The statement of assets, liabilities and net worth (SALN) of the gobernadorcillos of our Spanish past ...

They're not like the contentious SALN  of Chief Justice Renato Corona, or the same Civil Service form that people in government service, appointed or elected, must file every fiscal year to comply with law. 

The election returns and church records of our Spanish past provide us means to identify the members of a town's principalia or the principales who were elected to various positions in the local government--the gobernadorcillo, and the teniente primero, various ministers (called juezes) who attended to issues pertaining to peace (juez de policia), cultivated lands (juez de sementeras) and livestock/cattle (juez de ganados).

There were the so-called subalternos del pueblo (subalterns/subordinates of the town) comprising lieutenants (tenientes from segundo or second up to nth, depending on population size) and the alguaciles or sheriffs.  The lieutenants were still of the principalia, but the sheriffs were ordinary menfolk who did not sport the title Don.

The indio bravo or sumiso, brave or submissive, of the principalia could only aspire to  become gobernadorcillo (Capitan Municipal later), today's town mayor. He could not be Alcalde Mayor (Gobernador Civil later) of his province because that post was reserved for Spaniards.

To be a principal, one had to have visible wealth (farmlands and tenants, carabaos and horses, a decent house maybe of cana or madera, bamboo or wood, etc.).  Most important, he must be literate; who can leer y escribir - read and write - preferentially en Castellano.

The gobernadorcillo was elected by an electoral college composed of peers drawn by lots if there was large group of principales—six from incumbent cabezas de barangay (heads of barangays) and six from former capitanes or cabezas who had served for at least ten years.  The 13^th elector was the incumbent town head.  This electoral set-up was in accordance with the laws of good government as amended by the superior decree of 05 October 1847.

The town head and the other Dons in the municipal tribunal did not file SALNs.  But the wealth of the gobernadorcillo candidates became transparent when the Alcalde Mayor, who presided over the elections together with the cura parroco/parish priest, submitted the election returns to the Governor-General in Manila for approval of the results or his recommendation as to who should be gobernadorcillo.

Thus, it was the Alcalde Mayor who revealed the wealth and other attributes of the contenders for the town’s top position, as illustrated by these election results in our hometown in Zambales in the 1800s --

In the 07 November 1848 elections for the 1849 term, D. Fruto Apolinario, who was the first town head as teniente absolute in 1846, received eleven votes, the highest, but the Alcalde Mayor D. Jose Sanchez Guerrero recommended the second placer, D. Pascual Espiritu (six votes) to be the next teniente absoluto.  He preferred Espiritu more than the incumbent, D. Martin Antonio.  Teniente absoluto was gobernadorcillo title when the town was still under the ecclesiastical jurisdiction of the capital town Iba. 

The number of carabaos (and horses) were listed in the "SALNs" of gobernadorcillo candidates included by the Alcalde Mayor in the election returns with his recommendation for appointment, which he submitted to the Governor General.  [Source of picture:  Givens, James David. (1912).  Scenes taken in the Philippines ...]

 

Guerrero had all the praises for Apolinario—a man of good character, knowledgeable in Spanish, owns arable lands and a house of bamboo and nipa, has 17 carabaos and 6 horses, and has served as teniente absoluto and cabeza de barangay “without blemish”.   Yet, he went for Espiritu, who was as well-off like Apolinario (though they didn't have the same number of livestock), has served as teniente primero and cabeza also “without blemish” but who has better disposition than Apolinario.

The first election of the town’s gobernadorcillo was held on 07 December 1849.  Nominated were D. Fruto Apolinario, D.Gelacio de los Santos and the incumbent teniente absoluto D. Pascual Espiritu.  The popular D. Fruto again garnered the majority vote (10), while D. Gelacio received 8 votes.

This time, Alcalde Mayor D. Jose Sanchez Guerrero rightfully endorsed Apolinario as the best who can discharge the duties of the position.  “Without blemish” was how he described Apolinario’s and De los Santos’s government service as teniente absoluto  and cabeza de barangay, respectively.   He reported that their houses were made of bamboo and cogon.  Apolinario had 7 carabaos and 4 horses, while De los Santos owned 5 carabaos, 5 horses and 3 balitas of arable land.

