What Happened to the Central Azucarera de Mabalacat?

Once upon a time, there was a sugar central in the Municipality of Mabalacat, Pampanga operated by Mabalacat Sugar Company (The Sugar Central). It was known as the Central Azucarera de Mabalacat. Writing from memory, historian Mariano Henson (1955:115), shared that the sugar central started milling in 1923 and conked out of business in 1934. However, court records indicate that the sugar central may have started operations as early as 1920. At its prime, the sugar central milled 256 tons of sugar cane daily. Pampanga's sugar cane farming expanded to Mabalacat since mid-1800s.

So, what happened to Mabalacat's little sugar central?

The Mabalacat Sugar Company operated its sugar central on two (2) parcels of land in Mabalacat, Pampanga. The said lands hosted the the Sugar Central's buildings, sugar-cane mill, telephone installations, apparatus, utensils and machinery necessary for the operation of a sugar central. The Sugar Central also owned a railway on lands rented from the Dizon and Tiglao families. The railways covered a strip of land, some 2,664 meters long and 5 meters wide, stretching from Hacienda Concepcion, traversing through Barrio Dolores, to Mabalacat. The property included permanent improvements - embankments, bridges, sewers and telephone lines - all for the proper transport of sugar cane.

The sugar central was managed by its president Benjamin A. Green. He was known by his appellation, B.A. Green. He owned 55% of the company's capital stock. On April 26, 1926, B.A. Green, the president and manager of Mabalacat Sugar Company, Inc. obtained a loan from a Binondo-based real estate holding company, Cu Unjieng y Hijos. The loan was secured by a first mortgage constituted on the Sugar Central's two (2) parcels of land including all improvements, fixtures, machinery and equipment existing therein or may exist in the future on said lots.

Guillermo A. Cu Unjieng owner of Cu Unjieng y Hijos which funded Mabalacat Sugar Central's 1926 expansion.
(Photo:  Josephine M. T. Khu) 

Shortly after, Green decided to buy additional machinery and equipment with the goal of increasing the Sugar Central's milling capacity from 150 to 250 tons per day. He needed additional capital amounting to PhP 100,000.00. He, thus, proposed to entrepreneur B.H. Berkenkotter to advance the needed funds. Green promised to return Berkenkotter's money as soon as he could obtain additional loans from Cu Unjieng y Hijos. On October 5, 1926, Berkenkotter agreed with the proposal and four days later, delivered the amount of PhP 1,710.00. Berkenkotter also advanced to the Sugar Central the amount of PhP 25,750.00 plus PhP 22,000.00 representing his unpaid salaries.

The additional machinery and equipment purchased were installed on April 27, 1927. As planned, on June 10, 1927, B.A. Green applied for additional loans of PhP 75,000.00 from Cu Unjieng y Hijos. He offered as security the newly-installed machinery and equipment. The loan, however, was not granted.

The Sugar Central became laden with indebtedness. On October 20, 1928, Cu Unjieng y Hijos, gave extension of time for the Sugar Central to pay in full its mortgage indebtedness until June 30, 1929, with certain installment payments to be made on specified dates. But the Sugar Central failed to make payments due on February 25, 1929, March 25, 1929, and April 25, 1929, and failed altogether to fully pay the balance due on June 30, 1929. 

To recover their investments, Cu Unjieng y Hijos filed Civil Case No. 4178 before the Court of First Instance of Pampanga against the Sugar Central. After trial, the court ordered, among others, the Sugar Central to pay Cu Unjieng y Hijos the amount PhP 163, 534.73 with interests of 12 percent per year, compounded monthly beginning May 1, 1929. If payments were not made within three (3) months, foreclosure proceedings follow. On appeal, the Supreme Court of the Philippines modified the lower court's decision ordering the Sugar Central to pay PhP 162,398.61, with interest at 12 per cent per year, beginning May 1, 1929. (Cu Unjieng y Hijos vs. The Mabalacat Sugar Co., et al., G.R. No. L-32644, decided October 4, 1930).

B.H. Berkenkotter, on the other hand, filed a petition before the Court of First Instance of Manila claiming ownership over the machinery and equipment installed at the Sugar Central. He believed that he is the rightful owner of the said machinery and equipment having advanced some money for its purchase and that he was unpaid. The lower court and the Supreme Court denied his claim. The machinery and equipment were considered permanent improvements and were therefore incorporated in the mortgaged lands. They were deemed mortgaged properties to Cu Unjieng y Hijos. However, Berkenkotter was allowed the right of redemption (B. H. Berkenkotter vs. Cu Unjieng y Hijos, G.R. No. L-41643, July 31, 1935).

The Sugar Central continuously failed to pay its indebtedness to its creditors prompting the Provincial Sheriff of Pampanga to foreclose its properties, including its machinery and accessories, and sold them in public auction for PhP 177,000.00. Green found the price inadequate. But the Court of First Instance found it more than enough and so confirmed the validity of the sale. On appeal, the validity of the auction sale was upheld by the Supreme Court of the Philippines. (Cu Unjieng y Hijos vs. Mabalacat Sugar Company, et.al. G.R. No. 37206, decided September 22, 1933).

The Sugar Central's Financial Setbacks

Between the crop years 1926-1930, the Sugar Central experienced financial setbacks. It failed to meet its obligations to its creditors. For instance, it failed to deliver 14,243.42 piculs of centrifugal sugar promised to Compañia General de Tabacos de Filipinas (G.R. No. 34960, decided September 25, 1931). It also failed to pay Earnshaws Docks and Honolulu Iron Works for services rendered, materials supplied and promissory note issued (G.R. L-32547, decided October 4, 1930). And it failed to negotiate for the renewal of the lease contract of the lands it used (G.R. No. 30112, decided September 9, 1929).

On September 4 and 5, 1927, Manuel Lazatin and Tomasa C. Vda de Pamintuan (in behalf of the minor owners) hired a large body of men to remove hastily the railway tracks of the Sugar Central. It was done with such haste, force and violence that the whole track was torn up and removed in two days. The men bent or twisted the rails, destroyed the railway ties, fish-plates, bolts and nuts and spikes. So devastating was the effect of this hullabaloo that the company was forced to litigate the matter to redress its damages despite its ailing financial condition. The Supreme Court of the Philippines found Lazatin and Pamintuan liable to the Sugar Central for damages amounting to PhP 2,083.00 (The Mabalacat Sugar Company vs. Jose V. Ramirez, et. al., G.R. No. 30112, decided September 9, 1929).

The Sugar Central Under Receivership

On May 3, 1929, after winning the case against the Sugar Central, Cu Unjieng y Hijos secured the appointment of Rafael Fernandez as receiver of the properties. Fernandez, a learned man, who graduated at the University of the Philippines and Harvard University, was a trusted friend of the Cu Unjiengs. Fernandez, after filing a bond of PhP 10, 000.00, assumed office as a receiver. 

It turned out, however, that Fernandez brought more harm than good to the Sugar Central. On December 18, 1930, Fernandez, in his capacity as the receiver of the Sugar Central, issued forged sugar quedan no. 306 for 380,000 piculs of centrifugal sugar in favor of Amando L. Santos. And on December 25, 1930 and February 17, 1931, Fernandez, issued another two forged sugar quedans nos. 307 and 324, for 530,434 and 544,345 piculs, respectively, of centrifugal sugar in favor of Teodoro Santos. Subsequently, it appeared that Amando L. Santos and Teodoro Santos transferred the said three sugar quedans to Rafael Fernandez, this time in the his personal capacity. With the said forged sugar quedans, Fernandez obtained from National City Bank of New York over-draft credit facilities, up to the amount of P900,000.00. The centrifugal sugar represented by said quedans did not exist (The National City Bank of New York vs. Yek Tong Lin Fire & Marine Insurance Co., G.R. No. L-8369, decided April 20, 1956).

