101. 12 AMERICAN THOMASITES IN PAMPANGA & TARLAC

The American contribution to Philippine education began with the arrival of Thomasites – a band of American teachers who came to our shores in 1901, lured by a sense of adventure, prospects of employment in the exotic Far East. and a genuine will to serve and build a new nation. Here is a select group of these pioneering teachers who served in Pampanga and Tarlac.

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1. GEORGE N, ANDERSON, Arayat, Candaba

George N. Anderson’s commitment to advance education in the islands was so total, that when the school in Candaba was razed to the ground , the supervising teacher shelled out Php 500 from his own pockets as his contribution towards the rebuilding of the school. As a pioneer teacher in Arayat, Anderson put up an intermediate school to teach Grades 4, 5 and 6 students (a primary school was already up, that took in Grades 1-4 pupils). Established in 1909, the intermediate school would be named in his honor: Anderson Intermediate School, which operated under that name from 1909 to 1974. It then became Anderson Elementary School, offering complete Grades 1-6 classes. A fellow teacher by the name of Carrie E. Anderson taught in Arayat at the same time as George did; she may have been his wife.

2. ALFRED ARNOLD, Apalit, Arayat

Thomasite Alfred Arnold  was assigned as a primary school teacher to handle Grades 1 to 4 classes, in Arayat. He is well known for taking the extra step to win over Filipino officials who were indifferent to the idea of public education propagated by the U.S. The assiduous teacher organized and staged special programs of entertainment at his schools to interest the native town heads and gain their support and cooperation.

3. WILLIAM M. CARRUTH, Betis, Sta. Rita, San Simon

A young graduate of Cleveland, Ohio, William Carruth arrived in Betis in 1901 and was immediately besieged with problems---all the books in the school where he was supposed to teach were in Spanish. He wrote to the Dept. of Public Instruction for help, and soon, the right supplies arrived and school operations began to run smoothly—until he fell ill. But  Carruth carried on, even making himself available to teach geometry, algebra and physics at a teacher’s program in San Fernando. The Betis school was abandoned due to poor facilities and financial constraints.  Carruth, thus, moved to Sta. Rita, where he began anew to organize the primary school, plus 2 barrio schools. Faced with incompetent teachers and apathetic town officials, he finished his term in 1903, and then moved to San Simon. Carruth was an efficient, professional administrator, but the of support from his superiors and the community, perhaps wore him down to frustration. Carruth did not renew his 3-year contract and returned to the U.S.

4. W. HUSE CHAPMAN, Angeles, Zambales

W. Huse Chapman, of Connecticut, was a civil servant of the U.S. Bureau of Education and worked as a Thomasite teacher among the Negritos in the Philippines, in the Zambales region. He was deployed to Angeles, Pampanga as Supervising Teacher. While there, Chapman took an interest in photography and took ethnographic portraits, of  Negritos, their customs; activities; dwellings, structures and other material culture; and natural surroundings. Specific subjects include basket weaving, a burial, scarification, and a group of hooded self-flagellants. These 163 photos compiled in 1909, are in the Bancroft Library of the University of California Berkely.

5. ADAM C. DERKUM, Mexico, Tarlac, Zambales

Born in 1874, Adam C. Derkum studied and graduated from the University of Southern California. He was appointed to the civil service on 30 December 1903. On 1 March  1906,  Dr. Adam Derkum, together wife Agnes, were assigned to Mexico, Pampanga. He became a supervising teacher then rose in position to become  a Division Superintendent of schools in Zambales and Tarlac. He had a new building erected at a new location in 1915 after the Tarlac Provincial High School had incurred much damage wrought by usage and time. He also organized  training programs for students,  through teacher camps and educational missions. As part of the American effort to promote physical education and national fitness, Dr. Derkum help found the Philippine Amateur Athletic Federation, along with Manuel L. Quezon, Camilo Osias, Regino R. Ylanan and Jorge R. Vargas. He was chosen as President  and Chairman of the 1926 Pampanga Fair and Provincial Garden Day, This was to be one of  his last major activities as the Derkums and their four Philippine-born children, returned to America where they would spend rest of their lives in California.

6. LULU LONG HIGLEY, Bacolor

Born on 1 Oct. 1874 in Lagrange County, Indiana, Lulu Long-Higley and her husband Levi Campbell Higley (b. 1871/d.1959) taught together at Bacolor and at the Pampanga Industrial School. Lulu herself, taught industrial arts. Husband Levi was the assigned to an industrial school in Lipa, Batangas, and assumed the position of principal of the secondary school. Lulu Higley remained in Bacolor, where eldest son Phillips Isidors was born. When Higley returned to her husband’s home state, she gave birth to two more sons: Ralph and Erwin Isaac. She passed away in Genesee county on 21 Mar. 1951 at age 76, and she is interred with her husband at the county’s Springvale Cemetery.

 7. WILLIAM S. IREY, Magalang, Bataan

Pennsylvanian William Segner Irey was born in 1872, in West Chester county, an education graduate of West Chester State Normal College.  After a 13-year teaching stint in his home state, he would joined the contingent of teachers sent to the Philippines in 1901. He was stationed in Magalang, where he is credited with establishing the elementary school in the poblacion. Irey would be moved around Pampanga, living in Mexico and San Fernando, and also serving in Bataan as a 3^rd grade supervisor. Irey was also an inventor of some sorts; obtaining patents for such ingenious creations as a cigarette-producing machine, a cooking apparatus, change-speed gearing and  improvements to kerosene lamps.

8. KILMER O. MOE, Magalang

Upon arrival in the Philippines, Thomasite Kilmer O. Moe, from Hoople, North Dakota, was assigned to teach in Magalang. His interest in agriculture was piqued when the “Granja Modelo”, a pilot agricultural school founded in 1885 by Spaniards, and later renamed “Estacion Pecuaria” became idle. Together with Assemblyman Andres Luciano, Moe—now a district supervisor-- initiated its reconstruction in 1917. The Bureau of Education threw its support behind its reopening and Gov. Honorio Ventura donated more funds to aid the project. Thus, the Magalang Farm School was born. Moe was also involved in the restoration of the Central Luzon Agricultural School which opened in Muñoz, Nueva Ecija on 10 Jun. 1909. After suffering typhoon damage in November, Moe initiated changes such as the use of strong materials for the school buildings.  Additions included student dorms, a superintendent office, a house for American teachers, a machine shop and a sawmill. Kilmer O. Moe wrote many treatises about various aspects of Philippine farming, including rice and sugar planting.

