philippine Revolution, Printon Press, SFDM, Quezon City, 1995.

Photo Credit: Reprinted from the same book, page 14.

Caption: Kuha ang larawan nang papasakay na si Melchora Aquino sa barkong Churruca upang ipatapon ng Espanya sa Guam.

Disyembre 30, 1896

“Ang panahon ng patriarkiya sa Pilipina ay lumilipas na. Ang mga bantog na tagumpay ng kaniyang mga anak ay di lamang sa sariling bayan tinatamasa. Ang lahing kayumanggi, dati’y matamlay sa dilim ng kasaysayan, ngayo’y gumigising na upang kamtan ang ilaw, buhay, at kalinangang ipinamana sa atin ng matandang panahon— pinapatotoo ang walang hangganang batas ng ebolusyon, pagbabagong diwa, kapanahunan, at pagsulong. “- Dr Jose Rizal, talumpati sa brindis para kay Luna at Hidalgo, 1884 Madrid. (Salin ni Imelda Cajipe Endaya)

Bankaw in Samar Archeological and Cultural Museum: A Bisayan Story

By Gloria Esguerra Melencio

Franciscan priest Ignacio Francisco Alcina describes Samar in his 1662 book History of the Bisayan People in the Philippine Islands as “wounded geographically, topographically and climatically.” He was one with Jesuit priest Francisco Colin in saying that the people of Samar, who were called Pintados back in time, may have come from Makassar in Sulawesi, citing the words saar and samad as both to mean “wounded.”

Noted for being warriors and juramentados in the 16th up to early 17th century, these Bisayans defended their ground against slave raiders who alternately raided and stole humans in Samar and Leyte to be sold as marked slaves in Mindanao and other nearby islands.

The bankaw, Bisayan term for spear, found in the Father Cantius Kobak-Samar Archeological and Cultural Museum in Calbayog City, is a silent proof of Samar’s struggles to survive – whatever wounds may have caused its owner. The museum founded in 1969 and later dedicated to the memory of Father Cantius Kobak, Polish Franciscan priest, houses artifacts that the historian-priest painstakingly collected from caves, burial sites, churches, private lots and even from a tuba (local wine from coconut sap) vendor.

Made of hard black polished wood that measures approximately four feet long with a one-foot sharp pointed metal at the end, the undated bankaw is the living proof of Bankaw’s defiance of the Spanish conquistadores. Blair and Robertson said Bankaw escaped the ire of attacking Spaniards in Cebu and later built his own church in Carigara, Leyte. His stronghold in the mountain was attacked with canons, his church burned down, his followers killed, and he, too, was impaled with a bankaw. His head was cut off and paraded to warn the Bisayans against insureccion and rebelion in the future.

Bankaw had never been alone. Sumuroy of Ibabao (Samar) , at the time of Alcina’s recording, had been up in arms. Dagohoy in Bohol, too. Earlier in the 16th century, Waray Tupung (meaning never been equaled), had been going around the Bisayan islands trying to shoo away both the Muslim slave raiders and the Spanish minions.

Father Kobak must be amazed with how the Samareños respect their ancestors when he found human skulls, bones, shell bracelets in urns and large burial jars. Some burial sites had already been exhausted by previous digging expeditions though.

Self-sufficiency and the spirit of the Bisayan tabo, which social scientists call barter trade, attest to the Bisayan people’s ingenuity and industriousness. The stone grinder, locally called gilingan, speaks of how early Bisayans grounded rice and rootcrops to be made into puto, suman and other native delicacies. People from up the mountains and everywhere went to the tabo to exchange their goods for products that they did not have.

Presence of ancient dragon jar and Chinese porcelain plates dated around 5th century BC reveals a lively barter trade between the Bisayans and the Chinese. Also, Chinese surnames in Samar must have come from Chinese traders who were involved in the abaca trade during the Spanish and American periods.

The rusty, ancient agungs (bells), musical instruments and paintings in the museum speak a lot about the Samareños’ own artistic talents. Christ The King Orchestra, based in Calbayog City, a first class municipality in Samar, has been making waves in the field of music around the Philippines. An art exhibit of Samar’s painters had also been launched in the museum.

Carl Sanchez Bordeos of the Christ the King College where the museum resides furnished philippinehistory.ph a copy of some artifacts found in the museum aside from the bankaw.  The Professional American Archeologists have already listed, described and dated said historical treasures.

Outside the museum, meanwhile, a street named Nijaga baffles everyone who lives outside Calbayog. It turns out that the street was named after Benedicto Nijaga, nicknamed Biktoy, a sacristan from Calbayog who became a second lieutenant in the Spanish Army and later solicited support for the underground Katipunan. He was executed and later identified as one of the Trece Martires in Bagumbayan.

Samar has sons and daughters who may or may have not seen a bankaw, nor may have known Bankaw for that matter. The Bisayan resilience and survival, however, are engraved in Philippine history.

(Photo: Rosa Mirasol Esguerra Melencio)

From highways to alleys: Tartanillas survive despite Cebu City’s restrictions

by Junald Dawa Ango

The tartanilla, Cebu City’s version of the horse-drawn carriage or calesa, is past its heyday.

Jeepneys and taxis are the preferred mode of transport in the city today. Add to that the tricycles, pedicabs and motorcycles-for-hire also competing to share in the commuter traffic in Cebu’s streets.¹

More than half a century ago, when taxis were absent and jeepneys were few, the tartanilla was king of the road. It was the main form of transportation around downtown Cebu City and in the neighboring suburbs.

Slowly modernization crawled in. Motorized transport, which is more efficient than horsepower, became a growing business enterprise. Commuter preference for speed and convenience also followed:  the passengers began vacating the familiar seats of the tartanilla, or rig, after the Second World War when Cebu’s streets were slowly invaded by motorized transport.²

Competition came from downtown jeeps, taxis and tricycles for commuter service. “Downtown jeeps, like Daitsun, Daitsu, etc. could enter smaller and narrower roads like rigs.” And their fares were only slightly higher than rig fare. Taxis were also preferable because these can travel faster and can bring passengers to their doorstep; a former advantage offered only by the tartanilla. Some families even bought mini-cars and motorcycles by installments for private use.³

Without patrons, earnings dwindled. A significant number of rig drivers or cocheros gave up their means of living. Without renters, rig owners let their carriages deteriorate; old rigs were left in disrepair and only a few new ones were constructed. The tartanilla business was on a downturn. The rig numbers dwindled as did the routes they ply. Slowly they were squeezed into a few streets in the downtown. Many a stubborn cochero and rig owner finally gave up, but others still stuck their necks out; either they were the most determined or the most needy. Their horses kept on clip-clopping in the few remaining tartanilla bailiwicks: the streets from Carbon and Taboan leading to Duljo, Mambaling and A. Lopez.

Percy Ruita Jamin, in a study of the tartanilla industry of Cebu City in 1974, cited additional reasons besides the increase of motorized vehicles for the decline of the tartanilla⁴:

“[1.] Ordinance prohibiting the entrance of the tartanilla in some streets of the city

[2.] Uplift of the educational standards of the children (of cocheros)

[3.] Centennial celebration (of Cebu City) in 1965

[4.] High cost of feeds

[5.] Establishment of Big Firms”

Besides the competition offered by taxis and jeeps, she also listed the following as problems faced by the rig industry at that time:

“[1.] High cost of horse feeds

[2.] Lack of government incentive

[3.] Fare remains steady

[4.] Bad Weather”

Two of the reasons for the decline of the tartanilla industry were government imposed: the ban on some streets and the centennial celebration. Also, two of the problems faced by the diminished tartanilla in 1974 were government inflicted: absence of government support and no fare increase. These government-imposed and inflicted factors, continued in the succeeding years, caused the further decline of this service. The government did have a hand in the decline of this transport industry.

This paper argues that the city government’s increasing restrictions of the tartanilla operations contributed to its slide from its primary position in Cebu City’s transportation system. It shows that with each restrictive city ordinance, policy or decree imposed on the rig industry, the number of tartanilla units had decreased and the number of routes had reduced. The paper traces the Cebu City government’s regulation of the tartanilla beginning after the Second World War up to the 1990s. After the 90s, the council no longer enacted additional restrictive measures because the tartanillas were already too few for them to bother with.

When the tartanilla was king

However, in the 1940s and 50s, the tartanilla was still king of the road; it was the primary form of transport within Cebu City. The number of units were growing from around 1,500 in the 50’s to almost 2,500 in the 60’s.⁵ In 1960, there were 2,425 rigs plying the city.⁶

The tartanilla would take you anywhere in the city and its suburbs.⁷ Similar to the taxi, it did not follow a line or route but may take its passenger to any destination in the city based on these rates in 1945⁸:

“I –  Within city limits – P0.10 per capita

II – Beyond city limits – P0.10 per capita plus P0.05 for every additional kilometer

III – By the hour – P0.60 for the first 30 minutes or less. Over 30 minutes but not over one (1) hour, P1.00 and for every additional hour or fraction thereof, P0.75

IV – By City Limits is meant that area of Cebu City comprised within and bounded by Carlock , Tres de Abril, Mango Avenue and Martires streets and the sea. Passengers using rigs beyond these limits shall be subject to Tariff No. II.”

Three years later, changes were made on the fare schedule. Fare for additional kilometers was increased from P0.05 to P0.10 beyond city limits; and city limits was redefined as “within Tuti – Calamba Streets, P. del Rosario – Imus Streets, Martires – T. Padilla Streets and the sea or water front.”⁹

City council conspires against the tartanilla

While the rig transport was on an upswing in the 1950s, the city council suddenly applied the brakes to the momentum of growth. Beginning at the closing years of the decade and pursuing it in the decades thereafter, the council successively imposed restrictive ordinances on the transport; it was overtly campaigning against the tartanilla.

“This is a kind of industry which the government endeavors to eliminate and they are doing this by installments. City planners are planning to ease out this industry. According to them, this industry does not give a good image to the city,” says Jamin.¹⁰ The reasons cited by the city officials for their desire to limit, if not abolish, the rigs were¹¹:

“1. hazard to traffic;

2. horses sometimes are hard to control, when restless become uncontrollable;

3. source of waste matters, a hazard to health; and

4. bad image to visitors of the city.”

They then enacted corresponding ordinances to respond to these problems; ordinances which led to the decline of the tartanilla as transport.

Anti-horse manure ordinance

In 1958, civic organizations lead by the Board of Directors of Zapatera Elementary School Parents Teachers Association petitioned the city council to act on a unique Cebuano problem — horse manure. It was a grave garbage and pollution problem at that time. The council estimated 5,000 kilos of manure being scattered around the city daily (a kilo per horse for the 5,000 horses). When dried and pulverized, it was blown about and mixed with the air they breathe.¹²

The council responded with an anti-horse manure ordinance. All rigs must carry a receptacle for the manure and the driver must stop the rig and pick-up the manure as discharged by the horse.¹³ That ingenious contraption attached behind the butt of the horse today which captures the waste as it is released by the animal was not yet used at that time by the Cebuanos.

So far, no restriction which limited tartanilla operations due to the health risks posed by horse manure was enacted. But later on, the health risks would be cited by the government in passing another law that further restricted tartanilla service.

Limitation of the number of rigs

The more immediate and direct problem faced by the rig owners and drivers was the view held by the city council that the tartanilla was the main cause of the worsening traffic congestion. The only way to go, most councilors believed, was to limit the rig operations or ultimately abolished it.

In 1961, the city council delivered a big blow to tartanilla operation — Ordinance no. 328. The ordinance barred further growth of the number of tartanillas by limiting the number of rigs allowed to operate in the city at 2,500. The 2,425 rigs who were registered in the previous year would be the ones renewed their registration, while the first to apply for licenses in 1961 would be given the remaining 75 slots.¹⁴ No more licenses will be issued over 2,500.

Why this drastic measure? At this time the rigs were still the dominant form of transport in Cebu; tricycles and pedicabs were few. A well-traveled Bureau of Lands employee observed that Cebu has the most number of tartanillas in the Philippines. The city council, searching for a solution to traffic problems, saw the numerous tartanillas as the cause of the problem. They believed that these century-old carriages should be replaced by a more efficient form of transportation. They were thinking of scooters as replacement.¹⁵ Scooters, or motorcycles, must have been attached to side cars and transformed into the tricycles.

For the council, the scooter was the solution to traffic congestion: 2,500 rigs could be replaced by only 700 scooters, thus decongesting the streets. The proponents of the ordinance, councilors Eulogio Borres and Raymundo Crystal, even claimed that the rig owners and drivers were willing to be converted into scooter operators and drivers. And this conversion was within their means — the cost of a brand new tartanilla (P500.00) was enough down-payment for a scooter.¹⁶

But the council plan was not without opposition. In the city’s search for a more efficient transport, there was no need to harass one of the competitors. Councilor Nazario Pacquiao pointed out that the provision on no substitution placed the rigs at a great disadvantage. This provision banned replacement of delinquent rigs and voluntary surrendered licenses. The slots will not be given to new applicants but will remain vacant. According to Pacquiao, the 2,500 rigs allowed to operate will slowly reduce in number even if there are only five delinquent operators every year: from 2,500 in 1961 to only 2,495 in ’62, 2,490 in ’63 and so on.¹⁷ And five delinquent operators a year is the best case scenario; varied reasons prevent a rig operator to settle his taxes on time.