On July 24, 1931, Rafael Fernandez was discharged as receiver of the Mabalacat Sugar Company. Francisco Baltazar took over the receivership after having filed a bond for P50,000 and taken oath of office as a receiver. He helped the Sugar Central fold up its business. By the eve of the World War II, Mabalacat Sugar Company was a distant memory.

What of B.A. Green? He moved on to become the president of another venture - the Abucay Plantation Company.

Hacienda Concepcion (1927) as it appeared in a Camp Stotsenburg map. It shows the sugar plantation and the railway track. (https://searchworks.stanford.edu/view/9956692).

List of Works Cited

B. H. Berkenkotter vs. Cu Unjieng y Hijos, G.R. No. L-41643, July 31, 1935.

Cu Unjieng y Hijos vs. The Mabalacat Sugar Co., et al., G.R. No. L-32644, decided October 4, 1930.

Cu Unjieng y Hijos vs. Mabalacat Sugar Company, et.al. G.R. No. 37206, decided September 22, 

     1933.

Earnshaws Docks and Honolulu Iron Works vs. Mabalacat Sugar Company, G.R. No. L-32547,
     decided October 4, 1930.

Henson, Mariano. 1955. The Province of Pampanga and its Towns (A.D. 1300-1955) with the 

     Genealogy of the Rulers of Central Luzon. Angeles, Pampanga.

La Compañia General De Tabacos De Filipinas vs. Mabalacat Sugar Co., and Geo C. Sellner, G.R. 

     No. 34960. September 25, 1931.

The Mabalacat Sugar Company vs. Jose V. Ramirez, et. al. G.R. No. 30112, decided September 9, 

     1929.

The National City Bank of New York vs. Yek Tong Lin Fire & Marine Insurance Co., G.R. No. L-

     8369, decided April 20, 1956.

Friar Documents and the Early History of Mabalacat

A paper presented at Pagpopook at Pagdadalumat: Kasaysayang Lokal Tungo sa Pagbuo ng Kasaysayang Nasyonal, Ferbary 21, 2017, Cultural Hall, Mabalacat City College, Mabalacat City, Pampanga sponsored by SAMAKA-MCC

Introduction

Like many cities in the Philippines, the history of Mabalacat, Pampanga during the Spanish period is very much intertwined with the history of the friar activities in the area. Filipino historian Leon Ma. Guerrero once wrote, “the Spanish history of the Philippines begins and ends with the Friar.” Indeed, in Mabalacat, the Spanish era history began with the respected Fr. Andres de San Fulgencio and ended with the dreaded Fr. Gregorio Bueno.

The Spaniards were record-conscious race and the Friars were prolific writers. They left behind thousands of pages of records kept in archives in the Philippines and overseas. These records may vary from the writing of personal letters, evangelization reports, requests and even complaints to the writing of grammar books, treatises, dictionaries, expedientes, maps and sketches, name it the friars wrote it. Besides, by mandate, they were required to keep canonical books. It seemed like not a single day passed without the Friar writing something.

This paper surveys some friar parchments present in some archives and offers illustrative reconstructions of parts of early history of Mabalacat. This is with a view of emphasizing usefulness of Friar documents in writing local histories. In particular, the Friar writings surveyed include: Cartas, Vocabularios and Grammar Books, Canonical Books, and Expedientes.

I. Cartas

Cartas are letters written by the Recollect Friars to their superiors detailing their evangelization efforts, the challenges they encountered as well as their achievements. During their stint at Mabalacat, the Missionaries assigned wrote a number of letters. The letters were now preserved at the Archivo Recoleto of Saint Ezekiel Moreno Province in Quezon City and Archivo Histórico Provincial of Saint Nicholas Province in Marcilla, in Navarra, Spain.

For a long time, historians believed that Mabalacat was founded in 1712, the year Governor General Martin Ursua y Arizmendi ordered the establishment of towns along the Pampanga-Pangasinan route. However, a carta from Fr. Andres de San Fulgencio revealed that he founded Mabalacat in 1717. Thus, from the Cartas, the reconstruction of the Founding of Mabalacat goes:

The Founding of the Mission of Mabalacat

Father Andres de San Fulgencio founded the Mission of Mabalacat in the year 1717. He noted that in the mountains of Mabalacat, there lived more than a thousand Aetas and Balugas. Fr. Andres convinced the heads of the clans to relocate to a more convenient town site to facilitate their Christianization. He believed that when the heads are resettled, their followers would be tagged along. More or less thirty (30) native chiefs and their families acquiesced. They constructed their houses and fields around the town site centered on the church. They comprised the core populace of the town. On September 3, 1717, Fr. Andres de San Fulgencio blissfully reported:

The town of Mabalacat, that began in the year 1717, is currently showing auspicious beginnings, not only in spiritual terms but also temporal, with the fields and houses that were already made, with many requests for baptism and of making the township an excellent foothold towards the mountains, where, as I already indicated, it is more convenient and proportionate to the ends that are being attempted.

I have dwelt this year (1717) among them in these mountains of Mabalacat; having reduced the natives of the elevated vicinity, making them go down and settle in this place that I believe at this moment is very convenient for such purpose...[1]

Fr. de San Fulgencio started the catechism, instruction and baptism of this new town. Before September, he baptized at least ten natives. However, many of the natives slipped back to their nomadic lives. The natives were, by occupation, hunters and gatherers and as such, they relied on the mountain resources for their sustenance. The attempts at relocation drove them to hunger.

II. Vocabularios and Grammar Books

Clever historians have long recognized the importance of bocabularios and grammar books in giving flesh to the otherwise lean historical data. Bocabularios lists native words and detailed its meaning or description in Spanish. As it defined the native words, it unwittingly, it gave out some local colors, customs and traditions or other cultural features of a place or period. Fray Diego Bergaño's Vocabulario de Pampango en Romance, y Diccionario de Romance en Pampango for example gave out archaic words that described pre-hispanic cultural practices. And Fr. Francisco Coronel's Artes y Reglas de la Lengua Pampanga treated Kapampangan slavery very casually as he used them as examples to illustrate word usages.

Through Vocabularios and other friar documents, the culture of the inhabitants of Mabalacat during the Spanish contacts may thus be reconstructed as:

The Early Culture and Society of Mabalacat

According to Fr. Andres de San Fulgencio, the region of what is now the present territory of Mabalacat was inhabited by the natives who were ‘so savage and barbarous whose innate inclination is bow and arrow and the taking of lives, of cutting heads, having magnatos and feasts, drinking in skulls…’[2] Albeit brief, the description provided a glimpse of the early culture and society of Mabalacat.

The Pinatubo Aetas were the first inhabitants of Mabalacat. Physically, they possessed dark complexion, curly hairs and small body stature. With this racial phenotype, they belong to the Negroid race. The Spaniards called them negritos taking into account their black skin tone and small stature. The natives referred to themselves as Aetas. Early Spanish accounts confirmed their reputations of ferocity and notoriety not only among the Spaniards but also among the neighboring Kapampangans and Ilocanos.

Primarily, Pinatubo Aetas lived by hunting and gathering forests products for family consumption and for trading with its neighbor, the Zambals. As such, they mastered the forests and sharpened their skills in bows and arrows. They combed the mountains and valleys for honey, fruits, edible roots and other forest products. They hunted wild animals such as boars, deer and carabaos.

The constant and long standing trade between the Pinatubo Aetas and the Zambals resulted to many shared cultural practices among the two cultures. These included magnatos (religious rituals), ambas (chants), mangaw (head taking), among others.

Magnatos were religious rituals performed during celebrations, assemblies, marriages, feasts and healing the sick. These were facilitated by high priests called Bayoc. The rituals included a repertoire of chants, dances and non-stop drinking. The enemies’ skulls, accumulated during mangaw, were dried out and polished and fashioned into drinking cups and were used during these ceremonies.

