Santa Ignacia (Then and Now) printing...V.Pedroche, (A Brief History of Sta. Ignacia, 1963), etc., have made similar description6 of the Aetas as dark-skinned, short in stature and

SANTA IGNACIA:THEN and NOW

EMIL FERNANDEZ DACAYANAN

Center for Tarlaqueño StudiesSanta Ignacia Historical Society

(SILAG)2014

Philippine Copyright by Emil F. Dacayanan

All rights reserved. This book or any portionthereof may not be reproduced or used in anymanner whatsoever without the express writtenpermission of the publisher except for the use ofbrief quotations in a book review.

Printed in the Philippines

First Printing, 2014

Center for Tarlaqueño StudiesTarlac State UniversityTarlac City, Philippnes

Santa Ignacia Historical Society (SILAG)Santa Ignacia, Tarlac

ISBN 978-971-94561-8-6

PREFACE

The writing of this book was inspired mainlyby the heightened historical awareness engenderedby the Centennial Celebration of Santa Ignacia. The100th 2014 Founding Year has not failed to awakenthoughts of the past of the town and its eventualevolution over the years. It being the secondconversion of the town into an independentmunicipality points inevitably to its beginnings backin some historic times.

A few enterprising local annalists like thelate Jose V. Pedroche, the late Col. Apolonio B.Aviguetero, the late Dr. Rufino Loque, and of course,former Governor Margarita (Ting-ting) Cojuangco andDr. Lino Dizon, had made accounts as far back asthey could. Their work, albeit differing in somedetails, provided rich information serving as usefulguide that steered the direction of this treatise.This writer has tried to reconcile apparent conflictsin their accounts as much as could be done, andwadeD through some interspersed speculations andopinions thereof. He has also tried to cover somegrey areas apparently glossed over, and includedthe 30-year interregnum from 1984 to the present.

This author bewails that the passion for localhistory that flowered in the past has apparentlyfaded in the past three decades. For a dynamic andfast-growing town like Santa Ignacia that morphedfrom a monoglotic to a polyglotic and bustlingcommunity, the keeping of its annals is imperative.In this regard, the salutary significance of theCentenary Observance of the town cannot beoveremphasized.

As chairman of the Santa Ignacia HistoricalSociety, (a.k.a. SILAG – Santa Ignacia LegacyAdvocacy Group) the author took it unto himself toundertake this work. The book seeks to make allSanta Ignacians, readers and all, better acquaintedwith their own town. He believes that familiaritywith one’s own milieu unravels any mystery,otherwise unsettling, provides proper bearing, anddeepens a sense of belonging, pride and stake inthe community.

This work is dedicated to all Santa Ignacians,and personally to the memory of my late wife, neeEufemia Santillan Balanay, and our seven children;to Danny and wife, Connie, with whom I live at 9049Reales Street in Alta Loma California for providingeverything I needed in writing the book, library,recreational and educational facilities, etc. Bothslept close to my room to watch over my havingoccasional nightmares. Connie cooked my meals,did my laundry, and even cleaned my room while Iworked like a hermit. Like Danny, Gener providedvital technical assistance, while the two girls, Ginaand Eufie and their families provided ample foodsupplements during the course of my writing. Specialmention goes to Mr. Sammuel Bartoli, an Americanauthor, for his invaluable technical assistance inputting this work into shape.

My three children at home, Donna, Bella andDina and their families, had given strong moralsupport, while (Dolphy) Adolfo P. Follosco, my son-in-law gave technical assistance and didcomplementary and supplementary tasks especiallyon the photos, Ed M. Narne, member of the familydid serious work in gathering, collecting andencoding vital materials for the book, and Mae AnneV. Bacnis, temporary secretary, had patiently giventheir help. Finally, I am grateful to my readers, Dr.Virgilio L Baratang, Dr. Alfredo Domingo, Vice Mayor

Noel C. Antonio, Mayor Saklulu B. Enrado, and Dr.Lino L. Dizon, author of many books, for their infinitepatience in reading, editing and making constructivesuggestions for improvement, thereof.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Preface x

Chapters

1. Terra Incognita 1 2. The Aborigines 3 3. The Site 7 4. The Ilocanos 10 5. How Binaca Got its Name 13 6. How The Settlers Lived 15 7. What The Settlers Left 23 8. Binaca as a Barrio of Camiling 25 9. Santa Ignacia Under the Spanish Regime 2910. The Calamities 3311. The Filippino Awakening 3512. Namagbagan 3913. Makabulos-Pedroche Affair 4114. Philippine-American War 4915. The American Regime 5216. Mayor Alviar 5917. Second World War 6218. The Japanese Regime 6919. The Return of General McArthur 7720. The Community Scene 8821. The Martial Law Regime 105

22. The Cory Regime 12123. Appendices

a. Photos 142b. Personal Accounts 171c. Appendix C - List of Officials 186d. Exhibits 190

End Notes 202Bibliography 211The Author 213

Chapter1 TERRA INCOGNITAIt was a nameless niche in the middle of nowhere,a pristine rolling terrain of a jumbo of forest trees,indigenous wild bamboos, prairies of talahibs, reedsand cogon, and dotted with natural meadows hereand there. It was part of the vast uncharted terrainthat spanned the “terra incognita”1 from which theprovince of Tarlac and perforce, Santa Ignacia, wereyet to be carved out.

Its condition was best pictured by Dikersonas quoted by Cojuangco, (1987,)

“... it is practically certain that beforethe advent of man in the Philippines, theentire country was covered with unbrokenforest at one time or another from sea levelto the tops of the highest mountain except,perhaps where the vegetation had beentemporarily destroyed by natural causes suchas volcanic eruptions. Such types of vegetationas the extensive grass hills, mountain sidesand plains and the open cultivated areas -which are now prominent features of thelandscape – did not originally exist so thatthe whole aspect of many localities must havebeen quite different from what it is today orhas been within historic times….”

It has been gathered from the earliestchronicles of history that the settlement in Tarlacbegun in the late part of the 16th Century A. D. Theearly settlers were the Austronesians,2 the

Pampangos to the South, the Pangasinenses to thenorth, and later joined by the Ilocanos to the farthernorth, were known to have created the province ofTarlac. So, from the beginning of time, the placehad remained a virgin forested land.

Such was the state of the area when the firstIlocano settler, the great grandfather Pedro Madriagafirst set foot on the place. At the instant, it was thesouthernmost frontier of Pangasinan province upnorth facing the distant province of Pampanga tothe south. Likely unaware of each other, the peoplefrom both sides, north and south, were pushing thejungle frontiers towards each other. Except for theoccasional incursions of the aborigines (Aetas) tohunt, fish and gather wild fruits and other forestfood crops, the place was untouched by civilization.

History of Santa Ignacia 2

THE ABORIGINES

Chapter2Grandfather Madriaga must have encountered theaborigines when he settled in the place. Before heventured south beyond Camiling, he must have beentold about the natives, their physical attributes,their way of life, and the like. So he must have hadsome semblance of preparation in meeting withthem.

Like all others who did not know why theAetas were there ahead of all other tribal groups,one can go further down in history. Old history bookssuggested that the Negritos of the Philippines andIndonesia came from Africa through the so-calledland bridges of old. That was when the sea levelwas still low allowing migration between continentsby land before the glacial era. It is recalled that theInuits likewise crossed the Aleutians from Asia tothe Americas.

Bellwood and Omoto, likewise cited byCojuangco however, have posited a different theorythat the Philippine pygmies are the “Austroloids,4the race to which the Negritos belong and are thetrue aborigines of the Indo-Malaysian Archipelago.Dickerson believed that they travelled into thePhilippine Region through the “well defined Suluisthmus5 over which they penetrated from the largesouthern connection to Mindanao, spread eastwardand northward over land across Leyte and Samar,to the Camarines Peninsula northward to Luzon andto Zambales which was later isolated by sea


invasion. It is known that Zambales was only linkedby a strip of land mainland Luzon.

Different writers like Margarita Cojuangco(Tarlac, Prehistory to World War II, Tarlac: TarlacProvincial Government 1987), Apolonio Aviguetero,(Santa Ignacia Histoy, Updatd, 1984), and JoseV.Pedroche, (A Brief History of Sta. Ignacia, 1963),etc., have made similar description6 of the Aetas asdark-skinned, short in stature and with kinky hair.They were a semi-nomadic people, traveling as aclan, the men with bows and arrows, almost nakedexcept for a loin to cover their private parts; thewomen with a front cover with bare breasts, theyoung children, naked. They hunted wild pigs anddeer, and gathered fruits or root crops for food. Theymade shanties along rivers as homes

They were animist who believed in spiritslurking in their environment like trees, rivers,anthills, and the like. Detergents were unknown tothem, hence their skin was infested with diseases.They ornamented themselves with forest productsthey fashioned out. They had no organized form ofgovernment. Problems or issues that arose weredecided only by the elder males in the group.Marriages were arranged by betrothals among theyoung. They were monogamous. Adultery was ataboo. The early Aetas were unlettered.

Many were later driven to the mountains, butAviguetero (1984) avers that some stayed put inSanta Ignacia like the woman named Mariang Kurad7 after whom the woody hill east of the highway inNorthern Nambalan was named. Her body, he saidwas covered with eczema (kurad in Ilocano) henceher name. She was known not to have beenChristianized, although her name “Maria” isChristian after the Virgin Mary of the RomanCatholic clergy. He said that she was the owner of


hill of fruit trees like mangoes, guavas, santol, etc.,which she later gave to Lakay (old man) KandroMabunga, an Ilocano farmer who took care of her inher old age. The place has retained its name to thisday.

