A Town by the Jal-o River: A Time Line

Some dear friends have been asking how far have I progressed in my research of our local history and I answered vaguely, "I'm still hiking along the muddy trail of Guanko".

The research commenced in 1998 under the administration of Mayor Bobby Calizo when Balete was considering the centennial celebration of the so called "El Tiroteo de Agtawagon", literally, "The Skirmish in the Hill of Agtawagon" but was popularized as "The Battle of Agtawagon". The officials then were hard put in conceptualizing what sort of celebration they ought to launch for lack of materials (historical data) to work on. They recalled that the teachers had some stage play presented regaling that "glorious past" but when the teachers admitted that that was but a product of a pregnant imagination, they hesitated to proceed. They thus resorted to organizing a research team which they divided into two. The first was consisted by Ng. Mila Jimera Andrade, then Vice Gov. Rodriguez, then SP Member Gabrielle V. Calizo, then SB Member Eduardo Villanueva and his better half, Evelyn Villanueva. That team was responsible for interviewing key personality, such as the late Bingo Altavas of the Jose Cortes Altavas Foundation. Ng Mila managed to photocopy portion of the "Mi Diario" of the Baleten-on Senator and some old souvenir programs of the municipalities of Batan and Altavas, all rich with information concerning local history of the contiguous municipalities of Altavas, Balete, Batan and New Washington.

The other team, if you would call that a team, was composed by me and my pen and ink (can't afford laptop then). I elected to visit the University of San Agustin in Iloilo, the National Archives, the National Library and the National Historical Institute as part of my expedition into the Baleten-on past. I also interviewed a number of venerable residents and managed to have some of their manuscripts.

Combining those findings with the current research I have been having this year, let me present to you the timeline of the pueblo of Balete of the Province of Capiz:

1591 - The village by the Jal-o River was part of the Encomienda of Batan under Miguel Rodriguez. Batan was one of the 9 big villages in the Province of Panay--Panay was one of the two provinces in Panay Island, the other being Octon;
1703 - Alcaldia System was introduced (Although the law was passed as early as 1583). The provinces of Capiz, Yloylo and Hamtic were established. Pueblos and Barrios were created.
1714 - Jalo was mentioned as part of the visitas of the Parish of Batan under the Augustinian missionaries. The whole Panay Is. then was under the bishopric of Cebu
1758 - the Augustinian Recollects took turn in shepherding the faithful of Batan and Jalo
1789 - The Recoletos turned over Batan to the Diocesan Priests (although Bishop Romualdo Jimeno was himself a Dominican)
1792 - The bishop of Cebu made pastoral visit in Batan. This was followed by 12 pastoral visits up to the time of Bishop Jimeno who was ambushed and killed along the trail on his way to Dumalag (17 March 1872). We learned later that the place where he fatally fell was named after him.
1804 - Balete, Capiz. Population - 3,089.
1856 - Rev. Fr. Diego Albao replaced the late Rev. Fr. Matias Piansay as Parish Priest of Balete. Bishop Jimeno was responsible for the assignment of Fr. Albao.
1882 - Rev. Fr. Vicente Guanco was the Parish Priest of Balete; Don. Adriano Calizo acted as the gobernadorcillo; Don. Alejo Eliserio was the Capitan Pasado while D. Agapito Borromeo and D. Juan Oquendo were the Cabeza Actual then.
1882 - Balete suffered an epidemic which caused the lives of some 144 souls.
1884 - Maura Law. Governadorcillo was replaced by the title, Capitan Municipal with the cura parocco still being the appointing authority.
1888 - Balete had total land area of 15,525 hectares. It produced 200 cavans of rice per cropping.
1889 - Capitan Municipal was changed into Presidente Municipal and was now elected by the landed few-the principalia in a pueblo.
1891 - The Diocese of Jaro was established.
1893 - The Barrios of Balete were as follows:
a. Sidman - D. Jose Feliciano, Teniente
b. Pulajan - D. Pascual Lumio, Teniente
c. Matanat - D. Pio Casong, Teniente
d. Rivera - D. Mariano Perez, Teniente
e. Bulun-agan - ....
f. Tigbao - ...

(Elecciones de Gobernadorcillos de Capiz narrated that there were eleven barrios then, the other names were lost, sadly)

Meeting Sickness at the Fork of the Road

I smile to myself realizing the civil war happening inside. I've been there for quite a number of time. Precisely that at the onset of its becoming, I readily recognize it. I smile because I am happy. I also smile because I am wary. I smile because I sense my weakness arising. That's the way I express myself, ever since.

I am happy to have met you. I am excited knowing you each new day. I am glad that our roads have crossed.