Ambas were the songs and chants sung and recited during magnatos and during celebrations of victory over enemies. These songs and chants detail their exploits as they present cut heads of their enemies. The heads were displayed in their houses to flaunt their valor. Other terms of similar import are gamba and alaula – to sing of, or celebrate a victory after cutting off heads. The enemies’ heads, treated as war trophies, were known among the Kapampangans, the perennial victims, as dangin. [3]

Mangaw were headhunting expeditions to attack and cut off heads of enemies and intruders. The Pinatubo Aeta and Zambals always kept with them a long pointed blade called bararao. This weapon was sharp enough to cut off human head with one stroke. During the mangaw, brave Pinatubo Aetas hid themselves behind thick vegetation along travelers’ route awaiting ambush. When an unfortunate passer by traverse the ‘dangerous passage’ (cabalingan) or the ‘scary place’ (pipacdayan), the Pinatubo Aetas began to scream (buyao) and stage the heinous attack. If by miracle, traveler escaped, then he was just ‘scared away’ (mabuyao), [4] if not, then his head became ‘war booty’ (dangin).

III. Canonical Books.

Canonical Books are the parish registers (libros de asientos, libros de cargo y data, libros de bautismos, casamientos and difuntos). These books keep track of the parishioners, parish expenses, baptisms, marriages and deaths. The contents of these books may give a glimpse of the historical socio-economic situation of a particular mission or town. Unfortunately for Mabalacat, only a few of these canonical books survived. Those which survived belonged to the later part of Spanish period and are now deposited in Archdiocesan Archives of San Fernando (AASF) in Pampanga. Some of its contents, however may be gleaned from the cartas and other reports. Thus, from the canonical books, together with the cartas and other friar writings, the reconstruction of the early history of Mabalacat goes:

A Fledgling Mission

Poverty struck the Mission of Mabalacat. The books of accounts were the silent witnesses of the budget shortages suffered by the Religious assigned therein. In 1729, the missionaries begged Recollect Superiors to excuse two- third of their required remittances because the church collection barely covered the expenses. The expenses of the Mission of Mabalacat and Bamban were subsidized by the King of Spain through his Royal Haciendas in the Indies. Time and again, the Recollects expressed disappointments on these endeavors, which they considered as wastage of missionary effort and government resources.

While considerable success had been achieved with regards the Christianization and pacification of the Zambals, Kapampangans and the Tagalogs, the same cannot be said with that of the Aetas. After baptism, the Aetas tend to abandon their newly-acquired faith, slip back to the mountains and resume their nomadic lives. On his 1737 report to the King, the Rector Provincial, Fr. Jose de la Concepcion, echoed previous requests for the Superior Government to subdue the Aetas by force. Fr. Concepcion candidly reported that these previous requests fell on deaf ears because of lack of funds. [5]

Thirteen years later, in October 1750, the same disappointment resonated from the report of the aging Rector Provincial. He reported to the Superior Government that despite the enormous efforts of the Recollect missionaries, the registers of the towns of Patlin, Panipoan and Mabalacat showed insignificant number of Christians. This was far from the expected yield. As such, the maintenance of the said towns proved to be costly for the Spanish colonial government. At the time of the report, there were only 226 Aetas and Balogas in the town and mission of Mabalacat. They were under the care of Fr. Francisco de la Natividad since 1737. Mabalacat had 32 straw huts, thus per 1722 instruction, there were at least 64 married persons. In addition, there were 89 taxpayers, 49 of which were bachelors and 36 were women (widows and maidens). There were also 29 school children and 48 catechumens.[6]

IV. Expedientes. Another set of Friar Documents which are useful in the writing of the history of Mabalacat expedientes written by Vicaria Capitular de Manila, Vicaria Foranea de Pampanga or the Parish Priests assigned to Mabalacat. Expedientes are dossiers or set of documents dealing with a particular issue. Kept in the National Archives of the Philippine are documents relative to the separation of the Bamban Mission from the its Mother Parish, Mabalacat. Thus, from the expedientes, the reconstruction of the separation of the Visita of Bamban from Mabalacat Parish goes:

Mabalacat Parish Gave Birth to Bamban Mission

Since its foundation, the Town of Bamban had been under the Spiritual Administration of Mabalacat. The distance between Mabalacat and Bamban is three (3) leguas that is about an hour and a half walk. Recollect missionary priests based in Mabalacat regularly visited Bamban to administer Catholic Sacraments. However, during rainy days, the Parua River, which served as a boundary between the two towns, is difficult to cross, making it difficult, if not impossible, for the Missionaries to go to Bamban. This resulted to the neglect of the religious duties of the rather fragile Aeta faithfuls. [7]

Thus, in 1875, the Governor of the Politico-Militar District of Tarlac presented a petition before the Vicaria Capitular de Manila for the creation of an independent Mission of Bamban. The Vicaria Foranea de Pampanga and Fr. Felix Perez de la Soledad, the Parish Priest of Mabalacat Parish supported the petition. They explained that the Creation of the Mission of Bamban is important as it would result to a better civil and religious lives of the natives. [8]

The petition was found to be meritorious. On February 3, 1876 the Vicar Capitular de Manila formally declared the creation of a Mission in Bamban, Politico-Military District of Tarlac, separate and independent from the mother parish Mabalacat, Province of Pampanga.[9]

Conclusion

At the outset, the idea of writing the early history of Mabalacat, Pampanga is challenging. The town was too rustic and remote during the Spanish period to merit bigger spaces in the Spanish colonial writings. Historians seemed to have reached a dead end before they even started. But as Friar writings surfaced, the writing Mabalacat's early history became very exciting. This is especially intensified with the advent the availability of digital copies of many friar writings in the internet. Thus, with Friar documents, taken together with civil writings plus some historical imagination, coming up with a comprehensive history of Mabalacat is not impossible.

________________________

[1] Fr. Andres de San Fulgencio to Father Provincial, Mabalacat, 3 September 1717, Dr. Lino L. Dizon (trans) See “Archaeology of Reduccion and (Re-) Settlement Narratives Among Recollect Missions in Upper Pampanga, 1712-1898,” Alaya: The Kapampangan Research Journal , vol. 5, December 2007-2008, 55-56.

[2] Andres de San Fulgencio, to Father Provincial, Mabalacat, September 3, 1717, Archivo General de Indias, Indice 31, Doc. 94.

[3] Dangin - Fray Diego Bergaño, Vocabulario de Pampango en Romance, y Diccionario de Romance en Pampango. Translated by Fr. Venancio Q. Samson (Angeles City: The Juan D. Nepomuceno Center for Kapampangan Studies, Holy Angel University, 2007), p. 146.

[4] Buyao - Fray Diego Bergaño, Vocabulario de Pampango en Romance, y Diccionario de Romance en Pampango. Translated by Fr. Venancio Q. Samson (Angeles City: The Juan D. Nepomuceno Center for Kapampangan Studies, Holy Angel University, 2007), p. 91.

[5] Fr. Jose de la Concepcion to Your Majesty, Convent of San Juan de Bagumbayan, Outside the Walls of the City of Manila, July 4, 1737, Archivo Provincial Lib. 1.º 2.º de Consultas, fol. 3 vto.

[6] Jose de la Concepcion, “Reseña Historica: de nuestra Provincia de San Nicolas de Tolentino de Filipinas, desde su origen hasta el año 1750,” Boletin de la Provincia de San Nicolas de Tolentino de Filipinas de la Orden de Agustinos Recoletos, Año IX Enero de 1918 Núm. 91, 61.

[7] Fr. Felix, Letter to Gobernador Eclesiastico de este Arzobispado, 15 Diciembre 1785, National Archives in the Philippines.