The councilor suggested that they allow free competition to take its course instead of giving unfair advantage to the scooters by limiting the number of rigs. If the scooters are really more efficient, they would eventually push aside the rigs from the streets.¹⁸ The suggestion was unheeded, the ordinance was passed by a majority decision with one opposing and one abstention.

Limitation of their routes

The city council did not stop with controlling the maximum number of tartanillas; they also prohibited the rigs from entering selected districts of the city. If in the 40s and 50s, the tartanilla operated like a taxi: it could convey its passenger to any point in the city, in the 60s it was already banned in several streets.

In 1965, during the celebration of the 400^th year anniversary of the Christianization of the Philippines which was held in Cebu City, rigs were banned from entering some streets like Sanciangko, T. Padilla, Imus-Sikatuna, Bonifacio and various smaller streets near the centennial area. The celebration lasted for a month but the prohibition continued after, forcing many cocheros to quit. The lay-off from tartanilla service during the centennial also resulted to the deterioration of rigs; the units fell into disrepair and decay rendering them unusable. From 2,430 rigs registered in 1964 prior to the centennial celebration the number dropped to only 1,192 rigs in 1966.¹⁹

Seven years later another restriction was imposed: Ordinance 801 series of 1972 of Cebu City Traffic Code. “According to Lt. Alfonso S. Perales, Education Officer of the CPD [Cebu Police Department], tartanillas are banned from entering the national highways of the city. The previous ordinances (No. 65) were repealed and the prevailing ordinance is Ordinance No. 801 series of 1972 of Cebu City Traffic Code….”²⁰

The ban from the national highways prevented them not only from entering but also from crossing the highways; making other streets inaccessible. Formerly restricted only in main streets like Colon, Magallanes, M.J. Cuenco and Leon Kilat; with the new ordinance, rigs are now allowed only in Sanciangko, Borromeo, Tres de Abril, Garfield, a certain portion of Junquera, Imus, Sikatuna, T. Padilla, C. Padilla, Aranas, Spoliarium, Carlock, a certain portion of M. J. Cuenco, Tupas, and other small streets. These resulted to more rig owners and cocheros quitting; only 530 rigs were registered in 1973.²¹

Plagued by the oil crisis in the 1970s, we assume that the government will reverse its attitude toward the rigs because it is an alternative to motorized transport. However, “Patrolman [A.D.] Sayson [of CPD Traffic Division] says that the stringent measures and restrictions are imposed strictly now as before even with the oil crisis because of [the city officials] aim to eradicate this road nuisance.”²²

The restrictions continued with another ordinance in 1990. Ordinance 1381 set the remaining streets allowed for passage of the tartanilla.²³ It states:

“Section 7. The rig drivers are authorized and may pass only through the following streets any time of the day or night:

a. From the junction of D. Jakosalem Street following Sanciangko Street, Juan Climaco Street up to Forbes Bridge, back and forth;

b. From Taboan Market (Tres de Abril Street) through Sanciangko Street up to the junction of D. Jakosalem St., back and forth; from Taboan Market (B. Aranas Street) through Lakandula Street, then C. Padilla Street to Duljo, back and forth; From Pasil Fish Market through Tupas Street up to the corner of Magallanes and El Filibusterismo Street, back and forth; from Taboan Market (Tres de Abril Street) through Katipunan or V. Rama Street or A. Lopez Street, back and forth; from Taboan Market through Tres de Abril Street, then Carlock Street and B. Aranas Ext., back and forth.”

The city council passed this ordinance in a unanimous resolution. Citing heath risks due to manure, and traffic congestion worsened by the slow moving rigs as reasons, they sent the staggering rig industry to its knees. This time the rig people cared less, or were powerless, to defend. Unlike the prolonged debates in the council session when they set the maximum number of tartanillas at 2,500, no objection was raised. Unlike the vehement opposition of operators and drivers when the council planned to prohibit rigs from entering some streets, they assented to be allowed only in a few. Two years later there were only 437 registered tartanillas in the city.²⁴

A king no more

The downfall of the tartanilla is mainly due to the advance of technology. Motor-powered vehicles are superior to the horse-powered rigs; market forces side with the more efficient mode of transport, the faster scooters (converted into tricycles), and later, the bigger taxis and jeepneys. The tartanilla is just another casualty of progress.

However, the Cebu City government may have hastened the decline of the tartanilla as a form transportation. Instead of waiting for market forces to determine the fate of the tartanilla, the city council passed successive ordinances that quickened the transition from rigs to motorized transport. In its quest to find solutions to traffic problems, it jumped to the conclusion that the rigs were the culprit, and eliminating them would solve traffic congestion (which it did not). Thus it marginalized the rig service through its increasing restrictive ordinances.

The tartanilla may not be king anymore, but it continues to ferry passengers and cargoes along the side-streets of Cebu. It is a preferred transportation of shoppers returning to nearby suburbs from shopping in the city’s three largest public markets (Carbon, Taboan and Pasil) for a fare below the regular transportation. Today, 100 to 200 rigs remain.

While the city is bidding out its plans for a modern mass transit system (either by Light Rail Transit or Bus Rapid Transit); while other Philippine cities have retired their horse-drawn carriages into tourist rides, Cebu’s tartanillas continue to serve commuter needs unsatisfied by regular transportation; it is still a limited means of transport to some inner parts of the city. Our generation will never witness a tartanilla traffic jam again but once in a while you will notice from your jeepney seat a cochero announcing the passage of the one time Cebuano king of the road.

Notes

¹These modes of transport are only those which operate within the city. There are also buses and vans/FXs in Cebu City, but these convey commuters to the other cities and towns of the province.

²“The Unsinkable Tartanilla”, Sun Star Weekend, 3 September 1989, p. 8.

³Percy Ruita Jamin, “A Study of the Tartanilla Industry in Cebu City” (MA thesis, University of San Carlos, Cebu City, 1974), pp. 35, 73.

⁴Jamin, 74.

⁵Jamin 39.

⁶Municipal Board of the City of Cebu, “minutes of Ordinance 328”, 16 January, 1961.

⁷Municipal Board of the City of Cebu, Ordinance no. 65: An ordinance regulating traffic, operation of rigs, registration of rigs and rig driver license, licensing of push cart owner, and the carrying of lights, 20 December, 1947.

⁸Municipal Board of the City of Cebu, Ordinance no. 2: An ordinance providing for tariff or schedule of rates for tartanillas operated for public use, 12 July, 1945.

⁹Municipal Board of the City of Cebu, Ordinance 67: An ordinance to amend section one of Ordinance numbered Two entitled “An ordinance providing for tariff or schedule of rates for tartanillas operated for public use”, 9 April, 1948.

¹⁰Jamin, p. 74.

¹¹Jamin, 75.

¹²Municipal Board of the City of Cebu, Ordinance 241: An ordinance providing for the elimination of manures from the city streets and for other purposes, 6 March 1958.

¹³Ordinance 241.

¹⁴Municipal Board of the City of Cebu, Ordinance 328: An ordinance limiting the registration of tartanillas operating within the limits of the City of Cebu to two thousand five hundred rigs only and for other purposes, 16 January, 1961; “minutes Ordinance 328”.

¹⁵“minutes Ordinance 328”.

¹⁶Ibid.

¹⁷Ibid.

¹⁸Ibid.

¹⁹Jamin, 36- 37.

²⁰Jamin 14.

²¹Jamin 34, 39.

²²Jamin 17.

²³City Council of Cebu, Ordinance 1381: An ordinance updating and consolidating the existing ordinances pertaining to the registration flow of traffic and licensing of rigs and rig drivers and providing penalties therefore, 19 November, 1990.

²⁴“Tartanillas”, Sun Star Weekend, 20 September 1992, p. 19.

Works Cited

Municipal Board of the City of Cebu. Ordinance no. 2: An ordinance providing for tariff or schedule of rates for tartanillas operated for public use. 12 July, 1945.

Municipal Board of the City of Cebu. Ordinance no. 65: An ordinance regulating traffic, operation of rigs, registration of rigs and rig driver license, licensing of push cart owner, and the carrying of lights. 20 December, 1947.

Municipal Board of the City of Cebu. Ordinance 67: An ordinance to amend section one of Ordinance numbered Two entitled “An ordinance providing for tariff or schedule of rates for tartanillas operated for public use.”. 9 April, 1948.

Municipal Board of the City of Cebu. Ordinance 241: An ordinance providing for the elimination of manures from the city streets and for other purposes. 6 March 1958.

Municipal Board of the City of Cebu. Ordinance 328: An ordinance limiting the registration of tartanillas operating within the limits of the City of Cebu to two thousand five hundred rigs only and for other purposes. 16 January, 1961.

City Council of Cebu. Ordinance 1381: An ordinance updating and consolidating the existing ordinances pertaining to the registration flow of traffic and licensing of rigs and rig drivers and providing penalties therefore. 19 November, 1990.

Municipal Board of the City of Cebu, “minutes of Ordinance 328”, 16 January, 1961.

Jamin, Percy Ruita. “A Study of the Tartanilla Industry in Cebu City”. MA thesis University of San Carlos. 1974.

“The Unsinkable Tartanilla”. Sun Star Weekend. 3 September 1989.

Tartanillas”. Sun Star Weekend. 20 September 1992.

(Photo credit: http://www.gocebu.travel/event/Tartanilla_Festival)

Pinoys can solve corruption, study says

By Gloria Esguerra Melencio

Tracing back corruption in Philippine history, a group of experts at the University of the Philippines says Filipinos in the 21st century can finally solve this problem that dates back from the Spanish colonial period’s polo y servicio which conscripted  men, 15 years old and above, to work by force on shipyards and churches, among others. This, aside from the tributo paid in cash or in kind to feed Spain’s growing population of frailes and Gobernador General’s guardia civiles plus the Indio laborers who serve them.

To be exempted from forced labor and separation from home for more than a month, our relatively moneyed ancestors bribed Spanish officials to be listed as sick, lame or disabled while the penniless poor sweat it out, lest they be imprisoned or whipped. From this time, bribery has become a way of life to maneuver one’s way through government red tape;  be able to get a business or driver’s license at much speed; or cover up money trails of a multimillion non-existent government project – from the clerk at the bottom rung of the ladder up to the highest seat in you-know-where.

However, no matter how hopelessly systemic and endemic corruption may seem to be, Professor Leonor Briones said solutions to age-old corruption are possible based on the successes of Pinoys, which she highlighted in her presentation of the study recently.

While the Pinoy has the “Divisoria style” of bidding where everyone wants to buy everything at a bargain price, bidding here and there to be able to pocket more money, the “Cory Model”, a.k.a. housewife style, cleaning, managing and checking her own Cabinet has been the best so far. She cited improvement of government systems and procedures, provision and distribution of more public goods and clear rules and regulations are the solutions to corruption, among others.

Former President Corazon Aquino had held each member of the Cabinet responsible in eradicating graft and corruption in the executive branch of government, monitored them and asked for a written monthly report of what had transpired during the anti-corruption campaign, Briones said.

“To combat corruption in a public office , its head must lead the way,” Briones, endearingly called Ma’am Liling at the UP National College of Public Administration and Governance, said.

She also cited as example former Commission on Audit Chairman Francisco Tantuico, who upon finding “irregular, unnecessary, excessive, and extravagant” expenses in the Marcos government, acted immediately and dismissed summarily government officials who had been corrupt.

Department of Public Works and Highways Secretary Regalado Singson quietly removed corrupt officials under his agency that resulted to the decrease of contractors’ price by 20 percent, she noted.

Also a good example  of government agencies that had been successful in eradicating “market-centered corruption” are the National Census and Statistics Office, Bureau of Quarantine and International Health Surveillance and the Makati Municipal Government for its traffic enforcement, she said.

Briones likewise cited the National Kidney and Transplant Institute and the country’s Treasury Office for their transparency in their bidding and awarding processes.

While corruption remains a scourge among poor and developing societies, the Philippine anti-corruption campaign has already moved on as number of corruption cases has decreased since 2005, claimed Professor Danilo Reyes, member of the group conducting the study. Its status has changed for the better until 2011. As per Corruption Perception Index (CPI), Reyes said the Philippines ranked 6th among the most corrupt countries in the APEC region, tying with Vietnam; Cambodia ranked 5th, Indonesia 4th, Pakistan 3rd, Myanmar 2nd, and Bangladesh at the top in 2005. From 6th rank, the Philippines has slid down to the 17th, according to the recent CPI, a welcome development.

