Friday, October 10, 2008
Wednesday, April 23, 2008
NARRA
Title: Compilation of notes on the most important timber tree species of the Philippine Islands.
Author: Ahern, George Patrick, 1859-1942.
http://quod.lib.umich.edu/cgi/t/text/pageviewer-idx?c=philamer;cc=philamer;q1=naga;rgn=full%20text;idno=ANG5071.0001.001;didno=ANG5071.0001.001;view=image;seq=00000146
Author: Ahern, George Patrick, 1859-1942.
http://quod.lib.umich.edu/cgi/t/text/pageviewer-idx?c=philamer;cc=philamer;q1=naga;rgn=full%20text;idno=ANG5071.0001.001;didno=ANG5071.0001.001;view=image;seq=00000146
THE EFFICIENCY OF PORTLAND CEMENT RAW MATERIALS FROM NAGA, CEBU By W. C. REIBLING and F. D. REYES
THE EFFICIENCY OF PORTLAND CEMENT RAW MATERIALS FROM NAGA, CEBU By W. C. REIBLING and F. D. REYES (From the Laboratory of General, Inorganic, and Physical Chemistry, Bureau of Science, Manila, P. I.)
http://quod.lib.umich.edu/cgi/t/text/pageviewer-idx?c=philamer;cc=philamer;q1=naga%20cebu;rgn=full%20text;idno=agu4820.0001.001;didno=AGU4820.0001.001;view=image;seq=3;page=root;size=s;frm=frameset;
http://quod.lib.umich.edu/cgi/t/text/pageviewer-idx?c=philamer;cc=philamer;q1=naga%20cebu;rgn=full%20text;idno=agu4820.0001.001;didno=AGU4820.0001.001;view=image;seq=3;page=root;size=s;frm=frameset;
Thursday, April 10, 2008
Margarita Roxas de Ayala
Margarita Roxas de Ayala (1826-1869) was the one of the first philanthropists, the first great matriarch of the Roxas, Ayala and Zobel families and one of the greatest Philippine businesswomen of all time. She was the eldest daughter of Don Domingo Roxas, founder of Casa Roxas (later Ayala y Compañia), and one of the greatest businessmen and Filipino exponents of the Spanish colonial era.
Early Life
She was born in Manila on July 29, 1826. She was the eldest child of Domingo Roxas, who founded Casa Roxas, and Maria Saturnina Ubaldo, a Spaniard. During her early life she suggered great indignity and injustice when her father Don Domingo was incarcerated three time.. The Spanish colonial authorities suspected that her father was a sympathizer of the Filipino cause and had published anti-Spanish tracts. This was because Don Domingo was one of the earliest industrialists of the Philippines and had opposed the sugar and alcohol monopoly. He was also an advocate for liberal reforms. Most damning of all was that Don Pedro had actively supported the Cofradia de San Jose, the organization of Apolinario de la Cruz or Hermano Pule.
On her father's third incarceration in 1842 (her father was already over 60 years old) she took on a dangerous voyage to Spain to personally seek the father's pardon from Queen Isabela II. After six months of patiently waiting outside the Spanish royal court, Isabella II was so impressed with young Margarita's determination that she granted her father's release.
After sailing in 1843 for several months back to the Philippines (the Suez Canal had still not been opened), she arrived too late to see her father's liberation, for he had died in prison.
Ascendance of the Roxas y Ayala Empire
In 1843 she assumed control of the her father's company, combining both her business and civic work. Domingo Roxas' children renamed the company to Roxas Hijos. Later the company name was changed yet again to Roxas Hermanos, when her younger brother Don Jose Bonifacio Roxas left to manage his own company.
On the foundations of her father's business, she diversified into real estate, mining, and alcohol production. She bought large tracts of swamplands all over the Philippines, including in Candaba, Pampanga, Calatagan, Batangas, and in 1850 to Capiz, where she sent her distant nephew Antonio Roxas (great grandson of her uncle Antonio Roxas y Ureta to start the nipa palm business. She personally supervised her field foremen (capataz) in the harvesting of nipa palm alcohol which became the basis of Ginebra Ayala.
In 1844, she married her father's partner who was 25 years her junior, Don Antonio de Ayala, a Spaniard from the Basque region of Alava de Ayala, Spain. They honeymooned in Europe and upon their return they set about in expanding the business. When her youngest brother Mariano Roxas died, the company name was changed once again to Ayala Compañia, which survives to this day as the Ayala Corporation. She quickly expanded into mining when she opened the first coal mine in Pandan Creek, Naga, Cebu and another one in Atimonan, Quezon. She opened the Philippines' first distillery, turning nipa palm into alcohol. To that end she purchased 5,000 hectares in San Esteban, Pampanga, near the present towns of Macabebe and Masantol. She journeyed herself to her various businesses as far as Cebu and Capiz.
With her newly acquired wealth, she became the foremost philanthropist of her time, donating her own summer residence called La Concordia in Santa Ana, Manila in 1868 to the Colegio de la Concordia, which survives to this day as La Concordia College. The school upon her instruction was staffed by a Spanish order of nuns, the Sisters of Charity and dedicated to educating and giving scholarships to marginalized women. Its official name though was Colegio de la Inmaculada Concepcion La Concordia.
With uncommon zeal she dedicated herself to various endeavors of charity. She became the president of the Conferencias de San Vicente de Paul in 1861 when the Jesuit superior, Fr. Jose Fernandez Cuevas recommened her for the position. Fr. Clotet related that " she entered the houses of the poor and visited the slums to see the sick and invalids, helping them in their needs both material and spiritual, or alleviating their miseries and assuaging the griefs of widows and orphans, who always received from Mrs. Ayala her protection and solace. And this did not exhaust her charitable spirit; she took under her charge and sustenance many families who had been in one way or another victims of calamity." After the destruction of San Juan de Dios Hospital after the earthquake of 1863, she led its reconstruction efforts by forming a "bazar de caridad" to raise funds, collecting several thousands of pesos. She sponsored a separate ward for poor in the same hospital. Such was her philanthropic fame that even the national hero Jose Rizal in his personal diary noted that he knew of Doña Margarita's many acts of philanthrophy on 31 March 1884.
In 1851 her brother Don Jose Bonifacio Roxas bought the a former Jesuit-owned estate in Rizal province, around 1,650 hectares to establish Hacienda San Pedro de Macati. In that same year she and Don Antonio cofounded Banco Español-Filipino de Isabel II, currently known as Bank of the Philippine Islands. It was the first private commercial bank in the Philippines and Southeast Asia and Don Antonio became one of its first directors. In 1864 Doña Margarita and her other brother Mariano Roxas and her husband formed Roxas Hermanos, without Don Jose.
Upon the death of her brother Don Mariano in 1868, she changed the company name to Ayala y Compañia
Legacy
For these many achievements, the Spanish colonial government honored her wwith the designation of Dama de Honor de la Reina and feted her with the military band Banda de Reina Maria Luisa.
On November 1, 1869 Doña Margarita died and left Don Antonio to run the company single-handedly until his death in 1876.
They had three daughters. The first daughter Carmen Roxas de Ayala would marry her cousin Don Pedro Pablo Roxas and their daughter Margarita Roxas de Ayala y Roxas would later marry Eduardo Soriano. They would become the parents of San Miguel Corporation industrialist Andres Soriano.
Doña Margarita's and Don Antonio's other daughter Doña Trinidad de Ayala would later marry Jacobo Zobel y Zangroniz to start the legendary Zobel de Ayala Family. Eldest daughter Camila would marry Andres Ortiz de Zarate but died without any heir. Upon the death of Don Antonio, Carmen and Trinidad continued the management of Ayala y Cia.
On her grave a inscription fittingly describes her spectacular but brief life:
D.O.M.
Margarita Roxas de Ayala
Murió el 1. de noviembre de 1869
a los 43 años
¡Margarita!
Asociándose a los pobres encontró el secreto
de interesar a Dios en su fortuna
He ahí su historia.
Memoria de su esposo y hijas.