9. JOHN W. OSBORN, Angeles, Magalang, San Fernando

John W. Osborn is known for being the first principal of Pampanga High School in 1908, the most revered institution for secondary education in the province. PHS would produce  a president,  eminent scholars, writers, politicians, military leaders, lawyers, and builders of  our nation. Osborn was from Bringhamton, New York,  a 1901 graduate of Western Reserve University, Ohio . Before his assignment in the capital town, he was minding the affairs of the elementary schools in Magalang (1904) and Angeles (he rented the ground floor of the Gomez/Masnou House with Marion Huff, another Thomasite). PHS originally was located at the Eusebio Residence located near the town plaza, with classes opening in 1908. Enrollment was so low that it was unable to form a senior class until 1911-1912. As student population grew, the school was transferred to a new building near the Provincial Capitol. It was Osborn who chose future Justice Jose Gutierrez David to deliver a speech before  Secretary of War, William Howard Taft and presidential daughter Alice Roosevelt, during their visit to San Fernando in 1904. In his unpublished memoirs, Justice Gutierrez recalled that “Mr. Osborn  was quite satisfied and elated judging from the manner he congratulated me. For me, that was enough”.

 10. LUTHER PARKER, Masantol, Arayat, Bacolor

The most high-profile Thomasite Pampanga, Luther Parker was born in Missouri to James R. and Mary C. Parker, in 1872. A graduate of the State Normal School in Chico, California, he arrived in the Philippines  in 1901, and served in the Bureau of Education for twenty-five years, the last 7 years as division superintendent of schools. His first assignment was Masantol, then in Arayat as Supervising Teacher, and the town postmaster. He was also a regular contributor of articles for Manila Times. Parker’s accomplishments included writing a “Diccionariong Ingles, Kapampangan at Kastila," in 1905, studying Philippine linguistics, and initiating the writing of town histories. Parker became the Principal of the Bacolor Trade School in March 1907, as well as General Inspector of school shops in the country. He was assigned from 1914-1916 in San Francisco to oversee the  Philippine exhibit of school industrial work. For his achievements, Kapampangan officials proposed to adopt Parker as a son of Pampanga province. Parker also served in Pangasinan  ( 1918, promoted food production campaigns and gardening), Ilocos Norte,  (1921, organized Bands of Mercy , mainly a children’s group that championed kindness to animals) and Nueva Ecija (1922-26). He retired and lingered in the country until 1931, when the Parker family left the country for good. The Parkers took up residence in Santa Cruz, California. He passed away in 1948. His collection of pictures, memorabilia, albums of clippings are kept in the University of the Philippines.

11. CARROLL A. PEABODY, Mabalacat, Tarlac

Thomasite Carroll Peabody, a fresh graduate of Western Reserve University in Ohio, was first assigned to Mabalacat in 1902 where he became a “maestro Americano” , teaching his Kapampangan pupils in nipa and bamboo classrooms.  He later  became a supervisor, then a Division Superintendent in Tarlac. His wife, Emma, was also a teacher. Also assigned there was Joseph L. Flaherty, a Supervising Teacher as of 1906. Peabody documented the hardships of setting up schools and keeping them running despite inadequate supplies (billiard cue chalk were sometimes used as blackboard chalk), in his unpublished memoirs, “Personal Reminiscences of Early Days, 1898-1902”.

12. FRANK RUSSELL WHITE, Tarlac

Thomasite Frank Russell White  was born in Millburn, Illinois on 8 June 1875. He has the singular distinction of opening the first provincial high school in the Philippines—Tarlac High School on 1 Sep. 1902—and was its first principal. The high school had an initial enrolment of 35 students which grew to 93 before the end of that year. White served for 2 months, and then appointed Division Superintendent for Tarlac province. The high school he founded would have a permanent 2-storey building of  Oregon pine, a 76 feet long and 42 feet wide. It was built though the initiative of his successor, Mr. S.C. Campbell,  at a cost of Php 48,000. It opened in 1904. White rose to become the 4^th Director of Education of the Philippine islands, but died an early death due to an illness on 17 Aug. 1913.  Unfortunately, the heritage building was razed by fire on 28 Oct. 2015. For years, tales of a “white ghost” haunting the high school were often heard—but this must have been simply a reference to the teacher who made history in Tarlac—Mr. Frank Russell White.

A COMPREHENSIVE LIST OF THOMASITES ASSIGNED TO PAMPANGA & TARLAC

Albright, Henrietta M., Tarlac, Tarlac

Anderson, Carrie E. Arayat, Pampanga Intermediate

Ansbro, Lucinda, Tarlac, Tarlac

Bass, James H. Apalit, Pampanga Supervising Teacher

Briggs, George N. Surigao, Surigao, Cagayan and Misamis; San Fernando, Pampanga and Bataan Division Superintendent

Campbell, S.A. Tarlac, Tarlac; Cavite Division Superintendent

Carleton, Charles W. Bacolor, Pampanga Industrial School

Derkum, Agnes M. Mexico, Pampanga Intermediate School

Flaherty, Joseph L. Mabalacat, Pampanga Supervising Teacher

Franke, Walter E. Florida-Blanca, Pampanga Supervising Teacher

Gambill, J.M. San Fernando, Pampanga Supervising Teacher

Gammill, J.A. Iloilo, Iloilo andAntique; San Fernando, Pampanga and Bataan Superintendent

Gascon, Osmond Guagua, Pampanga In Charge Barrio School

Higley, Levi C. Bacolor, Pampanga; Lipa, Batangas Industrial School; Principal

(Secondary school)

Howard, Joseph G. Apalit, Pampanga Industrial School

Huff, Marion Bacolor, Pampanga Industrial School

Manns, Alys E. San Fernando, Pampanga Provincial High School

Manns, Thomas F. Balanga, Bataan; San Fernando, Pampanga Principal, High School (in charge)

