Virac’s Best Town Executives, 1755-1952
As a way of commemorating Virac’s feast day this coming December 8, we offer in this occasional column a presentation on\f exemplar political leadership in the municipality within almost two centuries, 1755-1952, as narrated in a set of primary documents called the Historical Data Papers or HDP. In 1952, the Bureau of Public Schools directed public school teachers all over the country to document the history and culture of their own localities and consolidate their findings into a written report. The outputs are now deposited with the National Library and collectively known as the “Historical Data Papers” (HDP). For Catanduanes, there is a thick volume that bound together reports from the towns, albeit already in a sorry state of deterioration from the wear-and-tear of time. Fortunately, the pages have been copied digitally and made available online.
In the case of HDP Virac, while the accounts list a total of 187 incumbencies within the period 1755-1952, the writers selected only a handful of them to discuss at some length. Apparently, the criteria for selection was how their deeds of leadership were decisive responses to the challenges of history they faced during their time. Leadership is about a person’s character and grit, properly dispensed with when called for by a crucial historical exigency. Great leadership is created by the right person who happened to be in the right time and place. We owe it to the wisdom of the HDP Virac writers to have singled out an illustrious line up of former town mayors whose labors shaped profoundly the Virac we know today.
It must be mentioned that during the colonial era, the municipal chief executive was variously called gobernadorcillo, capitan municipal, or president municipal. The term “mayor” was used only starting the New Republic of 1946. In the Spanish regime, they serve only for a year, elected by the principalia or a select group of twelve prominent persons in town. During the revolutionary government of Aguinaldo, the number was considerably expanded but still not as a popular electorate that we know now. The Americans simply adopted that system.
- Francisco Calumpad
The HDP Virac chronicles started only in 1755. Anything previous to that have been lost from recorded memory because that was the year of the most intense of the Moro raids suffered by the town for over a century. In 1755, Virac poblacion was ravaged by pillage and burning, including the parish church and town hall where the written records were kept. Facing such formidable trial, a man duly rose to the occasion in the person of Don Francisco Calumpad, the gobernadorcillo of Virac. He led the community to evacuate to the mountains of Danicop, in a place now called Eli (“Eli” means place of refuge). When the raiders followed in hot pursuit, Calumpad, accompanied by fellow defenders and assisted by Apolonio Valenzuela and Diego Manlagñit, met them and staged a valiant resistance. They were able to successfully ward of the enemies. Unfortunately, Calumpad was among the casualties. They found him decapitated. Today, the strategic entrance to Eli in Danicop that was gallantly defended by Calumpad and company now serves as the gateway to the Hermitage of Sister Pauline Alcala, a hermit nun. The safe mountain lair that once sheltered the Viracnons of the 18th century from bloody attack of Moros is now an enclave of peace and prayer. As for Calumpad’s heroism, a street in Rawis was named after him. Now the street sign is nowhere to be seen and people hardly know of his uncommon valor.
- Diego Manlagñit
Also known as “Pa-as” Diego Manlagñit succeeded Calumpad as gobernadorcillo and made a mark of his own. Firstly, he convinced the people to come out of hiding and resettle the poblacion. Then, he ably led them to pick up the pieces, rebuild their lives and reconstruct the town. In the HDP account, it was related that Manlagñit implemented a rezoning of the town proper creating the basis for the current lay out. It was in this restructuring that Colawan and Ilawod districts became the core of the poblacion. These two areas were connected by a street, which old folk used to call Calle Real. It ran from north to south cutting through the two core districts, starting from the current veterans memorial circle and taking a right turn at the intersection of the three Ilawod barangays (San Pablo, San Juan and Concepcion) and ending up at the foot of Gogon bridge. In the middle of this stretch was the very nerve center of town: the plaza complex that contained the church and the government headquarters. In this rezoning, the dwellings were arranged in clear grid layout of blocks and Manlagñit decreed that houses be fenced with bamboo, both for esthetic and security reasons. Along the seashores, they also constructed trenches planted with marorogue bamboo as defense against future Moro raids.
- Luis Reyes
The Moro raids in Virac thinned out after 1755, although the decisive victory happened in 1818 where a concerted Bikol-wide defense efforts considerably weakened the Moro raiding forces. The resulting peace allowed continuing flourishing among Viracnons. In an account by the Jesuit historian Fr. Jose Arcilla, it was related that by 1817, Virac could boast of a well-appointed parish church which so impressed the visiting bishop from Nueva Caceres. Economic boom however was experienced during the latter half of the 19th century courtesy of the abaca bonanza. Virac became the center of the province in hemp trade. In the HDP accounts, it mentioned that the gobernadorcillo Luis Reyes encouraged the people to cultivate not only abaca but copra. It was also at this time that they saw the biggest palay harvest so far. He was also credited for initiating the construction of road connecting Virac and Calolbon. Fidel Surtida came after Reyes and said to have made further improvements on Virac notably on the municipal building and the parish church.