Thursday, January 24, 2008
Tribal yearnings
Sunstar
Tuesday, June 14, 2005
Tribal yearnings
By Lorelie Joy S. Albano
They live in shanties covered with plastic, nipa, bamboo shafts and some worn fabric patched together to make a home. Fifty-three families of the Ati race have been nestling in South Poblacion, Naga, Cebu since the year 2000. The Atis were brought to Cebu by hardship, and now they are eking a living by selling bracelets, earning P200 per day that is stretched to sustain a family of six. Nomads for so long, the Atis now dream of finding a homeland in Cebu. “Dugay na gyud ming nangandoy nga naa na mi’y permanenteng kapuy-an (we have long dreamed of having a permanent place to live in),” said Ati chieftain Manuel Sanger. Their journey began when, stricken with famine in the mountains of Iloilo City, 20 families of the Ati race walked their way to San Carlos City, selling bracelets along the way to finance their bid for a better life. They moved from one place to another. They lived in private lands and were cast away after they cleared and tilled them. They lived along the streets, seared by the heat, drenched in the rain. They lived under bridges. Many lost their lives. After several years in San Carlos City, the tribe decided to try its luck in other places. After traveling on a ferry going to Toledo City, the Atis finally reached South Poblacion, Naga, Cebu in the year 2000. But because of poverty, they have not been able to build decent houses. Moreover, the tribe does not have proper sanitation. Very few houses have their own comfort room, so they share one public comfort room. Almost all their children are malnourished, walking dirty and naked outside their houses, playing in the mud. Stepping in Learning of the Atis’ plight, Gawad Kalinga (GK) has stepped in, proposing to the Municipal Government of Naga to make the place they are staying in a special resettlement area for the aboriginal people. GK is an initiative by the Couples for Christ to eradicate slums in the Philippines by building houses and transforming poverty-stricken areas into vibrant communities. Naga Mayor Ferdinand Chiong, through the Municipality of Naga, and the National Commission on Indigenous Peoples support this move. Last Dec. 4, 2003, Mayor Chiong submitted an application to the Department of Environment and Natural Resources Region 7, proposing a special resettlement area to be constructed in South Poblacion, Naga for the Atis. The Municipality of Naga and GK united to submit this proposal. But obstacles lie ahead. The land the Atis are occupying is not titled. In addition, a resident named Santiago Villarico is claiming ownership of the land. After an ocular inspection, engineer Aurelio Caña of the Cebu Environment and Natural Resources also said there is a big possibility that the lot the Atis are living on is timberland, considering its location. Extending around five hectares, the land is an open space adjacent to the sea. It was formed when the path of the Pangan River was diverted at the mouth portion where mangroves used to grow. Until now, the status of the land is unclear. A resurvey is still to be conducted to ascertain whether the land is timberland or not. If the lot is proven to be timberland after the resurvey, Villarico can never own it because under Section 16, No. 8 of Presidential Decree 705 or the Revised Forestry Code, “strips of mangrove or swamplands at least 20 meters wide, along shorelines facing oceans, lakes and other bodies of water are needed for forest purposes, and may not, therefore, be classified as alienable and disposable land.” In the meantime, the Atis have been trying their best to raise their own standards of living, as well as to fit in. Some children of the Ati community are already going to school in Naga. The children get free education in the nursery and kindergarten levels with the help of teacher volunteers through Gawad Kalinga’s education program, Sagip. Livelihood The sale of bracelets is still the Atis’ major source of income. They learned this trade from their ancestors. Called panagga, the bracelets are said to provide protection from evil forces and spirits. Made of herbal medicines and little ornaments, the bracelets sell for P15-P25 each. The Atis also engage in weaving and make herbal medicines that can cure different kinds of illnesses. These are made from the bark and roots of trees that they brought from Iloilo. But after years of staying in Naga, the tribesmen have learned to augment their income by raising pigs and chickens. In addition, the Atis run a cooperative store to meet their daily needs, with the savings set aside for emergencies, such as hospitalization. Some members of the tribe have earned enough to buy appliances. Will this tribal people finally see the end of their nomadic existence? They will find a home only with the green light to keep the land under their feet and the willingness of Naga residents to embrace them as friends.
Tuesday, June 14, 2005
Tribal yearnings
By Lorelie Joy S. Albano
They live in shanties covered with plastic, nipa, bamboo shafts and some worn fabric patched together to make a home. Fifty-three families of the Ati race have been nestling in South Poblacion, Naga, Cebu since the year 2000. The Atis were brought to Cebu by hardship, and now they are eking a living by selling bracelets, earning P200 per day that is stretched to sustain a family of six. Nomads for so long, the Atis now dream of finding a homeland in Cebu. “Dugay na gyud ming nangandoy nga naa na mi’y permanenteng kapuy-an (we have long dreamed of having a permanent place to live in),” said Ati chieftain Manuel Sanger. Their journey began when, stricken with famine in the mountains of Iloilo City, 20 families of the Ati race walked their way to San Carlos City, selling bracelets along the way to finance their bid for a better life. They moved from one place to another. They lived in private lands and were cast away after they cleared and tilled them. They lived along the streets, seared by the heat, drenched in the rain. They lived under bridges. Many lost their lives. After several years in San Carlos City, the tribe decided to try its luck in other places. After traveling on a ferry going to Toledo City, the Atis finally reached South Poblacion, Naga, Cebu in the year 2000. But because of poverty, they have not been able to build decent houses. Moreover, the tribe does not have proper sanitation. Very few houses have their own comfort room, so they share one public comfort room. Almost all their children are malnourished, walking dirty and naked outside their houses, playing in the mud. Stepping in Learning of the Atis’ plight, Gawad Kalinga (GK) has stepped in, proposing to the Municipal Government of Naga to make the place they are staying in a special resettlement area for the aboriginal people. GK is an initiative by the Couples for Christ to eradicate slums in the Philippines by building houses and transforming poverty-stricken areas into vibrant communities. Naga Mayor Ferdinand Chiong, through the Municipality of Naga, and the National Commission on Indigenous Peoples support this move. Last Dec. 4, 2003, Mayor Chiong submitted an application to the Department of Environment and Natural Resources Region 7, proposing a special resettlement area to be constructed in South Poblacion, Naga for the Atis. The Municipality of Naga and GK united to submit this proposal. But obstacles lie ahead. The land the Atis are occupying is not titled. In addition, a resident named Santiago Villarico is claiming ownership of the land. After an ocular inspection, engineer Aurelio Caña of the Cebu Environment and Natural Resources also said there is a big possibility that the lot the Atis are living on is timberland, considering its location. Extending around five hectares, the land is an open space adjacent to the sea. It was formed when the path of the Pangan River was diverted at the mouth portion where mangroves used to grow. Until now, the status of the land is unclear. A resurvey is still to be conducted to ascertain whether the land is timberland or not. If the lot is proven to be timberland after the resurvey, Villarico can never own it because under Section 16, No. 8 of Presidential Decree 705 or the Revised Forestry Code, “strips of mangrove or swamplands at least 20 meters wide, along shorelines facing oceans, lakes and other bodies of water are needed for forest purposes, and may not, therefore, be classified as alienable and disposable land.” In the meantime, the Atis have been trying their best to raise their own standards of living, as well as to fit in. Some children of the Ati community are already going to school in Naga. The children get free education in the nursery and kindergarten levels with the help of teacher volunteers through Gawad Kalinga’s education program, Sagip. Livelihood The sale of bracelets is still the Atis’ major source of income. They learned this trade from their ancestors. Called panagga, the bracelets are said to provide protection from evil forces and spirits. Made of herbal medicines and little ornaments, the bracelets sell for P15-P25 each. The Atis also engage in weaving and make herbal medicines that can cure different kinds of illnesses. These are made from the bark and roots of trees that they brought from Iloilo. But after years of staying in Naga, the tribesmen have learned to augment their income by raising pigs and chickens. In addition, the Atis run a cooperative store to meet their daily needs, with the savings set aside for emergencies, such as hospitalization. Some members of the tribe have earned enough to buy appliances. Will this tribal people finally see the end of their nomadic existence? They will find a home only with the green light to keep the land under their feet and the willingness of Naga residents to embrace them as friends.
Saturday, January 12, 2008
F.D. TECSON: WRITER, POLITICIAN AND LABOR LEADER
Erlinda Kintanar-Alburo, Sumad: Essays for theCentennial of the Revolution in Cebu. Manila: De laSalle University Press, 2001.
pp. 95-96.
On March 16, 1906 was born in a mountain barrio of NAGA a son and grandson of a manananggot or tubagatherer, who became vice-mayor of Cebu city:Florentino D. Tecson. While attending Cebu High School, F.D. (as hewas known to Cebuanos) started as compositor then asreporter for the Bag-ong Kusog. At the age of 17, hewas already its editor. Indeed, journalism was a paththat led to politics for many of F.D.’scontemporaries. In the beginning, newspapermen were from theilustrado class who published and edited their ownpapers (like Vicente Sotto, Sergio Osmeña and VicenteRama) and who also ran for public office. Later, moreand more writers were recruited from the middle classwho became aware of their influence on the readingpublic (much like today’s movie and TV personalitiesin office). Thus, in 1928 alone, nine members of theBK staff ran for various offices in Cebu city (RamonAbellanosa, Gervasio Lavilles, Avelino Morales,Paulino Sanchez), Talisay (Panfilo Lastimosa, VicenteGarces), Carcar (Epifanio Alfafara, VicenteSarmiento), and San Fernando (the editor F.D. Tecson). From an elected councilor of San Fernando inNAGA and of Cebu city, Tecson became vice-mayor ofCebu in 1954. Four years earlier, he had passed thebar. From the BK he moved to the editorship of AngTigmantala (The Publisher) and Nasud (Nation) andfinally the proprietorship and editorship of AngMamumuo (The Laborer), titles whose order parallelsthe movement of his calling. His involvement withlabor started when he was assigned to cover themaritime strike of 1934. Within a year, F.D. becameauditor of the Federacion Obrera de Filipinas chapterin Cebu, its vice-president, and its president. Hethen organized a separate labor union called thePhilippine Labor Federation. F.D. was also a poet, a fictionist and an
orator, “the proverbial fellow with the goldentongue,” (according to the [p. 96 starts here]Republic Daily of 17 September 1955) whose gracefulCebuano prose read like poetry. A youngercontemporary writer, Martin Abellana, once wrote ofhis “meaty and thought-provoking” stories. Pseudonymsbeing in fashion then, he wrote under such pennames asFlorentino D’Ville, Tinoy-od (“in straight-fashion”),Victor Kutsero, F. Lorentino and Victor Florentin. Hewas most adept at handling stories of rural life. His only book of fiction, Lingawon Ko Ikaw (LetMe Entertain You), published by his own press in 1957with 5,000 copies, is a remarkable collection of 17stories. His realism is seen, for example, in detailslike panghinguto (licepicking) as an excuse forgossiping and a woman’s picking of her teeth before aprospective lover’s visit. He writes with gentlehumor, even while hitting at then popular targets likethe abusive landlord, the absent spouse, and theerring politician. Expectedly, he sides with “thedown and trodden,” but without being anti-capitalist. Contemporary readers, however, will probablynot respond to these stories in the same way that theearlier Cebuanos did. The story, for example, thatwon first prize in the 1930 Bisaya story contest, “MgaKasingkasing Dagku” (Magnificent Hearts), they willsay is too melodramatic. It is about a youngschoolteacher’s sacrificing her sweetheart in favor ofher older sister who herself had sacrificed herpersonal life to be able to send the younger one toschool. Even as the more practical generation that weare will see that the Cebuano story only records anideal of behavior, there is a necessary distancebetween what we consider a good story now andyesterday’s. When F.D. left the world of his parents in
search of a better life in the city, he would havecarried with him the rural folks’ attitudes thatshowed in his writings, like resignation in thatstory. In the poem “Ang Manananggot” (1927) hewrites: “Mabati ta lamang unya nga, sa sanggotan,Gitaghoy ang balitaw: maoy iyang balus sa kaniyanagpaantus. . .” (We can hear then, among thecoconuts, the whistling of a balitaw: his answer tothose who let him suffer…) Here the Cebuano songbecomes a defense or self-consolation. A popular folkform until the 60s, the balitaw is all but gone now.Certainly, F.D. and other writers of his time musthave learned from its lively exchanges something ofgrace in argument, even as they were leaving thebarrio.