Mayo, William L. Tarlac, Tarlac Provincial High School

McGee, Fannie, Tarlac, Tarlac

Preuitt, William E. San Fernando, Pampanga and Bataan Superintendent

Reimold, O.S., Tarlac, Tarlac

Rudy, Abraham Macabebe, Pampanga Supervising Teacher

Russell, Florence E. Tarlac, Tarlac Provincial High School

Russell, H.C. Laoag, Ilocos Norte; Tarlac, Tarlac Principal, High School

Shearer, Lucy B. San Fernando, Pampanga Provincial High School

Vaughan, William T. Candaba, Pampanga Supervising Teacher

Williamson, Katherine P. San Fernando,Pampanga Provincial High School

Young, Katherine M. San Fernando, Pampanga Provincial High School

SOURCES:

Alan Derkum, Carroll Peabody, John W.Osborn : www.viewsfromthepampang.blogspot.com

Lulu Long-Higley: https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/25692851/levi-campbell-higley

Frank Russell White: http://www.tarlachs71.com/about_tarlac_high_school.php, 

Photo of Kilmer O. Moe's calling Card: Doris Manlapaz, Magalang Historical Society

Photo of Luther Parker in Arayat: John Tewell, flickr.com

Bulletin, Vol. 1, No. 25. https://quod.lib.umich.edu/p/philamer/acp1028.0001.025?rgn=main;view=fulltext

Dizon, Lino L., Mr. White, A Thomasite History of Tarlac Province 1901-1913, in Honor of Frank Russell White. Published by the Center for Tarlaqueño Stduies and the Center for Kapampangan Studies, 2002.

Larkin, John A. The Pampangans,: Colonial Society in a Philippine Province © 1972 The Regents of the University of California, 19913 Edition by new ay Publishing. Pp.143-157.

Gutierrez-David, Jose. The Story of my Life, unpublished memoirs

86. 10 KAPAMPANGAN PLACE NAMES AND THEIR ORIGINS, part III

1.      BUCANAN, Magalang

A barangay in Magalang owes its  foreign-sounding name from a modern sugarcane crusher made in England with a “Buchanan” brand, owned by a local haciendero. These imported steel crushers made sugar processing easier, helping modernize the industry.

2.      BUNTUK BABI, Concepcion

The contemporary name of this barangay is Sta. Monica, but its old name, Buntuk Babi (Hog’s Head), is still fondly remembered. The name, as the story goes, was a tribute to a Negrito chief who hanged pigs’ heads as trophies of his achievements. Another version had it that the name came from the locals’ tradition of hanging a “buntuk babi” in their veranda during their fiestas. The barangay was once visited by Felipe “Apo Ipe” Salvador, a religious cult leader of Sta. Iglesia.

3.      CALANTIPE, Apalit

Barangay Calantipe in Apalit was named after a local wetland bulrush or grassweed,  that grew in profusion in the place. Belonging to the genus Scirpus, the calantipe plant has grass-like leaves, and clusters of small spikelets.

4.      CASTULI, Macabebe

The flowering plant (hibiscus abelmoschus) that looked like a gumamela gave its name to an Apalit barrio still known today as Castuli. The perennial herbaceous plants, which can grow up to two meters tall, bears 5-petalled white or yellow flowers, with a red or purple spot at each petal’s base. Castuli has medicinal and culinary uses, Abelmoschus is now recognized as a separate genus from hibiscus plants.

5.      CONSUELO, Macabebe

“Maniup” was the old name of brgy. Consuelo, owing to a story of a ghost that haunted the area that blew (“tiup”) wisps of cool air at people who passed by. But when a wealthy entrepreneur moved in to set up a liquor business there, many locals found gainful employment at his gin factory. As business flourished, the population of the barrio grew as migrant workers streamed in. The barrio prospered even more, and the residents enjoyed lasting “consuelo” (kuswelo, in the vernacular)—contentment and happiness—at last.

6.      MABUANBUAN, Sasmuan

The riverine barangay of Sasmuan—Mabuanbuan---got its name from a specie of fish that thrived in their waters called “buanbuan”, which Bergaño describes as “a delicious fish, spiny and with white scales”.  Thus, “Mabuanbuan” means a place flourishing with buanbuan fish. Surprisingly, Tagalogs call it “bulanbulan”. Buanbuan is a kind of tarpon fish, found  in brackish or freshwater, can measure more than a feet long,  and can be fished all year long.

7.      MALATUMBAGA, Magalang

A sitio of San Vicente, Magalang used to be called “Malatumbaga”,  a hardwood lumber tree similar to molave. The durable malatumbaga is used in house constructions, for making posts, window sills, floors, sculptures, frames, railroad ties and ship-building. In turn, the malatumbaga tree gets its name from a hard, reddish bronze metal called “tumbaga”, used for jewelry.

8.      MAMATITANG, Mabalacat

Mamatitang used to be a vast sugarland with prime sugar haciendas owned by rich Mabalacat people. Mascup River ran through one of its sitios, a popular resort destination.  Mamatitang was named after an early female Baluga settler named “Titang”. “Mama” was an appellation used to address old people and the two words became one.

9.      PAGUIRUAN, Floridablanca

The name “Paguiruan”, sometimes spelled as Pagyuruan, came about due to a local industry that began in the small Apalit barrio. Years ago, people used to go to the place to harvest fruits from buri plants which grew thickly in the area.  They were able to manufacture a certain type of sweet-tasting delicacy  called “yuruan”. It soon grew to a lucrative business for the people, who, in trun, renamed their barrio into “Pagyuruan”, a place where “yuruan” is made.

10.  SUCAD, Apalit

Formerly called Sta Lucia, barrio Sucad derived its name from “sucad”, meaning “to measure, so as to indicate a boundary”. Town lore has it that menfolk from Sucad distrusted male visitors from nearby San Simon who came to their barrio to serenade the local maidens. To prevent possible trouble, the San Simon men were called to inform them that they cannot overstep their bounds. A demarcation line was agreed on to define their barrio’s boundaries, which cannot be trespassed by both sides—“angga mu queni ing ‘sucad’ yu”.

SOURCES:

Historical data papers: Floridablanca, Candaba, Floridablanca, Macabebe, Magalang

Bartolo, Lou Aldrin L., The Magalang Book, NCCA, Center for Tarlaqueño Studies, 2015.

Dizon, Lino L. Amlat, Kapampangan Local History Contours in Tarlac and Pampanga,

Center for Tarlaqueño Studies, Tarlaca State University, 2000.

Sibug, Edgardo C., Porac, A Rancheria at Batiauan 1594-2004, published by the Municipal Government of Porac.