Aviguetero also cited another example of anAeta woman married to a farmer in Vargas, “MariangGasat”8 as remnant of the aborigines that stayedin Santa Ignacia for good. Her husband, throughtheir marriage was able to acquire wide lands andlived comfortably. People attributed their luck (gasatin Ilocano) to her marriage, hence her name, MariangGasat. The couple had had children who acquiredfurther education and had been integrated with themainstream. Even in some places like Santa Ines,inter-marriages, were known to have spread Aetablood lines in Santa Ignacia.

How Grandfather Pedro Madriaga interactedwith the Aetas when he settled in their huntingground can only be conjectured: how theycommunicated, mutually not knowing each other’slanguage. Strangers to each other, they could onlyhave used sign language if they interacted at all.Or had they just considered each other withsuspicion?

Except those who inter-married with thelowlanders/Christians, their physical features havenot changed. There are a number of them still foundalong the Zambales Ranges like in Capas, Bamban,San Jose, Mayantoc, and San Clemente towns. Theyare also some found in the western towns ofPampanga, in the Clark Field area and of course inZambales.

Many of the aborigines have becomeintegrated with the mainstreams. The youngstershave been attending schools. Others have already


embraced the Christian Faith. A pastor from SantaIgnacia, Arnel D. Vidad,9 ministers to his flock inPatling, Capas Tarlac. He meets his congregationevery Sunday. A group affected by the Pinatuboeruption has been relocated in the San Clementehighland called Dueg.

Chapter3 THE SITEObviously a herdsman in search of an ideal grazingground, skipping the low-dying areas, we couldimagine the great grandfather Pedro Madriagaarriving with the first wave – 1815-1850- of Ilocanomigrants from the north as Loque averred,10“Historical Sketch of Camiling, 1990.” If we allowthe great settler 10-15 years to have developed thesite, first into a substantial sitio before it became abarrio in 1845, we could place his arrival in Camilingbetween 1830 and 1835. By that time, the earlierarrivals must have already occupied the lush areasof Camiling like Libueg, Caarosipan, CayawanSurgui, and the like. They could have also createdand named such enclaves11 as Caviganan,Cabatakan, Casaratan, in Camiling as they aretoday.

Instead of joining his co-migrants in clearingthe remaining fertile areas of Camiling old manMadriaga, spurred by a different goal opted to movefarther south. We could imaginarily join him in hissearch for the ideal grazing ground:

One early January morning, he and possiblya companion set out from a relative’s house inCacamilingan (the old town site). He headed southvia a trail with a “talunasan,” a tempered bolo in ascabbard on his side12. A bolo has always been amust security implement of an Ilocano farmerwithout which he feeds naked. He passed throughthe lush areas of Surgui and Tuec nonchalantly.Reaching Malacampa, he must have considered it


for its topography but went on, anyway. He nextcame to the fertile area of San Vicente, then alreadyunder development,13 ante-dating as it did that ofthe Santa Ignacia yet to be. He crossed the BayatingRiver, found it a wide primal area, but it still it didnot meet the old man’s fancy. He thus moved farthersouth and came upon an unnamed stony springrivulet, now the Cabatuan Creek. Beyond the creekwas a vast natural meadow14 a lush prairie oftalahibs, cogon, reeds, etc., that offered a goodglimpse of the woods beyond it, later named“Taldiapan” after the word “taldiap” which meansglimpse.

Curious about the creek, he followed itscourse and found it to have stretched more than akilometer south-westward with clear spring water.Water throughout the year is a primary requisitefor cow-raising! The old man explored the areabeyond the meadow and found that the terrainsloped gently up southward a kilometer or so fromthe creek forming a slight plateau. The high groundwas about a kilometer square, bounded to the southby a narrow valley, the opposite side of which isnow Barangay Nambalan.

In time, the herds man found two othersmaller spring rivulets south of the source of thefirst, one at the apex of the narrow valley thatseparates the site from Nambalan about a kilometeraway from the site, and the other a little farthersouth, which spilled southeastward into the yet tobe named Sapang Karias area.

In sum, great grandfather Pedro Madriaga hadfound his cattle raiser’s paradise - the Binaca-SantaIgnacia-Namagbagan- in the annals of the town ofSanta Ignacia.

It is definite that the old man was with thefirst wave of enterprising, land-hungry, and


overpopulated Ilocano migrants.as described byLoque who spilled over in Central Luzon, occupyingthe fertile lands of Tarlac, Nueva Ecija andPangsinan. This, he said was touched off, by thedynamic economic development in South East Asia15.Asia By that time had opened avenues for tradewith the world, mainly with Europe that neededincreasing volumes of export products like rice, corn,sugar, live stocks and the like. The movement calledfor the cultivation of more and more land to meetthe demand. He said that the exodus came in threewaves, first in 1815-1850, the second, in 1850-1900,and the third in 1900-1930.

Chapter4 THE ILOCANOSThe waves of Ilocanos came by clans, often wholefamilies, or even enclaves from up north. Most ofthe Ilocano migrants, according to Gamboa ‘LocalHistory of Tarlac, (1999) settled in Camiling whilethe Pangasinenses, opted to go to Paniqui to theManggang Mariket16. Cojuangco, (1987) likewisementioned that the Pangasinenses travelled by theriver and most likely reached Paniqui by the TarlacRiver during the rainy season. Many Ilocanos,occupied lands in the lowland areas of Anao, Ramos,Pura, Gerona and Paniqui. They cleared the lands,but soon many were dispossed because the landthey settelled in were earlier titled17 by Spaniardsas incomiendas, which latter became the haciendas.This was to cause much disillusionment and becamethe root of agrarian trouble. Those who stayedbecamer tenants or share-croppers who alter joinedthe agrarian movement in Tarlac.

The settlers in the Camiling area which wasto include the towns of Santa Ignacia, Mayantocand San Clemente were more fortunate becausethere were no haciendas that claimed the land theycleared. That is why today, land ownership in thearea has been much better distributed. Landdevelopment went on unabated. While the othermigrants were busy developing areas in Camiling,great grandfather Pedro Madriaga, going solo for atime, must have been having his sweet time grazinghis herds of cows in the green meadows of his yet,un-named place. Successful, he soon invited


relatives, friends and neighbors raising their cowson the narrow strips of Ilocos seashores who eagerlyjoined him. Grade school geography books taughtthat cattle raising had been one of the majoroccupations in the ILocos Region.18 Those were thedevelopment years of the settlement. Slowly, itprogressed, earned its name, Binaca and eventuallybecame a barrio of Camiling in 1845, finally meetingthe 100 family requirement for barriohood.

Together, the settlers raised their cows andtheir herds multiplied. That was when the placeearned attention and economic importance, thusfirst becoming a sitio of Camiling. Pedroche “A BriefHistory of Sta. Ignacia, (1984)” mentioned that thecowherd was not only in the hundreds but in thethousands. By that time, the eager traders from farand wide, went to Binaca to buy their products, theircows in the main, for export.

THE ILOCANO CARAVANSIn the exodus of wave after wave of Ilocanos,

sometimes whole clans southward, they broughtwith them everything to start life with: 19 vegetableseeds, primarily saluyot, known to be anaphrodisiac, ampalaya, eggplant tomatoes, camote,for their “pinacbet,” their bearded rice varietieslike “aribongbong,” the early-maturing variety tostave-off the “gawat” lean months, the “ballatinao,”a sweet black colored rice for “binobodan,” fermentedblack rice, “malinis and “milagrosa,” both sweetsmelling, aromatic, good eating varieties, fruit treeseeds or even seedlings of mangoes, guavas,tamarind, the sugar cane (tops) from which theymade their wine (basi) their live stocks like goatsfor their favorite menu of kilawen and pinpaitan,and their farm implements like the soyod, plow


(arado), hand reaper, (rakem) etc,The otherimplements like the harrow (palpal) the sled (ulnas),the manger (col-luong), the mortar (alsong), pestle(al-o), etc. they fashioned them out of the abundanttimber materials in the settlement.

Their long journey conjures up scenarios ofcaravans of carts with shelters “tambopbong” pulledby carabaos, reined by the father with the familymembers - wife and children inside, with live stockslike ducks, chickens, piglets in baskets underneathor behind the cart, goats in tow, and roped cowsbeing herded by one on horseback with a dog or twoon the side. In their long journey which could havetaken weeks, they camped by night and traveled byearly daylight. The caravans must have made thejourney during the dry season there being severalrivers to ford that swell during the rainy season.

The non-herdsmen20 among the migrants wascomprised of various tradesmen: farmers,blacksmiths, potters, carpenters, etc, As wave afterwave of migrants arrived, the clearing of areas forfarmland went on. This was done as Pedroche (1984)said, by “slash and burn” or caingin method. Suchareas as Cadaanan, Taroma, Sapang Karias, LasipTaguiporo, Cabaruan, etc. were turned into ricefields. Production of rice, sugar, corn increased inaddition to the live stocks rapidly. Thus, thesettlement attracted traders from near and far likeCamiling, Paniqui and Pangasinan towns, enervatedby the burgeoning and dynamic economicdevelopment going on in Asia.

Chapter5 HOW BINACA GOT ITS NAMEFor sometime, the Madriaga settlement remainedun-named. Because he raised cows which multipliedfast, it must have been referred to as “Idiay Cabaca-an ni Lakay Pedro” –the cow pasture land of OldMan Pedro. But it did not remain thus because astraders begun to frequent the place it soon neededa name for identity and reference. Aviguetero (1984)mentioned that places are named in many wayssuch as after events. e.g :21 “Nagcoralan” – coral,place, “Igid ti Carayan” - Riverside, tree, “Pau” -pau tree, famous man, -Rizal province, product,“Kalayaan” — Ginger.