pp. 95-96.
F.D. TECSON: WRITER, POLITICIAN AND LABOR LEADER
[Naga, Talisay, Carcar]
On March 16, 1906 was born in a mountain barrio of NAGA a son and grandson of a manananggot or tubagatherer, who became vice-mayor of Cebu city:Florentino D. Tecson. While attending Cebu High School, F.D. (as hewas known to Cebuanos) started as compositor then asreporter for the Bag-ong Kusog. At the age of 17, hewas already its editor. Indeed, journalism was a paththat led to politics for many of F.D.’scontemporaries. In the beginning, newspapermen were from theilustrado class who published and edited their ownpapers (like Vicente Sotto, Sergio Osmeña and VicenteRama) and who also ran for public office. Later, moreand more writers were recruited from the middle classwho became aware of their influence on the readingpublic (much like today’s movie and TV personalitiesin office). Thus, in 1928 alone, nine members of theBK staff ran for various offices in Cebu city (RamonAbellanosa, Gervasio Lavilles, Avelino Morales,Paulino Sanchez), Talisay (Panfilo Lastimosa, VicenteGarces), Carcar (Epifanio Alfafara, VicenteSarmiento), and San Fernando (the editor F.D. Tecson). From an elected councilor of San Fernando inNAGA and of Cebu city, Tecson became vice-mayor ofCebu in 1954. Four years earlier, he had passed thebar. From the BK he moved to the editorship of AngTigmantala (The Publisher) and Nasud (Nation) andfinally the proprietorship and editorship of AngMamumuo (The Laborer), titles whose order parallelsthe movement of his calling. His involvement withlabor started when he was assigned to cover themaritime strike of 1934. Within a year, F.D. becameauditor of the Federacion Obrera de Filipinas chapterin Cebu, its vice-president, and its president. Hethen organized a separate labor union called thePhilippine Labor Federation. F.D. was also a poet, a fictionist and an
orator, “the proverbial fellow with the goldentongue,” (according to the [p. 96 starts here]Republic Daily of 17 September 1955) whose gracefulCebuano prose read like poetry. A youngercontemporary writer, Martin Abellana, once wrote ofhis “meaty and thought-provoking” stories. Pseudonymsbeing in fashion then, he wrote under such pennames asFlorentino D’Ville, Tinoy-od (“in straight-fashion”),Victor Kutsero, F. Lorentino and Victor Florentin. Hewas most adept at handling stories of rural life. His only book of fiction, Lingawon Ko Ikaw (LetMe Entertain You), published by his own press in 1957with 5,000 copies, is a remarkable collection of 17stories. His realism is seen, for example, in detailslike panghinguto (licepicking) as an excuse forgossiping and a woman’s picking of her teeth before aprospective lover’s visit. He writes with gentlehumor, even while hitting at then popular targets likethe abusive landlord, the absent spouse, and theerring politician. Expectedly, he sides with “thedown and trodden,” but without being anti-capitalist. Contemporary readers, however, will probablynot respond to these stories in the same way that theearlier Cebuanos did. The story, for example, thatwon first prize in the 1930 Bisaya story contest, “MgaKasingkasing Dagku” (Magnificent Hearts), they willsay is too melodramatic. It is about a youngschoolteacher’s sacrificing her sweetheart in favor ofher older sister who herself had sacrificed herpersonal life to be able to send the younger one toschool. Even as the more practical generation that weare will see that the Cebuano story only records anideal of behavior, there is a necessary distancebetween what we consider a good story now andyesterday’s. When F.D. left the world of his parents in
search of a better life in the city, he would havecarried with him the rural folks’ attitudes thatshowed in his writings, like resignation in thatstory. In the poem “Ang Manananggot” (1927) hewrites: “Mabati ta lamang unya nga, sa sanggotan,Gitaghoy ang balitaw: maoy iyang balus sa kaniyanagpaantus. . .” (We can hear then, among thecoconuts, the whistling of a balitaw: his answer tothose who let him suffer…) Here the Cebuano songbecomes a defense or self-consolation. A popular folkform until the 60s, the balitaw is all but gone now.Certainly, F.D. and other writers of his time musthave learned from its lively exchanges something ofgrace in argument, even as they were leaving thebarrio.
WHEN MUSLIMS AND ZAMBOANGUEÑOS FOUGHT TOGETHER
Erlinda Kintanar-Alburo,
Sumad: Essays for theCentennial of the Revolution in Cebu.
Manila: De laSalle University Press, 2001
pp. 41-42.
Now it may sound unseemly, but around 150Muslims (led by a Datu Mandi) fought side by side withZamboangueño voluntarios and Spanish cazadores orlight cavalry from May to September 1898 against therevolutionary forces in Cebu. They constituted thereinforcements that bolstered the sagging spirits ofthe Spaniards who sought refuge at Fort San Pedro inthe early days of the Revolution in Cebu. These soldiers figured in skirmishes around theSudlon mountains, at Bitlang (called the “Tirad Pass”of the south), at Budla-an in Talamban, and at Mt.Ginkiutan; and in the hills of NAGA and MINGLANILLA.
In most if not in all these encounters, theKatipuneros won, their intimate knowledge of the steephillside enabling them to outsmart the approachingenemies. The Spanish forces would retreat at dusk forfear of the dark in unknown territory. Accounts ofhow many of the latter forces were killed or woundedin the hills vary, but their biggest casualty wasprobably 70 in the battle of Budla-an. A Katipunero watchman would sight theapproaching enemies from a tree like the dalakit, rollboulders and logs that could wound or kill thosebelow, and get an official (like Alejo Miñoza atBudla-an) with a few men to bait the soldiers into aforested area where around 200 men would be waiting toattack. The Spaniards and the rest would retreat, butthey vented their frustration on the innocentvillagers on their way down. They killed the farmersand their families (or burned their houses as they didin Paril after the Budla-an fiasco). The Muslims wereespecially noted for their atrocities. It is saidthat they would cut off the ears of the unfortunateKatipunero and string them for a demonstration in thecity before General Montero and his men. Othersupposed witnesses said that they removed the liver,boasting that all the insurgents were killed. [p. 41 starts here] Paeng Tabal bore theatrocities of the Muslims heavily and waited for achance to avenge his fellow Sudlonons. One day, uponhearing that Captain Pueg and his combined forces werein Pardo courting some women, he asked Gen. LuisFlores or Unos if he could go down and hear massthere. The General objected, perhaps guessing Paeng’sreal intentions. Nevertheless, the four Tabalbrothers and some men, accompanied by Gen. NicolasGodines (who may not have expected an encounter),
proceeded to Pardo. It was probably the bloodiestfight between the Katipuneros and the forces of thevoluntarios, cazadores and Muslims, lasting from 9:00a.m. to 3:00 p.m. The Katipuneros were grosslyoutnumbered, for they could not expect reinforcementsfrom an unknowing commander, but they beheaded someMuslims (a mere handful by then) and Spaniards. Fromthe latter they snatched rifles and cartridge belts,while from the Muslims they took the krises and somesilver that had spilled from their waist. Thisadventure, however, caused Paeng Tabal his life. The Spaniards had learned the Katipuneros’strategy of using macheteros (originally referring tothose who clear away bushes with cutlasses), whofunctioned to penetrate the thick mass of Spanishtroops during a battle. The Muslims and Zamboangueñoswere made to peform a similar function, and with thisborrowed strategy pushed the Katipuneros in turnfurther into the hills. Later, when the Muslims and Zamboangueñosdispersed and the latters’ weapons were confiscated bythe Spaniards, four of the voluntarios were arrestedby Col. Engayo’s men. Questioned by Engayo why theyvolunteered when they would be fighting Visayans likethem, they said that they were captured in the townsof Zamboanga and put on a boat for Cebu. NearingCebu, they were each given a rifle (presumably, to theMuslims who came with them, a kris) and made to wearthe rayadillo uniform. Were they telling the truth? And would theMuslims have joined them for another reason?