Vocabulario de Pampango en Romance y Diccionario de Romance en Pampango. The English Translation of the Kapampangan Spanish Dictionaryy written by Fray Dego Bergano of the Order of St. Augustine, first published in 1732. Holy Angel University Press.

PHOTOS:

All maps: googlemaps, unless otherwise noted.

Bucanan:  pinterest

Buntuk Babi:

https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:09997jfSanta_Monica_Cafe_Chapel_Welcome_Signs_Concepcion_Tarlacfvf_10.JPG

Calantipe:

https://www.pfaf.org/user/plant.aspx?latinname=Scirpus+lacustris

Consuelo:

HDP, Macabebe

Mabuanbuan,

https://fishingthephilippines.files.wordpress.com/2014/01/tarpon.jpeg

Malatumbaga:

http://www.fruitipedia.com/segera%20-%20Aglaia%20ellptica.htm

http://malatumbaga.blogspot.com/

Mamatitang:

Castro, Alex R. Scenes from a Borderton and other Views, 2006, privately printed.

Paguiruan/ Pagyuruan:

HDP Floridablanca

http://pudblogko.blogspot.com/2014/08/cravings-buli.html

Sucad: HDP Apalit

64. 13 GABALDON SCHOOLHOUSES IN THE KAPAMPANGAN REGION

The establishment of a public education system was one of the most important legacies of the American colonial regime in the Philippines. Most school buildings were damaged and lost during the Philippine American War, so the Philippine Commission passed Act No. 268 creating the Bureau of Architecture and Construction of Public Buildings,  with the task of erecting school houses all over the country.

To underscore the importance of this mission, right after the Philippine Assembly was formed in 1907, Assemblyman Isauro Gabaldon of Nueva Ecija authored Act No. 1801, known today as Gabaldon Act, which appropriated Php 1 Million between 1907-1915 for the "construction of schoolhouses of strong materials in barrios with guaranteed daily attendance of not less than sixty pupils."

The Gabaldon Act stipulated that each school was to be built at a cost not to exceed Four Thousand Pesos unless the municipality contributed a counterpart sum of not less than fifty percent of the total amount granted. The municipality was authorized to appropriate its own funds, receive voluntary contributions in cash, kind, or in manual labor, for the construction of schoolhouses.

To facilitate the building of the schools, the Bureau of Public Works and Bureau of Education  came up with standardized designs. These were known as "Gabaldon School Buildings" or simply "Gabaldon,".  

Their distinctive features echo the bahay kubo design, with the body of the building elevated on short concrete posts, swinging capiz windows for maximum ventilation, carved fretwork on top of walls to allow air to circulate and a raised roof clad in galvanized iron.

In Pampanga, a few examples of these Gabaldon  School Buildings could still be found, some untouched by time,  while others, though heavily rebuilt, still retain vaguely their distinctive Gabaldon features.

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PICTURE SOURCES:

Apalit, Sulipan Gabaldon, courtesy of  Sta. Maria Minalin Archives

Arayat Gabaldon, iorbit news

Capas Gabaldon, courtesy of Mr. Ivan Henares, Gabaldon Legacy

Floridablanca Gabaldon, maipo.net

Lubao Gabaldon, wikipedia, Lubao, Pampanga

Mabalacat Gabaldon, courtesy of Mr. Leo Cloma

Magalang Gabaldon, courtesy of Mr. Louie Bartolo Lacson

Mexico Gabaldon, courtesy of Mr. Jonathan Panganiban

San Luis Gabaldon, from san Luis Elementary School FB page

San Simon, Sta. Ana, Sta. Rita Gabaldon, www.pampangatalents.com

59. 14 NOTABLE HUK KUMANDERS

The HUKBALAHAP (Hukbo ng Bayan Laban sa Hapon) was born during the Japanese Occupation (1942-1945) as a Japanese resistance group. After becoming alienated from the U.S.-Philippine government, the army became HMB (Hukbong Mapagpalaya ng Bayan), with ties to the Communist Party of the Philippines. Taruc claims that the alliance’s purpose was more organizational, rather than ideological. In any case, HMB became the military arm of this merger. At its peak in the 1950s, HMB had over 11,000 members. Pres. Ramon Magsaysay put the Huk rebellion in control, but their campaigns would surge again in the 1960s, gaining more ground in the ‘70s with the formation of Buscayno’s New People’s Army.  Here is a comprehensive list of “Huk kumanders” from this turbulent era in our history.

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HUK SUPREMO TARUC

Luis Mangalus Taruc (b. 21 June 1913/d. 4 May 2005) was the primary leader of the HUKBALAHAP between 1942 and 1950. His involvement  came after his initiation to the agrarian problems of the peasantry as a student in the early 1930s, joining the "Aguman ding Maldang Tala-pagobra" (AMT) and in 1938, the "Partido Socialista, ". During the war, Taruc led the Hukbalahap in guerrilla operations against the Japanese. Demands for agrarian reforms continued after the Japanese regime. In 1946, Taruc was elected to the Congress, but Roxas prevented him from taking his seat . He was against the parity rights that the U.S. required from the country as its condition for rehabilitation funding. Thus,  Taruc gave up his parliamentary efforts, and took to armed struggle. Negotiations with Pres. Elpidio Quirino in 1948 failed. By the 1950, Huks—now reorganized as HMB, controlled most of central Luzon. When Pres. Magsaysay began a relentless campaign against the Huks, Taruc hid in Arayat. Manuel Manahan and Benigno Aquino  Jr., negotiated for his surrender, which happened on 17 May 1954. Put on trial, he pleaded guilty to rebellion,  and sentenced to 12 years of imprisonment. He was also found guilty  for the execution of Tarlac governor Feliciano Gardiner and received four life sentences. Pres. Macapagal disapproved his call for clemency; he was pardoned by Pres. Marcos in 1968. After his release, he continued to work for reforms—from equitable distribution of land to strengthening the legal rights of farm workers. In 2017, on his 104^th birthday, the National Historical Commission of the Philippines (NCHP) affirmed his role in the pursuit of freedom and in the agrarian reform struggle and declared him as a hero.