[8] Vicaria Foranea de Pampanga, Letter to Gobernador Eclesiastico de Arzobispado de Manila, 18 Diciembre 1785, National Archives in the Philippines.

[9] Vicar Capitular de Manila, February 3, 1876, National Archives in the Philippines.

Mabalacat under the Spanish Flag

         

The history of Mabalacat, Pampanga during the Spanish colonization is almost intertwined with its religious history – it started with a friar and ended with a friar. Mabalacat started as a Mission in 1717 with the arrival of pioneer Recollect Missionary, Fr. Andres de San Fulgencio, OAR. The Mission eventually became a political entity called pueblo in 1768 with the appointment of its first Gobernadorcillo, Garangan. The Spanish colonization ended in 1898, with the murder of Father Gregorio Bueno de la Virgen del Romero, OAR the last Recollect missionary of Mabalacat.

The Recollect Missions Tempered the Pinatubo Aeta Raids

            During the last decades of the 18^th century, the Pinatubo Aeta raids were tempered. The chain of Missions established along the eastern slope of Zambales Mountains almost served as a barricade which limited the movements of native Pinatubo Aetas living in the deep forests of the mountain peaks. They were not able to stage treacherous raids against the neighboring Kapampangans who were, by then, immersed in Hispanic culture and religion.[1] In time, many of the Pinatubo Aetas also embraced the Catholic faith.[2] As a result, the route from Pampanga to Pangasinan became safer for travelers. Passages from Pampanga to Zambales were also opened. The importance of these routes was emphasized during the last uprising in Pangasinan where these routes were used for the transport soldiers and arms to successfully quell the rebellion.[3]

The Recollects patiently sustained the Mabalacat mission. By 1794, Mabalacat remained a small town having only seventy (70) private houses. Seventeen (17) of these were made of light materials with nipa roofs while the other fifty-three (53) were made of rattan or bamboo walls with nipa roofs. Mabalacat had a modest church and a convent; both were made of wood with nipa roofs. The combined tributes of the natives and some Chinese, called sangleyes, were 123.5. The Recollect Missions of Mabalacat, Capas, Bamban and Patling belonged to Pampanga Alta (Upper Pampanga).[4]

The situation remained almost unchanged when Joaquin Martinez de Zuniga visited Pampanga Alta in 1800. He realized that the district was nearly unpopulated. If there were sparse settlements, these were actually missions. The nearest mission was Mabalacat which had 124 tributes, a population of only 600. The other nearby missions included: Bamban, 66 tributes, Capas, 110 tributes and its visita, Patling. These missions were maintained by the Recollects and were managed by two priests.[5]

The Recollects Abandoned the Mabalacat Mission

By the turn of the century, the political situation in faraway Spain became unstable. In 1808, France invaded Spain and popular uprising ensued. Known as War of Independence, it lasted until the Spanish and British forces drove the French out in 1814. Restored to the throne, King Ferdinand VII refused to recognize the democratic constitution popularly declared in 1812. This led to another popular uprising in 1820 which was suppressed in 1823. This political situation in Spain made it difficult for the Recollects to recruit missionaries for the Philippines. In fact, between 1805 and 1822, only a total of 20 Recollect priests arrived in the Philippines. This small number of Missionaries forced the Recollects to abandon Mabalacat. They, instead, preferred to accept new assignments which were nearer – Caloocan and Mindoro. By 1820, there were only fifty-eight (58) Recollects who tended 167,000 souls in all their missions throughout the Philippines. [6]

In addition to the lack of personnel, there was, during this era, a generally increasing pressure from the so-called “enemies of the Religious” for the turn-over of the parishes in Pampanga to the secular priests. By 1810, almost all parishes of Pampanga were already in the hands of the Filipino secular clergy. However, Mabalacat, Bamban and Capas remained in the spiritual care of the Recollects. [7] To drive away the Recollects out of these missions, they were unjustly accused of unimaginable and disgraceful crimes and were publicly treated as criminals and traitors.[8]

Cases like this abound. Although the primary and immediate reason for the abandonment of Mabalacat Mission was lack of personnel, these cases somehow sealed the Definitorio dated September 1, 1808 where the Recollects decided to abandon all its Missions in Pampanga Alta.[9] In the same year, the last Recollect friar, Fr. Pedro Manchado de Sta. Rita, left the Missions of Mabalacat and Capas.[10] Eventually, the Missions of Mabalacat and Capas were handed to the secular clergy.[11]

The State of the Town of Mabalacat in 1818

Don Yldefonzo de Aragon, a Spanish colonel, travelled around the Philippines in 1818 to look into and write about the conditions of the Philippine cities, towns and villages. Among others, he travelled around Mabalacat, interviewed some residents and took as much notes as he can. His descriptions of the town, appeared in his books: Estados de la Población de Filipinas Correspondiente a el Ano de 1818 and Descripción Geográfica y Topográfica de la Ysla de Luzon O Nueva Castilla con las Particulares de las Diez y Seis Provincias O Partidos que Comprehende. Both books were published in 1819.

Aragon noted that Mabalacat was a settlement situated on top of a flat hill at the foot of the Zambales Mountains. It was about an hour horse-ride from Bamban and Capas and about two from Magalan. From San Fernando and Culiat, Mabalacat may be reached by horse carriages via the main road called Camino Real. Road networks linked the towns of Betis, Guagua, Sesmoan, Lubao, Santa Rita, Porac, Culiat, Mabalacat, Bamban, Capas, and Patling. In general, the road conditions were good, although there were areas and ravines where travelling may be difficult. A creek named Abacan served as the boundary between the towns of San Fernando and Mabalacat.[12]

From Mabalacat, about half an hour travel towards the west, were the foothills of Zambales Mountain ranges which formed the boundary between the Provinces of Pampanga and Zambales. The foothills were identified as Mt. Panialayan, Mt. Babandapo, Mt. Monicayo, Mt. Bunagatan, and Mt. Tandioay.[13] In these mountains, grew many kinds of wood like Sibucao (Caesalpinia sappan Linn.), Palms, Cañas Bojas, Buri and Vejucos. These woods were good for building constructions. [14] Wild mangoes, called pajo, with very small green fruits were also observed to be in abundance at Mabalacat.[15]

Draining Mabalacat were various rivers of crystal clear waters like Quitangil, Sapangbalayan, Paruao and Mangalit. Bridges were built over these creeks and rivers while Mangalit had a dam for water irrigation. There were also animals noted like deer, cordos, and carabaos. There were birds such as parrots called Catatua and other special birds. [16] A rare bird, called Tabon (Megapodis cumingii), which normally laid eggs on the seashore, was also observed in the town. [17]

The population of Mabalacat was a mixture of Indio natives and Pinatubo Aetas, sometimes called Balogas. Many Pinatubo Aetas already embraced Catholic religion. They participated in the town’s economy by bringing in wax and whatever forest products they can bring. The Indio natives were engaged in agriculture, hunting deer and wild cattle, sugar production, indigo, sesame paste and oil. [18]

Mabalacat Mission became the Parish of Nuestra Señora de Gracia

            In 1826, eight new members of the Recollects arrived in the Philippines. From this year and up until 1841, the Province of San Nicolas de Tolentino received 72 new religious. This allowed the province to regain some of the ministries left in the previous decades with the favor of the government which was already mistrusting the political loyalty of the native clergy. [19]

            Thus, in the Definitorio of 1831, the Recollect Father Provincial Alonso de los Dolores ordered the resumption of the Missions of Capas and Mabalacat. [20] On August 9, 1831, Fr. Mariano Pascual de San Jose was named missionary of Mabalacat and Bamban while Fr. Jose de San Agustin was named missionary of Patling and Capas. No less than the Governor General of the Philippines, Don Pascual Enrile, approved the assignments. [21] Later, on October 14, 1831, Fr. Simon Loscos de Sta. Catalina was also assigned to Mabalacat to assist Fr. Mariano Pascual de San Jose.[22] In 1836, Mabalacat became a parish under the care of Nuestra Señora de Gracia.