Sumad: Essays for theCentennial of the Revolution in Cebu.
Manila: De laSalle University Press, 2001
pp. 41-42.
WHEN MUSLIMS AND ZAMBOANGUEÑOS FOUGHT TOGETHER
[Naga, Minglanilla]
Now it may sound unseemly, but around 150Muslims (led by a Datu Mandi) fought side by side withZamboangueño voluntarios and Spanish cazadores orlight cavalry from May to September 1898 against therevolutionary forces in Cebu. They constituted thereinforcements that bolstered the sagging spirits ofthe Spaniards who sought refuge at Fort San Pedro inthe early days of the Revolution in Cebu. These soldiers figured in skirmishes around theSudlon mountains, at Bitlang (called the “Tirad Pass”of the south), at Budla-an in Talamban, and at Mt.Ginkiutan; and in the hills of NAGA and MINGLANILLA.
In most if not in all these encounters, theKatipuneros won, their intimate knowledge of the steephillside enabling them to outsmart the approachingenemies. The Spanish forces would retreat at dusk forfear of the dark in unknown territory. Accounts ofhow many of the latter forces were killed or woundedin the hills vary, but their biggest casualty wasprobably 70 in the battle of Budla-an. A Katipunero watchman would sight theapproaching enemies from a tree like the dalakit, rollboulders and logs that could wound or kill thosebelow, and get an official (like Alejo Miñoza atBudla-an) with a few men to bait the soldiers into aforested area where around 200 men would be waiting toattack. The Spaniards and the rest would retreat, butthey vented their frustration on the innocentvillagers on their way down. They killed the farmersand their families (or burned their houses as they didin Paril after the Budla-an fiasco). The Muslims wereespecially noted for their atrocities. It is saidthat they would cut off the ears of the unfortunateKatipunero and string them for a demonstration in thecity before General Montero and his men. Othersupposed witnesses said that they removed the liver,boasting that all the insurgents were killed. [p. 41 starts here] Paeng Tabal bore theatrocities of the Muslims heavily and waited for achance to avenge his fellow Sudlonons. One day, uponhearing that Captain Pueg and his combined forces werein Pardo courting some women, he asked Gen. LuisFlores or Unos if he could go down and hear massthere. The General objected, perhaps guessing Paeng’sreal intentions. Nevertheless, the four Tabalbrothers and some men, accompanied by Gen. NicolasGodines (who may not have expected an encounter),
proceeded to Pardo. It was probably the bloodiestfight between the Katipuneros and the forces of thevoluntarios, cazadores and Muslims, lasting from 9:00a.m. to 3:00 p.m. The Katipuneros were grosslyoutnumbered, for they could not expect reinforcementsfrom an unknowing commander, but they beheaded someMuslims (a mere handful by then) and Spaniards. Fromthe latter they snatched rifles and cartridge belts,while from the Muslims they took the krises and somesilver that had spilled from their waist. Thisadventure, however, caused Paeng Tabal his life. The Spaniards had learned the Katipuneros’strategy of using macheteros (originally referring tothose who clear away bushes with cutlasses), whofunctioned to penetrate the thick mass of Spanishtroops during a battle. The Muslims and Zamboangueñoswere made to peform a similar function, and with thisborrowed strategy pushed the Katipuneros in turnfurther into the hills. Later, when the Muslims and Zamboangueñosdispersed and the latters’ weapons were confiscated bythe Spaniards, four of the voluntarios were arrestedby Col. Engayo’s men. Questioned by Engayo why theyvolunteered when they would be fighting Visayans likethem, they said that they were captured in the townsof Zamboanga and put on a boat for Cebu. NearingCebu, they were each given a rifle (presumably, to theMuslims who came with them, a kris) and made to wearthe rayadillo uniform. Were they telling the truth? And would theMuslims have joined them for another reason?
WHO WERE THE PULAHANES?
Erlinda Kintanar-Alburo,
Sumad: Essays for theCentennial of the Revolution in Cebu.
Manila: De laSalle University Press, 2001.
pp. 39-40.
WHO WERE THEPULAHANES?
[Tuburan, Toledo, Balamban, Pinamungajan, Danao, Naga, Asturias, SanFernando, Aloguinsan]
The pulahanes or mountain fighters got their name from the band of red kundiman cloth (now used for pillowcases) which they wore. They were a mixed group whose reasons forjoining the revolutionaries were religious, economic,patriotic and/or personal. For one, the economicdepression due to abandoned farms and naturalcalamities was severe enough to push the country folkto join the band that was sometimes denounced as“social bandits”. As a movement, the pulahan emergedand spread along the central mountains of Cebu, Samarand Leyte. Similar groups were operating elsewhere inthe country, like the babaylanes of Negros and theGuardia de Honor of Pangasinan. In Cebu, they weremostly found in the mountains of TUBURAN, TOLEDO,BALAMBAN and PINAMUNGAJAN in the West; and in those ofDANAO, Cebu city and NAGA in the East. The movement must have started around 1899 whenCebu city surrendered to the Americans. Conflictabout the surrender between the lowlanders (who hadproperty to lose) and the mountaineers (who had littleor none) is said to be the immediate cause of thesplit. The revolutionaries whose leaders were of the
educated class distanced themselves from themountaineer leaders after that. At least one articlein Bag-ong Kusog (of October 1932) tries to correctthe impression that the pulahan movement was aninherent part of the Revolution. The revolutionary army under Gen. ArcadioMaxilom continued the fight but after Maxilom’ssurrender in 1901, the pulahanes became more active,their movement reaching its peak from 1902 to 1905.(One source says the movement only started in 1902under the leadership of a Roberto Caballero.) Itsleaders started issuing cedulas and in 1904 werereported to have arrested those without them. By thistime, they were already associated with the reddecoration that gave them their name. [p. 40 starts here] Many of the pulahanesbelieved themselves invulnerable or kublan forpossessing an amulet (like Leon Kilat had). Generallythey were armed only with a crescent-shaped bolocalled talibong which could cut the head at one blow,and their battle cry was “Tadtad (chop)!” Many a story is told of how their kublanleaders braved the soldiers’ bullets with the amulets. There was, for example, the notorious Bando who hadkilled Capt. Eugenio Alonso in ASTURIAS during thelast days of the Spanish administration. Believing hewas better than Maxilom, he refused to obey eithercamp and formed his own band of followers. Noted as adaring kublan, he harassed mountain folk, whocomplained to Gen. Emilio Verdeflor. After the generaland his 200 men attacked Bando’s headquarters inAdlawan, Bando’s group disbanded quickly after that. Serious campaigns and reconcentration of themountain populations were attempts to contain themovement. The next year, Col. Wallace Taylor and hisConstabulary unit left for Kabulihan in SAN FERNANDO
and for ALOGUINSAN to flush out the rebels. After thecampaigns, the pulahanes scattered and finally werepersuaded to surrender in 1906 through theintervention of Sergio Osmeña. The pulahan adventure within the Revolution hadcaught the imagination of the Cebuano public. Atleast two works by noted writers, both entitled AngPulahan, were dedicated to it: a story by VicenteSotto and a novel by Nicolas Rafols. The pulahan spirit is hard to kill. Itemerged again around 1915 to 1927 under the leadershipof Saureano Solamo, and in the form of colorum sectsbefore and after World War II. Closer to our times,the walay sapatos gang and even pseudo-NPA groups maybe seen as similar responses to disruptive socialchange. We note Rafols’ intention in the introductionto his novel of 1919: “Ipahinumdum sa kadaghanan ngadili mahimo ang pagdaugdaug, lupig ug olipon kanunaysa lungsod.” (to remind the many that oppression andslavery cannot continue.)
Sumad: Essays for theCentennial of the Revolution in Cebu.
Manila: De laSalle University Press, 2001.
pp. 39-40.
WHO WERE THEPULAHANES?