Topping the list of countries with less corruption in 2011 are Singapore, Hong Kong, Japan, Taiwan and Malaysia, respectively, according to the study.

Back home, the World Bank study recommends that the school system should “inculcate discipline and strict implementation of laws and for the Filipino people to discipline themselves.” It also suggests that the Philippine school system craft teaching modules on cultivating honesty and advocating against corruption from the kindergarten up the tertiary level.

Two successive storms batter N. Luzon

In Ifugao, typhoon Pedring affected 84 barangays, with 1,695 families or a total of 8,723 persons. About 115 houses were totally damaged, 1,634 houses were partially damaged. Four persons were reported dead, 16 injured and one missing. Pedring caused Php7.5 million worth of damage to irrigation, Php12.5 million damage to bridges, Php 4.7 million to barangay roads, and Php 27 million to river flood control.

(Photo credit: Maribelle Bimohya, Provincial Capitol of Ifugao)

Roots of Mindanao Conflict

An Analysis  by   Manuel R. Tawagon,  Mindanao State University – Marawi

Let me start by sharing with you a story of three strangers (Japanese, American and Filipino) who accidentally met somewhere, introduction immediately followed and over a cup of scaldingly hot coffee, discussed both national and international issues. One of the seemingly insignificant issues was on bladed weapons. As expected, each took pride of their respective weapons as the sharpest. They then suggested that to settle the problem, they should put them to test.

To make the story short, the American volunteered first. Then, a mosquito flew by in front of him. With his saber, he struck at it twice and the mosquito fell. With a magnifying glass, there they saw the mosquito crawling without wings. Sharp! Not to be outsmarted, the Japanese volunteered next. As if by fate, another unfortunate mosquito flew by also. With his samurai, the Japanese struck at it a couple of times and the mosquito (due shock and pain) fell. Again, with the magnifying glass, they saw the mosquito rolling and sliding without legs. Sharper!

The last but not the least was the Filipino with his bolo. Another mosquito also flew by. That Filipino struck at it only once and the mosquito continued to fly. The American and the Japanese almost choked to death with laughter. The Filipino remarked: “Yes, gentlemen! You can laugh at me and at my bolo, but I can assure you gentlemen that that mosquito can never be a father again!”

The story is not, of course, folklore. It is fakelore but it has, however, some implied relevance to what is termed Mindanao Conflict. The three strangers stand for the governments and the mosquitoes for the people of Mindanao whose freedom (wings), movements (legs) and development (reproductive organ) are greatly affected.

Mindanao: The Land Where the Actions Are

Every time we talk about Mindanao, one of the issues that will automatically come out is Mindanao conflict. This receives some apathetic reactions which are boiled down to an expression: “So what?” In short, it is no longer as attractive as it used to be, at least, journalistically. As a topic, it loses its own essence or its own degrees of Fahrenheit or centigrade, so to speak – just like the Edsa Revolution fever. Although the problem is still there and it is still serious, the people (except those of Luzon and the Visayas who are not as concerned and as directly affected as we are here in Mindanao) are already fed up with the problem and accepted the reality with resignation. They also feel helpless despite the military role to serve and protect them on one hand and the indiscriminate acts of violence by the other party on the other.

Mindanao, indeed, is the land where the actions are and let us try to see these actions in the light of what we commonly call “Mindanao Problem” or “Mindanao Conflict.” To an uninformed mind, these two phrases look the same or, at least, refer to the same thing. To a certain extent, yes – because the latter is just a continuing chapter of the former. However, the basic difference between the two lies in time frame. The Mindanao Problem (Moro Problem) can be roughly dated from colonial period to the late 1960’s and Mindanao Conflict from the late 1960’s to the present.

Generally, the word “war” can be considered the main ingredient of both phrases. Specifically, “war” is used to describe the hostile / bloody relationship between the Moros and the Colonizers and “conflict” to describe the relationship between the Moros and the government (military / AFP). The beauty of these phrases despite their ugliness is that: they enriched some people, created heroes, promoted military officers, and produced graduate degree holders.

The Mindanao Problem

The phrase “Mindanao Problem” calls for two basic questions: What is this problem all about? And, why is it that the conflict still exists today? For the first question, there are many ways by which one views this problem. The following ideas or perspectives are culled from a lot of people from different walks of life:

1. Problem of education, ignorance and poverty.

2.Problem of imposition which may have started with the colonial policy of divide and rule. Later, it became the low intensity conflict (LIC) and then, to a more sophisticated conspiracy theory. Added to this is the role played by mass media.

3. Problem of ideologies. Communism has been contained. (The fear of the domino theory in Southeast Asia did not materialize.) Political disintegration of the USSR in the 1990s has ended the threat of socialism. What remains today as a threat to U.S. hegemony is Islam.

4. Problem of integration / assimilation in relation to antagonism and cultural differences / similarities.

5.Conflict of interests such as perpetuation of family dynasties; lands; power allocation; allocation of resources; unequal distribution of wealth; exploitation and development; connivance; etc.

All of these have actually some basis in history and including them all here would require a thick volume. This paper then would like to zero in briefly but significantly on the document of 1578, the American policy of integration and migration.

Let us start with the bloody encounters between the Spaniards and the Moros, between the Spanish colonial policies / objectives which were designed to religiously, economically and politically subjugate the latter and the Moro responses / reactions which were categorized into retaliation, collaborative and piratical.

These bloody encounters officially started with the document of 1578. This was actually the letter of Gov. Gen. Francisco de Sande to Capt. Esteban Rodriguez de Figueroa who was at that time in Borneo. This document spells out in great details the Spanish objectives in Moro occupied territories (Blair and Robertson: 1903 / 1909, Vol. IV. Guingona: 1943).

Economically, Figueroa was instructed among others to determine where the Moros were mining their gold and getting their cinnamon; to buy pearls from them; and to determine their harvest seasons. Politically, he was also instructed among others to neutralize them in the Spanish – Portuguese conflict as well as in the Spanish – Bornean conflict; for them to acknowledge Spanish soreignty in the Philippines; and for them to become subjects or vassals of the Spanish King. Religiously, he was further instructed, and again among others, to Christianize them and to allow Spanish priests to preach in Moro communities; and to tell the Moros “that the doctrine of Mahoma is false and evil and that of the Christian alone is true and good.”

Expectedly, the Moros reacted against these objectives and their reactions or responses were categorized into retaliatory, collaborative and piratical. According to Jose Rizal, in his annotation of the work of Antonio de Morga on the history of Mindanao and Sulu, the Moros simply retaliated the following year, in 1579. This was the beginning of retaliations and counter-retaliations, raids and counter-raids, attacks and counter-attacks between the two parties. These went on until the end of the Spanish period.

There were also cases of collaboration. When Sultan Alimuddin I of Sulu was captured by the Spaniards during the 18^th century and brought him to Manila, the Spanish government installed another sultan. When the British captured Manila, they restored Sultan Alimuddin I to Sulu and removed the Spanish sponsored sultan (Majul: 1999). There were other instances in both Sulu and Maguindanao sultanates where some heirs apparent who cannot wait for their own turn courted and connived with the Spanish government to overthrow the incumbent sultans whose terms of office were for life.

Another form of collaboration is that while the Moro wars were going on, there were businessmen between the two parties who continued to conduct trade-caring less what was going on militarily. Their concern was economic survival or exploiting the war for their own benefit, for their business to thrive. (This aspect of collaboration is yet to be addressed by scholars.)

“What is piracy to one is a way of life to another.” Prior to the coming of the Spaniards, coastal communities were engaged in one way or another in piracy. When the Spaniards came, those communities they both controlled and influenced stopped piracy and those not under their control like the Moros continued piracy (Warren: 1975; Scott; 1993).

Not all the Moro ethnolinguistic groups that we know of today were engaged in piracy. Only three were known: 1) The Camocunes of Sulu Archipelago who were described as cruel, barbarians, brutal and sadistic. There are no Camocunes today. They became extinct. 2) The Balangingi (Bangingi) who were described by James Warren as “Fishers of Men.” They were also from Sulu Archipelago. Today, there is a group of small islands in the archipelago called Bangingi Islands inhabited by Sama Bangingi. And 3) the Iranuns (Ilanuns) along the coast of Illana Bay in Mindanao. They are one of the 13 Moro ethnolinguistic groups. As a pirate group, they were active for one century from the middle of the 18^th century to the middle of the 19^th century. They were the most feared not only in the Philippines but also in Island Southeast Asia. Because of this, they earned the description “The Lords of the Eastern Seas.” Again, that description is from Warren. (Tawagon: 1990)

The age of organized piracy came to an end with the introduction of technology during the 19^th century. That technology refers to steam gunboats and submachine guns.

Impact of East – West Encounters

Historians label the East-West encounters as Moro Wars. In Spanish records, they are “guerras piraticas.” The so-called “wars” were a product of Spanish attempt to achieve their objectives and Moro determination to resist them. These wars lasted for over three hundred years and their impact greatly affects us today as follows:

1. Military, the wars historically conditioned us to be war-like (or even war-freaks);
2. Geographically and politically, the wars polarized the archipelago into north and south. The north is always identified to be Christian, advanced, modern and oriented to the western world. The south is identified as Muslim, relatively backward, conservative, traditional and oriented to the Muslim world. Polarization alone spells out the basic difference between the two;
3. Religiously, the wars divided us into two major religious communities: Muslim and Christian. Aside from being divisive in nature, religion also breeds fanaticism and antagonism. As a result, we lose tract of the overarching value of religion;
4. Sociologically, the wars created the so-called minority-majority relations (Flipinas Foundation, Inc.: 1978). These relations are always viewed and defined along religious line but never along numerical line. Minority refers to the Moros and Lumads / indigenous peoples who are neither Muslim nor Christian while the majority refers to the Christians;
5. Economically, the wars drained the sources of both the government and the sultanates. The net result: development was neglected; and
6. Psychologically, the wars created the so-called Moro image as well as Christian image. Moro image is from the point of view of the Christians and that image is always negative (Tawagon: 1988-1989). Christian image is from the point of view of the Moros and that image is also negative.

Uncle Sam’s Mandate

When the news that Commodore George Dewey captured Manila from the Spaniards reached the United States, Pres. William McKinley convened the U.S. Congress. In his message, he said: “The Philippines are not ours to exploit, but to develop, to civilize, to educate, to train in the science of self-government.” This is actually the American mandate in the Philippines in general and the same mandate applied in Moroland in particular. That mandate is what they call “White Man’s Burden,” “American Benevolent Assimilation Policy,” or in French “mission civilisatrice”- “civilizing mission” (Gowing: 1983)

From this mandate, we can also draw the American objectives: to develop (economic objective); to civilize, to educate (religions / educational objective); and to train in the science of self-government (political objective). The details of these objectives are practically the same, if not, similar with those of the Spanish except the religious objective. The Spaniards came to save our souls as if everybody was going to hell. The Americans came not to save our souls but to capture our minds. And within two decades, they succeeded capturing our minds through education. In short, they emphasized education rather than religion. Civilizing the Moros was only done after the abrogation of the Bates Agreement in 1904. Prior to that year, the Bates Agreement stipulated indirect rule and after its abrogation, it was direct rule.

The Moros reacted against American objectives and occupation with open hostility and defiance. Their reactions or responses can also be categorized into retaliatory vis-à-vis American punitive expeditions and pacification campaigns, collaboration by some Moro friends (Amigos) and banditry like cattle rustling, stealing of firearms and telephone wires, harassment of garrisons, etc. The encounters between the two led to what we call “cotta battles” where thousands of the Moros killed (Gowing: 1983, Tan: 1975, Tawagon: 2001 and 2002). Their resistance did not last long the way it lasted during the Spanish period. The reasons for these are not difficult to postulate. Among others: American knowledge on Spanish experience in dealing with the Moros; policy of attraction; military superiority and technology; and integration policy.

Integration policy actually started with the Spanish attempt not only to politically, economically and religiously subjugate the Moros but also to incorporate them into the national body politic. This policy was crystallized only when the Americans occupied Moroland. To implement this, the government created political units or agencies (armed among other things with the policy of attraction) responsible for such a task. (The Japanese did similar thing with their East Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere.)

The agencies established to integrate the Moros are as follows: 1) Moro Province, 1903-1913; 2) Department of Mindanao and Sulu, 1913-1920; 3) Bureau of Non-Christian Tribes, 1920-1936; and 4) Office of the Commissioner for Mindanao and Sulu, 1936-1946. The problem of integration, however, continued. So, the Philippine government also created agencies and continues to do so: 1) Commission on National Integration, 1946-1975; 2) Office on Muslim Affairs, 1975 – present; 3) Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao, 1988 – present; 4) Southern  Philippine Council for Peace and Development, 1996-2002; and 5) Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines – East Asia Growth Area, 1998 – present.