- Leon Reyes
Towards the end of the Spanish period, Catanduanes was enjoying relative economic prosperity courtesy of the abaca boom. On the other hand, due to its physical isolation from the rest, the island never played major importance in the colonial enterprise. The minimal Spanish presence did not create much opportunities for colonial exploitation that would bring wide and deep resentment on the people. During 1896 Katipunan unrest, no revolutionary fervor developed. The Spanish regime ended in Catandunes so uneventfully. On September 18, 1898 the handful of Spaniards in Catanduanes simply left the island in a boat. The last politico-military commandant turned over the reigns to Don Leon Reyes then the sitting capitan municipal. By mid-October, a delegation led by Gen, Vicente Lukban was sent by Emilio Aguinaldo to establish the revolutionary government in Bikol and organize the local units. Among other things, they held elections for the towns’ executives and village chiefs. In Virac, Leon Reyes retained his position as capitan municipal.
With the Americans a hovering presence in the Philippines side by side with the revolutionary government, hostilities eventually broke out between them. In Catanduanes, the revolutionary spirit must have been belatedly instilled by Aguinaldo’s men on the people. Accordingly, they formed their own ranks of defenders who will fight for the new-found freedom. When the Americans did come to Virac and handily took over as the new masters, some of these defenders retreated to the mountains. According to local historian Bernardo Vargas, Leon Reyes, erstwhile capitan of Virac, rallied the insurrectos to come down and fight the Americans. He was however summarily arrested, imprisoned and sentenced to hard labor.
Leon Reyes should be remembered as the Viracnon leader who showed love for the newly gained independence and resisted American colonization but suffered consequences. Apparently, he retired from politics after being released from prison. In her slim book “Treasures from my Memory Chest,” Mrs. Carmen Abundo Arcilla wrote fondly of the old Leon Reyes as a neighbor in Gogon. She remembered him as a white-haired well-mannered gentleman who told them stories about his feats as capitan. Leon Reyes during his short incumbency (1898-1899) was so loved by the people as father of the town. In fact, people continued to call him capitan though the rest of his life. Operating under the inspiration of a new-found Philippine independence, he went around visiting ordinary folk in genuine concern for their situations and problems. But Mrs. Arcilla made special mention of how Leon Reyes afforded his people with lavish town fiestas during his incumbency, featuring among other things the vesper dance held at the town plaza grounds. Two bands were hired to supply the music. The top brass of town came in full regalia to dance the rigodon de honor. It turned out that Leon Reyes was a good dancer who knew the traditional dances such as the lanceros, fandango and pantomina which he tried to pass on to younger generations. Apparently, he taught his granddaughter Estelita Aricilla Teocson, who would later become a teacher and one of the earliest advocates of preserving the pantomina. She would pass on this advocacy to her daughter Estela T. Mojardin who became a pioneering folk dance choreographer of the Hablon Dawani.
Leon Reyes was remarkable as one who combined revolutionary fervor with flair for the finer things such as dancing. In a couple of days, Virac will observe its town fiesta. A formal vesper ball will be duly held. While pantomina will surely be danced, we are yet to see the stately rigodon de honor revived and performed at the plaza like in the old days.
The American period up to the early years of the New Republic
The Americans first arrived in Virac from Legaspi in two ships, the Nashville and the Castellano in the afternoon January 24, 1900. While the Aguinaldo established forces had positioned their operatives along the seashore of Cabugao Bay, they were intimidated by the sheer display of American might coming in on them; they easily capitulated to the new colonizers without a fight. So the “Peace Time” prevailed in Catanduanes quite early. The Philippine-American War which lingered on for some time in the mainland did not reach Catandunganon shores. Here follow three more noteworthy municipal mayors of Virac who served the American regime and its early aftermath, as mentioned in the HDP.
- Eustaquio Joson
A well-educated gentleman from Sta. Elena, Eustaquio Joson was appointed Municipal President in 1902. During his time, the telegraph line that connected Virac (and the rest of the island) to Tabaco (via Calolbon) was established. It was a major investment of the Americans this part of the colony, and was a most ground-breaking event for the Catandunganons: it ended their abiding isolation from the rest of the archipelago and indeed the world. The occasion was met with such enthusiasm in the island, they held three days of festive celebrations wherein formal invitations were distributed far and wide. It would have boosted Joson’s (and his like-minded cohorts) dream of making Catanduanes a significant political player in Bikol and indeed national politics by becoming autonomous; Catanduanes hitherto was always an adjunct of mainland Bikol. Among Joson’s important moves as political leader were to unify the island into a compact whole. This he pursued, first as secretary of the association of municipal heads, and later as an elected Lieutenant Governor of Catanduanes as sub-province of Albay. The HDP also mentioned of his contribution to education by establishing schools in the barrios.