           

Old Bells Tell Tales

        At the belfry of Our Lady of Grace Parish at the Poblacion hang two of the oldest church bells in town. The first bell was casted in 1835 at the foundry of Macario de los Angeles in Quiapo, Manila. The bell was brought to Mabalacat during the spiritual administration of Fr. Jose F. Varela dela Consolacion (1834-1843). Engraved near the rim of the bell was the dedication: San Miguel de Mabalacat.

The second bell was molded in 1846. It was dedicated to Nuestra Señora de Grasia (sic), the patron saint of Mabalacat. It was also manufactured at the foundry of Macario de los Angeles in Quiapo, Manila. The foundry ceased to be active in 1847.

A Great Town Location

In May 1850, a violent storm ravaged Central Luzon. After days of non-stop rains and strong winds, Mt. Pinatubo’s natural basins, already filled to the brim, suddenly burst, flooding the surrounding valleys in minutes. Fortunately for Mabalacat, its elevated location and its many rivers served the town well. All the rivers accommodated voluminous currents of crystalline waters forcefully rushing down. [23] Except for some repairs of the Mabalacat Bridge, which in 1853, cost 658 pesos, the storm did not cause much damage.[24]

The situation was different in Capas and Patling. In minutes, the rivers overflowed and the flashfloods reached as high as five yards dragging away sugar and household equipment. Its inhabitants ran for their lives climbing tall trees and roofs of their houses. Those who didn’t make it got drowned. In Capas, the inhabitants followed their Parish Priest, Fr. Juan Pérez de Santa Lucia, who sought refuge at the elevated Town Hall. But another wave of flashfloods also engulfed the building. They scampered to the nearby higher grounds. When the floods subsided, the town was in total misery. Many inhabitants were dead, missing or homeless.

Mabalacat was spared. “The delightful situation in Mabalacat with forested environs and heavily rushing crystalline waters,” wrote the anxious Fr. Juan Pérez de Santa Lucia, “offered me no lure for resting.” He was in Mabalacat to gather reliefs, which poured well, and his heart was aching to go home to his poor people in Capas and Patling.[25]

Mabalacat in 1851

        In 1851, Fr. Manuel Buzeta and Fr. Felipe Bravo, both Augustinian Missionaries, published an encyclopedic work entitled Diccionario Geográfico, Estadístico, Histórico de las Islas Filipinas.[26] This monumental work collated all available information relative to the physical, political, religious and socio-economic geography of the Philippines as of 1850. Articles on significant islands, provinces, cities, towns, missions, visitas and barrios of the Philippines were presented alphabetically.

            The Diccionario Geográfico described Mabalacat as a mission in the Province of Pampanga under the Archdiocese of Manila. It is located on an irregular terrain on the banks of Sipan River[27] and along the road that stretches from Coliat[28] to Capas.[29] The town was bounded on the north by its visita, Bambang, [30] and the Capas mission, on the east by Arayat, and on southeast by Coliat. While the lands east of Mabalacat gently rolled down into the vast plain of Central Luzon, the lands towards the west splintered into mountains.  Among others, the mountains included Tandivay, Binagatan, Pamalay.[31]

During this time, Mabalacat was administered by a Recollect Priest, Fr. Cipriano Angos del Rosario and a gobernadorcillo, Don Miguel Cuyson. Together with its visita, Bambang, the town had 747 houses, a town hall, a public primary school and a jail. The church and the convent were the prominent landmarks of the town. The town had 4,482 residents who, in 1845, paid 903 tributes.

Parish records of 1851, however, presented slightly different figures. The town had 4,416 residents who paid 937 ½ tributes. During the year, the church administered 177 baptisms, 50 marriages and serviced 123 burials. The 1851 parish statistics further reveal:[32]

Class	Number of Persons
Native and mestizo taxpayers	1,875
Tax exempted by privilege	117
Tax exempted by reason of age and health	21
Single persons of both sexes at the age of communion	741
Single persons at the age of confession	611
Toddlers	1,051
Total Population	4,416

Mabalacat became a Part of Comandancia Militar de Tarlac

Notwithstanding more than two centuries of Spanish presence in the Philippines, many of its regions and races remained unconquered and were not under the effective control of the Spaniards. In the mountains of Zambales, there were still many Pinatubo Aeta groups which practically eluded Spanish domination. These groups continued to live in their nomadic ways of life almost undisturbed. In the Zambales highlands bordering Mabalacat and other Kapampangan towns, for instance, nestled the hamlets of thousands of Pinatubo Aetas. The Spaniards painted a horrible portrait of them: barbarous, hostile, treacherous, lazy, merciless, shrewd, and deceitful negrito bandits and robbers. They were armed with spears, axes, bows and arrows and were engaged in witchcraft. The Spaniards were so horrified they were inclined to kill Pinatubo Aetas at sight like dangerous wild beasts. So alarming was this situation that in 1856, Fr. Juan Perez de Santa Lucia, the Missionary of Mabalacat and Capas, had to beg the Governor General, invoking the name of Queen Isabel II, for the protection of the Pinatubo Aetas. In nearby Capas, eleven Aetas were murdered outright and the rest of the tribe was frightened to participate in the resettlement and Christianization efforts of the Missionaries.[33]

On the part of the unconquered Pinatubo Aetas, the establishment of strings of Christian towns along Zambales Mountains, their traditional hunting grounds, was an encroachment to their traditional territories and an undue restriction of their free movement around the region, being nomads. These explain their attacks on adventurers and strangers. Up until the second half of the 19^th century, reports continued to depict the constant threats of attacks posed by these independent tribes to the Province of Pampanga.

To quell these threats of lawlessness, especially along the vicinity the mountains of Abo and Pinatubo, the Spanish colonial government erected the Comandancias Militares de Tarlac (1857) and Porac (1862). [34] Both comandancias were under the command of army officers and were dependents of the Province of Pampanga. Albeit ill-equipped, Comandancias Militares in the Philippines were established not only as a mode of self-defense against the attacks of the non-Christian tribes but also to boast the military strength of the Spanish Empire. [35] In 1860, Mabalacat, together with Bamban, Capas, Victoria, Porac, and Floridablanca were incorporated into the Comandancia de Tarlac. [36]

Mabalacat and the Creation of the Province of Tarlac

In the second half of the 19^th century, Spain consolidated its dominion over the Philippines by reorganizing the provinces and establishing new ones. Spain later realized that sustaining many newly-organized provinces proved to be financially impossible. Yet despite the financial challenges, the colonial government opted to convert the Comandancia Militar de Tarlac into a regular province with a politico-military government, the Province of Tarlac. [37] Named after its capital, Tarlac, the creation of the province was through an Executive Order dated 28 May 1873 which was belatedly announced by the Minister of War on 21 November 1873. And through another Executive Order dated 27 June 1874, Commander D. Julian Ocon became the first Governor of Tarlac.[38] This time, the new province did not include the town of Mabalacat. It was returned permanently to the Province of Pampanga a year earlier.[39]

Mabalacat Parish gave Birth to Bamban Mission

Since its foundation, Bamban had been under the spiritual administration of the Parish of Mabalacat. Mabalacat and its Visita, Bamban were subsidized by the Royal Haciendas of the King of Spain. The distance of between Mabalacat and Bamban was three (3) leguas that was about an hour and a half travel. Missionary priests from Mabalacat regularly visited Bamban to administer Catholic sacraments. However, during rainy days, the Parua River, which served as a boundary between the two towns, cannot be crossed, making it difficult for the Missionaries to go to Bamban. This resulted to the neglect of the religious duties of the rather fragile Aeta faithful.[40]