The issue on integration still besets us today. Among other reasons are the following: 1) Integration as understood by the Moros means assimilation or, at least, synonymously associated with assimilation; 2) the concept that “Moros are not Filipinos;” 3) historical experience and cultural heritage; and 4) the idea of imposition (Mastura: 1984).

In dealing with the Moros through the years (despite their policy of attraction and integration policy), the Americans cannot help but formed also their own perceptions (Aguilar: 1992). Colonial perceptions of the Moros (Spanish and American) can be summarized into one statement: “The only good Moro is a dead Moro.” This statement has been embedded for generations into the psyche of the Filipinos. This is an example of the theory of historical conditioning or “poisoning”. Recent happenings in Mindanao and Sulu keep on reminding us of that statement; thus, widening more our gaps instead of bridging them and thickening the invisible wall that divides us instead of tearing it down. The application of that theory is in part the “surrender of our consciousness.”

The Japanese interregnum was no better than the previous governments (Thomas: 1971 and 1977). Short as it was, it left another scar. That scar made the Moros more war-like, suspicious and not trusting.

Yet, they were being blamed, branded and accused of things not in their own making. Wars and governments were exported to them, imposed upon them. Historiographically, they were the losers, neglected, alienated and “defeated” but at least not “conquered.” Because of this, they said that the show must go on.

Gobirno a Sarwang a Tao and Jihad

Yes, the show must go on because their historical experiences under foreign rules and the circumstances surrounding them under the Philippine government led them to gradually develop a concept known as gobirno a sarwang a tao (Tawagon: 1990 and 1998). Gobirno means “government” and sarwang a tao, “non-Moro” or “non-Muslim.” Gobirno a sarwang a tao means “alien or foreign government” or “non-Moro / non-Muslim government” (which means the Philippine government). As a concept, it refers to a Moro expression of resistance.

Resistance can be classified into passive and active. As applied here, passive resistance refers to non-violent reactions, non-physical contacts, non-payment of taxes, practices of graft and corruption, work values vis-à-vis government employment, etc. On the other hand, active resistance is manifested by the MNLF, MILF, ASG, etc.

At the back of their mind is another concept popularly known as jihad. This is actually the driving or motivating factor behind their struggle to resist external force or any intrusion or aggression. Although not formally declared as a matter of policy, jihad is religiously inherent among the Moros. Jihad is originally construed to mean “struggle.” Today, it means “holy war” (Tawagon: 2004).

There are two kinds of jihad: Jihad al asghar (“lesser jihad”) and jihad al akbar (“greater jihad”). The first is what we know, observe and practice. This is the one being used to resist and fight aggression or intrusion. It is a physical response to an external force. The second is far more important than the first. It is also this kind of jihad which we do not know or refuse to know, to observe, to practice. It is a holy war against oneself. It implies patience, self-control or self-discipline for or against something or someone.

At any rate, active resistance in simple words is what we call “Mindanao Conflict.” This type of resistance was triggered by the Jabidah Massacre (or what the government calls Corregidor Incident) in 1968 which led among others to the founding of the MNLF with independence as its main objective. Later, the MNLF settled for autonomy. In the early 1980’s, the MILF emerged with the establishment of Islamic government and Islamic State as its main goal but recently, it is considering federalism as an option. Whatever political settlement agreed upon before between the government and the MNLF or to be agreed upon between the government and the MILF, the fact remains that the conflict still exists today. Why? That is the second question which we asked earlier.

Migration and Mindanao Conflict

Why, indeed, despite the solutions being suggested or offered? Well, we could not think of any better answer other than migration. It awakens the harsh historical realities concerning antagonism among us. It is also a major contributory or causative factor in triggering today’s seemingly interminable conflict. Migration can easily be explained by scholars using among other theories the so-called “push-pull” theory.

Migration of settlers from Luzon and the Visayas to Mindanao was encouraged as a matter of policy first by the colonial government and later by the Philippine government. The following are taken from a series of lectures done by Prof. Rudy B. Rodil who painstakingly compiled data from the National Statistics Office and other sources (I attended a couple of times his lectures for updates here in Mindanao as well as in Manila for the past three years, the last was last summer in Iligan City):

1. Their lands were open to settlers

• Philippine Commission Law 1903: Declared as null and void all land grants made by traditional leaders like sultans, datus, tribal leaders if done without government consent.

• Government implemented Public Land Law discriminatory to non-Christians (Moros and wild tribes) and favorable to homesteaders and corporations.

• Whole of Mindanao opened to resettlement and corporate investments.

2. Resettlement: American Period

• 1913: Act 2254 Agricultural Colonies Act creating agricultural colonies in Cotabato Valley (Pikit, Pagalungan, Glan).

• 1914: PC Act 2280 creating agricultural colony in Momungan (Balo-i), Lanao.

• 1919: PC Act 2206 authorizing provincial boards to manage colonies. Zamboanga opened Lamitan; Sulu opened Tawi-Tawi; Bukidnon opened Marilog; Cotabato opened Salunayan and Maganoy.

• 1919-1930:  Resettlement done by Inter-island Migration Division of the Bureau of Labor. Opened Kapalong, Guiangga, Tagum, Lupon and Baganga in Davao; Labangan in Zamboanga and Lamitan in Basilan; Cabadbaran, Butuan and Buenavista in Agusan; Momungan and Kapatagan Valley in Lanao. Brought in more settlers to Pikit and Pagalungan.

3. Resettlement: Commonwealth Period

• 1935: Act 4197 Quirino – Recto Colonization Act or Organic Charter of Organized Land Settlement.

• 1939: Act 441 creating National Land Settlement Administration (NLSA). Opened Koronadal Valley (Lagao, Tupi, Marbel and Polomolok), Allah Valley (Banga, Norallah and Surallah) and Mallig plains in Isabela.

4. Resettlement: Republic of the Philippines

• 1949: Rice and Corn Production Administration (RCPA) created to promote rice and corn production. Opened Buluan in Cotabato and Maramag-Wao in Bukidnon – Lanao border.

• 1950: Land Resettlement Development Corporation (LASEDECO). Opened Tacurong, Isulan, Bagumbayan, part of Buluan, Sultan sa Barungis and Ampatuan.

• 1951: Economic Development Corps (EDCOR) for captured and surrendered Huks, opened Arevaloin Sapad, Lanao del Norte; Genio in Alamada, Gallego and Barira in Buldon, all in Cotabato, and two others in Isabela and Quezon.

• 1954: RA 1160 created National Resettlement and Rehabilitation Administration (NARRA).

5. Resettlement: Part of RP Land Reform

• 1963: Land Authority inaugurated land reform, also managed resettlement.

• 1971: RA 6389 created Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR) did resettlement thru the Bureau of Resettlement. Administered 37 settlements all over the country, 18 of them in Mindanao in the 10 provinces of

a.   Tawi-Tawi (Balimbing-Bongao)

b.   Zamboanga del Norte (Liloy, Salug, Sindangan)

c.   Bukidnon (Maramag, Pangantukan, Kalilangan)

d.   Agusan del Sur (Prosperidad, Talacogon)

e.   Davao del Norte (Sto. Tomas, Panabo, Asuncion)

f.   Lanao del Norte (Sapad, Nunungan, Karomatan)

g.  Lanao del Sur (Wao, Lumba-a-Bayabao, Bubong, Butig, Lumbatan, Bayang,  Binidayan, Pagayawan, Tubaran)

h.   North Cotabato (Carmen, Alamada)

i.   Maguindanao (Buldon, Upi-Dinaig)

j.   Sultan Kudarat (Columbio, Tulunan, Isulan Bagumbayan, Surallah)

6. Public Land Law and Resettlement

	Hectarage Allowed
Year	Homesteader	Non-Christian (Moros and Wild Tribes)	Corporation
1903	16 has	(no provision)	1,024 has
1919	24 has	10 has	1,024 has
1936	16 has	4 has	1,024 has

No explanation was offered why the number of hectares for homesteader and non-Christian was reduced from 1919 to 1936.

7. Population Change in Mindanao, 1918-1970

Census Year	Total Population	Islamized	%	Lumad	%
1918	1,175,212	378,152	32.17	116,456	9.9
1939	2,338,094	751,172	32.12	341,888	14.62
1970	6,831,120	1,629,730	23.85	437,991	6.41

This means that in 1970, the settlers and their descendants constituted 70.74% of the total population of Mindanao. (Other data indicate that in 1903, the Moros constituted 39.29% of the population in Mindanao, Sulu and Palawan; in 1948, 29.70% and in 1975, 20.17%. Others show that in 1903, the Moros constituted 76%; in 1948, 32% and in 1980, 23%. In 1913, the Moros constituted 97% and in 1975, 13%. Question: Which one is accurate and which one is not? We do not know for sure, for they say that: “In statistics, figures do not lie but liars do figure.” So, whichever data one uses, the fact remains that all those data show one common thing: the minoritization of the Moros and Lumads [Rodil: 1994]).

Effects of Resettlement Acts

To the Moros and Lumads, migration (like migraine) has been considered a social headache. Because of it, Mindanao would still continue to be the land of “Never Ending Story” of conflict. Why? Most of the areas mentioned in settlement or resettlement programs are where the conflict takes place. Again, Why? There are three related reasons: 1) Population shift where the majority before (Moros and Lumads) now became a minority; 2) Power shift from Mindanaons controlling political power before but now in the hands of the settlers; and 3) Landholding shift from Mindanaons to migrants and corporations.

Because of these shifts which greatly affect them, the Moros and the Lumads now long for the past but going back in time is historically impossible. Retrieving what was lost has been costly and bloody. What remains then is to resolve the conflict for the benefits of all: Moros, Lumads and settlers alike – unless, of course, they will continue to allow themselves to be played upon by the following related dicta: 1) Everything is under control (a favorite expression of the government and the military); 2) Conflict regulation instead of conflict resolution; and 3) Search for long lasting negotiations instead of search for long lasting peace.

Concluding Remarks

1. The reduction of lands originally owned and controlled by the Moros and Lumads can be explained by using the ebb and flow analysis. Among others, this theory stipulates that territories expand or contract through: a) conquest, b) civil wars, c) sale/purchase, d) acts of congress/government, and e) referendum/plebiscite.

2. The main victims of conflict are truth and innocent civilians. Truth is difficult to explain, difficult to prove and difficult to quantify. Someone says that “a lie frequently told becomes truth.” Another state that our government is “a government of accusations and denials.”

To show that the conflict is bloody and costly, Prof. Rodil in one of his lectures gave us the following: In 1971, more than 1,000 persons were killed. From 1970 to 1996 in the fight between the MNLF and the AFP, 100,000-120,000 perished (50% MNLF, 30% AFP and 20% civilians) and 70 billion pesos spent. The fight between the MILF and the AFP in Central Mindanao, we have the following information: In 1997, 30,000 evacuees were affected; in 2000, 1,014,654 evacuees, in 2001, 24,000 evacuees; and in 2003, 75,419 evacuees.

3. In Philippine setting, we are told that there is no such thing as sincerity in politics. With perhaps few exceptions, our political history can bear this out from local to national. To satisfy doubts, all one has to do is to check this out and content analyze political speeches and public pronouncements of our leaders vis-à-vis Mindanao.

Related to this is another idea that any government (or any of its agencies/offices) or revolutionary movement or group motivated by personal ambition of its leadership is doomed. One more striking idea that whisperingly circulates is that: If you want some things like development programs and projects not to succeed, support, elect or appoint the wrong people especially those whose favorite song is “Mona Lisa” ( a line “… they just lie there, they die there…”).

4. The past is non-negotiable. One should rather talk about “what is” and not “what was.” A mere emotional attachment to the past will do us no good. And we have to bear in mind that there is no such thing as present knowledge in history. To put it in another way, there are no present answers to the present questions/problems. All answers to the present questions cannot be found in the present but rather in the past. However, solutions to the present problems cannot be found in the past but rather in the future. For this, let me share with you a statement from Oliver Wendell Holmes. He said: “What is important in this world is not so much where we stand but to which direction we are moving.”

5. Being victims of discrimination, what do the Moros and Lumads want? Prof. Rodil has simple, yet direct to the point, answer. For the Moros, they desire a life of peace and tranquility. They are Bangsamoro, not Filipino. They want to be asked in a referendum whether or not they wish: a) to remain in an autonomous region; or b) establish a state within a federal system; or c) be an independent nation.

For the Lumads who too became minorities in their own ancestral lands, they wanted to assert that their communities too have the right to self-determination and self-governance in accordance with customary laws within their respective ancestral domains (1986 Lumad Mindanaw). In 2001, Panagtagbo said the Lumads are first nations and want no less than their own autonomous region within the Republic of the Philippines. The Lumad situation, like the Moro problem, is the problem of all Filipinos.