[Tuburan, Toledo, Balamban, Pinamungajan, Danao, Naga, Asturias, SanFernando, Aloguinsan]
The pulahanes or mountain fighters got their name from the band of red kundiman cloth (now used for pillowcases) which they wore. They were a mixed group whose reasons forjoining the revolutionaries were religious, economic,patriotic and/or personal. For one, the economicdepression due to abandoned farms and naturalcalamities was severe enough to push the country folkto join the band that was sometimes denounced as“social bandits”. As a movement, the pulahan emergedand spread along the central mountains of Cebu, Samarand Leyte. Similar groups were operating elsewhere inthe country, like the babaylanes of Negros and theGuardia de Honor of Pangasinan. In Cebu, they weremostly found in the mountains of TUBURAN, TOLEDO,BALAMBAN and PINAMUNGAJAN in the West; and in those ofDANAO, Cebu city and NAGA in the East. The movement must have started around 1899 whenCebu city surrendered to the Americans. Conflictabout the surrender between the lowlanders (who hadproperty to lose) and the mountaineers (who had littleor none) is said to be the immediate cause of thesplit. The revolutionaries whose leaders were of the
educated class distanced themselves from themountaineer leaders after that. At least one articlein Bag-ong Kusog (of October 1932) tries to correctthe impression that the pulahan movement was aninherent part of the Revolution. The revolutionary army under Gen. ArcadioMaxilom continued the fight but after Maxilom’ssurrender in 1901, the pulahanes became more active,their movement reaching its peak from 1902 to 1905.(One source says the movement only started in 1902under the leadership of a Roberto Caballero.) Itsleaders started issuing cedulas and in 1904 werereported to have arrested those without them. By thistime, they were already associated with the reddecoration that gave them their name. [p. 40 starts here] Many of the pulahanesbelieved themselves invulnerable or kublan forpossessing an amulet (like Leon Kilat had). Generallythey were armed only with a crescent-shaped bolocalled talibong which could cut the head at one blow,and their battle cry was “Tadtad (chop)!” Many a story is told of how their kublanleaders braved the soldiers’ bullets with the amulets. There was, for example, the notorious Bando who hadkilled Capt. Eugenio Alonso in ASTURIAS during thelast days of the Spanish administration. Believing hewas better than Maxilom, he refused to obey eithercamp and formed his own band of followers. Noted as adaring kublan, he harassed mountain folk, whocomplained to Gen. Emilio Verdeflor. After the generaland his 200 men attacked Bando’s headquarters inAdlawan, Bando’s group disbanded quickly after that. Serious campaigns and reconcentration of themountain populations were attempts to contain themovement. The next year, Col. Wallace Taylor and hisConstabulary unit left for Kabulihan in SAN FERNANDO
and for ALOGUINSAN to flush out the rebels. After thecampaigns, the pulahanes scattered and finally werepersuaded to surrender in 1906 through theintervention of Sergio Osmeña. The pulahan adventure within the Revolution hadcaught the imagination of the Cebuano public. Atleast two works by noted writers, both entitled AngPulahan, were dedicated to it: a story by VicenteSotto and a novel by Nicolas Rafols. The pulahan spirit is hard to kill. Itemerged again around 1915 to 1927 under the leadershipof Saureano Solamo, and in the form of colorum sectsbefore and after World War II. Closer to our times,the walay sapatos gang and even pseudo-NPA groups maybe seen as similar responses to disruptive socialchange. We note Rafols’ intention in the introductionto his novel of 1919: “Ipahinumdum sa kadaghanan ngadili mahimo ang pagdaugdaug, lupig ug olipon kanunaysa lungsod.” (to remind the many that oppression andslavery cannot continue.)
Tuesday, January 1, 2008
PHILIPPINE MAGUEY
The Philippine Agricultural Review
The Philippine Agricultural Review
Vol II No 7
Julu 1910
EDITOR G. E. NESOM, M. S.,
Director ofAgriculture
PUBLISHED BY THE BUREAU OF AGRICULTURE DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC INSTRUCTION GOVERNMENT OF THE PHILIPPINE ISLANDS
MANILA BUREAU OF PRINTING 1910
PHILIPPINE MAGUEY.
By M. M. SALEEBY, Fiber Expert.
pp 429-430
The yield of maguey from a given area depends upon soil conditions, the distance the plants are set apart, the amount of care and cultivation given them, and the time and method of harvesting. Often two adjoining fields differ considerably in their yield. Overcutting, though it gives a larger crop at first, always results in a decrease in yield of subsequent crops. Experiments with maguey and sisal leaves show that the latter contain a higher percentage of fiber, the maguey fiber being whiter, finer, and'lighter than the sisal. The percentage of fiber in a sisal leaf ranges from 4j to 6 per cent, while that of maguey does not exceed 4 or 41 per cent. Some sisal leaves have been known to give as high as 6 or 7 per cent of dry fiber, but such yield is unusual, and considerably above the average. In experiments made in Naga, Cebu, the average weight of one leaf of Philippine maguey was found to be 700 grams and the average amount of fiber in each leaf 23 grams. On this basis every 1,000 leaves would average about 700 kilograms in 96309 weight and contain about 23 kilograms of fiber; or 1 hectare of 1,500 plants producing 45,000 leaves should give an annual yield of 1,035 kilograms or about 16 1/2piculs of fiber
The Philippine Agricultural Review
Vol II No 7
Julu 1910
EDITOR G. E. NESOM, M. S.,
Director ofAgriculture
PUBLISHED BY THE BUREAU OF AGRICULTURE DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC INSTRUCTION GOVERNMENT OF THE PHILIPPINE ISLANDS
MANILA BUREAU OF PRINTING 1910
PHILIPPINE MAGUEY.
By M. M. SALEEBY, Fiber Expert.
pp 429-430
The yield of maguey from a given area depends upon soil conditions, the distance the plants are set apart, the amount of care and cultivation given them, and the time and method of harvesting. Often two adjoining fields differ considerably in their yield. Overcutting, though it gives a larger crop at first, always results in a decrease in yield of subsequent crops. Experiments with maguey and sisal leaves show that the latter contain a higher percentage of fiber, the maguey fiber being whiter, finer, and'lighter than the sisal. The percentage of fiber in a sisal leaf ranges from 4j to 6 per cent, while that of maguey does not exceed 4 or 41 per cent. Some sisal leaves have been known to give as high as 6 or 7 per cent of dry fiber, but such yield is unusual, and considerably above the average. In experiments made in Naga, Cebu, the average weight of one leaf of Philippine maguey was found to be 700 grams and the average amount of fiber in each leaf 23 grams. On this basis every 1,000 leaves would average about 700 kilograms in 96309 weight and contain about 23 kilograms of fiber; or 1 hectare of 1,500 plants producing 45,000 leaves should give an annual yield of 1,035 kilograms or about 16 1/2piculs of fiber
Coal in the Philippines was discovered in 1827 on Cebu
GEOLOGY AND MINERAL RESOURCES OF THE PHILIPPINE ISLANDS
BY WARREN D. SMITH
MANILA BUREAU OF PRINTING 1924
pp 367-369
CEBU (11, 561)
Coal in the Philippines was discovered in 1827 on Cebu.(1l3) Cebu is the second district in importance in the coal industry; although the mines located on this island are not the largest, there are more of them and the coal reserve there is greater than on Batan. Cebu is a long, narrow, mountainous island, with no navigable rivers, few bays, and but little wide coastal plain. Geologically, many of the formations on Cebu are similar to those on Batan; there are also crystalline schists, volcanic flows, and old slates, all of which may yet be found on Batan, however. In two respects Cebu differs greatly from Batan. It is badly deforested, as compared with Batan, and there is over the greater portion of Cebu a thick mantle of coral limestone, which has been cut through here and there by erosion, revealing the coal measures below. The coal measures are of the same age as those of Batan. Structurally, the island is badly faulted and there is more or less intense folding of the rocks, which makes coal mining difficult. Scores of outcrops are known in at least fifteen localities, which are distributed from one end of the island to the other. The chief localities to which attention was paid by the Spaniards are to-day receiving the attention of Americans. All but one of these localities are on the eastern side of the central cordillera. In the early days a great many claims were staked out in this field, but only a few were ever patented. 'At the present time, it is necessary to secure leases from the Government, as patents on freeholds are no longer issued. Cebu is the headquarters of the National Coal Company, which has workings in the vicinity of Mount Licos, 15 kilometers west of Compostela, the site of rather extensive workings in Spanish times. To date this mine has not been particularly successful. In reality, the only property which approaches a real mine is that of the Mount Uling Coal Mining Company, situated about 12 kilometers west of Naga. Cebu has the distinction of being the one island, in addition to Mindanao, where coking coal is known to exist. A seam about half a meter in thickness occurs at Guila-Guila, on Mananga River, about 5 kilometers west of the city of Cebu, on the property of Mr. Eugene Mitkievicz. There is also some coking coal at Mount Uling and on Toledo River. Four principal coal seams which, more or less modified, can be identified in several localities, are known on this island and at Mount Licos; they were given in Spanish times the following names: 4. Pilarica.-1.4 meters; strike north 23~ east, dip 30~ southeast; 40-meter interval. 3. Enrique Abella.-1.2 to 1.5 meters; strike north 23~ east, dip 40~ southeast; 9-meter interval. 2. Esperanza.-50 centimeters; strike and dip same as No. 1; 40-meter interval. 1. Carmen.-1.6 meters thick; strike northeast and southwest, dip 30~ southeast. This is the lowest. Some small undertakings for the exploitation of coal at Mount Uling, Mount Licos, and Camansi were in progress prior to 1898, and a large project with Government backing was in process of formation just at the outbreak of the insurrection in 1896. This project was to have been under the supervision of Abella, the then Inspector de Minas of the Spanish Government, one of the ablest of the Spanish engineers in the Philippines and certainly the most competent geologist. The property of the Danao Coal Mines, Limited, located at Camansi, Cebu, which mined several thousand tons in 1920, has recently been taken over by a large syndicate of foreigners in China, and it is expected that they will carry forward the work on a large scale. The seams in this field are continuations in part of those at Licos and of the field to the north. In the field adjoining on the north known as Cajumay-jumayan, careful estimates by the late Benjamin Smith Lyman, a famous American coal engineer, who examined it in 1907, gave the workable coal reserve as at least 7,000,000 tons. In this field the coal seams lie in a syncline; elsewhere in Cebu they are generally in a monoclinal attitude.