Thus, in 1875, the Governor of the Politico-Militar de Tarlac presented a petition before the Vicaria Capitular de Manila for the creation of the Mission of Bamban. The Vicaria Foranea of Pampanga and Fr. Felix Perez dela Soledad, the Parish Priest of Mabalacat supported the petition. They explained that creation of the Mission of Bamban was important as it would result to a better civil and religious life for the Pinatubo Aetas. Being an old Visita, Bamban already owned a wooden Church which was convenient for the conduct of religious activities and a wooden Convent where the assigned Missionary priest may comfortably stay. Bamban also collected 441 to 445 tributes from its inhabitants. This amount, with government subsidy and sacrifice, may be sufficient to maintain a mission.[41]

The petition was found meritorious. On 3 February 1876, the Vicaria Capitular de Manila formally declared the erection of a Mission in Bamban, Province of Tarlac, separate from its mother Parish, Mabalacat, Province of Pampanga.[42] Subsequently, on 20 May 1876, the Administrative Council of the Philippine Islands recommended to the Governor General the grant of 300 pesos annually to cover the expenses of the Missionary assigned to Bamban until the town’s tribute reaches 1,000.[43] With Bamban’s separation, the collection of tributes from Mabalacat was reduced to 1,900. [44]

On the Way to Progress

            As years passed, Mabalacat strengthened its position as a town. It was no longer an unstable frontier settlement whose inhabitants may abandon at the blow of the slightest winds. Unlike its beginnings, it was no longer a settlement of purely Pinatubo Aetas. As early as 1734, non-Aeta Christian converts from the abandoned Recollect Missions of Alupay, Talimarin and Dinalupijan settled at Mabalacat. In 1794, there were already Chinese settlers in town. And throughout the years, migrants from the neighboring Kapampangan towns settled at Mabalacat, making it a predominantly Kapampangan-speaking town.

In terms of transportation and communications, Mabalacat was no longer an inaccessible and out-of-the-way town by 1876. Of the three (3) regular carriage routes in Pampanga, the Guagua-Camiling route passed through Mabalacat. In this route, passenger carriages commenced travelling from the town of Guagua northward, traversing several towns towards Mabalacat and beyond, terminating at San Miguel de Camiling, Tarlac and vice versa. Besides passengers, these carriages also carried mails and newspapers to be dispatched to Pampanga’s interior towns. Commercial ships carrying mails, dailies and weeklies from Manila and other ports dropped anchor at the port of Guagua every Tuesdays, Thursdays, Saturdays and Sundays. And then these shipments were carried north by carriages to Mabalacat and other towns.[45]

Mabalacat had also been an important stopover for Recollect missionaries bound for Bamban, Capas and Zambales. Thus, at the Recollect Provincial Chapter of 1876, Mabalacat Parish was nominated to be one of the Prioratos of the Province of San Nicolas de Tolentino. However, no action was taken on the nomination. The town had been under the spiritual guidance of Fr. Gregorio Bueno del Rosario[46] since 1875.  

And as the town progressed, the population trebled. The church records of 1879 revealed that the town was a home to 11,171 residents who paid 2,627 tributes. During the year, the church administered 561 baptisms, 98 marriages and serviced 334 burials. The 1879 parish statistics further reveal:[47]

Class	Number of Persons
Native taxpayers	4,857
Tax exempted by privilege	189
Tax exempted by reason of age and health	208
Single persons of both sexes at the age of communion	1,600
Single persons at the age of confession	1,838
Toddlers	2,470
Spaniards and mestizos	6
Christian Chinese	2
Newly baptized convert	1
Total Population	11,163 (sic)[48]

Ferrocarril de Manila á Dagupan stops at Mabalacat

In general, the lack of decent highways that link the provinces and towns hampered the progress of the Philippines. To partly relieve the problem, the Spanish government ordered a comprehensive study of the feasibility of constructing a railroad system in the Island of Luzon. This resulted to a railway plan, Ferrocarril de Manila a Dagupan (Manila-Dagupan Railway), which was approved by a Royal Decree dated 11 May 1883. After a public bidding, the concession for construction of the said railways was awarded to D. Eduardo Sikler-Ifatt. However, by virtue of a Royal Order dated 24 March 1884, the award was transferred to the Manila Railway Company, Ltd.

The first section of the railway, from Manila to Bagbag, was opened to the traveling public on 25 March 1891. Its initial nine-month operations were extremely successful in transporting passengers and goods. Thus, the second section, from Bagbag to Mabalacat, was opened to traveling public on 19 February 1892 with a total traveling distance of 86.7 kilometers. This section was extended to Tarlac. The third and last section was from Tarlac to Dagupan. All in all, the railway stretched to about 195.392 kilometers from Manila to the port of Dagupan, Pangasinan. The whole project was opened to the travelling public on 24 November 1892. [49]

This huge colonial project, amounting to 4,914, 473.65 pesos, practically placed Mabalacat at the forefront. It completely erased the age-old notion that Mabalacat was a remote, out-of-the-way frontier settlement where unsuspecting travelers may be robbed or killed by barbaric Pinatubo Aetas. The opening of the Mabalacat train station brought in new vigor to this otherwise sleepy border town. Upon the completion railway, Mabalacat was somewhere in the midway between the colonial capital, Manila and the important international port of Dagupan, Pangasinan. Mabalacat train station was located at Barangay San Francisco. It had an office to attend to the needs of the travellers and a canteen.[50] So big was the news about the Manila-Dagupan that its opening was anticipated even by Filipinos living in Spain.[51]

Philippine Revolution at Mabalacat

        Towards the end of the more than three-century Spanish rule, the colony plunged into decadence, corruption and widespread maladministration. Educated natives led by Graciano Lopez Jaena, Marcelo H. del Pilar, Mariano Ponce and Jose Rizal, among others, advocated for reforms in Spain through a crusade known as the Propaganda Movement. They eventually failed. In 1892, desperate citizens, led by Andres Bonifacio organized the Kamahalmahala’t Kataastaasang Katipunan nang manga Anak nang Bayan (Esteemed and Highest Society of the Sons of the People) in the colonial capital, Manila.[52] Popularly known as the Katipunan, the primary purpose of the society was to separate the Philippines from the Spain and establish an independent state called the Philippine Republic.[53] Katipunan attacks were staged in Manila, and its neighboring provinces.[54] And as a countermeasure, the Governor and Capitan General of the Philippines, Ramon Blanco y Erenas, on August 30, 1896, declared a state of war on the territory comprising of the Provinces of Manila, Bulacan, Nueva Ecija, Batangas, Laguna, Cavite, Pampanga and Tarlac.[55]

            In Tarlac, the revolution officially started on January 24, 1897 when Francisco Makabulos Soliman staged his “First Cry of Tagumpay” in his hometown, La Paz, Tarlac.[56] Under Makabulos’ command was Major Servillano Aquino, the capitan municipal of Murcia, Tarlac. The two, together with thousands of Tarlaqueños, worked together to liberate Tarlac from the Spanish domination. Mabalacat, being a border town of Pampanga towards Tarlac, was more affected by the Katipunan movements by the latter rather than the former.