Posing a challenge to all Filipinos, he asks this question: Are we willing to respond to the aspirations of our Lumad and Moro communities in the spirit of Kapatiran? Remember, he says, that we contributed to the creation of this problem and because of this, we also have a role in finding a solution.

Bibliography

Aguilar, Carmencita T. “American Perceptions of Mindanao and Sulu Muslims in 1899”, “Mindanao Journal, Vol. XIX, Nos. 1-2 (July-December 1992), pp. 393-407.

Blair, Emma H. and James A. Robertson (eds.). The Philippine Islands, 1493-1898. Cleveland: A.H. Clark, 1903/1909. Vol. IV. pp. 172-236.

Filipinas Foundation, Inc. Philippine Majority-Minority Relations and Ethnic Attitudes. Makati, Rizal: Filipinas Foundation, Inc., 1978.

Gowing, Peter G. Mandate in Moroland: The American Government of Muslim Filipinos 1899-1920. Quezon City: New Day Publishers, 1983

Guingona, Teopisto.  “A Historical Survey of  Policies Pursued by Spain and the United States Toward the Moros in the Philippines.” 1943.

Majul, Cesar A. Muslims in the Philippines. Quezon City: University of the Philippines Press, 1999 Edition.

Mastura, Michael O. “Problem of Political Integration: The Muslim Filipino Experience.” Muslim Filipino Experience: A Collection of Essays by Michael O. Mastura. Manila: Ministry of Muslim Affairs, 1984. Pp. 145-151.

Rodil, Rudy B. A Story of Mindanao and Sulu in Question and Answer. Davao City: MINCODE, 2003

____________. The Minoritization of the Indigenous Communities of Mindanao and the Sulu Archipelago. Davao City: AFRIM, 1994

Salgado, Pedro, O.P. “The Rape of Mindanao.” Address to the Association of Diocesan Priests Of Mindanao at Sultan Kudarat, North Cotabatao. February 1981. (Enlarged Edition)

Scott, William H. Barangay: Sixteenth Century Philippine Culture and Society. Quezon City: Ateneo de Manila University Press, 1993.

Tan, Samuel K. The Filipino Muslim Armed Struggle, 1900-1972. Makati: Filipinas Foundation, Inc., 1975.

Tawagon, Manuel R. “Spanish Perceptions of the Moros: A Historiographical Study.” Dansalan Quarterly, Vol. X, Nos. 1-2 (October 1988 – January 1989), pp. 20-117.

_________________. “The Cotta: An Institution of Moro Warfare Conflict,” Dansalan Quarterly, Vol. 21, nos. 1-4 (January – December 2001), pp.54-61.

_________________. “Bayang: The ‘Padang Karbala’ of the Philippines,” a paper read during the celebration of the Centennial Anniversary of the Battle of Bayang held at the Mindanao State University, Marawi City on May 1-2, 2002. 9 pp.

_________________. “The Iranuns of the Philippines,” Arts and Sciences Journal, No. 4 (Series 1990), pp. 134-182.

_________________. “Jihad al Akbar: A Family Struggle for Dialogue and Peace,” Dansalan Quarterly, Vol. 24, nos. 1-4 (January – December 2004), pp. 79-84.

_________________. “Goberno a Sarwang a Tao: A Moro Expression of Resistance,” Agong International, Vol. III, No. 2 (July – December 1990), pp. 20-23 and Vol. III, No. 3 (January-June 1991), pp. 9-11, 20, 23. Also appeared in Dansalan Quarterly, Vol. XVIII, Nos. 3-4 (July – December 1998), pp. 44-64.

Thomas, Ralph B. “Muslim But Filipino: The Integration of the Philippine Muslims, 1917 – 1946.” Ph.D. Dissertation, University of Pennsylvania. 1971.

_______________. “Asia for Asiatics? Muslim Filipino Responses to Japanese Occupation and Propaganda During World War II,” Dansalan Research Center Occasional Papers, No. 7 (May 1977), 32 pp.

Warren, James F. The Sulu Zone, 1763-1898. Quezon City: New Day Press, 1985.

______________. Iranun and Balangingi Globalization, Maritime Raiding and the Birth of Ethnicity. Quezon City: New Day Publishers, 2002.

Ang Kasaysayan ng mga Pilipinong Ipinatapon sa Hongkong (1897-1903)

ni Janet S. Reguindin

Social Sciences Department, Miriam College

Panimula

Marahil isa na ang Digmaang Pilipino-Amerikano sa mga paksa sa kasaysayan ng Pilipinas na sa matagal na panahon ay hindi masyadong napagtuunan ng pansin. Sa ilang taong pagsasakasaysayan, nakilala ito bilang “insureksyon” sa paniniwalang maliit na reaksyon lamang ito ng mga Tagalog sa kolonyal na pamahalaang Estados Unidos. Dulot ito malamang sa katotohanang ang mga unang nagsa-dokumento ng yugtong ito ay mga Amerikano mismo. Dahilan upang maka-Amerikano rin ang pananaw na madalas na lumilitaw.

Bilang tugon, unti-unting nagsulputan ang mga akda tungkol sa Digmaang Pilipino-Amerikano na nagbibigay-puwang sa kabayanihan ng mga Pilipino at ang kanilang nagpatuloy na pakikipaglaban simula pa sa hamon ng kolonyalismong Espanyol. Isang maituturing na obra tungkol dito ang akda ni Samuel K. Tan, ang Filipino-American War[2] na nagbigay ng bago at mas malawak na mukha ng naganap na digmaan. Binigyang-diin ni Tan na ang naganap na digmaan ay patunay sa kabayanihang Pilipino mula Luzon hanggang Visayas at lalo na, hanggang Mindanao. Isang mapanghawang akda ito na maituturing at siyang gigising pa sa ating interes na tingnan ang iba pang kasaysayang nakatago sa likod ng nasabing kaganapan.

Gayunpaman, mapapansing sa mga lumabas na bersyon ng kasaysayan ng Digmaang Pilipino-Amerikano, palagian nang paksa at pamamaraan ang tradisyunal na lapit ng pagsasakasayayan nito – ang pagtingin sa aspetong pulitikal. Pangunahing halimbawa na ang pakikipaglaban/pagsuko ng mga lider-rebolusyonaryo at ang pamahalaan ni Aguinaldo o kaya naman ay ang pakikipag-ugnayan nito kina Dewey, Pratt at sa iba pang opisyal ng Estados Unidos. Dahilan upang malimita rin ang ating kaalaman sa “pakikipaglabang pulitikal” ng mga Pilipino sa panahon ng digma.

Dahil sa nabanggit na obserbasyon at matapos mabasa ang gunita ni Hen. Jose Alejandrino,[3] nahikayat akong tingnan ang isa pang mukha ng pakikipaglaban ng mga Pilipino sa panahon ng digma. Makikita nating hindi lamang “pulitikal” ang naging pakikibaka ng mga rebolusyonaryo. Maaaring sabihin na kasama rin dito ang kanilang “pakikibakang panlipunan” kung saan lumaban din ang ating mga bayani sa hirap (literal na kakulangan kung hindi man kawalan ng pagkain, damit at iba pang pangunahing pangangailangan) at kalungkutan dahil sa pagkakawalay sa pamilya habang may nagaganap na digmaan sa bansa. Isa itong mukha ng digmaan na hindi madalas nasasalamin sa mga akdang pangkasaysayan maliban sa bahagi itong tinalakay sa akda ni Ronaldo B. Mactal (Hongkong Junta/Comite Central Filipino: Pulitika at Kontrobersiya).[4]

Ano nga ba ang kaugnayan ng paksang ito sa Digmaang Pilipino-Amerikano? Bagamat 1899 pa puputok ang digmaan, masasabing ang pagpapatapon sa mga rebolusyonaryo sa Hongkong (1897) at ang pakikipagnegosasyon dito ni Aguinaldo kay Dewey ay umpisa na ng namumuong tensyon sa pagitan ng Pilipinas at Amerika at ganap lamang itong hihinog pagsapit ng 1899. Taong 1897 din, sina Felipe Agoncillo, Jose Ma. Basa at iba pang Pilipinong nauna nang naipatapon sa Hongkong ay nagsisimula nang makipag-ugnayan sa mga rebolusyonaryo hindi lamang sa Pilipinas kundi sa iba pang bansa. Para ito sa pinaplanong pagpapatuloy ng himagsikang naumpisahan na noon pang 1896. Magpapatuloy ang mga pakikipag-ugnayang ito sa pamamagitan ng Hongkong Junta/Comite Central Filipino hanggang pumutok ang digmaang Pilipino-Amerikano at magtatapos pagsapit ng 1903.

Layunin ng papel-pananaliksik na ito na ilahad ang mga naging hamon  na kinaharap ng mga rebolusyonaryong Pilipinong ipinatapon sa Hongkong mula nang tinanggap nila ang Kasunduan sa Biyak-na-Bato kapalit ng kanilang boluntaryong eksilo sa nasabing bansa noong 1897. Ang pagkakatapong ito ang nagsilang sa Hongkong Junta na siya namang pinagsimulan ng Comite Central Filipino na magpapatuloy hanggang 1903.[5] Tatangkaing maipakita ang naging buhay ng mga rebolusyonaryo sa ibang bayan at ang nagpatuloy na laban hindi lamang para sa kasarinlan kundi para labanan ang kahirapan at umangkop sa dayuhang bayan.

Paghahasik ng Bagsik[6]: Himagsikang 1896 at Paghina ng Kapangyarihang Espanyol

Masasabing ang ika-19 dantaon na ang maituturing na isa sa mga pinakamahalagang yugto ng kasaysayan ng Pilipinas. Ang panahong ito, ayon kay Teodoro A. Agoncillo[7] ang panahon ng pagsibol ng kamalayang makabayan sa hanay ng mga Pilipino. Matapos ang halos tatlong-daang taong pagkakatali ng bansa sa kalakalang Galyon, opisyal na binuksan ang Pilipinas sa pandaigdigang (malayang) kalakalan noong 1834. Kasabay ng pangyayaring ito, naging mabilis ang pagbabago sa lipunang Pilipino. May mga indiong yumaman dala ng kanilang aktibong pakikisangkot sa kalakalan; mula rito’y nakapagpaaral ng mga anak sa mga kolehiyo at unibersidad sa Maynila at maging sa Europa partikular na sa Espanya; at higit sa lahat, pumasok ang liberalismo na siyang nagluwal ng mga makabayang pagkilos upang palayain ang bansa sa matagal nang pagkakatali nito sa pang-aabuso ng kolonyal na pamahalaan ng Espanya.[8]

Bunsod ng pagkakamulat ng mga nakapag-aral na mga Pilipino at paggising ng kamalayang makabayan ng mga pangkaraniwang mamamayan na mauugat pa sa mga naunang pag-aalsa, nanabik sa kasarinlan ang bawat isa na siyang nagtulak upang kumilos para mapalaya ang bayan. Pangunahing dahilan na rin nito’y ang kawalan ng programang pang-reporma ng kolonyal na pamahalaan, patuloy na pang-aapi sa mga indio at ang pang-aabuso ng mga Espanyol. “Sama-samang naghasik ng bagsik”[9] ang mga Pilipino noong 1896 sa pamamagitan ng Katipunan na siyang pangunahing grupong lumaban sa mga Espanyol.

Bilang unang hakbang sa pagkamit ng kasarinlan, masasabing nagtagumpay ang mga Katipunero sa layuning mapahina ang kolonyal na pamahalaang Espanya at mapatunayan ang kakayahang lumaban ng mga Pilipino. Gayunpaman, hindi sapat ang katapangan at kagitingan upang tapatan ang armas ng kolonyal na pamahalaan. Ang kakulangan sa armas, pagkain at gamot ang pangunahing dahilan kung bakit tinanggap ni Aguinaldo sampu ng iba pang rebolusyonaryo ang alok na kasunduan ng pamahalaang Espanya.

Kabayanihan o Pagtatraydor? : Ang Kasunduan sa Biyak-naBato (1897)

Ang kahinaan ng pamahalaang Espanya ay makikita na sa desperadong hakbang nito na pag-aalok ng pardon sa mga rebolusyonaryong magsusuko ng kanilang armas mula Abril hanggang Mayo ng 1897. Kasabay nito’y ang matinding kampanya ng pamahalaan upang puksain ang mga manghihimagsik.[10] Sa kabila ng hakbang na ito ng pamahalaan, nagpatuloy pa rin sa pakikibaka ang bayan. Mula Cavite, dumaan sa Batangas at Rizal, hanggang sa nakarating sina Aguinaldo at ang puwersa ng mga rebolusyonaryo sa Biyak-na-Bato.

