BAMBAN AND THE 1899 REVOLUTION

By Joel Pabustan Mallari


“A forgotten and overlooked but a crucial phase of the Philippine Revolution, particularly in the middle months of 1899, was the Bamban, Tarlac's interlude in the national struggle” this was quoted by Dr. Lino Dizon in a position paper he presented in various national conferences he attended in the past.

Kapampangan towns as Philippine capitals
When the British invaded and occupied Manila in 1762, the Spanish colonial government transferred the Philippine capital to Bacolor. From Bacolor, General Simon de Anda y Salazar, with a lot of help from Kapampangans, led a resistance movement against the British. While during the American occupation several Kapampangan towns once became capital of the Philippines e.g. San Isidro of Nueva Ecija, towns of Tarlac and Bamban of Tarlac Province. On October 9, 1898, Gen. Emilio Aguinaldo and his cabinet visit San Fernando, staying at the convento, which has been converted into the revolutionaries’ military headquarters.


Bamban as Revolutionary Capital
It was on June 6, 1899, when President Emilio Aguinaldo made an unanticipated proclamation transferring his 'capital' in this small, hilly town of Bamban which served then, and until now, as the porter of Tarlac province. It should then be clarified, though, that what was proclaimed on June 6 as the Headquarters of Emilio Aguinaldo the then Captain-General of the Philippines was not the town of Tarlac, but that of Bamban. In this proclamation, President Aguinaldo also assumed the command of all military operations, a function vacated by General Luna his former rival.


It was from John R.M. Taylor’s 1906 ‘The Philippine Insurrection against the United States’, when he wrote: Before the death of Luna he had gone through Benguet Province to find a new site for the capital which would be fit for a continued defense; but Aguinaldo preferred Tarlac, and proclaimed it the capital of the republic on June 6 (italics mine). From this, it is evident that, at least from this much-quoted authority who was very close to the event, what was proclaimed on June 6 was, in all purposes, the capital (and not only a temporary headquarter) and, investigating now on the date of the actual document, he was referring to Bamban (Tarlac) and not the capital town of Tarlac. Thus from the time beginning on June 6, 1899 Aguinaldo moved out from the then town of Cabanatuan in Nueva Ecija and relocated in Bamban most likely on that particular day. In fact, Teodoro Kalaw was precise that the Revolutionary Government moved to Tarlac only on June 21 (probably referring to the Tarlac town) as noted from his book ‘The Philippine Revolution’.

Angeles or Cabanatuan, Bamban and or Tarlac?
As it was frequently cited, it was said that during the Philippine Revolution, Aguinaldo made Angeles the seat of government from May to July, 1899. In consequence for this matter, the first anniversary of the First Philippines Republic, was celebrated at Angeles. Furthermore it was said that on May 7, 1899, Aguinaldo made Angeles the seat of the Philippine Government. A field mass was held in his honor and the first anniversary celebration of the Philippine Independence proclaimed a year earlier in Kawit, Cavite was held in Angeles in June 12, 1899. How can this be when during this time, Aguinaldo and his men were in Cabanatuan and started to move to Bamban and later on going to the northward direction, thus on June 21 he was already in Tarlac? As Dr. Dizon quotes:
“When President Aguinaldo assumed his office as also the Captain-General of the Revolutionary Government, was it proper for him to leave his presidency elsewhere to take charge of the military forces in Bamban, considering that he was then in the thick of the fight against the Americans and salvaging his scattered army? There are documents claiming that President Aguinaldo was in Angeles six days later (June 12) to celebrate the first anniversary of the Declaration of Independence, though in the memoirs of a Spanish prisoner [El Desastre Filipino, Memorias de un prisionero], Carlos Ria-baja, the president was actually in Tarlac when he made a speech and therefore was in Bamban. But there are no documents to prove that Angeles was once a capital of the Aguinaldo government. Nevertheless, the people of Angeles are still clinging on this event, wishing it was so, though they do not have any strong data to back them…”




K-saligan
For further reading, you may visit this url http://www.geocities.com/cts_tsu/webBAMBAN.html. BAMBAN, TARLAC IN 1899: A CRUX OF THE PHILIPPINE REVOLUTION by Dr. Lino L. Dizon

THE MYSTERY OF THE SACOBIA RIVER

The mighty river probably did not exist before the 1850s

By Joel Pabustan Mallari

SACOBIA River, which became a byword during the lahar season in the 1990s, is one of four major rivers emanating from the eastern slope of Mount Pinatubo itself (the others being Abacan, Pasig Potrero and Porac-Gumain). Strangely, however, Sacobia River does not appear in maps made during the entire colonial period until mid-1800s. Cartographers could not have missed such a major river, considering that even creeks in the vicinity of the Sacobia River are depicted. Is it possible that Sacobia River did not exist before mid-1800s?


There is a theory that it may have been formed, probably due to a lake breakout on the slopes of Mount Pinatubo, in the 1850s. Sometime in 1856, the town of San Bartolome in southern Tarlac was completely swamped with floodwaters from Parua, the river’s old name. Parua may have been the downstream name of Bamban River (Sapang Mabanglu). 1856 may have been the year Sacobia River was formed; it elbowed away from Mabalacat (in a spot called Maskup in sitio Bana) to merge with the Bamban River before proceeding to Concepcion and draining into Rio Chico.


Another puzzle is the name Sacobia. Nobody knows what it means or to whom it refers. It is not a Kapampangan term and there was no Spaniard or Filipino who went by that name. The fact that residents in the area have no indigenous name for it raises the possibility of its recency.