To him, the settlement was named after itsmajor product: cattle (baca) in Ilocano (vaca inSpanish), corrupted into Binaca. There are othertheories like those by Arturo Agustin, (Silag News2012) and Erwin Aguilar (Silag News, 2012) as havingbeen named after a grass (bibinaca) and for Aguilar11,the very act of converting it into a cow pasturerespectively. But Aviguetero and, Pedrochemaintained the more logical and plausible manner,that is, its having been named after the settlement’smajor product for which it was widely known, cattle-, BACA. Hence the corruption, BINACA.22

THE GEOGRAPHICAL LOCATION OF BINACA

Meanwhile, Binaca gained attention andeconomic importance. Such attention it got from theSpanish colonizers was indicatedd by its inclusion


in Spanish documents and maps as cited byAviguetero “ A few pages of a Spanish document23mentions Binaca as a few miles from Dulit, Tarlac,then a town of Pampanga, on the east, a few milesfrom Gerona, a few miles from Paniqui, on thenortheast, Camiling, some ten miles north.Aviguetero mentioned that the grade schoolgeography during the early America Occupationn in1900 showed Binaca extending westward to thebase of Zambales mountain from Gerona. It occupiedthe flats and rolls south of Camiling.

(See Exhibit-A, Old Map of Tarlac).

But as Binaca had been renamed Sta. Ignaciain 1875 when it first became a pueblo, andsubsequently moved to its present location in 1896,the old map had been revised, to wit: SantaIgnacia24 is the southernmost of the widely knowfour western, “more properly northwestern” townsof Tarlac, namely Santa ignacia, Mayantoc, Camilingand San Clemente. The area is a geographicalenclave set apart from the rest of the province by achain of cropping hills from the flat hills of Padapada,down to Vargas, Baldios, Nambalan, Pilpila,Botbotones and Caduldulaoan, and farther down tothe barangays of Camiling and Pangasinan towns.The Zambales side of the town is mostly a rollingterrain as well as those bounding with Tarlac City(former Capital), Mayantoc and San Jose towns.

Chapter6 HOW THE SETTLERS LIVEThe original settlers were predominantly Ilocanos.They brought with them their entire way of life.Cojuangco, “Prehistory to World War II, Tarlac” 1997gave this descriptions25:

“As settlers, the Ilocano wereindustrious and lived simply. They congregatedin hamlets where they constructed housesmade of bamboos and woven fiber (sic) toppedby stiff thatched roofs. Their houses wereactually no more than an enclosed sleepingquarter’s elevated by hardwood corner posts.Beneath was an open space used for variousfunctions and purposes including a placewhere live stocks were tethered at night.

During the daytime, the same openspace beneath the Ilocanos’ houses served asa laundry yard for women. At noontime themen would return to their houses to seekrefuge from the heat. Together with theirfamilies they took lengthy siestas beforereturning to work in the fields. The ebb andflow of the monsoon climate dictated thepattern of labor and lives of the Ilocanos inTarlac.”

The Iocanos differed from the non-Ilocanosettlers in Tarlac in many ways. They brought withthem some crops26 that were unique to them whichrequired unique processes. The rice varieties thatthey knew were the bearded ones (with ibo) like


the “aribongbog, malinis, milagrosa, mimis,ballatinao, etc.” These rice varieties had to beharvested not by the scythe but by the hand reaper(rakem) in which the rice panicles are pick outone by one a foot of straw below the grain for thebundling. Three handfuls of collected panicles wouldmake a bundle (bet-tec), six bet-tec make a pu-ngo),20 pun-go make a batog. A “batog” is roughlyequivalent to about five (5) cavans of palay.

The preparation of the bearded variety intoclean rice took a process. The bearded variety cannotbe immediately pounded in the mortar. This waswhere the cul-lo-ong (manger) was needed. The cul-lo-ong is made of a log of about just a little half ameter wide and about 2 or more meters long usuallynot of the very hard wood kind. It is scooped in themiddle shaped like a canoe, except that the edgesand the ends are made more-steep.

This is where the bundled (binet-tec) beardedrice are rough pounded with pestles. A pestle is apounding device made of wood of about 3-4 inchesin diameter and about one meter long. It is taper-shaped smoothly from both ends to the middle togive it proper anthromorphic weight and good handhold. It is used for both rough pounding andpolishing.

The rough pounding27 separates the grainsfrom the panicle and removes the rice beards. Thesteep sides of the manger keep the grains fromscattering outside. This process is done before thepolishing process in the mortar. Because of itshollowed part, the the sound of the cul-lo-ong whenused, resonates far and wide. The settlers used itas a means of communication, especially duringemergencies at night. It could have been usedduring the robberies in the settlement as mentionedelsewhere in this book.


In the rice polishing process wooden mortarhad been used. Stone or concrete mortars wereunheard of during those times. The mortars theIlocanos used were made of hardwood like molave(sagat) yacal, etc. which were plentiful at the time.The mortar was a piece of log about more than oneand a half (1.2) feet in diameter and a little overtwo (2) feet high. The top was scooped smoothlyabout 1 foot deep leaving the bottom rounded andthe sides tapering upward leaving about an inch ortwo all about the rim. This was used for the polishingof the rice. In almost all activities that neededcollective action the “Am-moyo”28 (bayanihan) systemwas popular among the Ilocanos. This was, lendingone’s help in a particular kind of work to be returnedin kind. This was true in the construction of houses,(agpabalay) rice harvest (agpa-ani) rice polishing(agpa lusong) etc.

Before the coming of the rice mills, ricepolishing had become a seasonal preparatory eventamong the Ilocanos. For their daily rice needs, thefamily members could do the polishing. Buthardworking and proactive as they are, they lookedforward beyond today. In order not to be botheredabout polishing their rice during the work-loadedrainy months, they did the polishing and storingtheir rice in their rice bins before the onset of therainy season. Hence the pa-lu-song29 was common.Within a neighborhood, each family would set itsdate, usually one or two nights until all would havebeen through.

BINOBODAN

The Ilocanos brought with them a special kindof bearded rice,30 the “bal-la-tinao.” This is a kind ofblack long-grain rice with an unusual thin plastic-


like grain coating when husked. It is specially meantfor the making of “binobodan.” This is simply afermented cooked rice with a fermenting agentcalled “bobud.” The bubod is made of yeast mixedwith powdered white glutinous rice into saucer-shaped cakes that fits loosely into the palm. Thebubod is powdered finely then it is mixed thoroughlywith the cooked bal-la-tinao rice. Then the rice isplaced into a container, usually an earthern potand covered tightly. Usually, a thick clean cloth isused, strapped around the neck of the pot and tiedtightly. The concoction is placed in a cool and safeplace where the fermentation takes place. Afterthree or four days, the binobodan is ready.

The binobodan has a palatable, pleasant wine-like taste. The unpolished ballatinao grains burstgently between the teeth. With more fermentingmaterials, the residual juice of the binobodan couldtaste very much like wine. This is where the Tapuy31of the Igorots have come from. It is not known fromwhich of the two groups the binobodan originated,the Ilocanos or the Igorots. It’s like the quandary ofwhich came first, the egg or the chicken.

THE POTTERS OF NAMBALAN

Among those in the three waves of Ilocanomigrants who settled first in Camiling then spreadout farther south like in Binaca-Santa Ignacia werepeople of different trades. Some of them were potterswho settled in Nambalan. They did come from theIlocos Region but as to what particular town wasnot known. But in an Ilocos town particularly, SanJuan32 town in Ilocos Sur, has been widely knownfor its pottery works. The town is said to be blessedwith a clayey hill suited for the making of pots andthe big containers called “burnay.”


The potters of Nambalan could have come fromSan Juan, Ilocos Sur, or if not, somewhere else,from where they learned the trade. Pottery has beena partnership work between the men and the women.The men haul the clay and the firing materials whilethe pottery work was done solely by the women.

In Nambalan, the source of clay has been theseveral anthills that dot the farms west of the barriowhich is the higher section of the locality called,“Laud”, meaning, west. There has also been wherethe men cut the talahibs or cogon for the firing ofthe pots, in addition to their stacks of hay.

The pottery work33 begins with breaking theclay into bits and soaking to soften it. When softenough, the clay is massed to remove all hardparticles like bestles, divided into cylindrical massesand into sizes for the kind of pots meant to be made.At a given malleability, each clay cylinder is placedon a wooden turn-gadget, on which the potterroughly shapes first the top rim (mouth) of the potflaring it with one hand, the other turning the turn-gadget. The flaring is needed to give the pot a holdingpart.

The turn-gadget is a circular piece of wood 6-7 inches in diameter and 4-5 inches thick. Its bottomhole is anchored to a pin in the center of anotherpiece of circular wood underneath to keep the turn-gadget in place.

After each of the clay cylinders has beenroughly shaped and reached a certain level ofmalleability, the potter puts on her front cover forprotection. She starts beating the pot into shapewith a paddle-like wooden gadget called “pepe” closeto her bosom. The beating of the material into shapeis done outside, in synchrony with a smooth pieceof stone inside called, “tok-no.” The beatingresonates in the neighborhood especially at night.


All these done, the pots already in their realshapes are left to harden to a given degree maybe aday or two under the sun. . When dried enough,they are polished by softly rubbing the pot all aboutwith selected shiny stones to give them a sheen.This prepares the pots for firing.

The firing is the last stage, called “ag-gib-ba.” The pots are arranged close to each other inthe firing area and are covered with the firingmaterials, the dried talahibs, cogon, hay, and thelike. The potters through experience know just howmuch firing materials are needed. The materialsare kindled and when consumed, the firing is done.

Pottery has been quite a big help to the famliesin Nambalan. Distinct from others their familieshad steady source of income. Women engaged inthe trade had helped their farmer husbands in theirfamily economies like sending their children toschool. Nambalan pots had been sold in severalplaces includidng Manila. Even after the advent ofthe steel cooking materials they still commandmarkets. Today, there are large scale production offlowering pots, stoves and the like.

