A Biographical Sketch
By
Jay Cy Ty
FOREWORD
The
idea to write this biographical sketch was inspired by some old
residents of Tiwi who related the different anecdotes and outstanding
achievements of the man who is the subject of this sketch. They praised
him and inspired me to follow the gobernadorcillo's way of life. I tried
to imitate him though I did not presume to measure up to his ideals.
No
attempt is made here to appraise his character and his achievements. It
is left to the discretion of the reader. The sketch is being presented
without assumptions except for some reference notes.
Majority of
the materials of this work was related to me personally by witnesses of
the time, notably by Cabezang Conoy (Cornelio Comboy from Cale),
Cabezang Eno (also form Cale), the late Fermin Corral, Petronilo de la
Cruz from Mayong, Alejandro Colina from Cararayan, Inocencia Combo
(Mother in-law of Mariano Templado).
Municipal President Lino
Clutario related the incident with the Guardia Civil, which he heard
from some elder people. Likewise, the late Mr. H.R. Berces confirmed
some parts of this work to be true as he heard them many times from
elder people.
The late Mariano Templado, the only son of
Gobernadorcillo Higino Templado blessed with children, said that he
heard all of the accounts in this work as recounted many times by people
then living during the time of the gobernadorcillo.
The
descendants of Mariano Templado are grateful to the old folks who
transmitted this portion of the life story of the gobernadorcillo,
without whom he would have been forgotten like the other revered men of
his time.
Jay Cy Ty
Tiwi, Albay
January 1, 1979
The Legacy Of Higino Templado
Sr.
Don Higino Templado, the sixty-sixth gobernadorcillo* of Tiwi, Albay
(1879-1884) was a man of strong personality. He was of strong though
slender of physique and stands at five feet and eight inches. He was
good in the arts of fencing, which he learned while a student in Manila.
He
had a clear and light complexion with a face too serious for his age.
His speech was solemn and his voice was full and resonant. He spoke
fluently and was at home in the Spanish language. He was well composed
in appearance and had no racial complex. He had a high regard for his
office and discharged duties with dignity and decorum. A devout
Catholic, he led the members of his household in the daily early morning
rosary.
*The head of the Pueblo government (town government) was
the gobernadorcillo (little governor) popularly called Capitan. In
earlier times, all married men of the pueblo elected him annually.
Later, he was elected by a board of 18 electors- the out-going
gobernadorcillo and twelve electors selected by lot, six from the
incumbent cabezas de barangay and six among the former gobernadorcillos
and cabezas.
BIRTH AND PARENTAGE
Higino
was born in San Fernando, Pampanga on February 11, 1852. He was the
eldest of three children born to Licerio Templado and Felipa Fernandez
both of Filipino- Chinese descent. His father was from Bulacan while his
mother was from Pampanga.
EDUCATION
Higino
got his early education from the parochial school of his native town.
After finishing his early education, he continued his studies in
Manila's higher institution of learning. It is not certain as to what
course the young Higino pursued in the University of Santo Tomas but it
is believed that he must have studied civil law.
HIS FAMILY
While
a student in Manila, Higino met Crisanta San Juan, a young college girl
of Manila whom he married in 1873. Crisanta was the eldest daughter of
Mariano San Juan* and Macaria Maglake of Manila who migrated to Tiwi
earlier than the Templados.
After marriage, the young couple
stayed for a while in the house of Remigia San Juan, a sister of
Crisanta's father. With the desire to be free and independent and a
resentment to undue discipline from Aunt Remigia, the young couple with
their first-born child left Manila in 1875 in a pretense to visit their
parents in Tiwi, Albay where they decided to stay permanently.
Higino
had six children: Mariquita, Gineto, Merced, Licerio, Mariano and
Higino II. Of his children, only Mariano was blessed with children to
perpetuate Higino's family, one of whom became later a Mayor of Tiwi.
*Mariano San Juan held also the position of gobernadorcillo (1877-1878).
ENTERED PUBLIC SERVICE
Being
knowledgeable in law, Higino was appointed Fiscal Promotor* of Tiwi
(1876-1878). Due to his growing influence in the town, at the age of
twenty- seven, he was elected gobernadorcillo of his adopted town to
succeed his father in-law on January 1, 1879. He was re-elected in1881
and in 1883 occupying the position until his death in 1884. His
administration heralded liberalism in Tiwi and was characterized by
peace and prosperity.