The cura could also write his own SALNs regarding the fitness of the candidates for public office. 

In the 06 April 1893 elections, for example, Fr. Maximino Martinez wrote the Alcalde Mayor about the qualifications of the three aspirants. 

He had the highest praises, and was obviously biased, for D. Juan Flordeliza:  “[He] is from this town, speaks Spanish quite perfectly, has held positions in the council with probity and wisdom, occupies a high social position and exerts some considerable influence in the town thanks to his long service and personal conduct, is endowed with extraordinary activity, integrity of character and poise that distinguish all his actions, the most ideal for the difficult position of Gobernadorcillo.”

He had reservations with D.Florencio Adamos:  “[He] is a native of Vigan from where he moved to this town some years ago, has modest knowledge of Spanish, has been cabeza de barangay, it is quite agreed that he has a spotless reputation, but he has been talked about being accused for reasons not very decent, he is religious and timid, very gentle and naive.”  

He had no friendly words for D. Cipriano Farrales incumbent Gobernadorcillo:  “[He] can express himself properly in Spanish, is of good character, has sufficient resources, but he is somewhat remiss and negligent in character, because of which, he does not have much influence in town.”

Obviously, the only hidden wealth that the Alcalde Mayor had no knowledge of were the peso or reales savings account of the candidates that were possibly deposited in undisclosed places in their houses, if they had extra money from their harvests or sale of livestock, or gains from businesses for those who ran casas de azucar, anilio, y algodon (sugar, indigo and cotton mills), and the jewelries of their spouses.

There were no impeachment cases for gobernadorcillos we noted in our town’s history.  But incumbents who incurred the displeasure of the cura, for reasons personal or official, were marked for life. 

References:

• Ereccion de los Pueblos – Zambales 1842-1894.

The Filipina image in advertisements 100 years ago (1912)

We found five advertisements in the almanac for 1912 using images of the Filipino woman. 

La Campana had the Filipina in the traditional formal dress, a terno, scattering sweets and biscuits from her bag.  This was a confectionery and pastry maker; it made all kinds of sweets, biscuits and syrups.  They also ran a restaurant (a gran salon or big hall) on Rizal Avenue in Sta Cruz, Manila that offered lunch and refreshments. 

This Filipina was inviting the menfolk to go to La Asamblea at 141 Rosario St in Manila for their headgear (straw, felt and wool hats, etc.; buntal hats, hats from Baliwag, Bulacan and Calasiao, Pangasinan).  This shop of Canuto Fernandez also offered a variety of footwear, various kinds of perfume, fans, pipes made of amber; the ad didn't say whether these were for both men and women. If customers wanted better fit for hats bought there, adjustments were offered free.

The Filipino woman in the upper class of Philippine society rode horses in style too and dressed like her European counterparts.  This ad wanted horse riders, both the señoras y caballeros, to buy their riding boots at El Brillante, located at 110 Carriedo St in Manila.  Calzado medida could have meant "the boot that fits".  

The Cojuangco and Legarda ladies of recent times rode imported horses using modern riding garb when they went racing in national and international games. This picture reminds though of the rich leading ladies of classic Pinoy TV soap operas that are set in large haciendas, usually sugar estates.

 

The woman in long, flowing gown with scepter and tiara, opening a cabinet full of treasures (jewelry, precious stones and articles of value) could have just been an allegorical figure representing the Ildefonso Tambunting and Filomena Concepcion pawnshops.  Tambunting was in Plaza Sta. Cruz, and Concepcion was on Azcarraga (today's Claro M. Recto).  Tambunting is still around.  We haven't seen a Concepcion; it's a Lhuillier that stands in major towns and cities around the archipelago today.

The representations of the real Filipinas were in the background, one in dire financial straits pawning her piece of jewelry to a rich lady.  The ad probably was telling those in need to go to the pawnshops rather than to their richer kin, neighbor or landlady. 