THE SUGAR PRODUCERS

Among the plants the early Ilocano migrantsbrought with them was the sugar cane. Certainly,the sugar cane tops they brought with them musthave been immediately planted, and soon multiplied.Noted for sugar cane and sugar has been the SanFrancisco area. The sandy loam soil of the localityis highly suited to the growing of sugar cane. Theplanting of sugar cane necessitated the putting upof a sugar mill called34 “dadapilan.” Hence, theoriginal sugar cane farmers had to make one. The


dadapilan is a simple machine activated by bothhuman and work-animal power. It was essentiallymade of two hard-wood cylinders held fast side byside and connected with gears to turn them around.A long arching fitted pole pulled by a carabao roundand round, makes the cylinders move. As thecylinders move, the sugar cane is introduced byhand between to squeeze the juice. The juice iscollected through a trough into a collecting vat.

The cane juice is the raw material for thesugar. The juice is boiled in a big vat over an ovendug on the ground called “anawang”35 which takesseveral hours. The end product would be sugar(tagapulot) either put in kerosene cans, or “polotipot,”-soft, gooey sugar in smaller cans or bamboo tubes,or “sinacob” harder seasoned sugar shaped by halfcoconut shells later put together broad side. Otherside products36 are the “calte,” sliced papayas cookedwith the sugar all along, and the “patopat,” glutinousrice encased in neatly woven buri leaves. All theseproducts command prices in the market.

Basi preparation takes a different process.The sugar juice is boiled up to a point not over 60degrees only to keep the alcohol content fromescaping. The juice is then placed in a big container“burnay,” and a kind of wild fruit36, (samak) is mixedwith the juice in the burnay. The burnay is thenkept away for the aging process.

The length of the aging process depends uponthe desired kind of basi. Sweet basi takes a shorterperiod, of up to six months or less samak. Morepotent basi needs more samak and longer period ofseasoning which could go a year of so. With theproliferation of different kinds of liquor, basi hasbeen losing its ground. Sometimes, the concoctionturns sour and becomes vinegar. The vinegar has aunique taste and aroma and sells well in the market.


At one time many barrios (barangays) in SantaIgnacia, engaged in the production of sugar. Therewere sugar cane fields in Santa Ines, Vargas, Pilpila,Nambalan, Botbobones, aside from the traditionalsugarcane areas like San Francisco, Cabaruan andTaguiporo. In those times, there were several knownkinds of sugar cane. There were the “Piatan,” a darkhard-skinned and slender stemmed kind, the Java,a whitish hard stemmed and logish kind, the Cebu,dark-skinned but with soft inter-node pulp good forchewing, the Badila, dark-skinned, stout stemmedwith soft inter-node pulp, suited for chewing, andthe Alunan, grayish, soft inter-node pulp and goodfor chewing. Of all these arieties, the badila hascommercial value as a chewing cane. It has beensold in stores in whole piece or in cuts which arebought mainly by high school students even today.Sugar cane chewing is said to be good for thedenture.

Chapter7 WHAT SETTLERS LEFTAll along the settlers tended the plants they broughtwith them like the mango and tamarind trees andtowering buri plants. Extant mango37 and tamarindtrees now gnarled are still standing in Namagbagan,the old Binaca site. One or two majestic buri plantsare still standing, too.

The settlers also left a spring well38 about ameter deep and half a meter across at the apex ofthe narrow valley about a kilometer or so southwestof the site. It was dug out of hard rocks, almost justout of the roots of a towering “Panglomboyen” treefrom which water seemed to come. It emptied intoa shallow bog a few meters farther down wherecarabaos were known to have been mired and gottenscared. Around the bog grew an aromatic herb, “anis”which people around gathered to mix with wine andtobacco. The well filled fast with a capacity of about20 watering pots, (carambas) that could hold abouttwo to three gallons each. This conjures up a pictureof a woman or a group of Binaca women carryingthe watering pots on their heads to and from thespring. The sping has since been submerged by adam.

The settlers were adept at giving names39 toplaces. Naming of places had been necessary forthem particularly for identification and as points ofreference. Taldiapan was so called being a glimpse-point to and from the old settlement site. Anotherplace farther south which offers a view of a bit of ahigh ground before an open area has been called


“Masirpat.” (Sirpat) in Ilocano means “see or can beseen.” Like the American Cowboys they called“Coral” the place where they kept their cows, nowlengthened to Nagcoralan which is now a sitio ofNambalan. One of the most fertile ricefields,probably the earliest developed farm is calledCadaanan in barangay Pugo Cecilio. “Da-an” inIlocano means old. Incidentally, some scions of OldMan Pedro Madriaga who settled in the place closeto 200 years age are still found in Cadaanan.

Chapter8 BINACA AS A BARRIOOF CAMILINGAs the economic influence and importance of Binacagrew, the settlers were made to pay their tributes.They had a form of government comprising of allmales, with the head whose chief duty was to collecttributes for the priests As new waves of migrantsfrom the north joined the settlement, Binacaconsequently met the number of householdsrequirement (100) to become a barrio. Thus, in1845, Binaca became a barrio of Camiling, then stillof Panagasinan province. Dedicated, hardy andhardworking people, the Ilocanos progressed rapidlyand lived contentedly. Pedroche (1984) mentionedthat the written record of Binaca begun in 1845after the parish priest of Camiling took jurisdictionof the place. He cited Manuel Nartividad40 as thefirst Teniente Basal who received orders from thepriest. At that time, Binaca was known far and wideas a fast-progressing barrio. The hard-workingIlocanos were inspired by the attention given themby the Spanish government. But it also caught theattention of band of lawless people.

Pedroche in his account cited two instanceswhen ruffians plundered Binaca41. This is how heput it:

“In the year 1851, during the 2nd termof Don Fernando Agustn as Binaca’s 7thTeniente Basal, a caravan of ruffiansplundered the barrio and carried away manyworking aninals (cows), personal belongings(ai) and cash. They also killed some of the


barrio people who put up a fight. However, theinhabitants were not in any way discouraged.They worked harder and produced more.Gradually, the settlers increased in numbersas more emigrants arriving to Binaca from thedifferent towns of the Ilocos Region42 such asCabugao, Sarat, Tagudin, Bacarra, Badoc,Candon and Paoay. During the tenure of officeof Don Felipe Cabugsa, as the 18th TenienteBasal in the year 1863, another group ofrobbers attacked and plundered the barrio.Like the first group of robbers, they took awayplenty of cows and personal belongings andcash”

Pedroche42 made no mention of the identityof the pillagers. But in his book,” Local History ofTarlac”, Alberto Gamboa (1999) alluded to the bandof Zambals and Aetas who resented the Ilocanos43for depriving them of their hunting grounds in thearea.

BINACA RENAMEDIn both the accounts of Pedroche and

Aviguetero, the people of Binaca as a barrio ofCamiling lived comfortably. The Spanish document,44“Volga para Elbienio de 1870 a 187143, narrated thesituation of Binaca at the time “indicating that thenumber of tax payers was enough to maintain aseparate pueblo. Based on records the CabesasActuales of Binaca were(45) Don Fernando Agustin,Don Felipe Cabugsa, Don Domingo Molina, DonAgustin Guzman, Don Juan Simon, and unnamedothers. They had a form of government that wasbasically patriarchal. All along, the leaders of barrioBinaca worked without letup for the conversion oftheir barrio into a pueblo. Their efforts came to theattention of the high level of the Spanish government


that led to the issuance of the 1871 and 1872Decrees in Spanish part of which read:

“1871 Interior44 A cuerdo del expedientepromovido por los principales del pueblo delCamiing relativo a la creation de un puebloindependiene el Barrio de Binaca Sta. Ignacia.”

This is translated, to wit: “1871 InteriorAccording to an internal agreement reachedby the principaless of the town of Camilingrelative to the creation of Santa Ignacia asIndependent town of Binaca into Santa Ignacia.

“….. Govierno Superior Civil consentecon la mismo festado en el espresado decretode 19 Febrero de 1872 concede la creation delBarrio Binaca un pueblo independiente en lacivil de su matrix Camiling bajo denominacionde St. Ignacia.

It is translated thus: “The Civil SuperiorGovernment consents to the same expresseddecree on February 19, 1872, conceding to thecreation of Barrio Binaca into an independenttown from the civil jurisdiction of Camilingunder the name STA. IGNACIA.

The issuances of such decrees came as aresult of the work of the leaders of Binaca namedearlier, and the importance the barrio had achievedin the perception of the Spanish government duringthe period. Aviguetero posed the question as whenthe two decrees meant to create Santa Inacia intoa pueblo. This was answered by Pedroche whoclaimed that the implementation49 was done in 1875.He averred that it was during the tenure of AgustinGuzman as Teniente Basal that the news aboutplundering robbers reached the ears of the Bishopwho thought it wise and proper for Binaca to becomea separate pueblo so that it could have its own police


force to protect its inhabitants. Hence, an order wasissued to the Teniente Basal throught the Parishpriest that Binaca should stand as a separate pueblo.Thus Binaca became a town in 1875, and its namewas changed from Binaca to Santa Ignacia.

HOW SANTA IGNACIA GOT ITS NAME

As to how Sta. Ignacia got its name is notknown. It had been arbitrarily given in the 1872Decree without any explanation thereby making allother explanations speculative. Some romanticizedit as after St. Agnes,45 the sweet Roman maidenmartyr, another was after a beautiful woman fromCebu named Ygnacia. Another plausible one wasthat gathered from the, “Wikipedia, the freeencyclopedia.” The Wikipedia points to MotherIgnacia, a Filipina Religious Sister of the RomanCatholic Church. She was known for her acts ofpiety and religious poverty who founded theCongregation of Sisters of the the Religion of VirginMary, the first female congregation with approvedpontificial status in the Republic of the Philippines.She was declared venerable by Pope Benedict XVIin 2007. Mother Ignacia (1663 to 1748), widelyknown among Spanish clergy figured most closelyto the naming of the town in the 1872 Decree bythe Spanish Clergy.