*Fiscal Promotors were provided for in
every municipality. They were given to persons who are lawyers or had
some academic or professional title, or to those whose positions and
circumstances warrant it. Cayetano S. Arellano, "Concession to Public
Opinion". The Judiciary (Vol. 1, 1903)
A LIBERAL AND A REFORMER
The
liberal ideas brought to the Philippines by Spanish Governor-General
Carlos Maria de la Torre (1869-1871) as a consequence of liberalism in
Spain, had greatly influenced the character of Higino while a student in
Manila. As a student at that time, Higino had the opportunity of
attending both Liberty Serenade and Parade in July and September 1869
participated by prominent Filipinos and students of the University of
Santo Tomas to express their gratitude for the liberal policies of
Governor-General Carlos Maria de la Torre. These demonstrations had
imbibed in the young Higino the spirit of nationalism and liberalism.
The new ideas spreading in Manila's young people were brought to Tiwi by
the young gobernadorcillo.
In the past, the gobernadorcillo was
generally, as Jose Rizal said in his Noli Me Tangere, "only an unhappy
mortal commanded not, but obeyed; who ordered not, but was ordered; who
drove not, but was driven". When Higino assumed his position, he
inaugurated a new concept of administration. He chose to inspire and
drive his people to action. He initiated reforms and took measures for
the development of his town.
SUPPRESSED FLOGGING
Though
Higino would not compromise with criminality, he detested the
infliction of bodily harm to criminals as a form of punishment. To him,
punishment has for its purpose the reformation of the criminal. With
this belief, he immediately suppressed flogging, the subjection of
offenders to the bite of ants and other physical forms of punishments.
PROMOTED PEACE AND ORDER
Higino
believed that peace and order is necessary for the progress of the
community. However, he said, peace and order cannot be achieved if those
who are charged with the responsibility of maintaining peace and orders
are undisciplined and oppressive.
Knowing that the cuadrilleros,
the local police force during the Spanish regime, were illiterates and
untrained for police work, he took immediate steps in reorganizing the
cuadrilleros. They were required to learn the native martial arts and to
attend a short course in police work. He issued them instructions to
govern their actuations and charged them the duty of preventing crimes
and the apprehension of criminals. Erring cuadrilleros were confined in
jail without visitors for several days depending on the degree of their
errors. Cuadrilleros, he said, must be models and that they could only
correct themselves if they are made to taste the dose of their own
medicine.
CORRECTED THE ABUSE OF THE GUARDIA CIVIL
An
incident with a Guardia Civil caused an unwholesome relationship
between him and the organization of the Guardia Civil. In those days,
the guardia civil were powerful and arrogant. Nobody dared disobey them.
For no cause at all, they would beat anybody (not excluding the
gobernadorcillo) who happened to cross their ways.
On one
occasion, a guardia civil came knocking at Higino's bedroom while
enjoying his noon siesta, with the intention of humiliating the
gobernadorcillo. Irked by this arrogance, Higino opened the door
abruptly and in a surprise move, he grabbed the guardia civil's pistol
and held him up. "Pay respect or honor in the name of the King", the
gobernadorcillo commanded. Caught unaware, the guardia civil humbled
himself before Higino. He arrested him and locked him in jail. He was
only released upon a pledge that the guardia civil will not repeat the
incident nor molest his people. From then on, no guardia civil ever
dared slight Higino nor would any guardia civil go to any place in Tiwi
without his knowledge and authority.
PACIFIED THE AETAS
The
forest areas of what is now the Binisitahan of San Bernardo and the
mountains of Barangay Mayong were earlier inhabited by roaming Agta
(Aeta). These people were nomadic and warlike in nature and were
constantly molesting the Christian natives. Higino decided to pacify
these Aetas. He befriended their chiefs and summoned them to gather in
San Bernardo and the lowlands of Mayong. When Higino arrived at the
gathering of the Aetas in San Bernardo, he noted an unfriendly
atmosphere among the Aetas. Their Chief, seated on a bench like a king,
did not rise nor demonstrate any act of welcoming the gobernadorcillo.
As
Higino stood unwelcome and embarrassed, the Chief Aeta, brandishing a
bolo signaled to one of his men to throw a coconut to him, which he
struck in two. Higino, however, was not impressed by the show. He
surprised everybody by disarming him with his bolo. Everybody was tense!