In late 1897, Major Aquino and his men attempted to seize the town of Gerona, Tarlac by attacking Spanish troops encamped in its adobe church. However, the Spanish troops successfully drove them away. After giving his men a brief rest, Major Aquino led them in an attack on the town of Mabalacat, Pampanga. The town was defended by a company of Guardia Civil and a company of cazadores. Most of these Spanish troops were killed and their arms captured. However, this also left the Katipunan with ten members, dead and another twenty, wounded.[57] The spirited Katipunan movement in Tarlac was only thwarted by the intensification of the Spanish offensives in the region led by General Ricardo Monet. Major Servillano Aquino was eventually captured hiding in San Fernando, Pampanga. He was thrown into the dungeons of Fort Santiago, court-martialed and sentenced to death for the crime of sedition. However, his life was spared by the timely signing of the Peace Pact of Biak na Bato on December 1897. [58] Among others, the Peace Pact provided for a general amnesty for all those who had been arrested in connection with the insurrection.[59]

The officials of the Katipunan, led by General Emilio Aguinaldo, went to Hongkong as exiles pursuant to the Peace Pact of Biak na Bato. Major Servillano Aquino, after his release from prison followed them there. In the summer of 1898, the Katipuneros slipped back to the Philippines to resume the revolution. Major Aquino came back a colonel. Gen. Aguinaldo appointed General Francisco Makabulos Soliman and Colonel Sevillano Aquino to lead the Katipunan in Tarlac. Tarlac had 150 armed men reinforced by thousands of unarmed Katipuneros who comprised the bolo brigades. There were 2,000 Spanish soldiers.

            In early July 1898, the Tarlac Katipuneros under the command of General Francisco Makabulos Soliman and Colonel Sevillano Aquino marched to Mabalacat, Pampanga almost unopposed. Earlier, the news of a Katipunan raid drove the townspeople to remote places for safety. When the Katipunan arrived, town was nearly empty. They turned their eyes on the brave priest who chose to stay in the convent – Fr. Gregorio Bueno de la Virgen del Romero. He was a long-time missionary priest assigned in Mabalacat. Having stayed at the mission for twenty-two (22) years, Fr. Bueno was viewed as the ultimate symbol of Spanish authority in town. To humiliate him, to harm him or to kill him was a decisive expression of Filipino victory over Spain. The poor missionary was verbally and physically abused. He became an object of humiliation in one of the trenches built by the Katipuneros. [60] Then, he was brought to the outskirts of the town where he suffered a cruel and horrible death.[61] Despite the abuses he suffered, Fr. Bueno, old and helpless, exhibited peace and Christian serenity of mind during these difficult moments of his life.[62] Persisting urban legends in Mabalacat revealed that Fr. Bueno left a curse that the town will never prosper.

---

[1] Pedro Fabo del Corazón de María, Historia General de la Orden de Agustinos Recoletos, Tomo VI, Segunda parte, Años 1706-1714, (Barcelona: Imp. De la Editorial, Librería Religiosa, 1927), 364.     

[2] Yldefonzo de Aragón, Estados de la Población de Filipinas Correspondiente a el Ano de 1818 (Ciudad de Manila: Lo da ad Público al Excmo. Ayuntamiento del M.N.Y.L., 1819), 34-35.

[3] Gregorio Ochoa del Carmen, Historia General de la Orden de Agustinos Recoletos, Tomo IX, (Zaragoza: Imprenta Editorial Gambon, 1929), 56-59.

[4] Extracto General del Estado de las Pueblos de esta Provincia de la Pampanga en Asunto de sus Iglesias, Casas Parroquiales, Tributos y Casas de sus Moradores con Distinción de Gremios, 24 Enero 1794, National Archives of the Philippines.

[5] Joaquin Martinez de Zuniga, Status of the Philippines in 1800, 349 and 422.

[6]Angel Martinez Cuesta, OAR, The Augustinian Recollects: Arrival in the Philippines and Spread of Missionary Activities (Quezon City: Recoletos Communications, Inc., 2006), 46.

[7] Tomas de Comyn, Estado de las Islas Filipinas (Manila, 1877), 206.  

[8] Licinio Ruiz de Sta. Eulalia, Sinopsis Histórica de la Provincia de San Nicolás de Tolentino de las Islas Filipinas de la Orden de Agustino Descalzos, Vol. I, (Manila: Tip. Pont. de la Univ. de Sto. Tomas, 1925), 71-72.

[9] Licinio Ruiz de Sta. Eulalia, Sinopsis Histórica de la Provincia de San Nicolás de Tolentino de las Islas Filipinas de la Orden de Agustino Descalzos, Vol. I, (Manila: Tip. Pont. de la Univ. de Sto. Tomas, 1925), 72. See also: Manuel Carceller de la Sagrada Familia, Historia General de la Orden de Agustinos Recoletos, Tomo Décimo 1808-1836 (Madrid, 1967), 175.

[10] Manuel Carceller de la Sagrada Familia, Historia General de la Orden de Recoletos de San Agustín, Tomo Decimo 1808-1836 (Madrid, 1962), 508.

[11] Manuel Carceller de la Sagrada Familia, Historia General de la Orden de Recoletos de San Agustín, Tomo Decimo 1808-1836 (Madrid, 1962), 578.

[12] Yldefonzo de Aragón, Descripción Geográfica y Topográfica de la Ysla de Luzon O Nueva Castilla con las Particulares de las Diez y Seis Provincias O Partidos que Comprehende (Ciudad de Manila: Imprenta de D. Manuel Mimije, por D. Anastacio Gonzaga, 1819), 16.

[13] Plano Topográfico de la Provincia de Pampanga, 1819 found in Yldefonzo de Aragón, Descripción Geográfica y Topográfica de la Ysla de Luzon O Nueva Castilla con las Particulares de las Diez y Seis Provincias O Partidos que Comprehende (Ciudad de Manila: Imprenta de D. Manuel Mimije, por D. Anastacio Gonzaga, 1819), n.p.

[14] Yldefonzo de Aragón, Estados de la Población de Filipinas Correspondiente a el Ano de 1818 (Ciudad de Manila: Lo da ad Publico al Excmo. Ayuntamiento del M.N.Y.L., 1819), 34-35.

[15] Yldefonzo de Aragón, Descripción Geográfica y Topográfica de la Ysla de Luzon O Nueva Castilla con las Particulares de las Diez y Seis Provincias O Partidos que Comprehende (Ciudad de Manila: Imprenta de D. Manuel Mimije, por D. Anastacio Gonzaga, 1819), 10.

[16] Yldefonzo de Aragón, Estados de la Población de Filipinas Correspondiente a el Ano de 1818 (Ciudad de Manila: Lo da ad Publico al Excmo. Ayuntamiento del M.N.Y.L., 1819), 34-35.

[17] Yldefonzo de Aragón, Descripción Geográfica y Topográfica de la Ysla de Luzon O Nueva Castilla con las Particulares de las Diez y Seis Provincias O Partidos que Comprehende (Ciudad de Manila: Imprenta de D. Manuel Mimije, por D. Anastacio Gonzaga, 1819), 13.

[18] Yldefonzo de Aragón, Estados de la Población de Filipinas Correspondiente a el Ano de 1818 (Ciudad de Manila: Lo da ad Publico al Excmo. Ayuntamiento del M.N.Y.L., 1819), 34-35.

[19] Angel Martinez Cuesta, OAR, The Augustinian Recollects: Arrival in the Philippines and Spread of Missionary Activities (Quezon City: Recoletos Communications, Inc., 2006), 47.

[20] Padre Licinio Ruiz de Sta. Eulalia, Sinopsis Histórica de la Provincia de San Nicolás de Tolentino de las Islas Filipinas de la Orden de Agustino Descalzos, Vol. I, (Manila: Tip. Pont. de la Univ. de Sto. Tomas, 1925), 72.

[21] Padre Licinio Ruiz de Sta. Eulalia, Sinopsis Histórica de la Provincia de San Nicolás de Tolentino de las Islas Filipinas de la Orden de Agustino Descalzos, Vol. I, (Manila: Tip. Pont. de la Univ. de Sto. Tomas, 1925), 73.

[22] Francisco Sadaba del Carmen, Catalogo de los Religiosos Agustinos Recoletos de la Provincia de San Nicolás de Tolentino de Filipinas: Desde el Año 1606, en que llego la Primera Misión a Manila, hasta Nuestro Días, (Madrid: Imprenta del Asilo de Huérfanos del Sagrado Corazón de Jesús, 1906).