Chapter9 STA. IGNACIAUNDER THE SPANIARDSMeanwhile, the people of Binaca lived comfortablyunder the liberal reign of Governor General delaTorre.47 The rice farms of Lasip just beyond theCabatuan Creek to the west, the long valley thatstretches alongside the Sapang Dalag from upriver,down to Macaguing as well as the now SanFrancisco, Cabaruan and Taguiporo (SACATA) areafor vegetables and sugar cane were being madeproductive. The people paid their tributes, and tookpart in the polo, 40 days of enforced labor willinglylike in the building of the cathedral in Camiling.

But Governor dela Torre was relieved on April4, 1871, replaced by Governor Izquierdo48 whoboasted that “… he came with a cross on onehand and a sword on the other.” It was during hisreign in 1872 when the Cavite Revolt occurred thatled to the execution of the three priests, Frs. Gomez,Burgos and Zamora, widely affecting the lives ofFilipinos everywhere. True to his boast. Izquierdoused the sword implicating many others in the revolt,making arrests, executions, life imprisonments,deportations to unchartered islands in the pacific,recruitment of natives to fight the Muslims inMindanao who never returned, etc,. To the greatrelief of the Filipinos, Izquierdo became ill andresigned in 1873, at which time, King Amadeo ofSpain abdicated his throne.

The aftermath of Izquierdo’s reign arousedmuch resentment among the Filipinos thatfomented resistance including those in Binaca.


Aware of the situation, the high level of Spanishgovernment tried to alleviate it by passing the MauraLaw,49 in 1873, The Maura Law meant to liberalizethe administration of Spain in the Philippines. Butit was too late.

For about 300 years, Spain had been collectingtributes from the natives. But suddenly, it stoppedthe collection and reduced the polo (enforced labor)of 40 days to 15 days. The enforced labor requiredall adult natives to render 40 days of work for theSpanish government without pay, mostly in theconstruction of churches. The old Church ofCamiling and the Convento were constructedthrough the polo. Those were signs well-received bythe people.

But in order to raise revenues, GovernorFoller57 enforced the personal tax, (Cedula). Heassigned strict agents to enforce the payment ofthe cedula among all adults. Persons found withoutthe Cedula were severely punished. AndresBonifacio who must have paid his cedula resentedthe punishment meted to non payers. That was theCedula he tore before his assembled Katipuneromembers in Pugad Lawin in August 1896 in openand flagrant defiance of the Spanish rule.

Spain also launched the so-called50 TobaccoMonopoly. Tobacco at the time was a highlydemanded commodity in the world market and Spaincornered the tobacco production in the Philippines.It required that all tobacco raised by the Filipinoshad to be surrendered to the Spanish government.This was one cause of sadism among some of theSpanish policy enforcers. To the grief of a haplessvictim, an enforcer would hide a bale of tobacco inthe farm of a farmer and accuse him of hiding histobacco. For this frame-up, the poor fellow wasmeted severe punishment.


Spain’s policy from the start was making thecountry a vassal for good. This it did by keeping theFilipino masses perpetually ignorant. That was thereason why it did not care to provide them withenlightenment. It was not until 300 years later inthe late 1860’s that it created the secondary schools.Down the years only the Cathethesm and the Cartillawith Spaniards as teachers. Again, this had baredfurther the cruelties of the Spaniards. They wereknown to have used the palmeta51 (a device primarilydesigned to hit the open palm with force) and thewhip for the slow learners. These altogetherdiscouraged many from going to the “escuela” school.In time, some Santa Ignacia folks were known tohave taught reading by the ABAKA) method – ba-be-bi-bo-bu, etc.

THE BARRIOS

At the time, there were only two known bigbarrios of Sta. Ignacia, Nambalan and San Francisco.San Vicente was already there, taken from Camiling.Nambalan was earlier known aas “Cadanglaan”52for its clumps of the chaparral “dangla” also knownas lagundi, known for its medicinal value. It is wherethe potters from the Ilocos settled. Nambalan is lessthan a kilometer from the old Binaca site, separatedonly by the narrow valley that runs west to east.

On the other hand, San Francisco which todayhas retained its name as “the, barrio” is very closeto the town. It has a very fertile soil which hadattracted the early settlers especially the sugarcane growers. The first dadapilan53 was known tohave been put up in the barrio which in time, wasfollowed suit by other barrios. Vargas and Pilpilawere taken from Gerona. Vargas was locally knownas “Kaposeraan”54 for its plentiful of “poser” a familyof of bamboo, and Padapada (Dulit) from Tarlac town


formerly known as San Ignacio but later named aferits long flat hills.

Thus were the boundaries of Sta. Ignaciadefined:55 south, with Tarlac by the Bonog (Beneg)River, east, by Gerona and Paniqui, north, byCamiling, and west, by the Zambales mountain. Itwas after Mayantoc became a town in 1877, whenthe northwestern boundary was redefined whichtoday remains unresolved.

The other barrios were to be created in latteryears. It is noteworthy to mention that there existsanecdotes on the history of each barrio written byresident teachers or school administrators duringthe incumbency of the late Mayor Julio Clementeon file. Nambalan, the erstwhile biggest barrio hadmothered three (3) barrios: Timmaguab, Baldios andPugo- Cecilio; San Francisco, mothered two barrios,Cabaruan and Taguiporo. Sta. Ines has since beendivided into three barangays, Sta. Ines East, Sta.Ines Centro, and Sta. Ines West, and San Vicente,Pinpinas and Caanamungan.

Chapter10 THE CALAMITIESWhile the Santa Ignacia people lived comfortablywith their burgeoning economy, they were visitedby several calamities56 during the period, 1892-1897.In I892, Camiling was struck by Cholera, a virulentand highly contagious disease which spread to SantaIgnacia. It is said that hundreds died of the disease.In some cases, an entire family was wiped out. Pallbearers and grave diggers for a relative, friend orneighbor of one day were said to be the next to beburied.

Aviguetero in his account asked, “Where didthe Santa Ignacia bury their dead?” None of thelocal historians had made any mention of any burialground. Perhaps, for the occasional deaths, theycould still bother to carry them to Camiling. Butduring the cholera and flu epidemics, the need fora burial ground was most dire.

Indeed, where did the Santa Ignacia peoplebury their dead during the cholera and flu epidemicswhen hundreds upon hundreds died? Did they stillbother to carry their so many deads daily to thecemetery in Camiling? In all likelihood, they didnot. So the hanging question is, “Where?” No onecan say, but it could be in anybody’s backyard orunder anybodies house today.

In those years, during the term of CapitanAgustin Guzman, rinderpest and anthrax attackedCamiling and spread to the the big cow herd of Sta.Ignacia.57 The government ordered a quarantine of


all large cattle including carabaos, but thequarantine services were ineffective. Many farmersdid not follow regulation by hiding their cattleinstead of submitting them for quarantine. As aresult, many of the people’s herds were almost wipedout and they had to start all over again.

During the period, the area also suffered fromlocust infestation. Locusts are highly destructivepests that eat anything green, trees, bamboos,standing rice plants etc. depriving the people of theirharvests. The people had learned to eat them. Theyare like the big grasshoppers called “bandus orpachara “children used to catch in the field. Butthe locust multiplied very fast and had to be gottenrid of. They did this by digging pits to which theyherded the locust and buried them with earth.Droughts also plagued the people from time to time,leaving them unable to plant their crops. But hardyand resilient, the Ilocanos survived through all thosecalamities.

Chapter11 FILIPINO AWAKENINGEarly on liberal ideas from Europe filtered into thecountry brought among others by Filipino studentsand from the Filipino propaganda, the LaSolidaridad. This was enhanced by the creation ofthe telephone and the railroad track that connectedManila to Dagupan and its byway from Paniqui toCamiling which Loque romanticized by the love-triangle58 saga of Dr. Jose Rizal, Leonor Rivera andthe British Engineer, Carlos Kipping, who built therailroad.

Meanwhile, the Maura Law also came intoforce. That was an enlightening sign which the peoplewelcomed. The highest level of government in Spainwas aware of the misadministration of the colonyand tried to win back the faith and loyalty of theFilipinos. But not soon enough. The people hadawakened to their common identity galvanized byamong others, the execution of the three priests,Gomez, Burgos and Zmora. “GOMBORZA” the twonovels of Dr. Jose Rizal, the Nole me Tangere andEl Filibus Teresmo and his execution in Luneta onDecember 30, 1896.

Santa Ignacia people were well informedabout conditions of the time. They knew about theKatipunan, there being some members in the townand in nearby Camiling. Their ears were wide opento the ongoing developments in the ranks of theKatipunan of Andress Bonifacio and the brewingstruggles against Spain.


THE TRANSFER OF SANTA IGNACIA TOWNSITECentral Luzon, particularly the provinces of

Tarlac, Pangasinan and Nueva Ecija, were beingwracked by discord. Three contending forces,namely, the Katipuneros, the friar-sponsoredcounter-revolutionay group called the Guardia deHonor said to have been organize by Apo Laqui, JulianBaltazar-who was worshipped like God, linked tothe Partido de Agraviados headed by the self-appointed “General Pedro Pedroche”, and theaggrieved farmers relieved of the farms theydeveloped by the Spaniards were actively at odds.With conflicting motives, the three groups sowedan almost state of anarchy in the region. There werekillings, robberies, and plunders in several townslike the murder of the family of then MajorServillano Aquino (after whom Camp Aquino wasnamed), in Murcia, in Paniqui, and even in SanClemente. The entire family of the local chief ofpolice of Bamban and the Tax Commissioner, FabianIgnacio were killed. Travelers passing Tarlac wererobbed, kidnapped or killed. The command post inCamiling was attacked. There was a state ofuncertainty.

When the revolution broke out in 1896, theSpanish authorities were all the more alarmed aboutthe security of Santa Ignacia. This spurred thehigher Spanish authorities to order, the TenienteBasal through the parish priest of Camiling, thetransfer Sta. Ignacia from its old site (Namagbagan)to its present site. The order was urgent in view ofthe uncertainties that were fast-closing in.