There wasn't a University Belt yet at that time so there were still no students running to pawn some valuables at the above pawnshops after they've spent their allowances from their hard-working parents back home in the provinces.

A nude Filipina?  Probably, the advertiser was inspired by "pearl of the Orient," Rizal's endearing term for his country.

The top line in Spanish which translates to "the shell was opened and produced this oriental pearl" meant that the store La Concha at 82 Escolta was selling muchas bellezas nacarados, plenty of pearly beauties.  

By the way, the local name for the shell enclosing the nude is taklobo, an endangered specie, a large number of them can be seen in the conservation farms of the University of the Philippines Marine Institute.  These are not pearl farms however.  Today's Mikimoto pearls are produced in some farms in Mindanao using oysters.

Source -  

• Calonge, José Sedano. (1912).Almanaque Manila galante para el año 1912. Manila: Imp. Lit. y Encuadernacion de Juan Fajardo. Retrieved from http://name.umdl.umich.edu/adt3550.0001.001

It's the centennial of the1912 corn campaign; Emilio Aguinaldo, Jr. had his own corn plot

One hundred years ago, the Bureau of Education inaugurated a general corn campaign in all schools in the country to complement vegetable growing in school and home gardens and the cultivation of farm crops in what were then called settlement schools.  The full force of about 8,000 teachers and other government agencies implemented this corn promotion program.

One aim of the campaign was to "impress upon the Filipino the fact that corn is a food for human consumption."  The American authorities thought that "it was necessary not only to teach the Filipinos how to grow corn, but also to teach them to eat it. Corn is one of the regular crops of the islands, but owing to ignorance and prejudice, corn products were regarded by the Filipinos as food to be despised by all except the lowest classes." 

It was also necessary to have other food products supplement rice, the Filipino's main staple. Then, and it is now, rice was already being imported. The Americans felt that it was best to popularize corn so that there would be a reduction in rice imports.  They were thinking that a "considerable loss of public funds secured from the import duty on rice" would be compensated by "the retaining in the Philippines of the several million pesos which annually leave the country for food staples."  

The campaign had several components that would be capped by the first large corn exhibition in the Philippines during the 1913 Manila Carnival.  

The biggest component was the corn-growing contest among schoolboys.  

Contest no. 1 had the boys cultivating corn plots in their own homes. Their teachers evaluated their plots regularly. A prize was awarded to the boy who grew the largest quantity of corn on one hundred square meters of land.   

Contest No. 2 was an open competition among the boys who could submit the best five ears from their harvest. For the Manila Carnival corn exhibition, there were 149 five-ears exhibits from various provinces that competed.

All in all, there were 11,661 boys who competed in Contest No. 1, and 18,666 boys who entered Contest No. 2,or a total enrollment of 30,327.  First, second and third prizes were awarded in each participating province.

 He was not among the winners in Cavite, but Emilio Aguinaldo, Jr. also had his own corn plot to tend during the launching year of the corn campaign in their home in Kawit, as shown by this picture from the Philippine Craftsman issue of November 1913.   

While the boys were into corn growing, there were 6,660 girls who were taught corn recipes and they prepared the dishes using only utensils and ingredients found in the ordinary Filipino household.

Corn demonstrations were held in towns and barrios especially during fiestas, garden days (yes, they had Garden Day, Arbor Day then), and even during athletic meets. They had "booths specially constructed for the purpose ... devoted to the display of points pertaining to the growth of corn; good cornstalks with ears; ears of corn; seed testing; preparation of corn meal; and the preparation and serving of corn dishes." 

The worst drought, the worst attack of locusts, and destructive typhoons wrought havoc to some parts of the country during this first year.  "A pronounced drought, the worst for many years, was followed by swarms of locusts.  It was the worst locust year during the American administration. Entire sections of the Philippines were devastated. The locust experts of the Bureau of Agriculture, in cooperation with the people, worked hard but in two or three provinces practically all crops were eaten up. In these provinces the boys enrolled in the corn-growing contests had their corn destroyed. Many plots were replanted two and three times. Two or three very destructive baguios caused extensive damage in certain provinces. Buildings as well as corn plots were destroyed. The corn campaign was conducted during a year when there were more than the usual number of agricultural calamities, but the part the campaign played in reducing the want and suffering usually following the destruction of crops cannot be readily expressed in terms of money value."

