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.