The transfer of the town site was thereforedone in haste, in a sense it was almost a race amongthe settlers. Santa Ignacia, at the time had been inthe old site for over 60 years, allowing ten years forits development from a settlement into a sitio, from


a sitio into a barrio in 1845, and from 1845 to 1896.The population had swollen by the succeeding wavesof migrants from the north. The people built theirhouses within the perimeter of the kilometer squareor so site of the town. The center of the town isnever known but Aviguetero mentioned that it waswhere the Camp Namagbagan Camp Marker wasplaced which is the highest point in the vicinity. Itmust have been there where then Capitan EulogioMadriaga assembled the people through the (patok)a bamboo devise with about an inch grove betweentwo nodes which when beaten resonates far andwide. Or the (tangguyob) a horn shaped like acornucopia which when blown likewise resonatesfar and wide. Both were used usually to assemblepeople.

Then a fast-growing community thehouseholds increased and spread out. Some whodeveloped farms in outlying areas like in Cadaanan,Taroma, and Sapang Karias either built their ownhomes in their sites or worked there during theday and returnd to the town at night. So, when theorder of transfer came, many were hard put toimplement it at once. It was however, the fear ofthe announced imminent danger that compelledthem to do the dismantling “bagbag” of their homes,anyway.

The new site was determined, but the rulein the occupancy in the location of houses was “firstcome first served.” Urban planning was still manyyears to come. So there was a rush, or race in thedemolition, and the first ones occupied the choicestplaces, like those closest to the river boundary. Thepeople felt that the closer they were to Camiling,the safer they were. Among the choicest place wasthe old town site, now known as “Intramuros” whilethe others went as close as they could to theboundary. The later arrivals occupied the fringes.


With news of troubles in nearby towns fastclosing in, the demolition of old Santa Ignacia wentfuriously. Since their houses were made of lightmaterials the people did not find it hard to do thejob. Only the assembled top portion of their housesmade of bamboos had to be carried in one piece.This needed some men to carry the structure ontheir shoulders, while the rest of the parts like theposts, walls, and the bamboo floors could be hauledby their work animals.

THE ILOCANO AM-MOYO SYSTEM

The dismantling and moving of the houseswere done by the “Am-moyo” -bayanihan system.Group action was needed to carry the top portion oftheir houses. In doing the job, the host would usuallyserve basi. A goat would usually be slaughteredwhile the women would prepare the favorite menu(kilawen and pinapaitan) two Ilocano goat menuspecialties. There were also the pinackbet and thesalayot dineng-deng, if in season the trade markvegetable Ilocano menus.

It is imagined that many scenarios of movingthe top of houses happened at the same time. Suchgroup actions were usually accompanied by thefrolicsome shouts here and there that somehowhelped drown out the apprehensive over the loomingdanger.

Chapter1 2 NAMAGBAGANSo the settlers left their old town site where theystayed for over 60 years certainly with heavy hearts.To this day, only some grizzled mango and tamarindtrees remain to mark those years, It was duringthe excavations made during the barracksconstruction of Camp Namagbagan in 1941, whenarttifacts like broken parts of pottery were found.What remain in the abandoned place are some tall-spooky tales to this day.

(See Appendix E): “The Rapidly Growing Dog,”“Rolling Mat” by Engr. Dan B. Dacayanan

For years and years, the two-kilometerstretch of road from Cabatuan Creek to Nambalanhad remained uninhabited. Bisected by the nationalhighway, the old site including both sides of theroad were reclaimed by the outgrowths of chapparal,talahibs, and many indigenous outgrowths. A bigsquat valete tree that killed its host on one side ofthe road and the old towering bangar tree said to behost of non-kindred spirits had made the placespooky all the more. It was a dark stretch of road, acreepy place after sundown. To all around, especiallyto young boys, it was a no-man’s land.

It has been only in recent years, pressed bythe need for space that houses have sprung up oneby one. At first, only the fringes of the old site wereoccupied. Little by little the spooky notion about theplace has been exorcised and houses have sproutedeverywhere. Today, there are two fast-growing


subdivision in the area. One is the Don MauricioSubdivision which is now well-developed. Most ofthe buildings are already occupied by people fromSanta Ignacia and other towns. The subdivision islocated in the southwestern quadrant of the old siteclose to the highway.

The other developed subdivision is the oneowned by a Chinese, married to the Doria familyget the name. Several modern buildings have sprungup there. It is located in the northwestern quadrantof the old site and is linked by a road to the highway.The four other subdivisions are located in the openspaces in the fringes of the site, altogether in Pugo-Cecilio, namely, the Yabut, Millado, Doria, Rose,and the La Lamorena Subivisions. They are all beingoccupied.

One obvious silver lining of the perceivedspookiness of Namagbagan has been its having beenpreserved or reserved as the most feasibleexpansion of the community. Other directions ofexpansion from the poblacion like towards Macaguingand Botbotones and Poblacion towards Lasip are outof the highway. Rooms for expansion towardsCamiling via the Romulo Highway and from,poblaciom to San Framcisco are practically nil.

Chapter13 THE MAKABULOS-PEDROCHE AFFAIRWhile the neighboring towns were beset withtroubles spawned by the conflicting motives of thecontending groups, the people of Santa Ignacia wereenjoying a period of relative peace after they movedto the new site. The appointed town leaders wereamong others, President Local, Sergio Espino,Delegado de Rentas Internas, Santiago Alumisim,Delgado de Justicia, and Vidal Cube, Delgado dePolicia, 1888-1889.

The resilient and hardy Ilocanos hadrecovered the momentum of their prosperity fromthe raid of the ruffians. The farmers would go totheir fields during the day and return to their homesat night bringing their good harvests. They had timeto attend to their cultural activities like holdingparties, weddings etc, where they had Fandangos,(a kind of Spanish Dance between a man and awoman with graceful waves of body and hands and“dal lot”, (oral duel in verse among local bards) horserace, and fiestas.

Fiestas have been annual celebrations in theCatholic world introduced by Spain among itscolonies in South America as well as in thePhilippines. It lasts for two days, the (visperas andthe fiesta proper). It is a day of thanksgiving inhonor of a local saint.

Towards the end of 1888, Santa Ignacia wascelebrating its town fiesta featured by severalactivities, the popular one at the time was “Moro-


Moro.” Fiestas were usual festive occasions in whichfamilies in the town slaughtered their fatted pigs,goats, chickens and the like. They played gracioushosts to their relatives from the barrios who wouldgo to town, often with their whole families in theircovered carts (tambobong).

While the people were enjoying the “stagedmock-battle between the Christians against theMoro-moro” in colorful costumes, accompanied bythe lively music band of,” tat-tat tarat-tat tat-tarattat-tat tat-tat tat” there were sudden bursts ofgunshots that drowned the music the Moro-Moromusic. The gun bursts continued; Pedroche wasattacking the Santa Ignacia Police force headed byPolice Chief Vidal Cube, his own relative with whomhe had had long-standing bad blood. The fiestaturned into a battlefield zone and pandemoniumbroke loose. Panic-stricken people shrieked withfear, not knowing which direction to go for safety.When the smoke of battle settled down, Chief VidalCube and one other police officer GregorioConquera, were dead.

The attack of the town fiesta by GeneralPedroche and his Partido de Agraviados projectedSanta Ignacia not only in local but also in thenational history. It alarmed the Revolutionayhierarchy which led to his assassination.

THE REVOLUTION IN TARLAC

Early on, in 1897, the Revolution broke out inTarlac, led by General Francisco Makabulos in Lapaztown. The movement spread rapidly. Town after townsoon joined in. His attack on the Spanishcommandencia in Tarlac which culminated in thesurrender of General Flanders and liberated Tarlacfrom Spanish rule earned him much recognition and


rose rapidly in the ranks of the Revolution. He wasmade in command by the Revolutionay Governmentof the entire province of Tarlac and Pangasinan.Thus had the paths of General Makabulos and“Gerneral Pedro Pedroche” crossed collided.

In the accounts of Cojuangco, Pedroche,Avigueero, Dizon, and Loque, the ex-guardia civilsergeant offered his services to General Makabulos.Pedroche’s arrogant and belligerent demeanor, witha threat of organizing his own forces if not taken in,angered Makaulos. Not used to being rebuffed whilein the service of the Guardia Civil, Pedroche madegood his threat, organized the Partido deAgraviadosrecruiting in his ranks even men of shady character.This sparked what Cojuangco57, called the rivalrybetween the two, crediting Pedroche with 50,000men under his command.

Cojuangco’s number of Pedroche’s men(50,000) though was not quite realistic at the time.That size of a band would not have beeninconspicuous nor could have been accommodatedin Pedroche’s vaunted headquarters in thefastnesses of Calipayan. This was aside from theenormous amount of logistics to maintain such anumber of men.

It was believed that the widely knowndynamism, popularity or notoriety of Pedroche whichwent ahead of him may have drawn some sort ofmyth unto his persona. Loque (1990) likewisementioned that Pedroche had already “four townsunder him.” But his attack of Sta Ignacia was knownto have been his first incursion from the standpointof the Revolutionary hierarchy. Even the account ofa Dominican, Ulpiano Hererra, who traveled withGen. Makabulos to Moriones town at the time ofthe attack “that the Pedroche band could swathedattack them in less than an hour “was a gross


exaggeration. On foot, a band would take the betterpart of the day to travel from Sta. Ignacia to Moriones.There have been other exaggerated accounts on themythical abilities of the man even among Spanishwriters of the time.