But I am wary. I am not sure how intimate we could become. I can tolerate becoming acquainted. I do not know if I can handle gut level conversations with you. I am afraid of becoming familiar.

I am afraid of being defined. I am becoming. If you managed to define me, then I fear that I have ceased growing. Your Monalisa smile will make me paranoid. What does it mean? Does it mean that I am known by you? Does it mean that death is nearing my door?

The River Sighs

As morning breaks I look to you, O God, to be my strength this day. Alleluia. (Ps. 63)

The Escuela del Rey in Balete

My bolano has just uploaded a magnificent panoramic frame of some antiquated posts at the heart of the Balete Town Plaza. Then, he wondered out loud what they represent or what they used to be in their heydays.

Most of my contemporaries remember the "structures" just as that--four pillars guarding quietly and indiscriminately the playground from the pedestrians and motorists passing the Plaridel St. (now, Bernardo J. Rodriguez St.) Few however know what they were, just like my bolano. I myself heard only some hazy stories about its "glorious past" and those hazy stories I will attempt to reconstruct.

The late Bingo Altavas used to tell of an entry in the Mi Diaro of his great grandfather, the eminent Baleten-on Senator, Jose Cortes Altavas, where his old man recalled of having learned cartillas at the Escuela del Rey just beside the Parish Church of Balete in the early 1880's. A picture in albumen print preserved at the Archives of the University of Michigan dated 1890 shows the Balete parish rectory (convento), the parish church and the bell tower were all made up of light materials endemic of Balete, i.e., nipa thatches, bamboos and nipa shingles. Most probably, the same materials were used for the Escuela del Rey when Sen. Altavas was learning his cartillas there.

During the times of the Thomasites, the Americans constructed a school building made up of hardwood in the same site, although per Ng. Mila Andrade's account, the site was donated by a certain Don. Juancho Oquendo (I'm not sure if he is the same person as Juan Oquendo who was elected the first Municipal President of New Washington in 1904 and as first Municipal President of the reestablished Municipality of Balete in 1920). By 1935, the site was already used by the Balete Elementary School with its steel gates affixed on concrete columns facing the Plaridel St. Tay Abun (Abundio Guadalupe) used to tell of having befriended a member of Peace Corps who resided at the vacated school building after BES was transfered in Uphill sometime in 1938 or 1939.

Hazy memories of some concrete structures...Perhaps, some older, better informed readers can substantiate these accounts so that my bolano's curiosity could be satisfied.

An Investment Incentive Code Finally

The Sangguniang Bayan has unanimously ordained the passage of an investment incentive code last August 12, 2010. The draft ordinance was presented on First Reading as early as 2007 but for some reasons, the committee assigned to it had not advanced its immediate enactment. Considering that we are an agricultural community, we've prioritized on the following areas:

a. agriculture
• Poultry/Piggery/Livestock Production
• Vegetables/Fruits/Crops Production
• Rice and Corn Production
1.lowland
2.upland
• Aqua-culture
• Processed Foods, to include but not limited to the following:
1.Pinipig/Banana/Camote Crackers
2.Smoke Fish
3.Cassava Fudge
4.Rice Cake (all sorts of Kakanin)
5.Boneless Bangus

b. Forestry

• Bamboo Craft Production
• Piña Fiber Extraction and Cloth Weaving
• Rafia Craft Production
• Nito Craft Production
• Abaca Production/Fiber Extraction and Cloth Production
• Rattan Craft Production

c. Support Activities/Infrastructure

• Water Supply Improvement
• Power Supply Improvement
• Exhibition and Training Center
• Sanitary Landfill (BOT)
• Drainage System Improvement
• Road networks and bridges infrastructure
• Telecommunications

d. Basic Industries

• Recycling Industry
• Bottled Mineral Water
• Cottage Industry

e. Eco-Tourism

1. Tourism Site Development which shall include areas in the upland barangays of Balete as described under the Comprehensive Land Use Plan (CLUP) of this Municipality, notably Kipot Falls, Agtawagon Hill and Murao Falls. Special mention is to be made concerning the Basura Garden and Art Gallery of artist Cip Lachica in Poblacion and the Kabuhi-an Livelihood Skills Training and Exhibition Center in Barangay Aranas.

2. Tourist Accommodations Facilities on the aforecited development sites shall include, but not limited to:

• Hostels/lodging houses/cottages
• Resorts
• Restaurants

Any enterprise whether new or existing shall be entitled to graduated incentives for its first three years of operation or upon availing of these incentives on the following:
a. Municipal Taxes
Year 1 – 100% exempted
Year 2 – 50% exempted
Year 3 - 25% exempted
b. Municipal Permits & Regulatory Fees

Non-fiscal incentives include the following:

a. Site selection and negotiation assistance
b. One-stop shop documentation center/processing application
c. Labor recruitment and arbitration assistance

Anticipating Fiesta

Slowly, my sleepy town comes to life. Slowly, Balete flips its calendar as October draws near.