BY WARREN D. SMITH
MANILA BUREAU OF PRINTING 1924
pp 367-369
CEBU (11, 561)
Coal in the Philippines was discovered in 1827 on Cebu.(1l3) Cebu is the second district in importance in the coal industry; although the mines located on this island are not the largest, there are more of them and the coal reserve there is greater than on Batan. Cebu is a long, narrow, mountainous island, with no navigable rivers, few bays, and but little wide coastal plain. Geologically, many of the formations on Cebu are similar to those on Batan; there are also crystalline schists, volcanic flows, and old slates, all of which may yet be found on Batan, however. In two respects Cebu differs greatly from Batan. It is badly deforested, as compared with Batan, and there is over the greater portion of Cebu a thick mantle of coral limestone, which has been cut through here and there by erosion, revealing the coal measures below. The coal measures are of the same age as those of Batan. Structurally, the island is badly faulted and there is more or less intense folding of the rocks, which makes coal mining difficult. Scores of outcrops are known in at least fifteen localities, which are distributed from one end of the island to the other. The chief localities to which attention was paid by the Spaniards are to-day receiving the attention of Americans. All but one of these localities are on the eastern side of the central cordillera. In the early days a great many claims were staked out in this field, but only a few were ever patented. 'At the present time, it is necessary to secure leases from the Government, as patents on freeholds are no longer issued. Cebu is the headquarters of the National Coal Company, which has workings in the vicinity of Mount Licos, 15 kilometers west of Compostela, the site of rather extensive workings in Spanish times. To date this mine has not been particularly successful. In reality, the only property which approaches a real mine is that of the Mount Uling Coal Mining Company, situated about 12 kilometers west of Naga. Cebu has the distinction of being the one island, in addition to Mindanao, where coking coal is known to exist. A seam about half a meter in thickness occurs at Guila-Guila, on Mananga River, about 5 kilometers west of the city of Cebu, on the property of Mr. Eugene Mitkievicz. There is also some coking coal at Mount Uling and on Toledo River. Four principal coal seams which, more or less modified, can be identified in several localities, are known on this island and at Mount Licos; they were given in Spanish times the following names: 4. Pilarica.-1.4 meters; strike north 23~ east, dip 30~ southeast; 40-meter interval. 3. Enrique Abella.-1.2 to 1.5 meters; strike north 23~ east, dip 40~ southeast; 9-meter interval. 2. Esperanza.-50 centimeters; strike and dip same as No. 1; 40-meter interval. 1. Carmen.-1.6 meters thick; strike northeast and southwest, dip 30~ southeast. This is the lowest. Some small undertakings for the exploitation of coal at Mount Uling, Mount Licos, and Camansi were in progress prior to 1898, and a large project with Government backing was in process of formation just at the outbreak of the insurrection in 1896. This project was to have been under the supervision of Abella, the then Inspector de Minas of the Spanish Government, one of the ablest of the Spanish engineers in the Philippines and certainly the most competent geologist. The property of the Danao Coal Mines, Limited, located at Camansi, Cebu, which mined several thousand tons in 1920, has recently been taken over by a large syndicate of foreigners in China, and it is expected that they will carry forward the work on a large scale. The seams in this field are continuations in part of those at Licos and of the field to the north. In the field adjoining on the north known as Cajumay-jumayan, careful estimates by the late Benjamin Smith Lyman, a famous American coal engineer, who examined it in 1907, gave the workable coal reserve as at least 7,000,000 tons. In this field the coal seams lie in a syncline; elsewhere in Cebu they are generally in a monoclinal attitude.
PHILIPPINE GEOLOGY AND MINERAL RESOURCES
PHILIPPINE GEOLOGY AND MINERAL RESOURCES
GEOLOGY AND MINERAL RESOURCES OF THE PHILIPPINE ISLANDS
BY WARREN D. SMITH
MANILA BUREAU OF PRINTING
1924
pp 361-362
CEMENT
The Rizal Cement Company, at Binangonan on Laguna de Bay, which produced about 10,000 barrels of cement in 1919, failed. The failure was probably due to the overlooking of some vital factors in the manufacture of this article. A more favorable locality than Binangonan has. been found by a geologist of the Bureau of Science, at Naga, Cebu, and a contract has been let by the National Development Company to the Cebu Portland Cement Company. There are other localities where cement materials are available. Batan Island in many ways is very favorably situated;but, considering market, labor, coal, and transportation, Cebu appears to be somewhat better favored than the former.
GEOLOGY AND MINERAL RESOURCES OF THE PHILIPPINE ISLANDS
BY WARREN D. SMITH
MANILA BUREAU OF PRINTING
1924
pp 361-362
CEMENT
The Rizal Cement Company, at Binangonan on Laguna de Bay, which produced about 10,000 barrels of cement in 1919, failed. The failure was probably due to the overlooking of some vital factors in the manufacture of this article. A more favorable locality than Binangonan has. been found by a geologist of the Bureau of Science, at Naga, Cebu, and a contract has been let by the National Development Company to the Cebu Portland Cement Company. There are other localities where cement materials are available. Batan Island in many ways is very favorably situated;but, considering market, labor, coal, and transportation, Cebu appears to be somewhat better favored than the former.
FIGS
THE PHILIPPINE ISLANDS. A Political, Geographical, Ethnographical, Social and Commercial History of the Philippine Archipelago AND ITS POLITICAL DEPENDENCIES, Embracing the whole Period of Spanish Rule. BY JOHN FOREMAN, F.R.G.S. SECOND EDITION, REVISED AND ENLARGED, WITH MAPS AND ILLU STRATIONS. NEW YORK: CHARLES SCRIBNER'S SONS. 1899.
pp 376
"Attempts have been made to acclimatize the Grape in the Philippines, but with very mediocre results. Cebut seems to be the island most suitable for vine culture, but the specimens of fruit produced can bear no comparison with the European. In Naga (Cebu Island), I have eaten green Figs grown in the orchard of the house where I sojourned. There are a great many other kinds of fruits of a comparatively inferior quality, which are chiefly used by the natives to make preserves."
pp 376
"Attempts have been made to acclimatize the Grape in the Philippines, but with very mediocre results. Cebut seems to be the island most suitable for vine culture, but the specimens of fruit produced can bear no comparison with the European. In Naga (Cebu Island), I have eaten green Figs grown in the orchard of the house where I sojourned. There are a great many other kinds of fruits of a comparatively inferior quality, which are chiefly used by the natives to make preserves."
Philippine Government Quits Cement Business
Philippine Government Quits Cement Business
Three Million Peso Plant Bought by Irwin Syndicate
THE AMERICAN CHAMBER OF COMMERCE JOURNAL November, 1926
J. L. Irwin and associates have purchased from the Philippine government the stock of the Cebu Portland Cement Company, which thereby passes into private ownership after two years' negotiations during which many attempts to reach an agreement failed; but now the contract is signed and all objections laid, the deal closed. The National Development Company held the stock, 27,500 shares at par P100 per share. This stock, representing an actual cash outlay of P2,750,000, was sold to the Irwin syndicate for P2,175,000. The government also receives the profits until the date of the first payment, and the purchasers assume the overdraft at the Bank of the Philippine Islands, approximately P475,000, together with all other current obligations. The first payment is P250,000 and is payable within sixty days from the date the contract was signed. The next payment is P475,000 and payable one year after the first payment. The balance of P1,500,000 is payable in four equal annual installments with interest at six per cent. As security, the government holds a first mortgage upon all fixed assets of the company. In addition it holds a bond for the full amount of the second payment, P475,000, to be cancelled when the second payment is made, at the end of one year from the date of transfer and first payment. The government may purchase for public use fifty per cent of the product of the plant at not to exceed P4.75 the barrel, f. o. b. mill, during a period of ten years; provided that during the ten years the cost of production does not rise, on account of labor, coal, etc., sufficient to entail a loss at the price of P4.75 the barrel. Such are the essentials of the contract. The political features are that the government ap prove the stockholders, a list of which is submitted, and that it have the refusal of stock for the purchase of which the company may receive a subsequent offer. The government had in the plant P120,000, paid to C. F. Massey, the promoter, in settlement upon his contract, in addition to the investment in stock of P2,750,000; so that altogether the capital investment was P2,870,000. Operative losses incurred at the outset ran this well up over P3,000,000. The company was incorporated under the laws of the Philippines January 13, 1922, with an authorized capital stock of P5,000,000. The plant is at Naga, Cebu. Adjacent to the site are found abundant quantities of all raw materials required, including coal, except the gypsum ingredient, which may either be obtained abroad or elsewhere in the islands where liberal deposits have been found. The company owns, and has under Torrens title, some 125 acres of cement material land adjoining the plant site; it also holds the foreshore lease from the government for all its shore land, and may develop a modern port obviating shipment to and from Cebu of its output and incoming supplies. The plant is a modern wet-process plant in which a second kiln may be installed without adding materially to operation costs. The present capacity is 1200 barrels daily. The new ownership contemplates more economies than the government effected, among them being coal from the nearby Uling-Naga mines, from which the coal may be run to the plant by gravity. Of the quality of the cement, W. H. Brown, director of the bureau of science, states to the United States Navy in a letter dated July 31, 1925: "I believe our chemist is perfectly right when he says that Apo cement is as good as any found in the market." The data substantiating this would be cumbersome here. There is no doubt that Naga and other points in the Philippines have first rate cement materials. In July this year the production cost of Apo cement c. i. f. Manila was P4.422 per barrel. When the plant began producing cement was