The slightest signal from their Chief would throw them into action.
Tension, however was eased when the Aeta Chief, in an act of surrender
smiled apologetically and explained that what he did was nothing but a
mere gesture of welcome. He warned them not to molest the Christian
natives and advised them to live peacefully. Later, he arranged for a
lay mission, which he accompanied for the conversion of the Aetas to
Christianity. For a while they settled peacefully but some of them
wandered into the forests.
HIS ENGINEERING WORKS
Town Planning
The
only road existing at the time he became the gobernadorcillo was the
road from Malinao. The town was no more than a settlement of scattered
houses. The only building of permanent construction was the church and
convent. Having seen the orderly arrangement of the city of Manila and
some other towns near Manila, he made a plan for Tiwi.
Built Municipal Streets
The
existing systems of the municipal streets in Tiwi were laid out during
the term of Gobernadorcillo Higino Templado. Higino believed in the
importance of good roads. He soon started the construction of the
Cararayan- Cale road, which was then only a trail to make it passable
for Carabao-drawn carts. To provide the barrio of Cararayan with a
street through which the religious procession or aurora may pass, he
also caused the construction of the back street of Cararayan named
Eduardo Comot Street.
The maintenance of the Tiwi- Malinao road
always concerned him. It was while supervising the repair of this road
during heavy rain that caused his sickness resulting to his death.
Constructed The Tribunal
Tiwi
did not have a building to house its local government offices. In 1880,
he built a town hall, which was then called the Tribunal. It was built
of stone and its architecture was of the Corinthian style. Its
construction was partly financed from his personal funds due to the
inadequacy of the funds of the Pueblo. This building was unfortunately
burned in the later part of the Spanish regime due to the fireworks
fired by one Directorcillo* Tomas Gonzalez.
*Directorcillo was the municipal secretary.
The Town Plaza
To
provide the community a wholesome place where people could gather and
meet on Sundays and holidays, Higino constructed a town plaza in front
of the Tribunal building on the very site of the present town plaza.
Ornamental trees and plants were planted around the plaza and lampposts
were installed and lighted at night. In this place people gathered to
see the Comedia or local plays.
This plaza was named Plaza
Templado during the time of Municipal President Mateo Clidoro (1925-
1931) in honor of Gobernadorcillo Higino Templado. The name however was
soon forgotten. Only former President Lino Clutario (1931-1934), then
Secretary to President Clidoro, remembers it to this day.
Irrigation and River Control
Realizing
the importance of the lowlands between Cararayan and Naga for
agricultural purposes, he saw the need of an irrigation canal. He called
the people of the barrio and explained to them the necessity of
constructing an irrigation system. Supplementing the Polo or forced
labor system of the time with voluntary or cooperative labor the
irrigation system from the barrio of Cale was constructed.
It was
during the construction of this irrigation system that an anecdote was
told about Higino. Early one morning, the continuous beating of a drum
annoyed him. He went out of his house and looked for the source of the
sound and found the Cabeza de Barangay still beating the drum. "I am
calling the men to work in the community dam but not one has come", the
Cabeza explained.
"Give me the drum!" the gobernadorcillo commanded. With a bolo, he struck the drum and left the Cabeza dumbfounded.
Struck
with fear, the Cabeza went around spreading the news that the
gobernadorcillo was angry. Sooner than was expected, men were hurrying
to the community dam.
"An sobrang tanog nacaca bognog. Sarong pokpok na malumbay nacacabuhay," Higino was later heard to have said.
The Nagas River Control Project
The
Nagas River has been a constant threat to the road connecting Malinao
and Tiwi and to the rice fields of Tiwi. It was once reported to Higino
that in Taki* was a lake whose water was shut off by a big rock held in
place by a vine. It was feared that if the vine was cut, the rock would
roll to cause a big flood. To allay the fears of the people, Higino
taking with him the image of Nuestra Senora del Rosario (Patron Saint of
Cararayan), and leading a party of cuadrilleros and local officials,
visited the alleged lake. The report however was found to be false. The
trip was not at all futile for it enabled him to map out plan to control
Nagas River. The plan did not materialize on account of his untimely
death.