VICE COMMANDER CASTO ALEJANDRINO
Coming from a non-peasant background, Casto Alejandrino  (b. 18 Nov. 1911/d.12 Jul. 2005) of Arayat supported the Aguman ding Maldang Talapagobra (AMT) and the Socialist Party because he was fed up with the elite Nacionalistas who were not receptive to instituting reforms. With the 1938 merger of the Communist and Socialist parties, Alejandrino became a key member of the Central Committee of the Partido ng Komunista ng Pilipinas. He was elected Socialist mayor of Arayat in 1940. When the Hukbalahap movement was organized to fight the Japanese, Alejandrino was elected as vice commander to Luis Taruc, Reco 3 leader, and named “Huk governor” of Pampanga.  Alejandrino was arrested and jailed in 1945, but was later released following protests from 40,000 peasants. He carried on the fight when the Communists were outlawed, assuming the leadership left by Taruc when the latter surrendered and sentenced to jail. Alejandrino tried to conduct peace talks with Pres. Magsayasay, but the movement had waned in the late 50s. He was captured in 1960, served 15 years in prison and released in 1975. Alejandrino died 2 months just after Taruc’s passing.

KUMANDER ALIBASBAS (Cesario Manarang)

Concepcion-born Cesario Manarang was already a Huk when Casto Alejandrino changed the name of Hukbalahap into HMB. He was a sort of a folk hero to the farming community; peasants regarded him as a sort of a local Robin Hood, giving food and dole-outs, and protecting peasants from oppression.  In 1965, a schism in HMB resulted in the formation of two groups, one loyal to Kumander Alibasbas, the other to Sumulong. Alibasbas, who was head of the HMB military committee, had thrown his support to the candidacy of Diosdado Macapagal for president, whom the Army also favored. Alibasbas, on the other hand, was pro-Marcos, who also enjoyed the confidence of the Philippine Constabulary.  In the end, Kumander Alibasbas, along with three of his children, were massacred in Almendras, a sitio of San Bartolome,  Concepcion, Tarlac on 2 Feb. 1965, paving for Kumander Sumulong’s ascent to power.

KUMANDER BILOG (Rodolfo Salas)

Rodolfo Salas graduated from Holy Angel University in 1964 as the Class Salutatorian. He joined the militant Kabataang Makabayan and later, the Communist Party of the Philippines where his superiors took note of his intellect and intense patriotism. Salas wa named as a regional secretary, in charge of recruitment. He assumed the chairmanship of both the CPP and the NPA following the arrests of Joma Sison and Kumander Dante. Arrested after the EDSA Revolution, he was jailed in Camp Crame for 6 years and released in 1992.

KUMANDER BIO (Eusebio Aquino)

In his mid-50s, Kumander Bio was one of the oldest field commanders of Hukbalahap, an “erect, soft-spoken, ramrod-like old man” as described by Luis Taruc. Eusebio “Bio” Aquino was a nephew of Gen. Servillano Aquino, and a cousin of Benigno Aquino Sr., Ninoy’s father. He was a carpenter-blacksmith by trade, so when he joined the Huks, he took the name,”Panday Pira”. As a Huk leader, he was known to champion the causes of peasants by forcing landlords to share their hoard of rice in their warehouses so that the poor, hungry farmers and their families could eat. Kumander Bio  hid in Arayat when the Philippine puppet government under Japan was established. He renounced his relationship with cousin Benigno Aquino Sr. when the latter became a director-general of KALIBAPI (Kapisanan ng Paglilingkod sa Bagong Pilipinas). The wise and brave commander is credited with saving American pilot. Col. Gwen G. Atkinson. The colonel defended Kumander Bio before Gen. Douglas MacArthur, who told him, “I don’t care even if they are Communists. I saw how they treated American flyers and I saw how the people followed them”.  

KUMANDER DANTE (Bernabe Buscayno)

Bernabe Buscayno was one of 8 children of poor tenant farmers fom Capas, Tarlac. His father was forced to give up his children for adoption with the death of Bernabe’s mother and sister. Bernabe, a Holy Angel College drop-out, enlisted with the Huks at age 21. By 23, he had risen as Kumander Sumulong’s district commander. A rift with his leader resulted in the foundation of New People’s Army (NPA), which, after joining forces with new Communist Party leader Joma Sison, became its military arm. Dante’s group fought against the Marcos Regime which tagged him as ”the most aggressive Huk commander” in the country. Operation: Scorpio was launched to catch him, so  he moved his NPA base to Isabela.  Captured in January 1977, Dante, age 32, was tried and sentenced to death. He was released after the EDSA revolution, and a year later, ran unsuccessfully for a senatorial slot under Partido ng Bayan. In 1987, Dante escaped an ambush, that left him wounded and two companions dead. Returning to Capas to be a farmer, he founded a cooperative to help peasants, but which floundered due to Pinatubo. Undeterred, Dante set up another cooperative that sought to mechanize farming operations in 2000.

KUMANDER ELY (Dominador Garcia)

Dominador Garcia was the no. 3 man in the HMB during the resurgence of the Communist menace that plagued the Marcos regime. As such, a good price was put on his head and the Philippine Constabulary kept a close watch on him. In March 1967, troops ringed a small house in Mabalacat town for 11 hours, until they cornered Kumander Ely, who surrendered without a fight. The Huks retaliated by deploying an 18-man assassination squad that killed 5 men and kidnapped two others in Pampanga. Over 3,000 government troops were sent to track them down

KUMANDER HIZON (Benjamin Cunanan)

Teen-ager Ben Cunanan joined the Hukbalahap during the Japanese Occupation, and showed such courage in combats that he became a unit commander. He took the nom de guerre “Kumander Hizon” in honor of the brave Kapampangan revolucionario, Gen. Maximino Hizon. At the peak of the movement, he headed Field Command 78, the largest unit of HMB. One of his biggest recuits was Bernabe Buscayno. Kumader Hizon headed the last remaining HMB unit, fighting in the Pampanga-Tarlac area, until his capture by the dreaded Tabak division in 1961—right in his own home. He was known to be the last real Huk commander to fall, as all other Huk captives of the Philippine armed forces were often dubbed as “kumander”. Tried for murder and sentenced to life imprisonment, Kumander Hizon stayed in jail for 16 years, longer than any Huk. Luis Taruc offered to arrange a presidential pardon, but Hizon refused to meet Marcos. Upon his release, he attempted to reorganize his comrades into a new rebel army, but  by then, they were too old to fight and carry on the struggle. H died died on 2 Nov. 2010, age 82 in Pasig.

