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Bacolod City, Philippines Thursday, June 14, 2012
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TIGHT ROPE
WITH MODESTO P. SA-ONOY

20th of June

TIGHT ROPE
WITH MODESTO P. SA-ONOY

This month Bacolod City will have a series of celebrations, some kind of “wholesale” activities because of the closeness of historical events – June 12 for Independence Day, June 18 for Charter Day and June 19 for the birthday of Jose Rizal.

These are historic and significant dates, but only June 18 is specific to Bácolod. June 12 and 19 are of national significance so that the entire nation observes them.

To me, however, June 18 pales in significance compared to the turning point in Bácolod’s history. Without this moment in its history, Bácolod would not have achieved its status that favored it among the other towns and cities of this province. It could not have been a city in 1938, the first in this province to be so declared because it was the capital.

June 20, 1848 is the date of the Royal Decree issued by Governor General Narciso Claveria designating the Augustinian Recollects to minister to Negros Island and transferring the island’s capital from Himamaylan to Bácolod. The Corregidor lived and held office in Himamaylan.

If this decree had not included the transfer of the capital of Negros Island to Bácolod, Himamaylan would have become a city long before Bácolod.

The transfer of the capital was a result of a series of developments, but I still have to find the actual decree for this transfer except from secondary sources which indicate why this was decided upon by the Governor General.

It is possible that the Royal Decree of June 20 is in Madrid archives or in Marcilla where the Recollects have also their collection of documents on their stay here at that time.

We must backtrack a bit.

In a Royal Decree of 1837, Negros became an Alcaldia, from a lower category as corregimiento, with Mariano Valero y Soto as the first Alcalde Mayor. His term which ended in 1842 was insignificant.

Valero was succeeded by Jose Sanz de Vizmanos but he arrived here two years late. Nevertheless, he compensated his late arrival with a zeal that began the development of the island. He studied the findings of the Intendant Governor of the Visayas (akin to a regional director) that Negros is a neglected island despite its huge economic potential.

The Bishop of Cebu, Dominican Romualdo Gimeno who conducted his Pastoral Visit in Negros in 1847, was displeased with the states of affairs of the parishes and reported the matter to the Governor General. His observations reinforced that of the Intendant and Sanz.

These reports carried a recommendation to deal with political inefficiency and religious deficiency. Claveria acted and issued the Decree of June 20.

The recommendation of Bishop Gimeno is for the island to be placed under a Spanish religious order since an earlier report said that Filipino secular priests were unable to move the missionary work fast enough. The Bishop looked for interested congregations but only the Recollects accepted the challenge.

The recommendation for the transfer of the capital to another town was made by Don Manuel Valdiviezo y Morquecho, successor of Sanz. He arrived in Negros in 1847. He was a 70-year-old lawyer from Cadiz, Spain who got married to a young woman on the day of his departure to the Philippines. He had his honeymoon on board it seems.

Valdiviezo did not stay in the capital but in Bácolod because of an earlier violent incident in Himamaylan. The wife of the Corregidor was corrupt. She took the budget for the prisoners’ food but bought dead carabao meat. They already had the “double dead meat.”

The prisoners revolted. They were able to get the keys to their jails, killed the Corregidor and his wife and several others then barricaded the fort. They were eventually routed, massacred and buried in a common grave in what is today Tampok in Himamaylan.

Valdiviezo was dynamic. He toured the island, designated their boundaries, created towns and invited settlers and investors to the island.

To facilitate the opening of new towns in the north, he recommended the transfer of the capital to the central part of the island. Moreover, Tipasi Pass that connected Himamaylan to the east was congested with bandits who robbed travelers.

Geography played an important role in the choice of Bácolod. Movements to the north and east were safer through the northern route. This change shifted the development of Occidental Negros from south towards the north.

One important factor was the friendship of Valdiviezo with Luis Guiquin from Ilog who opened a large cacao plantation in Hacienda Lupit. Did he influence Valdiviezo or was it the other way round? It is possible Guiquin did because he would benefit thereby as his lands were adjacent to the center of the town.

Maybe next year Bácolod can include remembering this most important event in its history.*

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