The corn campaign was discontinued after five years, in June 1916.  The American authorities felt they have attained their objectives. Corn-growing contests continued as part of the activities of agricultural clubs.

After one hundred years, several varieties of corn find their way from farms to markets, corn has become a part of the Filipino cuisine either as veggie ingredient or stand-alone salted or unsalted, buttered or un-buttered staple, sweet yellow corn stalls have become fixtures in the urban Katipunan Avenue landscape, canned sweet corn is almost like a regular item in the grocery list, and pop corn seems like a constant in everybody's equation of an enjoyable time in the movies.  

Anyway, when Emilio Aguinaldo, Jr.  was tending his corn plot, West Point was not yet in his dreamscape, we suppose.

 

References: 

• Foreman, North H. (1912, Sept).  The Corn Campaign.  The Philippine Craftsman.  Manila: Bureau of Printing.  1(3):210-215.  Retrieved from http://name.umdl.umich.edu/acw9599.0001.003 

• Foreman, North H. (1913, Nov).  The Results of the 1912 Corn Campaign.  The Philippine Craftsman.  Manila: Bureau of Printing.  2(5):97-309.  Retrieved from http://name.umdl.umich.edu/acw9599.0002.005 

• Bureau of Education. (1913). The corn campaign. Thirteenth Annual Report of the Director of Education, July 1, 1912, to June 30, 1913. Manila: Bureau of Printing. [35-36]  Retrieved from http://name.umdl.umich.edu/acs9512.1912.001

• Bureau of Education. (1915). Agriculture. Fifteenth Annual Report of the Director of Education, July 1, 1914, to December 3,1914. Manila: Bureau of Printing. [85-86]  Retrieved from http://name.umdl.umich.edu/ACS9512.1914.001

• Bureau of Education. (1917). Corn. Seventh Annual Report of the Director of Education, January 1, 1916, to December 31, 1916. Manila: Bureau of Printing.  1(17):39. Retrieved from http://name.umdl.umich.edu/acs9512.0001.017 

• Crone, Frank L.(1916, Jan ) Public Instruction, America’s Work in the Philippines.  The Philippine Review (Revista Filipina). Nieva, Gregorio, Ed.  1(1):41. Retrieved from  http://name.umdl.umich.edu/acp0898.0001.001 

• Crow, Carl. (1914).  The America and the Philippines. Garden City, New York: Doubleday, Page & Company. Retrieved from http://name.umdl.umich.edu/afj2335.0001.001 

• Miller, Hugo Herman. (1920). Corn as a food crop. Economic conditions in the Philippines. Boston: Ginn.  Retrieved from http://name.umdl.umich.edu/anw6422.0001.001 

• Osias, Camilo. (1921). Barrio life and barrio education. Yonkers-on-Hudson, N.Y.: World Book Company. Retrieved from http://name.umdl.umich.edu/AEN7574.0001.001

How Narciso Claveria altered our genealogical chart ...

This may help Filipinos configure their genealogical trees specially if they fail to find some ancestral links before 1850.  Hopefully though, the baptismal and matrimonial records of their hometown Roman Catholic churches are all preserved in microfilm at the Family Research Center of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints (LDS or Mormons, for short) to help them out. 

  

In our case, the church records of the San Sebastian Church of San Narciso, Zambales are still there on top of the convent shelves, now very brittle and gathering dust, some pages burned by acidic ink or mangled by generations of termites.  Fortunately, these were microfilmed sometime in the ‘60s or ‘70s; thus, we were able to read the extant bautismos, matrimonios and defuntos of the Hispanic period of our town’s history starting from 1849, when the church was built.

However, records of our ancestors when San Narciso was the Ilocano barrio Alasis or Alasiis attached to the Zambal town of Cabangaan (now Cabangan), and was a visita of that parish around 1836-1838 to 1849, are forever lost.