[23] Manuel Carceller de la Sagrada Familia, Historia General de la Orden de Agustinos Recoletos, Tomo Undécimo 1837-1866 (Madrid, 1967), 779-780. 

[24] Sobre consulta del gobernadorcillo y principales de Mabalacat por las construcción de un puente, Pampanga, 1853, Legajo 57-3059, Philippine National Archives.

[25] Manuel Carceller de la Sagrada Familia, Historia General de la Orden de Agustinos Recoletos, Tomo Undécimo 1837-1866 (Madrid, 1967), 779-780. 

[26] Vol. II (Madrid: Imprenta de D. Jose de la Peña, 1851).

[27] Referring to Sapangbalayan or Sapang Balen, the river that traverses the Poblacion.

[28] A sitio of San Fernando, Pampanga later known as Angeles.

[29] Capas, Tarlac.

[30] Referring to Bamban, Tarlac.

[31] Referring to the mountains of Tandioay, Bunagatan and Panialayan. See Plano Topográfico de la Provincia de Pampanga, 1819 found in Yldefonzo de Aragón, Descripción Geográfica y Topográfica de la Ysla de Luzon O Nueva Castilla con las Particulares de las Diez y Seis Provincias O Partidos que Comprehende (Ciudad de Manila: Imprenta de D. Manuel Mimije, por D. Anastacio Gonzaga, 1819), n.p.

[32] Juan Félix de la Encarnación, Estadística  de la Provincia de S. Nicolás de Tolentino de PP Agustinos Recoletos de Filipinas (Manila: Imprenta de los Amigos del País, 1851), 48.

[33] Juan Perez de Santa Lucia, Particular to Gobernador General, 1 April 1856, Erecciónes de Pueblos – Pampanga, Philippine National Archives, Manila, legajo 55, no. 77. For translation, see Lino L. Dizon, “Archaeology of Reducción and (Re-) Settlement Narratives among the Recollect Missions in Upper Pampanga, 1712-1898,” Alaya 5 (2007-2008): 66-68.  

[34] Mariano A. Henson, The Province of Pampanga and Its Towns (A.D. 1300-1955), 2^nd Ed. (Mariano A. Henson, 1955), 83. Henson cited Legajo 95, Parte 2, Folio 52, National Archives of the Philippines; Francisco X. Branera, S.J., Compendio de Geografía de las Islas Filipinas, Marianas y Joló (Manila: Establecimiento Tipográfico de Ramírez y Guardiera, 1880), 38.

[35] Francisco de Borja Canella y Secades, Filipinas: Reorganización de su Ejercito Gobiernos y Comandancias Politico-Militares; Isla de Mindanao (Córdoba: Imprenta y Papelería Catalana, Ayuntamiento, 1895), 26-27.   

[36] Mariano A. Henson, The Province of Pampanga and Its Towns (A.D. 1300-1955), 2^nd Ed. (Mariano A. Henson, 1955), 83.

[37] Francisco de Borja Canella y Secades, Filipinas: Reorganización de su Ejercito Gobiernos y Comandancias Politico-Militares; Isla de Mindanao (Córdoba: Imprenta y Papelería Catalana, Ayuntamiento, 1895), 27-28.

[38] Ignacio Salinas y Angulo, Legislación Militar Aplicada Al Ejercito de Filipinas, vol. 1 (Manila: Establecimiento Tipográfico de Plana y C., 1879), 12.

[39] Mariano A. Henson, The Province of Pampanga and Its Towns (A.D. 1300-1955), 2^nd Ed. (Mariano A. Henson, 1955), 83.

[40] Felix Perez, letter to Gobernador Eclesiástico de este Arzobispado de Manila, 15 Diciembre 1875, Philippine National Archives, Manila. 

[41] Vicaria Foránea de la Pampanga, letter to Señor Vicario General Gobernador Eclesiástico del Arzobispado de Manila, 18 Diciembre 1875, Philippine National Archives, Manila.

[42] Remedios, Luis, letter to Excelentísimo Señor Gobernador Vice Patrono Real, 3 Febrero 1876, Philippine National Archives, Manila, Memorias de Pampanga, 221-222.

[43] Consejo de Administración de las Islas Filipinas, letter to Excelentísimo Señor Gobernador General, 20 Mayo 1876, Philippine National Archives, Manila, Memorias de Pampanga, 227-229.

[44] Vicaria Foránea de la Pampanga, letter to Señor Vicario General Gobernador Eclesiástico del Arzobispado de Manila, 18 Diciembre 1875, Philippine National Archives, Manila.

[45] Agustín de la Cavada, Historia, Geográfica, Geológica y Estadística de Filipinas, vol. 1, (Manila: Imp. De Ramírez y Giraudier, 1876), 158.

[46] Fr. Gregorio Bueno dela Virgen del Romero

[47] Provincia de San Nicolás de Tolentino de Agustinos Descalzos de la Congregación de España e Indias (Manila: Imprenta de los Amigos del País, 1851), 107.

[48] This is erroneous. The actual total is 11,171.

[49] Misión de la Compañía de Jesús en Filipinas, El Archipiélago Filipino, Tomo I, (Washington: Imprenta Del Gobierno, 1900), 322-323. 

[50] Misión de la Compañía de Jesús en Filipinas, El Archipiélago Filipino, Tomo I, (Washington: Imprenta Del Gobierno, 1900), 322-323. 

[51] La Solidaridad Quincenario Democrático, 15 Diciembre 1891, Año III, núm. 69, 625.

[52] Artemio Ricarte, Memoirs of General Artemio Ricarte (Manila: National Historical Commission of the Philippines, 2012), 3.

[53] Nick Joaquin, The Aquinos of Tarlac: An Essay on History as Three Generations, (Manila: Cacho Hermanos, Inc., 1983), 39.

[54] Artemio Ricarte, Memoirs of General Artemio Ricarte (Manila: National Historical Commission of the Philippines, 2012), 7 et. seq.

[55] Governor and Capitan General of the Philippines, Declaration of State of War, 30 August 1896, Felina Mapa (trans.),Views on the Philippine Revolution, Vol. I (Quezon City: Teresita Antonio Alcantara Publication, 2002), 37-39.  

[56] Nick Joaquin, The Aquinos of Tarlac: An Essay on History as Three Generations, (Manila: Cacho Hermanos, Inc., 1983), 31.

[57] Nick Joaquin, The Aquinos of Tarlac: An Essay on History as Three Generations, (Manila: Cacho Hermanos, Inc., 1983), 39.

[58] Nick Joaquin, The Aquinos of Tarlac: An Essay on History as Three Generations, (Manila: Cacho Hermanos, Inc., 1983), 41-42.

[59] Artemio Ricarte, Memoirs of General Artemio Ricarte (Manila: National Historical Commission of the Philippines, 2012), 61-63.

[60] Licinio Ruiz de Sta. Eulalia, Sinopsis Histórica de la Provincia de San Nicolás de Tolentino de las Islas Filipinas de la Orden de Agustino Descalzos, Vol. II, (Manila: Tip. Pont. de la Univ. de Sto. Tomas, 1925), 397- 399.

[61] Licinio Ruiz de Sta. Eulalia, Sinopsis Histórica de la Provincia de San Nicolás de Tolentino de las Islas Filipinas de la Orden de Agustino Descalzos, Vol. II, (Manila: Tip. Pont. de la Univ. de Sto. Tomas, 1925), 397- 399.

[62] Francisco Sadaba del Carmen, Catalogo de los Religiosos Agustinos Recoletos de la Provincia de San Nicolás de Tolentino de Filipinas: Desde el Año 1606, en que llego la Primera Misión a Manila, hasta Nuestro Días, (Madrid: Imprenta del Asilo de Huérfanos del Sagrado Corazón de Jesús, 1906), 475.