KUMANDER KISLAP (Eugenio Santos)

The commander from Macabebe, Eugenio Santos, served under Fernando Poblete’s Banal Regiment. Kumander Kislap was put in a group that included Lino Dizon and Domindaro Yabut and Mariano de Joya,  charged with recruiting new Huk members, going as far as the southern provinces, like Batangas to look for prospective recruits.

KUMANDER LIGAYA (Manuel Dimatulac)

A native of Concepcion, Tarlac, curly-haired Manuel “Maning” Dimatulac, was a 1^st year Far Eastern University student when he joined the Huk cause. He was already 34, married, with children. He joined, he said, because the government had failed to implement the Land Reform Code.  He earned his sobriquet “Ligaya” for the many favors and help done to farmers, which brought them happiness. For example, he passed the hat for them whene they could not pay their financial obligations. He also sought out materials for school buildings and volunteered his services free. However, Dimatulac resisted being called a “kumander” as he had been with the movement for just 6 months when he was captured and arrested for murder in 1970. Placed on Death Row, Dimatulac led a team of political prisoners in digging a tunnel at the Youth Rehabilitation Center (YRC) tunnel as a means of escape. After EDSA, he was released in 1986 after having spent 17 years in prison.

KUMANDER LINDA BIE (Silvestre Liwanag)

Silvestre Liwanag (b.1919) of Concepcion, Lubao trained under the Socialist Party of Jose Abad Santos in 1937 before joining the movement  in 1942, along with wife, Rosita Manuel. The bemoustached young Huk moved up in ranks quickly, and became a commander of squadron 18-B under Abelardo Dabu. Liwanag took the Huk name, “Linda Bie”, meaning ‘beautiful life’. Arrested by the Americans with whom he had fought side by side in fighting the Japanese, he unabashedly wept as he was disarmed and told that he was “an enemy of the U.S. and Philippine governments”. After the war, he succeeded Dabu and reorganized remaining troops nearly decimated in military encounters and merged them with his own squadrons, thus expanding his jurisdiction from Bataan-Zambales to southern Pampanga. Kumander Linda Bie was captured in Orion, Bataan, 3 years after the Communist Party and the HMB were outlawed in 1957.

KUMANDER PUSA (Ben Sanguyu)

The Huk kumander that Anthony Alonzo portrayed in the 1981 movie “Dakpin si…Pusa” was born Ben Sanguyu in real life. Known for his cat-like agility in combat and in elduing the military, Kumander Pusa headed one of the most-feared squadrons in Central Luzon. Government forces under Capt. Almazan caught up with him in Bamban, Tarlac where he was finally killed, along with 4 of his men.

KUMANDER SOL (Tomas F. Calma)

Kumander Sol was one of the highest-ranking officers of the Communist Party of the Philippines-Huk hierarchy, who held the position of a Squadron Commander. During the all-out offensive against the Huks initiated by Pres. Ramon Magsaysay, many of the Huk leaders were caught or killed, including Kumander Sol who perished in a skirmish in Candaba. This led to the arrest of CPP head Jesus Lava in Sampaloc in 1964, which dealt a big blow to the communist cause.

KUMANDER SUMULONG (Faustino del Mundo)
The Huk leader who exploited his power position to make lucrative financial gains--Faustino del Mundo --was the Head of the HMB financial committee, while his arch rival, Kumander Alibasbas, headed the military side. Sumulong had wanted to support Marcos’s presidential bid, while Alibasbas was pro-Macapagal. This difference led to the division of HMB into two factions in 1965. The situation was violently resolved with the killing  of Alibasbas. Kumander Sumulong stepped into power, and ran it Mafia-style, using Angeles as his headquarters. By 1967, Sumulong was the most influential Huk leader in central Luzon; mayors, governors and even Marcos sought him out for political support. Major businesses, had to shell out “protection money” which filled the coffers of the Huk movement. Politicians turned against each other, giving rise to liquidation squads,  ‘Beatles’  and ‘Monkees’. Sumulong’s business activities—which strayed from the original cause of the Huk movement, caused disillusionment to Bernabe Buscayno, which spurred him to form the New People’s Army. Sumulong was captured in Brgy, Amsic in September 1970. In 1982, Sumulong was meted a death penalty for the murder and kidnapping committed on barangay captain Marcial Miranda, but due to his age (he was 78), the sentence was commuted to reclusion perpetua.

BONUS! A list of Kumanders from the DANTE/ TARUC Camps.

SOURCES:

SINGSING MAGAZINE, 'BRAVEHEARTS: Kapampangan Rebels, Radicals and Renegades Who Changed Philippine History". Center for Kapampangan Studies. Vol. 6, No. 1.

Various SUNDAY TIMES MAGAZINE issues, 1961-1970

36. 7 SPANISH FRIARS FROM KAPAMPANGAN TOWNS WHO MET VIOLENT DEATHS

There are documents to prove that Spanish friars were treated better in Pampanga than in other regions in the Philippines. Eighteenth-century chronicler Fray Gaspar de San Agustin wrote that Kapampangans were "very good Christians, most respectful of their ministers." But still some frailes met unspeakable deaths—occupational hazards of their mission work. Also, because “ya ing pari, ya ing ari ("he is priest as well as king"), some curas parroco tended to abuse their authority and exploit the parishioners' subservience—leading to their doom. Still others became collateral casualties of the bloody Revolution, victims of strong anti-Spanish sentiments in those tempestuous times.

* * * * * * * * *

BLESSED  FRAY PEDRO DE ZUÑIGA OSA

Assignments: Sasmuan, Porac

Manner of Death: Tortured and burned.

The future saint was born and educated in Sevilla, Spain, where he completed his priestly studies. The newy professed Agustino was shipped off to the Philippines in 1609 and became the first prior of Sasmuan. His arrival resulted in the separation of Sasmuan from the parish of Lubao, reverting back in 1642 due to the scarcity of priests. He ministered in Sasmuan from 1615 to 1618, until he was transferred to Porac. In 1620, Fray de Zuñiga sailed for  Japan with a stop in Taiwan in June. He, along with other missionaries of different orders, were tasked with propagating the Catholic faith among the natives. The ship captain was Catholic  Japanese, Joaquin Hirayama Diaz, and the crew all were members of the Confraternity of the Holy Rosary. En route, the ship was intercepted by Dutch pirates who surrendered the passengers and crew to pagan Japanese officials in the port of Hirando. They were kept in prison for two years, until Fray de Zuñiga,  his Dominican companion, Fray Luis Flores and the captain,  were tortured and burned to death in Nagsaki on 19 August 1622. Fray De Zuñiga and his companions were elevated as “beatos” (Blessed) on 7 May 1867 by Pope Pius IX, just one step away from sainthood. His ashes were brought back by Augustinian fathers to the Philippines where they are interred at the San Agustin Church.