Folk lore tells that our town was formed by settlers from Paoay, Ilocos Norte.  The microfilmed baptismal and marriage records of this town's St Augustine of Hippo Church confirmed that our forebears really came from there.

One thing was clear:  there was no Farin among the surnames of Paoay folks before the Ilocano migration in the 1830s and 1840s to the coastal plain of Zambales between Cabangan town and the barrio that later evolved into Castillejos town.  Into this plain also settled Sur and Norte Ilocanos whose barrios would become San Marcelino, San Antonio and San Felipe.

The name of one woman started our journey of discovery through the Paoay records.  She was our great-great-greatgrandmother, Ana Gonong, who, in the Zambales records, was married to Carlos Farin.

She was born on 24 July 1804.  We stumbled on her other siblings in the Paoay baptismal files--Damiana (23 September 1806) and Andrea (24 November 1811)—and in the matrimonial books—Santiago, Petrona, Francisca and Venancio.   They were children of a well-off couple Don Pasqual Gonong and Doña Pasquala Bernabe who belonged to the barangay of Don Pasqual Concepcion (their names suggest they were baptized on a Sunday that was a Christmas day).

Matrimonial record of Don Carlos de Dios and Dna Ana Gonong, 03 Jun 1822, Paoay, Ilocos Norte.

That an Ana Gonong married a Carlos de Dios on 03 June 1822 in the Paoay books jolted our memory to an antique document signed by the cura parroco of Paoay attesting that he baptized Juan de Dios, son of the couple, on 10 Mar 1828.  That document is being kept by an aunt in California who remembers being told by her father, also a Juan, patriarch of our youth, that this de Dios changed his surname to Farin.  They also had an older son, the earliest Juan, who was baptized on 24 May 1823.

Carlos descended from another well-off family, Don Manuel de Dios and Dna Sebastiana Abad.  He was born on 02 November 1803.

One link was finally found:  the Geronimo Farin line to which we belong started from the Carlos de Dios-Ana Gonong matrimony in Paoay, Ilocos Norte.   Carlos Farin and Ana Gonong were listed as abuelos paternos (paternal grandparents) of Geronimo’s children born after 1865 (baptismal records did not have abuelos in the earlier years).

Claveria declared, “[f]amilies who can prove that they have kept for four generations their surname, even though it may be the name of a saint, but not those like de la Cruz, de los Santos, and some others which are so numerous that they would continue producing confusion, may pass them on to their descendants; the Reverend Fathers and the heads of provinces are advised to use their judgement in the implementation of this article.”  The last clause suggests why not all the de Dios in San Narciso at that time switched to Farin.

Baptism of Manuel Farin Eugenio, 27 Jul 1851, as recorded in the San Narciso, Zambales church files. He was the son of Modesto Farin Eugenio and Francisca Gonong,

When we found Andrea and Francisca Gonong, we remembered that these names are in two other Farin lines in our town, both of which we were able to establish as both Eugenio on the paternal side, finally configuring relationships through the church records of San Narciso and Paoay.   

It baffled that there was only Francisca in the Eugenio family line before 1849.  She married Modesto Eugenio, son of another well-off couple, Don Manuel Eugenio and Doña Paula Evangelista in the Paoay records, on 11 April 1842.  When Manuel was born to Modesto and Francisca in San Narciso, he was baptized Manuel Farin Eugenio on 27 July 1851.

Ana could have convinced Modesto Eugenio and her sister Francisca to adopt their new Farin surname as well even if the Eugenio surname was not in the banned list or those that were “so numerous.”  Could  Ana and Francisca have contrived to perpetuate their sisterhood by this new surname?  During the Spanish regime, men and women carried their given names to the grave; women did not assume their husbands’ surnames.  Ana and Francisca could have thought then that their Gonong link would be preserved among future generations through their common stamp, the Farin surname.

Juan (surnamed Farin Eugenio in post-1849 records of San Narciso),brother of Modesto, married Eduarda Fontillas de los Santos (as also recorded), and their son Mariano was born and baptized in San Narciso in December 1851.  

