Historic ruins of Negros

History Notes WITH MODESTO SAONOY

The oldest historic ruin in Occidental Negros and perhaps in the entire island is in Himamaylan, the second capital town of Negros since 1779. The ruin is just a large chunk of the stone fort that was demolished after the new Alcalde Mayor of Negros transferred the capital to Bacolod in 1847.

This chunk is engulfed by a large lunok tree. However, the floor outline of the fort that faces the Himamaylan River is still there. Sadly, it is covered by cement for the town plaza. The fort has a tragic history. It is the site of the uprising of prisoners, who killed the Corregidor (the predecessor of the alcalde mayor), who treated them brutally. The prisoners seized the fort but were eventually overwhelmed and massacred. Their dead bodies were dumped into a common grave in what is today known as Tampok (covered with earth).

The oldest ruined church is that of Escalante, which was abandoned in favor of a new church. It has a beautiful, massive and intricately-carved white coral stones, but due to disuse, the church simply deteriorated. Today, we still see the pillars, the elevated high altar that appears to have been covered by a balaquin. Its facade is still intact as well as the arched entrance.

It was in Escalante where religious fanaticism led to the murder in 1909 of its parish priest, Recollect Father Victor Baltanas, by Aglipayan fanatics, who resented the presence of a Catholic priest. The return of the Catholic priests drew back into the fold the Aglipayans who were swayed to the nationalist church that preached there was no difference between Aglipayanism and Catholicism. The killers were eventually sent to the Bilibid prison to serve life sentences.

The other historic ruin is the remains of the old church in Silay constructed by Fr. Eusebio Locsin. This church was abandoned when a new church was constructed in 1927 just beside the old one. The Silay parish has preserved what remains of this stone church. Underneath the present convent is the stone floor of the old church.

Another historic ruin is the large convent of Valladolid which was once the entry point of immigrants from Panay and Guimaras. From the still visible floor area of that convent, we can determine the large size of this convent that served the people from Pulupandan to La Carlota.

The convent deteriorated through years of lack of maintenance. During the Negros Revolution of 1898 and the Aglipayan schism of 1903, Valladolid was taken over by the Aglipayan priests and returned only in 1910. The convent was already in deplorable condition.

The USAFFE in Negros tried to burn the Valladolid church but did great damage only to its towers. The huge bells fell down to the ground and the belfry was destroyed.

The convent was burned down a few years back and a new and smaller convent constructed over it. The stone, brick and hardwood remains, however, speaking of its lost grandeur and enormity.

The St. Joseph Hospital of the North Negros Sugar Company in Manapla was constructed in the 1920s to serve the medical needs of the mill and its sister mill, the Victorias Milling Company, mill employees, farm workers, the sugarcane planters and their dependents. One of the best equipped hospitals in the Visayas, St. Joseph, was funded by the mills and the planters.

After the Japanese landed in 1942, the USAFFE tried to strip the hospital of medical and surgical supplies but Colonel William Braddock, the Negros Visayas-Mindanao Force surgeon in Cebu, protested to General William Sharp, saying that these items were needed “for the large civilian population.” He was, however, willing to give whatever was needed for the army.

The Japanese established a garrison in the mill in May 1942 and used the hospital for their own troops.

The Third Battalion of the 74th Regiment raided the mill on November 22, 1942. The 74th raiders were composed of three bands – Banda Uno, Banda Dos and Banda Tres. The officers in these three units were Lts. Heracleo Villacin, Jose Escalante, Ramon Jurilla, Rodolfo Escalante and Florentino Narajos. There was fierce exchange of fire but the Japanese did not get out of the protective wall of the Administration Building.

The hospital was some distance from the garrison so the guerrilla officers dragged them to it. Wounded were Jurilla, and Privates Gerardo Gozo, Baldomero Inocencio, Rodrigo Billarosa and Felipe Real. Two American nurses were on duty but they had nothing to use as the Japanese had taken all their medicines. They applied dental medicines.

The guerrillas withdrew but the Japanese did not pursue.

What of “The Ruins”?*

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