FRAY BALDOMERO ABADIA, OAR

Assignment: O’Donnell, Capas

Manner of Death: Killed in an attack by Revolucionarios

The saintly Fray Baldomero Abadia was another tragic victim of circumstance, who died a valiant, albeit, violent death. From Jarque del Moncayo, Baldomero entered the Recoletos community of Monteagudo, Navarre province, where, on 4 October 1887,  he professed his vows.  During his stay at the rectory, he became acquainted with two future holy men—St. Ezekiel Moreno, who had just returned from the Philippines,  and Blessed Vicente Pinilla, one of the martyrs of Motril, who became his fast friend. In fact, the two would make a trip to Philippines together, arriving in Manila on 18 September 1892. Sometime in January 1896, Fr. Abadia was made parish priest of a newly created O’Donnell town in Tarlac (named after the Spanish Gen. Leopoldo O’Donnell, who coincidentally had given his name to the priest’s brother, Leopoldo Abadia). Fr. Abadia  fulfilled the functions of his sacred ministry with great apostolic zeal.  But at the end of August 1896, the Philippine revolution had exploded, spreading  quickly from Manila to the border provinces. Several Recoletos were murdered, and Fray Baldomero found himself in the danger zone. In his last letter to his family dated Oct. 27, he calmly reassured them that, for his safety, he was sleeping in the soldiers' barracks. But he was not safe at all—he could not trust even his own parishioners. On October 31, Filipino insurgent troops entered O'Donnell and, as historiologist Francisco Sadaba put it-- "inhumanly sacrificed him in hatred of Religion and Spain." Fray Baldomero Abadia was not even 27 years old.

FRAY  GREGORIO BUENO DE LA VIRGEN DEL ROSARIO, OAR

Assignment: Mabalacat

Manner of Death: Executed by firing squad,  Boloed to death

The Spanish fraile  known for putting a curse on Mabalacat, saying that the town will never prosper, was Fray Gregorio Bueno de la Virgen del Rosario. Born in Taragona in Aragon, Spain, he was first assigned to Iba and Masinloc in Zambales, then moved to the Recoletos convent in Manila. On 30 November 1885, the Padre Garigu was named cura of Mabalacat. He was the last Recollect priest to serve and his was also the longest term, staying on for 23 years until his untimely death. The popular belief was that he incurred the wrath of town head Don Marcelo Tiglao, for harassing a female member of his family. The truth was, by 1897, the fervor of the Philippine revolution had reached Pampanga and Tarlac, which resulted in the closing of some Recollect missions. When Filipino revolutionaries succeeded in taking Tarlac from the Spaniards, word reached Mabalacat about Spain’s surrender at the Makabulos headquarters in San Miguel. A horde of angry, impassioned locals, incited by the Tiglao, stormed the parish and dragged Fr. Bueno outside.  The 66 year old priest was paraded on the streets in a bullcart, publicly humiliated and charged with espionage. On 10 July 1898, he was shot dead by a firing squad, although one other version had him boloed to death while in a pit that was to be his grave. Before Padre Bueno died, however, it was said that he managed to utter his famous legendary curse  on Mabalacat: the town will only be freed from the spell if it can produced fourteen native priests—a number that has since been exceeded.

FRAY JUAN HERRERO, OAR

Assignment:  Mabalacat

Manner of Death: Cornered and shot to death

The Recoletos were already firmly established in Pampanga and Tarlac when Fray Juan Herrero OAR, assigned in Dagami, Leyte,  was called on to help the thriving mission center in Mabalacat from where Recoletos fanned out to neighboring places to evangelize. In 1885, he was named as a compañero or assistant priest to long-serving Fr. Gregorio Bueno de la Virgen del Rosario.. Fr. Herrero stayed for just 5 months—from July 11 to December 10, but long enough to be facile with the Kapampangan language, a talent which earned him an amount of respect among the natives. On 30 April 1891, a new assignment took him to Imus where he was named as the Prior-Administrator of the order’s hacienda. But the looming revolution would change the course of the padre’s fate. By 1896, violent attacks against Spaniards were waged in many towns, Imus included. In the last days of September 1896, the Recoletos’ hacienda became the scene of a bloody siege. Advancing revolucionarios managed to corner Spanish soldiers and Recoleto priests--led by Fr. Juan Herrero--who bravely rallied around their country’s flag. Holed up in the hacienda without any hope of escape, Fr. Juan Herrero and 9 other Recoletos were killed in the crossfire by impassioned Filipinos. In an eerie twist of fate, a similar drama would unfold two years later in the same Pampanga town that he once served and involving the parish priest that he once assisted-- Fr. Gregorio Bueno.

FRAY JUAN TARRERO, OSA

Assignments: Arayat

Manner of Death: Executed by Gen. Maximino Hizon

Fray Juan Tarrero was assigned as a cura of Arayat, succeeding Fr. Jose Torres in 1858. Fr. Torres had started rebuilding the church, a project which Fr. Tarrero continued from 1858 to 1892. The work remained unfinished for two reasons—the stirrings of the Revolution had begun, and the poor padre found himself in trouble with the Alejandrino family of Arayat. The Spanish friar had ordered the patriarch, Mariano Alejandrino, exiled to Kiangan in the distant Ifugao province for allegedly being a Freemason. The last straw was when he supposedly abused a girl belonging to the Alejandrino family. By the time of the Revolution, the sons of Mariano—Jose, Joaquin, Manuel, Anselmo and Pastor-- had ascended into power as military leaders. Fearing for his dear life, the priest fled to the neighboring town of Mexico, only to be intercepted and apprehended by the troops of the gallant Kapampangan Gen. Maximino Hizon. He was dragged in front of the church where he was promptly executed. Curiously, Fr, Tarrero’s sorry tale has striking parallels with that of Fr. Bueno in Mabalacat, which is why old folks in Mabalacat and Mexico still believe that their towns have been cursed by executed friars.