Mariano, son of Juan Farin Eugenio and Eduarda Fontillas de los Santos, was baptized on 07 Dec 1851 at the San Sebastian Church, San Narciso, Zambales.  Before he turned 20, he married Nicolasa Guieb, daughter of Bonifacio Guieb and Andrea Gonong.

Since Modesto’s son Manuel was baptized a Farin Eugenio earlier in July, would it not be appropriate to have Mariano be baptized a Farin Eugenio as well?  It could have been Modesto urging his brother Juan to do so.

Mariano Farin Eugenio would, sometime in the late 1860s, marry Nicolasa Guieb, daughter of Bonifacio Guieb and Andrea Gonong.  Andrea was, serendipitiously, the aunt of his uncle Modesto Farin Eugenio's children. 

“In the lists that will be made for the cabecerias, in order to complete the register later,” the Claveria decree stated, ”each person shall indicate (a) his baptismal name, followed by the new surname which may be assigned to him, and (b) the name which, until then may have served him as surname, leaving him free to retain this as long as he wishes.”

The Eugenio and the de Dios surnames were not retained for long. 

This genealogical map was constructed from baptismal and matrimonial records of San Sebastian Church, San Narciso, Zambales and St Augustin of Hippo Church, Paoay, Ilocos Norte.  These records are in microfilms at the Family History Center, Philippine Temple of the Mormon Church in Quezon City.  The core of the Farin map comprises the descendants from the union of three Gonong sisters with gentlemen from the Eugenio and De Dios families

It was under the regime of Gov. Gen. Narciso Claveria that the Ilocano barrios of Cabangan were constituted into a new town in 1846, and it was also under him that many genealogies were altered because of his 1849 decree urging for the change of surnames.

Thus, there exists today kinships on nominal terms (sharing the same surname) or on true bloodlines. In this story, we have gone as far as tracing the Gonong roots.  We have yet to flesh the Eugenio and De Dios sides of the big Farin umbrella.

References:

1.  Manuscripts in films at the Family History Center, Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, Temple Drive, Quezon City: 

• Registros parroquiales, 1758-1979 of the Conversion of St Augustine of Hippo Catholic Church, Paoay, Ilocos Norte.

• Registros parroquiales, 1849-150 of the San Sebastian Catholic Church, San Narciso Zambales.

2.  Decree of 21 November 1849. Retrieved from http://www.zahlerweb.info/pm/claveria.htm

When there was a Chinese question, not a Chinese new year ...

There was a time in our nation's history that the Filipino had no great love to greet the Chinaman in his town or city with "kung hei fat choi" during the Chinese new year in January or February.  He expressed as much disdain for the Sangleyes following the example of his Spanish colonial masters.

Baptismal record of a Sangley unbeliever from Ymen in China who was baptized as Pedro Siatoycho in Vigan, Ilocos on 09 Feb 1795 at the age of 42, more or less.  He was brought to the provincial capital by Chinese Christians.  (Source:  Microfilms of the Vigan church's baptismal records at the Family History Center of the Philippines Temple of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints.) 

The Chinese were not allowed to celebrate their new year with the traditional revelry as they would with their families in their villages in mainland China.  Many of these imported laborers would take leave from their jobs early enough so that they can reach their native land in time for the traditional new year festivities.

In the early years of the American regime, the immigration division of the Philippines customs service would be deluged with applications for return certificates from the Chinese workers who intend to come back to work.  The rule of the customs-house was for applications to be filed 30 days before the departure date. 

Baptismal record of Victorio Posadas, a mestizo Sangley, on 27 Dec 1857. (Source:  Baptismal book of the San Sebastian Church, San Narciso, Zambales).

It is interesting to read today the testimony of Carlos Palanca (Chan Quiensien, Cheuy Long) before the Philippine Commission in July 1899 "in aid of legislation" with regard to the "Chinese question" of that time.  The hearing was conducted by Col. Charles Denby as chair, Professor Dean Worcester, and John MacArthur as secretary.  Below are excerpts from Palanca's testimony --

"Q [Denby]. Please give us your name, residence, and occupation.