Hulyo 1897 pa lamang ay kumalat na ang balitang nasa Biyak-na-Bato na sina Aguinaldo. Hindi nakakapagtaka kung gayon na sa unang araw pa lamang ng Agosto, sa pamamagitan ni Pedro Paterno ay inumpisahan ang pag-aalok ng pardon kapalit ng pagsuko ng mga rebolusyonaryo. Malinaw na hindi kalayaan ang nais ng pamahalaan, dahilan upang hindi ito sang-ayunan ng puwersa nina Aguinaldo. Bagamat nabigo sa unang punta, nasundan pa ang panghihikayat na ito ni Paterno. Sa kabila ng matinding pag-aalok ng kasunduan mula sa kolonyal na pamahalaan, naitatag pa rin ang Republika ng Biyak-na-Bato noong Nobyembre 1, 1897. Halaw sa konstitusyon ng Cuba, inihanda nina Isabelo Artacho at Felix Ferrer ang konstitusyon ng tinawag na “Asamblea General Revolucionaria” o “Kapulungang Manghihimagsik” na nakilala bilang Republika ng Himagsikan sa Biyak-na-Bato.[11] Pagkatapos maitatag ang pamahalaan ay saka pinag-usapan ng kapulungan ang alok ni Paterno. Mula Agosto hanggang Disyembre kasi ay limang beses nang pabalik-balik si Paterno para sa alok ng kasunduan. Ayon kay Aguinaldo, ito ang dahilan kung bakit unti-unti ay naakit din sa alok na ito ang ilang heneral. Bagamat si Aguinaldo ang madalas na itinuturong nanguna sa pagsang-ayon sa kasunduan, narito naman ang kaniyang bersyon:[12]

Pagkatapos ng isang buwan ay muli na namang nagbalik sa amin sa Biyak-na-Bato si G. Paterno, sa gayon ding layon. Sa ganitong layunin at kapaparoon at kapaparito ni Don Pedro Paterno kaakbay ang tatlong galing sa bilibid, ay bumuti at lumakas ang kanilang “influencia” at naakit tuloy ang aking mga henerales. Subalit ang kaniyang iniharap na bagong kasunduan na padala ng Pamahalaang Kastila, ay tila nakaakit na sa marami kong kasamahan sa himagsikan, kaya’t muli ko na namang inanyayahan ang lahat upang talakayin naming ang bagay na ito.

Para sa aking sarili, bagamat kaakit-akit ang ganyang alok ng Pamahalaang Kastila, na maibibilang na isang malaking tagumpay  ng ating Inang Bayan, ay di ako sang-ayon. Ang nais ko’y ang lubusang tagumpay ng ating bayan sa pakikihamok laban sa España o ang lubusang KALAYAAN ng ating bayan. Gayon man, sapagkat ang lahat nang aking kasamahan ay sang-ayon na sa ganyang mapanglinlang na kasunduan, lalung-lalo na si Heneral Mamerto Natividad,[13] noong siya’y nabubuhay pa, saka naisip ko na upang maiwasan ang pagbuhos ng maraming dugo at pagpapakasakit ng ating kababayan, ay napahinuhod na rin ako. (akin ang diin)

Disyembre 16, 1897 nang ganap na malagdaan nina Primo de Rivera at Emilio Aguinaldo ang huling dokumento para sa Kasunduan sa Biyak-na-Bato.[14] Kabilang ang mga sumusunod sa mga pangunahing probisyon ng nasabing kasunduan:[15]

Una: na si Hen. Emilio Aguinaldo, kasama ang Estado Mayor at iba ang pinunong manghihimagsik, ay lilisanin ang Pilipinas at malayang makapaninirahan sa Hongkong. (akin ang diin)

Ikalawa: na bilang pananagutan ng pamahalaang Kastila sa ganitong kapangakuan, ay dalawa sa kaniyang mga henerales, sina Heneral Celestino Fernandez Tejeiro at Heneral Ricardo Monet ang ipinasailalim ng pag-iingat ng ilang puno at kawal ng manghihimagsik, upang sagutin ang pagdating ni Hen. E. Aguinaldo, at mga kasama sa Hongkong, na ligtas sa anumang sagabal o duhagi.

Ikatlo: ang pamahalaang Kastila’s magbabayad sa Pamahalaang Manghihimagsik ng halagang Walong Daang Libong Piso (P800,000),[16] na babayaran sa tatlong sulong sa tseke; Apat na Raang Libong Piso (P400,000) sa pag-alis sa Biyak-na-Bato, Dalawang Daang Libong Piso (P200,000), babayaran sa Enero 1, 1898, pag naisuko ang lahat ng armas sa Biyak-na-Bato, Dalawang Daang Libong Piso (P200,000) babayaran sa Abril 1, 1898 pag may ganap nang katahimikan sa Pilipinas at pagkanta ng Te Deum sa Luneta.

Ikaapat: na ang kabuuan ng nasabing halaga na Walong Daang Libong Piso (P800,000) ay ibabayad kay Heneral Emilio Aguinaldo, at iba pang lider, at ang bahagi nito’y iuukol sa mga kapinsalaang nagawa ng nasabing digmaan.

Ikalima: na ang manghihimagsik ay isusukong lahat ang kanilang mga armas sa pamahalaang Kastila

Ikaanim: na aalisin ang lahat ng samahan sa pananampalataya sa Pilipinas, alalaon baga’y ang pagputol sa kanilang panghihimasok sa mga suliranin sa pamahalaang sibil.

Ikapito: na magkakaroon ng kalayaan sa politika at kalayaan sa pamamahayag.

Ikawalo: na hindi ipapatapon ang sinumang Pilipino sa anumang bintang sa pulitika.

Ikasiyam: na ipagkakaloob sa madla ang amnestiyang pangkalahatan at pananagutan ang kanilang katiwasayan upang maligtas sa anumang paghihiganti ng mga Frayle

Ikasampu: na palalayain ang lahat ng preso politiko.

Bagamat matapos ang ilang buwang pagpapatapon sa Hongkong ay bumalik din sina Aguinaldo at ang iba pang kasama, ang Kasunduan sa Biyak-na-Bato ang siyang nagdala sa mga rebolusyonaryo sa Hongkong upang kanilang harapin ang patuloy na himagsikan at panibagong laban sa ibang bayan.

Sa Kanlungan ng Ibang Bayan: Mga Rebolusyonaryo at Patuloy na Laban sa Hongkong (1897-1898)

Bilang pagsunod sa isinaad ng kasunduan, bago matapos ang Disyembre 1897 ay nilisan ng mga rebolusyonaryo[17] ang Biyak-na-Bato. Mula rito, tumulak sila patungong Calumpit hanggang Sual, kung saan sila sumakay sa barkong Uranus papuntang Hongkong.[18]

Bakit nga ba Hongkong ang piniling lugar nina Aguinaldo upang maging pansamantalang kanlungan nila? Nakita ng mga Pilipino ang nasabing bansa bilang mapagpalayang lugar kung saan maaring mamuhay ang mga idineklarang pilibustero ng kolonyal na pamahalaang Espanya. Ang kahalagahan ng Hongkong bilang bansang kanlungan ng mga bayaning Pilipino ay nagsimula pa sa huling hati ng ika-19 dantaon partikular na halimbawa matapos ang pag-aalsa sa Cavite noong 1872 na naging dahilan ng pagbitay sa mga bayaning Pilipino. Isa sa Felipe Agoncillo[19] sa mga ipinatapon sa Jolo ilang buwan bago sumiklab ang himagsikan ng 1896 at lumikas patungong Hapon noong Abril 1896 at mula rito’y nagpunta ng Hongkong at doon nanatili at ipinagpatuloy ang pakikipag-ugnayan sa Pilipinas.[20]

Nagbigay ng ilang dahilan si Esteban De Ocampo[21] kung bakit sa bansang Hongkong napili ng mga Pilipinong magpatapon. Pangunahing dahilan na rito ang heograpikal na lokasyon ng Hongkong sa Pilipinas. Dahil sa lapit nito sa bansa, estratehikal ang lokasyon ng Hongkong lalo na sa komunikasyon at ugnayan para sa pagpapatuloy ng himagsikan. Ang distansiya nito sa ating bansa ayon kay De Ocampo ay makikita sa patunay ng biyahe ng McCulloch, isang malaking barkong sinakyan ni Aguinaldo nang bumalik sa Pilipinas mula sa Hongkong kung saan inabot lamang ng dalawa’t kalahating araw ang paglalakbay nito. Gayundin, ang mapagpalayang klima ng pulitika (congenial political climate) sa Hongkong kung saan protektado ng mga liberal na batas at may pagkilala sa pagkakapantay-pantay ang lipunan sa ilalim ng pamamahala ng Britanya. Dahilan upang mapadali ang komunikasyon at/o ugnayan sa hanay ng mga rebolusyonaryo. Sa katunayan, ayon muli kay De Ocampo, sa limang taong operasyon ng Comite Central Filipino, hindi ito nakaranas ng anumang suliranin sa komunikasyon. Dagdag pa rito, maaaring tingnan ang salaysay ni Galicano Apacible:[22]

English chivalry inspired the Hongkong government to fulfill its sacred duty towards all political refugees. In our conflicts with some agents of the American secret service the British Government helped and protected us properly, its official declaring that so long as we complied with the laws of the colony and did not violate the avowed neutrality of England in that conflict (Spanish-American War), we could rest assured that we would receive the protection of the British government.

Dahil dito, hindi nakapagtatakang bago pa man dumating sina Aguinaldo mayroon nang naitatag na Filipino Revolutionary Committee (Disyembre 1896) na pinamunuan nina Jose Ma. Basa at Felipe Agoncillo. Pangunahing layunin nito na lumikom ng pagkain, damit, gamot at iba pang mga pangunahing pangangailangan para sa mga rebolusyonaryong patuloy na nakikipaglaban sa Pilipinas. Bagamat hindi nagtagumpay, may pagtatangka rin ang komite na magpuslit ng mga armas papasok ng Pilipinas. Ang Filipino Revolutionary Committee ang siyang magluluwal sa Hongkong Junta na siya namang mabubuo bilang Comite Central Filipino.

Pagdating sa Hongkong agad na idineposito ni Aguinaldo sa kaniyang pangalan ang tinanggap na P400,000[23] na unang bayad mula sa pamahalaang Espanya. Napagkasunduan ng mga rebolusyonaryo na ang halagang natanggap ay gagamitin sa mga susunod pang plano ng himagsikan. Tanging interes lamang ang kanilang gugugulin habang nasa Hongkong. May mga hindi sumang-ayon dito lalo na si Isabelo Artacho na nagtangka pang ihabla si Aguinaldo ngunit sa huli’y iniurong din ng una ang kaniyang plano.[24] Mula rito’y maaaring tingnan kung papaano ba namuhay ang mga rebolusyonaryo mula sa maliit na halaga ng interes ng kanilang pera.

Sa Kanlungan ng Hongkong : Mga Hamon ng Kapaligiran, Kahirapan at Kalungkutan (1898-1903)

Sa naganap na pulong ng mga rebolusyonaryo noong Enero 9, 1898, napagkasunduang hindi gagalawin ang pera sa bangko at ang gugugulin lang ay ang tubo nito na nagkakahalaga lamang ng P12,000 sa isang taon. Umupa sila ng isang malaking bahay (50 piso ang upa bawat buwan) at doon sama-samang nanirahan ang mga rebolusyonaryo, ang ilan ay may kasama pang pamilya. Ayon kay Ronaldo Mactal, mula Mayo 1898, hindi bababa sa 65 ang bilang ng mga naging kasapi ng Hongkong Junta.[25] Dagdag pa ni Alejandrino, malaya ang bawat isa na manirahan hiwalay sa malaking grupo na ito at bibigyan ng 12 pisong pensyon bawat buwan. Gayunpaman, sa hirap ng kanilang kalagayan at ng buhay sa Hongkong, iilan lamang ang humiwalay rito partikular na yaong may mga hanapbuhay doon o kaya naman ay may mga kamag-anak na tumulong sa kanila. Katulad halimbawa sa kaso ng mga Tinio, Natividad at Alejandrino na may dumating na kamag-anak at may kaunting halaga, sapat para magkaroon sila ng hiwalay na tirahan sa nagsisiksikang mga rebolusyonaryo.[26] O kaya naman ay ang kaso ni Miguel Malvar na tinulungan ng kaniyang tiyo na si Potenciano Malvar.[27]

Malinaw na isinalaysay ni Alejandrino ang kaniyang nasaksihang kalagayan ng mga rebolusyonaryo sa Hongkong. Ayon sa kaniya, sa gulang na halos 30, maaaring si Emilio Aguinaldo na ang pinakamatanda sa grupo ng mga rebolusyonaryong ipinatapon sa Hongkong. Sa kaniyang palagay, nasa edad 17 hanggang 18 ang karamihan sa mga kabataang ito at nagmula sa mga may kayang pamilya. Marami sa mga kabataang ito ay nagmula sa mga pamilyang nagmamay-ari ng mga lupain ngunit sinamsam ng kolonyal na pamahalaan kung kaya’t hirap din ang kanilang kalagayan noong panahong iyon. Lubos din ang paghanga ni Alejandrino sa mga nakita niyang sakripisyo ng mga kabataang rebolusyonaryo:[28]

…I could not help but admire those young men as I constantly saw them attired in woolen suits, sleeping on the floor, eating miserably, devoid of all forms of recreation, but always contented, buoyant in spirit and resigned. Esteban de la Rama told me that the unswerving loyalty that he has always shown to Aguinaldo was due to the fact that when he passed through Hongkong during that period, he saw the miserable existence of those Filipino exiles which Aguinaldo shared with them. (akin ang diin)

Kasabay ng kakulangan sa pondo, naging pangunahing hamon din sa mga rebolusyonaryo ang lamig ng klima sa bansang Hongkong kaiba sa klima sa Pilipinas. Dagdag pa na taglamig ang mga buwan ng Disyembre hanggang Pebrero, mga unang buwan ng pagdating ng mga Pilipino sa Hongkong. Dahil dito, isa sa mga unang nakasama sa talaan ng mga naging gastos ng mga rebolusyonaryo ay mga kasuotan para sa taglamig. Ilang halimbawa dito ay ternong lana (woolen suit) at gora (cap).[29] Kasama rin sa mga binili nila ang tabako bilang panlaban sa lamig. Kaugnay ng nakakapanibagong malamig na klima ay ang pagkakasakit naman ng mga rebolusyonaryo. Makikita ito sa mga tala ng gastos na pinambili ng medisina. Kabilang sa mga nagkasakit sina Vito Belarmino, Vitaliano Famular, Emilio Aguinaldo, Anastacio Francisco at Mariano Ponce.