- Florencio Tacorda
The HDP singled out Florencio Tacorda as “the most active municipal president Virac ever had.” Born of poor parents, he started working at a young as vaquero ning karbaw and taught himself to read and write. At 24, he was chosen as teniente del barrio of Gogon. When he was 41, he ran for mayor of Virac and won. He was so good that the Viracnons reelected him twice. He served from 1923 to 1933. Through those years, he built roads that connected the rural barrios through the “atag” system of voluntary labor. This legacy was amply recognized such that the road network that traverse from Gogon through the southwest barangays all the way to Antipolo was named the “Forncio Tacorda Route.” Befor the establishment of this route, folk from those areas traveled to Virac proper with difficulty through the seashores, or else by a narrow foot path.
According to Florencio’s son Santiago, in a feature essay in Osita Go-Abundo’s book “O Virac of my Dreams,” the American Governor General Leonard Wood recognized his father’s achievement through a commendation when he visited Virac in 1924. Tacorda’s was also known for his keenness on physical aspects of the town, having launched beautification and cleanliness campaign. The folk were enjoined to fence their yards, rid them of weeds, and keep the swine out of the streets. The HDP made p/articular mention of his efforts to beautify the town plaza. He erected the kiosko at the middle of the square which served as bandstand and platform for political rallies and similar gatherings. He was also a disciplinarian, all intent to maintain peace and order in his constituency. After the Liberation of Virac in 1945, Tacorda, already in his sixties, was appointed caretaker of the town during transition back to normalcy and to Catanduanes’ independent province-hood.
- Primo Panti
For his part, the HDP dubbed Primo Panti as “the most aggressive mayor Virac ever had” (the HDP was written in 1952). He was also labeled as “fighter” on account of the fact that he won the mayoralty post as an opposition. First elected in 1948, the people of Virac gave him a second term obviously for his track record. In the HDP, he was credited to have built a new public market and a slaughter house “of good materials.” As such, it would appear that he was responsible for transferring the market from its old location near the municipal building to its present site at the banks of Gogon river. He also built a “Quonset hut” to house the offices of the municipal government. A Quonset hut is a one-story structure with a curved metal roof that was typical of military quarters. This would have been an upgrade from the ruins of the old munisipyo burned during the Liberation. It would still be a decade away when a new, more presentable municipal hall would be inaugurated in July 4, 1960 under the watch of Mayor Salvador Surtida.
The important achievement of Primo Panti would have been on redefining certain significant aspects of Virac’s physical layout. Firstly, he was responsible for building the road from Gogon triangle all the way to Kawit. This road cut through two and connect important establishments, the Virac Pilot Elementary School and the new Capitol that would later become the new site of the Catanduanes National High School. Secondly, he was responsible for the upgrade of the rural areas up north of town after Gogon, namely Calatagan and Bigaa. In 1948, he facilitated the establishment of a separate barangay Bigaa. For Calatagan however, Primo Panti did much more substantial contributions, which on hindsight now takes real significance considering that Calatagan would eventually host the premiere institution of higher learning, the Catanduanes State University. Starting in 1948, the development of Calatagan would take a major boost from Mayor Primo Panti (himself having roots in Calatagan). He established a proper and rational zoning of the village through a grid system of roads and divisions of blocks. The streets were paved through communal work by the inhabitants using limestones gathered from an area called “cuadra” which now forms part of the CatSU campus. All these were done purportedly to facilitate intercourse between Calatagan and the outside world because “Strangers, fish vendors and ‘balaw’ vendors from Cabugao often found it difficult to look for the right road going to the national road” (from the official history of Calatagan as it appears in the municipal government files). Old timer Caltagueños would still reminisce with fondness how as elementary pupils they were ask to gather daripay in order to pave the roads. They were paid by the basket-load of stones they turned in.
To be sure, there were exemplar mayors after 1952. But the seven presented here can be well said to have laid the foundations for the Virac as we know it now. They faced varied challenges and did their best to be up to the demands and made distinct legacies. What was remarkable was that they made do with meager resources. Particularly, they banked on the community spirit of volunteerism known as “atag” that may very well be a hallmark of Viracnon culture that, sadly, seems to be disappearing in present time.