selling in Manila at P7.50 to PO10 the barrel, but now the ruling prices are much lower, as indicated by the agreement to furnish the government half the output at not more than P4.75 the barrel. Cebu is much interested in the transfer of the plant to private ownership and the prospect of operating the Uling-Naga mines again, which will afford much needed employment and, it is asserted, keep a larger share of cement money within the islands. M. M. Ludlow, reputed to be a competent authority, made an expert's report on the project last year, saying among other favorable things: "This company has an unlimited supply of high-grade materials. It has a large deposit consisting largely of decomposed coral rock running from 80(, to 90c%(,, calcium carbonate. This deposit is in such a condition that no blasting is necessary, and it may be easily handled (as it is actually) by a steam shovel. It also has a large deposit of a hard shale, an alluvial clay, and a low limestone, all of suitable chemical composition to produce economically a high grade cement. The cost of cement in the bin at present runs about P1.80 per barrel, or $0.90, as compared with $1.00 to $1.15 in the States. This is based on Japanese coal at P14.50 a ton, and on a production of about 30,000 barrels of clinker and 25,000 barrels of cement a month. This cost can be very materially lowered by using a cheaper coal which is available near the plant; and by increasing the output to normal capacity, I believe cement can be produced at this plant for one peso a barrel, the plant operating at full capacity. "In general I would say that in all my experience covering 23 years in all parts of the United States, Canada and other parts of the world, I have never seen a plant possessing as many natural advantages as the plant of the Cebu Portland Cement Company, and I can see no reason why it should not be a good investment in the future. The labor is of a very good quality and the men all seem to take an interest in their work. The average cost runs around one peso per day." The use of cement in the islands is increasing. When the Cebu company was organized the consumption yearly had been running between 300,000 and 400,000 barrels, but is now about 33 per cent more. Besides, within a radius of 3,500 miles of Cebu, there is a population of 761,205,722 people, their yearly purchase of cement running above 16 million barrels. As the cement plant passes into private ownership, these figures on cement importations during the first half of this year, indicate the competition it has:
From- Kilos Value Duty
United States... 19,278 P 2,033 None
Great Britain... 3,048 979 P 23
France......... 28,224 979 190
Germany....... 3,200 107 20
Spain.......... 4,448 124 29
Hongkong...... 4,168 164 29
Japan.......... 16,674,395 355,977 110,869
Indochina..... 1,121,252 15,562 7,176
Total........ 17,858,013 P355,681 P118,330
Three Million Peso Plant Bought by Irwin Syndicate
THE AMERICAN CHAMBER OF COMMERCE JOURNAL November, 1926
J. L. Irwin and associates have purchased from the Philippine government the stock of the Cebu Portland Cement Company, which thereby passes into private ownership after two years' negotiations during which many attempts to reach an agreement failed; but now the contract is signed and all objections laid, the deal closed. The National Development Company held the stock, 27,500 shares at par P100 per share. This stock, representing an actual cash outlay of P2,750,000, was sold to the Irwin syndicate for P2,175,000. The government also receives the profits until the date of the first payment, and the purchasers assume the overdraft at the Bank of the Philippine Islands, approximately P475,000, together with all other current obligations. The first payment is P250,000 and is payable within sixty days from the date the contract was signed. The next payment is P475,000 and payable one year after the first payment. The balance of P1,500,000 is payable in four equal annual installments with interest at six per cent. As security, the government holds a first mortgage upon all fixed assets of the company. In addition it holds a bond for the full amount of the second payment, P475,000, to be cancelled when the second payment is made, at the end of one year from the date of transfer and first payment. The government may purchase for public use fifty per cent of the product of the plant at not to exceed P4.75 the barrel, f. o. b. mill, during a period of ten years; provided that during the ten years the cost of production does not rise, on account of labor, coal, etc., sufficient to entail a loss at the price of P4.75 the barrel. Such are the essentials of the contract. The political features are that the government ap prove the stockholders, a list of which is submitted, and that it have the refusal of stock for the purchase of which the company may receive a subsequent offer. The government had in the plant P120,000, paid to C. F. Massey, the promoter, in settlement upon his contract, in addition to the investment in stock of P2,750,000; so that altogether the capital investment was P2,870,000. Operative losses incurred at the outset ran this well up over P3,000,000. The company was incorporated under the laws of the Philippines January 13, 1922, with an authorized capital stock of P5,000,000. The plant is at Naga, Cebu. Adjacent to the site are found abundant quantities of all raw materials required, including coal, except the gypsum ingredient, which may either be obtained abroad or elsewhere in the islands where liberal deposits have been found. The company owns, and has under Torrens title, some 125 acres of cement material land adjoining the plant site; it also holds the foreshore lease from the government for all its shore land, and may develop a modern port obviating shipment to and from Cebu of its output and incoming supplies. The plant is a modern wet-process plant in which a second kiln may be installed without adding materially to operation costs. The present capacity is 1200 barrels daily. The new ownership contemplates more economies than the government effected, among them being coal from the nearby Uling-Naga mines, from which the coal may be run to the plant by gravity. Of the quality of the cement, W. H. Brown, director of the bureau of science, states to the United States Navy in a letter dated July 31, 1925: "I believe our chemist is perfectly right when he says that Apo cement is as good as any found in the market." The data substantiating this would be cumbersome here. There is no doubt that Naga and other points in the Philippines have first rate cement materials. In July this year the production cost of Apo cement c. i. f. Manila was P4.422 per barrel. When the plant began producing cement was selling in Manila at P7.50 to PO10 the barrel, but now the ruling prices are much lower, as indicated by the agreement to furnish the government half the output at not more than P4.75 the barrel. Cebu is much interested in the transfer of the plant to private ownership and the prospect of operating the Uling-Naga mines again, which will afford much needed employment and, it is asserted, keep a larger share of cement money within the islands. M. M. Ludlow, reputed to be a competent authority, made an expert's report on the project last year, saying among other favorable things: "This company has an unlimited supply of high-grade materials. It has a large deposit consisting largely of decomposed coral rock running from 80(, to 90c%(,, calcium carbonate. This deposit is in such a condition that no blasting is necessary, and it may be easily handled (as it is actually) by a steam shovel. It also has a large deposit of a hard shale, an alluvial clay, and a low limestone, all of suitable chemical composition to produce economically a high grade cement. The cost of cement in the bin at present runs about P1.80 per barrel, or $0.90, as compared with $1.00 to $1.15 in the States. This is based on Japanese coal at P14.50 a ton, and on a production of about 30,000 barrels of clinker and 25,000 barrels of cement a month. This cost can be very materially lowered by using a cheaper coal which is available near the plant; and by increasing the output to normal capacity, I believe cement can be produced at this plant for one peso a barrel, the plant operating at full capacity. "In general I would say that in all my experience covering 23 years in all parts of the United States, Canada and other parts of the world, I have never seen a plant possessing as many natural advantages as the plant of the Cebu Portland Cement Company, and I can see no reason why it should not be a good investment in the future. The labor is of a very good quality and the men all seem to take an interest in their work. The average cost runs around one peso per day." The use of cement in the islands is increasing. When the Cebu company was organized the consumption yearly had been running between 300,000 and 400,000 barrels, but is now about 33 per cent more. Besides, within a radius of 3,500 miles of Cebu, there is a population of 761,205,722 people, their yearly purchase of cement running above 16 million barrels. As the cement plant passes into private ownership, these figures on cement importations during the first half of this year, indicate the competition it has:
From- Kilos Value Duty
United States... 19,278 P 2,033 None
Great Britain... 3,048 979 P 23
France......... 28,224 979 190
Germany....... 3,200 107 20
Spain.......... 4,448 124 29
Hongkong...... 4,168 164 29
Japan.......... 16,674,395 355,977 110,869
Indochina..... 1,121,252 15,562 7,176
Total........ 17,858,013 P355,681 P118,330
The Cebu Portland Cement Company
Philippine Cement: The Cebu Portland Cement CompanyBy WALTER ROBB
THE AMERICAN CHAMBER OF COMMERCE JOURNAL
Vol 5 No 8 August 1925