At any rate, the Revolutionary Command inTarlac, then headed by General Makabulos hadserious concern about the growing influence ofGeneral Pedroche on account of his attack of thefiesta of Santa Ignacia. A fairly accurate account ofthe Pedroche episode has been that of Dr. Lino Dizonin his book,60 “Pedro Pedroche: Partido deAgraviados, and a Counter-Revolution in TarlacProvince, 1888-1889” from his exhaustive researchin archives in the United States, Spain and in thePhilippines. Dr. Dizon had come up with his accounton the celebrated topic. He has put to rest thecontroversial versions of local historians on the lifeand circumstances of “General Pedro Pedroche.”including his assassination in the convent inCamiling and the players in the event. This is brieflyand aptly reflected in the Preface of the book writtenby Dr. Dizon in collaboration with Mayor Saklulu B.Enrado and this author which reads in part:

“Pedroche was obviously a creature ofthe Philippine Revolution; he rode the wavesof the movement, its flows and counter flows.He was painted, as a brave and dynamic, ifrather cocky ex-sergeant of the Guardia Civil.As gleaned from his direct offer of his servicesto Revolutionary General Francisco Makabulos,his rather arrogant and belligerent demeanorwere more the reasons for his being turneddown. The rebuff prompted him to organize theso-called, “Partido de Agraviados” said to belinked up with the “Guardia de Honor” a friar-sponsored counter revolutionary movement.


This was at the time when the infantPhilippine Republic was in the throes andcrucial process of consolidating its governance,wracked as it was with indecisions, errors ofjudgment, power struggles and the discontentbreaking out in the ranks of the revolutionaryforces.

The partido of Pedroche became amagnet to the deserters, swelling its ranks.In time it became identified with the peasantmovement against the landed gentry andagainst the perceived abuses by local leadersin terms of tax collection which was gainingwide support in Tarlac, Neuva Ecija andPangasian. Though initially ignored by theRevolutionary high command, the growinginfluence and power of General Pedroche cameas a shock by his attack of the Sta. IgnaciaFiesta in mid-1888. The impending attack ofother towns alarmed the Revolutionarygovernment. Thus was the master plan of theassassination hatched and carried out by therevolutionary hierarchy, albeit treacherous,bringing to a close the heyday of GeneralPedroche by the massacre at the St. MichaelConvent in Camiling on a fateful day.”

That the assassination of “General” PedroPedroche at the convent of Camiling has been agiven fact, planned by the Revolutionary HighCommand, particularly, according to Loque, GeneralMakabbulos and the “cunning mind of Genral AntonioLuna.” But different writers had made conflictingaccounts on much of the details prior to and duringthe event. Loque (1990) avers that Pedroche campedin San Bartolome in Mayantoc from where heproceeded to Camiling and that it was SeveroAveyro, a Major in the ranks of the Katipuneros who


gave the signal to kill him and his cohorts, includinghis wife after the Revolutioin (1990). Avigueteroavered that Pedroche was camped in Calipayan,marched to Camiling with the dirge-playing bandand was assaulted by General Makabulos, himself.They placed the date during the American Regime.Dizon and Cojuangco were agreed that it wasTranquilin Pagarigan then municipal president whokilled Pedroche sometime in 1899.

Jose V. Pedroche whose father “Gorio”(Gregorio), a subaltern and cousin-in-arm of the“General” and marched to Camiling with him thatday, had this narration of the incident by his son,Jose: This is the recollection of writer Pedroche ofhis father’s narration:

“From his headquarters in Calipayan,General Pedroche and his soldiers came outmarching, going to Camiling via Poblacion, Sta.Ignacia, Tarlac. When the convey (sic) was inbarrio Twec, Camiling, Tarlac, my father whowas with the sic convey told me that GeneralPedroche ordered the band of musicians toplay a burial music (conebre). When I askedmy father no apay adaydi General Pedrochenagpatogtog ti kunebre idinto nga awan met tinatay wenno (bankay) nga iponpon idiayCamposanto, he said, “I don’t know, but I heardyour uncle shout, konebre ti togtogenyo. Andthe band played conebre up to the CamilingComnvento, my father said to us childrenlistening to his story.

“Idi napagkita kami idiay simbaan,” myfather continued,, “naibilin kadakami a soldadodaydi ulitemo Heneral, idipositome amin apalpaltogmi idiay Convento ket inek-an dacamipay ti sagli-lima a pesos a ‘pag-good time’ micadagiti gargarreta idiay Camiling…..igatang


mi kano ti kayat me nga inomen nga arak…ketrimmuar kamin a soldado daydi uliteyo ketima-ima camin nag pas-siar. Daydi HeneralPedroche ken ti asawana ti nabati idiayConvento.

General Makabulos and his staff and theservers of the lunch and General Pedroche andhis wife were inside the Convent. The guests,the two Generals with their wives were royallyserved at lunch time. When they were eatingat the drop of a spoon which was the “go-signal”sign, the servers unsheathed their daggers andstabbed General Pedroche.

“Idi agi-inom kami idiay garreta,” myfather told me,” naipadamag kadakami abinagconda daydi ulitegyo aHeneral….pinatayda isu a dacami a soldadonanagtataray kami a napan idiay Convento. Ngemdikamin nakastrek ta impaser-rada metkadakami dagiti pinanawan mi palpalotog miket gapu ta ima-ima kami, awan ti naaramid.Het siguro ti naeked-deng nga ipapatana daydiulitegyo a Heneral,” intoloy daydi tatangco.”

STA IGNACIA KATIPUNEROS

The “General Pedroche” Episode hadovershadowed almost all events of the revolution inSta. Ignacia. For one thing, it had interrupted thepeace of the community, driving some of the peopleto other safer places up north depleting thepopulation of the town. Clemente and Calibosoattributed the Pedroche incident to the exodus ofthe inhabitants to some places like Camiling, andfarther up north. This was top have profound effecton the status of the town in the years ahead.


Meanwhile, as the Revolution raged on, therewere some patriots in Sta. Ignacia who actually tookpart in the movement. Among then was the latePedro Guerero. Wiry and short in stature butcommanding in personality and voice, he lookedinvincible on horseback in his raya dillo. He was tobecome one of the founders of the revived town,and many contemporary residents remember him.Other members as gathered from Dr. Dizon’s rosterwere: Alfredo Pascasio, Federico Javier, GuillermoNicolas,Alejo Soriano,Cecilio Bernabe whoi heldranks in the organization.

Chapter1 4 PHILIPPINE-AMERICAN WARSta. Ignacia though seemingly remote from urbancenters got ripples from provincial, national and eveninternational events. When the American-Spanishwar broke out in Cuba in the late 1890’s, GeneralAguinaldo was in exile in Hongkong. Admiral Deweywas also in Hongkong and was instructed to proceedto Manila to engage the Spanish fleet. GeneralAguinaldo used part of the Pact-of-Biac-Na-Batoproceeds to buy arms to continue the Revolution. Inhis absence General Francisco Makabulos, with thehelp of Bishop Gregorio Aglipay95 was able to getpart (P14,000) of the remaining P200,000 balanceof the Pact of Biac-na-Bato money. He continuedresistance in Tarlac, enlisted other provinces forthe cause and put up his own ConstitutionalGovernment. He organized the so- called LomboyAssembly, to secure recognition of the country asan independent state from America. But whenAguinaldo returned, he dissolved his governmentin deference to his commander.

While the Filipinos thought that theAmericans came as friends to help them in theirfight against Spain, the Americans had otherdesigns. In truth, they came to colonize thePhilippines for geopolitical reasons. A rising power,America wanted a foothold in Asia. By reason of itslocation, the Philippine Islands stretching astridethe whole of Asia, was a prize. After the Treaty ofParis in which Spain ceded the Philippines toAmerica for $20 million, then President McKinley


was said to have spent nights pacing his office backand forth as to how to justify before the world,America’s occupation of the country. A face-savingidea struck him, coming up with the euphemisticpolicy of “Benevolent Assimilation.”

But before America could impose its rule, thefreedom loving Filipinos put up a fight, hence, thePhilippine-American War. It was a long-drawn-outwar in which America paid thousands of lives. Oneundying scar of that war has been the Balangigamassacre in which the American soldiersmassacred everybody in sight in the island torevenge the killing of the soldiers assigned in thatoutpost. The soldiers took as booty of war the twochurch bells they found, and are still in thepossession of America today. Two are in Myoming,U.S.A. and the third in a U.S. Army Contingent inKorea. Negotiations are still going on for the returnof the bells in the forthcoming visit of PresidentObama to the Philippines, it could be one of theissues foisted upon him.

In that war, Sta. Ignacia figured as a one-time headquarters of General Makabulos before heestablished it in Tangadan, Mayantoc. It was fromSanta Ignacia where he, then in the company ofGeneral Antonio Luna, sent his message to theCentral Government on November 16, 1899.

If General Francisco Makabulos and GeneralAntonio Luna seemed so remote and legendary inhistory books to contemporary students and readers,the two had set foot in blood and flesh98 in SantaIgnacia. General Makabulos was in Santa Ignaciabefore he established his headquarters in Tangadan,Mayantoc. General Luna, on the other hand hadfought a 7-day battle against the Americans fromMamonit to Pitombayog, in Mayantoc. He was laterassassinated in Cabanatuan, Nueva Ecija,


purportedly on orders of General Aguinaldo. AndresBonifacio was also killed in Mount Buntis in Caviteunder the command of Aguinaldo. That is why somehistorians say that the Revolution devoured its ownsons.

The resistance in Tarlac ceased whenGeneral Makabulos surrendered from hisheadquarters in Tangadan, Mayantoc to, of allAmerican officers, General Douglas McArthur, onJune 15, 1800. Finally, the capture of GeneralAguenaldo by General Funstun on March 23, 1901,in Palanan, Isabela, marked the fall of the FirstPhilippine Republic.