Naisuma naman ni Mactal[30] ang mga gawain at gastos para sa muling pagbuhay ng himagsikan ng mga Pilipino:

Ang listahan ng mga gastusin ay magpapatunay din sa paninindigan ng ilang rebolusyonaryo na ang pagtungo sa Hongkong ay upang magpanibagong-lakas para sa muling pagpapatuloy ng rebolusyon. Ang ilan sa mga nasabing gastusin ay ang pamasahe nina Emilio Aguinaldo patungong Singapore ($15) at gastos sa Hotel Universe sa Saigon ($36). Ang mga gastos sa telegram, selyo at koreo ay nagpapakita kung saan-saan nakikipag-ugnayan ang mga rebolusyonaryo sa Hongkong. Ang ilan pa sa mga opisyal na pinagkagastusan ng Hongkong Junta ay tinta de indelible, $.60 at tinta de copier, $.70 at papel na ginagamit sa pagsulat ng liham, $2.60.

Mapupuna na pagsapit ng Abril 1898, lumaki ang naging gastusin ng mga rebolusyonaryo para sa mga telegrama at selyo. Ang madalas na pinatutunguhan ng mga telegrama ay ang Paris, Pransya, Yokohama, Hapon, London, Inglatera, Maynila at maging sa Tiensin sa Tsina. At pagsapit ng Mayo, ang listahan ng mga gastusin ay malinaw na nagpapakita na naghahanda na ang mga rebolusyonaryo sa pagpapatuloy ng rebolusyon na kanilang nasimulan na noon pang nakaraang buwan. Ang ilan sa mga nasabing pinagkagastusan ay ang tingga ($166) na maaaring gagawing bala, tatlong largabista ($42), pambili ng gamot ($200), 8 ternong military ($28) at telang seda sa paggawa ng bandera ($50).

Sa kabila ng mga sinasabing pagtitipid at hirap, mapapansin namang kasama sa listahan ng mga gastos ay relo at sombrero o kaya naman ay ang pagpapakuha ng mga larawan. Bagay na para kay Mactal ay pangkaraniwan lamang sa mga Pilipinong nakapunta sa ibang bansa.

Sa panahon ng kagipitan, sari-saring kuwento ng kabayanihan ang makikita sa hanay ng mga Pilipino. Pinaka-interesante na rito ang kuwento ni Teodoro Sandiko na habang pasahero sa barko ay nagpanggap na Hapon na kumukuha ng litrato sa mga pasahero upang makalikom ng kabayaran para sa kaniyang biyahe papuntang Hongkong mula sa Alemanya. Bilang pagkakakitaan naman habang nasa Hongkong, bumili siya ng bisikleta upang magturo sa mga nais matuto. Nagturo rin siya ng boksing, buno, at eskrima maging ng iba’t ibang wika. Mga Ingles ang karaniwang tumatangkilik sa hanapbuhay na ito ni Sandiko.[31]

Kaiba naman sa mga karanasan ng mga pangkaraniwang Pilipino sa Hongkong ang mga kinaharap ng ilang opisyal at/o kinatawan ng Pilipinas sa ibang bansa. Kung ang mga karaniwang Pilipino/rebolusyonaryo ay nagsisiksikan sa isang bahay at nagtitipid sa kanilang mga pagkain at iba pang pangangailangan, ang mga kinatawan naman ng bansa marahil dahil sa kalikasan ng kanilang katungkulan ay iba rin ang suliranin. Halimbawa, sa kaso ni Galicano Apacible, ang pagtira sa mumurahing hotel at pagkain sa mga mumurahing restawran ang kaniyang sakripisyo.[32] Maliban pa rito, sa liham ni Galicano Apacible sa kaniyang kapatid na si Leon noong Hulyo 6, 1900,[33] nabanggit niyang habang nasa Amerika ay nakatira siya sa Auditorium Hotel Chicago at nagbabayad ng $6.00 (P12.00) isang araw para sa isang kuwarto. Malaking halaga ito kung ikukumpara sa P50.00 na upa bawat buwan ng mga nagsisiksikang rebolusyonaryo sa Hongkong.

Sa kabilang banda, kasama naman sa mga pinagkagastusan ni Mariano Ponce (kinatawan sa Hapon) ang ilang kasangkapan tulad ng kubyertos, mesang sulatan, relo para sa mesa, 2 kutson, 10 kuwaderno, mga palamuti sa sala, at kumot. Malaki rin ang gastos ni Ponce sa bayad sa bahay, katulong at labandera, maging sa mga libro at subskripsiyon sa diyaryo.[34]

Katulad ng buhay ng mga Pilipinong manggagawa sa ibang bansa sa kasalukuyan, nakaranas din ang mga rebolusyonaryo/kinatawan ng Pilipinas ng kalungkutan dulot ng pagkakawalay sa kanilang mga pamilya lalo na’t pumutok na ang Digmaang Pilipino-Amerikano. Ang pagiging malayo sa pamilya sa panahon ng kaguluhan ang siyang nagdulot ng pagkabalisa sa mga Pilipino sa labas na bansa. Makikita ito sa mga palitan ng liham nina Ponce at Apacible lalo na sa huling bahagi ng 1899 hanggang 1900.[35] Masasabing bago nagtapos ang Comite Central noong 1903, naging suliranin pa rin ng mga rebolusyonaryo ang pondo[36] bagamat sa ilang taong pagiging aktibo nito, napatunayan pa rin ng mga bayaning Pilipino na may iba’t ibang mukha ang himagsikang pambansa, sa loob man o sa labas ng bayan.

Konklusyon

Muling napatunayan sa pananaliksik na ito na hindi lamang sa aktwal na labanan sumabak ang ating mga bayaning rebolusyonaryo. Makikita sa akdang ito na nasubukan din ang kanilang tapang upang harapin ang kakulangan sa pondo, pagkain, damit at iba pang pangunahing pangangailangan. Pinakamasakit marahil ang karanasang wala kang kaginhawaan sa isang dayuhang bayan. Ito ang naranasan ng mga rebolusyonaryong Pilipino sa Hongkong.

Kung tutuusin, maituturing itong ekstensyon ng hirap ng mga Pilipino mula sa Pilipinas noong panahon ng digmaan. Bagamat hindi natin maikakaila na nagkaroon na ng negatibong imahe ang mga rebolusyonaryong umano’y “nagbenta” ng ating pakikipaglaban para sa kalayaan, naipakita pa rin sa papel na ito na naging mahirap ang kanilang pamumuhay sa dayuhang bayan. Maaaring tingnan itong negatibo dahil naantala ang himagsikan ngunit sa isang banda, malinaw rin ang layuning muling buhayin ang himagsikan sa pamamagitan ng pondong nakuha sa kolonyal na pamahalaan. Ang naising ito ay makikita sa uri ng pamumuhay na isinakripisyo ng mga Pilipinong ipinatapon sa Hongkong.

Gayunpaman, kung nakita natin ang ibang mukha ng kabayanihan, makikita rin naman ang iba’t ibang lebel ng pagsasakripisyo ng mga Pilipino sa ibang bansa. Isang malinaw na halimbawa rito ang “sakripisyo” sa pagkain at tirahan ng mga karaniwang rebolusyonaryo sa Hongkong na kaiba sa “pagtitiis” ng mga kinatawan ng Pilipinas sa ibang bansa partikular na nina Felipe Agoncillo at Mariano Ponce. Ibig sabihin, hanggang sa kalagayang ito, makikita ang pagkakaiba ng mga pangkaraniwang rebolusyonaryo sa mga may mataas na katungkulan sa pamahalaan.

Sa huli, kabayanihan pa ring maituturing ang pinatunayan ng mga rebolusyonaryong ipinatapon sa Hongkong. Kabayanihang pinatunayan sa labas ng bayan ngunit para sa bayan pa rin, sapagkat sa huli, ang mga pakikipaglabang ito ang siya pa ring naging puhunan ng mga Pilipino sa aktwal na digmaan/pakikipaglaban.

Apendise

1.1

Ang mga sumusunod na pangalan ang listahan ng 36 rebolusyonaryong kasama ni Aguinaldo na nagpatapon sa Hongkong noong Disyembre 1897:

Pedro Aguinaldo

Tomas Aguinaldo

Joaquin Alejandrino

Celestino Aragon

Jose Aragon

Primitivo Artacho

Vito Belarmino

Agapito Bonzon

Antonio Carlos

Eugenio de la Cruz

Agustin de la Rosa

Gregorio H. del Pilar

Valentin Diaz

Salvador Estrella

Vitaliano Famular

Dr. Anastacio Francisco

Pedro Francisco

Francisco Frani

Maximo Kabigting

Vicente Kagton

Silvestre Legazpi

Teodoro Legazpi

Mariano Llanera

Doroteo Lopez

Vicente Lukban

Lazaro Makapagal

Miguel Malvar

Tomas Mascardo

Antonio Montenegro

Benito Natividad

Carlos Ronquillo

Manuel Tinio

Miguel Valenzuela

Wenceslao Viniegra

Escolastico Viola

Lino Viola

Batis: Dumindin, Arnaldo. Philippine-American War, 1899-1902. nasa philippineamericanwar. webs.com. Abril 03, 2011.

1.2

Talaan ng mga gastos ng Hongkong Junta noong Enero 5, 1898

Pangalan	Kasuotang Binili	Halaga (dolyar)
Benito Natividad	2 kamisa	2.80
	1 kurbata	1.00
Joaquin Natividad	1 pares ng kamisa	2.80
Lino Viola	3 pares ng kamisa	4.20
Maximo Kabigting	2 pares ng kamisa	2.80
Manuel Tinio	2 pares ng kamisa	2.80
Gregorio del Pilar	2 pares ng kamisa	2.80
Wenceslao Viniegra	2 pares ng kamisa	2.80
Tomas Mascardo	2 pares ng kamisa	2.80
Celestino Aragon	1 pares ng trahe (terno)	10.00
Agustin de la Rosa	1 pares ng trahe (terno)	10.00
Joaquin Alejandrino	1 pares na may kulay na terno	17.00
	2 pares ng kamisa	2.80
		64.60 (Kabuuang Halaga

Batis: Philippine Revolutionary Papers (Rolyo 5), ayon sa pananaliksik ni Mactal, 2000, pah. 152.

TALASANGGUNIAN

Primaryang Batis

Aguinaldo, Emilio. Mga Gunita ng Himagsikan. Maynila: Christina Aguinaldo Suntay (Publisher). 1964.

____________. “True Account of the Philippine Revolution” nasa Mauro Garcia (patnugot). Aguinaldo in Retrospect (A Volume Issued to Commemorate the Century of General Emilio Aguinaldo y Famy with Documents on the Philippine-American War, 1898-1901 and the First Philippine Republic). Maynila: Philippine Historical Association. 1969.

Alejandrino, Jose. The Price of Freedom (La Senda del Sacrificio), Episodes and Anecdotes of our Struggles for Freedom. Maynila: M. Colcol and Company. 1949.

Ponce, Mariano. Cartas Sobre La Revolucion. Salin nina Ma. Luisa T. Camagay at Wystan dela Peña. Quezon City: Sentro ng Wikang Filipino, Office of Research Coordination, Unibersidad ng Pilipinas. 1997.