*Taki- the upper portion of Nagas River
HIS AGRICULTURAL ACHIEVEMENTS
The Abaca Industry
The
Abaca as the people's money crop concerned him much. In fact he was a
big abaca plantation owner. His plantations were located at Mayong,
Dapdap and in Cale. He was an advocate of quality fibers. He was proud
to claim that the best abaca fibers came from Tiwi. To attain his
objectives, he required all strippers to use only knives without teeth.
He ordered his cuadrilleros to inspect abaca strippers and to confiscate
knives with teeth.
Higino was a jealous economist. In 1881, the
central government required him to ship to Manila a large quantity of
abaca rootstocks. Sensing that the propagation of abaca in other places
would later threaten the town's abaca industry, Gobernadorcillo Templado
ordered the abaca rootstocks soaked in Naglagbong boiling springs
before its shipment to prevent its germination.
Established Experimental Plots
In
his desire to improve the economic condition of his people, the
gobernadorcillo established a demonstration or experimental plot in
Cararayan. He experimented and introduced such plants as legumes or
beans, indigo, tobacco, garlic, sugarcane from Central Luzon, and such
fruit trees as ates, seneguelas, and mulberry trees for the raising of
silkworms.
FOUNDED AND RENAMED BARRIOS
Founding Of Cararayan
In
searching for a place to establish his home, Higino selected a place,
which he called Cararayhan (most ideal place). In later times people
simplified it to Cararayan. He induced his friends and other people to
settle down in this place, which he intended earlier to make it the
poblacion of Tiwi.
With the cooperation of his neighbors they
built a chapel. He ordered a painted image of the Nuestra Senora del
Rosario from Manila and since then it has been the patron saint of the
barrio. It seems that he chose this image in honor of the patron saint
of Santo Domingo Church where he usually heard mass when still in
Manila.
Renamed Gentilan*
Mayong was originally
known as Cagintilan as Aetas and a haven then inhabited it for bad and
troublesome people. After its pacification Gobernadorcillo Templado
renamed Cagintilan to Mayong. The head of the Aetas was commissioned as
Capitan de Mayong.
* Gentilan- derived from the word Gentil or Gentiles. The word gentil in Bicol refers to lawless people.
Chapel for San Bernardo
In the conversion of the Aetas in San Bernardo to Christianity, a chapel was also established where lay missions held meetings.
HIS CULTURAL ACHIEVEMENTS
No
one knows the introduction of the Comedia or Moro-moro dramas in Tiwi.
It is certain, however, that Higino was patron of this cultural
practice. He encouraged and promoted the holding of the Comedia in
Cararayan as well as in the town.
The Comedia is a must during
the celebration of fiestas and during the "catapusan" of the "aurora".
He is said to have enjoyed the comedia very much especially the awkward
gestures of the actors. He found much pleasure in the company of one
known only as Pando from Nagas. He was his personal jester. For Pando's
pranks and jokes, the gobernadorcillo excused him from the usual polo or
forced labor.
Higino appreciated music. He encouraged his
brother Dionisio*, a talented musician to organize an orchestra using
both native and foreign instruments. During fiestas and other occasions,
this orchestra presented musical renditions.
*Grandfather of Kagawad Artemio Auste
New Year's Day Celebration
On
New Year's Day, Higino would gather the children for a celebration. He
would coax them to sing and to recite prayers and extracts from Christ's
passion plays. To each participant he gave them prizes. At the end of
the celebration, he would shower them with coins to his full enjoyment
as he saw them scramble for the showered coins.
RECIPIENT OF A MEDAL OF MERIT
The
Superior government in Manila took cognizance of the Gobernadorcillo's
unusual achievements in public improvements, in the promotion of peace
and order and in the development of local agriculture. He was therefore
awarded a silver medal* wherein the following was inscribed: "GOBIERNO
SUPERIOR DE FILIPINAS- AL MERITO CIVIL".
*The heirs of the late Mayor Jose Clutario Templado preserve the medal.
HIS DEATH
In
the later part of his incumbency as gobernadorcillo, Don Higino
Templado contracted a certain fever. He was confined for a week in bed.
Recovering from the illness, he was again in his job supervising the
repair of the road in Nagas after a heavy flood. He got a relapse and
finally died in 1884 at the prime age of 32. His office vacated, his
Teniente Mayor, Ramon Zepeda assumed his office.
*Jay Cy Ty is the pen name of the author, the late Mayor Jose Clutario Templado.