The cement industry in the Philippines is at present confined to one company owned by the government, the Cebu Portland Cement Company operating a plant producing 1000 barrels a day at Naga, Cebu, the government having put capital into the venture to the amount of P2,780,000. The islands use 400,000 to 500,000 barrels of cement annually. The plant could be built for much less, now that prices of machinery have gone down, but it is a good plant in a good location. Ninety-five per cent of its raw material is right at the plant and can be scooped up and handled with steam shovels. Silica is only 2-1/2 miles away. The small amount of gypsum required to perfect the cement comes from a deposit in Batangas. Several other deposits of this material are available in the islands. Coal is obtainable from the Uling-Naga coal mines and can be run down to the mill by gravity. At present the affairs of the company are in a state of uncertainty. From the outset it has experienced administrative difficulties and high costs of supervision. It emerged from its tangle with the builder, C. F. Massey, by buying him out. It reduced its overhead costs last year and during the first part of this year, according to statements of the president, Mr. Alberto Barretto, but it is not yet turning a profit. The cement it makes is good, tests at the bureau of science show. Opposed to the plan to sell, is the project now pending in the legislature to grant the company P2,800,000 more for extensions including a second rotary kiln that would bring its capacity to 2,000 barrels daily and provide a substantial margin for export. The industry is protected by a tariff of P1.20 a barrel. The former rate was P0.60 a barrel, which was doubled to accommodate the company after it begun operations. This tariff does not apply to cement from the United States. Dependable labor a; the splendid co-operation which was given moderate wages is a matter of course in by American manufacturers of machinery Cebu. The following description of the and supplies all along the course of the plant was furnished to a trade journal in work. In fact, he has come home an enthe United States by the man who inducei thusiastic booster for American trade in the government to go into the venture, C. the Orient, not alone as a patriotic AmeriF. Massey of Chicago: can who wants to see his own country capThe location of the plant affords splen- ture foreign business, but feeling also that did facilities for shipping, as it is on the the Orient can serve its own best interests line of the Philippine railroad and is only by buying from this country. 900 ft. from Tinaan anchorage, where a The Allis-Chalmers Mfg. Co., which dock is under construction, which will, furnished a large part of the equipment, when completed, accommodate ships draw- rave especial attention to the details of ing up to 35 ft. of water. There is also shipments, both at the Milwaukee nlant available an abundance of the best labor and at the port of shipment, checkin the islands. ing and rechecking so that there might be Before deciding on the location, about no possibility of errors which would delay 12 tons of raw material were taken to the the work. United States by Mr. Massey where ex- The mill is operating on the wet process haustive chemical analyses and physical The machinery installed was purchased in tests were made. 1921 at a total cost of approximately The company owns, under Torrens title. 1,600.000 pesos ($800,000). All of the some 125 acres of cement material land buildings are fireproof, being of steel and adjoining the plant; also it has a fore- concrete construction. shore lease from the government for all The raw material is handled at the shore land controlled by the company. quarry' with a 2-1,/2-yd. Marion steam The Cebu Portland Cement Co. was in- shovel, delivering to 4 and 6-yd. side-dump corporated under the laws of the Philip- cars which dump directly into a 24 by 60 -pine Islands on Jan. 13, 1922 with an in. Fairmount type crusher. The product anthorized capital stock of 5,000,000 pesos of this crusher is fed by means of a grizzly ($2,500,000). feeder to a No. 5 Williams mill, from The plant was designed by Mr. Massey which a belt conveyor carries it to the raw in consultation with able and experienced grinding department American engineers with the result that it The raw grinding is done in one 7 by is up-to-date in every respect and the 26-ft. wet compeb mill, complete with bins, machinery installed is the most modern and slurry elevators, regulators, etc., deliverefficient possible to obtain. ing to four 20 by 30-ft. slurry tanks, this Ground was broken March 20, 1922, and department having a capacity of 2500 bbls. the mill was in operation the latter part per day. of June, 1923, cr only 15 months after the As at present equipped, the calcining work was started. Considering the dis- department includes one kiln, 10 by 11 by tance from the base of supplies and the 175 ft. in dimensions and capable of proclass of labor to be had, this was a remark. ducing 1250 bbls. per day. The clinker is ably good performance, and Mr. Massey delivered to outside storage spanned by a sass it could not have been done without 75-ft. Milwaukee electric crane with clamshell bucket, by which the clinker is carried to the finish grinding equipment as desired. This latter consists of a Dodge type crusher and a 7 by 26-ft. compeb mill similar to the one on the raw end of the plant. This end of the mill has a capacity of finished cement of 1500 bbls. per day at 85% passing 200-mesh. The stockhouse for the finished cement consist of three 24 by 50-ft. steel tanks, equipped with screw conveyors and elevators for handling the material. These are enclosed and dust tight, as are other such conveyors throughout the plant wherever pissible, making it remarkably free from dust. Most of the product is packed in cloth bags by Bates machines, but the packing house also has facilities for assembling and filling both wood and steel barrels. Steam for power is generated in an Edge-Moor waste heat boiler, in addition to which an auxiliary boiler is installed for starting and standby purposes. The power house includes the following equipment: One 1250-kw. 3600-r.p.m. turboalternator, 3-phase 60-cycle, furnishing current at 2300 volts, with direct-connected exciter and expansion joint; one surface condenser; one 125-kw. high-pressure non-condensing steam turbine. An evaporating system of Griscom-Russel construction furnishes clear distilled water for the boiler and other needs of the plant. It is operated from the steam produced by the waste heat boiler and cleadistilled water is therefore obtained at slight cost at all times. There is a complete machine shop equipped with lathes and machine tools to make all necessary repairs for any part of the mill. The laboratory is unusually complete, fully equipped not only for routing control tests but also for analyzing the raw materials ~received and for doing experimental work. This extensive laboratory was essential because of the location of the plant so far from educational or commercial laboratories, requiring it to be able to handle any work which might come up. The same situation has had to be kept in mind in other parts of the work, so that the plant is perhaps as self-contained and self-reliant as can be found anywhere. The plant has now been in operation about 2 years and the produt has uniformly exceeded standard specifications. The Bureau of Science at Manila made tests of 100 samples of this cement, finding it running very uniform and showing average tensile strength at 7 days of 313 lbs. and at 28 days of 402 lbs. It showed uniformly 85% or better through 200 mesh, and specific gravity of about 3.10. An average analysis made at the plant laboratory is as follows: Per cent Per cent SiO......... 23.00 MgO..... 1.66 ALO 1.. 7.53 SO......... 1.37 FeO,.... 2.97 Loss on ignition 1.05 CaO....... 63.10 Insoluble......30 Due to the necessity for training an inexperienced personnel and other circumstances naturally incident to the early stages of operation of a new manufacturing plant of this magnitude, especially in an undeveloped locality, the cost of cement in the first few months of operation was comparatively high, but this has been reduced to a normal figure as machinery has been adjusted and co-ordinated and men have been trained to proficiency in their duties. The plant has a rated capacity of 1000 bbls. per day but is capable of producing 1200 to 1400 lbs. per day, and since it began operation, it has actually produced an average of over 1000 bbls. for each day the plant was in actual operation. The Philippine Islands alone have been consuming between 300,000 and 400,000 bbls. of cement yearly, and this consumption will doubtless be materially increased with the reduced prices at which the product of the Cebu Portland Cement Co. can be offered. Within a radius of 1700 miles are found the following foreign markets: Indo-China, Straits Settlements, Hongkong, China, Guam, New Guinea, Celebes, Borneo, Java and Sumatra. Favorable freight rates are obtainable to these markets, and with proposed increased manufacture and consequent reduced cost of production, it is believed that Cebu can successfully compete in these markets with other brands of cement.
Fire in Coal Mine in Uling Naga
For the Philippines even in their limited experience have not been immune from disasters caused by the typical hazards of coal mining this paper mentions. One of the first was a fire in the Doña Margarita at Uling, Naga, Cebu, about 1860 -1870. Recent development work broke through some of the Doña Margarita's old workings. Part of one of her tunnels in rock was opened and made use of. Doing this work, another entry was noticed, going to the right. Three big boulders were found at the entrance to this tunnel. There are many legends extant about Doña Margarita, one that she buried a fortune in the mine-a fortune in silver doubloons. Seeing the boulders, the miners grew quite excited over their discovery, thinking surely that beyond lay the hidden treasure. In no time at all they had opened up 10 feet of the old entry before they were stopped. Closed examination discovered a complete seal of board walls 2 feet apart with clay between the boards; then round sticks, about 3 feet long, laid longitudinally in the tunnel, and packed with clay, and then another clay wall, then 2 to 3 feet of sand. There was more, but as the work was stopped, it was never learned what else it was. It was a perfect fire-stopping, or seal, but the thought of a fire was never entertained. Later it turned out that Doña Margarita had a fire in her mine, and her hiding place for buried treasure was in reality a fire seal. This was learned when a raise entry was driven into the area back of the stopping, and old charred timbers, charcoal, ashes, and burnt rock were found. Superstitions of the place speak of spirits that were in the Doña Margarita, ca'ling them the Flaming Spirits and the Walking Fire; and old Naga folk tell of friends and kin who were burned and killed by by these mysterious spirits. They wanted all knowledge of gases, and so in their credulity transmuted methane into fiery ghosts. The terms Walking Fire and Flaming Spirit are completely descriptive. Old miners have seen the blue flame of ignited gas travel up and down a drift until the gas burned out, walking fire, and have also seen the sharp, quick, il'uminating flame of a small gas explosion, a flaming spirit. There are no recorded data of the number of victims of Doña Margarita's fire. The late Major R. R. Landon, mining in the sanle locality 20 years ago, experienced similar difficulties. Even during the present war period, fires have visited some of our coal mines. The industry must have trained coal men, not only in the operating branch but in combating the hazards here reviewed with strict adherence to the safety rules."
Source:
Hazards Of Philippine Coal Mining By George H. Miller
THE AMERICAN CHAMBER OF COMMERCE JOURNAL.: MANILA, PHI LIPPINES. Vol XXI, NO. 9 SEPTEMBER 1941
Source:
Hazards Of Philippine Coal Mining By George H. Miller
THE AMERICAN CHAMBER OF COMMERCE JOURNAL.: MANILA, PHI LIPPINES. Vol XXI, NO. 9 SEPTEMBER 1941
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