Sheridan, Richard Brinsley. The Filipino Martyrs, A Story of the Crime of February 4, 1899. John Lane: The Bodley Head, London and New York, 1900. Muling inilathala sa Pilipinas ng Malaya Books Inc. 1970.

Turot, Henri. First Philippine President, 1898-1901, Emilio Aguinaldo (translated from French by Pacifico A. Castro). Paris. 1900 nasa Eyewitness Accounts in 1900 of the Philippine Revolution, The Philippine-American War and the United States Occupation of the Philippines by a French Journalist and a British Observer.

Whitmarsh, Phelps. “Through Filipino Eyes: An Authorized Interview with the President of the Filipino Junta at Hong Kong” nasa The Outlook. Tomo 63. Bilang 4. Disyembre 2, 1899.

Wildman, Edwin. Aguinaldo: A Narrative of Filipino Ambitions. Boston: Lothrop Pub. 1901.

Aguinaldo’s Odyssey (As Told in the Diaries of Col. Simeon Villa and Dr. Santiago Barcelona). Manila: Publications of the Bureau of Public Libraries. 1963.

Sekondaryang Batis

Agoncillo, Teodoro A. History of the Filipino People, 8^th Edition. Quezon City: Garotech Publishing. 1990.

______________. “On Aguinaldo” (Paper read at the program held under the auspices of the Philipine Historical Association to Commemorate the 97^th Birth Anniversary of General Emilio Aguinaldo on March 22, 1966).

Alzona, Encarnacion. Galicano Apacible: Profile of a Filipino Patriot. Philippines: Apacible Family. 1970.

De Ocampo, Esteban with the collaboration of Alfredo B. Saulo. First Filipino Diplomat, Felipe Agoncillo (1859-1941). Manila: National Historical Institute. 1994.

Dumindin, Arnaldo. Philippine-American War, 1899-1902. nasa philippineamericanwar. webs.com. Abril 03, 2011.

Fabella. Gabriel F. “The Role of Aguinaldo in History” (Paper read at the program held under the auspices of the Philipine Historical Association to Commemorate the 97^th Birth Anniversary of General Emilio Aguinaldo on March 22, 1966).

Mactal, Ronaldo B. Hongkong Junta/Comite Central Filipino: Pulitika at Kontrobersiya. Maynila: De La Salle University Press. 2000.

Navarro, Atoy at Ryan Palad. Tayabas: Pagmumulat sa Kasaysayan, Himagsikan at Sentenaryo. Quezon City: Limbagang Pangkasaysayan. 1998.

Reysio-Cruz, Amelita. Gen. Miguel Malvar: The Biography of a Consummate Filipino. Manila: National Historical Institute. 1998.

Schumacher, John. The Making of a Nation: Essays on 19^th Century Philippine Nationalism. Quezon City: Ateneo de Manila University Press. 1991.

Tan, Samuel K. Filipino-American War, 1899-1913. Quezon City: University of the Philippines Press. 2002.

---

[1] Papel na ipinasa kay Dr. Ma. Luisa T. Camagay, bilang tugon sa mga pangangailangan ng kursong KASAYSAYAN 208 (Digmaang Pilipino-Amerikano), Ikalawang Semestre, AT 2010-2011.

[2] Samuel K. Tan, Filipino-American War, 1899-1913. Quezon City: University of the Philippines Press, 2002.

[3] Jose Alejandrino, The Price of Freedom (La Senda del Sacrificio), Episodes and Anecdotes of our Struggles for Freedom. Maynila: M. Colcol and Company. 1949.

[4] Ronaldo B. Mactal, Hongkong Junta/Comite Central Filipino: Pulitika at Kontrobersiya. Maynila: De La Salle University Press. 2000.

[5] Mactal, 2000, pah. 3.

[6] Unang ginamit ito ni Atoy Navarro sa kaniyang akda kasama si Ryan Palad, Tayabas: Pagmumulat sa Kasaysayan, Himagsikan at Sentenaryo. Quezon City; Limbagang Pangkasaysayan, 1998.

[7] Teodoro A. Agoncillo, History of the Filipino People, 8^th edition. Quezon City: Garotech Publishing, 1990, pah. 115.

[8] John Schumacher, The Making of a Nation: Essays on 19^th Century Philippine Nationalism. Quezon City: Ateneo de Manila University Press. 1991. pah. 16-19.

[9] Navarro at Palad, 1998.

[10] Agoncillo, 1990, 181.

[11] Emilio Aguinaldo, Mga Gunita ng Himagsikan, Maynila: Christina Aguinaldo Suntay (Publisher), 1964, pah. 256-260.

[12] Aguinaldo, 1964, pah. 264.

[13] Bagamat sinabi ito ni Aguinaldo, mahalaga ring banggitin na sa gunita naman ni Jose Alejandrino (The Price of Freedom, (La Senda del Sacrificio), Episodes and Anecdotes of our Struggles for Freedom, 1949, pah. 38), kaniyang ipinahayag ang paghanga kay Mamerto Natividad bilang rebolusyonaryo. Sa katunayan, sinabi ni Alejandrino na kung nabuhay lamang si Natividad, marahil ay hindi nito pinayagan ang Kasunduan sa Biyak-na-Bato.

[14] Para sa kabuuang kopya ng Kasunduan sa Biyak-na-Bato, maaaring tingnan ang apendise ng Mauro Garcia (patnugot), Aguinaldo in Retrospect (A Volume Issued to Commemorate the Century of General Emilio Aguinaldo y Famy with Documents on the Philippine-American War, 1898-1901, and the First Republic), Manila: Philippine Historical Association, 1969.

[15] Aguinaldo, 1964, pah. 265-266 ; bagamat mas marami ang probisyong sinabi ni Aguinaldo, mayroon ding kopya ng “Pact of Biak-na-Bato, Principal Provisions” na matatagpuan sa Turot, Henri. First Philippine President, 1898-1901, Emilio Aguinaldo (translated from French by Pacifico A. Castro). Paris. 1900 nasa Eyewitness Accounts in 1900 of the Philippine Revolution, The Philippine-American War and the United States Occupation of the Philippines by a French Journalist and a British Observer, pah. 137.

[16] Ayon kay Aguinaldo (1964, pah. 265), hindi ito nasunod kung kaya’t sa kabuuan ay apat na daang libo (P400,000) lamang ang tinanggap ng mga rebolusyonaryo.

[17] Makikita sa Apendise (1.1) ang listahan ng mga rebolusyonaryong kasama umano ni Aguinaldo ayon sa bersyon ni Dumindin, Arnaldo. Philippine-American War, 1899-1902. nasa philippineamericanwar. webs.com. Abril 03, 2011. Gayunpaman, kung titingnan ang iba pang batis, magkakaiba ang sinasabing bilang ng mga rebolusyonaryong kasama ni Aguinaldo nang magtungo sa Hongkong: 42 ayon kay Edwin Wildman, Aguinaldo: A Narrative of Filipino Ambitions. Boston: Lothrop Pub. 1901, pah. 47; at Sheridan, Richard Brinsley. The Filipino Martyrs, A Story of the Crime of February 4, 1899. John Lane: The Bodley Head, London and New York, 1900. Muling inilathala sa Pilipinas ng Malaya Books Inc. 1970, pah. 22; samantalang 50 naman sa bersyon ni Alejandrino, 1949, pah. 81 at huli; “46 na mga tagasunod” ayon kay Mariano Ponce, Cartas Sobre La Revolucion. Salin nina Ma. Luisa T. Camagay at Wystan dela Peña. Quezon City: Sentro ng Wikang Filipino, Office of Research Coordination, Unibersidad ng Pilipinas. 1997, pah. 93.

[18] Wildman, 1901, pah. 47; Alejandrino, 1949, pah. 81 ; Amelita Reysio-Cruz, Gen. Miguel C. Malvar: The Biography of a Consummate Filipino. Manila: National Historical Institute, 1998, pah. 92.

[19] De Ocampo, Esteban with the collaboration of Alfredo B. Saulo. First Filipino Diplomat, Felipe Agoncillo (1859-1941). Manila: National Historical Institute, 1994, pah. 70.

[20] De Ocampo, 1994, pah. 2.

[21] De Ocampo, 1994, pah. 71.

[22] Encarnacion Alzona, Galicano Apacible: Profile of a Filipino Patriot. Philippines: Apacible Family, 1970, pah. 62-63.

[23] Bagamat hindi na nasundan pa ang dapat na P800,000 napagkasunduan, dahilan upang bumalik ang puwersa ni Aguinaldo sa kalagitnaan ng 1898 upang ipagpatuloy ang himagsikan at/o pakikipaglaban.

[24] Gabriel F. Fabella, “The Role of Aguinaldo in History” (Paper read at the program held under the auspices of the Philipine Historical Association to Commemorate the 97^th Birth Anniversary of General Emilio Aguinaldo on March 22, 1966), pah. 21. ; Alejandrino, 1949, pah. 81 ; Mactal, 2000, pah. 149.

[25] Mactal, 2000, pah. 149-150.

[26] Alejandrino, 1949, pah. 82-84.

[27] Reysio-Cruz, 1998, pah. 92.

[28] Alejandrino, 1949, pah. 82-83.

[29] Mga salin na ginamit ni Mactal, 2000, pah. 151 ; Makikita sa Apendise (1.2) ang Talaan ng mga detalye ng gastos noong Enero 5, 1898.

[30] Mactal, 2000, pah. 158.

[31] Alejandrino, 1949, pah. 28-29.

[32] Alzona, 1970, pah. 105.

[33] Alzona, 1970, pah. 85-86.

[34] Mactal, 2000, pah. 164.

[35] Ponce, 1997, pah. 231.

[36] Tungkol sa paglilinaw sa pinuntahan ng perang tinanggap ng mga rebolusyonaryo mula sa Kasunduan sa Biyak-na-Bato, maaaring tingnan ang gunita ni Alejandrino, 1949, pah. 87.

The Babaylan as a Historical Narrative: How the Aswang came to be

By Gloria Esguerra Melencio

The babaylans who had been mostly women remain to be steadfast in their world view different from the Spanish colonialists, unlike the male-centered political system of the raja, lakan, datu and later capitan municipal who all succumbed to the sword and the cross. The babaylan in Philippine history – always an old wife, a sister or a close relative of the male political chief – cannot be given the political reins, yet the Spaniards cannot penetrate her spiritual domain.

Retired History Professor Milagros Guererro, in her lecture at the Buhay-Babaylan lecture series in the University of the Philippines on Saturday, July 30, explained how difficult it is to have a babaylan historical narrative given the dearth of primary materials available to historians. But the problem may be resolved with painstaking archival research, she encouraged the lecture attendees who filled the CSWCD’s Bulwagang Tandang Sora to the brim.

The country’s political elite collaborated with the Spaniards that had become the blueprint of today’s political governance.  It had always been the babaylan, the priestess in the tripartite social structure composed, too, of the raja, and ‘harbor masters’ including the panday - who refused oppression and in many ways fought with words and teeth, earning the ire of the Spanish friars to high heavens.

Guerrero narrated how the Spanish alcalde mayor, alferez and frailes smashed the babaylan structure to pieces which acts send shivers to the bones. What they cannot destroy with insults calling them ‘brujas’ or witches, they tear to pieces with atrocities no civilized human being could imagine.

In Marikina, the Spanish friars assigned vagabonds and olgasanes (similar to kanto boys nowadays) to rape these “erring women” in the 19th century, according to the professor. In the Visayas, some of the Indios, upon the instruction of the Spanish friar, tied the babaylan to a raft and threw her to the river where hungry crocodiles tore her to pieces.

“Mangingilabot kayo,” she said in Filipino with both her crossed hands holding her arms in akimbo, apparently with hair raised on end.

Citing a transcription written in old Kinaray-a language, she disclosed an incident in Capiz in 1859 when as a vengeance to these mentioned atrocities, the babaylan fought furiously with the Spanish friar: The women kidnapped the surprised priest, brought him up the mountain, killed him and “dismembered” his organs. Thus, the story of the human heart-and-liver-eating aswang began.

Guerrero likewise revealed to the audience that the babaylan had been absent in the Spanish records from 1850 onward, claiming they had annihilated them and successfully vanish to oblivion the babaylan’s spiritual realm. However, anti-American resistance in the Visayas proved otherwise. They remain alive in Dionisio Magbuelas or Papa Isio, who led a group of babaylans in a peasant uprising in the Visayas. It was Papa Isio who blurted out: “Naaapi tayo ng mga kumakain ng karne,” Guerrero quoted him as saying in the Spanish document.

In Samar and Leyte, the Pulahanes known for their red trousers, red band or anything red in their person also fought the Americans.

“Nauulinigan ang alingawngaw ng mga nag-aalsa. Bahagi ito marahil ng tradisyong babaylan,” the historian said in Filipino.

(Aswang photo is from the TechnoForum of the Southern Iloilo Polytechnic College)

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