"A [Palanca]. Carlos Palanca; residence, Manila; occupation, merchant.

"Q. How long have you lived here?

"A. Forty-three years. I came here and commenced in the draper business, piece goods. At present I am in the sugar and rice business. I do every kind of business. I am a contractor also.

"Q. Do you do any work for the Government, for the United States?

"A. I do a lot of work for the United States.

"Q. What do you do?

"A. Get the coolie laborers out to the lines, building barracks.

"Q. What else?

"A. I am also a ticket broker.

"Q. Have you anything to do with carabaos? Do you furnish transportation of any kind?

"A. When the Americans came here I furnished the carabaos on the transportation lines. In September, October, and November I furnished all the carabaos and transportation.

"Q. Was that work done for the Government of the United States? What other work did you do?

"A. I used to give a lot of information to the American Government, and assisted in getting houses in the commencement for the troops, furnishing my own godowns out at San Miguel for the quartering of the troops, too.

-x-x-x-

"Q. How many Chinamen have you got under you?

"A. Over 40,000 men at a time.

"Q. Are you the captain now?

"A. I am not captain now, as there is a consul now. I was acting consul four months also.

"Q. When you say 40,000 men, do you mean that to cover all the Chinese who are in the Philippine Islands?

"A. Yes.

"Q. How many are there in Manila?

"A. Twenty-two or twenty-three thousand Chinese in Manila.

"Q. How many of them come here every year?

"A. Formerly in the Spanish time the Chinese that came here amounted to between ten and twelve thousand, and those returning to China between seven and eight thousand a year.

"Q. Do the seven or eight thousand go for good--go to stay?

"A. They don't go for good; they generally return here. They go to China in the sixth moon and in the eleventh moon of the Chinese year they return to China. They come back again to Manila in the Chinese eighth moon of the third after spending the feast of the seventh moon of the Chinese new year. (Highlighting ours.)

-x-x-x-

Keeping track of the Chinese population of Zambales in the fiscal years 1885-86 and 1886-87.  (Source:  Microfilm of statistical data at the Family History Center, Philippine Temple of the LDS.)

 

"Q. How many Chinese come here every year?

"A. Between ten and twelve thousand men come here every year.

"Q. What is the regulation about their coming? What was the regulation under the Spanish rule?

"A. They were at liberty to come. There was a year once, one time, when 15,000 Chinese came. In 1863 15,000 men came here.

"Q. Did they have to pay anything to get in?

"A. In 1863, when I came here, there were only about 20,000 Chinese. In that year 15,000 more came over.

-x-x-x-

"Q. What do the Chinese do after they come here--what labor?

"A. It is not easy to mention all that they do. However, when they get here, they go to their trade or they go to these timber yards, or are employed by these other merchants, or they are employed for the provinces in order to go and carry sugar and hemp, and in any kind of work generally.

"Q. Are they industrious, good workmen?

"A. They are industrious; they are good workmen.

"Q. If there were no Chinese here, couldn't the Filipinos do the work that the Chinese do?

"A. Formerly, in the Spaniards' time, about seventy or eighty years ago, there were no Chinese here, and so the Filipinos couldn't do anything; they had no vegetables, they had no proper workmen, they couldn't do anything, and Simon de Anda, the governor, asked somebody to go to China and get the Chinese to come here and do the gardening work in these islands. The governor sent Mantayou de Pico to go to Canton, and he got a great many Chinese. (Highlighting ours.)

-x-x-x-

"Q. What do you think would be the probabilities of their coming, as to the numbers that would come under the American flag

"A. At present in the Philippine Islands there are many possibilities of mines--silver mines, copper mines--and there are no men to work them.

Q. I ask, what do you think of the probability of their coming in great numbers?

A. Then the Philippines would be wealthy.

-x-x-x-

"Q. How many hundred thousand do you think would come here from China?

"A. I can not say how many hundred thousand will come, only that Chinese can not live along with the Filipinos, because the Filipinos will kill them.

"Q. Why do the Filipinos object to the Chinese?

"A. The Filipinos have a lot of vices, cockfighting, gambling, etc., and the Chinese have come here to work and get their living in order to provide for their families in China and to lay by something for themselves.