FRAY ANTONIO REDONDO

Assignments: Bacolor, Sasmuan, Sta. Ana, Apalit, Minalin, San Fernando, Tarlac

Manner of Death: Illness while in captivity

Born in 1835 in Ceceda (Oviedo), Fr. Redondo took his solemn profession in Valladolid in 1854 and sailed to the Philippines in May 26, 1858. Initially assigned as presbitero in Manila, he was later appointed as cura interino of  Bacolor. He served in parishes in Tarlac (1861) and Pampanga:  Sexmoan (1862), Sta. Ana (1866), Minalin (1871), Apalit (1873) and San Fernando (1886-1898). He served in various capacities: prior vocal (1871 and 1889), Definidor de Provincia (1881) Vicario Provincial and Examinador de Idioma (1893 and 1897). The convents of Sta. Ana and San Fernando (including the church’s painted ceilings and dome) , and Apalit church are some of his accomplishments. During the Revolution, he escaped via Macabebe together with 13 Augustinians and one Recollect through the help of Gen. Ricardo Monet. He was captured by the revolutionaries in Hagonoy on 30 June 1898, as he was en route to Manila to board a ship for Spain. He was held captive in San Fernando where he contracted a disease; and was transferred to Mt. Arayat in 1899.  He was moved back to San Fernando, then to Angeles and finally forced to walk to Magalang. Fr. Redondo was supposed to have been brought to Magalang church, but his conditioned worsened and died on 30 March 1899, after receiving his viaticum from his fellow Franciscan captive, Fr. Francisco Sta. Olalla. 

   

FRAY VICTOR BALTANAS, OAR

Assignment: Mabalacat

Manner of Death: Hacked to death on the head

There has been so much focus on the gruesome murder of Fr. Gregorio Bueno, that it all but overshadowed the cases of his two other Mabalacat compañeros,  who died in the same terrible and controversial manner. The first, was the aforementioned F. Juan Herrero who was killed in Imus, and the second, the good padre, Fray Victor Baltanas de laVirgen del Rosario. Born on on 17 November 1869 in Berceo, La Rioja,  Spain, he became a Recoleto on 24 October 1886. Five years after, he was given a Philippine assignment, and just a few days after his arrival on 21 October 1891, the young deacon was sent to Mabalacat to assist Fr. Bueno and to learn, strangely enough, Tagalog basics. His stay was temporary, for  he was shuffled  from  Mabalacat to Manila, then Palawan (1894-1895) to Intramuros (1899-1902), and then finally to Valencia, Negros Oriental where he served as coadjutor. In October 1907, he became the cura of the Catholic Church of Escalante town. It was here that he was hacked to death in the head by an Aglipayan assassin, Mauricio Gamao, on the night of 15 May 1909, succumbing to his wounds the next day. The murder, motivated by the schism between Aglipayans and the Roman Catholic Church involving church property, was planned in connivance with the town head, Gil Gamao—Mauricio’s relative, who was subsequently convicted and sentenced to life imprisonment. The martyr of Escalante was interred in San Carlos, but his bones were exhumed in 1995 due to acts of vandalism and robbery in the cemetery. These were then kept at the Colegio de Santo Tomas-Recoletos

BONUS: The Prisoner of War Who Survived.

FRAY FERNANDO GARCIA, OSA

Assignment: Macabebe, Betis

One Spanish priest who went through a harrowing experience and lived to tell his tale was the Augustinian Fray Fernando Garcia. He came to the Philippines in 1875, and was assigned in Ilocos, until 1889, until he was recalled to Spain to serve at the Augustinian College at La Vid at  El Escorial. In 1896, he returned to the Philippines, and was assigned in Macabebe, only to be overtaken by the events of the Philippine Revolution. As  Gen. Antonio Luna  and his forces advanced towards Pampanga, he took Spanish officials and friars prisoners—including the poor Fr. Garcia. He and other friars were hauled off from town to town across Central Luzon, forced to walk barefoot, tortured, beaten, starved and publicly displayed like animals as war booty. When Aguinaldo's troops fled to Cordillera mountains to elude pursuing Americans, they took with them the hapless friars hoping to use them later as bargaining chips. A gunfight that killed Gen. Gregorio del Pilar gave the friars a chance to escape via a boat in Ilocos to Manila, where they got safe passage back to Spain. Fr. Garcia recovered to write an account of his 18-month ordeal, Ing Pangatimaua ning Metung a Mebijag, published in 1901. In it, he wrote: “The townspeople secretly gave us coffee to drink as well as bread, cigarettes and clothes. And others sent us money and all forms of sustenance. There were the more daring ones and truly kind who washed our miserable clothes for free." In 1913, he was named prior of the Augustinian Monastery in Manila in 1913. After two years, he returned to Pampanga as párroco of Betis. He died in 1924 and is buried in the side chapel of San Nicolas in San Agustin.

CREDITS:

Singsing Magazine, AUGUSTINIANS IN PAMPANGA

http://viewsfromthepampang.blogspot.com/2007/12/64-murder-most-foul-curse-of-p-gregorio.html

http://viewsfromthepampang.blogspot.com/2011/11/272-fr-juan-herrero-oar-in-crossfire-of.html

http://viewsfromthepampang.blogspot.com/2008/01/65-other-murders-in-cloisters.html

http://www.agustinosrecoletos.org/noticia.php?id_noticia=11442&id_seccion=9&idioma=1

Entry of Fr. Antonio Redondo, by: Louie Aldrin L. Bartolo

Perez, Elviro Jorde, Catalogo Bio-Bibliografico de los Religiosos Agustinos Provincia del Santissimo Nombre de Jesus de las Islas Filipinas (1901), Establecimento tipográfico del Colegio de Sto. Tomas pages 509-510.

Alcubierre, Casimiro España el Filipinas Los Ultimos Años Su de Dominacion en el Archipelago (1910) Establecimiento tipográfico de El Imparcial, 25 de Mayo 1910 pages 54-57

Orejas Tonette. "Showing the Human Side of Heroes", Fr.Juan Tarrero

Tantingco, Robby P.,  "The Friars' Fate in Pampanga"

Photo Credits: 

Photos of Frs. Bueno, Herrero: Order of the Augustinian Recollects Archives, c/o Fr. Rommel Rubia OAR

Singsing Magazine

http://catholicsaints.info/blessed-pedro-de-zuniga/Bl. Pedro de Zuniga