BALEN BAMBAN: Brief Socio-political Profile

Balen Bamban

BALEN BAMBAN is a 3rd class municipality one of the seventeen (17) towns in the province of Tarlac, Philippines.
According to the 2000 census, it has a population of 46,360 people in 9,113 households.

It is about 100 km. North of Manila, the country’s capital city and about 32 km. South of Tarlac, the province’s only city. It is the southernmost gateway of the melting pot province of Tarlac in the Central Plain of Luzon in the Philippines.
The town is located between 121º 18’ and 121º 38’ east longitude and 15º 18’ and 15º 21’ north longitude. It is bounded on the north by the municipality of Capas, Concepcion on the east, by the towns of Porac and Mabalacat of Pampanga on the south, and Botolan town of Zambales on the west.

The town’s boundary with Mabalacat, Pampanga is the Ilug Sacobia (Sacobia River), which is a major channel for lahar or pyroclastic flowing from the slopes of Bunduk Pinatubo. The Ilug Sacobia connects with the Ilug Parwa (Paruao River).

It is the southernmost gateway of the melting pot province of Tarlac in the Central Plain of Luzon in the Philippines. The Bunduk Pinatubo volcanic eruption and the subsequent flow of lava and mud to the lowlands of Bamban forced residents to move out or to stay at the Dapdap Resettlement Area, which is on higher grounds.


The Ilug Parwa, is a source of irrigation water, food, and sand and gravel for infrastructure projects. The mountainous region situated in the western part comprises almost two-thirds of the total land area, which used to be within the US Military Reservations. Nestled in this part are the BLISS projects and to the north, the MAR settlement project, which when completely developed will be a source of livelihood and food supplies for Central Luzon.



Amlat/ History
Long before settlers came, the place which was to become the town of Bamban, was a vast track of wild land extending eastward; and on the west side, composed of foothills and mountains lush with vegetation and tall trees extending deep into the Zambales ranges. The thick forest and mountains were then inhabited by the Aetas (locally known as Baluga), and the Sambals, both of whom subsisted only on fishing and native or wild animals which abounded in the place. Occasionally, daring traders from Pampanga and the Tagalog province, mostly enterprising Chinese, braved the wilderness to go northward to Capas and Tarlac.

Before the advent of the Spanish era, small settlers came, attracted by the fertile land and the glittering silver of the river that cut through the mountain to spill down the flat land, making it fertile. The settlers started small clearings in the thick growth of bamban plants which covered vast portions of the land bordering the river a small distance from the foothills.(because of these plants, the place was eventually named Bamban).

Settlers upon settlers came to carve clearings in the land, and soon a small community was formed. About 1700, Agustinian Recollects came and established the Mission de Pueblos de Bamban. But the pueblo was then a part of Pampanga. In 1837, a new boundary line was established, thereby permanently making Bamban part of the province of Tarlac.

Official recognition as a town was sanctioned by the gobernadorcillo in the town of Tarlac. Don Martin Sibal was subsequently appointed head and commissioned with the rank of "Capitan". Among the first settlers were the Sibals, Lugtu, Dayrit, Macale, Vergara, Manipon, and Dela Cruz clans. During the revolution of 1896, Bamban was one of the first towns to take up arms against the Spaniards. Northwest of the town situated among the hills are remnants of strongholds built by brave bands of Bambanenses who joined Gen. Servilliano Aquino in the uprising in Tarlac. Up to this time, a portion of the foothills in the area is called "Batiawan" or look-out point. Many a brave son died in this movement for liberation.

When the Americans came in 1900, the small pueblo gradually grew into a teeming town. The Bamban Sugar Central was established and further gave impetus to its growth. Don Pablo Lagman was the first to be appointed presidente and Don Laureano Campo as vice-presidente under the American military government. Other prominent families then took over the helm of government. During the Commonwealth era, the Sibals, the Lumboys, the Santoses, the Punsalangs, to mention a few, enjoyed political power until the outbreak of World War II.

Bamban is like the legendary phoenix, which must be resurrected from its ashes. The whole poblacion was devastated and burned during the liberation. Undaunted, the people returned from hiding and began rebuilding even while the campaign was raging deep in the mountains. Growth was fast because of proximity of Clark Air Base. But Bamban can not be the same again. The aftermath of the war was felt for a long time. Consequently, prominent families left the town for the city to establish big business and names for themselves.

ING KALULUGANAN/ LAND AREA AND TOPOGRAPHY

Balen Bamban is politically subdivided into 15 barangays namely:
• Anupul
• Banaba
• Bangcu
• Culubasa
• Dela Cruz
• La Paz
• Lourdes
• Malonzo
• San Nicolas (Poblacion)
• San Pedro
• San Rafael
• San Roque
• San Vicente
• Santo Niño
• Virgen de los Remedios (Pacalcal)

The four (4) largest barangays namely, Anupul, San Nicolas, Sto Nino and San Vicente with a total area of 22,572 or nearly three fifths (3/5) or 57.7% of the total municipal land area contain the former military reservation are and the Sacobia Resettlement Area. The remaining two fifths (2/5) or 42.3% of the town’s land area is divided among the eleven (11) barangays.

Barangays La Paz is the smallest barangay with barely one percent (1%) of the total municipal land area. The largest barangay is Anupul which claim almost one-fifth (1/5) or 9.26% of the municipal territory. After the eruption of Bunduk Pinatubo in June 1991, the barangays on the eastern portion were mostly covered by lahar debris. These are mostly agricultural and residential areas. Four (4) of the low-lying barangays have been buried by lahar, namely these are barangays Banaba, Malonzo, San Pedro and Bangcu while some barangays have been partially affected.