The cool, damp morning breeze awakens Baleten-ons to some imperceptible frantic worries. The inattentive always complain of almost grasping the meaning behind the restlessness and the anxiety. But for Wawaw, though he may be partially deaf, he senses that the month of September sounds similar as October and he would salivate for that ice-cold San Miguel Beer served by Arlie's househelp. Ah, fiesta eon man! Really, fiesta eon man sa banwa!

Traditionally, Balete Fiesta is set every October 24 based on old canonical calendar which determine the feast day of the Archangel Rafael. This year though, October 24 falls on a Sunday which is of course the Lord's Day, the day in a week where Christians celebrate the resurrection and the rest of the paschal mysteries of the Lord. It is a remembrance which is sine qua non to all the other Christian feast. As such, basing on the canons of the Catholic church, the feast of the Lord's Day which is the primary holyday of obligation could not be superseded by feastday dedicated to Mary, the saints or an archangel for that matter. Hence, St. Rafael's feast, following the logic of Canon Law, is to be celebrated this year on October 23, a Saturday.

The Baleten-on faithful is not stranger to this adjustment. There had been instances in the past when Balete observed the feast of its patron saint on October 23. From 1994 to 1997, the Christian community under the pastorate of Fr. Tito Gelito moved the feast to October 23 over a clashed of orientations with the civil government vis-a-vis its attempt in giving witness to the message of Jesus. The civic and religious fiesta were simultaneously celebrated again in 1998 when a representative of the local government promised the then new parish priest of Balete that it will recognize and respect the priorities and the schedule of the parish throughout the duration of the fiesta celebration. Thus, it was a fact that in those years the eve of the fiesta was truly a vesper night, i.e., a night of prayer, preparations, reconciliation, family reunion.

Of course, the restless youth and the "feeling" youth were not happy that there was no binayle during Besperas. The good news then was that the tanods and the police did not have head aches dealing with riots while residents won't have to prepare dinuguan and pansit for patrons of benefit dance.

The Parable of A Fox and A Little Prince

Antoine de Saint-Exupéry has this interesting parable about a little prince who lived in a little planet with its three small volcanoes and a haughty flower. One unforgettable chapter narrates about the meeting and separation of the little prince and a fox as he went about his inter-planetary journey. Their meeting was casual and yet wonderful:

“Good morning,” said the fox. “Good morning,” the little prince responded politely although when he turned around he saw nothing. “I’m right here,” the voice said, “under the apple tree.” “Who are you?” asked the little prince, and added, “You’re very pretty to look at.” I’m a fox,” the fox said. “Come and play with me,” proposed the little prince. “I’m so sad.” “I cannot play with you,” the fox said. “I’m not tamed.” “Ah! Please excuse me,” said the little prince. But after some thought, he added, “What doest that mean—‘tame’?” “It’s an act too often neglected,” said the fox. “It means to establish ties. To me, you are still nothing more than a little boy who is just like a hundred thousand other little boys. And I have no need of you. And you, on your part, have no need of me. To you, I am nothing more than a fox like a hundred thousand other foxes. But if you tame me, then we shall need each other. To me, you will be unique in the entire world. To you, I shall be unique in the entire world…”

And so after much patient endurance, the little prince finally tamed the fox and they filled their days together with laughter and memories to cherish. The fox said, “While other steps send me hurrying back underneath the ground, yours will call me, like music, out of my burrow. And look then. You see the grain-fields down yonder? I do not eat bread. Wheat is of no use to me. The rice-field has nothing to say to me. And that is sad. But you have hair that is the color of gold. Think how wonderful that is now that you have tamed me! The grain, which is also golden, will bring me back the thought of you. And I shall love to listen to the wind in the wheat…”

Their parting however was heartrending yet mystical:

The fox said, “I shall cry.” “It’s your fault,” said the little prince. “I never wished you any sort of harm; but you wanted me to tame you…” “Yes that is so,” said the fox. “But now you are going to cry!” said the little prince. “Yes that is so,’ said the fox. “Then it has done you no good at all!” the little prince responded. “It has done me good,” said the fox, “because of the color of the grain-fields. Goodbye. Here is my secret, a very simple present of a secret: It is only with the heart that one can see rightly; what is essential is invisible to the eye. It is the time you have wasted for your friends that make them so important. You become responsible, forever, for what you have tamed.”