"Q. And is that the reason the Filipinos hate them?

"A. Yes; the Filipino does not like the Chinaman because he goes in poor clothing, wears one coat that costs him 20 cents, and trousers that cost 20 cents. As the Chinese are so miserly and do not spend their money they are hated by the Filipinos, because the Filipinos no doubt dress in nice clothes and wear shoes and all sorts of things, and don't care for work.

"Q. How can the Filipino work if the Chinese do all the work?

"A. There would be work for 500,000 men-­­­-there would be much more work for them--because there is a lot of land for agriculture and there are no men to do the work.

"Q. Do you think there would be plenty of work for all?

"A. Any amount of work. There will be several hundred thousand tons of timber to be worked up.

"Q. Can you tell us anything about the mines?

"A. In Ilocos there are copper mines. There are gold mines in Camarines; also in Cagayan. ... There are coal mines in Cebu.... There are copper mines in Ilocos....Tin in Bulacan. There are some iron mines at Angat.... In Nueva Ecija there are gold mines, too. There are other mines which have not been prospected.

"Q. Well, these mines that you mention; have they been worked?

"A. Only the copper mines have been worked; but they do the mining work there as long as there are any men to do it.

"Q. Do the Chinese work in any of these mines?

"A. Formerly when the Spaniards hired the Chinese they worked in the mines. The copper mines at Ilocos were worked by Don Tomas Castro. The coal mine at Cebu is worked by Don Rafael Reyes.

"Q. Do these people employ Chinese?

"A. Yes; they employ Chinese. They have no machinery; they simply work with their hands and pickaxes. 

"Q. Do you think that we could get Chinese to come over and go into the mining business?

"A. With the employment of machinery you are bound to be successful, and if you would employ Chinese they are bound to come, too.

"Q. Can't the Filipinos work in these mines?

"A. The few Filipinos that work, and get a certain amount of money to-day, won't work to-morrow; they will stop work when they have got a little money.

"Q. Do you think there could be a limit put on the number of Chinese that would come here?

"A. I don't think that a limit should be put.

"Q. You think all should be allowed to come that want to come?

"A. I think they should be allowed to come at present. The situation is not settled. As soon as everything is settled and everything is quiet and in working order, there will be any amount of work required. At present Smith, Bell & Co. wanted to engage some Chinese to go down to some of the out ports, and they had to pay $30 to each man.

-x-x-x-x-

"Q [Denby]. The Chinese that come here are generally uneducated, aren't they?

"A. Yes; the well educated do not come here; it is only those that have very little to begin with who come here to be clerks. When I came here I was only 14 years of age. I had no education what ever, and on arriving here I had to learn any kind of trade that was handy. I know all about the affairs of all the people in the Philippines.

"Q. You have made a good deal of money, haven't you?

"A. Yes; I made a lot of money, but I spent a lot of money, too. (Highlighting ours.)

The Chinese have truly come and settled. We ride his planes, shop at his malls, keep a savings account in his banks, eat at a Chinese restaurant, and watch every now and then a Mother Lily movie.  Our writers in English and Pilipino dream of receiving an award given out annually in memory of Carlos Palanca.

More than a century after Palanca's testimony before the Philippine Commission, the Filipino is an overseas worker in mainland China, among other destinations.

Kung Hei Fat Choi!


References:

• Foreman, J. (1899)  The Philippine Islands. [Chapter VIII.  The Chinese.  116-128].  New York: C. Scribner's Sons.  Retrieved from http://name.umdl.umich.edu/afj2134.0001.001

• Report of the Philippine Commission to the President. (1900).  Testimony and Exhibits. II:215-230. Washington: Government Printing Office. Retrieved from http://name.umdl.umich.edu/aex9637.0001.002 

• Philippines Custom Service. (1908). Chinese and immigration circulars (annotated), constructions and decisions, December, 1901, to December, 1907. 1(1-197):103 . Manila: Bureau of Printing.  Retrieved from http://name.umdl.umich.edu/acf2698.0001.001