Chapter15 THE AMERICAN REGIMESince Santa Ignacia became a town in 1875 for thefirst time, it had remained so through the troubledyears of the Philippine Revolution of 1896 andthrough the Philippine-American War, from 1889 to1901. But even while the American forces weredoing their mopping up operation, President WiliamMcKinley proclaimed his “Benevolent Assimilation”policy before the U.S. Congress in 1899. Thus ashistory lurched on, the First Philippine Commissionwas organized on January 20, 1899, as amanifestation of McKinley’s policy headed by JacobG. Shurman, then President of Cornell University.Its mission was to investigate conditions in the Islandand to determine the kind of government to beestablished in lieu of the military rule. This wasfollowed by the Second Philippine Commissionheaded by William Howard Taft on March 16, 1900to work on the transfer of the military to the civiliangovernment. Subsequently came the “Instruction tothe Taft Commission written by Secretary of War,Elihu Root of April 17, 1900, in line with theBenevolent Policy. The change of the militarygovernment to Civil Government was finally approvedon March 2, 1901 by the Spooner Amendment.

The inauguration of the American CivilGovernment was done in Manila on July 1, 1901. Itis noteworthy to mention that there already existeda democratic government in Tarlac headed by theshort-lived President Francisco Makabulos duringthe interim.


Under the Taft Commision, Santa Ignaciacontinued as a town. But the earlier revolutionarytown officials were not retained. An election wasconducted under the supervision of the TaftCommission through Viva Voce among the prominentleaders of the time. Don Isidoro Alviar was votedpresident with Don Simon Hilario Vice President.They were supposed to serve for three years from1901-1903.

After the turn-over of the Philippines by Spainto America by virtue of the Treaty of Paris in 1902,there were 17 towns in the province of Tarlac, Sta.Ignacia being one of them. But after the end ofGovernor Ramo’s term as provincial governor, therewas a major stipulation of the Bill of 1902, thatcalled for the consolidation of the townships in thecountry for economic and security purposes Thelegislation reverted 8 small towns to barrios, SantaIgnacia among them, integrated with Camiling. Theothers were. La Paz to Concepcion and Tarlac,Gerona to Paniqui, O’Donnell to Capas, Moriones toTarlac, Murcia to Concepcion, Anao to Paniqui, andSan Clemente to Camiling.

The population of Santa Ignacia at the timewas depleted, not enough to warrant its status as atown. During the troubled days of the revolution,many residents of the town moved north with theirrelatives for security purposes and had not returned.As conditions normalized and peace and stabilitywere secured, many of those who left returned. Thepeople began to enjoy better harvests, their livestocks increased, and there was prosperity. Butdespite the burgeoning economic growth of the town,Santa Ignacia remained as a barrio of Camiling forthe next eleven years, 1903-to1914, when it becamea township for the second time.


EXECUTIVE ORDER 105, - S.I. TOWNSHIP

Under the leadership of Don Isidoro Alviar,and other town lsaders to whom credit is richlyheaped were other dons: Silvestre Lacuin, EulogioMadraga, Santiago Aviguetero, Pedro Guerero,Tiburcio Cube, Alipio Pascasio, Juan Clemente,Eugenio Guzman, Jose Valdez, Jose Balanay, andothers. They submitted a Resolution to the MunicipalCouncil of Camiling, citing reasons for SantaIgnacia’s townhood. Don Diego Reyes endorsed theResolution to the Provincial Board headed by thelate Governor Gregorio Romulo. With theconcurrence of the Provincial Engineer and theProvincial Board, the Resolution was approved,Whereupon, Governor General Francis B. Harrisonissued Executive Order 105,101 making Santa Ignaciaa town effective January 1, 1914. (See Appendix)

Not INCIDENTALLY, but HISTORICALLY THE100TH FOUNDING YEAR the CENTENNIAL YEAR ofSta. Ignacia was observed on JANUARY 1, 2014 bythe town and proclaimed CENTENNIAL YEAR.

There was much rejoicing among thetownspeople. An election for the town officialsfollowed. In a Viva Voce election, Don Isidoro Alviarwas elected president and Don Eulogio Madriagawas elected Vice president. Jose Cabugsa wasappointed Secretary, Leon Balanay as Chief ofPolice, and Claudio Torres as Treasurer. They servedfrom 1914 to 1916. All of them served equally well.When World War II broke out in 1918 the people ofSanta Ignacia gave their share in the war effort ofthe United States under President Woodrow Wilson.


THE CALAMITIES

But normal conditions were disturbed bycalamities that visited them from time to time. Therecurring locust infestation struck them causinguntold destruction on the standing crops like ricecorn sugar cane. Locusts attack anything green likebananas, coconuts, bamboos, and the like, deprivingthe people of food. So they used their old techniqueto get rid of them. The flu epidemic hit them too,causing many deaths and suffering for lack ofmedicine and doctors. But in spite of all thoseadversities, they survived and slowly regained theirvigor as a community.

Through the fortitude and leadership of thetown official, the founding fathers of thereborn townmade plans for the community. Aviguetero cited theirbuilding a town hall (presidencia) within the presentcompound in front of the existing town hall. Streetswere constructed following the grid pattern. A 2-hectare plaza facing the municipal compoundlengthwise was set aside while another as wideschool site athwart the south side of the plaza alongthe highway was also secured. In 1897, the GabaldonLaw was passed by the First Philipine Assembly.Through its implementation, the Gabaldon Buildingwas constructed in the school site in 1908, a two-room concrete school house. The building had beenused over the years until a few years back. It stillstands today, needing some renovation. Plans areafoot by concientious citizens like members oftheSanta Ignacia Historical Society and the CulturalGroup to have it renovated into a town museum.

In 1911, the Aglipayan Church in the townwas founded by Father Victor Garcia and later wastaken over by Father Perigrino Santiago, markingthe beginning of Aglipayanism in Santa Ignacia. Itsoriginal membership had been drawn from the local


residents, some of whom have kept their creed tothis day.

But the Aglipayan Church has not remainedintact. It was to be wracked by a schism resultingin a break-up and departure from the AglipayanCreed. One is now the Philippine Catholic Churchand the other is the Independent Church of FilipinoChristians. The first occupies the old church, whilethe second, founded by the, Bishop Liwliwa B.Enrado, has its own site and church not far fromthe other.

TARLAC-CAMILING ROAD

In 1910, during the incumbency of GovernorGregorio Romula the Camiling-Tarlac road wasconstructed. It took some years to make itoperational, while giving the local peopleemployment. Its completion sometime in the late20’s greatly made travel easier and increased thevolume of trade in the area. Many remember it as agravel road which employed people called“camineros” Spanish term for street cleaners. Theyused red trouser uniforms and could easily bedistinguished. The road had stone baskets everykilometer, a stretch of enclosed embankment ofabout five meters long and about a meter wide andhalf a meter high on which gravel was deposited bydelivery trucks from time to time. In those days,the slingshot (pal-si-it) was popular among childrenand even adults, and frequented the baskets forthe “bala” stone volleys.

The camineros were equipped with wheelborrows to carry the stones where needed, and awide, (about two feet) bamboo bristled brooms meantto push rather than to to bring in the stones. A realdirt and gravel road, buses passing by would stir up


clouds of dust in their wake covering the floors ofhouses nearby.

The steady progress of the town from 1914onward has been attributed to the diligence andcreativity of the different leaderships. The zoningplan of the town site was begun. A market placewas created, etc.

THE THOMASITES

Right from the start, that is, upon theestablishment of the American Regime in thePhilippihes, America immediately propagated theEnglish language. Although the American soldierswere not trained as teachers, they were called uponto teach in the schools. Certainly, there wereawkward, anxious and humorous situations whenthe burly American soldier would talk to his classof youngsters in a language strange to them. Notfamiliar with the methods of teaching, we could onlyimagine how the soldiers begun. If he brought hisgun with him, he may have begun by pointing to hisgun, “This is a gun. All of you say, gun”, Nobodyunderstood and responded. He picks out a pupil,exhibits the gun and utters,” gun” and it must havebeen picked up from there…

Somehow, the soldiers managed the schoolsuntil the Thomasistes arrived. The Thomasites weretrained American teachers who were shipped to thecountry by the United States Army Transport (USAT),hence their being called Thomasites. Dedicated anddevoted teachers they were. Many were sent toteach in the countryside while served to trainFilipinos as teachers. They put up teacher-trainingschools like the Philippine Normal College, now thePhilippine Normal University, and the BayambagNormal School in Pangasinan. For immediate wantof teachers, Grade 7 graduates were recruited to


teach. Many Santa Ignacians thus became teacherswho later pursued the course in Bayambag or inthe PNC Philippine Normal School, now PhilippineNormal University.

Among them were the Lacuin siblings, familymembers of the Cubes, Miguels, Antonios others.Later, some Santa Ignacians like Hermigildo Cubeand Casimiro Cruz, Sr, pursued their teachingcareers and later became Division Supervisor andDistrict Supervisor, respectively. They were the mostprominent Sta. Ignacia educators of their time. Theyserved as shining beckons and inspirations for othereducators to come. And they did not fail. Somewherein time, down the line, some sons and daughters ofSanta Ignacia rose to the occasion and made a namefor the good old home town in this field.

Chapter16 MAYOR ALVIARThe progressive developments of Santa Ignacia havebeen inexorable. It was further enhanced duringthe term as municipal President Don BonifacioAlviar and his Vice Mayor, Don Juan Gabay from1930-1934. The Rizal Monument115 was builtdesigned and constructed by Servillano Pablo, It islocated near the center of the plaza facing east. Itis made of elevated concrete materials, Rizal inhuman size standing with a book on his left handclose to his breast, a head above the ground backinga higher concrete pylon. The base is a five-metercircle for two street ways, one bisecting the plazacrosswise, and the other from the highway throughto the auditorium a little way west of the monument.

Documents

Santa Ignacia (Then and Now) printing...V.Pedroche, (A Brief History of Sta. Ignacia, 1963), etc., have made similar description6 of the Aetas as dark-skinned, short in stature and